RTHK: Nepal flight missing with 22 on board A passenger plane went missing in Nepal on Sunday with 22 people on board, its airline said. The Twin Otter aircraft took off from the western town of Pokhara at 9:55 am (0410 GMT) but soon lost contact with air traffic control. "A domestic flight bound for Jomsom from Pokhara has lost contact," said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air. He said there were 19 passengers on board and three crew members. Phanindra Mani Pokharel, a spokesman at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said two helicopters have been deployed for a search operation. But he said visibility was low. "The bad weather is likely to hamper the search operation. The visibility is so poor that nothing can be seen," Pokharel said. Jomsom is a popular trekking destination in the Himalayas about 20 minutes by plane from Pokhara, which lies west of Kathmandu. Nepal's aviation industry has boomed in recent years, flying tourists, trekkers and climbers as well as goods to remote corners where road access is limited. But the impoverished Himalayan nation has a poor air safety record due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from its airspace over safety concerns. The country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots. In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu's international airport, killing 51 people. The following year three people died when a plane veered off the runway and hit two helicopters while taking off near Mount Everest. The accident happened at Lukla airport which is the main gateway to the Everest region and is reputed to be one of the most difficult in the world for landings and take-offs. Also in 2019 Nepal's tourism minister Rabindra Adhikari was among seven people killed when a helicopter crashed in the country's hilly east. This month Nepal's second international airport opened at Bhairahawa, aiming to give Buddhist pilgrims from across Asia access to the Buddha's birthplace at nearby Lumbini. The US$76 million project will ease pressure on the overburdened Kathmandu international airport. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-05-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Putin discusses Ukraine situation, food security with Macron, Scholz Xinhua) 10:26, May 29, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the global food security. Putin informed Macron and Scholz of the latest developments of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, noting that the Russian armed forces strictly observe the norms of international humanitarian law, the Kremlin said in a press release. As for the peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Putin confirmed that the Russian side is open to resuming the frozen dialogue. The Russian leader criticized the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, which could further destabilize the situation and aggravate the humanitarian crisis. When discussing the issue of ensuring global food security, Putin said the difficulties in food supplies are caused by the erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries as well as their anti-Russian sanctions. Russia is ready to help find options for the unimpeded export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports, he said. An increase in the supply of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tensions on the global food market, which will require the lifting of relevant sanctions, Putin told Macron and Scholz. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. All Beaumont ISD employees will receive a raise in pay for the 2022-23 school year. Across the state, one point of discussion that has come up repeatedly in recent months has been that of teacher compensation, particularly the lack of equitable compensation. And Beaumont ISD has not been spared of that conversation. At the beginning of May, Beaumont Teachers Association President Bridget Smith spoke with The Enterprise about teachers' frustrations with the district, one of the main ones being low salary compared to how much work and effort teachers felt they put into their jobs. RELATED: 'We were there for you, now be here for us:' Beaumont teachers ask for support, raises Smith asked the school board and district Superintendent Shannon Allen at the April board meeting to consider giving teachers a 10% raise and hourly employees a $3 raise, saying, "We were there for you, now be here for us." Smith said she didn't know if she would receive what she asked for, but wanted to ask anyway. Low pay was one reason Smith said several teachers she knew were leaving the district after the school year finished, opting to move to districts such as Goose Creek ISD where a teacher's base salary is just under $60,000. Allen has said both during board meetings and at budget workshops that the district wants to give its employees pay increases, but current revenue would not allow for a 10% raise. Beaumont ISD compensation comparisons from 2019 to present 2019-20 compensation package Cost: between $8 million to $10 million. Starting teacher salary: Increased from $45,000 to $48,500 Raise for teachers: 5% to 8.7% for all teachers Other employees: 5% from the midpoint, 1% for principals plus a reduction of days One time stipend for all employees: $500 "This was the year that we received an influx of funding from the state, House Bill 3," Allen said. "We took all of that extra money and we put it into salaries. And I want to say the price tag on that was over $8 million, maybe close to $10 million to provide the 5% to 8.7%." 2020-21 compensation package Step increase for teachers A $1,000 one-time stipend for all employees Adjustments for police officers 2021-22 compensation package Cost: a little under $2 million Starting teacher salary: increased to $49,000 Raise for teachers: $800 general pay increase, about 1% Other employees: 1% from the midpoint, $0.50 for custodians, child nutrition and paraprofessionals A $1,000 one-time stipend for all employees A 4% of base salary retention stipend, not to exceed $2,732 Other adjustments: counselors, diagnosticians and assistant principals * Information provided by district presentations. See More Collapse RELATED: Local schools to give employees retention stipends "When we talk about compensation and we talk about giving increases to our employees -- we know that our employees need and want more money," Allen said at the May board meeting. "I know that many of our BTA representatives have spoken, I've had conversations with them, they shared their information and their desires publicly. And my truest desire would be to be able to present to our board an opportunity to provide all of our employees with the raise that they're requesting, which was 10%. I would love to be able to do that. But, of course, we have to be able to fund whatever we propose." Allen said the revenue that allows the district to provide raises is contingent upon two main factors: enrollment and attendance. Both are trending down, meaning the district is bringing in less money. "Our enrollment trends for the past several years have been on a declining trend," she said. "We've lost approximately 500 students a year for the past, probably four or five consecutive years. We also, of course as a result of COVID, had our attendance drastically impacted." RELATED: Local school district to raise teacher pay by more than $8,000 In Texas, funds that a district receives from the state is based upon student performance and attendance. According to slides presented by the district, Beaumont ISD hit a peak enrollment of just under 20,000 students a decade ago in the 2011-12 school year. Since then, there has been a slight decline, though more significant drops in enrollment have come in the past five years. Between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, the district saw an enrollment drop of about 500 students. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020, the district's enrollment felt the impact. RELATED: More than 270 open positions in Beaumont school district From the 2019-20 school year to the 2020-21 school year, the district saw an enrollment decline of about 1,000 students. Enrollment dropped again by about 500 students for the current school year to a total of just under 17,000 students. However, that enrollment is expected to rise slightly for the 2022-23 school year with a projection of a little more than 17,000 students. The compensation package Allen proposed for the 2022-23 school year will cost the district about $3 million she said. It includes: Increasing base teacher salary from $49,000 to $50,000 A general $1,200 pay increase for teachers, about 2.25% on average A 2% from the midpoint raise for all other district employees A $1,000 one-time stipend for all district employees A 4% of base salary retention stipend, not to exceed $2,732 A longevity stipend of $50 per consecutive year of service to BISD Equity adjustments for principals, special education aides and teacher career path positions "How do we find $3 million when your enrollment is declining and our attendance is declining?," Allen asked. "We analyzed every single position, we've cut several positions that have been vacant that we have not utilized. We've made some adjustments and some shifts for some positions to switch them to federal funds to really try to eke out $3 million for this increase for our employees." RELATED: Beaumont ISD raises meal allowances for students, employees Allen said the district will not propose a package that it cannot afford to sustain. "We will maintain our fiscal responsibility," she said. "We are very optimistic that with the attendance incentives we're going to put in place next year, we could get our attendance up. And that's going to be how we sustain any type of increase. You have to remember, whatever we put in, we have to be able to sustain it for subsequent years. For our scenario and the demographics where we are, this is what we are able to afford within (the) 22-23 school year budget." Though the district is not able to provide a 10% raise in one year, Allen said the district has been increasing compensation steadily over the years. Using an example of a teacher who's been with the district for 25 years, Allen said from the end of 2018-19 school year to the proposed compensation plan for the 2022-23 school year, the teacher has had a compensation increase of 18.1% over four years, including an increase in base salary of 12.4%. RELATED: Two Beaumont educators named 'Teacher of the Year' "I wish we could be aggressive and offer exactly what our team is proposing, but the reality is, we have to be able to fund it," she said. "And we need to make certain that we're getting our attendance up, that our kids are coming to school. We're working through enrollment initiatives to get kids enrolled and stop losing students in the district so that we can increase the revenue that we actually receive." Beaumont ISD is not the only local school district trying to raise its teacher salary. As budgets for the next school year are being finalized, districts across Region 5 are increasing teacher pay, such as Kountze, Newton, Silsbee and West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISDs. In addition to providing fair compensation for its employees, districts have to remain competitive to recruit more teachers and salaries are one of the main ways to do that. RELATED: 'If you see hope, it's a spark:' Butterfly habitat at PA middle school aims to inspire students, community "I think that the field of education sometimes gets a bad name as far as pay and the jobs that they do," Newton ISD Superintendent Michelle Barrow told The Enterprise in April. "I think people need to look at that in (the) limelight that it's a service industry and it's something that's always going to be needed. And in order to keep teachers in the field and recruit them, school districts are going to have to stay competitive in their salary and their benefits and their working conditions for educators." School districts across the state are feeling the teacher shortage -- Beaumont ISD among them. According to the district's job postings site, there are 160 full-time teaching positions open. "You think about the work that our educators do -- it's a monumental task, especially right now, especially over the course of the last two years specifically," Allen said. "These last couple of years have been extremely challenging and we know that all of our employees work hard and they deserve increased wages." olivia.malick@hearst.com twitter.com/OliviaMalick He could be cryptic, demeaning and scary, sending angry messages and photos of guns. If they didn't respond how he wanted, he sometimes threatened to rape or kidnap them - then laughed it off as some big joke. But the girls and young women who talked with Salvador Ramos online in the months before he allegedly killed 19 children in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, rarely reported him. His threats seemed too vague, several said in interviews with The Washington Post. One teen who reported Ramos on the social app Yubo said nothing happened as a result. Some also suspected this was just how teen boys talked on the Internet these days - a blend of rage and misogyny so predictable they could barely tell each one apart. One girl, discussing moments when he had been creepy and threatening, said that was just "how online is." In the aftermath of the deadliest school shooting in a decade, many have asked what more could have been done - how an 18-year-old who'd spewed so much hate to so many on the Web could do so without provoking punishment or raising alarm. But these threats hadn't been discovered by parents, friends or teachers. They'd been seen by strangers, many of whom had never met him and had found him only through the social messaging and video apps that form the bedrock of modern teen life. The Washington Post reviewed videos, posts and text messages sent by Ramos and spoke with four young people who'd talked with him online, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of further harassment. The girls who spoke with The Post lived around the world but met Ramos on Yubo, an app that mixed live-streaming and social networking and had become known as a "Tinder for teens." The Yubo app has been downloaded more than 18 million times in the U.S., including more than 200,000 times last month, according to estimates from the analytics firm Sensor Tower. On Yubo, people can gather in big real-time chatrooms, known as panels, to talk, type messages and share videos - the digital equivalent of a real-world hangout. Ramos, they said, struck up side conversations with them and followed them onto other platforms, including Instagram, where he could send direct messages whenever he wanted. But over time they saw a darker side, as he posted images of dead cats, texted them strange messages and joked about sexual assault, they said. In a video from a live Yubo chatroom that listeners had recorded and was reviewed by The Post, Ramos could be heard saying, "Everyone in this world deserves to get raped." A 16-year-old boy in Austin who said he saw Ramos frequently in Yubo panels, told The Post Ramos frequently made aggressive, sexual comments to young women on the app and sent him a death threat during one panel in January. "I witnessed him harass girls and threaten them with sexual assault, like rape and kidnapping," said the teen. "It was not like a single occurrence. It was frequent." He and his friends reported Ramos' account to Yubo for bullying and other infractions dozens of times. He never heard back, he said, and Ramos' account remained active. Yubo spokeswoman Amy Williams would not say whether the company had previously received reports of abuse related to Ramos' account. "As there is an ongoing and active investigation and because this information concerns a specific individual's data, we are not legally able to share these details publicly at this time," she said in an email. Williams would not say what law prevents the company from commenting. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Ramos had also written, "I'm going to shoot my grandmother" and "I'm going to shoot an elementary school" shortly before the attack in messages on Facebook. And Texas Department of Public Safety officials said Friday that Ramos had discussed buying a gun several times in private chats on Instagram. Ten days before the shooting, he wrote in one of the messages, "10 more days," according to the official. Another person wrote to him, "Are you going to shoot up a school or something?" to which Ramos responded, "No, stop asking dumb questions. You'll see," the official said. Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and the chat service WhatsApp, referred The Post to an earlier statement from the company that said the messages were sent privately. The rise of services that connect strangers through private messaging has strained the conventional "see something, say something" mantra repeated in the decades since the Columbine High School massacre and other attacks, according to social media researchers. And when strangers do suspect something is wrong, they may feel they have limited ways to respond beyond filing a user report into a corporate abyss. Many of Ramos' threats to assault women, the young women added, barely stood out from the undercurrent of sexism that pervades the Internet - something they said they have fought back against but also come to accept. A 2021 Pew Research Center study found these experiences are common for young people, with about two-thirds of adults under 30 reporting that they've experienced online harassment. Thirty-three percent of women under 35 say they have been sexually harassed online. Danielle K. Citron, a law professor at University of Virginia, said women and girls often don't report threats of rape to law enforcement or trusted adults because they have been socialized to feel they do not deserve safety and privacy online. Sometimes, they don't think anyone would help them. Women and girls have "internalized the view, 'What else do we expect?'" said Citron, the author of the upcoming book "The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age." "Our safety and intimate privacy is something that society doesn't value." Ramos' hatred toward women and obsession with violence were clear in the messages viewed and interviews conducted by The Post, but his identity was mostly hidden. The teens who spoke with The Post said they saw him on live videos he did on Yubo, then they exchanged Instagram user names to message with him. And he'd constrained his comments to private messaging services like Yubo and Instagram, leaving only the recipients with the burden to react. Like many of the people he spoke with, Ramos had shared little about himself online. He used screen names like "salv8dor_" and "TheBiggestOpp" - and shared only his first name and his age. His profile pictures were selfies, him holding up his shirt or looking dour in front of a broken mirror. He shared animal videos, struck up flirtatious conversations and shared intimate things about his past that left some feeling like distant friends. But in recent months, he'd also started posting darker imagery - moody black-and-white photos and pictures of rifles on his bed. His threats were often hazy or unspecific, and therefore easily dismissed as just a troll or bad joke. One girl told The Post she first saw Ramos in a Yubo panel telling someone, "Shut up before I shoot you," but figured it was harmless because "kids joke around like that." In the week before the shooting, Ramos began to hint that something was going to happen on Tuesday to at least three girls, she said. "I'll tell you before 11. It's our little secret," she said he told them multiple times. On the morning of the shooting, he messaged her a photo of two rifles. She responded to ask why he'd sent them, but he never wrote back, according to a screenshot viewed by The Post. "He would threaten everyone," she said. "He would talk about shooting up schools but no one believed him, no one would think he would do it." Another 16-year-old said she met Ramos on Yubo in February and that he messaged her asking for her Instagram account. Earlier this month, he reacted to a meme she'd posted that referenced a weapon with a laughing emoji and said, "personally I wouldn't use a AK-47 but "a better gun": an AR-15-style rifle like the one police have said he used in the shooting, according to a screenshot viewed by The Post. The Uvalde shooting comes less than two weeks after another gunman killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo grocery store. He live-streamed the attack through the video service Twitch, which removed the stream within a few minutes; copies of it remain online. The alleged gunman, Payton Gendron, also used the chat platform Discord as a place to save his online writing and pre-attack to-do lists. On the day of the attack, he invited people to his private room, and the 15 who accepted were then able to scroll back through months of his racist screeds and see another view of his attack live-stream. Discord has said the messages were visible only to the suspect until he shared them the day of the attack. The revelations about the Uvalde gunman's social media activity follow years of complaints from activists and high-profile figures about Instagram's ability to combat its most troubling users. Instagram has said that tackling abusive messages is harder than in comments on public pages, and that it doesn't use its artificial intelligence technology to proactively detect content like hate speech or bullying in the same way. Instagram users can report direct messages that violate the company's rules against hate speech, bullying and calls to incite violence, and they can block offensive users. But many abusive messages still slip through the cracks. The Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy group, said last month it had analyzed more than 8,000 direct messages sent to five high-profile women and found that Instagram had failed to act on 90% of the abusive messages, despite the posts having been reported. Facebook's critics have alleged that the ability to tackle dangerous posts could get harder once the company follows suit on its plan to expand end-to-end encryption, which scrambles the contents of a message so that only the sender and receiver can see it, as a default setting on all of its messaging services. Currently, encryption is the default setting on WhatsApp but users only have the option of encrypting their messages on Instagram and Facebook. But the company has argued that as more people flock to private messaging it wants to ensure social media networks are "privacy focused." In recent years, Instagram has launched new tools to protect teens from predatory users, particularly adults attempting to groom them. Last year, the company began making young teens' accounts private by default once they signed up for Instagram, and they stopped adults from being able to send direct messages to teens that don't follow them. The company also recently announced a "hidden words" feature, which allows users to filter offensive words, phrases and emoji in message requests into a separate inbox. Yubo said it bans posts that threaten, bully or intimidate other people and uses a mix of software and human moderators to curb inappropriate content. People can block others' accounts or report concerns to a team of "safety specialists," who the company says respond to each person's report. Researchers have documented that a history of violence or threats toward women is a common trait among gunmen in mass shootings, as evident in the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and the 2019 shooting in Dayton, Ohio. Whitney Phillips, a researcher joining the faculty of the University of Oregon this fall, said social networks could do more to push back on violent harassment toward women, but that the threats on their site are a reflection of a larger "boys will be boys" cultural attitude that normalizes men's bad behavior online and offline. "When someone says something violent to you or makes some sort of death threat to you, for many women that happens so often that it wouldn't even register with them," Phillips said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate President Joe Biden visited Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday to meet with some of the families whose children died last week in the latest mass shooting at a elementary school. Biden was greeted in Uvalde by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who regularly criticizes the Democratic president over immigration at the southern U.S. border and is seeking re-election in November. Bidens first stop was a memorial at the school where an 18-year-old man who legally bought two assault rifles fatally shot 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday. In the wake of the killing, Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault weapons and enhanced background checks for firearm purchases, while Biden broadly has urged Americans to stand up to the gun lobby. In the face of such destructive forces, we have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer, Biden said Saturday during a commencement ceremony at the University of Delaware, his alma mater. We can finally do what we have to do to protect the lives of the people and of our children, he added, before linking both the shooting in Uvalde and a recent shooting at a Buffalo supermarket to a rise in white supremacy. In Uvalde, Biden also will meet with the grieving families. Those parents are literally preparing to bury their children in the United States of America to bury their children, he said Saturday. Theres too much violence, too much fear, too much grief. Assault weapons The shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo are the latest instances of gun violence. Harris said on Saturday that there have been over 200 mass shootings to date, despite being barely halfway through the year. We are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, were not looking for a vaccine, Harris told reporters in Buffalo, New York, after attending the funeral for a victim of the mass shooting there. We know what works on this. It includes, lets have an assault weapons ban. A 10-year federal law banning assault weapons for civilian use expired in 2004 and hasnt been renewed, reflecting the political difficulty of passing gun-control legislation. Bidens visit to Uvalde coincides with the National Rifle Associations annual convention in Houston, where a series of speakers on Friday, including former President Donald Trump, rejected tighter gun control and defended the right to bear arms. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Lumberton resident Brian Stutes and his team at TAC Response Solutions, LLC wants to train teachers to respond to active shooter situations. About 10 years ago, such response training became a passion of his. But over the past few days, his company has received hundreds of emails not just from Southeast Texans to take part in his training. In the aftermath of Tuesdays shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde that killed 19 students and two teachers, governments, school districts and community members are wondering where to go from here. The long-debated issue of gun control measures is on the national stage once again, with U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, reportedly meeting with Democrats to "find common ground" on the issue, according to The Houston Chronicle. But, while officials on the federal level look to solve the issue nationwide, many in Texas are wondering how they can address the issue right in their schools. In response, Stutess company on Wednesday made a Facebook post regarding free active shooter response training to any Southeast Texas teacher or school staff member who would like to participate, aiming to train all who take part before school begins again in the fall. While a number of Southeast Texans have already reached out, hes also received responses from people in Dallas, Palestine, Austin and Houston. Stutes, who has experience in the military and as a medic, said the goal of the sessions is to provide training that allows teachers to protect students and remain safe. He said it also gives teachers the tools to respond to active shooter situations. "We talked and we we're sick that this happened and we're sick that schools are not doing anything about it," said Stutes, who also has spent 16 years conducting law enforcement, security and military training. "We're going to donate the time throughout the summer. The goal is to schedule two to three classes a month and we're going to make it free to teachers. We make our living doing this -- we want to make a difference, we want to be part of the solution." Constable's office providing free gun locks The office of Jefferson County Constable, Pct. 1 Jevonne "JC" Pollard in partnership with Project ChildSafe is offering free gun locks and firearm safety educational classes beginning June 1. "This partnership will allow for the education about gun safety to adults, children and adolescents while providing free gun locks to help keep kids safe," said a post on the office's Facebook page. For more information on the gun safety classes, call (409) 835-8450 or visit 1085 Pearl St., Ste. 103 in Beaumont to speak with a deputy. The locks can be picked up at the Pearl Street office or residents can request them from deputies who will have them in their patrol units. See More Collapse The training is geared toward unarmed teachers and teachers authorized to carry firearms on campus if they have received the requisite training and certification. It is up to each individual school district's discretion if they choose to implement such a program. Stutes said there are few districts in Southeast Texas that have approved of the program, called the Guardian Program, but did not disclose which districts. Southeast Texas largest school district, Beaumont ISD, does not have a Guardian Program and teachers and staff members are not allowed to carry firearms on campus. For unarmed teachers, the training includes discussion about the psychology of an active shooter and a review of case studies from previous events. "We should always be learning and developing new tactics and new techniques to be able to combat these people," Stutes said. Trainees will be educated on the "Move, evade, attack" technique as opposed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's "Run. Hide. Fight." "We teach them how to move through that -- it's not a linear progression, it's very dynamic -- and people can move through that and they can create a decision-making loop as an event occurs and as an event evolves," Stutes said. "I don't necessarily want somebody to run -- if I tell them just to run, they may run straight (into) the shooter. I didn't give them direction. So, we want to give them a little better direction." Stutes said he also didn't necessarily want people to barricade themselves into a lockdown, even though that is usually the active shooter procedure. "Locking down, you basically put yourself in a very defensive, weak position, and you're sitting inside the shark cage just waiting to get eaten, right?" he said. "So, we prefer a little bit more of a dynamic approach -- a little bit more of a thinking approach. (That) gives them more options to react and respond." The training will also cover moving through a building with students and alone -- when there's an active shooter present. "(We will also) teach them tactical medicine, basically advanced stop-the-bleed, tourniquets, how to pack wounds, chest seals, things like that," Stutes said. For armed teachers, or "guardians," and school resource officers, Stutes said there will be a different curriculum that will involve firearms, movement and threat engagement. "We'll actually take them to the range and work with them," he said. Stutes said the state mandates teachers under the Guardian Program have a minimum requirement of 16 hours of training, which he feels isn't enough. "When we train guardians, we believe they should have 40 hours of initial training and then they should have at least quarterly training every quarter to follow up to maintain their skill set," he said. "We're asking teachers to carry firearms to protect kids -- they need to be trained and they need to be trained above an average civilian." The team of instructors at TAC Response Solutions all have experience serving as SWAT, special forces or paramedics, Stutes said. "We're stepping up and everybody's donating their time and we're going to put on courses," he said. "We're putting them on to the level of what we would if we were getting paid for it. We're not pulling back or anything, we're giving them everything we can to make them as safe as possible." Stutes said his company also conducts threat vulnerability assessments for schools, churches and corporate clients where they go into a facility and identify weak points or areas that could be hardened. "We want to slow down the shooter coming in -- we're trying to increase time and distance between the threat and the kids," he said. "That's how we increase survivability. Obviously there's a mental aspect and mental health needs to be addressed. I don't deal with politics and I don't deal with mental health. I deal with stopping shooters and eliminating threats and fixing people that have holes in them. That's what we're really good at." It's all about preparation, Stutes said. "The bad guy always chooses the place, the time and the duration of the attack," he said. "(They're) in control of all three of those elements. So, we have to be able to respond to it in an effective and efficient manner. We've got to be able to neutralize a threat and we need to be able to save kids." Unarmed teachers who sign up for the training only need to bring with them the willingness to learn, a good attitude and a verification of their employment as a teacher in Texas, Stutes said. Teachers who are part of the Guardian Program must bring a letter from their district administration confirming they are an active member of the Guardian Program and a copy of their license to carry. They must also provide their own firearm, Stutes said. Stutes said he heard from a corporate sponsor Friday that all ammunition costs for guardian teachers in the training will be covered as well. Texas teachers interested in the training can contact Stutes at brian@tacresponsesolutions.com. olivia.malick@hearst.com twitter.com/OliviaMalick Southern Baptist leaders on Thursday evening released a list of alleged church-related sexual abuse offenders that denomination heads had kept secret for more than a decade. The Executive Committee for the Southern Baptist Convention said earlier this week it would publish the names after it issued a third-party investigation that suggested a widespread coverup by top leaders who ignored and even "vilified" people who came forward with stories of abuse. The database, which an SBC attorney said includes people who have been criminally convicted of abuse and those who have confessed to abuse, is expected to show what top leaders knew behind the scenes while telling Southern Baptists they could not create a list of accused abusers because the denomination is not hierarchical and churches operate independently from one another. A description at the top of the document reads: "This is a fluid, working document." It consists of more than 600 entries, the date the person was reported and information largely pulled from news articles, compiled from 2007 until 2022. "It is incomplete. It has not been proofed. It has not been adequately researched. It is not Southern Baptist specific," the document reads. It notes that, after June 2008, "only alleged/convicted names of abusers and [titles] of articles were catalogued." The release of the database comes 15 years after Christa Brown began sounding the alarm that Southern Baptists needed to keep such a list to prevent abusers from transferring from church to church. She first told SBC leaders in 2004 that she had been abused by a youth pastor who went on to serve in other Southern Baptist churches in multiple states. But the report published Sunday by the SBC said she was met with hostility when she suggested the idea in 2007. Brown, 68, was emotional Thursday when she learned that the man she alleges abused her was listed in the database -- an official acknowledgment by the Southern Baptist Convention. "This means so much to us survivors," she said. "It's a reflection of how cruel it was to stonewall any kind of validation for decades. For survivors to heal, this kind of validation is an acknowledgment of the truth of the horror of what was done to us." The man she alleges abused her, who has not been charged or convicted, hung up the phone in response to a Washington Post request for comment. She said the man began to abuse her in 1968 and that when she initially pursued a civil case against him in 2005, the statute of limitations had expired. But, Brown said, the list is also a "very small measure of justice." "They don't get to pat themselves on the back for this," Brown added. "I'm sorry. God only knows why they were keeping it secret. It's the very tiniest thing of what needs to be done." Before releasing the list, attorneys for the SBC said they would redact survivors' names and try to ensure that they only include names of people who were "credibly accused." That includes pastors, denominational workers, ministry employees or volunteers who have confessed to abuse, been convicted in a court of law, or had a civil judgment rendered against them. Also, an independent third party could determine that someone was "credibly accused" by a "preponderance of the evidence." "This is a critical first step," said Rachael Denhollander, an attorney and former gymnast who outed former USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar over his serial sexual assaults and is now an adviser on a Southern Baptist task force on the issue. "It at least begins to demonstrate a level of transparency and accountability." The SBC has long sought to distinguish itself from the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal by saying its churches were independent from one another. But University of Pennsylvania professor Marci Hamilton, an expert on laws aimed at preventing child abuse, said the SBC has no standing in distinguishing itself legally from the Catholic Church in terms of its responsibility to victims, be they minors or adults when incidents happen. The SBC, she said, is the "governing body of the whole church, so they are responsible for the policies and for the coverup, which is evident." As penalties including billions of dollars have been levied in the past 20 years against the Catholic Church, Hamilton said, other non-Catholic religious groups have argued that their structure and beliefs make them different when it comes to liability. Southern Baptist and nondenominational groups have said they are too loosely affiliated to be liable, but she said courts have found otherwise when they have looked at other faith groups. "The question is: Did they act recklessly, endangering children and adults? And the answer is yes," Hamilton said. "They took unreasonable risks, lacked effective prevention policies, and put individuals in their flocks at risk of being sexually assaulted and abused, by leaving the abusers in positions of authority and not alerting the public and by bypassing going to the authorities. This defense they've been saying -- 'We're organized differently' -- is full of holes. That is no defense." Hamilton said victims who were minors at the time of the abuse and came forward as adults can have a harder time because of slowly changing statutes of limitations. However, more states are extending deadlines for people to bring civil cases. The third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions, commissioned by Southern Baptists at their annual convention last year and released Sunday, focused narrowly on the SBC's Nashville-based Executive Committee, the second-smallest organization within the SBC that handles the finances and administration, including distributing funds that come in from churches around the country to its other organizations. Two Southern Baptist leaders, Kevin Ezell of the North American Mission Board and Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said this week that they would invite Guidepost to investigate allegations in their organizations. Akin said in an interview that he knew of maybe three or four instances of alleged sexual abuse in his 19 years at Southeastern, including one that ultimately led to the firing of former Southeastern president Paige Patterson, who was named in the Guidepost report. Akin said he is recommending to his board of trustees that Patterson's name be removed from one of the seminary's buildings. Patterson was fired from another seminary in 2018 after his board of trustees said he had mishandled two women's cases of sexual abuse, including one at Southeastern. The Guidepost report also alleged that Johnny Hunt, a former North American Mission Board vice president and longtime pastor, sexually assaulted a woman, which he has denied on Twitter. Akin said the seminary has already removed his name from programs and facilities. Akin said he was close to both Patterson and Hunt and called the last several days "some of the saddest of my life." "My heart's just crushed, but that has not changed my love for [Johnny], and I'm praying he'll respond appropriately and know Southern Baptists are forgiving people," Akin said. "I think if he tells us what is right, he will receive that forgiveness. Doesn't mean he'll be a pastor or anything, but I believe he could serve significantly. But we'll see." Several sexual abuse survivors have said they plan to fly to Anaheim, Calif., for the SBC's annual meeting next month because they see momentum for potential change. Among them is Jules Woodson, whose 2018 allegation that her Southern Baptist youth pastor sexually assaulted her was viewed as one of the major points that led the denomination to confront sex abuse. On Thursday night, Woodson sobbed when she knew that Andy Savage, whom she says abused her when she was 17, was listed in the database. In 2018, Savage, who has not been charged or convicted, publicly admitted to "a sexual incident," said he was "deeply sorry" and received a standing ovation from his congregation. "I feel acknowledged for the first time in a long time," Woodson said. "They knew. They knew, and they did nothing." Savage, who is a pastor at a non-SBC church in Tennessee, could not be reached for comment. Woodson said leaders of the SBC church she was attending when she was abused in 1998 had told her to remain quiet, and by the time she decided to speak out, the statute of limitations had expired. Her story went viral in 2018, and this is the first time the SBC has acknowledged Savage's name publicly. Woodson said she was later committed to a psychiatric ward because she was depressed and had PTSD, lost her college degree and the career that she wanted, as a pilot (she is now a flight attendant). "I've lost so much," she said while sobbing. Her mother said she would lose her children if she came forward with the story of her abuse. Woodson, said she hopes the SBC will pursue more action than releasing the database Thursday, including establishing a survivor compensation fund and a memorial for survivors in Nashville. "Am I glad for the database?" said Woodson, 41. "Yes. It's one piece of the puzzle." In 2019, Woodson wrote to the leaders of Germantown Baptist Church in Tennessee to see if they would revoke the ordination of the man who confessed to his congregation that he had "a sexual incident" with Woodson when she was a teenager. According to Woodson, a church leader wrote back to her to say that the church had no comment. It did not respond to requests from The Washington Post for further comment. The Executive Committee on Wednesday set up a third-party hotline for sexual abuse survivors, run by Guidepost. The hotline may be reached at 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com. Mike Holloway, pastor of Ouachita Baptist Church in Louisiana and a board member on the Executive Committee, said while he is in favor of releasing the names to the public, he's nervous about the list including anyone who has denied abusing someone. "My fear is that we crucify and then we find out six months later we were wrong," Holloway said. "There may need to be reparations made . . . I'm all for that, that's where the churches have to step in." Holloway was also nervous about the idea floated earlier this week that the Executive Committee could take retirement benefits from longtime SBC leader August Boto, one of the leaders named throughout Guidepost's report who told members they couldn't develop a database. Guidepost's report revealed that a staff member working him was maintaining a secret list of accused ministers, including the minister's name, year the accusation was reported, relevant news articles, state and denomination. Boto could not be reached for comment. "Are we saying a person has to live a perfect life and makes a mistake in judgment, we're going to do everything we can to punish him and take his retirement?" Holloway said. "There's not much grace in that." - - - The Washington Post's Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. An Irrawaddy dolphin, identified by its roundish beak, swims in a river in Kratie province, Cambodia, March 25, 2007. Growing up, Nuru Majhi and his friends used to see dolphins jumping in Bangladeshs southern coastal waters. But now we see a lot less dolphins, the 58-year-old fisherman from Patuakhali district told BenarNews. The main cause of death is due to fishing nets. The number of fishermen has increased 10 times compared to 30 years ago. The deaths of two Irrawaddy dolphins earlier this month near Kuakata beach where Majhi fishes highlight the threat faced by the aquatic mammals in Bangladesh, which hosts the worlds largest population of the species, authorities and fishermen said. Bangladesh Forest Department officials recovered the remains of the dolphins on May 3 and 14, bringing the tally this year to at least eight. All were found in the same Kuakata beach area in Patuakhali, about 294 km (183 miles) south of Dhaka. Meanwhile on May 22, a local Bangladesh media report said that a pregnant female Irrawaddy dolphin had died after being hit by a trolling net. The report said the dolphin was found floating at the mouth of Andharmanik River in Patuakhali district that morning. The carcass of an Irrawaddy dolphin lies on the Kuakata beach in Bangladeshs Patuakhali district, May 14, 2022. [Courtesy Dolphin Conservation Committee of Kuakata, Bangladesh] The trend worries government authorities, environmentalists and fishermen. Similar concerns have been raised as the Irrawaddy population has plummeted on the Mekong River near Cambodias border with Laos. This is really a matter of concern for us that the Irrawaddy dolphins are dying, Abdullah Al Mamun, the division forest officer in Patuakhali district, told BenarNews. Forest officials were examining the causes of the latest dolphin deaths, he said. The Irrawaddy dolphin, which is distinct for its roundish head and lack of beak, is found in freshwater along with brackish shallow coastal waters in South and Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh to Mekong region and the Philippines. The name comes from the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar where the first specimens were described, according to riverdolphins.org, a website on dolphin conservation and management. Roman Imtiaz Tushar, a Kuakata wildlife activist, said 24 Irrawaddy dolphins were found dead in 2021, 18 in 2020 and 12 in 2019. Majhi, which means boatman in Bengali, said no fisherman intentionally kills a dolphin. Every dolphins death makes fishermen very sorry, he said. Dolphins are a very emotional type of animal. They move in groups. When one is entangled in a net, others come around the trapped dolphin. Courtesy International Whaling Commission Trapped in nets Sharif Uddin, a fisheries department official, said Kuakata and other adjacent coastal areas are rich in resources. The number of fishermen in this area has increased over the years. So more dolphins are getting trapped in the fishing nets, said Uddin, chief scientific officer for the marine fisheries survey management. In 2019, Dhaka adopted a Dolphin Conservation Action Plan to save the countrys population of Irrawaddy, a protected species, along with the Ganges River dolphin. The plan authorizes the fisheries department to work with fishermen, while the main task of saving and conserving the dolphins goes to the forest department. In line with the action plan, we have started awareness campaigns among the coastal fishermen so they can immediately release the dolphins, if possible, Uddin said. So, if we can make them more sensitive, there is a possibility that some of the dolphins trapped in the nets could be saved, he said. But locals said they do not always know whether a large fish or a dolphin has been entangled in their long nets and can rescue only those caught close to them. Once caught, the dolphins die in a maximum of 10 minutes, Majhi, the fisherman, said. A fisherman casts a net on the Mekong River, home to Irrawaddy dolphins, in Kratie province, Cambodia, March 24, 2007. [Reuters] Dolphins are mammals and need to take oxygen from the air at intervals of 10 minutes or less, according to M.A. Aziz, a zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka. They cannot take oxygen from the water like fish. Some fishermen use very thin and transparent nets which the dolphins cannot always detect. When they run after fish, they cannot detect the presence of the thin fishing net and get entangled with it, he told BenarNews. As a result, they suffocate and die underwater in a short time. Bangladeshs coasts and the coastal rivers host about 80 percent of the worlds Irrawaddy dolphins, Aziz said. Globally, the Irrawaddy population is about 7,000, according to experts and international studies. Figures for Bangladesh range from 5,800 to 6,000, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Conservation Society. The Irrawaddy dolphins are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with some river and coastal subpopulations designated as critically endangered. In February, the last known freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin on a stretch of the Mekong River near Cambodias border with Laos died after being snagged in a fishing net, said wildlife officials and villagers from both sides of the frontier. Overall, a few dozen of these dolphins survive in the Lower Mekong region. An Irrawaddy dolphin raises its tail swims in a river in Kratie province, Cambodia, March 24, 2007. [Reuters] The Irrawaddy population along the Mekong has declined from an estimated 200 in 1997 to 89 in 2020, according to riverdolphins.org. IUCN said the dolphin population level was satisfactory in Bangladesh waters where they are frequently spotted near the Sundarbans, the worlds largest mangrove forest, and the Meghna River estuary near Nijhum Dwip. It said the Irrawaddys regional habitat was affected by increasing salinity caused by climate change and freshwater withdrawals. The fresh water flow into the river system that is needed to produce a suitable mixture with salt water to create the proper habitation for dolphins has been reduced, environmentalists said. The forest department, which investigates each recorded dolphin death, has concluded that in most cases they were entangled in fishing nets or hit by trawlers. Tushar, the team leader at the Dolphin Conservation Committee in Kuakata, said the story of Irrawaddy dolphins dying in fishing nets, while true to a large extent, is not complete. Fishermen are everywhere along the Bangladesh coast and rivers. Why do we see dead dolphins come to the Kuakata beach year after year? We do not see such frequent deaths of dolphins in other parts of Bangladesh, Tushar told BenarNews. I think the government agencies must investigate seriously to find the true cause of death of the dolphins in Kuakata. Subel Rai Bhandari in Bangkok contributed to this report. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. QDANCE PERFORMANCE QDance to perform U.S. premiere of Re:INCARNATION at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y, Should a server at a restaurant have to tolerate casual misogynistic and racist comments because the owner says they're "good customers?" Of course not, columnist Allen Harris says. GREAT BARRINGTON District Attorney Andrea Harrington officially announced she is running for reelection on Saturday. This campaign is not about me, this campaign is about a movement for fair and just prosecution that is equitable to all, she told a group of about 60 people gathered at Town Hall Park. Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Harringtons campaign confirmed she would be seeking reelection, but Harrington had not yet made the formal announcement. She was elected as district attorney in 2018 after running on a progressive platform and working as a criminal defense attorney for 15 years. Now the incumbent is running against longtime trial attorney Timothy Shugrue, another Democrat, in the primary election this fall. I will be running on a record of accomplishments, Harrington said Saturday. She spoke of practices her office changed. We have ended the criminalization and over-prosecution of minor offenses. We prosecute those who are dangerous, we prosecute those who deserve it, but we provide paths to treatment for those that need it, and we totally remove the criminal justice system entirely when it causes more harm than good. Her office often declines to prosecute crimes like shoplifting, some motor vehicle offenses and possession of personal use amounts of drugs. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Harrington also spoke about her efforts to combat sexual assault and domestic violence. We expanded the current drug task force to include a violent crime section so that we have the best police officers across Berkshire County investigating the most serious crimes in our community, and that is sexual assault and domestic violence. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who was Harringtons law professor 20 years ago, endorsed her on Saturday. Were living in a time when we need to be putting our very finest public officials forward to run every institution weve got. Because democracy is all of us, its everything. Its not just federal, its state, its county, its local, its school board ... We need to be putting people in [with] the highest possible integrity and commitment in power, and thats Andrea Harrington. Shirley Edgerton, a community activist, spoke in support of Harrington, saying she created an equitable and just system in the prosecutors office. Black people represent 12% of the United States adult population, but 33% of the prison population, Edgerton said. While white individuals make up 64% of the adult population, and 30% of prisoners. Mass incarceration is real and represents Americas history of enslavement and racial bias. Edgerton praised Harringtons juvenile diversion program. We need DA Harrington to reduce pretrial jail time where individuals lives spiral downward [by] losing jobs and housing, setting up a scenario of desperation, Edgerton added. Gary Pratt, program director of Rural Recovery Resources, said he felt heard by Harrington. You continue to listen to people who are affected by substance use, and Im one of those people, a person [who is in] long-term recovery, he said. You understand that there are social determinants of health that guide addiction and that criminalizing addiction doesnt work. The state primary is scheduled for Sept. 6. Harringtons reelection committee had $12,358 on hand in cash at the end of April, according to the most recent report filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. WEST STOCKBRIDGE After a year of turmoil and a bitter election season in which voters rejected an incumbent two-term Select Board member, residents await yet another election to complete a three-member board. At the May 31 special election, voters will choose between candidates Andrew Krouss, a member of the Finance Committee, and former fire chief and board member Peter Skorput for the seat vacated early by Roger Kavanagh last month. In his resignation, Kavanagh cited his frustration with what he said is inefficiently-run government that is permeated with bias. Issue over access sparks struggle for restaurant in West Stockbridge WEST STOCKBRIDGE More than two decades ago, the town barred vehicles from a bridge off Main Street that spans the Williams River, converting Both Krouss and Skorput say they want no part in strife. Not everybody is going to like everybody else, but everyone should be in harmony and with respect, Krouss said. If you say it enough times certain people might believe it. I want to try to get everybody to work together again, Skorput said. Id rather work with somebody than fight them. The election comes nearly two weeks after Andrew Potter won the seat held by former Chairman Eric Shimelonis. The town factionalized the last few years amid increasing strife over a number of issues in government. The divide soon widened with a battle that began over noise and access last summer among the town and two businesses The Foundry performing arts venue and the Truc Orient Express restaurant. The owners of both say they continue to suffer over the situation. When the town elections rolled around, tempers were already high. A few things turned up the heat. Someone ran over one of Shimelonis campaign signs that was staked in his yard. Police investigated, but the culprit is still at large. Then came a flareup on the towns Facebook Community Board over a residents campaign sign in support of Potter. Potter, who created and administered that board, removed a post and comments he said were too uncivil and full of disinformation to remain. Residents accused him of censoring remarks critical to him. He paused the board days before the election to cool things down, then resumed it after the election and found another resident to run it to avoid a perceived conflict of interest, he said. Potter said he credits national news media for stirring up trouble locally. Here, thats taken the form of an artificial split between newcomers and locals. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Celebrities wade into West Stockbridge feud as permit hearing looms for The Foundry As a special permit hearing looms, the celebrities come out in force. Can both West Stockbridge businesses find a way to flourish as neighbors? Local politics has a tendency to model itself on what people are seeing in national media, he said. We have to focus on our local connections and neighbors. Everybody wants to be seen and heard and treated with respect. Shimelonis declined to comment on the situation. Skorput says he believes the town can heal. He thinks more transparency will help. He also thinks doing away with Zoom-only meetings is a good idea. He says he wants to help resolve The Foundry/Truc dispute. I want to work with [The Foundry], he said, noting that he does not want to push The Foundry out, contrary to rumor. Id hate to see any business in town fold up or leave. I want to make it work. I want to work it out reasonably. Attorney asks West Stockbridge board for noise conditions on Foundry permit One says its noise. The other calls it music. Regardless, the outcome will likely hinge on decibels. When asked if his serving on the board again would be plagued by his admission in 2020 to improprieties after a state ethics probe into his conduct, he said it would not, since he had made what he said were honest mistakes. I didnt file the proper paperwork I didnt steal anything, he said. If anybody wants to talk to me about it Ill talk to them. I have nothing to hide. Krouss said he hopes for compromise, and also believes the town can heal. With regard to the Foundry/Truc dispute, that will be resolved if each business is willing to win and lose a little. If two people are going to sit down with hatred and vitriol towards each other you wont get anywhere, he said. There are resolves without gouging each other or both. On healing, Skorput thinks cutting taxes would help that mission; Krouss thinks thats always something to shoot for, but that the ever-increasing school budget, as well as the cost of public services, are largely to blame not wasteful spending. Today Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm this evening, then some lingering showers still possible overnight. Low near 60F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Tonight Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm this evening, then some lingering showers still possible overnight. Low near 60F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Tomorrow Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 72F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The domestic business maintains double-digit growth in fourth quarter of FY 2021-22 JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals has emerged in a new avatar as JB, retaining its core value of being Good people for good health. The company announced its new identity during a recently held conference in Mumbai. In the financial year 2021-22, the company has recorded revenue of Rs 2424 crores as compared to Rs 2043 crores in FY 2020-21, registering a growth of 19 per cent. The sales growth for the last quarter was 18 per cent and domestic formulations continued their market-beating performance, recording a growth of 30 per cent. JBs international business witnessed double-digit growth across segments with a growth rate of 9 per cent YoY. A strong surge driven by the contract manufacturing business in South Africa and APIs has been recorded. Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain Its been a well-known watering hole in busy King Street for 158 years and visitors to the former Great Western Hotel often regale publican Damian Little with stories about the place. A man recently came in and said he worked here 50 years ago and lived upstairs, Little said. Others recall, in the 1980s, having a beer, scotch eggs and a cigarette for breakfast when the pub opened at 10am. Punters gather during the last days of Hotel Animal, formerly the Great Western Hotel. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Although it was rebranded the Hotel Animal two years ago after a few years of closure, playing 70s and 80s music and adorned with photos of Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, it was still a pub said Little. Chinas offering of a comprehensive security and economic pact to 10 Pacific nations shows it is confidently moving from a bilateral to a multilateral approach to the Pacific, and one that increasingly links trade with security. It is also an attempt to supplant the existing regional architecture of organisations like the Pacific Islands Forum. As competing foreign ministers Penny Wong and Wang Yi woo the region, Pacific nations will use the opportunity to increase their leverage, and who can blame them after decades of neglect from their traditional partners. They need basic infrastructure, climate action and renewable energy solutions, and more trade. If Australia, New Zealand and the United States cannot provide it then it becomes difficult to argue Pacific nations should not accept it from China. Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi face off in the Pacific. Credit:Eddie Lim The danger for Pacific islands in this delicate dance, however, is that China is not just another trading partner; it requires obedience to Chinas internal and external policies, the gradual loss of sovereignty and press freedoms, and potentially the end of their democratic systems. In 2019, I reported for this paper on how China had used bribes to win over enough MPs in the Solomon Islands to switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Beijing. I was in Solomons after being deported from Kiribati with a 60 Minutes crew for trying to report on their diplomatic switch. Before our exit, Kiribatis founding father Sir Ieremia Tabai, complained to us that he and the opposition leader no longer had access to local media and that democracy has died here. Should Labor retain the seat, Anthony Albanese will have his majority in Canberra. If Constance wins, the balance of power in Parliament may well rest with the Greens and independents. Its a fascinating, slightly Monty Python-esque twist to this election. I made my Labor opponents match everything that Ive done, he said of his campaign on the South Coast. Wouldnt matter if its filling in p you know, rebuilding roads, he said, correcting himself, ... through to the Nowra bypass. Its an issue that will have passed most Australians by, but whether Labor gets to govern with a majority may well come down to potholes. The Liberal candidate for Gilmore, Andrew Constance, admitted as much on election night when he was interviewed on the ABC. I know the potholes in question, a byproduct of the recent rain. Phillips calls them craters and they threaten to ruin the day of any unsuspecting driver who comes upon them. Theyre so deep and so violent that fed-up locals have started sending their car repair bills to Shoalhaven City Council. On just one rainy morning in April, an especially nasty hole knocked the tyres off half a dozen cars. Memes abound on the local Facebook page. In New Zealand, they drive on the left; in Australia, we drive on whats left, declares one. They can close our beaches but they cannot close our potholes, notes another, above a picture of a woman bathing amid the bitumen. Knowing it was the issue everyone was talking about, Constance got Scott Morrison down to Gilmore on the first day of the campaign to stand beside him and promise $40 million to fix the potholes I mean, rebuild the roads and upgrade an intersection. It was a promise quickly matched by Phillips. The Gilmore vote is perhaps a reminder that for all the big national issues at play during the election the economy, national security, gender equality local issues count, especially in regional areas. On the South Coast, voters were worried about roads, yes, but also about access to healthcare and the scarcity of affordable housing, and both parties recognised that. Few people realise that, though our political duopolists paint themselves as poles apart ideologically, the main thing that influences the choices they make is what the other sides doing. Governments are constrained by oppositions; oppositions are constrained by governments. See what this does? It makes the rival parties more alike. When I see you behaving badly but getting away with it, I decide Ill do the same. And if youre not sticking your neck out on climate action, I decide Id better not risk it either. Loading Thats why so many people complain the parties are all the same. An economist called Harold Hotelling formulated a rule that two firms serving an area ice cream sellers on a beach, for instance will tend to gravitate to the same central location. Why? Because they want to reduce the chance of the other side getting a bigger share of the market than they do. This, of course, reduces the choice available to customers. So, does it surprise you that, as the two sides of politics become more similar as they crowd around the political centre more people set up fringe parties, and more people vote for them? For many years, the Liberals used climate change as a stick to beat Labor over the head, making Labor more cautious in what it proposed. For years thats mean Labors lost many first-preference votes to the Greens. But this time the Libs lost votes to the teal independents in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and both sides lost votes to the Greens in Brisbane. Yet, just as commercial firms have become bigger over the decades, so politicians and their parties have changed. Economies of scale are one reason for fewer, bigger firms, but another technique weve used to get richer is specialisation and exchange. The more we specialise, the more efficient we get at doing whatever it is we do. So, does it surprise you that, as the two sides of politics become more similar as they crowd around the political centre more people set up fringe parties, and more people vote for them? By now, we have specialties within specialties. We have experts who know more and more about less and less. Politics used to be a game for amateurs. People whod done well in their careers, switched to politics to give something back. These days, politics has become more professionalised, more a lifetime career where, upon graduating, you start at the bottom as a research assistant for a union or a minister, and work your way up, becoming an MP, then a minister, then who knows? The more professional politicians become, the more they focus on advancing in the political game, and less on the things they got into politics to fix. They used to have to guess at what the voters wanted; now the majors spend a fortune on polling and focus groups. Theyre more inclined to give the voters what they now know they want, and tell them what they know they want to hear. Loading Voters have shown less loyalty to a particular party the more they suspect the pollies are advancing their own cause, not the publics. The minor parties and independents are more like the amateur politicians of old: they turned to politics after a career elsewhere and they did so because they cared about a few particular issues. A growing number of voters find these issue-driven politicians more attractive. The main political parties have changed, too. They used to be grassroots, bottom-up movements with many members. Now, they have few members and those they retain tend to be a lot more hard-line than the people who just vote for the party. With the professionalisation of politics, the two majors have become more top-down. Just as the interests of executives dont always align with those of their shareholders and supposed masters, so it is with political parties. Economists see this as a principal-and-agent problem. The two majors have become more like franchise operations. All the big decisions are made at the centre by the professional managers, leaving the franchisees to just flog the product. These days, the partys policies are made at the top, with party members getting little say. Loading In the old days, the branches main right and function was to preselect the candidates who would represent them in parliament. They tend to favour candidates who are well-known and well-liked in the district maybe a former mayor wholl work hard attending school fetes and advancing the electorates interests. As weve seen in this election, leaders and people at the centre increasingly insist on parachuting in someone with a higher profile and greater leadership potential. The party faithful increasingly resent this. The people at the top must wonder why they still need branches at all. Short answer: they still need enough volunteers to door-knock and man the booths on election day. Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith, who was sidelined by his partys leader after crashing his car into the fence of a Hawthorn home while drunk last year, has said he still wants a future in politics but that his party should abandon inner-city seats like his own and focus on outer suburbs. Speaking on Sky News Outsiders program on Sunday his first TV appearance in months Smith declared: Im uncancelled and Im back. Victorian state Liberal MP Tim Smith at a press conference in November. Credit:Justin McManus Smiths career collapsed in October after he ploughed his new Jaguar into the fence outside an eight-year-old childs bedroom and had his licence cancelled after driving more than two and a half times the legal alcohol limit. He subsequently resigned as shadow attorney general and is seeing out his term as the member for Kew until the state election in November. Singapore: A farce, a charade, a sham. The response from human rights groups to the United Nations interrogation of allegations of human rights abuse in China has been visceral and swift. The UN Human Rights Commissioner gained access to China for the first time in 17 years. On Saturday night in Guangzhou, Michelle Bachelet appeared willing to discuss anything but the details of her trip to Xinjiang. Rising wheat prices, global oil shortages, the Texas school shooting, and the situation in Yemen, Ukraine and Myanmar all of them were raised during Bachelets late-night press conference. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet. Credit:AP Bachelet praised China for improving womens rights, living standards and alleviating poverty, but said she was unable to assess whether human rights violations had taken place in Xinjiang in vocational training centres under what she described as Chinas anti-radicalisation and counter-terrorism measures. Uighurs call them prisons filled with parents, brothers and sisters detained for discussing Islam on WeChat, gathering in groups, or downloading an app. Others like Uighur woman Mihrigul Tursun say they have been stripped naked, raped, electroshocked and beaten while interrogated. Kyiv: Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraines leader also made a rare frontline visit to Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, to assess the strength of the national defence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the war-hit Kharkiv region. Credit:AP In the east, Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation there as indescribably difficult, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90 per cent of the buildings. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The first MFAA State Excellence Awards event for 2022 has celebrated the winners of the Queensland Excellence Awards at an in-person event. Held in Brisbane on Thursday night, the awards night was the first live event following two years of virtual ceremonies. The Queensland awards are the first of five state award events to be held over the coming weeks. MFAA CEO Mike Felton said the awards recognised those members who had excelled in areas including customer service, professionalism, ethics, growth and innovation. Its always wonderful to celebrate the great work of our members and our industry which is going from strength to strength, Felton said. To be able to share this moment with our members, who are now able to come up for clean air with the knowledge that the 2022 review of mortgage broker remuneration will not be taking place, added to our reasons for celebration. Read more: MFAA appoints new director to board Felton said the MFAA received an amazing number of high-calibre submissions in the awards this year. It was a privilege to be able to recognise all our finalists and of course congratulate all our winners, he said. The awards are audited by Hall Chadwick and are judged equally based on excellence and professionalism across all areas of business. All winners at the Queensland MFAA Excellence Awards will be finalists in the MFAA National Excellence Awards in their respective categories. Read more: Bendigo Bank named Australias most trusted bank The 2022 MFAA Queensland State Excellence Award winners are below. Being awarded national Broker of the Year at the Australian Mortgage Awards in 2021 provided a big boost to Louisa Sangheras brokerage. After winning last year, it has helped me to grow my business, Sanghera said. It is great for brand-building and promotion of our brokerage, especially on social media platforms. The director and principal broker of Zippy Financial is encouraging brokers to enter the 2022 Australian Mortgage Awards. Nominations are now open until 1 July. The awards are the premium event on the mortgage finance industry calendar, organised by Key Media and supported by Australian Broker and MPA. Sanghera said it was a no-brainer to any broker considering entering the AMAs. I think everybody should have a go, she said. Even if you are only nominated for an award, you can still advertise to your clients you are a finalist. If clients think, Wow, my broker is mentioned as an award-winning broker, it adds consumer confidence. It is also great to network with other successful brokers at award ceremonies to build your own network. Read more: Only half of Australians trust their banks, study reveals For 21 years, the Australian Mortgage Awards have been honouring the best in the business the top brokers and brokerages, BDMs, banks, non-banks and aggregators across the nation. The 2022 event will take place on 14 October at The Fullerton in Sydney, the first time it has been a live event since 2019. Westpac Bank is once again the proud event partner. Sanghera said winning last years Broker of the Year award was great for her business, her ability as a broker and for her advertising purposes. Zippy Financial also won the Most Effective Digital Strategy Brokerage award. When I can say to people that I am the 2021 Australian Broker of the Year winner, people assume that I am good at what I do. New clients do not question you or your abilities and they think they are working with the best of the best, she said. Client perception is an important part of advertising your business, and its great for brand exposure. Read more: First-home buyers fear being priced out Sanghera said 90% of her brokerages new business was generated online, so being relevant on social media platforms was key. It is a great tool to use to keep in contact with clients and bring in new ones, she said. The Australian Mortgage Awards 2022 will feature 25 categories plus the two main awards Westpac Australian Broker of the Year and Liberty Australian Brokerage of the Year. The AMAs are sponsored by Westpac (event partner), Adelaide Bank, BOQ Broker, CBA, Dye & Durham, Equity-One, MFAA, La Trobe Financial, Liberty, FBAA, Mortgage Choice, MSA National, NextGen, Prime Capital and Resimac. To nominate, go to Australian Mortgage Awards 2022 On October 8, 1957, a Soviet newspaper reported that residents of Cheliabinsk, a city near the Ural Mountains, had spotted an intensive luminescence, sometimes changing to pale pink and pale blue, along the horizon. Cheliabinsk was located too far south to have had much experience with the aurora borealis, but the newspaper told its readers they happened to be seeing just that a rare and gorgeous treat. The Northern Lights, the article concluded, will remain visible in the Southern Ural latitudes. What readers were seeing would indeed remain visible, but the rest of the sentence was a lie. Those Northern Lights were in fact billions of irradiated particles that had been released into the air when a plutonium production plant exploded in nearby Kyshtym. Its just one of many obfuscations, deceptions and outright fabrications recounted by Serhii Plokhy in his frightening new history of nuclear disasters across the world. Dr Plokhy, a historian at Harvard, has written previous about Chernobyl and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the acknowledgments in Atoms and Ashes, he says the book began as a response to readers who wanted to know whether the Soviet response to Chernobyl was in any way unique. He notices some patterns in nuclear accidents, including the exceedingly common impulse among governments to hide information and, later, to spin or distort it; but Dr Plokhy is too committed to the specifics of each catastrophe to succumb to the temptation of making a grand case. Every nuclear disaster is terrible in its own way. Atoms and Ashes recounts six accidents in detail, the first three connected to atoms for war (bomb-making) and the last three connected to atoms for peace (energy production). Theres the radioactive fallout after the Castle Bravo nuclear test of 1954, when the tested a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands; the explosion at Kyshtym, in 1957; the Windscale fire in Britain, also in 1957; the partial meltdown at Pennsylvanias Three Mile Island, in 1979; the meltdown in Chernobyl, in 1986; and the Fukushima disaster in Japan, in 2011. The global scope of such dire subject matter means that the experience of reading this book is a formidable exercise in cumulative disillusionment. By the time you get to the Soviets lies about the Northern Lights, you will have already read about how their American adversaries tried to cover up the extent of radioactive fallout after the Castle Bravo test in the Pacific insisting that the skin lesions suffered by some unfortunate Japanese fishermen nearby was the result not of radiation but vaporized coral. (As Dr Plokhy notes, this coral dust was itself radioactive.) In a subsequent chapter on Britains Windscale fire, you will learn how an official report detailing the full scale of the disaster was suppressed by the prime minister, Harold Macmillan, who ordered the printers to destroy their type. Macmillan released his own interpretation of what happened at Windscale, when equipment problems and human error resulted in a raging reactor fire. He placed the blame squarely on the personnel, who felt enormously insulted, considering it was their skilled reaction that managed the fire and prevented an actual meltdown. Dr Plokhy makes clear that human error certainly played a part the reactor was long overdue for what is known as a periodic annealing, a process to release excess energy. But Windscales operators were responding to government pressure to produce more plutonium and tritium; it was also the government that pushed to build Windscale quickly and cheaply. When Britains chief nuclear scientist, John Cockcroft, insisted that Windscale add some radiation filters during its construction, other officials gave only grudging approval, calling the filters Cockcrofts folly. Those filters ended up trapping most of the radiation; without them, the lasting damage to the surrounding area would have been much worse. Atoms and Ashes shows how the nuclear industry requires vast amounts of trust in the establishment in scientific experts, government officials and corporate figures, a number of whom didnt exactly acquit themselves well in the dismal examples recounted here. Part of this has to do with the real limits of knowledge; for all the confident pronouncements and safety guarantees, the awesome power of nuclear energy doesnt always behave in ways that are predicted. Not to mention that the effects of radiation exposure can vary wildly. One Windscale manager who had battled the fire directly lived until the age of 90, insisting until the end that being irradiated didnt have any impact on him at all. But other people have suffered horrifically, in secret. Contaminated milk, radioactive hot spots, mysterious cancers the lag time between an accident and its effects can impede efforts to calculate the full scope of a disaster. And then there is the question of how to dispose of spent fuel, a problem that has been punted to future generations. The existing nuclear industry is an open-ended liability, Dr Plokhy writes. With catastrophic climate change bearing down on us, nuclear power has been promoted by some as an obvious solution, but this sobering history urges us to look hard at that bargain for what it is. 2022 The New York Times News Service The has given its green light to to take over Ford Indias passenger car plant in Sanand. The state Cabinet has issued a no-objection certificate for the purpose. It is now up to the to work out the nitty gritties, a senior government official told Business Standard. According to the official, would continue to enjoy the incentives that were extended to . A source in also confirmed the nod from the Gujarat Cabinet. However, a Tata Motors spokesperson declined to comment. ALSO READ - Ford Motor ceasing production in India leaves its workers high and dry Now, Tata Motors is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ford Motor Company after working out issues pertaining to the plant, including labour and financial matters. The Tata Group had been meeting state governments of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for a potential takeover of Ford Indias plants. This came after Ford had announced its exit from India last year. The Sanand plant has around 2,500 permanent workers, including nearly 900 union workers, mostly on the shop floor. After passenger cars were discontinued, workers at Sanand were engaged in manufacturing spare parts for Ford cars, apart from engines. However, the company had set an internal deadline for the car plant up to March 2022 for manufacturing spare parts. Last year, Ford was in talks with like Ola and Mahindra for contract manufacturing or for the sale of both factories. This did not work out and led to the closure announcement. Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Saturday nominated two Padma Shree awardees as candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls. The AAP has fielded environmental activist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal and businessman-turned-philanthropist Vikramjit Singh Sahney for the Rajya Sabha polls from Punjab. Taking to Twitter, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, "I am very happy to inform you that the is nominating two Padma Shri awardees as members of the Rajya Sabha... one environment lover Padma Shri Sant Balbir Singh Sinchewal, the other Padma Vikramjit Singh Sahni related to Punjabi culture. ... my best wishes to both." The term of two Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, Ambika Soni (Congress) and Balwinder Singh Bhunder (Shiromani Akali Dal) is coming to an end on July 4. (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.) Thirty officials of Assam's Cachar district administration signed a memorandum and submitted it to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing BJP legislator Kaushik Rai of misbehaving, insulting, and threatening civil servants on duty. According to the officials, the BJP MLA of Lakhipur constituency questioned the integrity of the entire Civil Services cadre. The Civil Servants in their letter cited an instance where the MLA said a block development officer on flood relief duty should be "beaten up". Rai allegedly had personally attacked circle officers calling him a "Rice Chor" adding that their bodies will be infested by maggots. In another instance, the letter stated, that the BJP MLA spoke of "slapping" Circle Officer Dipankar Nath. "Several incidents of physical abuse and derogatory remarks on civil servants have rocked our state several times in the past, the recent use of severe use of unparliamentary language and violent threatening of officers on duty by MLA Lakhipur has severely demoralised the Civil Service offices fraternity of the entire district," stated the letter. (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.) Children who previously had Covid-19 or the inflammatory condition MIS-C, associated with the virus, are not protected against the newer variant, finds a study. The study, published in Nature Communications, showed that vaccination, however, does afford protection. Though Covid was rare and mild in children, some of those infected faced severe multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines MIS-C as a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. "I hear parents say, 'Oh, my kid had Covid last year'. But we found that antibodies produced by prior infections in children don't neutralise Omicron, meaning that unvaccinated children remain susceptible to Omicron," said Adrienne Randolph, from the Boston Children's Hospital. The researchers obtained blood samples from 62 children and adolescents hospitalised with severe Covid, 65 children and adolescents hospitalised with MIS-C, and 50 outpatients who had recovered from mild Covid-19. All the samples were taken during 2020 and early 2021, before the emergence of the variant. In the laboratory, they exposed the samples to a pseudovirus (derived from SARS-CoV-2, but stripped of its virulence), and measured how well antibodies in the samples were able to neutralise five different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and . Overall, children and adolescents showed some loss of antibody cross-neutralisation against all five variants, but the loss was most pronounced for Omicron. "Omicron is very different from previous variants, with many mutations on the spike protein, and this work confirms that it is able to evade the antibody response," Randolph said. "Unvaccinated children remain susceptible." In contrast, children who had received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine showed higher neutralising antibody titers against the five variants, including Omicron. Randolph hopes these data will encourage parents to have their children and teenagers vaccinated. An the Food and Drug Administration panel will meet on June 15 to consider authorisation of Covid vaccines for children under age 5. --IANS rvt/ksk/ (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 Ship (INS) Gomati was decommissioned on May 28 from the naval dockyard in Mumbai, informed the Ministry of Defence in an official release. The ship was paid off under the command of Captain Sudip Malik in a poignant ceremony. "After INS Gomati's decommissioning, the ship's legacy will be kept alive in an open-air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the eponymous river Gomti in Lucknow where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics," read the statement. INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on 16 April 1988 by then defence minister,KC Pant, at Mazagon Dock Limited (Mumbai). The third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates, INS Gomati was also the oldest warrior of the western fleet when decommissioned. During her service, she participated in numerous operations including Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. IMS Gomati was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20, for remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to maritime security. (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 Police on Sunday shot down a drone coming from the border side in Talli Haria Chak under Rajbagh Police Station in the J-K's Kathua district. According to the police, the drone had a payload attached to it, which is currently being screened by the bomb disposal experts in the Union Territory. On the basis of drone activity observed in the said area, an early morning search party of police visits the general area every morning and today they shot down the drone. "Today early morning, the search party observed a drone coming from the border side and fired at it. The drone was shot down. It has a payload attachment with it which is being screened by the bomb disposal experts," said the J-K police. (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.) Even though the government's flagship has on an average covered 50 per cent rural households in the country, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and continue to have below 25 per cent coverage of functional tap water connection. has the lowest coverage at 13.75 per cent, followed by at 20.01 per cent, Chhattisgarh 23.26 per cent and at 24.58 per cent, according to official data. The government's flagship initiative aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. Of the 19.13 crore rural households in the country, 9.59 crore of them have access to functional tap water connections. Goa, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry and Haryana have already achieved 100 per cent household water connections, while Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have covered more than 90 per cent households and are progressing fast towards attaining the status of 'Har Ghar Jal', according to official data. On Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, a senior official said it was a matter of concern and the Centre was working with states to resolve the issues. The official said even though coverage was low in these states, groundwork for establishing functional tap water connections was at an advanced stage and results would soon be visible. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, tap water connections are also being provided to government schools, gram panchayat offices, community health centres (CHCs) and anganwadi centres. According to official data, tap water supply has been given to 8.6 lakh schools, 8.89 lakh anganwadi centres, and 3.51 lakh gram panchayat offices and CHCs. Among states and union territories, has the lowest coverage of tap water connections in schools and anganwadi centres at 17.99 per cent and 4.57 per cent, respectively. (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.) An important four-hour long meeting was held between Core Committee of state legislators and an NSCN-IM delegation. At the meeting on Saturday near Dimapur, V.S. Atem led the NSCN-IM delegation, while the Core Committee was headed by Chief Minister . "It was a lengthy and fruitful meeting," said Planning Minister Neiba Kronu. Former Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang said the potent Naga underground group has been specifically urged not to derail the peace process or walk away from the talks process. "Only through talks this settlement can come," he said. Meanwhile, informed sources said that at the May 31 'emergency meeting of Naga national assembly', NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah will deliver a "political talk". His address would be like a "report on the Indo-Naga political talks", the sources added. Muivah, the most powerful NSCN-IM leader, had skipped Saturday's meeting. During the recent visit of an NSCN-IM delegation to New Delhi for parleys with peace emissary A.K. Mishra, the aging Muivah was not present. The sources said that after Muivah's address on May 31 at the NSCN-IM's camp headquarters, there will be a general discussion on the 'Indo Naga Political talks' and the declaration of vow. All key leaders are expected to attend the May 31 meeting and Centre also expects "more clarity" will come on contentious issues such as a Flag and a separate Naga Constitution. A 10-member NSCN (IM) delegation led by Atem camped in Delhi recently and held at least two rounds of important parleys with the Mishra. The Central government has rejected demands for a separate Flag and Constitution. Close scrutiny Saturday's meeting suggests there were still 'hopes' about Naga peace talks and an early solution. "Extortion is a menace, everyone agrees. There should be an early Solution everyone agrees. So it's all positive and no bitterness and harshness," a source told IANS. "Saturday's deliberations were positive and even the militant group (NSCN-IM) did not contest the general sentiment of Naga legislators including from BJP that there should be an early solution." NNPG, the umbrella body of seven Naga militant groups led by N. Kitovi Zhimomi, has been also strongly in favour of early signing of a peace pact to resolve the state's decades-old insurgency and political problem. The Naga peace talks have been put on a fast track during the last one month as the Assembly elections in the state are due by February-March 2023. The complexities in the talks have also forced to explore other avenues. One suggestion has been the voluntary resignation of the incumbent NDPP-BJP ministry and imposition of a President's Rule. The state at present does not have an exclusive Governor as Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi is holding additional charge. The Central government agencies had last week expressed concern over extortion and money collecting venues at various places in the state and the same sentiment was also reportedly shared by Governor Mukhi. The Home Department has subsequently ordered abolition of many such counters. There are other issues as well and some influential bodies have strongly pressed for an early solution. In a statement, the influential Ao Students' Conference said: "For decades, Naga citizens have quietly endured extortion of national workers, but we have been denied the Naga solution. For how long will the Naga citizens be kept in the dark?" In February, the Naga Tribal Council in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that "the only task left at the moment is for the government of India to take a call for signing the agreement". Last month, the NNPG had also month demanded that the government must step aside and facilitate an early solution. (Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of books, "The Talking Guns: North East India" and "Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth". Views are personal) --IANS nirendra/ksk/ (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.) In some bad news for people who are fond of Lucknowi Dussehri and other varieties of mangoes, the production of the king of the fruits has been hit by around 70 per cent in the mango belt of due to adverse weather conditions this year, according to growers. The prices of the pulpy fruit are also expected to soar this summer season due to low production, they said. "The production of mangoes in ranged from 35 to 45 lakh metric tonnes every year, but this time production of 10-12 lakh metric tonnes is expected. Therefore, mango will be sold in the market at a very high price and people fond of mango will have to spend more money," Mango Growers Association of India President Insram Ali told PTI. Unusually high temperature during the flowering season in February and March this year has hit the mango crop, Ali said. A maximum temperature of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius is required during the flowering season but this year the temperature soared to 40 degrees Celsius in March itself, damaging the mango flowers, he added. Malihabad of is the major centre of and its Dussehri mango is famous all over the world for its flavour. Mohammad Naseem, a mango grower from Malihabad, said that he has never seen such a bad mango crop in his entire life. "Thousands of mango growers of UP have suffered a setback due to the destruction of the mango crop," he said. According to meteorologists, the month of March was the hottest in the last 122 years while the month of April was the hottest in the last 50 years. Insram Ali said that the mangoes of UP are exported to many countries, including Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK and Germany. However, this year the state will not be able to meet the domestic demand itself. In a double whammy, mango exporters who could not send the fruit to overseas markets in the last two years due to the Covid-19-related restrictions would suffer losses this year also. "Exporters were hopeful that this time they will make good profits but the crop failure has dented their hopes," Ali added. India is the largest producer of mango in the world and accounts for around 50 per cent of the global mango output. Mangoes are grown in many states, including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Gujarat, but there is a special demand for Lucknowi Dussehri in the market. Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Hardoi, Saharanpur, Barabanki and Sitapur are known as the mango belt of . (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 43-year-old plane operated by a private airline in mountainous has been found after it went missing Sunday morning with 22 people on board, a report said. News agency ANI report quoted an online news website to say the aircraft was detected Kowang, Mustang. The chief of Nepals Tribhuvan International Airport was quoted by ANI as saying that the status of the plane is yet to be ascertained. "Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number :+977-9851107021," the Indian embassy in tweeted. The plane has four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers besides a three member Nepali crew, said Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson for Tara Air. The airline issued the list of passengers which identified four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Dhanush Tripathi, Ritika Tripathi, and Vaibhawi Tripathi. The three member crew of the aircraft was led by captain Prabhakar Prasad Ghimire. Utsav Pokhrel is the co-pilot while Kismi Thapa is the air hostess, My Republica newspaper reported, quoting Pokhara Airport Information Officer Dev Raj Adhikari. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Jomsom Airport in the Western mountainous region at 10:15 am. The aircraft lost contact with the tower from the sky above Ghorepani on the Pokhara-Jomsom air route, PTI reported quoting aviation sources. The plane lost contact with the control tower five minutes before it was due to land at Jomsom, a popular tourist and pilgrimage site, an airline official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the missing De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft with registration number 9N-AET made its first flight in April 1979. The country's weather office said there had been thick cloud cover in the Pokhara-Jomson area since the morning. Police official Prem Kumar Dani said a land rescue-and-search team had been sent to the area near Mount Dhaulagiri, the world's seventh-highest peak at 8,167 m (26,795 ft). Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically sited in difficult-to-reach mountainous areas. In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board. In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in . (With inputs from agencies) Even as the BJP is preparing for a mega celebration across the country to mark the completion of 8 years of the government, the party's 'Mission Expansion' is in full swing. After 2014, the BJP has been winning continuously in other states except Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and the southern states. The BJP's biggest concern currently remains South India. Since its formation in 1980, the BJP has been continuously trying to increase its base in South India. Karnataka is the only state in South India where the BJP has managed to form its government besides the Union Territory of Puducherry. But despite all its efforts, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu remain a challenge for the saffron party. Assembly elections are to be held in the southern states of Karnataka and Telangana in 2023, while in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the elections will be held in 2026. During his party president tenure, Union Home Minister had prepared a special plan regarding the party's 'Mission South India', which the current BJP president JP Nadda is trying to implement. The most important thing is that the party's top leadership -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JP Nadda and -- have taken the responsibility to lead from the front to make the BJP's 'Mission South India' a success. After Karnataka, now the BJP top leadership has high hopes from Telangana, so the party is going all out in that state. JP Nadda and are constantly touring the state. The party's national general secretary BL Santosh is monitoring the efforts to strengthen the party there. Prime Minister visited the state on May 26 in a bid to increase the BJP's base there. Addressing a rally in Hyderabad, Modi accused the state's TRS government and the Chief Minister of dynastic rule and superstition, saying that where dynastic parties are rooted out, rapid development takes place there. Describing the dynastic parties as the enemies of democracy, he said that nepotism takes away opportunities from the youth and crushes their dreams because they only fill their own coffers and can never do any good to the state. Referring to the decade-long agitation for the formation of Telangana state, the Prime Minister said that this movement was not for the welfare of one family but for the future of Telangana, for the glory of Telangana. Modi made his intentions clear by visiting Chennai in Tamil Nadu on May 26 itself. Though the Assembly elections are to be held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu only in 2026, but before that in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, the party wants to send out a signal to the voters of the rise of the BJP by proving its mettle in these two states. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, so by increasing the party's base in Kerala, the BJP wants to surround the Left Front government in the state as well as Rahul Gandhi. Union Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections in Amethi, had also recently visited Wayanad. The five states of South India -- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka -- elect 129 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, these five states can play a big role in forming the government, so it has become crucial for the BJP to increase its support base in these states. They are receiving special attention in programmes to strengthen the party and increase the support base in 73,000 weak booths across the country. --IANS stp/uk/bg (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.) Amidst inclement weather, a Army helicopter has located the site where the small plane of a local airline with 22 people on board, including four Indians, has possibly crashed, media reports quoted the country's civil authority as saying on Sunday. The Twin Otter 9N-AET plane belonging to Nepal's Tara Air took off at 10:15 am from Pokhara, and lost contact with the control tower 15 minutes later, according to an airline spokesperson. A Army helicopter carrying 10 soldiers and two employees of the civil authority landed on the bank of a river near the Narshang Monastery, the possible site of the crash, according to My Republica newspaper. A Army helicopter has landed on the river bank near Narshang Gumba," Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Interestingly, the airplane was located after Nepal Telecom tracked down the cellphone of the airplane's Captain Prabhakar Ghimire through the Global Positioning System (GPS) network. The cell phone of Captain Ghimire of the missing aircraft has been ringing and Nepal Army's helicopter has landed in the possible accident area after tracking the captain's phone from Nepal Telecom, Thakur said. We have also sent Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel on foot for the search," he added. There are four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers besides a three member Nepali crew, said Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson at the airlines. "Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number:+977-9851107021," the Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted. The airline has issued the list of passengers, which identified four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Dhanush Tripathi, Ritika Tripathi, and Vaibhawi Tripathi. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Jomsom Airport in the Western mountainous region at 10:15 am. The aircraft lost contact with the tower from the sky above Ghorepani on the Pokhara-Jomsom air route, sources said. According to an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport, they have an unconfirmed report about a loud noise in Ghasa of Jomsom. The weather condition at Pokhara-Jomsom route is currently cloudy with rainfall, which was affecting the search operations, according to the airline's sources. Earlier, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand had directed authorities to intensify the search operations for the missing aircraft. The aircraft was last tracked taking a turn toward the Dhaulagiri Peak, officials said. Tara Air is the newest and biggest airline service provider in the Nepalese mountains, according to the airline website. It started business in 2009 with the mission of helping develop rural Nepal. (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.) (J&K) Lieutenant Governor, and Union minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday inaugurated the north India's first Industrial Biotech Park constructed at Ghatti near Kathua. On the occasion, the Lt Governor said that the Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will transform the economy and enable scientists to tackle challenges of climate change. The enabling infrastructure will fuel new wave of innovation and impact various sectors, from health and agriculture to cosmetics and materials, he added. The Lt Governor observed that new Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will provide Startups, Young Entrepreneurs and SMEs the tools that can make production cheaper, manageable and environmentally sustainable. Together with advances in data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, the biotech park will accelerate change, he said. It will be vital futuristic asset of agri-horticulture entrepreneurs, startups, researchers, youth entrepreneurs and scientists of the region, he added. With new biotech capabilities and innovation, J&K, bestowed with more than 3500 medicinal plant species, will be able to harness market advantages in the most effective way and help the farmers to generate more income, asserted the Lt Governor. Sinha further said that under the leadership of Prime Minister, the new Industrial Development Scheme has enabled J&K to fetch investment of more than Rs 38,800 crore as on dates, which also includes proposals of 338 industrial units associated with the biotech sector in some way or the other. The establishment of organic based and pharmaceutical companies will definitely be successful in linking the abundant natural wealth neglected for decades with the industry, he added. The Lt Governor said that another Biotech Park at Handwara, Kupwara is under construction and the park will cost Rs. 84.66 Crore, shared between Department of Biotechnology, GoI and Science and Technology Department of the UT government. Meanwhile, Union minister Jitendra Singh said that the Biotech Park would act as hub for incubation of new ideas and will act as a robust platform to support the agri-entrepreneurs, startups, progressive farmers, scientists, scholars and students not only from and Ladakh but also from nearby states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. He said that the park at Kathua has a potential to produce 25 startups in a year which will be among its great contributions to this region. --IANS zi/shs (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 five-member Pakistani delegation will visit India next week for talks on the water dispute between the two countries, according to a media report on Saturday. The talks will be held in New Delhi from May 30-31, the Dawn newspaper quoted Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehr Ali Shah as saying. The delegation would make the trip through the Wagah Border. "There will be talks on the sharing of flood forecast data while the PCIW (Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Water) annual report will also be discussed during the negotiations," Shah said. He said the Pakistani delegation will not visit under construction Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai dams but those and other projects will come under discussion. In March, India and Pakistan had reiterated their commitment to implement the Indus Waters Treaty in its true spirit and expressed the hope that the next meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission would be held at an early date in India. Under the relevant provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, the meeting takes place alternatively in Pakistan and India annually. (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 plane with 19 passengers, including four Indians, and three crew members went missing in on Sunday shortly after taking off, aviation authorities said. In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of said the Tara Airlines twin-otter plane was en route to Pokhara from Mustang. A search operation is underway to locate the which went missing soon after it took off from the Jomsom Airport in Mustang, the airline said. Of the 19 passengers, 13 were Nepalis, four Indians and two others whose nationalities were not immediately known. The bearing call-sign 9 NAET had flown from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 AM and went out of contact after reaching the Lete area of Mustang. As per the State TV, the missing was hosting 4 Indians among others. "The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn't come into contact," Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma confirmed ANI over the phone.As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the "Titi" area of Lete in Mustang District. "Locals from Titi have called and informed us that they have heard an unusual sound as if there was some bang. We are deploying a helicopter to the area for the search operation," Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, Mustang told ANI. The Home Ministry has deployed two private helicopters from Mustang and Pokhara for the search for missing aircraft. Army chopper is also being prepared to be deployed for the search, said Phadindra Mani Pokharel, spokesperson at Home Ministry told ANI over the phone. Mustang is one of the mountainous and fifth-largest districts of the Himalayan nation which hosts the pilgrimage of Muktinath Temple. The district, also known as "Land beyond the Himalayas", is located in the Kali Gandaki valley of the Himalayan region of Western Nepal.Mustang (from the Tibetan Muntan meaning "fertile plain") the traditional region is largely dry and arid. The world's deepest gorge that goes down three miles vertical between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains runs through this district. In what could come as a relief to millions, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala on Sunday, three days ahead of its normal onset date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The Met department said conditions have been satisfied for declaration of onset of monsoon over Kerala on Sunday. These conditions are depth of westerly winds extending up to 4.5 km above mean sea level and strength of the westerly winds increasing over southeast Arabian Sea. They also include a rise in cloudiness over southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining areas of Kerala and widespread rainfall activity over Kerala during the past 24 hours. In the past 24 hours, out of the 14 rainfall monitoring stations for declaring onset of monsoon over Kerala, 10 have received rainfall of 2.5 mm or more. Earlier, the had forecast onset over Kerala on May 27. The prediction was with a model error of four days. For the coming few days, the said that conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some parts of central Arabian Sea and remaining parts of Kerala. It will also progress to some parts of Tamil Nadu, parts of Karnataka, parts of Bengal and northeastern states during the next 3-4 days. Timely onset of monsoon may be a good sign but it does not guarantee strong progress across the country. However, if rains arrive on time in key agriculture regions of Central, North and West India, it could spur sowing of kharif crops. In this region, acreage this year is expected to be good due to remunerative returns to farmers in the just-concluded rabi harvest. Farm production depends not only on the amount of rain but timeliness and geographical spread of the monsoon. Private weather forecasting agency Skymet has said that monsoon in the first half of the 2022 season (June and July) is expected to be much better than the second half. This could have a serious impact on the final harvest of crops. It is because July and August are the most important months in terms of total rain in the four-month monsoon season. Last month, the said that monsoon over the country in 2022 could be normal at 99 per cent of the long period average (LPA). The forecast is with a model error of plus or minus 5 per cent. Monsoon between 96 and 104 per cent of the LPA is considered normal. Earlier, Skymet had said that the southwest monsoon in 2022 was expected to be normal at 98 per cent of the LPA. Skymets forecast, too, is with an error margin of plus or minus 5 per cent. The first-ever Indian winner of the International Booker Prize, Geetanjali Shree, has had a roller coaster few days since her Hindi novel Ret Samadhi' won the coveted literary honour for its English translation Tomb of Sand' this week. The Delhi-based author, along with American translator Daisy Rockwell, has been inundated with messages from around the world and the duo finds themselves swept away in a kind of whirlwind of excitement. One aspect that has dominated the headlines is the spotlight on in the Hindi language, which the author hopes will trigger some serious efforts at maintaining the momentum. In its immediate aftermath, this has definitely done something to increase the visibility of Hindi . An interest and curiosity have been generated, Shree tells PTI in an interview. More serious sustained and organised efforts, however, will be required to really bring Hindi centre-stage. A prominent role in that will have to be played by publishers, especially in facilitating good translations from such literature. I want to emphasise that this holds true not just for Hindi but for all South Asian languages, she asserts. When asked if she fears that Hindi may be getting overshadowed by English in some ways in India, the author stressed that it should not have to be a choice of either or because languages have the ability to enrich each other. It is sad that it was ours and it's available to us and a lot of us have lost it. But I think it doesn't have to be Hindi or English. What is the problem in being bilingual or trilingual or multilingual, she reflects. I think humans have the capacity to know more than one language. We should just have an education system which encourages people to know their mother tongue, or another Indian language, and English; what's the problem? But it gets completely riddled with politics and becomes a kind of unresolvable problem, she says. As someone who has been writing in Hindi for many years now, the 64-year-old author believes creative expression comes best in the language that one is intuitively closest to. It's a kind of sensual connection with the language. It's the smell and the taste and the sight of certain things which have come to you through Hindi, rather than through English. And it just automatically becomes the language that you want to express your creativity in, she shares. For Rockwell, as a prolific translator who fell in love with Hindi during her college days, sees 'Ret Samadhi' as a "love letter to the Hindi language". It's a delight that many bilingual readers choose to read both works simultaneously to get the full flavour of what the Booker judges have praised as a luminous novel of India and Partition. I love that a lot of people are reading them side by side. I think that shows the real value of a translation when it brings people to the original and makes them want to go back, says Rockwell, who is also the illustrator behind the cover of the book. At 725 pages, the English translation runs almost double of the Hindi original, something the translator attributes to the mysterious way" the two languages are different. But that Shree and Rockwell are perfectly in sync is obvious when they complete each other's sentences and describe their coming together as a kismet connection. But the process did involve many "friendly" debates on phraseology, starting with the title itself. Samadhi, the original title, means many things. It's a very rich word. And so, to capture that in Tomb, she [Shree] felt she was losing that rich word but I promised to incorporate the word throughout the text, recalls Rockwell. The very act of submitting to a translation, therefore, implies some risk on the part of an author, but Shree isn't too daunted by it as long as she feels she can trust the translator to capture the atma or spirit of the work. I think one has to realise that everything is going to be read every single time differently. The moment the book is out of your hands and it's going to readers, it is going to be read in many different ways. It's already out of your hands you have to let go, explains Shree. Her next work, which she is not disclosing yet, is almost ready to be handed over to the publishers after she has emerged from the Booker Prize frenzy. I've never seen my phone behave this way it's so heart-warming; messages saying all of India is celebrating, with pictures of little feasts, she shares. The author of three novels and several story collections, Mainpuri-born Shree's works have been translated into English, French, German, Serbian, and Korean. Tomb of Sand', the first of her books to be published in the UK in English and which she has described as an elegy for the world we inhabit, impressed the Booker judges with its playful tone and exuberant wordplay. The book now travels to the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in Wales this weekend and the Jaipur Literature Festival in London next month, before Shree heads back to Delhi to her nearly finished manuscript. (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 on Sunday expressed grief over the loss of life due to a road in Bahraich. "Praying for peace to the departed souls," the Chief Minister said while extending his condolences to the bereaved families. "I express deep regret for the people who lost their lives in the road in Bahraich. I wish peace to the family of departed souls," Adityanath told the mediapersons in Lucknow, . Earlier on Sunday, five people died and around 12 were injured when a tempo traveller and truck collided in the Motipur area of Bahraich in . (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Ministry of Health on Saturday confirmed the country's second monkeypox case. The case is of a 30-year-old man who arrived at Sheba Hospital in central Israel with symptoms of the viral disease. The suspicion was later confirmed through a sample tested at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, according to the ministry. The case is the second infection since a first diagnosis on May 21. A man in his 30s was hospitalized in mild condition at Ichilov Hospital in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. The ministry noted that it keeps track of global information about the disease and is in touch with health authorities worldwide. Monkeypox is common in wild animals like primates and rodents, but humans can also get infected. Symptoms include skin rashes, fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. The rash eventually forms a scab, which later falls off, indicating that the person is no longer infectious. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly set to announce a return to imperial measurements of pounds and ounces as a post- move away from the European metric system to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next week. As part of a series of announcements to celebrate the 96-year-old monarch's 70 years on the British throne, UK media reports indicate that Johnson is preparing a nostalgic move away from another European Union (EU) influence on the country. It is also being seen as an attempt to placate his strong voter base in the wake of the partygate scandal of COVID lockdown breaching parties at Downing Street, which have angered many voters. As the British people have been happy to use both imperial and metric measurements in their daily life it is good for the government to reflect that now we are free to change our regulations accordingly, The Mirror newspaper quoted a Cabinet source as saying. At present, shopkeepers are legally obliged to use metric measurements such as grams, kilograms, milli-litres and litres when selling packaged or loose goods in England, Scotland and Wales. As opposed to the metric system of weight, in which 1,000 grams are equivalent to one kilogram, under the imperial system there are 14 pounds in a stone and 16 ounces in a . While it is still legal to price goods in pounds and ounces, these have to be displayed alongside the price in grams and kilograms. Since 2000, when the EU weights and measures directive came into force businesses have been legally required to use metric units for the sale by weight or measure of fresh produce. Under the post- move, metric units are not expected to be scrapped entirely in Britain but shopkeepers are expected to be free to choose which they use following a government study into the proposal. It was during the 2019 General Election campaign that Boris Johnson pledged that he would bring back imperial units in shops. He claimed that measuring in pounds and ounces was an "ancient liberty", as he heralded a "new era of generosity and tolerance" towards traditional measurements. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has said that it is open to importing oil and food products from Russia amid the ongoing backlash against the country for the invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said the country has an "open policy" driven by a national interest to expand economic and trade relations. "Our policy is clear, you know in terms of expanding economic and trade relations, we have an open policy, driven by national interest. Wherever we see there is a national benefit, we pursue those options and avenues," The Express Tribune newspaper quoted Iftikhar as saying. The foreign office spokesperson made these remarks while responding to a question that whether or not Pakistan was considering importing oil and food grains from Russia. This comes as the government raised the prices of petroleum products by PKR 30 per litre, stating that the decision was taken to ensure the revival of the Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and that they had no other option. Russia had launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, the day when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan decided to visit Moscow to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies. Many had termed Imran Khan's visit as ill-timed. Imran Khan, who was ousted from power, has claimed the new Shehbaz Sharif government had dropped plans to acquire cheap Russian oil that his government managed to secure. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recently defended Imran Khan's visit to Moscow. During a media briefing at the UN, Bilawal asserted that the former Pakistan PM was unaware that Russia would invade Ukraine on the very day he landed in the Russian capital. "As far the former prime minister's trip to Russia, I would absolutely defend the former prime minister of Pakistan. He conducted that trip as part of his foreign policy and without knowing that -- no one is psychic, no one has a sixth sense -- there's no way we could have possibly known that that would be the time when the current conflict will start," the Pakistan foreign minister said. "In his capacity as prime minister, the way he conducted himself in foreign policy, particularly in the context of this Russian trip, I will go as far as to defend the fact that he did not know the Ukraine conflict will start on the very day that he was there," 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.) is considering allowing to be used for payments, Interfax news agency quoted a government official. The idea of using digital currencies in transactions for settlements is being actively discussed, Ivan Chebeskov, head of the ministrys financial policy department, was quoted as saying. Russian officials are wrestling with how to regulate the country's crypto market and use of digital currencies, with the ministry opposed to the central banks calls for a blanket ban. Discussions have been ongoing for months but no consensus has yet been reached. The ministry is discussing adding the latest proposal on payments to an updated version of a draft law, the Vedomosti newspaper also reported, citing government officials. Ukraine holds out in Donbas city under heavy fire Ukrainian forces on Sunday resisted a Russian assault on Sievierodonetsk, the largest city they still hold in the Luhansk region of the Donbas, but endured heavy artillery barrages, Ukrainian officials said. The shelling was so intense it was not possible to assess casualties and damage, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said. Dozens of buildings have been destroyed in the past few days. The Ukrainian government meanwhile urged the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons in order to turn the tide in the war, now in its fourth month. Its indescribably difficult there, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Reuters) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Russia asserted progress in its goal of seizing the entirety of contested eastern Ukraine, President tried Saturday to shake European resolve to punish his country with sanctions and to keep supplying weapons that have supported Ukraine's defence. The Russian Defense Ministry said Lyman, the second small city to fall this week, had been completely liberated by a joint force of Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists, who have waged war for eight years in the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia. Ukraine's train system has ferried arms and evacuated citizens through Lyman, a key railway hub in the east. Control of it also would give Russia's military another foothold in the region; it has bridges for troops and equipment to cross the Siverskiy Donets river, which has so far impeded the Russian advance into the Donbas. Ukrainian officials have sent mixed signals on Lyman. On Friday, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian troops controlled most of it and were trying to press their offensive toward Bakhmut, another city in the region. On Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar disputed Moscow's claim that Lyman had fallen, saying fighting there was still ongoing. In his Saturday video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as very complicated'' and said that the Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result'' by focusing its efforts there. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute phone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons to Ukraine and blamed the conflict's disruption to global food supplies on Western sanctions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellor's spokesperson, and called on Putin to engage in serious, direct negotiations with Zelenskyy on ending the fighting. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin affirmed the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue. The three leaders, who had gone weeks without speaking during the spring, agreed to stay in contact, it added. But Russia's recent progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas, could further embolden Putin. Since failing to occupy Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, Russia has set out to seize the last parts of the region not controlled by the separatists. If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion, the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Russia has intensified efforts to capture the cities of Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, which are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk. Luhansk Gov. Serhii Haidai reported that Ukrainian fighters repelled an assault on Sievierodonetsk but Russian troops still pushed to encircle them. He later said Russian forces had seized a hotel on the city's outskirts, damaged 14 high-rise buildings and were fighting in the streets with Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said the previous day that some 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died, including from a lack of medicine or diseases that could not be treated. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, AP reporters saw older and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs Friday in Bakhmut. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to persuade reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sievierodonetsk, returned home. I have to know he is alive. That's why I'm staying here, said Lvova, 66. On Saturday, people who managed to flee Lysychansk described intensified shelling, especially over the past week, that left them unable to leave basement bomb shelters. Yanna Skakova left the city Friday with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old sons and cried as she sat in a train bound for western Ukraine. Her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. It's too dangerous to stay there now, she said, wiping away tears. Russia's advance raised fears that residents could experience the same horrors seen in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which endured a three-month siege before it fell last week. Residents who had not yet fled faced the choice of trying to do so now or staying. Mariupol became a symbol of massive destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. Mariupol's port has reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia entered the port early Saturday. In the call with Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said, Putin emphasized that Russia was working to establish a peaceful life in Mariupol and other liberated cities in the Donbas. Germany and France brokered a 2015 peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would have given a large degree of autonomy to Moscow-backed rebel regions in eastern Ukraine. However, the agreement stalled long before Russia's invasion in February. Any hope that Paris and Berlin would anchor a renewed peace agreement now appears unlikely with both Kyiv and Moscow taking uncompromising stands. Ukrainian authorities have reported that Kremlin-installed officials in seized cities have started airing Russian news broadcasts, introduced Russian area codes, imported Russian school curriculum and taken other steps to annex the areas. Russian-held areas of the southern Kherson region have shifted to Moscow time and will no longer switch to daylight saving time, as is customary in Ukraine, Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Krill Stremousov, a Russian-installed local official, as saying Saturday. In his address Saturday, Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of preventing Kherson residents from leaving, saying they effectively try to take people hostage'' in a sign of weakness.'' The war has caused global food shortages because Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations over which side bears responsibility for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage and Ukraine citing a Russian naval blockade. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said two Russian vessels capable of carrying up to 16 missiles were ready for action in the Black Sea, adding that only shipping routes established through multilateral treaties may be considered safe. Ukrainian officials have pressed Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems. Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Antonov, said Saturday that such a move would be unacceptable and admonished the White House to abandon statements about the military victory of Ukraine. Moscow is also trying to rattle Sweden and Finland's determination to join NATO. Russia's Defense Ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The Zircon, described as the world's fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead and is said to be impossible to stop with current defense systems. Last week Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the country's west in response to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO. (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.) Warning about the adverse impact of weapons supplies in Ukraine, Russian President on Saturday informed his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, that the ongoing transfers of Western weapons into Ukraine pose threat to security. "The Russian president paid particular attention to the dangerous nature of the ongoing pumping of Western weapons into Ukraine, warning, in this regard, of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and the exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis," Sputnik news agency quoted Kremlin as saying. The Russian President held a phone conversation with French President and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday to discuss the evolving situation in Ukraine and global food security. Putin informed Macron and Scholz of the latest developments of the Russian "special military operation" in Ukraine, noting that the Russian armed forces strictly observe the norms of humanitarian law. As for the peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Putin confirmed that the Russian side is open to resuming the frozen dialogue. The Russian leader slammed the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, claiming it could further destabilize the situation and aggravate the humanitarian crisis. When discussing the issue of ensuring global food security, Putin said the difficulties in food supplies are caused by the erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries as well as their anti-Russian sanctions. He said that Russia is ready to help find options for the unimpeded export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports. An increase in the supply of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tensions on the global food market, which will require the lifting of relevant sanctions, Putin told Macron and Scholz. (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.) Chinese Foreign Minister said on Sunday that the US view on has "seriously gone awry" and Beijing will not give in to "blackmail and coercion", in a sharp retort to his American counterpart Antony Blinken's remarks identifying as "the most serious long-term challenge to the order. Addressing an audience at US-based George Washington University on Thursday, Blinken said is the only country with both the intent to reshape the order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it. He called China "the most serious long-term challenge to the order", and the US, while stepping up competition with "invest, align, compete" strategy, will, however, avoid conflict or a new Cold War with the Communist country. While the Chinese Foreign Ministry hit back by terming Blinken's observations as a smear campaign by the US, the Chinese Foreign Minister who is currently touring Pacific countries said Blinken's speech outlining the US strategy towards China showed the US view on has gone seriously awry. Chinese leaders have pointed out that whether China and the United States can properly handle their relationship matters to the future of the world, and it is a question of the century needed to be well answered by the two countries, Wang said speaking during the visit of Fuji on Friday. Before answering the question, the US side should first be aware that a unipolar hegemony will find no support, group confrontation has no future, building small yards with high fences means self-isolation and backwardness, and decoupling and cutting supplies only hurt others and itself as well, Wang said. "We will never yield to blackmail or coercion, and will firmly defend China's sovereignty, security and development interests," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying. Countries can stage fair competition with each other, and it is natural that China and the US have some competition between them, but it should not be a destructive one, Wang said. In his speech, spanning over 40 minutes, Blinken outlined his administration's strategy toward China which included building up a network of allies and partners, acting with a common purpose and in common cause and referred to Washington's efforts to build close ties with India as well as the recent Quad meeting in Tokyo. "And we're standing up new coalitions to deliver for our people and meet the tests of the century ahead. Nowhere is this more true than in the Indo-Pacific region, where our relationships, including our treaty alliances, are among our strongest in the world, he said. Blinken has also repeatedly stressed that the US does not seek to stymie China as a world power or change its political system, nor does it seek a clash with it. "We are not looking for conflict or a new Cold War. To the contrary, we're determined to avoid both," Blinken said. He said the US is ready to strengthen diplomacy and increase communication with China "across a full range of issues" and is prepared to work together on matters of mutual interest like climate change and Covid-19, noting that "even as we invest, align and compete, or together with Beijing, where our interests come together". "We can't let the disagreements that divide us stop us from moving forward on the priorities that demand that we work together for the good of our people and for the good of the world," Blinken said. Blinken said US President Joe Biden during his recent trip to the Asian region, reaffirmed US' vital security alliances with South Korea and Japan, and deepened its economic and technology cooperation with both the countries. Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for prosperity, a first-of-its-kind initiative for the region. In the President's words, it will 'help all our countries' economies grow faster and fairer, Blinken said. "IPEF, as we call it, renews American economic leadership but adapts it for the 21st century by addressing cutting-edge issues like the digital economy, supply chains, clean energy, infrastructure, and corruption, he said. A dozen countries, including India, have already joined. Together, IPEF members make up more than a third of the global economy, Blinken said. The president also took part in the leaders' summit of the Quad countries...It is becoming a leading regional team. This week, it launched a new Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, so our partners across the region can better monitor the waters near their shores to address illegal fishing and protect their maritime rights and their sovereignty, he said. We're enhancing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific; for example, with the new security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US, known as AUKUS, Blinken said. The Biden administration's approach will be "invest, align, compete", he said, adding that although the US does not seek conflict with China, it is prepared to defend its interests. Blinken sought to underscore the degree to which the Washington-Beijing relationship is "one of the most complex and consequential relationships of any that we have in the world today". As he broadly described how the US intends to approach that relationship, Blinken drew sharp distinctions between the two nations, describing things like China's "repressive" government, unfair trade practices and human rights abuses. (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.) Facing a power crisis, Sri Lankan Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekera on Sunday said that an accelerated renewable energy generation plan is likely to be implemented from June 1. The decision to implement the plan by taking immediate action was taken during a discussion held at the Ministry of Power and Energy after the fuel bill for power generation exceeded USD 100 million per month, reported Colombo Page. Under the Renewable Energy Generation Plan, so far, two measures have been taken to implement the solutions. Preparations are being made to search for roof spaces in order to install solar panels on industrial, government, hospital, and hotel roofs. Further, the Ceylon Electricity (CEB) would manage the thermal and hydropower plants to help in the reduction of generation costs at night and also save money during the day, reported Colombo Page. As far as the second measure is concerned, provisional approval will be given for proposed projects alongside a reasonable fee revision. The project is expected to work in collaboration with the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Sustainable Energy Authority, and the investor after the purchase agreement is issued. It will enhance the line of transmission alongside the capacity of the national grid with the required investment from the investor, reported Colombo Page. In addition, post the financial and technical evaluation, large-scale investments for selected renewable projects will be accommodated as well. Meanwhile, is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests leading to the resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister. (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.) Ukrainian President has said that he had discussed defence support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with UK Prime Minister . "We talked about strengthening defence support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted. The Ukrainian leader added that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier this month, Johnson announced that the UK government will provide 1.3 billion pounds (about $1.64 billion) in military aid for Ukraine. --IANS int/shs (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.) Yemen's warring parties did not reach an agreement Saturday to lift a blockade by Houthi rebels of the country's third largest city, the said, after three days of talks in the Jordanian capital. The announcement dampened hopes that the blockade of Taiz will be lifted as it was supposed to be as part of a UN-brokered two-month truce that ends June 1. The question of the blockaded city is key to extending the nationwide ceasefire. Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy in Yemen, said a proposal had been floated in what he described as an initial round of discussions for a phased reopening of roads in Taiz and elsewhere, which would help facilitate aid deliveries and the movement of suffering Yemenis. Both delegations are still in Amman. In a statement, he urged Yemen's internationally recognized government and its Iran-backed rebels to conclude internal deliberations and deliver positive results to the Yemeni people in subsequent talks. The UN mission did not provide further details on the proposal or say when the parties would resume talks. The truce is the first nationwide cease-fire in the past six years of Yemen's civil war, a conflict that is now in its eighth year. On-the-ground fighting, airstrikes and bombardment have subsided and the rebels have stopped their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two pillars of the Saudi-led coalition that supports the government forces in the war. Yemen's conflict broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power. The conflict created now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world while becoming a regional proxy war in recent years. More than 150,000 people have been killed, including over 14,500 civilians. (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.) Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) and Niue's Premier and Foreign Minister Dalton Tagelagi meet via video, in Fiji, May 29, 2022. (Xinhua) SUVA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Niue's Premier and Foreign Minister Dalton Tagelagi met via video on Sunday, with both sides pledging to deepen bilateral cooperation including on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Wang is in Fiji for a visit and to chair the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting scheduled for Monday, which is part of the agenda for his current tour of Pacific island countries. During the virtual meeting, Wang said that China and Niue have seen their relations develop smoothly with mutual respect and support since establishing diplomatic ties, noting that they have established bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and signed documents on jointly building the Belt and Road. China has become Niue's second largest trading partner, with the bilateral extensive, practical cooperation playing an active role in enhancing Niue's socioeconomic development and Niue people's wellbeing, Wang said. Their friendship saw a lift in jointly fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic with mutual support and help, Wang noted. The Chinese state councilor said China supports Niue sticking to a development path in line with its own national conditions, and will strengthen policy coordination with Niue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, boost the cooperation on infrastructure and broadcasting, and at the sub-national level, and expand the blue economy and the biopharmaceutical cooperation, so as to help Niue enhance its sustainable development capabilities. The Chinese side will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the Pacific island country, Wang said, adding that China expects to welcome Niue's active participation in the China International Import Expo, displaying its quality and specialty products. For his part, Tagelagi expressed during the meeting his gratitude for China's selfless assistance and strong support to his country in promoting independent development and people's livelihood. Since they established diplomatic ties, the two countries have witnessed effective cooperation based on mutual respect and benefit, the premier of Niue said, adding that the Chinese side has paid a constant attention to Niue's needs and lent a helping hand in time to Niue in its fight against COVID-19. Niue values the friendly Niue-China relationship and the close friendship between the two peoples, he said. While pledging continued commitment to the one-China principle, the premier noted that his country expects to deepen cooperation with China in various fields and work together to promote peace, development and prosperity. During the virtual meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, and agreed to jointly work to ensure the success of the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Wang said that China has been promoting cooperation with Pacific island countries with openness. China respects Pacific island countries' traditional relations with other countries in the region, and is willing to further enhance its friendship and cooperation with Pacific island countries on the basis of bilateral consensus, he said. China is committed to peace and development, and stands ready to make its contribution to peace, development and prosperity for the mankind, Wang said. He said that China, as a long-term reliable partner for Pacific island countries in their national development, is willing to work with all sides to build consensus of cooperation, elevate cooperation to a higher level and form greater synergy to help Pacific island countries develop better. Noting that China's support is of great significance to the development of Pacific island countries, Tagelagi expressed hope that the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, based on mutual respect, will complement the existing strategies in the South Pacific region so as to jointly boost the regional development and prosperity. Congress failed to impose gun restrictions after the school massacres in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and theres little confidence that 21 deaths at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, will change matters now. But states arent waiting. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy urged lawmakers to advance firearms safety measures, including raising the age to 21 for purchases of long guns and exposing gun makers to civil lawsuits. In New York where an 18-year-old in Buffalo was charged two weeks ago with committing a racist mass shooting Governor Kathy Hochul said she would seek to ban people under 21 from purchasing AR-15-style rifles. And in California where a politically motivated mass shooting erupted at a luncheon of older churchgoers this month legislative leaders and Governor Gavin Newsom fast-tracked tougher controls on firearms. We are getting a lot of inquiries even though a lot of state legislatures are out of session, Nico Bocour, director of government affairs for the anti-gun-violence group Giffords, said after the Uvalde shooting. In the wake of a lot of inaction by Congress, states want to step up and keep people safe. In Republican-controlled statehouses, however, the moves evoked an equal and opposite reaction. A day after Uvalde, rural conservatives in Pennsylvania and Michigan beat back Democratic attempts to force votes on long-blocked gun safety legislation. And in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican officials blamed the massacre on a gunman with mental health problems, not gun laws. They accused Democrats of politicising the situation with calls for gun control. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period, Abbott said a day after the Uvalde shooting. ALSO READ: As US mourns spate of shootings, NRA in turmoil but influence remains The state actions come as hope for congressional consensus has waned to a flicker, not only on gun violence, but on an array of American social issues. Liberal and conservative states have enacted disparate and often opposing agendas, erecting a patchwork of policies on a range of issues, including abortion and civil rights. Since 2019, federal legislation to expand criminal background checks for gun purchases has twice passed the House only to languish amid Senate Republican opposition. We beg you, a group of school principals who survived past campus shootings wrote in a letter that was expected to appear as a full-page ad in The Washington Post on Sunday. Do something. Do anything. But few believe that gridlocked Washington will accomplish much after seeing the same script play out before. The one modest proposal that seemed to show promise would kick decisions to statehouses: It would offer incentives for states to pass red flag laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. Mourners laid to rest the last of 10 Black people killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket with a service on Saturday that became a call to action and an emotional plea to end the hate and violence that has wracked the nation. The funeral for 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield the oldest of the 10 people killed in the attack two weeks ago included an impromptu speech by Vice President . She attended the service at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo with second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Harris told the mourners this is a moment in time for all good people to stand up to the injustice that happened at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, as well as the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and other mass shootings. This is a moment that requires all good people, all God-loving people to stand up and say we will not stand for this. Enough is enough, said Harris, who wasn't scheduled to speak and came to the microphone at the urging of the Rev. Al Sharpton. We will come together based on what we all know we have in common, and we will not let those people who are motivated by hate separate us or make us feel fear. Following the funeral, Harris and Emhoff visited a memorial outside the supermarket. The vice president left a large bouquet of white flowers at the site, and the pair paused to pray for several minutes. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden had placed flowers at the same memorial on May 17 and visited with the victims' families. Biden is expected to head to Texas for a visit this weekend with the families of the victim's of Tuesday's school shooting. Harris later told reporters the administration is not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like to the nation's gun violence problem. We know what works on that, she said, reiterating support for background checks and a ban on assault weapons. Harris said the nation has to come together, as well. We have to agree that if we are to be strong as a nation, we must stand strong, identifying our diversity as our unity, she said. It's been a sad week of goodbyes for family and friends of the Buffalo shooting victims, a group that includes a restaurant worker who went to the market to buy his 3-year-old's birthday cake; a father and die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who worked as a school bus aide; and a 32-year-old sister who moved to the city to help a brother battling leukemia. Whitfield, a grandmother and mother of four, had been inside the supermarket after visiting her husband of 68 years in a nursing home when a gunman identified by police as 18-year-old Payton Gendron began the deadly onslaught. Authorities said Gendron, who is white, targeted the store three hours from his home in Conklin because it is in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who delivered a fiery tribute to Whitfield at the beginning of the funeral service, called for all accomplices who aided and abetted this monster who opened fire in the supermarket to be held accountable, from the gun manufacturers and distributors to the parents of the suspect. Crump said those those who instructed and radicalized this young, insecure individual should also be held to account for taking Whitfield from her family, the Buffalo community and the planet. He called her one of the most angelic figures that we have ever known. It is a sin that this young depraved man, not a boy, went and killed Ruth Whitfield and the Buffalo 10,' Crump said, referring to the victims. Sharpton described being floored to learn the shooter live-streamed his assault on Twitch, noting how his mother had grown up in Alabama, where hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan once killed Black people. Today, he said, white supremacists are proud to practice racism. Sharpton made a pitch for gun control measures during his eulogy, saying all communities need to come together and disarm the haters. There is an epidemic of racial violence that is accommodated by gun laws that allow people to kill us, he said. You ain't got to love us, but you shouldn't have easy access to military weapons to kill us. In all, 13 people were shot in the attack which federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Three people survived. Whitfield was the mother of former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield. Gendron is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail. His attorney has entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. (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.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on Sunday lauded the schemes of the and said that it has brought changes in the lives of the people of the state. Addressing Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) executive meeting, Adityanath said, "Before 2014 in Uttar Pradesh, the streets of villages were filthy, stinky and were dirty with animal dung. There used to be piles of garbage. After 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' got successful, today villages are clean and hygienic. Now you can walk in villages, there is no problem. On one hand, it changed the image of the villages and on the other hand, it protected women's dignity and also saved children from encephalitis." The Chief Minister said that with the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Uttar Pradesh, the deaths from encephalitis have been reduced by 95 per cent. "Where there used to be 1500 to 2000 deaths due to encephalitis in the past, we reduced deaths by 95 per cent in our 5 years after the honest implementation of Swachh Bharat in Uttar Pradesh. The result is that an innocent, who could have died from an illness, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan gave the child the right to life and all of this became possible because of the Prime Minister's vision," he said. He further said that over 43 lakh people have been allocated houses under PM Awaas Yojana. "Has anyone ever thought that the poor would have their own house? 43.5 lakh poor people are allotted houses under PM Awaas Yojana and CM Awaas. This is not just about providing them with houses, it is an attempt to bring a massive change in their life and bring them on the path of self-reliance," Adityanath said. He said the people of Uttar Pradesh sensed the working of the double engine government in the state and the result of this was that the people rejected all the misinformation spread by the opposition and voted the BJP back to power. "The mandate of 2022, clearly states that if you work honestly for the villages, farmers, poor, women, youths, and every section of the societies, then people will leave aside caste and religion and will stand with you. During the COVID pandemic, looking at the programmes ran by the BJP government in the state, half of the population rejected all the wrong myths and put their faith in the state government, and supported all the BJP candidates in the elections," he added. He also said that the state government is committed to fulfilling the resolutions that they had promised during the polls. "The BJP had come out with 130 resolutions in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. We have already made arrangements in the budget to fulfill 97 of these resolutions. We will connect every youth with employment and self-employment," he said. He further said that today Uttar Pradesh is a riot-free state and every festival takes place in a peaceful manner. "Today there is no Namaz on the streets. Loudspeakers have been removed from religious places. Today Uttar Pradesh has a distinct identity," he said. The UP Chief Minister said that for the first time the BJP has a majority in the state legislative assembly and the council. "The party will have to start campaigning from now for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. We have to reach out door-to-door regarding the matter and work of the Central and State Governments. For the first time an absolute majority has been obtained in the Legislative Council. Now BJP has an absolute majority in both the Houses. The construction of new India started under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi," he added. BJP President Swatantra Dev Singh thanked the people of the state and the party workers for the historic win in the recently concluded Assembly polls. "Our new government in UP will work towards the progress of the state. I thank the people of the state and our party workers for the historic win in the recently concluded Assembly polls," said Singh. Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister KP Maurya, State BJP President and others attended the State BJP Working Committee Meeting. (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.) Claiming that TMC MP "crossed the red line" by criticising the judiciary's decision to order CBI investigations into multiple cases in Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, without directly naming him, said on Sunday that "constitutional authorities in the state are under attack". Shortly after, Banerjee, responding to Dhankhar, said he would continue to stand by his statement. Talking to reporters at Bagdogra airport before leaving for Darjeeling, the governor said, "Constitutional institutions in the state are under attack. The attack on judiciary is reprehensible. In a public meeting, hitting out at a judge who ordered a CBI inquiry into SSC scam is most condemnable." "The honourable Member of Parliament crossed the red line," he said, without naming Banerjee. The governor was alluding to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's remarks at a rally in Haldia on Saturday where he lashed out at the "one per cent of the judiciary" for ordering CBI probe in "every case" in the state. Banerjee had said, "I feel ashamed to say that there are one or two people in the judiciary who are in hand- in-gloves and have a tacit understanding and are ordering CBI investigation in every case. This is just 1 per cent of the judiciary." Earlier in the day, Dhankhar had stated that he was taking a serious note of the comments made by Banerjee and called upon state's chief secretary to urgently initiate appropriate action. The Diamond Harbour MP, taking to Twitter, said he believed in "speaking the truth". "I've always believed in SPEAKING THE TRUTH TO POWER. Yesterday, I said how 1% in Kolkata HC is working in cohorts with Centre in protecting some individuals. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING, they know who is actually 'CROSSING THE RED LINE'. I rest my case here! (sic)," he wrote. The Calcutta High Court has ordered CBI investigations in a number of cases in the last one year, including post-poll violence and a recruitment scam by School Service Commission (SSC). The TMC, too, hit back stating that the "governor's selective concern for legality in West Bengal exposes his contradiction and detachment from the actual reality!" "We've always respected the judiciary but will never bow down before central government's active interference in matters favouring its agenda," the party tweeted. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, meanwhile, claimed that attempts were being made by the TMC to demean all the pillars of democracy. "How can Banerjee question the orders of the judiciary?" Majumdar, also a Lok Sabha MP, said. Echoing him, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said Dhankhar did the "right thing". "Abhishek Banerjee's comments prove he is scared as the judiciary is exposing the monumental corruption by his party. The TMC cannot control the court. Truth is coming to light," Ghosh said. The development seemed to have opened another front in the turf war between the TMC government and the governor -- underway since he assumed office in July 2019. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Finance Minister and Kannada film actor-turned-politician Jaggesh will be the candidates for the biennial election for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, which will take place on June 10. Sitharaman is eyeing her second term from after the completion of her six years' tenure as Rajya Sabha member. The party sprang a surprise by fielding Jaggesh, who hails from Turuvekere in Tumakuru, and set aside the speculation on the outgoing Rajya Sabha member K C Ramamurthy's candidature. According to party insiders, this move was aimed at wooing the dominant Vokkaliga community and further strengthening the party base in Tumakuru district. Jaggesh was first elected as Congress MLA in May 2008 only to quit the party and the Assembly membership a year later in 2009, during what is called as Operation Lotus' that brought the strongman B S Yediyurappa to power for the second time soon after a seven-day stint as Chief Minister. His new political home, the BJP, soon rewarded him with membership to the Legislative Council. The party fielded the two candidates given its strength in the Assembly. The sources said the party is still exploring the possibility to field one more candidate with the help of JD(S) and may field K C Ramamurthy as an independent candidate though the JD(S) has announced fielding Kupendra Reddy despite lacking requisite numbers. Meanwhile, Congress leader and former union minister Jairam Ramesh would file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election on Monday. The elections to four seats of Rajya Sabha is necessitated as the term of office of members (Union Finance Minister) and K C Ramamurthy of BJP, and Jairam Ramesh and late Oscar Fernandes of Congress is due to expire on June 30. (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.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister held a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working committee on Sunday morning, said the sources. The meeting was held to discuss the preparations for celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's eight years in office and the strategy for the upcoming by-polls to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha biennial elections, and the Legislative Council polls, added the sources. About 600 party officials attended the meeting including Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, State President and minister Swatantra Dev Singh, State General Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Sunil Bansal, and National Vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Party. Radha Mohan Singh. The meeting was held at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Scientific Convention Center. Earlier on Wednesday, the Election Commission released the schedule for the bypolls to the parliamentary and assembly constituencies in five states and Delhi. The bypolls will be held in Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi on June 23 and the counting of votes will take place on June 26. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates of the biennial elections for 57 seats of the Rajya Sabha in May. Biennial elections to the 57 seats of Rajya Sabha (Council of States) spread across 15 states will be held on June 10, said the Election Commission of India on Thursday. The states where these biennial elections will be held are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. (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.) According to United Nations estimates, nearly one in four Chinese people will be more than 65 years old by 2045. The last time Lin Shu saw his grandmother was in a video his uncle shared with the family WeChat group April 18. In the video, the 93-year-old woman lies in a nursing home bed with an oxygen tube in her nose. A nurse at the Shanghai nursing home told his uncle the grandmother was dying, but there was no doctor available. Half an hour later, she was dead. WENCHANG, Hainan, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China's Long March-5B Y3 rocket, which will launch lab module Wentian for the country's space station, arrived on Sunday at the launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. The rocket, along with the Wentian lab module already transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site, announced the China Manned Space Agency. All the systems involved in the mission at the launch site are undergoing orderly preparations, said the agency. Death toll rises to 28 in building collapse in SW Iran Xinhua) 10:30, May 29, 2022 The death toll from a 10-storey commercial building collapse in the city of Abadan in southwestern Iran's Khuzestan Province rose to 28 on Saturday, Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA reported. The deputy governor of the Khuzestan Province said earlier that 37 people were injured in the accident and were hospitalized, 34 of whom had been discharged from the hospital. Rescue operations are still underway, and authorities have dispatched rescue workers and firefighters from other parts of the country to help remove the debris, head of Ahvaz Municipality's Fire Fighting and Safety Service's Organization Ebrahim Qanbari told reporters on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported that 10 people were arrested for the incident, in which the building's owner and contractor were killed. The under-construction building was on a crowded street in downtown Abadan, surrounded by commercial and medical complexes and offices. Parts of the building collapsed suddenly on Monday, trapping dozens of people beneath the rubble. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary General Henry Puna in Suva, Fiji, May 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing) Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the Chinese side supports the island nations' 2050 Strategy of the Blue Pacific Continent, and is willing to discuss cooperation in areas, such as marine ecological protection and e-commerce, to create new growth points. China has mapped out and implemented a series of green and low-emission policies and measures, and will firmly honor its promises on climate change, he said. SUVA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary General Henry Puna here on Sunday, with both sides discussing bilateral cooperation on blue economy and climate change. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is the most representative inter-governmental organization in the South Pacific region, and China has been attaching great importance to its role in regional affairs, Wang said. China has set up the China-PIF Cooperation Fund, and is willing to continue to strengthen dialogue with the PIF Secretariat, enhance mutual trust, conduct cooperation and support the PIF, so as to jointly consolidate and develop the relationship between the developing countries and the Pacific island nations, he elaborated. Wang said the Chinese side supports the island nations' 2050 Strategy of the Blue Pacific Continent, and is willing to discuss cooperation in areas, such as marine ecological protection and e-commerce, to create new growth points. China will firmly push forward the opening-up to a larger extent, into a deeper dimension and to a higher level, and welcome more quality products of the island countries entering the Chinese market. Wang stressed that his ongoing visit to the South Pacific region is aimed at promoting mutually beneficial cooperation and friendly exchanges with the Pacific island countries, and China will further deepen the relations with the Pacific island countries on the basis of mutual trust, equal treatment, win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. China released a fact sheet on its cooperation with the Pacific island countries days ago, showing that China's cooperation with the Pacific island countries has covered all sectors and brought tangible benefits to the people of the Pacific island countries, he noted. China stands ready to conduct more third party market cooperation with every country, especially those that have traditional influence in the region, to complement each other and form greater synergy so as to help the Pacific island countries enhance their capacity of self-development and push forward the realization of development and revitalization, Wang said. Puna noted that China, an important dialogue and development partner of the Pacific island countries, has long made indispensable contribution to the development of the Pacific island countries, and the Pacific island countries are ready to strengthen connection with China's development strategy, expand cooperation with China in the fields including economy and trade, education and blue economy, fully take advantage of the opportunities brought by China's development, especially the digital economy, to achieve sustainable and diversified development. The duo also exchanged views on climate change. Wang said China vigorously pushed forward the Paris Agreement and joined it actively. The country has mapped out and implemented a series of green and low-emission policies and measures, and will firmly honor its promises on climate change. In the meantime, Wang said China, along with other developing countries including the Pacific island nations, is keen to urge developed countries to sincerely shoulder the historical responsibilities, fulfill their commitment to the developing countries, achieve carbon neutrality ahead of schedule, and hence make due contributions to solving the climate change issue. China, within the framework of the South-South cooperation, will continue responding to the needs of small island countries and offering them help within its capacity, he said. Puna highly appreciated the great efforts of China in tackling climate change. He commended China for establishing a cooperation center for China and Pacific island countries on climate change. He also expressed wishes to jointly forge ahead the implementation of the Paris Agreement with China. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks with his staff as he visits the war-hit Kharkiv region. Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city Sunday as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain strategic footholds for conquering the region in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance. Ukrainian regional officials reported Russian forces storming Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the city. The fighting knocked out power and cellphone service, and a humanitarian relief center could not operate because of the danger, the mayor said. Sievierodonetsk, located about 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically-important Siverskiy Donetsk river. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with neighboring Donetsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a rare frontline visit to the city of Kharkiv as he sought to assert the strength of Ukraines position there. Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from positions near the city, Ukraine's second-largest, several weeks ago. "I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after visiting soldiers stationed in Kharkiv. Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard in the area shortly after Zelenskyy's visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about 30% of the territory, while Kyivs troops had recaptured another 5%, the governor said. However, Zelenskyy acknowledged that the battle for the east is indescribably difficult. The Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result by concentrating its attacks there, he said in a Saturday night video address. Russia is focused, after failing to seize Ukraines capital, on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian forces made small advances in recent days as bombardments chewed away at Ukrainian positions and kept civilians trapped in basements or desperately trying to get out safely. Attacks to destroy military targets throughout the country also caused casualties in civilian areas. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yana Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the past 2 1/2 months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Serhiy Haidai, the provincial governor of Luhansk, said constant shelling created a severe situation in Lysychansk. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram, without elaborating. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes still functioned Sunday, he said. He claimed the Russians had retreated with losses from around a village near Sievierodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby village located on the strategic Siverskiy Donetsk river. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service, Striuk said. Striuk has estimated that 1,500 civilians have died in Russian attacks since the beginning of the war, as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that couldnt be treated. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Sieverodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the Battle of Sieverodonetsk ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said in an assessment published late Saturday. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a port city 281 kilometers (175 miles) to the south that spent nearly three months under siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. An aide to Mariupols Ukrainian mayor alleged Sunday that after Russia's forces gained complete control of Mariupol, they piled bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim or the authenticity of the photo, which Andryushchenko described as recent. Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. Regions across Ukraine were pummeled overnight by renewed Russian airstrikes. On the ground in the eastern Donetsk region, fighters battled back and forth for control of villages and cities. The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman to the north. The small city serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said in an operational update. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Assets under the management of China's public offering funds reached 25.52 trillion yuan (about 3.79 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of April, the latest data from the Asset Management Association of China showed. As of the end of last month, a total of 9,761 public offering funds were operated by 138 fund management companies, according to the association, an industry body supervised by China's securities regulator. In breakdown, the scale of closed-ended funds surpassed 3.15 trillion yuan, while that of open-ended funds stood at over 22.36 trillion yuan, the data showed. Of the 138 fund management companies, 45 are foreign-funded while 93 are domestic firms, the association said. Photo: Contributed Self-checkouts at grocery stores are now more popular than cashier checkouts. But as grocers embrace technology, are consumers benefiting? Self-checkouts have long been an unloved tool in the world of retail. In the beginning, nothing worked as it should, especially at the grocery store where an order for 20 items brought a new form of despair. But even if the mere presence of self-checkouts bothered many consumers, Canadians have apparently befriended them in some fashion. Less than a year ago, data from Dalhousie University indicated that, for the first time, self-checkouts were becoming the preferred option for customers when leaving the grocery store. No less than 53.2 per cent of Canadians were identified as intending to use self-checkouts regularly in the future. Sixty per cent of generation Z members (born between 1997 and 2005) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) planned to use more of these tills without a cashier. Before the pandemic in 2019 according to market researcher CivicScience only 19 per cent of customers aged 55 and older felt ready to use self-checkouts, compared to 35 per cent of customers aged 35 to 54. At the time, cashiers remained the preferred option for all demographics. So consumers used to love to hate these machines. But things have changed. Self-checkouts are becoming more popular, even surpassing serviced checkouts. According to a survey conducted by Dalhousie University in early May, in partnership with grocery app provider Caddle in early May, a whopping 75 per cent of Canadians have used grocery store self-checkouts at least once in the past six months. And 85.1 per cent of Canadians said they were satisfied with their experience. In addition, 47 per cent of Canadians say theyre willing to visit a cashier-less grocery store, where all purchases are captured by digital sensors. The sensors allow consumers to add what they want to their basket and leave the premises without going through any checkouts. Amazon Go is the most well-known model for this service. The number of people willing to use such technology was much lower before the pandemic. Technology is increasingly accepted by grocery consumers. And its improving, becoming more intuitive and efficient. Instead of just offering consumers another option to exit the store while grappling with the optics of machines stealing jobs, grocers are clearly committed to technology and are no longer holding back. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cashiers were considered heroes, and everyone wished them a raise. Elected officials have even criticized the big chains for abandoning certain compensation programs that offered employees better conditions. But the reality is that hiring and retaining staff remains challenging, and its even worse with the current Canadian labour shortage. So automation and robotics are slowly becoming priorities in the agri-food sector, especially in food service and retail. Once their choices are made, few consumers want to wait in line to pay. Waiting to pay for your groceries is so 2019. Some want to chat and socialize, of course, but many understandably just want to get what they need as quickly as possible and socialize elsewhere. Food retailers accept that the labour market is changing and workers in the sector will want to perform different, more sophisticated tasks requiring advanced knowledge and skills. Gone are the days of hiring people to do repetitive tasks. Machines are replacing jobs that no one wants to fill. However, these technologies require customers to do more work, without compensation. Financial institutions made a major shift decades ago with ATMs. At the time, customers were asked to do more while promising lower bank charges. We now know that quite the opposite has happened. Unlike banks, the work done in grocery stores is a matter of food safety and security. The cost of food and how its handled matters a great deal to everyone. If self-checkouts mean higher prices in the future, consumers dont benefit. But grocers will. Taxing companies that opt for this kind of technology that directly affects consumers has been floated from time to time. Its time to revisit the concept. At the very least, why not offer a reward or incentive to consumers for using these machines? If consumers must do more work during visits to the store, they must also benefit from it somehow. Technology is redefining the social contract that grocers have with consumers. And our rapport with grocers will change as a result. Its not a bad thing, as long as consumers benefit in some fashion. Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Over 300 local Boy Scouts, leaders, and parents partnered with the Chattanooga National Cemetery to place American flags decorating nearly 60,000 graves to honor fallen heroes. Memorial Day is a sacred day where we remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said. We can never forget these heroes nor the families who continue to grieve the loss of their mother, father, son, daughter, sister or brother who stood in the gap for each of us to maintain the very democracy we are able to treasure every day. Local Scouts were thrilled to honor Medal of Honor recipient, Desmond Doss, on this years patch honoring the occasion. These commemorative patches were graciously provided by event partner Elks Lodge 91 of Chattanooga. It was great to be back serving local heroes once again this year, said Greg Lee, volunteer vice president of Program for the Cherokee Area Council. Jared Pickens, Scout executive/CEO of the Cherokee Area Council said of the event, It is truly incredible to see this service provided to our community by these young people. This is a fantastic learning experience for our Scouts to respect the service of those laid to rest in this sacred place. Scouts also provided similar service last weekend at the Festival of Flags in Ringgold and this weekend in Cleveland and several area cemeteries. I am always enthralled when the newspaper, The Epoch Times, includes a feature called Dear Next Generation. Readers submit points of wisdom for those of us who are still coming along and recently a certain George F. Metzgar offered seven good points of advice. I Googled George Metzgar to learn he is most probably 90 years old and lives in Brewster, Mass. In his advice to younger people I noticed his love for the Marine Corps, which would place him in the World War II era a time in our nations history that wasnt easy. But the points he makes are simple and as we celebrate graduations and the end of the school year, lets lend an ear to Mr. Metzgar: * * * YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WIL ARISE, OR WHEN THEY WILL. DO YOU BEST EVERY TIME. He writes, Born in the 1930s, I have lived and learned wisdom over the decades. I pass on these seven sensible suggestions as advice to young people: 1. BESTAlways do your best. When I was a freshman in college, gym (which I disliked) was mandatory. The instructor had us line up and run the length of the gym at full sprint. As the winner by a few strides, I was asked to go out for track. I made the team as a walk-on and was put on full scholarship at the Division I university. (I held the indoor scholarship record for 14 years.) 2. DISPUTESAlways listen to both sides of an issue and never try to silence the opposing view nor interrupt. Present your statements of facts and then your statements of opinions. Rudeness has no place in disputes. 3. DRIVINGYoung people pay higher auto insurance rates because they have more accidents. Drive as though being followed by a police cruiser, always. Speeding is a waste of your money. 4. GOVERNMENTGovernment is a system of fair rule, not for freebie handouts. Why try to enslave other taxpayers to pay for your wants? Ask not what else the government can do for you, but what you should do for yourself. 5. GRATITUDEWhen the recipient of a gift, always thank the benevolent donor. A prompt written note of appreciation is best and always appropriate. 6. OPPORTUNITYMost opportunities have a short window and often present themselves unexpectedly. At lunch during my senior year of college, a fellow student informed me the military recruiter was on campus and suggested I hear him out. On my way to a 2 p.m. class, I stopped, took and passed the (Officer Candidate School test), signed on, and made the class on time! (The years in the [Marine Corps] were the high point of my career life.) 7. RELIABILITYDependability is paramount in life. When my daughter graduated from college with a BSN, she applied to be an Air Force nurse. The recruiter said she got accepted by virtue of one sentence from a manager of a grocery store where she worked part-time: This worker never once called off, nor didnt show up for her shift in 6 years. (She retired as a lieutenant colonel.) -- George F. Metzgar Age 90, Brewster, Mass. * * * What advice would you like to give to the younger generations? The Epoch Times calls on all of our readers to share the timeless values that define right and wrong and pass the torch, if you will, through your wisdom and hard-earned experience. We feel that the passing down of this wisdom has diminished over time and that only with a strong moral foundation can future generations thrive. Send your advice, along with your full name, state, and contact information to NextGeneration@epochtimes.com or mail it to: Next Generation, The Epoch Times, 229 W. 28th St., Floor 7, New York, NY 10001 * * * royexum@aol.com Six people were shot in downtown Chattanooga late Saturday night, including two with critical injuries. Mayor Tim Kelly on Sunday responded, "Last night, our city felt the terrible cost of gun violence. My heart is with the families whose lives have been upended by this horrific situation. Later today, I will address our community at a press conference. This is unacceptable - our city and our community will act." The incident happened around 10:48 p.m. when multiple people began exchanging gunfire in the 100 block of Cherry Street. Those injured were teens to early 20s. Police blocked off streets in the vicinity as the investigation continued. A person of interest was being interviewed. Police said there was no ongoing threat. Those posting on social media said those at the scene were running and screaming. One posted a video showing a shoe of one of the victims. Multiple police units and ambulances quickly sped to the chaotic scene. One person reported hearing 15-20 shots in the vicinity of a group of some 20 teens and young adults. Police said some of the victims may have been unintended targets. Oklahoma City (aka OKC VisitOKC https://www.visitokc.com/) is a lively and diverse metropolis just a three-hour flight from LAX (quicker than you can drive across SoCal), with an annual average of 235 days of sunshine (albeit the weather is more changeable). There is a huge variety of things to do, like kayaking, a terrific science museum for the whole family, and a thriving restaurant scene. We were hosted in the central city by two top-rated hotels: Ambassador, part of Marriott's cool new Autograph Collection in a restored 1920s building in midtown (see the in-depth review: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/review-marriott-ambassador-hotel-oklahoma-city-scott-s-smith/). Omni, with its stunning views of a 70-acre park and location next to downtown event centers (see the in-depth review: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/review-omni-oklahoma-city-hotel-scott-s-smith/). DAY 1 Oklahoma City National Memorial https://memorialmuseum.com/ is the first place visitors want to go and is more relevant than ever, commemorating the first modern terrorist massacre in the U.S., the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building that killed 168 and injured 680. Timothy McVeigh said it was revenge for the siege of an armed religious group in Waco, Texas, in 1993, and he hoped it would inspire a revolt against the government. The museum uses videos, photos, exhibits, artifacts, and timelines to create a powerful experience. Oklahoma History Center https://www.okhistory.org/historycenter/ covers 18 acres with over 200 multi-sensory exhibits. Sections include the musical "Oklahoma!" (set in 1906, the year before statehood)), the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, the 20-year Dust Bowl which began in 1935, Route 66 (the first attempt at an interstate highway, which started here), local inventions such as grocery carts and parking meters, and famous Oklahomans, such as Will Rogers and Reba McEntire. DAY 2 Skeletons: Museum of Osteology https://www.skeletonmuseum.com/ is the nation's only museum devoted to the bones of hundreds of creatures, ranging in size from a hummingbird to a humpback whale and including a komodo dragon, giraffe, vulture, and early humans. The signs explain how their differences affected their movement and daily life. A fun and educational place for the whole family. Oklahoma City Museum of Art https://www.okcmoa.com/ has a solid collection of major works from 17th century paintings to contemporary portraits and photos. But the main reason to visit is that it has one of the largest collections of the spectacular glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly. Factory Obscura https://www.factoryobscura.com/ is an immersive art experience, whose Mix-Tape installment, created by an art collective, was highlighted by Newsweek as one of the best of its type in the world. Plaza Walls are the murals painted by a different set of artists each year in the alley behind 16th St. businesses in the Plaza District and are a primary reason USA Today ranked OKC No. 1 for street art. Oklahoma Contemporary https://oklahomacontemporary.org/discover/new-center features changing exhibits with the work of unusually talented artists, such as the ones when we were there, including the vivid images of wild animals by John Newsom and the hanging scrolls of Marium Rana that evoke the magnificence of the 16th century Mughal Empire of South Asia. DAY 3 First Americans Museum https://famok.org/ introduced us to the 39 Indigenous nations in the state (16% of Oklahomans are Native American, second only to Alaska's 22%). Its exhibits in 175,000 sq. ft. showcase the history, culture, and contributions of each (the state's name comes from two Choctaw words, Okla and Homma, meaning Red People). A fascinating story that everyone who not a tribal member should understand. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/ is the world's premier museum of its kind and you should start with the film "Grit" on why the values of the frontier are still relevant today. Join a docent tour of the 200,000 sq. ft. space, which includes art galleries, a section on Western movies, the Rodeo Hall of Fame, an exhibit on how barbed wire was the key to settlement, famous firearms, examples of Native American lodging, and even a full-scale Old West town. DAY 4 The prior late afternoon, we drove 90 min. south through beautiful countryside to Chickasaw Country https://chickasawcountry.com/ , where this Indigenous nation owns 100 thriving businesses. From the arts district in its capital of Ada to the National Recreation Area, there is lots to do. We were hosted by the Artesian Hotel (see the in-depth review https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/review-artesian-hotel-casino-spa-scott-s-smith/), a luxury resort and casino in charming Sulphur. We had dinner at Flower Buff Manor https://www.theflowerbluffmanor.com/, a historic mansion famous for its tortellini, chicken fried steak, and blackened mahi mahi. The next morning, we browsed the ARTesian Gallery & Studio, which has studios for local artists, as well as the arts and crafts at the Chickasaw Visitor Center (buying directly avoids counterfeiters). The Chickasaw emerged from the ancient temple mound cultures in the southeast U.S. and Anglo-Americans considered them one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" because they were largely farmers who lived in towns and were active traders. But all five were forced to give up their lands in the 1830s and removed to Indian Territory with great suffering, though the Chickasaw fared better than others because of their negotiating and business skills. We toured the excellent Chickasaw Cultural Center, which uses interactive exhibits, sculptures, artifacts, storytelling, and a recreated 18th century village to enable visitors to better understand everything from their language to spirituality. We started with the terrific introductory film on the tribe's history up to today and ended watching members perform traditional dances, sung in the native tongue. We then left for Tishomingo, the tribal capital before statehood where its annual fall festival is still held. We visited the impressive Chickasaw National Capitol and Council House, which have thousands of artifacts about the region's history, and the Chickasaw Nation Information Center. The town has the renowned Old Silo Winery https://www.oldsilowinery.com/ (Sandra was impressed with its Chambourcin red) and we had dinner at country music legend and homeboy Blake Shelton's Ole Red Ole Red https://olered.com/, whose attached live music venue, The Doghouse, showcases new talent and the occasional star. Frommer's Travel and Travel+Leisure agree that you could spend weeks in Greater Oklahoma City and not begin to exhaust the list of interesting things to do, no matter what your travel agenda is. This years Statehood Day will serve to not only celebrate Tennessees birthday it will mark 226 years since it became a state but also to commemorate the 85th birthday of the Tennessee State Museum, established on May 21, 1937. The public is invited to join state partners all along the Bicentennial Mall campus on Wednesday and again on Saturday to commemorate and celebrate a commitment to telling Tennessees stories. The Museums executive director, Ashley Howell, will offer the events keynote speech, 85 Years of Tennessee Treasures, in the Museums Digital Learning Center on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. The address will be followed by celebratory cupcakes in the Grand Hall. Scheduled events are listed below. Check the websites of partners at Tennessee State Library & Archives, and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, who will also be marking Statehood with events and activities. Wednesday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Demonstration of Roulstone Printing Press and Commemorative 85th Anniversary Print | Forging a Nation Gallery on Second Floor. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Family Statehood Day Activities: Historic Games (Front Lawn), Crafts (Make Your Own Tennessee State Flag, Ladybug/Bee Puppet; Grand Hall). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tennessee at 225: Highlights from the Collection self-guided tour | Second Floor Galleries 10 a.m. Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Guided Tour | BM Gift Shop 10:30 a.m. Statehood Day Storytime with Miss Tennessee. Children are invited for a reading of John Phillip Duck by Patricia Polacco, read by special guest Tally Bevis, Miss Tennessee. Ideal for kids ages 8-and-under | Childrens Gallery on First Floor 11:30 a.m. Keynote Address by Ashley Howell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum, 85 Years of Tennessee Treasures | Digital Learning Center 12:30 p.m. Cupcakes | Grand Hall 3 p.m. Tennessee State Museum Guided Tour | Second Floor Rotunda Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Demonstration of Roulstone Printing Press and Commemorative 85th Anniversary Print | Forging a Nation Gallery on Second Floor. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Family Statehood Day Activities: Historic Games (Front Lawn), Crafts (Make Your Own Tennessee State Flag, Ladybug/Bee Puppet; Grand Hall). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tennessee at 225: Highlights from the Collection self-guided tour | Second Floor Galleries 10:30 a.m. Tennessee State Museum Guided Tour | Second Floor Rotunda 11:30 a.m. Statehood Day Storytime. Children are invited for a reading of a Statehood-themed book and craft. Ideal for kids ages 8-and-under | Childrens Gallery on First Floor 1 p.m. - Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Guided Tour | BM Gift Shop Special Open Hours The Museum is now open special hours: Monday: Closed Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.5 p.m. Sunday: 1-5 p.m. More extensive information is available on the Museums website at tnmuseum.org. RIO DE JANEIRO, May 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 37 people were killed and about 5,000 others displaced in northeastern Brazil due to heavy rains, authorities said Saturday. Recife City, the capital of northeastern Pernambuco State, is the most affected by the rains, where 35 people died and about 1,000 others fled their home, according to the local Civil Defense. In Alagoas State, two people were killed in the rains, with more than 4,000 residents evacuated. Meanwhile, secondary disasters triggered by the heavy rainfall also caused casualties. On Saturday, 20 people were killed in a landslide in Recife, while six others died in another landslide in the nearby city of Camaragibe. According to the Pernambuco Water and Climate Agency, Recife recorded 150 mm of precipitation on Saturday, while Camaragibe registered 129 mm. Two young victims from Saturday night's shooting in downtown Chattanooga are in "very, very critical condition," Police Chief Celeste Murphy said at a Sunday afternoon press conference. Police said five of the victims were 15 and the other was 13 years old. Two of the 15-year-olds who were shot were females. She also said that police are studying video showing two groups approaching one another in the 100 block of Cherry Street. The video shows two people from one of the groups begin firing shots into the other group. Chief Murphy said it is believed there was one target for the two shooters and that many who were shot were "unintended victims." Four others have non-life threatening injuries. She said a person who was questioned as a person of interest was later released and is not considered to have been a shooter. Chief Murphy said a number of city police officers were nearby on Cherry Street and Walnut Street when the shots began to ring out. She said officers rushed to the scene and saw "multiple shooters and multiple victims." She said she believes that quick response by police saved many others from being killed or injured. The chief also said there has been no proof shown that the encounter involved different street gangs. She said investigators worked throughout the night on the case, viewing all available video and looking for more. "We are collecting a lot of evidence," she said. Police gave this update on Monday morning, "On May 28, 2022 at approximately 10:48 p.m., Chattanooga Police were patrolling the area of 100 Walnut Street when Officers heard gunfire. Moments later they discovered several parties had been shot. "Officers were on scene immediately and began rendering life saving care to several gunshot victims. As officers were working with victims, other officers began securing the scene. "Six victims were transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. Four victims had non life threatening injuries and two had life threatening injuries. "Investigators with the Violent Crimes Unit responded to conduct an investigation. Investigators learned that two groups of people were in the area of the above location and were converging toward each other in what appeared to be the beginning of some sort of altercation. Two individuals in one of the groups both produced firearms and began firing at the other group. "It is believed that there was a person or persons targeted within the group of victims but many of them were unintended targets. "Chattanooga Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call 423-643-5100 or submit a tip via the Atlas One App (formerly the CPD Mobile App). You can remain anonymous." Chief Murphy and Mayor Tim Kelly urged parents and guardians to not allow their children to be out unattended late at night. Sgt. Jeremy Eames said officers downtown often see parents or guardians dropping youngsters off and leaving them unattended. Police said youth curfew laws are cumbersome to use, especially when there are a large number of young people congregated in one place. Sgt. Eames said it is necessary to fill out paperwork and try to get in touch with the parents or guardians. He said the process can take as long as an hour. Despite the highly publicized downtown shooting, Sgt. Eames said violent crime in Chattanooga is considerably down for the year. "We are in a much better place than last year," he said. Mayor Kelly called for the U.S. Senate to pass "common-sense gun laws," including not allowing youth access to high-powered weapons. In his remarks, he said, "This afternoon, I have to admit that Im experiencing a wide range of emotions. "First, I am heartbroken for the families and the victims whose lives were upended last night by gunfire. No parent should ever have to get that call. So, as a community, right now theres a lot of hurt and grieving, and I just want to let those families know that I, and Ginny, and your city grieve with you. "But I am also angry. Six teenagers were shot last night in what we believe was an altercation between other teenagers. And once again, Im standing here in front of you talking about our communitys youth getting shot. Thats outrageous and it has to stop. "Its ridiculous that I even need to publicly state that guns have no place in the hands of our kids. And that children shouldnt be wandering around in the middle of the night with no supervision. "Let me also say that I am deeply grateful to the outstanding professionals at the Chattanooga Police Department, who acted quickly and decisively to save lives and prevent any more bloodshed. These officers are heroes and were fortunate that they were able to respond as quickly as they did. But the job of preventing kids from shooting each other cannot fall to the brave men and women of our police department alone. "Heres the bottom line: teenagers acting out, pushing the boundaries, and getting into trouble isnt new. Kids have always gotten into scuffles with each other. Thats a tale thats as old as time. What is new is now they have access to handguns and firearms that leave behind bodies instead of bruised egos. I cant say this clearly enough: easy access to illegal guns is killing kids and our community has a responsibility to put a stop to it. "This is exactly why I joined mayors from across the country last week to call on the United States Senate to pass common sense reforms to our gun safety laws. Background checks, red flag laws, raising the age limit so that children cant purchase assault rifles - these are things that the vast majority of Americans support, as do our law enforcement professionals. Theres no reason to wait, we need to pass these laws now. "But parents also need to be responsible. If you know your kid has access to a firearm, you must intervene before someone - perhaps even your own child - ends up dead. The kind of gun violence that erupted last night is often rooted in neglect. All of us - and especially parents, caregivers, and families - must be actively involved in knowing where our children are, what they are doing, and ensuring they dont get their hands on weapons that can harm themselves and others. If you have a firearm, keep it securely locked and away from children. As gun thefts are on the rise, failing to secure your gun can result in a tragedy. It will take our families AND our community working together to stop this. "To that end, I want to thank our City Council Chairman Darrin Ledford, Vice-Chairwoman Raquetta Dotley, and Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod for being here today and for their ongoing partnership. Our alignment is critical and Im grateful for their leadership. Over the next several weeks, Ill be working with our City Council to create spaces for our communitys youth to safely gather, and also to invest in youth mentorship and violence prevention programs with our American Rescue Plan dollars. And I encourage all Chattanoogans to get involved in a childs life through a mentorship program. Nothing will make a bigger difference in our community than that. "Finally, again: if you know a child - especially your child - has access to a firearm, you have a moral duty to intervene or call the police. And parents, make sure you know where your kids are spending their time at night. These are common sense things that we can do that keep children safe, which is what we adults are supposed to - and obliged - to do. As a parent, you are civilly and criminally liable for the violent acts of your child that you couldve stopped. I am directing my office to work with the police department and the district attorney to enforce existing laws that hold parents accountable for knowingly providing or allowing children access to guns that result in violence. "I know that there is no one strategy or policy that will solve this crisis. And theres nothing I can say behind this podium that will undo last nights violence. But this afternoon, I am calling on our entire community to come together as part of the solution." 90 Day Fiance fans are eager to find out if season 9 couple Ariela Ari Weinberg and Biniyam Bini Shibre will have a happily ever after ending. Do Ariela and Biniyam get married this season? Heres everything we know. Warning: this article contains spoilers for 90 Day Fiance Season 9. Biniyam and Ariela | TLC Biniyam and Arielas 90 Day Fiance journey so far Ariela and Biniyams journey started when she decided to move to Ethiopia after a vacation romance turned into an unexpected pregnancy. 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way Season 2 documented the birth of their son, Avi, and the struggles of Ariela adapting to life in Ethiopia. Among other things, this season featured the struggling relationship between Ariela and Biniyams sisters, Wish and Mimi. 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way Season 3 began with Ariela going to the US for Avis emergency hernia surgery while a heartbroken Biniyam stayed in Ethiopia. The distance took its toll on the 90 Day Fiance couple. Ariela suspected Biniyam of being unfaithful to her. While they were close to calling it quits, the couple decided to give it one last chance by meeting in a neutral country, Kenya, to attempt to fix their relationship. Everything changed when in 90 Day Fiance Season 9, Biniyam was approved for a K-1 visa. The couple packed up their lives and moved across the world to Princeton, New Jersey. Now, the couple is trying to figure out the next steps for their little family most importantly, if they want to spend the rest of their lives together. Do Ariela and Biniyam get married? On Dec 19, Arielas brother, Brad (Instagram handle @brad_and_bougie), posted two pictures revealing that Ariela and Biniyam are married. Brad posted photos of Ariela and Biniyams wedding on his Instagram story. The images were reposted to @90DayCouple (via Reddit) but have since been deleted. In the one photo, Arielas brother holds Avi, who is adorably wearing a tux. The other photo shows Biniyam standing at the end of the alter wearing what appears to be a gold tuxedo jacket. While these were the only photos made public, it confirms Ariela and Biniyam are married. Relationship hurdles that Biniyam and Ariela have to overcome Since its confirmed that Ariela and Biniyam are now husband and wife, now we can focus on their relationship. Their complicated relationship has had many ups and downs. Between the stress of moving countries, cultural issues, and meddling families, it seems like a miracle they even got married. Ariela Weinberg and Biniyam Shibre, 90 Day Fiance Season 9 | TLC On 90 Day Fiance Season 9, the couple is trying to figure out their financial situation. Since shes been dependent on her parents for money for many years, Ariela is nervous about taking over rent for the house that her parents leased for her. With Biniyams big dreams of becoming an MMA fighter, Ariela is nervous that the financial responsibility will fall on her shoulders. Ariela and Biniyam are married! However, fans have a feeling that its not going to be easy for the couple to get there. Audiences will have to tune in to find out how the rest of their journey plays out. 90 Day Fiance Season 9 airs Sundays at 8 pm EST on TLC. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Arielas Feud With Biniyams Sisters Mimi and Wish Explained Malia White said shes thrilled to be finally working on the same superyacht as boyfriend Jake Baker. The Below Deck Mediterranean bosun told Showbiz Cheat Sheet shes focused on earning more certifications and life just got a lot sweeter now that Baker works on her boat. Baker also joined White in New York City for the NBC Upfronts and had a blast. Im still with the same family Ive been on for two years, she said about the yacht she works on when not on Below Deck. And Jakes on there with me, so Jakes the chief engineer, and Jake was in New York this weekend, and he got to meet everyone as well, which is good. The couple shared photos from their adventures in New York, which included catching a concert. Malia White and Jake Baker have been on the same boat for the last 6 months The switch to Whites boat came about six months ago for Baker. And White loves having him on the same vessel. Anytime you can work on the same boat. Because when youre on separate boats, its next to impossible. You know, were in different time zones and its hard to yeah. Plus its the yachting industry, and I dont love that part of it. Yeah, its much easier, she said. Malia White and Jake Baker | Photo Malia White White and Baker met when she was filming Below Deck Med Season 6. Baker was the chief engineer on Lady Michelle but he was not on the cast or often seen on camera. White said they started dating when filming wrapped and have been together ever since. The couple initially kept their romance quiet after White faced a public breakup with chef Tom Checketts. Whites agent, Gabriella Schwager from Stars Marketing Group said the couple is very happy. It has been wonderful getting to know Jake and we just adore them together, she said. Shes working on new certifications while taking a break from Below Deck White is spending time with Baker and racking up more certifications during a break from Below Deck. So soon I should be stepping up to second officer, and Im going to be taking my oral exam for my officer watch ticket and my chief mates ticket, she said. Becoming a superyacht captain is still Whites goal. And its getting closer and closer. After my chief mates ticket, Ill start earning time towards my master 3000. So its definitely getting closer and closer, she said. Captain Sandy Yawn inspired White to explore the industry and other female captains like Captain Kate McCue inspires White too. McCue is the first American woman named as a captain of a large cruise ship. White dished that McCue will be a guest on her Total Ship Show podcast next season. Speaking to people like Captain Kate on the podcast is just so inspiring. And Im like, yes, this is definitely what I still want to do. Shes just amazing and shes talking about driving these big ships and Im like, yeah, Ill be there soon one day, she said. Malias is proud of her accomplishments on and off Below Deck Med Schwager said she could not be prouder of Whites accomplishments. Malia is goal-oriented, driven, adventurous, and just an all-around great person, she said. She has been an absolute pleasure to work with from day one! Whether Malia is working on a brand partnership, her podcast, advancing in her yachting career, or just stopping to chat and take pictures with fans, she is always professional, courteous, and friendly. Schwager continued. Malia is a huge part of the Stars Marketing Group family and we are so proud to represent her and watch her grow professionally and personally. We are excited for what her future holds. Malia White hopes her career path can be a source of inspiration for others White hopes her journey can also be a source of inspiration for anyone searching for the right career. I also hope that if my story can encourage anyone thats kind of in a job field that theyre not stoked on that they can see my story and say its never too late, she reflected. If you look back, Ive only been in yachting for five years, White said. Thats a blink of an eye in a career path. You can change your past or your career, your goals or what you want in life at any point. I think sometimes we get so focused and stuck on kind of what society or culture wants us to do that we forget that we can do anything we want. She changed her career path trajectory when Below Deck called. My career changed completely, she said. I studied ecology and evolutionary biology and psychology. I always thought I was going to go into some sort of biology or psychology-related field, and then I ended up working in business. Then from there, Below Deck was like, Do you want to go film a show on a yacht? And my whole life and career changed. And yeah, I gave up the cubicle for a ship. White just finished recording season 2 of her Total Ship Show podcast. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. RELATED: Malia White From Below Deck Med Officially Announces Shes Dating Jake Baker Big Brother stars Christmas Abbott and Memphis Garrett have officially tied the knot. They announced their relationship in December 2020, and he proposed in June 2021. Big Brother 19 Christmas Abbott | Sonja Flemming/CBS/Getty Images Christmas Abbott and Memphis Garrett are married After a nearly one-year engagement, Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott married in Savannah, Georgia, during Memorial Day Weekend 2022. Speaking to E! News following their big day, Memphis noted hes excited about marrying his Big Brother ally so he can spend the rest of my life with her and continue building their relationship. #BBMemphis discusses the final three, his game, and much more with the other Big Brother: All-Stars Jurors. #BB22 pic.twitter.com/pHSGk08LGN Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) October 23, 2020 RELATED: Big Brother Stars Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott Are Engaged; How Long Did They Date? We have so much fun together, and we complement each other. When you find something like that, you dont ever want to let that go. Christmas also doted on her spouse, believing God created Memphis, especially for her. I knew that everything that had happened in my life prepared me to meet him, so when I did, I would know hes my person without a doubt. He is my best friend and my home, and I get to spend forever with him, she told the publication. According to the couple, Christmas preferred to get married at a local courthouse, but Memphis encouraged her to have a wedding with their friends and family in attendance. Memphis and Christmas met during Big Brother 22 In 2020, Memphis and Christmas returned for Big Brother 22: All Stars. The two became allies and eventually developed a close relationship. Live Feed viewers insisted they saw Memphis pull Christmas onto his lap during Week 9 in the Head of Household room and believe the pair kissed behind a bedsheet. However, as they were both in committed relationships at the time, they denied it. A couple of months later, on December 1, 2020, the pair announced they began dating with Instagram posts. In her caption, she maintained they never kissed in the house. In his post, he acknowledged the complications surrounding the start of their relationship, writing, Sometimes people come into your life, and you know they just belong. We tried to fight it, but fate had its own plan. They both claim they didnt start anything romantic until ending their respective relationships. They got engaged in June 2021 After announcing their romance, the pair admitted they fell for each other during their time in the house but didnt start anything romantic until they were single. Following Big Brother, the couple frequently hung out in Florida, where they both resided, and she often appears on his Instagram series. Grab some tissues. #BBChristmas inspires us with her outlook on accepting gifts as they come, even if they are in banged up packages. #BB19 pic.twitter.com/02sAhJ2Ube Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) July 17, 2017 They also enjoyed a vacation in Mexico before attending co-star Nicole Franzel and BB18 star Victor Arroyos wedding. In May 2021, they moved in together. A month later, during a trip to the Bahamas, Memphis proposed to his girlfriend. He revealed the news on his Instagram with four pictures documenting the proposal. The BB10 runner-up captioned it, She said yes!! I love this woman unconditionally, and I cant wait to spend the rest of my life with her. Christmas uploaded pictures with a similar sentiment, adding she didnt see the proposal coming. Big Brother airs on CBS. RELATED: Big Brother: Christmas Abbott and Memphis Garrett Move in Together Following Five Months of Dating Socialite Paris Hilton burst onto the scene in the early 2000s. All those years ago, she starred along with her then-best friend, Nicole Richie, on their reality show, The Simple Life. And fans couldnt get enough. The two traveled across the country, exploring life as they had never lived it, and most of the time, hilarity ensued. Hilton made a name for herself with the reality show, and she had a distinctive way of presenting herself. But the quiet, ditzy girl depicted on screen wasnt the real Paris Hilton in fact, she didnt even use her actual voice. What was Paris Hilton like in The Simple Life? Paris Hilton during The Simple Life 2 Welcome Home Party Arrivals at The Spider Club in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage) Paris Hilton grew up living a life that others can only dream of. She is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels, and her family is estimated to be worth billions of dollars. So the reality TV boom of the 00s capitalized on her wealth and status with The Simple Life. The show depicted Hilton and Richie (daughter of Lionel Richie) taking on physical labor and menial tasks. The humor came from seeing them act out of place and clueless about things like grocery shopping, yard work, and functioning without their cell phones and personal assistants. But as the heiress explained more than a decade ago, some of it was an act. Paris Hilton explained her voice and The Simple Life persona Hilton was pretty unforgettable on the show, and at the time, fans may have thought that they were seeing who she really is. However, in a 2011 ABC interview, the socialite revealed that her persona on The Simple Life was a character created for the show. While Hilton explained it was just a character, she still used the voice in interviews. Sometimes, when Im on camera, Ill revert back to it a little bit. Just because Im so used to it, cause I did it for so long. Hilton has spoken about this many times. When I was developing the character for The Simple Life, I just was like, This is your voice for the show, do it all the time,' she told Vice in 2015. The origins of the baby voice It turns out that Hiltons baby voice didnt just come out of nowhere. In fact, shes been using it her whole life, especially when it comes to getting what she wants. [The baby voice] developed when I was like really young, when I was a baby or a kid, she said in the Vice interview. If I wanted to get something from my dad, Id be like, Dad, I really want this!' She explained she later used it on boyfriends. The voice also occasionally slips out at other times. I always talk normal, but if I start doing it theyll be like, Sit down, baby voice,' Hilton continued. People who dont know me probably assume Im like the biggest airhead on earth. Now, Hilton has a very different image. In addition to her business ventures and popular DJ career, she dove back into reality TV with Paris in Love, focused on her wedding day. In it, she goes back and forth between her voices but it seems like Hilton is finally herself this time around. RELATED: Paris Hilton Likes Binge-Watching The Simple Life With Her Boyfriend Now that weve all had a solid 48 hours to digest Stranger Things 4 Volume I, its time to look at some of the new characters. Stranger Things 4 introduces us to Henry Creel (Raphael Luce,) but his identity isnt as straightforward as it seems. Heres what we know about the character. [WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things 4 Volume I.] Nancy Wheeler learns Henry Creels backstory in Stranger Things 4 | Cr. Tina Rowden/Netflix Stranger Things 4 gives audiences a brief look at Henry Creel in Dear Billy In Stranger Things 4 Episode 4, Dear Billy, fans finally meet Victor Creel, played by Robert Englund. Showrunners made sure audiences knew Victor played a crucial role this season and hinted at his backstory connecting to the Upside Down. When Robin (Maya Hawke) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) weasel their way into speaking with Victor at Pennhurst Insane Asylum, he tells them about his experience. In 1959, Victor, his wife Virginia, and two children, Alice and Henry, moved to Hawkins, Indiana. Victor explains they wanted a fresh start, but the family begins to experience odd occurrences shortly after moving into the house. The lights flicker, the radio plays music out of nowhere, and Victor sees terrifying visions. One night at dinner, an unseen force murders Virginia in front of her family. As Victor tries to escape with Henry and Alice, he becomes entranced. When he comes out of the trance, he sees Alice dead on the floor with Henry unconscious but still alive. Victor tells Robin and Nancy that Henry slipped into a coma and died a week later. better get running up that hill girl pic.twitter.com/E9FXWJsQz6 Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) May 28, 2022 RELATED: Stranger Things 4 Episode 6 Recap: The Dive Features Steve Harrington in Hot Water Vecna weaves a different tale about Henry Creel Pieces of the Stranger Things 4 puzzle start to fall into place toward the end of episode 7, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab. As Elevens (Millie Bobby Brown) memory returns, we see Peter Ballard (Jamie Campbell Bower) explain his true motives. His tale combines with Vecnas, who shows Nancy how he came into existence. Henry Creel never died all those years ago, as Victor believed. Instead, when authorities arrested Victor for the murder of his family, they placed Henry in the care of Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine.) Peter, originally named Henry, tells Eleven he never felt like he fit in as a child. He resented everyone else living everyday lives and took out his rage on his family using his supernatural powers. While Victor took the blame for his familys murders, Henry actually committed them. When Dr. Brenner took Henry into his care, he experimented on him. Peter/Henry explained to Eleven that Brenner only wanted to recreate children with his same supernatural abilities. At some point, Brenner began to fear Peter/Henry because he couldnt control him or his powers. When Peter/Henry tried to get Eleven to join him on his murder spree, she banished him to the Upside Down, which somehow transformed him into Vecna. ST4 VOLUME 1 IS NOW STREAMING pic.twitter.com/8KpNc3hBNi Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) May 27, 2022 Peter Ballard isnt a reliable narrator in Stranger Things 4 Henry Creels origin story is told to the audience by Peter Ballard and Vecna in Stranger Things 4. The fatal flaw is that neither of these characters are necessarily reliable narrators. Each of their tales is told in a way that only gives their perspective. This leaves plenty of questions for the audience because we dont know whether to trust their words or not. On top of that, we only see Peters story from Elevens memory. We know her memory has the potential to be incorrect. Plus, theres always a chance Dr. Brenner somehow manipulates her memory into what he wants her to see. Hopefully, we get more answers in Stranger Things 4 Volume II. Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for all your Stranger Things updates! RELATED: Stranger Things 4 Episode 5 Recap: The Nina Project Gives Audiences Hoppers Backstory This Is Us fans are undoubtedly sad to say goodbye to the cast who brought some of their favorite characters to life. However, thanks to the magic of Hollywood, nothing really ends. And the cast members of the NBC drama will soon move on to other projects, including television shows, movies, and music. Mandy Moore is focusing on music after being a member of the This Is Us cast In recent years, Mandy Moore has returned to her musical roots, and she recently put out an album titled In Real Life. And following her departure from the This Is Us cast, shes planning on touring to promote her new music. But everything is up in the air after that. I am giving myself a little distance to really take in this six-season journey and then figure out from there, and just not giving myself the pressure of, Whats next in this given moment?' Moore told The Hollywood Reporter. Were going on tour for a couple of weeks and will have a fun summer, and then I think Ill sit down and say, What do I want to do that I wont just constantly compare to this last experience?' She added, Im excited to find something completely different and challenging in a way that I didnt get with This Is Us. I dont know what that is right now, but Im excited at the prospect of figuring out what it is going to be. As we close out the final chapter, let me leave you with thisTake the risks. Make the big moves, even if theyre small moves. Forge ahead with your lives in any and every direction that moves you. Im asking you to be fearless. Rebecca Pearson #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/hlQ43UqR8F Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) May 25, 2022 Milo Ventimiglia After playing Jack in This Is Us for six seasons, Milo Ventimiglia already has his next leading cast role. The actor has signed on to star in and executive produce The Company You Keep, a drama that earned a pilot order from ABC. The series is an adaptation from the Korean format, My Fellow Citizens. And Ventimiglia will play Charlie, who is entirely different from Jack Pearson. The synopsis reads, A night of passion leads to love between con-man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the family business so he can get out for good, Emmas closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlies family debts in hand forcing them to reckon with the lies theyve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences. Sterling K. Brown Following This Is Us, Sterling K. Brown will star in and executive produce Washington Black, a Hulu series based on Esi Edugyans novel. The show revolves around an 11-year-old boy named George Washington Wash Black, who lives on a 19th-century Barbados sugar plantation. Brown is set to play Medwin Harris, who takes in Wash as his protege. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Brown shared, I am functioning [as a star and] also as an executive producer on Washington Black that were filming in Nova Scotia, about a young slave boy who flees a plantation in the 1830s in Barbados and goes on this globe-trotting adventure. Its sort of historical fiction about seeing the institution of slavery and life through the eyes of a dreamer and an artist and the people who are around him who protect that vision, so it wasnt beaten out of him, the former This Is Us cast member said. So that he was allowed to dream and create in that way. Chrissy Metz wants to stay creative after leaving the This Is Us cast Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked with This Is Us cast member Chrissy Metz before the series finale. And during our interview, we asked the actor what the future has in store for her. Well, I hope to be finishing my album, Metz revealed. Ive been writing some songs while we were wrapping up the show. Im doing a movie in Kentucky for about a month a very different role from Kate, which is cool. And [Metzs boyfriend] Bradley and I are going to be announcing a project that we did together. Were going to be announcing it soon. She added, And yeah, I just hope to stay creative and potentially develop a show that I could star in. Everything is always pie in the sky until you see it. But I just want to be creative continue to be creative and sing and try new things. Like her This Is Us castmate Mandy Moore, Metz will be releasing music soon. And it sounds like she has many plans regarding where her career will take her next. Justin Hartley Following Justin Hartleys six-year run as Kevin Pearson in the This Is Us cast, the actor will star in and executive produce The Never Game on CBS, based on the novel by Jeffrey Deaver. And hes not the only familiar face attached to the project This Is Us executive producer and director Ken Olin will also serve as an executive producer of the upcoming drama. CBS ordered a pilot for The Never Game, and if picked up by the network, it will air during the 2022-2023 season. Olin is directing the pilot, and executive producer Michael Cooney is writing it. Hartley is playing the main character, survivalist Colter Shaw. Hartley told The Hollywood Reporter, Im excited about it. Its a departure, for sure. [Colter] still has a [family] backstory and all of that, but I think when you do something for a really long time, youre always looking for something different. Im kind of excited to get back into the action space. He continued, And its just a completely different character with a completely different backstory; his upbringing and his relationship with his father is so different than Kevins was with his dad. Hes a reward-seeker. I like that and everything about it. Day 1 of #thesoninlaw pilot in the books on location in beautiful Malibu, California. pic.twitter.com/LZlU7ZBqPA Chris Sullivan (@SullivanTweet) May 16, 2022 Chris Sullivan Like a few of the other This Is Us cast members, Chris Sullivan has already booked himself a pilot. He is currently filming the first episode of The Son in Law, an ABC comedy written by Ajay Sahgal. Sullivan is playing Jake, a single father who meets a woman named Asha, and they immediately strike a connection. But problems arise due to Jakes middle-class status as a plumber and Ashas unbelievably wealthy South Asian family. So, of course, her family, especially Ashas mother, disapproves of Jake. Jon Huertas is focusing on directing following his departure from the This Is Us cast Jon Huertas, who made fans fall in love with Miguel after six years of being a part of the This Is Us cast, will move behind the camera in the future. The actor told TV Insider, I began directing on This Is Us. I was supposed to direct a block of episodes on a new Amazon series, but Im officiating a wedding in Croatia [so the dates conflict]. Im looking at scripts to direct an independent film. I do want to take a break [when the show ends]. Before This Is Us, I was on a show in 2007 called Generation Kill [and then Castle]. So, its been over 15 years straight of being on TV. Huertas added, I want to be picky with my next job. I want to honor the Latinx story moving forward. I want to play characters who are very positive and give a window into someone who has success. Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, Jon Huertas, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chrissy Metz, Chris Sullivan, Mandy Moore, and Sterling K. Brown | Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic Susan Kelechi Watson And last but certainly not least, This Is Us cast member Susan Kelechi Watson is taking a break following the finale. I was on the phone. I said, Um, can I get a month? Can I get a month to do nothing?' she shared with E! News. There was something about this that I feel like for all of us, it just feels like a moment that is the culmination of something that we can feel comfortable to say, All right, lets sit for a second, take a breath, and go onto the next thing.' Watson continued, Mind you, a lot of us are jumping into something right after this. A lot of us are doing that. But its important for me to take a second and appreciate what just happened. Theres no doubt that Watson will go on to do amazing things. But no one could blame her for wanting life to slow down after the six-year whirlwind that was This Is Us. RELATED: 5 Shows to Watch if You Like This Is Us We may not be allowed to talk about Bruno, but we will definitely talk about the man behind Bruno. John Leguizamo has earned plenty of attention for his acclaimed portrayal of Bruno from the Disney animated favorite, Encanto. And, as it turns out, the actor ad-libbed one of his characters most iconic lines. John Leguizamo came up with one of Encantos best lines John Leguizamo attends Disney Studios premiere of Encanto at El Capitan Theatre on November 03, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage ) Encanto centers around the magical Madrigal family, whose powers stem from an enchanted candle. Every Madrigal family member has a unique ability that the candle grants them whenever they come of age. Mirabel is the only family member who didnt get a power, and her grandmother doesnt waste any opportunity to remind her as much. Among her relatives is Leguizamos Bruno, who leaves after his predictions rub the town the wrong way. Mirabel discovers that hed been living inside the casita. When Mirabel locates him, she asks him why he has been hiding. He seems distracted and puts up a play with his tiny rat friends, calling it a Rat Telenovela. BuzzFeed quotes the films co-writer and director, Charise Castro Smith, saying that the telenovela story wasnt in the script, and Leguizamo came up with it on the spot. It became one of Smiths favorite jokes, and they decided to leave it in much to the films benefit. John Leguizamos impressive career Unsurprisingly, Leguizamos career started in the New York nightclub circuit, where he did standup comedy. His early projects included action films like Die Hard 2 and dramas like Romeo + Juliet (the Leonardo DiCaprio version). However, his role in Super Mario Bros playing Luigi opened him up to more comedic roles. Leguizamo has maintained a steady presence in TV and film since the 90s. He appeared in the John Wick movies and held down TV roles in ER, Bloodline, and When They See Us, the latter of which earned him an Emmy nomination. In addition to Encanto, he voiced Sid in the Ice Age franchise. We Dont Talk About Bruno broke records Encanto featured several amazing songs, including the infamous We Dont Talk About Bruno and the Oscar-nominated Dos Oruguitas. However, out of all songs, We Dont Talk About Bruno left a significant impression on audiences worldwide, becoming the first-ever original Disney movie tune to top the charts. The song also surpassed the popular Let It Go from Frozen, which came in at No. 5 on the Hot 100. Although he became Bruno, the character as fans know him didnt begin that way. According to the New York Times, the writers took Bruno through several iterations throughout Encantos development. For starters, he was supposed to be around the same age as Mirabel, and his name would have been Oscar. However, due to there being several real-life individuals in Colombia named Oscar Madrigal, they had to change it to Bruno. The name worked and fit into the song perfectly. Kids likely wouldnt have loved the song if they couldnt sing, We dont talk about Bruno, no no, no! RELATED: Oscars 2022: Why Encanto Hit We Dont Talk About Bruno Wont Be Nominated Amryn Tom reacts after graduating from Cedar City High School on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Cedar City, Utah. Tom is wearing an eagle feather given to her by her mother and a cap that a family friend beaded. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close TEHRAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in a 10-story commercial building collapse in southwestern Iranian city of Abadan rose to 29, while a total of 38 people have been reported missing, semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a top provincial official as saying on Sunday. Khuzestan Province's Governor Sadeq Khalilian told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the site of the incident that 29 bodies have been recovered from the debris so far, of which three are unidentified. He said the rescue work is still underway to find the rest of the trapped bodies, assuring that the operations will continue until the last casualty is evacuated. The exact number of the people trapped under the rubble is still unknown as the search operation has been going slowly and carefully for the fear of the remaining parts of the building and adjacent structures falling down. Iran announced a day of national mourning on Sunday to honor the victims of the 10-story building's partial collapse. The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported that 10 people were arrested for the incident, in which the building's owner and contractor were killed. The under-construction building, known as Metropol, was on a crowded street in downtown Abadan, surrounded by commercial and medical complexes and offices. Parts of the building collapsed suddenly on Monday, trapping dozens of people beneath the rubble. New York City mayor seeks help to end 'kids killing kids' in the city This week, on May 24th, an 18-year-old shot and killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This is unbearable grief for the victims' family members, even if they believe in a loving God. Four days earlier, Kyhara Tay, 11, was shot and killed recklessly in New York City by a 15-year-old, leaving behind a grieving family. In the resulting somber press conference in NYC, Mayor Eric Adams and other political leaders of the city proclaimed how troubled they are by the violence. Mayor Adams wants to stop, what he emphatically described as, kids killing kids. Adams, at the press conference, emphasized, 11, 15, 18, several times, referring to the ages of children being killed as well as the ages of their killers. Speaking of gun violence, he said: "It's the number one killer of our children. Every year, 18,000 children and teens are shot, killed, or wounded and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence." And on May 14, an 18-year-old shot and killed 10 and injured three at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY. The Associated Press reports on the challenges faced by school counselors, citing one middle school counselor in rural California as saying that after a suicide prevention seminar: "This year I got 200 kids, which is a quarter of our student population," she said. "That is such a huge number. I can't see 200 kids every week. That is just impossible." Does these grievous unsettling news items, one after the other, within days of each other, remind you of Pauls warning below, and provide us with a context to interpret the above events? "God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful" (Romans 1: 28-31). Murderous intent is behind kids killing kids Could city leaders and politicians really stop kids from killing other kids in New York and other cities? We know mayors and other city leaders cannot change a murderous childs intent to kill. They also cannot stop a murderous intent taking residence in a childs mind. To change the murderous intent of children, we must look elsewhere. An abundance of data and reports show that fewer and fewer Americans have faith in God and have lost their affiliation with the Church, according to the Pew Research Center. Significant proportion of adult Americans have walked away from God, the Bible and the Church. These adult decisions are not without consequences for their children. American children can be raised without the intent to kill others My family and I have been continuously part of one church or another for 49 years while living in seven different cities in America. The churches we attended had memberships ranging from a few hundred to 1,500. Thankfully, I cannot recall a single incident in 49 years where one of the children attending these churches criminally used a gun to kill others or was a victim of one. In our church of almost 30 years in Alabama, there were many hunters who kept multiple guns in their homes. Yet, in our church, no church-going child was ever caught using guns illegally to kill other children. No one lived in fear of gun violence in the communities we lived in. Was it a fluke that in 49 years no church-going child used guns illegally or was a victim of one? Or was it to be expected from churched children? Erasing the intent to kill among NYC children Did the New York city officials offer a solution at the press conference cited above? Notably, the mayor said, When I speak to my faith-based leaders, I tell them, I need you to come out with me in the streets and be the eyes and ears. Further, Emily Ngo of Spectrum News NY1, wrote: "In all, 16 children 16 years or younger have been shot in the Bronx so far this year; five of them were under 14, said Darcel Clark, the boroughs district attorney. In an anguished plea on Friday, she begged Bronx residents to help the police hold accountable those who perpetrate violence[emphasis added]." The boroughs district attorney was right to hold accountable those who perpetrate violence, once violence is committed. This, however, cannot end the intent to kill among NYC children before they commit the crime. To take away the intent, history says, give children a home that emphasizes: Faith in Jesus Christ The study of the Bible Church worship Stable families However, these changes will take time to produce results. The ongoing murders in NYC are a sad tragedy, but it is an opportunity for the Church to step in and minister to families to restore their affiliation with Jesus Christ. This is a long term process akin to the work in mission fields in faraway nations, where Christian American missionaries have toiled long and hard to introduce faith in God, change minds, change lives and change their eternal destiny. Mayor Adams has inadvertently defined NYC as a mission field for our churches. It took a mayor to bring attention to a vast and growing mission field in our midst. Now, what are American churches waiting for? Finally, parents also have a critical role to play. Pew Research Center reports, "To begin with, most U.S. teens (ages 13 to 17) share the religious affiliation of their parents or legal guardians." Therefore, adults, when you reject God, reject the Bible and reject the Church, it is not without dire consequences for your children; NYC is exhibit one. DeVon Franklin is expert in new Married at First Sight season despite 'shame' of divorce Hollywood filmmaker and preacher DeVon Franklin says he was recruited as a celebrity expert for the hit show "Married at First Sight" amid his recent divorce. The Christian preacher, who recently got divorced from actress Meagan Good after nine years of marriage, has frequently spoken publicly about relationships. Along with sharing his faith on social media, Franklin has often offered advice for couples and singles on prayerfully staying in God's will when it comes to relationships. He and Good co-authored the relationship book The Truth About Men: What Men and Women Need to Know and The Wait. According to Essence.com, Franklin was recruited to replace Dr. Viviana Coles on the new season of "Married at First Sight." Coles has served as a celebrity expert along with Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Pastor Calvin Roberson for the last few seasons of the series. Franklin will be joined by expert Dr. Pia Holec, a celebrated sex and couples psychotherapist who will make her debut on Season 15 of the show. "Married at First Sight" is a social experiment that brings together compatible singles who are willing to marry a stranger in hopes of living happily ever after. This season of the reality series will take place in San Diego, California. In an Instagram post about his involvement in the new season, Franklin revealed that he almost turned the opportunity down. "Moment of Truth: Last year, Married At First Sight (@mafslifetime) invited me to come on the show. I agreed to do it and then the divorce hit," he wrote. "They came to me and said that didn't matter to them because they still felt like I could help their couples. I was going to tell them 'No' because I felt shame, and that voice in my head said, 'you're a failure; how can you help anybody save their marriage when yours didn't work out?'" Franklin disclosed that the voice in his head had him focusing on public opinion. "Then I had to ask myself: Is this how I'm going to live the rest of my life? In fear about what 'people' say? And who are 'people' anyway? So I went back to the @mafslifetime team and told them YES, I'll still come. I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR OR SHAME!'" He maintained that he would draw from his own life experiences to help couples have successful relationships. "A lot of times, that voice in our heads is our worst enemy. It tries to talk us out of what God is trying to talk us into," Franklin continued. "I was trying to get through this life perfect, and without failure, now I'm just living to get through it truthfully and if what I've learned about love and relationships can help someone, then I'm here for it," he concluded. Franklin and Good announced their divorce in December in an Instagram post. They shared a photo of themselves embracing while sitting down together outdoors with their backs turned away from the camera. "After much prayer and consideration, we have decided to go into our futures separately but forever connected," Franklin and Good shared in the joint statement. "We celebrate almost a decade of marriage together and a love that is eternal," they continued. The couple met while filming the 2011 movie "Jumping the Broom" and got engaged in May 2012. They were married one month after their engagement. "There's no one at fault," the two shared of their split, adding: "We believe this is the next best chapter in the evolution of our love." "We are incredibly grateful for the life-changing years we've spent together as husband and wife. We are also extremely thankful to God for the testimony being created inside us both and for blessing our lives with each other," the statement concluded. The news of their divorce comes as a shock to many because, in 2019, Good revealed that she and Franklin were ready to start a family. Border agent who joined team that killed Uvalde shooter was off duty at Barber shop when wife called Amid the aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Texas, where a Latino teenager shot and killed 19 children and two teachers, there are reports of the heroic efforts of U.S. Border Patrol agent Jacob Albarado. Off duty and at a barbershop when his wife texted him about a threat to her life and their daughter from an active shooter, Albarado borrowed a shotgun from his barber and rushed to the school. Theres an active shooter, his wife, Trisha, wrote in the text message she sent. Help. I love you. As Albarado reached Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday morning, he found a tactical team trying to enter the wing where the gunman was holed up, The New York Times reported, adding that he promptly planned with the other officers to first evacuate as many children as possible with two officers providing him cover and two others guiding the children out on the sidewalk. Albarado recalled that his daughter was locked inside a bathroom and his wife was hiding underneath a desk with students. Im looking for my daughter, but I also know what wing shes in. So I start clearing all the classes in her wing, he was quoted as saying. They were just all hysterical, of course. When he saw his 8-year-old daughter, Jayda, he hugged her, but then continued to help move the other children along. About 80 Border Patrol agents responded to the shooting, The Wall Street Journal reported. Initially, the Bortac (Border Patrol Tactical Unit ) agents couldnt get into the classroom because of a steel door and cinder block construction, the Journal said. Meanwhile, the gunman shot at them through the door and walls. The suspect was holed up in a fourth-grade classroom where he killed 19 children and two teachers. NEW: This is the hat the elite, veteran BORTAC Border Patrol agent was wearing when he breached the classroom with a tactical team and engaged/killed the Uvalde school shooter, a CBP source tells me. Graze wound to head. Many BP agents in Uvalde have kids at the school. @FoxNewspic.twitter.com/924WCOZjsK Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 25, 2022 There has been an outpouring of grief since the shooting. On Sunday, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will go to Uvalde to grieve with the family and the community. Hes going to go clearly on Sunday to offer his comfort to grieve with the family and the community. But at the same time, he is going to call on Congress to take action because it's been too long and now is the time to act, White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told the press corps last week. After the shooting, Biden advocated for stricter gun laws in a speech to the nation. Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in Gods name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the lobbies? Its time to turn this pain into action, he said. According to media reports, the shooter was in the schools hallways at 11:40 a.m., and he was killed by the agents more than an hour later, at 12:58 p.m., which had led to severe criticism of law enforcement. The officer in charge on the scene, identified as Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo, believed that the shooter was a barricaded suspect with no one else alive in the classroom, but 911 calls showed that many children were still alive at the time, The Epoch Times reported, citing a statement by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. The decision to wait was a bad decision, and that decision cost lives, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said on Fox & Friends. Two days after praising law enforcement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he was livid after being misled. I was misled. I am livid about what happened, Abbott said at a press conference at Uvalde High School, The Washington Times reported. I was on this very stage two days ago and I was telling the public information that had been told to me in a room just a few yards behind where were located right now, he said. I wrote down hand notes in detail about what everybody in that room told me, in sequential order, about what happened. When I came out here on this stage and told the public what happened, it was a recitation of what people in that room told me. Abbott added, My expectation is that the law enforcement leaders that are leading the investigations, which includes the Texas Rangers and the FBI, they get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty. Texas stands with Uvalde for the long term in helping every single person in this community be able to piece their lives back together, to heal as much as they possibly can. We will be here as long as it takes. Were not going to be here talking about it and do nothing about it. We will be looking for the best laws we can get passed to make communities safe. Arizona Dept. of Education promotes chat room for students to talk about gender, sexuality The Arizona Department of Education's list of student resources provides minor children with links to LGBT-themed chat rooms where they can discuss gender and sexuality, possibly without their parents' knowledge. The ADE website directs students to the Gender Spectrum and Q Chat Space under its "Online Chat Spaces" tab. The links are included in a list of resources ADE assembled for students, educators, school leaders and parents "to assist in the support of LGBTQ students in our schools and communities." In addition to the chat rooms, the website also includes information about local and national LGBT organizations. The list of resources was collected by "members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community as part of ADE's Equitable and Inclusive Practices Advisory Council." The Arizona Department of Education, Gender Spectrum and Q Chat Space did not respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Gender Spectrum advertises online chat rooms for "transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive pre-teens," inviting them to join discussion groups sorted by age and facilitated by moderators "who have navigated gender in their own lives." The group provides chat room spaces for students ages 13 to 16, 17 to 18 and 10 to 12. "Gender Spectrum hosts free online groups for pre-teens, teens, parents, caregivers, and other family members and adults," ADE's description of the group reads. "These groups provide you with the opportunity to connect with others, share experiences, and feel the comfort of a supportive community." Gender Spectrum told The National Desk that its online groups require parental consent for pre-teens but do not require parental consent for its teenage users. The other chat room, Q Chat Space, is targeted at children ages 13 to 19, according to its website. Q Chat Space's upcoming chat room discussions consist of a Friday session titled "FOR TRANS/NON-BINARY YOUTH: Hormones! What do they do, what don't they do? HRT Q&A," and another called "Queer Hair" on June 1. The LGBT-themed chat room is operated in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation's largest abortion provider whose clinics have been accused of dispensing hormones to trans-identifying teens without verifying medical records or parental consent. Q Chat Space's other partners include CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers and PFLAG, the "largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies." Q Chat is facilitated by "experienced staff who work at LGBTQ+ centers around the United States," but the website acknowledges that its "facilitators are NOT mental health professionals." According to a Monday Libs of TikTok tweet, the discussion room hosted by Q Chat Space has a "quick escape" feature, speculating that this is in case kids want to conceal their online activity from their parents. Arizona Dept of Education provides a resource link for LGBT students. The link takes you to an online chat room with LGBT adults and teens where they talk about sex and gender. The online chat room has a quick escape feature in case a kid wants to hide it from their parents. pic.twitter.com/ogCiYtU73i Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 23, 2022 The issue of promoting ideas about sexual orientation and gender identity that may conflict with the values of students' parents has surfaced in several schools throughout the country. In April, two sets of parents of the Ludlow Public School District in Massachusetts filed a federal lawsuit against school officials at Baird Middle School. They allege that school officials encouraged their children to adopt new gender identities without their parent's knowledge or consent. One set of parents, Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, accused the school of violating their request that they refrain from discussing gender identity issues with their children. A teacher informed them in December 2020 that their 11-year-old daughter was struggling with her self-esteem. The 11-year-old sent the defendants an email where their daughter claimed that she was "genderqueer" and told them that she used "any pronouns (other than it/its)" and requested to be called by a different name. A reply email from the child's school counselor told the other defendants that she was "still in the process of telling [her] parents and is requesting that school staff refer to [her] by" her given name and "use she/her pronouns with her parents and in written emails/letters home." The complaint characterizes this email as indicative of an effort to conceal "the fact that school staff were affirming an alternative name and identity for their daughter." The parents claim they would provide their daughter with the help she needed from a "mental health professional" but believe the school ignored their request. Foote and Silvestri say their daughter "changed her preferred name at least twice since December 2020" without their knowledge, and the school continues to address their daughter by "whatever iteration of her name she has indicated she prefers." The complaint also states that the two other plaintiffs "have sincerely held religious beliefs that human beings are created male or female and that the natural created order regarding human sexuality cannot be changed regardless of individual feelings, beliefs, or discomfort with one's identity, and biological reality, as either male or female." In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, a piece of legislation that critics have labeled a "Don't Say Gay" bill. The law prohibits classroom instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. It also requires schools to notify parents about changes to their child's well-being and prevents them from withholding this information from parents. "Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old," DeSantis said in a March 28 statement about the bill. Last year, two schools in Loudoun County, Virginia, generated public attention after reports surfaced of two sexual assaults committed at two different high schools by the same male student, one of which occurred in a girls' bathroom while he was wearing a skirt. The incidents reportedly occurred before Loudoun officials implemented a bathroom policy allowing trans-identifying students to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Last July, parents in Fairfax County, Virginia, protested against a policy allowing trans-identifying students to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity. According to The Washington Post, the guidelines implemented by the school district also required that official lists of students, including in yearbooks and newspapers, refer to them by their chosen pronouns. This story will make you want to be a foster care family I (Tara) remember it like it was yesterday: my first experience in a government-run orphanage. After years as a missionary in Honduras working in private orphanages, I was in shock. Walking into the institution I saw over 100 children, many with disabilities, and only a few caregivers. Infants spent their days in cribs and were infrequently changed, bathed, and fed. While volunteering in that orphanage, I noticed that many babies were regularly sick and in and out of the emergency room due to pneumonia and other serious health conditions. One day, an orphanage worker begged a fellow volunteer to take a very sick baby girl home. Miraculously, within four months of living with her, the baby was completely healthy. All she needed was to be held while she drank her bottle. You see, the pneumonia these babies suffered from wasnt caused by a nasty cold. It was caused by damage to their lungs from drinking out of propped-up bottles. There werent enough staff members to hold the babies bottles for feedings. While I realized the smaller orphanages I had worked in were not ideal for children, it was working in this institution that made something click all children need to be raised in families. This was a watershed moment for my husband and me as we realized that the most important work we could do was not continue to love on children in orphanages, but to help children find forever families families that would not only feed babies but would help them thrive into adulthood. When many of us hear about orphans we assume they can be properly cared for within an orphanage. I know I did. But our first experience as foster parents many years ago, as well as almost 20 years of work supporting orphaned and vulnerable children since then, has taught us the opposite: children need safe and loving families. I (Jorge) grew up in Honduras in a middle-class family and went to a private bi-lingual school. My city had quite a few orphanages, but I remained mostly unaware of them. When I did occasionally notice them, it made me uncomfortable to think about the children who tragically had to grow up in these places. This is common: many of us dont want to think about the painful situations children all around the world find themselves in when they are without a family and a home. So, our responses tend to either take the form of denial that we arent needed because others are doing the work, or rejection because the reality that there are so many orphans in the world is overwhelming. But what children who are orphaned and vulnerable need are for us to not turn away. Galatians 6:2 tells us to carry each others burdens and Psalm 34:18 reminds us that God himself is there with the brokenhearted. We must, James 1:27 says, look after orphans and widows in their distress. With Gods grace, my nagging guilt turned into a calling when I joined my wife in ministry to children in orphanages. It soon became evident that God wanted us to join Him in His work to reconcile children to families, and we began a foster care ministry in our community. People tend to equate foster care with vulnerable children in the U.S., and yet they equate orphanages with vulnerable children in other countries. Often this is because of the myth that families within a childs community cannot care for them, and orphanages are the only option. Our work in Honduras to engage the local church to strengthen families to care for their children and recruit foster parents has shown us that this line of thinking is at odds with what Scripture calls us to do. Its time we move on to something more in line with Gods design for children family. The importance of family cannot be underestimated. Research has shown that children who grow up in healthy families are more emotionally and cognitively astute, more resilient when hard times come and have lower rates of depression and other mental health struggles. And family isnt just important in the big milestones of life where it matters most is in the mundane daily struggles and victories. It matters most when we hold a baby while she has her bottle, when we cry alongside our heartbroken child, and when we dance with them at their wedding. In a world of independence, the greatest gift we can give each other and the children who are growing up today is interdependence. To shift our thinking, we must begin by building a strong understanding of family. Weve learned that family is what helps to form hopeful children who can change our world. God knew this about us too when he called us into his family. Not leaving us at a distance as acquaintances, he called us sons and daughters and brothers and fellow heirs. Of us, he said, [You are] no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with Gods people and also members of his household (Eph. 2:19). As National Foster Care Month comes to an end in the U.S., expand your love and compassion to the millions of children living in orphanages today. Join us and others around the world in pursuing Gods intention for every child to know the love and belonging of family. Ronnie Hawkins, a brash rockabilly star from Arkansas who became a patron of the Canadian music scene after moving north and recruiting a handful of local musicians later known as the Band, has died. His wife Wanda confirmed to The Canadian Press that Hawkins died Sunday morning after an illness. He was 87. He went peacefully and he looked as handsome as ever, she said by telephone. Born just two days after Elvis Presley, the Huntsville native friends called The Hawk (He also nicknamed himself The King of Rockabilly and Mr. Dynamo) was a hell-raiser with a big jaw and a stocky build. He had minor hits in the 1950s with Mary Lou and Odessa and ran a club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where acts included such early rock stars as Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty. "Hawkins is the only man I ever heard who can make a nice sexy song like My Gal is Red Hot sound sordid, Greil Marcus wrote in his acclaimed book about music and American culture, Mystery Train, adding that The Hawk was alleged to know more back roads, back rooms and backsides than any man from Newark to Mexicali. Hawkins didnt have the gifts of Presley or Perkins, but he did have ambition and an eye for talent. He first performed in Canada in the late 50s and realized he would stand out far more in a country where homegrown rock still barely existed. Canadian musicians had often moved to the U.S. to advance their careers, but Hawkins was the rare American to try the reverse. With drummer and fellow Arkansan Levon Helm, Hawkins put together a Canadian backing group that included guitarist-songwriter Robbie Robertson, keyboardists Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel and bassist Rick Danko. They became the Hawks, educated in the Hawkins school of rock. When the music got a little too far out for Ronnies ear, Robertson told Rolling Stone in 1978, or he couldnt tell when to come in singing, he would tell us that nobody but Thelonious Monk could understand what we were playing. But the big thing with him was that he made us rehearse and practice a lot. Often we would go and play until 1 a.m. and then rehearse until 4. Robertson and friends backed Hawkins from 1961-63, putting on raucous shows around Canada and recording a howling cover of Bo Diddleys Who Do You Love that became one of Hawkins signature songs. But Hawkins wasnt selling many records and the Hawks outgrew their leader. They hooked up with Bob Dylan in the mid-'60s and by the end of the decade were superstars on their own who had renamed themselves the Band. Hawkins, meanwhile, settled in Peterborough, Ontario, and had a handful of top 40 singles there, including Bluebirds in the Mountain and Down in the Alley. He admittedly didnt keep up with the latest sounds he was horrified the first time he heard Canadian Neil Young but in the late 1960s he befriended John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono. They stayed with Hawkins and his wife, Wanda, and three children while they were visiting Canada. At that particular time, I thought I was doin them a favor, he later told the National Post. I thought the Beatles were an English group that got lucky. I didnt know a lot about their music. I thought Yokos was (silly). To this day, I have never heard a Beatle album. For 10 billion dollars, I couldnt name one song on Abbey Road. I have never in my life picked up a Beatle album, and listened to it. Never. But John was so powerful. I liked him. He wasnt one of those hotshots, you know." Hawkins also kept in touch with the Band and was among the guests in 1976 for the all-star, farewell concert that was the basis for Martin Scorseses documentary The Last Waltz. For a few moments he was back in charge, grinning and strutting under his Stetson hat, calling out big time, big time to his former underlings as they tore through Who Do You Love. Besides The Last Waltz, Hawkins also appeared in Dylans film Renaldo and Clara, the big-budget fiasco Heavens Gate and Hello Mary Lou. A 2007 documentary about Hawkins, Alive and Kickin, was narrated by Dan Aykroyd and featured a cameo from another famous Arkansan, Bill Clinton. Hawkins albums included Ronnie Hawkins, The Hawk and Cant Stop Rockin, a 2001 release notable for Helm and Robertson appearing on the same song, Blue Moon in My Sign. Helm and Robertson were no longer speaking, having fallen out after The Last Waltz, and recorded their contributions in separate studios. Over time, Hawkins mentored numerous young Canadian musicians who went on to successful careers, including guitarist Pat Travers and future Janis Joplin guitarist John Till. He received several honorary awards from his adopted country, and, in 2013, was named a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to the development of the music industry in Canada, as a rock and roll musician, and for his support of charitable causes. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is in Israel for five days of talks with political and business leaders of the Middle Eastern country. Ducey arrived in Israel on Sunday morning, accompanied by the heads of the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ducey spokesperson C.J. Karamargin said the Republican governor's meetings will focus on trade, water and border security. Ducey has worked over his seven years in office to boost economic ties with Israel, which has a similar arid climate and water and security issues. He will meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Isaac Herzog as well as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also will meet with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides. Ducey will pay a Memorial Day visit to Israel's 9/11 memorial in Jerusalem, meet with the city's mayor and visit some historic sites. It is Ducey's third trip to Israel since he took office in 2015. He was the first Arizona governor to go there when he led an 8-day official trade mission during his first year as governor. He attended an international conference on water technology and met with business and government officials. In 2019, he and his family traveled there for a combined business trip and family holiday vacation. He toured a commerce authority trade office that opened in Tel Aviv earlier that year. Ducey has touted Israels water desalination technology as a way to augment Arizonas supplies, which are endangered by long-term drought and climate change. He wants the state Legislature to approve a $1 billion investment for boosting the state's water supply this year. Key to that plan is a desalination plant that could cost more than five times that amount. Ducey has not provided any details of plans for the plant, which would likely be located in Mexico and draw water from the Gulf of California. Commerce authority president and CEO Sandra Watson and Danny Seiden, a former Ducey staffer who now leads the statewide Chamber of Commerce business group, are traveling with the governor. ELTON, La. (AP) Sam Wrobel has gone from a kid in Chicago cutting paper to an adult in southwest Louisiana cutting paper professionally. Wrobel, whose last name is Polish for sparrow, studied art in college and worked for years as a sign artist, making mostly illustration-type artwork for Trader Joes. Years of full-time travel brought them to Acadiana and its nature, music and country Mardi Gras traditions. That was all it took. I came here and fell in love with the culture, they said. Wrobel moved to Lafayette in 2017 and started Sparrow Papercraft a year later. The business focused at first on painting and illustrating but over time returned to their artistic and Polish roots papercutting. Wycinanki is the Polish folk art of papercutting, which Wrobel learned as a child from a good family friend named Doris Sikorsky. She was a professional papercutter and passed that tradition on to little Sam through two master/apprentice grants in ethnic art from the Illinois Arts Council. It took me until I was older to realize what had been passed on to me, Wrobel said. Everyone always says find your niche. I had my niche all along. Now 36 and based in Elton, Wrobel uses only scissors and paper to hand-cut traditional folk designs blended with the nature and culture of Cajun country to produce original wycinanki art. When I first started doing it I just never thought people in Louisiana would care about my Polish folk art, but they do, they said. The traditional Polish folk art of papercutting was done mostly by peasants, farmers or women living in rural areas. Theyd traditionally use heavy sheep shears because thats what they had, Wrobel explained, but over time they also came to use scissors. Some of the common designs include roosters, flowers, farm or wedding scenes. They were depicting scenes from their daily lives, they said. Thats something Doris taught me. Dont just copy the old pictures. So she had Wrobel depict scenes from their own life. Wrobel remembers putting scissors to paper to create a sleepover scene. Theyre still incorporating common scenes from daily life, although the optics have changed a bit. Now there are crawfish boats and Mardi Gras courirs in their pieces. The culture here is so vibrant and inspirational, Wrobel said. Im also a Southwest Louisiana Master Naturalist, so Im very inspired by nature birds, animals, plants. While the designs change, the spirit of the art remains the same. Its fanciful, they said, referring to the angles, colors and intricacies within the designs. But it is still a simple art reflecting daily life and common items. I feel like Im still doing it in the spirit of it, Wrobel said. Its important to carry it on but also important to put your own spin on it. People think of tradition as static, not changing, but thats not how its ever been. The art evolved well before Sikorsky introduced Wrobel to it in the 90s, becoming more intricate as tools and materials improved. But the heart of it has stayed the same, they said. I do some traditional style and try to keep the traditional feel to it, they said. Like with any art, you develop your own style after a while. Thats reflected on the Sparrow Papercraft website, where colorful roosters and intricate flowers share space with alligators, pelicans and Mardi Gras costumes. I want people to still recognize it, they said. My first Mardi Gras piece, it looks so Cajun and so Polish at the same time. They do commission work as well as their own pieces, which can be found in the online shop. There are original works made of paper as well as prints of those designs converted into stickers, greeting cards and T-shirts. Sparrow Papercraft items also can be found at some markets. Stickers tend to be their best sellers, and it makes Wrobel happy to see the Mardi Gras sticker on cars around town. Mardi Gras holds a special place in their heart, which translates into new pieces for the holiday each year. Wrobel does an annual limited edition Mardi Gras print and has designed the patch for a Mardi Gras run they attend each year near Eunice. The amount of time papercutting takes depends on the project. Size and layering make a difference. With so many tiny details and thin paper, Wrobel uses a high-quality, extra-strength glue stick. Its like gluing a piece of lace down, they said. They work with paper of all colors rather than dying it themselves. It gives the work an added challenge they enjoy. Thats one thing thats so great about this work, they said. I can be having a bad day and then I just go to my desk and its covered in colorful paper. Its hard to be in a bad mood around so much color. When Wrobel was first taught wycinanki, it was a dying folk art. It has had a bit of a resurgence, but much of the work being done today is digital rather than paper, the artist said. That reminds Wrobel how precious and fleeting this work can be. Wrobel calls Sikorsky, now in her 80s and still in Chicago, to check in every week. She gave me this gift; I want to honor that, they said. I guess she saw something in me. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children's photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends, he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important." As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden answered, We will, as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. And we are committed to turning this pain into action, he said. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahna Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washington's sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC's This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ This story was first published on May 30, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022 to correct the spelling of one of the first name of one of the shooting victims. She is Eliahna Torres, not Eliahana Torres. So, you want to spend this Memorial Day in the town where the holiday began. Take your pick. After all, you have 25 communities to choose from. Experts will tell you wading into identifying the town where Memorial Day started is a risky business. Call it the third rail of American history; touching it can give researchers a serious jolt. Lets start with what we know for sure. Back in 1868, Gen. John Black Jack Logan was commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was an organization of Union Civil War veterans, much like todays American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He urged that May 30 be observed as Decoration Day, a time to place flowers on the graves of Northern war dead. Its thought the 30th was selected because flowers would be blooming all around the country by then. A large ceremony was held that first Decoration Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where future President James Garfield spoke for an hour and a half. Ulysses S. Grant, who would become president himself 10 months later, and much of the Union Armys big brass were also on hand. It was the first of Arlingtons annual May observances honoring the fallen, a tradition that carries on to this day. But when you go back beyond 1868 things get very murky, very fast. Claims of which community commenced the custom are frequent and intense. Theres Columbus, Mississippi, where on April 25, 1866, women laid flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers killed in the nearby bloody Battle of Shiloh. Farther east, Columbus and Macon, Georgia, each say it got the ball rolling with observances there. A cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, Logans wartime home, contains a stone proclaiming the first Memorial Day observance was held there on April 29, 1866. Charleston, South Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, and many other localities all boast the honor as theirs. In 1966, Congress waded into the dispute by declaring Waterloo, New York, to be the holidays official birthplace. Why Waterloo? It seems a special day of observance was held there on May 6, 1866. Stores were closed, flags were flown at half-staff, and, of course, graves were decorated with flowers. That, Waterloos supporters argue, shows it was an organized townwide event. Incidents in other places, they say, were just ad hoc groups of women taking flowers to the local cemetery. Waterloos observance had all the hallmarks of a true holiday and Congress eventually agreed. But that didnt stop the bickering. In the 56 years since the official designation was bestowed, adherents of other towns claim to the title keep arguing for a transfer. Theyll likely still be arguing about it 56 years from now, too. Theres even a separate debate over which town hosts the nations oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade. Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has a parade that has been held since 1868. But the parade in Rochester, Wisconsin, started in 1867. Its worth noting that in spring 1917, just as America was entering World War I, the holidays focus began shifting from decorating just Civil War graves to honoring everyone who fell in all American wars. After World War II, the name began changing from the quaint Decoration Day to Memorial Day. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, both cementing the new name and moving its observance to the last Monday in May. One important parting note: At the conclusion of Arlington National Cemeterys first ceremony in 1868, children from the Soldiers and Sailors Orphans' Home walked among the rows of tombstones, singing hymns as they strewed flowers on all graves, both Union and Confederate. The very children who had lived through the war and lost their fathers in its carnage paid tribute to their parents adversaries. Given how deeply (and increasingly) divided the country is in 2022, where people are all too eager to tear into anyone they disagree with or destroy anything they dont like, it would be well to revisit 1868s example so that once more a little child shall lead them. A contestant shows her Chinese calligraphy work during a Chinese language competition in Belgrade, Serbia, May 28, 2022. Serbian university students on Saturday competed in Chinese language proficiency at a preliminary contest in Belgrade. (Photo by Nemania Cabric/Xinhua) BELGRADE, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Serbian university students on Saturday competed in Chinese language proficiency at a preliminary contest in Belgrade's Megatrend University. At the preliminary competition, Serbian students Veljko Savic and Leonora Ristic won in the advanced and basic proficiency categories, respectively. Savic will represent his country to compete against peers around the world in the Chinese Bridge competition to be held later this year. Savic told Xinhua that he started learning the Chinese language four and a half years ago while he was still in high school. After visiting China, he decided to enroll in the Chinese language at the Faculty of Philology of Belgrade University. "I feel that by winning this competition, I got the chance to improve my confidence and motivation and advance my further progress in learning the Chinese language... It's great that the friendship between our two countries has been rapidly developing in recent years, and this will help our people to get to know the Chinese language and culture, and it will help the Chinese to learn Serbian and get to know our beautiful country," Savic said. Chinese teacher Chen Hui, who works at the Confucius Institute of the University of Novi Sad, recalled that the Chinese Bridge competition in Serbia has been organized since 2018, drawing an increasing number of students to learn Chinese. She said she hoped more Serbian people can learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture. In a statement to Xinhua, Chang Bo, an official from the Chinese embassy in Serbia, praised the performance of the students, pledging that the embassy will continue to promote Chinese language learning among Serbian students as well as more exchanges between China and Serbia. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Jacksonville officially entered the era of deeper water for cargo ships as it became the third Southeast port to complete a mega-dredge so it can handle more cargo containers from fast-growing Asian shippers. A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dropped a clamshell into the St. Johns River on Monday and scooped a ceremonial final batch of silt for the deepening financed by $420 million from all levels of government. I was elated, JaxPort CEO Eric Green said of the moment. Southeast ports have been in a race to deepen their water for Asian-based cargo ships. Miami deepened its channel to 52 feet in 2015 and the port of Savannah, which is one of the busiest in the nation for Asian trade, went to 47 feet in March. Charlestons port is on track to complete a deepening to 52 feet for its harbor later this year. In Jacksonville, the pursuit toward deeper water started in 2005 with a feasibility study and intensified around 2010 with the kick-off of an in-depth environmental impact study that resulted in Congress giving authorization in 2014 for the deepening. That opened the door for federal funding in phases. The years of study and financial requests since 2010 spanned the administrations of three U.S. presidents, two Florida governors, three Jacksonville mayors and four JaxPort CEOs. Green, wearing one of the events caps with 47 emblazoned on it for the new depth of the 47-foot deep river channel, joined JaxPort in 2005 in its government relations division, so he has been working since then on gaining support for the dredge in some form or fashion. Being a hometown boy, this is really special to me because a lot of the people who earn a living from what we do were people I grew up with from my neighborhoods, I went to school with and I continue to see to this day, he said. It holds something special in my heart to be able to bring something like this to our town. Jacksonvilles port of the future In a major change along the way, JaxPort developed a funding model that paid to dredge 11 miles of the river from a depth of 40 feet down to 47 feet, rather than going the full 13 miles authorized by Congress. The deepening for 11 miles goes to the Blount Island terminal east of the Dames Point bridge, stopping short of the two additional miles that would go to another JaxPort terminal on the west side of the bridge. SSA Marine operates on Blount Island and will be the hub for attracting cargo ships making routes between Asia and the East Coast. JaxPort recently completed $100 million worth of improvements at Blount Island that will enable two large cargo ships to dock simultaneously for service by SSA Marine. SSA Marine is making additional improvements and will be bringing in three all-electric new cranes. JaxPort Chairwoman Wendy Hamilton said the authority set out to build a port of the future as part of the river deepening. The future is here and JaxPort is equipped to meet the needs of the nations supply chain for generations to come, Hamilton said in remarks at the ceremony. U.S. Army Col. James Booth, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, said the deepening is a mega-project that cements Jacksonvilles status as a critical port of call for global 21st Century commerce and economic development. Concerns about impact of dredging on St. Johns River, flooding The Corps and JaxPort faced opposition from the St. Johns Riverkeeper organization that sued in federal court to stop the dredging, contending it would cause harm to the health of the river beyond what the Corps identified in its environmental impact report. The Riverkeeper also contended the deepening would worsen flooding and challenged the economic assumptions used to justify the federal expenditure on the project. A federal judge ruled in favor of the Corps on that lawsuit, allowing the deepening that started in 2018 to continue. The federal government, the state Department of Transportation, the city of Jacksonville, JaxPort and SSA Marine put up a total of about $420 million for the 11-mile project since 2014. The actual cost could end up being tens of millions of dollars less because bids by dredging companies came in under budget. The 11-mile dredge was slated to finish at the end of October and wrapped up about six months sooner. Thats big for a project of this magnitude, Corps project manager Jason Harrah said. JaxPorts next mission will be to sell Jacksonville as a port since bigger ships carrying more cargo will be able to traverse the deepened river. This is not the end of anything, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Jacksonville, said. This is really the beginning. Green said JaxPort will tout its ability to handle two-way ship traffic on the river, congestion-free berths, and being a one-day truck drive from 100 million consumers. Were not trying to be a Savannah, he said. Lets be real about it. What were trying to be is be the best port in this region. We want to produce great high-paying jobs. He said he has been working on developing a funding plan for paying to raise the JEA transmission lines that span the St. Johns River near the Blount Island terminal. A consultant for JEA issued a report earlier this month putting the estimated cost of building new, higher towers for the lines at $42 million. JaxPort officials have said the 185-foot height of the power lines over the river poses a conflict for some of the bigger cargo ships that would otherwise be able to call on Blount Island with the deeper water. LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) One man is in custody and more arrests are expected after Lafayette Police say they caught someone stealing as much as $600,000 in checks from U.S. Postal Service drop boxes in the Lafayette area. Beau Alexander LaFleur, 28, faces 19 counts of monetary instrument abuse, 15 counts of theft, 14 counts of forgery, two counts of identity theft and one count each of bank fraud and illegal carrying of a weapon, police said in a news release. Bond has not yet been set and it was unknown if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) Police in Tennessee said six people were wounded during an exchange of gunfire in a downtown Chattanooga business district. At least one person of interest was detained shortly after the shooting Saturday night, police spokesperson Jeremy Eames said Sunday in a news release. The statement did not indicate whether anyone was charged. KING, N.C. (AP) Police shot and killed a person who wounded an officer during a traffic stop in North Carolina early Sunday, according to a police official. Jordan Boyette, the police chief in King, North Carolina, said the wounded officer was grazed in the head by a bullet and is expected to fully recover. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BAGHDAD (AP) Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of one hand. They were several grams lighter than he hoped. Its because of the water shortages, he said, the farm machine roaring behind him, cutting and gathering his years wheat harvest. Chelab had planted most of his 10 acres (4 hectares) of land, but he was only able to irrigate a quarter of it after the Agriculture Ministry introduced strict water quotas during the growing season, he said. The produce he was growing on the rest of it, he fears, will die without water. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russias invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50%. The government took the step in the face of severe water shortages arising from high temperatures and drought believed to be fueled by climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All those factors have heavily strained wheat production. Wrestling with the water shortage, Iraqs government has been unable to tackle other long-neglected issues. Desertification has been blamed as a factor behind this years relentless spate of sandstorms. At least 10 have hit the country in the past few months, covering cities with a thick blanket of orange dust, grounding flights and sending thousands to hospitals. We need water to solve the problem of desertification, but we also need water to secure our food supplies, said Essa Fayadh, a senior official at the Environment Ministry. We dont have enough for both. Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water needs. Both flow into Iraq from Turkey and Iran. Those countries have constructed dams that have either blocked or diverted water, creating major shortages in Iraq. Water Resources Minister Mahdi Rasheed told The Associated Press that river levels were down 60% compared to last year. For Chelab, less water has meant a smaller grain size and lower crop yields. In 2021, Chelab produced 30,000 tons of wheat, the year before that 32,000, receipts from Trade Ministry silos show. This year, he expects no more than 10,000. His crops are both rain-fed and irrigated via a channel from the Euphrates. Due to low precipitation levels, he has had to rely on the river water during the growing season, he said. Government officials say change is necessary. The current system has been inefficient and unsustainable for decades. Water scarcity is leaving them no choice but to push to modernize antiquated and wasteful farming techniques. We have a strategic plan to face drought considering the lack of rain, global warming, and the lack of irrigation coming from neighboring countries as we did not get our share of water entitlements, said Hamid al-Naif, spokesman at the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry took measures to devise new types of drought-resistant wheat and introduce methods to increase crop yields. We are still dealing with irrigation systems of the 1950s. It has nothing to do with the farmers, he said. The state must make it efficient, we must force the farmer to accept it. Iraqi farmers have historically been heavily dependent on the state in the production of food, a reliance that policymakers and experts said drains government funds. The Agriculture Ministry supports farmers by providing everything from harvesting tools, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at a subsidized rate or for free. Water diverted from rivers for irrigation is given at no cost. The Trade Ministry then stores or buys produce from farmers and distributes it to markets. Wheat is a key strategic crop, accounting for 70% of total cereal production in the country. Planting starts in October and harvest typically begins in April and extends to June in some areas. Last year, the Agriculture Ministry slashed subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, a move that has angered farmers. Local demand for the staple is between 5-6 million tons a year. But local production is shrinking with each passing year. In 2021, Iraq produced 4.2 million tons of wheat, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In 2020, it was 6.2 million tons. Today we might get 2.5 million tons at best, said al-Naif. That would require Iraq to drive up imports. Most of the wheat harvest is usually sold to the Trade Ministry. In a sign of the low harvest, so far there are currently only 373,000 tons of wheat available in Trade Ministry storehouses, al-Naif said. To meet demands amid the recent global crisis in the grain market, the government recently changed a policy to allow all Iraqi farmers to sell their produce to the Trade Ministry silos. Previously, this was limited to farmers who operated within the government plan. Back in Chelabs farm, the wheat is ready to be transported to the silo. Its true we need to develop ourselves, he said. But the change should be gradual, not immediate. FARGO, N.D. (AP) Authorities on Sunday arrested a man suspected of wounding two people in an early-morning shooting in downtown Fargo. The shooting happened about 1 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Broadway and Second Avenue North. Police said the victims were transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect fled the scene. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lankas prime minister said Sunday that protesting youth groups will be invited to be part of governance under political reforms he is proposing to solve the countrys political crisis triggered by an economic collapse. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that under proposed constitutional reforms, powers of the president will be clipped and those of Parliament strengthened. In a televised statement to the nation, he said that governance will be broad-based through parliamentary committees where lawmakers, youth and experts will work together. The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also want to know the current issues. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees, Wickremesinghe said. Protesters consisting of mainly young people have camped out outside the presidents office for more than 50 days. They're demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, holding him and his family responsible for the countrys worst economic crisis. They also want an overhaul of a system of governance, saying successive administrations since independence from Britain in 1948 have misruled the country leading to economic and social crises. Students have led nearly daily protests in capital Colombo and elsewhere as Sri Lanka tethers on the brink of bankruptcy. It has already defaulted on its foreign loans, and is battling acute shortages of essential goods like cooking gas, fuel and medicines. People have been forced to wait for hours in long lines to try to buy goods and many still go empty handed. The countrys foreign currency reserves have dwindled to just enough to purchase two weeks of needed imports. Authorities announced last month that they were suspending repayment of nearly $7 billion foreign debt due this year. Sri Lanka has to pay up $25 billion through 2026. Total foreign debt of the Indian Ocean island nation is $51 billion. According to Wickremesinghe's proposal, one of the youth representatives will be appointed by the so-called youth parliament and the other three will come from protesting groups and other activist organizations. "The methodology used to chose these individuals can be decided by the youth organizations themselves," he said. There has been no immediate comment from youth groups to his proposal. Setting up new broad-based parliamentary committees apparently can be done under the current constitution, but broader reforms such as reducing presidential powers would need approval of the Supreme Court and a two-thirds parliamentary majority. It isn't clear when the bill will be introduced for debate. Violence erupted on May 9, when Rajapaksa supporters attacked peaceful protesters. Nine people including a governing party lawmaker were killed and homes of Cabinet ministers burnt down. The unrest nearly dismantled the Rajapaksa dynasty after the presidents brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned as prime minister. Three of the presidents siblings and a nephew had already quit their Cabinet posts. Sri Lanka has been ruled by a powerful executive presidential system for nearly 45 years, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa strengthened it further with constitutional changes as soon as he was overwhelmingly elected in 2019. Wickremesinghe has said that he will have an economic reform plan ready within two weeks to seek approval from the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package. People take part in the flag march to mark Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (JINI via Xinhua) JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Jewish nationalists, some chanting racist slogans, marched through Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, sparking clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel's state-owned Kan TV news estimated that some 50,000 people, mostly nationalist Israeli youths, attended the contentious annual "flag march" to mark the "Jerusalem Day," when Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. The march started in the western part of the city and continued through the narrow Palestinian streets of the Old City's Damascus Gate until reaching the Western Wall, just below the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a holy flashpoint site for both Muslims and Jews. Video footage on social media showed scores of young Israelis were waving Israel's national flags, some of them chanting "Death to Arabs," "We'll burn down your village" and "Shuafat is on fire," referring to the name of the Palestinian neighborhood from which 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burnt alive by far-right Israelis in 2014. Many also violently banged doors of Palestinian shops and homes. Clashes broke out during the marches, with footage and photos showing Israelis spraying pepper gas and beating Palestinians, while the Palestinians throwing bottles of water and chairs at the other side. The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that at least 62 Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets, beatings and pepper gas. In Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood north of the Old City, dozens of Israelis with "La Familia," an ultra-nationalist group, threw stones at Palestinians and smashed car windows, the Israeli police said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett instructed in a statement the security forces to show zero tolerance for violence or provocations by extremist elements -- among them La Familia -- in Jerusalem." Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the "flag march." In the West Bank, the cities of Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tubas, Qalqilya and Tulkarm have witnessed protesters shouting slogans against "Israeli violations" in East Jerusalem. Mohammed al-Jaabari, a Hebron resident, told Xinhua that "I came here to express my anger against the ongoing Israeli violations against our holy place (Al-Aqsa Compound)." The 39-year-old father of three said that "all Israeli attempts aimed at Judaizing Jerusalem will not succeed ... Raising the Israeli flag in Jerusalem does not mean that it has become their capital." Amin Shoman, a senior Fatah leader, told Xinhua that "the demonstrations came to confirm that Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people will not allow the city to be targeted by the Israelis." Clashes also broke out between the Palestinian protestors and the Israeli army in the West Bank. A medical source at the Palestinian Red Crescent told Xinhua that 137 Palestinians were wounded, 11 of them by rubber bullets and others by tear gas. Abu Yousef, a protester in Gaza, believes that Israel is "playing with fire irresponsibly and recklessly by allowing settlers to desecrate Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and escalate the situation in the region." "For decades, Israelis have insisted on violating the international law, did not respect the decisions of international legitimacy, and considered itself above the law," the man said, adding that "it is the time to prove to the Israelis that this land has strong people who can defend its holy places." People take part in the flag march outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) People take part in the flag march to mark Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (JINI via Xinhua) People take part in the flag march to mark Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (JINI via Xinhua) People take part in the flag march to mark Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (JINI via Xinhua) Palestinian people protest against the flag march at Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) Palestinian people protest against the flag march at Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) A protester runs to take cover during clashes with Israeli security forces following a protest against the flag march near the Israeli Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 29, 2022. Clashes broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over Israeli nationalists' flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Protesters run to take cover during clashes with Israeli soldiers following a protest against the flag march near the Israeli Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 29, 2022. Clashes broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over Israeli nationalists' flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A protester burns tires during clashes with Israeli security forces following a protest against the flag march near the Israeli Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 29, 2022. Clashes broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over Israeli nationalists' flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) People help an injured man during clashes with Israeli security forces following a protest against the flag march near the Israeli Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 29, 2022. Clashes broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over Israeli nationalists' flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A protester runs to take cover during clashes with Israeli soldiers following a protest against the flag march near the Israeli Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 29, 2022. Clashes broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over Israeli nationalists' flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) Palestinian people protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2022. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) A Palestinian girl waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2022. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Palestinian people protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2022. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Palestinian people protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2022. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem's Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) People carry a woman pepper sprayed by a Jewish marcher during the flag march at the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (JINI via Xinhua) Israeli policemen detain a protester during the flag march outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, on May 29, 2022. The controversial flag march took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate POUND, Va. -- Leabern Kennedy lit a Virginia Slims and opened a Mountain Dew Zero. It was almost 10 p.m. She'd started work on her day job about 14 hours ago, sat through a long town council training session and now was on the phone with a lawyer from across the state. Kennedy, newly installed as vice mayor, knew her town was dying. Like other places in Appalachia, its coal-based economy is gone, its tiny population aging and declining. But that is just the start of Pound's problems. Last fall, most of Pound's remaining business owners decided to stop paying taxes because the town's finances are in chaos. Every town employee quit or was fired. The cashier was convicted of embezzling from the public account. When the police department disbanded, the local prosecutor dismissed all 31 pending criminal cases because evidence was so mishandled. Now Pound is literally facing a death sentence. After so much dysfunction, the General Assembly more than 350 miles away in Richmond has taken the unusual step of voting to revoke the town's charter over the objections of its residents. The move has shocked local government advocates around Virginia. "The risks of the things that have gone wrong in Pound - those same risks exist for every town," said Steve Trivett, mayor of the town of Ashland in Hanover County. If the General Assembly can simply step in and make troublesome towns vanish, he said, "this could set a precedent . . .[of] short-circuiting the citizens right out of it." State lawmakers insist Pound is a special situation - so profoundly troubled that there is almost nothing left to save. But just in case, they pledged to reconsider the charter - set to expire Nov. 1, 2023 -- if the town shows signs of getting its act back together. For Pound's roughly 900 residents, that presents a dilemma: Take a stand, or let it go? In a national climate of political division and loss of faith in institutions, Pound is pretty much a worst-case scenario of government gone wrong. Yet it also shows what is at stake when public systems are truly, literally threatened. For some, this is home, and working to defend the common good is worth a little risk and sacrifice. So Kennedy, 55, and a handful of others have decided to take a crack at rebuilding the town government from scratch. Several volunteers, moved by their plight, are pitching in to help -- such as Andrea G. Erard, a lawyer who serves as attorney for five towns around the state, including Ashland. On a recent Wednesday night, Erard guided the council through a two-hour training session, via Zoom, on the basics of town government. Then she called Kennedy at home, and they spent another half-hour lamenting the endless list of problems. "Well," Erard said on the phone, and paused. "It's gonna get better." Kennedy took a weary drag on her cigarette. "Well," she said, "I'm praying for it." - - - Along Main Street on a spring day -- the surrounding mountains just beginning to blush with green and sprayed with purple redbud blossoms -- there is only a lonely suggestion of the place Pound once was. In the 1940s, coal miners swarmed from nearby Kentucky to drink in the town's 11 bars. There were department stores, parking meters and taxi cabs. Now most of the storefronts are empty, some just a facade in front of a collapsed roof. Pound -- some call it The Pound -- has always been a tough place. It is said to have been the first area settled in Wise County in the 1700s, but was the last to incorporate as a town, in 1950. The origins of the name are cloudy but probably connected to the pounding mill that once stood along the river. Terry Short, a former council member and Kennedy's cousin, remembers helping his dad clear squatters out of the family's motel when he was a grade-schooler -- wielding a shotgun at age 11. "Everybody in this area has fought for what they've got and struggled for what they've got," said Short, 55. Kennedy went to elementary school in the building that now serves as town hall (in between, it was a funeral parlor) and lives a short walk away, just past the Magic Spray carwash. She graduated from Pound High School, which is being torn down. "It used to be a booming place here. Everybody got old and just died off," said Ronnie Roberts, 67, who runs a small engine repair shop beside the former hardware store. He worked at the store for 30 years until it closed in the early 2000s. "I'd like to see it do better, but I don't know," Roberts said, fixing a tractor tire. "They had so much trouble over there at town council." Sharp declines in coal-tax revenue have crippled many parts of Southwest Virginia, but Pound made things worse through poor management. Last year, the bottom fell out. One of its most valuable assets, a multimillion-dollar wastewater treatment system, fell into such disrepair that the state ordered Pound to hand it over to Wise County's water authority. A budget reckoning and personnel clashes led the town to fire its attorney, who was also a detective, and shutter the police department -- which led to the evidence crisis. The cashier pleaded guilty to embezzling about $1,700. But the deepest problem of all - the one that fueled all the rest -- was that members of town council could not seem to stand one another. There were walkouts, lockouts, shouting matches and lawsuits. By December 2020 - to take just one example -- the town was three years behind on annual financial audits. It was five months past that year's deadline to adopt a budget. Residents complained that the police department was gobbling up more than $380,000 of the town's roughly $580,000 annual spending plan. On Dec. 7, three members of council joined more than 40 residents in filing a petition to oust Mayor Stacey Carson, whose long-term relationship with a council critic known as Chickenman had made her the object of ire. The next day, Carson convened a crowded public hearing on the budget, led the Pledge of Allegiance, then said the meeting had not been properly advertised and was illegal. Angry council members told her to ask the town attorney. We don't have a town attorney, Carson replied. Not true, council members said. The audience began to shout. "I don't need to talk to you since you have a petition against me right now," Carson snapped at a council member, "so you can go ahead and step on outta here!" The audience cheered, and the supposedly illegal meeting tumbled into chaos for another two hours. Videos of Pound council meetings became tawdry municipal reality shows -- people would tune in for the sheer cringeworthy spectacle. "Sometimes you can only laugh," said Trivett, the Ashland mayor, who learned of Pound's plight from someone at church who is related to a council member. "But I thought, it's a shame to find humor in things that any of us in our towns would find terrible. So they shouldn't be a laughingstock." Kennedy and Short found little humor in what was going on. Kennedy had begun taking an interest in the council when her yard filled with sewage and made her husband sick. Her complaints were brushed aside, she said, but the problem cleared up when the county took over the water system and fixed a leak. Short, a council member for a single term that ended in 2018, could not turn away from the place where his family had lived for generations. Retired on disability from the state highway department and caring for his elderly parents, Short began devoting almost all his time to monitoring the council and its problems -- taking video of meetings, talking with members, trying to broker some kind of peace. The cousins worked together last year on a campaign to get Kennedy elected to town council. "My husband said, 'no, you ain't doing that,'" said Kennedy, who has enough on her hands with a full-time job at Verizon and an elderly mother and sick friend to care for. But she and Short knocked on nearly every door in town seeking votes. By the time Kennedy won her seat, the Wise County board of supervisors had gotten fed up with Pound's antics. The town is part of the county, sharing its school system and constitutional officers, such as the sheriff and commonwealth's attorney. The supervisors voted shortly before Election Day to ask the General Assembly to dissolve the town's charter. That threw Pound's fate into the hands of one of the most powerful members of the General Assembly, House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, whose district covers part of Pound and whose family wields enormous influence in that part of the state. "Those local officials failed to understand that the function of local government is to provide services, and safety, and it just wasn't happening," Kilgore said in an interview. "It just was not a good look for the town." When the legislature convened in January, Kilgore introduced a bill to dissolve the charter. Kennedy and Short drove the six hours to Richmond to beg legislative committees not to pass it. State law sets out a process for annulling a charter, and residents are supposed to vote on it. Kennedy, a union organizer and lobbyist who has tussled with Kilgore, and Short, in his customary denim overalls, argued that killing the town would set a dangerous precedent. A handful of lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, were sympathetic. But most deferred to Kilgore. The charter-killing bill passed by wide margins, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed it into law last month. "I don't think we're setting a precedent," Kilgore said. "This is a very, very rare occasion where the General Assembly would step in. We're not going to step in when towns are arguing or there's a disagreement. But when there's no services, or paying bills . . . we need to step in." Kilgore made one concession: If he feels the town is making progress, he will come back next year and ask his colleagues to restore the charter. "I want them to succeed," he said. "I think this was a wake-up call." - - - The immediate impact was the opposite; even the threat of the Assembly's action had thrown the town into a death spiral. In Kennedy's first meeting as a member, back in November, the new town attorney quit, two council members stormed out and 16 of the town's roughly 24 businesses submitted a letter in which they refused to continue paying taxes. "There is no real reason to make a payment to a town that is in the process of un-incorporating," wrote the business owners, most of whom live outside town limits. They demanded a forensic audit to see whether past revenue had been mishandled. By early this year, the council could not even meet because too few members were showing up. So one member, Clifton Cauthorne, took what he called the "kamikaze option" -- he quit, dropping the council's membership low enough that a local judge was required to step in and appoint three new members. "I kind of forced their hand, because we were at a standstill," Cauthorne said. The task before the new council is huge. The town has no paid clerk/treasurer, no paid attorney and only a part-time police chief. Tax receipts and bills alike are piled in offices at town hall. No one is sure who owes taxes or how much revenue to expect for the coming year. Kennedy spends Fridays and Saturdays at town hall, going through paperwork. She never knows what she might find when she opens a drawer. Once it was $20,000 in checks, another time a $15,000 unpaid bill for the town's insurance policy. The state offers few, if any, formal resources to help towns such as Pound -- no training for newly elected council members and no mechanism to flag problems or provide aid. For towns under 3,500 in population, there is no state requirement for audits or for conflict of interest disclosures by local officials. Pound's audits were voluntary or, in some cases, to satisfy banks that had provided loans. Next door in Lee County, the town of St. Charles has dwindled to fewer than 100 residents and stopped holding council elections. Kilgore sponsored a bill this year to rescind that charter, as well -- noting that St. Charles was never incorporated by the General Assembly, but rather had a rare charter granted by a judge. As of July 1, St. Charles will become an unincorporated part of the county. No one is contesting. Not everyone is convinced it is worth fighting to save Pound. "Let it go back to the county," said one former merchant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution over the deeply emotional subject. "We don't have any benefits from the town." The Kingsport Times-News, a Tennessee newspaper that has chronicled Pound's travails, proclaimed in an August editorial: "It's time to abolish the town of Pound." Even those who would like to see it preserved are no longer sure that is possible. "I don't want to see my little town go away," said David Williams, 59, who has owned a TV repair shop in Pound for nearly 30 years. He did not sign the no-tax pledge, but Williams said he can understand why some might want to surrender the charter. "It's a mess," he said. "It's a nice little community here, it just sorta fell apart since we don't have the coal business we used to have." Others say there are practical reasons to fight. With mountain communities separated by geography and tradition, many in Pound express little faith in Wise County to look out for their interests. Exhibit A: the demolition of the local high school, which forced students to travel over the mountains to a new county school. "They couldn't care less what happens to the town of Pound," said Harold Greer, 70, a retired retailer who now works part-time at Fielder's Choice, an antiques/sporting goods/bargain shop in the ramshackle building that used to be the hardware store. "If we lose [the charter], we lose the ability to control our own zoning and planning," he said. An unincorporated community would be unable to stop the county from plopping down a big polluting industry, Greer said. As a town, "we control our own destiny." - - - So sympathetic volunteers are lending a hand. "They really do want to be a town, they just need some help to get back to being functional," said Michelle Gowdy, executive director of the Virginia Municipal League. The VML has agreed to help chart a course forward, making connections with officials in other towns and counties who can lend expertise, such as attorney Erard. Linda Meade, a retired town clerk, has volunteered to pitch in at her old job. Lawyer Greg Baker is stepping in temporarily as town attorney, free of charge. Nearing retirement and recovering from cancer, Baker, 62, said he feels obligated to help. It's rudimentary stuff. Four of the five council members are new, and Carson -- who as mayor only votes in case of a tie -- is shaky on parliamentary procedure. Call the roll, Baker reminds them at the start of April's monthly meeting. No, you don't need a second roll call after a public hearing. Make a motion. Now vote on the motion. When bickering flares up, Baker -- whose booming voice can drown out the whole room -- cuts things off quickly. "Y'all sound like y'all got a lot of personal issues with each other," he thundered at one point in the meeting. "I'm here for free. I'm gonna walk out that door. I'm tired of all this stuff." Baker knows the work to save the town will fail if the spirit fails. And that is where both he and Erard are uncertain, because elements of the mistrust that got the council into this mess still linger. Particularly between Kennedy and Carson. Until recently, Pound's mayor often served as its paid town manager, an arrangement not uncommon in small Virginia towns. But after Carson won the seat in 2020, no one seemed interested in letting her do both. Carson, 55 and originally from Kansas, said she feels like an outsider -- slighted by the new council and stripped of power at every turn. To hold her ground, Carson has seized on the issue that the businesses brought up when they refused to keep paying taxes: that Pound needs a forensic audit. It has become her mantra at meetings. Kennedy argues that they cannot do a forensic audit until the town catches up on the past three years of regular audits. That will take money, so they need the businesses to pay taxes again. But they won't pay taxes, Carson argues, until the audits reassure them that the money is being well spent. And so, with a June 30 deadline looming to get a town budget passed, Kennedy and Carson are circling one another in stalemate. Early this month, the council held a budget workshop. After only a few minutes, Carson and Kennedy began to clash over the audit. Back and forth, for nearly an hour, until finally Kennedy had had enough. "I think we need a few minutes," she said, then took a drink from her water bottle, stood and walked out. "Okay," Carson said. "We will recess until 8:30." A few months ago, the meeting might have ended there, another breakdown, another walkout. But after 10 minutes or so, Kennedy came back. The session resumed. Next item: police budget. And on they went, step by painful step, attempting to rebuild their town as the clock continues to tick. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden offered comfort Sunday to a city gripped by grief and anger as they paid respects at a memorial to 19 students and two teachers slain during a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in mourning after a staggering loss from a shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims' families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Outside Robb Elementary School, Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign. They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, and the first lady touched the children's photos as the couple moved along the row. The shootings in Texas and New York and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. After visiting the memorial, Biden arrived for Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where some of the families of those who were killed worship. Near the church, a teacher held up a sign that said, Mr. President, thank you for coming. I'm a teacher. Mr. President has a good understanding of what is happening now, here, and we are very gracious for his visit, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller said. After church, Biden was to meet privately with family members at a community center and then with first responders at the airport before returning to Washington. He was not expected to deliver formal remarks. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response to the shooting. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now," said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS' Face the Nation," before adding, "Our community needs to focus on healing right now.' Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to chip away at gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washington's sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators were in talks over the weekend to see whether they could reach even a modest comprise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of those with mental health issues, as well as addressing school security and mental health resources are on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC's This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting The parents of 10-year-old Alexandra "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio, one of the 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting declined an invitation to meet with Gov. Greg Abbott, saying their daughter did not like the Republican leader. Parents Kimberly and Felix Rubio told the New York Times that they were asked by Abbott's office on Wednesday if they wanted to meet with the governor but had no interest in doing so. "My first thought was, My Lexi doesnt even like him," Kimberly told the Times. She was really little, but we talked about this stuff at home. The parents are now calling for the state to ban the purchase of AR-15 style weapons, like the one suspected gunman Salvador Ramos is accused of using to kill 19 children and two teachers at the elementary school on Tuesday. Felix, an off-duty sheriff, told the Times he thinks his department will go against him for supporting such measures. We live in this really small town in this red state, and everyone keeps telling us, you know, that its not the time to be political, but it is it is, Kimberly told the Times. Dont let this happen to anybody else. Kimberly and Felix were at Robb Elementary School the morning of the shooting to attend their two children's awards ceremonies. After her daughter's tragic death, Kimberly wrote on Facebook: "My beautiful, smart, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio was recognized today for All-A honor roll. She also received the good citizen award. We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was goodbye." In a separate interview with ABC News, Felix said that as soon as he heard about the shooting, he returned to the school and was there at the time the gunman was shot. In response to Texas officials admitting they should have breached the classroom where the shooting took place sooner, Kimberly told ABC News she blames herself for not taking her daughter home after the ceremony. "I have enough 'what ifs' on my end, so I am not interested in reading about somebody else's mistakes, because I already have to live my own," Kimberly told ABC. "It wasn't done on purpose, but it's still a mistake because I made it, otherwise she'd be home with me. I left my baby at that school." The parents said Lexi loved to play softball and was quiet and shy, "but when she had a point she wanted made, she made it," Kimberly told ABC News. They said Lexi wanted to become a lawyer. "She wanted to make a difference," Kimberly said. "And I want that for her now, she still can. So if people can help that dream be realized, that'd be great." "We're going to need help from others," Felix added. "It can't just be us two." Some Texas leaders are demanding change. The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus on Saturday released a letter urging Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session to consider several gun restrictions and safety measures in wake of the school shooting, according to the Texas Tribune. Among their suggestions are bills that would raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21-years and implement universal background checks for all firearm sales. MIDDLETOWN Maromas is a large area in southern Middletown of approximately 2,000 acres tucked into a big eastward bend of the Connecticut River and bordered by Saybrook Road and Barthlomew Road on the west. The northern section includes land owned by Connecticut Valley Hospital, and the southern section ends roughly at the border with the town of Haddam. It was once the site of a small farming community and a pegmatite quarry for extracting feldspar. Some think that the name Maromas is a corruption of an old English word Marmoric, meaning White Rock. Preservation of this almost uninterrupted area of forested land has been the goal of Middletown land conservation organizations and citizens, as well as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, for decades. Some parcels have also been the focus of the Middletown Commission on Conservation and Agriculture. The Maromas area is part of a greenway, a corridor of mostly undeveloped land that offers multiple benefits for recreation and environmental protection, all along the Connecticut River. Within Maromas itself, there are multiple trails through forested areas, dramatic rocky outcroppings, a freshwater tidal marsh, and many scenic views of the Connecticut River. Maromas contains diverse habitats, and is rich in biological diversity. The area is host to multiple plants and animals, and provides protection to some rare, endangered and threatened species, such as the Eastern Box turtle, alewife, sturgeon, and smooth mountain sandwort. It also provides an important habitat for nesting birds, especially those that need large wooded areas in which to nest, such as the Hooded Warbler, Pileated Woodpecker and Eastern Whip-poor-will. Maromas also provides habitat for a diversity of organisms that depend on vernal pools from invertebrates to amphibians such as Wood frogs and Spotted salamanders. The large stands of mature trees protect against climate change by absorbing significant amounts of atmospheric carbon. The undeveloped land also slows and filters water flowing to the Connecticut River, protecting water quality. Both the city and Connecticut Valley Hospital use aquifers located in Maromas as sources of clean drinking water. Maromas also provides many recreational opportunities for the citizens of Middletown and others throughout the state. Passive recreational opportunities abound there, including walking, hiking, snowshoeing and bird watching. Magnificent stands of Mountain Laurel, the state flower, are especially beautiful when they bloom in June. Though development is difficult to accomplish in Maromas due to the very steep slopes, rocky outcroppings, multiple streams, wetlands and other water bodies, a portion is zoned for industrial development. It is hoped that the city of Middletown might change this zoning codes for this area. For years, the Commission on Agriculture and Conservation has encouraged citizens to enjoy this unique part of Middletown. Do take this opportunity to explore the area on a hiking trail and also by car. The Middletown Trail Guide, which can be found at middletownct.gov, features many hikes and walks on blazed trails in Maromas. Some Maromas area trails Blue Trails, maintained by CT Forest and Park Association, including Seven Falls, Bear Hill and the Reservoir Loop Trail, all part of the Mattabesset Trail, as well as a section of the New England National Scenic Trail Spiderweed Preserve, maintained by the Middlesex Land Trust The Katchen Coley Mountain Laurel Preserve, maintained by the city of Middletown Hubbard Brook Preserve, maintained by the CT Forest and Park Association, which hosts the Scovill Loop Trails, another component of the Blue Trail system In order to protect Maromas, citizens are urged to help preservation and conservation efforts with donations and volunteer work in the years ahead. Most of the organizations that work in this area are nonprofit organizations for which donations are always needed. Support local groups working to conserve Maromas and maintain trails, including The Middlesex Land Trust and Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Help the Middletown Commission on Conservation and Agriculture with work parties to maintain trails and remove invasive species. Work to persuade current holders of large parcels of privately-owned undeveloped Maromas land, including Eversource and its private arm, Rocky River Realty, to transfer or sell lands that they control to Middletown for permanent conservation. Make sure your voice is heard to promote the preservation of Middletowns Last Great Place. Ellen Leukens is a commissioner on the Middletown Conservation and Agriculture Committee. ZZ Top pulled into the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Wednesday evening for a rocking performance. The band has been together for over five decades and sold over 30 million records across 15 studio albums. The loss of long-time bassist Dusty Hill in 2021 did not stop the band as his spot o KHARTOUM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Head of the United Nations Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes called on Sunday for ending the state of emergency in Sudan and finding a way out of the current political crisis. "I am appalled by the violent death of two young protesters in Khartoum yesterday (Saturday)," said Perthes on his Twitter account. "It is time for the violence to stop, time to end the state of emergency, time for a peaceful way out of the current crisis in Sudan," he said. On Saturday, opposition groups announced that two protesters were killed in Sudan's capital Khartoum during demonstrations demanding the return to civilian rule. A tripartite mechanism of the UN, African Union (AU), and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is tasked with facilitating intra-Sudanese dialogue to end the country's political crisis. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government. Since then, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other cities have been witnessing continued protests demanding a return to civilian rule. Over the last decade Africa has gained a reputation for global leadership in mobile money, with Kenya at the forefront, but up to now financial services via mobile phones have not taken deep root in the continents most populace country Nigeria. That may change as telecommunications companies such as Airtel and MTN jump into the mobile money market, after recently receiving licenses to do so. Mobile money is not entirely new to Nigeria. Nigerias mobile money landscape, however, has been dominated by banks and other financial services companies. It was only late last year that Nigerias Central Bank (CBN), gave the green light for telcos to acquire mobile money licenses. Telcos eye mobile money success in East Africa Telecom operators would like to replicate the successes they have seen in East Africa for products such as M-Pesa, launched by Vodafone and Safaricom, the biggest operator in Kenya. Aside from the late-in-the-game approval of mobile money licenses for telecom operators, Nigeria has had generally favourable legislation regarding new financial services. Nigerias API-based open banking initiatives, for example, have enabled fintech start-ups to introduce their own mobile-based financial services, working in conjunction with the banking industry. This resulting explosion in payment services has seen the birth of start-up unicorns in the country, including Paystack and Flutterwave which have more than US$1 billion in valuation and Kudabank, valued at $500 million. Yet there is still a need to extend financial tools to those in underserved regions, and many industry insiders believe the best bet yet is mobile money services. With the new licenses, banks are set to face some challenges from the telecommunications sector. But how will these new telecom services co-exist with what is already there in the market will there be stiff competition or collaboration between banks and telcos? Nigeria has over 120 million people that have access to smartphones and the internet and those figures are growing every year, says Nwabufor Udemezue John, a web developer and consultant in Nigeria. Mobile money service run by telecom companies will complement those operated by banks, and will potentially give people in underserved areas, such as rural regions, access to financial services for the first time, John says. Generally, more players in the financial system means more options for the masses, John notes, and competition between the telcos and the banks could be an advantage for users in terms of pricing and service quality. Telco mobile money can reach rural areas The arguments in favour of a telco-led mobile money framework is further supported by their subscriber numbers, available infrastructure and agent network individuals who facilitate deposit and withdrawals which far surpasses that of the banks in terms of numbers and geographical spread, according to an International Bar Association paper by Rotimi Akapo and Glory Ogungbamigbe. The paper highlighted Ghana as an example of how a review of the legal framework to allow telcos to apply directly for mobile money licenses has had a positive impact on the adoption of mobile money services, resulting in an increase of about 72% in the number of mobile money users. Telco-run mobile money services can provide new growth paths for Nigerias open API initiatives and the fintech start-up ecosystem, says said John Straub, the CPO of Lynx Financial, a financial payment service for emerging markets. Telco-led money services provide fintech growth path APIs facilitating open banking are absolutely the foundation of a thriving fintech ecosystem. What mobile money licenses will provide to Nigeria is the ability for fintechs to move beyond the traditional model of a bank-provided account, Straub says. But dont expect to see staunch competition as yet, Straub says. The new entrants still need to weigh where their advantages lie, and build strategies to capture the market. The mobile money licenses have been granted to a very small number of local telecom companies so there is still a long way to go before they reach a wide number of citizens, Straub says, adding that there is still tremendous investments needed in the infrastructure to drive adoption. Infrastructure includes human resources recruiting and maintaining agents on the ground who are the engine of any mobile money ecosystem. These agents are found in local communities, making deposits and withdrawals easy for locals. The licenses that [government entities] have issued are quite limited in that they do not allow services like foreign exchange, loans and insurance. So while these mobile money licenses will help remove barriers to doing business in Nigeria there still exists gaps that will need to be addressed to truly achieve financial inclusion, Straub says. Collaboration vs. competition in mobile money If Nigeria is to learn from Kenya, then the conclusion would be that collaboration yields much better outcomes than all-out competition. The banking sector and the mobile money sector in Kenya work in tandem to provide services such as withdrawal from a bank account to a mobile wallet and vice versa. But it has not always been this way. The Kenyan banking sector in early 2008 saw mobile money as a threat. These sentiments and objections, however, did not sway the growing wave of mobile money across the country. According to a 2010 GSMA report, the growth of banks had stalled but mobile penetration was skyrocketing. For every Kenyan that had access to a bank account, at least two others had access to a mobile phone. Mobile phone penetration in 2006 was nearly 30% and growing much faster than bank account penetration, according to the report. In the end, the merging of mobile money and banking services via APIs was beneficial to the Kenyan financial services ecosystem. Banks are now allowing users to deposit and withdraw sums of money through USSD (unstructured supplementary service data) or mobile apps. Even microloan disbursement is now done on the phone, remote from bank branches. Banks in Kenya are moving billions of shillings every day through mobile money and creating new revenue streams in service charges. In an analysis of mobile money globally, the GSMA emphasizes the benefits of collaboration among the various players offering mobile financial services. The banking and mobile money sectors do not have identical addressable markets, but even where they overlap, customers do not tend to choose one sector over the other. Whether they are a mobile money or banking customer, customers need to be able to transact to both the top and bottom of the financial system pyramid, the report said. It will be a wait and see situation in Nigeria, as efforts to bring new financial services to the masses gets a set of telco participants. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe DHAKA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and 20 more injured on Sunday morning when a packed bus slammed into a tree in Bangladesh's southern Barisal district, some 180 km south of Dhaka, the district's police chief told Xinhua. Barishal District Police Superintendent Md Maruf Hossain said the driver appeared to have lost control of the bus on a highway during an overnight journey. According to the local police chief, 20 of the 42 people on board were injured, and some were in critical condition. All the injured were rushed to local hospitals and clinics, the police official said, adding that the exact cause of the accident is under investigation. The fatal road accident happened at around 5:40 a.m. local time Sunday, said the district's police chief. Bangladesh has a higher fatality rate for road accidents in the world due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules by inept drivers and lack of monitoring by the traffic department. Road Safety Foundation, a non-government organization, in a press release earlier this month said at least 543 people were killed and 612 were injured in 427 road accidents across the country last month. KATHMANDU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane with 22 aboard that was flying from Nepal's Pokhara to Jomsom in Mustang district went missing on Sunday morning, a local government official said. "The passenger plane belonging to Tara Air has been missing," Shiva Prasad Rijal, assistant chief district officer of Kaski in Pokhara, the capital of Gandaki Province, told Xinhua. "It was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members," he added. The plane took off from Pokhara airport at 9:55 a.m. local time and was supposed to land at Jomsom airport at 10:20 a.m., but it lost contact with the control tower a few minutes after taking off, Rijal said. While most of the passengers are Nepali, there are a few foreign nationals, though their identities have not been made public yet, the official said, noting security agencies have been placed on alert and civil aviation officials were holding an emergency meeting over a search and rescue operation. You must be logged in to participate in the Show Me the Errors contest. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. CANBERRA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Influenza vaccines have been made free for all South Australians in a bid to ease the growing pressure on the health system. Peter Malinauskas, the premier of South Australia (SA), on Sunday announced that flu vaccines would be made free until June 30 effective immediately. Previously, only pensioners, young children and immunocompromised people were eligible for free flu vaccines, with everyone else facing out-of-pocket costs. Malinauskas said the move would relieve pressure on SA's hospitals amid a spike in flu and coronavirus infections. "We must do everything we can to ensure as many South Australians as possible are immunized against both COVID-19 and influenza to ease pressure on our hospitals," he said. "The dual challenge of broad community spread of COVID-19 and influenza at the same time during winter threatens to put further pressure on a hospital system already facing significant demand," he said. Up until May 8, there had been 10,599 confirmed influenza cases in Australia compared to fewer than 1,000 in 2021 amid coronavirus restrictions and border closures. Chris Moy, vice president of the Australian Medical Association, welcomed the decision to make flu vaccines free. "It's an important move, not only to increase access to people who could not previously have been eligible or afforded it, but also as an important signal to all South Australians to get a flu shot as overflowing hospitals face their first true flu season in three years," he told News Corp Australia. On Sunday, Australia reported more than 25,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 25 deaths, according to the health department figures from states and territories. NZ federal government appoints startup advisors council The New Zealand government has created a startup advisors council to help identify and address the opportunities and challenges facing high-growth startups. The council members have experience in the startup and angel investor industry, which the federal government expects will help enable more co-ordinated and targeted action from the government. The council has seven members who will sit for a term of 12 months. The council will be chaired by Phil McCaw, founding partner at venture capital fund, Movac and former chair of the Angel Association New Zealand. The other six members are: Suse Reynolds, chair of the Angel Association New Zealand Marian Johnson, chief executive of Ministry of Awesome Grant Straker (Ngati Raukawa), co-founder of the AI language translation platform Straker Translations Mike Carden, founder of several startups, including Sonar6 and Joyous Imche Fourie, cofounder and chief executive of Auckland-based Outset Ventures Carl Jones, managing partner of WNT Ventures. Auckland Secondary schools join P-Tech training program Four Auckland secondary schools have joined P-Tech, an IBM-led education program that offers in New Zealand a free, five-year structured programme that combines high school, tertiary university education, and tech workplace experience. Tamaki College, Onehunga College, Southern Cross Campus, and Mangere College join existing participant schools Manurewa High School and Aorere College. Participating employers are ANZ Bank, Foodstuffs North Island, IBM, Kyndryl, Spark NZ, and Vodafone NZ. P-Tech expects 250 students from year 11, 12, and 13 will enrol in 2022. Upon completing the program, students will have acquired the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and a diploma. A/NZ spending on software more than doubled in 2021 Customer relationship management, digital workflow and collaboration, enterprise resource management, and security products were the biggest drivers of spending in software across New Zealand and Australia in 2021, according to research firm IDC. In 2021, the software market grew by 17.5%, IDC saida big jump from 2020s 8.5% growth. Out of survival mode, NZ small businesses invest in tech again More than half (57%) of New Zealand and Australia small and medium businesses are out of survival mode, according to a survey of 1,011 organisations conducted by IDC. These businesses are now focusing on growing and transforming their organisations. For 2022, 62% of New Zealand small businesses expect to increase their IT spending. IDC anticipates spending in cloud, cybersecurity, and laptops and PCs to increase the most. Trends towards expanding application portfolios and increased complexity of deployments across cloud and on-premises environments will continue to create integration challenges for A/NZ SMBs, IDC said. Australian spending on AI to reach $3.6B in 2025 Australias spending on AI systems will reach $3.6 billion by 2025, according to research firm IDC. Leading industries in AI spending will be banking, federal and central government, professional services, and retail. The use of AI by these industries are expected to be on: Banking: To prevent fraud, identify threats, and improve recommendation systems. Federal and central government: To detect, monitor, and respond to personnel and infrastructure threats. Professional services: To provide better digital assistance by self-regulating and automating mundane software maintenance activities. Retail: To improve customer service, provide expert shopping advisors and product recommendations, and optimise digital supply chain operations. IDC predicts that 52.2% of AI spending will go into software for AI applications and platforms, AI system infrastructure software, and application development and deployment. Services will follow, with most investment going towards IT services and business services. Western Australia improves data linkage The Western Australia government announced an $8 million investment over four years for data linkage reforms and renewed capabilities across the public sector. The funding is part of the state governments Digital Capability Fund and the project is a response to recommendations made by WA's chief scientist, Peter Klinken, who led a data-linkage review with the research, not-for-profit and public sectors, and a response to the states digital strategy. Ten roles will be created at the Office of Digital Government to support building, operating, governing, and usage of a central data asset, on top of new equipment and services to ensure data security. The reform aims to improve data linkages and support health and medical researchers to improve the health and well-being of all Western Australians. It is also expected to allow the WA government to improve services, and to ensure policy and decisions are based on relevant data. NSWs Tech Central opens $8M research and infrastructure fund The New South Wales government has launched an $8 million research and innovation infrastructure fund within its Tech Central investment programme for universities, research organisations, industry, consortiums, and NSW-based National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy facilities to provide specialised equipment, skilled experts, and collaborative programs with a focus on existing industry and research strengths across the precinct. Project funding is expected to vary between $500,000 and $5 million per project, with a focus on supporting proposals that have a specialised physical or digital expenditure. This is about delivering innovation, R&D, and industry talent that will support the translation of world-class research into commercial outcomes, new technologies, services, and globally competitive cutting-edge industries, said Alister Henskens, the minister for science, innovation, and technology and the minister for skills and training. The state government is currently accepting applications. A/NZ spending on software more than doubled in 2021 Customer relationship management, digital workflow and collaboration, enterprise resource management, and security products were the biggest drivers of spending in software across Australia and New Zealand in 2021, according to research firm IDC. In 2021, the software market grew by 17.5%, IDC said a big jump from 2020s 8.5% growth. Out of survival mode, small businesses resume tech investments More than half (57%) of Australia and New Zealand small and medium businesses are out of survival mode, according to a survey of 1,011 organisations conducted by research firm IDC. These businesses are now focusing on growing and transforming their organisations. For 2022, 67% of Australian small businesses indicate higher IT spending. IDC anticipates spending in cloud, cybersecurity, and laptops and PCs to increase the most. Trends towards expanding application portfolios and increased complexity of deployments across cloud and on-premises environments will continue to create integration challenges for A/NZ small businesses, IDC said. Russia conducts another test-launch of Tsirkon hypersonic missile Xinhua) 10:30, May 29, 2022 Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from the Barents Sea on Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. The missile hit a naval target about 1,000 km away in the White Sea and the flight of the projectile corresponded to the designed parameters, it added. The Tsirkon missile has been test-fired several times from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Tsirkon missile is capable of flying at Mach 9 or nine times the speed of sound and striking a target over 1,000 km away. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Cellphone photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows rescuers pulling a survivor at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. (Photo by Bahaudin Qusairi/Xinhua) JAKARTA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. "We are combing the water in and around the scene through the air today (Sunday). We have also added more personnel and ships in this operation," Isran A, a rescuer who is in charge at the information center of the search and rescue office of South Sulawesi province, told Xinhua over phone. He said the office has dispatched one helicopter and one ship, and two ships have also been deployed by the navy and police, adding local sailors have also sent their ships in this mission. However, he said, until now, the operation has not found any of the victims, despite the weather condition being favorable for the movement of the ships and aircraft. A total of 17 people have been rescued safely, Isran said. Based on the procedures of operation, he said, the search and rescue mission would still be carried out for seven days. "But, should we find clues or signals of the presence of the victims, the mission can be extended," he said. The ship, carrying about 42 people, dived onto the sea floor after being hit by huge waves in the Makassar strait of the province on Thursday, but the rescuers were not notified of the incident until Saturday, according to Wahid D.J. a senior official at the search and rescue office. The ship suffered an engine failure when it was hit by huge waves, he told Xinhua. It departed from Paotere harbor in Makassar, capital of the province, and headed to a seaport in Pangkajene district in the province, said the official. Cellphone photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows rescuers holding a survivor at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. (Photo by Bahaudin Qusairi/Xinhua) Cellphone photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows rescuers pulling a survivor at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. (Photo by Bahaudin Qusairi/Xinhua) Cellphone photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows a health worker checking the physical condition of a rescued woman on an ambulance at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. (Photo by Bahaudin Qusairi/Xinhua) Cellphone photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows health workers checking the physical condition of a rescued man on an ambulance at Trisakti port in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rescuers deployed a helicopter and several ships with over 100 people in a search and rescue operation for 25 missing people after a ship sank in water off South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a rescuer said on Sunday. (Photo by Bahaudin Qusairi/Xinhua) Sourcing and keeping appropriate staff may be critical to improving cybersecurity capabilities, but as economic uncertainty and difficult labour markets buffet businesses this year experts warn that businesses must make systemic changes to meet their staffing requirements. The economic uncertainty was highlighted by a recent Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) member survey that found 47% of businesses expressed confidence in the economy this year, compared with 69% last year. One third of respondents said they would be adding cybersecurity staff this year the area of most demand apart from application development but around 35% said they would be looking overseas to complement Australian workforces that have been stretched to their limits. Concerns with Australias specialist tech talent are significant and are holding back the sector from greater growth, innovative businesses and products are being held back, or worse still, sold overseas, because Australia doesnt have the talent available to meet the demand. This is talent and capability that Australia could and should be delivering, AIIA CEO Ron Gauci said. Even as industry groups and government bodies wrestle with the right policy settings to build the cybersecurity workforce, however, there are signs that many Australian tech workers arent ready to wait for the issue to resolve itself. Australian cybersecurity professionals are understaffed and overstressed Fully 84% of Australian workers had taken on up to six new tasks outside of their job descriptions because their colleagues have jumped ship, a recent UiPath survey found, with 56% saying they dont even know what their job responsibilities are anymore and 60% admitting they are interested in looking for a new job in the next six months. Even as Australian workers pick up new responsibilities, the added strain is pushing many to the limit. Splunks 2022 State of Security report recently noted that 22% of Australian cybersecurity workers said they were considering leaving their jobs due to the stress stemming from staff and skill shortages. Ive never experienced a trend like weve seen over the past 6 to 12 months with respect to attrition and people moving through the industry. The world has had to move very, very quickly and while digital transformation has accelerated, it has also expanded the number of areas that an organisation has to monitor and be aware of around security, Splunk group vice president for ANZ Mark Troselj told CSO Australia. The weight of those pressures was evident in Proofpoints recent 2022 Voice of the CISO report, which surveyed 1,400 CISOs in 14 countries and found Australian CISOs are among the most likely to be expecting a material cyberattack over the next 12 months. Fully 68% of respondents well above the global average of 48% said such an attack was likely, while 77% the highest of any country studied said their organisation would be unprepared to cope with a targeted cyberattack this year. Australian CISOs were also more likely than those in any country except Canada to agree that expectations on their role are excessive 63% agreed, up from 44% a year ago corroborating the UiPath findings that workers are feeling the weight of being pushed to do more than ever before, with less resources than ever. Our research shows Australian CISOs feel the least prepared globally to deal with the consequences of a cyberattack. With rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing conflict in Ukraine and increasing people-focused attacks, the same gaps of user awareness, preparation and prevention must be plugged to weather an increasingly volatile threat landscape, Proofpoint resident CISO for APJ Yvette Lejins said. Yet plugging those gaps remains a challenge for both business and government bodies, which have invested heavily in training but are also responding to growing employee discontent by actively poaching qualified cybersecurity and other staff from rivals. Fully 60% of respondents to ISACAs recent State of Cybersecurity 2022 report said they were having trouble retaining qualified cybersecurity professionals up 7% over 2021 and 59% said cybersecurity professionals were leaving their jobs because they had been recruited to other companies. That meant poaching was causing even more attrition than high work stress levels, which were cited by 45% of respondents. Be flexible when searching for candidates With large numbers of employees seemingly prepared to walk, ISACA director of professional practices and innovation Jonathan Brandt said recent increased turnover is compounding the long-standing hiring and retention challenges the cybersecurity community has been facing for years, and systemic changes are critical. Flexibility is key from broadening searches to include candidates without traditional degrees to providing support, training and flexible schedules that attract and retain qualified talent, organisations can move the needle in strengthening their teams and closing skills gaps, Brandt said. And while the previous governments proposed budget includes a range of measures to improve companies business and cybersecurity capability including a 120% tax deduction on investments in skills and training through the Skills and Training Boost analysts were warning that the industry needed to respond to increased demand in a measured and transparent way. A lack of consistent standards around cybersecurity training could risk a repeat of the pink batts fiasco, in which opportunistic contractors failed to implement adequate oversight as they raced to take advantage of government incentive programs. Mature SMEs looking to grow still need to understand the basics of how technology can enhance their business, in addition to standard backend operations, forensic expert with BDO Stan Gallo said. Many people that have laboured over the years and built up a successful business, particularly in traditionally non technology driven areas, still need assistance to understand technology investment and how it can add value to their business operations, Gallo said, warning that there is an increased risk the money will be spent on standard IT support and lacklustre training provided by questionable pop-up providers. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the world organizations leading human rights body following its suspension over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats on the Geneva-based council are divided among regional groups and a replacement for Russia had to come from an East European country. Carnivorous snails known to many shore-dwellers for their spiraled shells and use in scungilli salad are on the decline in Long Island Sound, regulators say. That has prompted Connecticut to impose new harvest restrictions on whelk and drawn the ire of local fishermen. The new regulations set to go into effect in August include the states first-ever size requirements on whelk, which fishermen say will require them to toss roughly 40 percent of the smaller snails they catch back into the water. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is also setting new standards for the kinds of traps used to harvest whelk and prohibiting fishermen from setting or tending traps at night. Fishermen say the new rules represent a stark turnaround for state regulators, who have historically applied few limits on the fishery and even treated whelk as pests that harmed the states shellfish industry by preying on clams and oysters. We never had any regulations, said Bart Mansi, a fisherman in Guilford who has harvested whelk for over 45 years. As a matter of fact, when we first started, it was against the law to throw them back. So no matter what we caught, what size they were, (it was) the law that they had to be taken out of the water. DEEP officials, meanwhile, contend that populations of the slow-growing snails have been depleted by unregulated fishing in the Sound, and that similar size limits in other Atlantic coastline states have proven successful at managing whelk populations. In New York, fishery regulators proposed a similar set of size limits to go into effect this summer as part of a coordinated effort between officials in both states. Bill Lucey, the soundkeeper at Save the Sound, said there is lack of scientific research on the health of whelk populations off the coast of Connecticut. But data from fishermen shows that the snails brought to market in recent years are declining in size, indicating that the overall population may be in danger. The bigger whelk are more valuable, so if you create a fishery that has bigger whelk and more of them in the future, then youre making an investment for down the road by putting some restrictions in now, Lucey said. But, of course, the shellfishermen dont like them because all those (whelk) like to eat their product: oysters, clams. The new regulations will allow licensed whelk fishermen to remove whelk below the legal catch size from commercial shellfish beds, so long as they release the snails back into the water in areas not used to cultivate clams, oysters or other shellfish. Whelk fishermen questioned the data that went into crafting the new regulations, but they were successful at getting DEEP to phase in the most restrictive size limits over a period of several years. Still, fisherman like Mansi said that officials have failed to consider the regulations impact on their businesses. With the rising cost of fuel and everything, I dont even know if were going to be able to stay on the water, Mansi said. A spokesman for DEEP did not respond to a request for comment Monday seeking data on the existing whelk fishery in Connecticut. Under the new rules, fishermen will be required to toss back whelk whose shells do not measure at least 4.75 inches in length. That requirement will eventually increase to 5.5 inches beginning in 2028. The rules apply to both species of whelk commonly caught in the Sound, channeled whelk and knobbed whelk. Both species of whelk can grow to a maximum length of 8 or 9 inches, weighing several pounds. Bob Guzzo, a fisherman from Stonington, focuses on catching whelks or conchs, as he calls them, using the name for warm-water relative of whelks. The fishery is hit or miss, he said, depending on the year, but the whelk population in the Sound is mostly stable, albeit at a smaller scale than what it once was. Thirty years ago, sure, there were a lot more, you know, because no one was doing it, Guzzo said. Lobsters were worth more money. No one would go after conchs for $3 a bushel. Beginning in the late 1990s, however, the lobster population cratered in the Sound, decimating the commercial fishery in Connecticut. Around the same time, demand for whelks began to grow in China, prompting many lobstermen to switch to catching the slow-moving snails using traps that work similarly to lobster pots. Today, a bushel of decent-size whelks weighing 50 pounds can sell for up to $200 at the docks, Guzzo said. They started paying a little bit more, a little bit more, and it became a viable market for us to fish for because there was nothing else to fish for, Mansi said. I guess like anything else, when somebody finds out that youre making money doing something, a predator became something that they had to manage. In addition to new rules pertaining directly to whelk, fishermen say they are also squeezed by other regulations that sharply limit the annual harvest of horseshoe crabs, which are one of the main sources of bait used in whelk traps. Under the new fishery regulations adopted by DEEP, daily catch limits for horseshoe crabs will be slashed from 500 to 150, while harvesting will be prohibited altogether around the first full or new moon in June, when high tides bring the horseshoe crabs to shore in their highest numbers to spawn. Even with the stricter regulations, fishermen avoided a possible complete shutdown of the horseshoe crab fishery that was state lawmakers had proposed, after time ran out on the legislative session before the Senate could vote on the bill. While Guzzo said he and other whelk fishermen would likely move on to cheaper sources of bait, the new regulations on a once largely ignored fishery signaled a larger shift that Guzzo said would make it harder and less desirable to join the industry. Im too old to do anything else, said Guzzo, who is 65. Hopefully I can fish for a few more seasons before this all goes to hell. While every Connecticut hospital offers free or discounted care to people in need of help, two hospitals have particularly restrictive policies that leave far fewer residents eligible for assistance. UConns John Dempsey Hospital, the states only public hospital, and Bristol Hospital are the only hospitals in Connecticut among 28 total hospitals statewide that exclude patients who have health insurance from being eligible for free and discounted care, according to a review of hospitals policies by Hearst Connecticut Media Group. As a result, only about 6 percent of residents could even potentially be eligible for each financial aid program, which is far below the number eligible for aid programs offered by other hospitals. Representatives for both hospitals said their facilities face tough financial circumstances that rendering it difficult to offer free or discounted care to more people. In response to questions about its financial assistance policy from Hearst Connecticut Media, UConn Healths chief financial officer, Jeff Geoghegan, said hospital leadership is reviewing its policies and considering expanding them to include people who have insurance, but still demonstrate financial need. Our mission is to help the people of Connecticut achieve and maintain healthy lives and restore wellness to the extent possible, Geoghegan said in a statement. We understand that this commitment also includes physical as well as financial wellbeing. In Connecticut, 6 percent of the population lacks insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Many more are considered underinsured, meaning the insurance plan isnt adequately covering medical expenses. A 2020 survey by the Commonwealth Fund estimated 21 percent of Americans are underinsured. Most hospitals in Connecticut offer help to those people, too, the newspaper groups review showed. Increasingly, health insurance is failing to cover all of the medical expenses people have. Rising deductibles the amount someone has to pay out-of-pocket before insurance begins picking up the bill and monthly premiums have meant health plans are failing to shield people from unaffordable health costs, research from UConn professor Dr. Victor Villagra shows. About a quarter of people with insurance have medical debt, according to the research. Among those people, another 43 percent saw a lowered credit score because of their bills. Asked whether hospitals should extend financial help to people even if they have insurance, Connecticuts Office of Health Strategy said state lawmakers should at least require hospitals to be consistent. Policymakers should consider a consistent policy across all hospitals and making patients aware of it, to ensure predictability of access and cost exposure across the landscape, Tina Kumar Hyde, a spokeswoman for the office, said in a statement. The office first made the recommendation to state lawmakers in 2020, after its staff reviewed all hospitals charity care rules. But the statewide advocacy group for hospitals said the facilities financial aid policies are not a substitute for high quality health insurance. Its why we support efforts to extend health insurance to those not covered, and continue to advocate for comprehensive, affordable private health insurance, and for state and federal insurance programs, to cover the cost of care, the Connecticut Hospital Association said in a statement. Susan Halpin, executive director for the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, which represents insurers, said the responsibility of rising health care costs is shared between health care providers and the companies that pay for it. "The cost of health insurance coverage is a direct result of the underlying costs of care including the price of hospital services," she said in a statement. "Most hospitals appear, through charity care and other mechanisms, to recognize they have a role to play in reducing the overall cost of care." The association gives hospitals recommendations for how generous their charity care policies should be. However, the recommendations, last updated in 2011, only address uninsured patients. If Connecticut were to follow through on the state health strategy offices recommendation, it wouldnt be the first state to step in and require that hospitals give back certain amounts. For example, starting in 2021, Oregon regulators required nonprofit hospitals to give people at least a discount if their income was less than four times the federal poverty level, which is about $92,000 for a family of three. UConn Health and Bristol Health each said in response to questions about their policies that forces outside their control limit their ability to offer more charity care. Both hospitals spend a less-than-average percent of their expenses on charity care, according to data from the Office of Health Strategy. Geoghegan, UConn Healths chief finance officer, said the John Dempsey hospital in Farmington treats more Medicaid patients than average. Medicaid, the state-run health insurance program for lower-income people, pays hospitals less than private insurers. He pointed out pension obligations at the last remaining state-owned hospital in Connecticut also inflate UConns expenses. Kurt Barwis, Bristol Healths CEO, said certain practices, which he described as abusive, by private Medicare Advantage plans are cutting against the independent hospitals bottom line. He said insurance companies requirements for pre-approval of so many aspects of a persons care means patients collectively spend hundreds of extra days at the Bristol Hospital every year as they await decisions from their plan. The cost of the problem totaled $1 million for Bristol Hospital last year alone, Barwis said; the hospital reported it spent about $1.5 million on charity care in 2019. With Medicare Advantage making up 30 percent of Bristol Healths total book of business, it is the single biggest factor in our ability to sustain independence in the long run, he said in a statement. Without question, it is negatively impacting our ability to provide charity care. He urged both state and federal policy makers to act on the issue. Mark Schaefer, vice president of system innovation and financing for the hospital association, said insurance plans generally are in a substantially better position than hospitals. Charity care is one way hospitals pay the price for health insurance plans that are more expensive and pay less of peoples health care costs. Payers are selling products that a lot of people can't afford, he said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT A call by the superintendent to boost the districts number of school resource officers to better protect students and faculty is being met with mixed reaction by the elected officials who would need to fund the positions. On Thursday Superintendent Michael Testani in an email to City Council members and local state legislators called for a reappraisal of the reduction of SROs sworn, armed police over the past few years due to budget constraints and concerns about their having a negative impact in particular on students of color. We are once again discussing a senseless and tragic event involving the loss of the lives of precious children and teachers in our nation. The debate has already begun as to how this act of violence could have been prevented, Testani wrote, referring to the mass shooting Tuesday of 19 children and two teachers by an 18-year-old at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Testani continued, I am asking our elected officials to re-visit reinstating and funding a proper SRO division to support our district. We once had a team of 14 dedicated officers to safely secure our schools. We are currently operating with only 4 officers. This is a monumental task that simply cannot be effective for a school district with over 19,000 children. Lets put personal feelings on the issue aside and have a meaningful discussion around this extremely important issue. Testani did not respond to requests for comment. Bridgeport has around three dozen public schools, all of which have at least one private, but unarmed, security guard. John Weldon, chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education, said Friday SROs are different and he too would like to hire more. Theyre police officers who have special training to be equipped to deal with circumstances that youth could find themselves placed in. Security guards are there as a body a checkpoint. They can do basic security functions, Weldon said. He said the current four SROs are spread pretty thin and it is time for a discussion about again making them more of a priority. But the challenge is money. In the just-concluded 2022-23 municipal budget season, the school board had sought an $8.5 million increase for education from Mayor Joe Ganim and the City Council, and Testani had said at least $5 million was needed to maintain the status quo. They got an additional $2 million. The co-chairs of the councils education committee Aikeem Boyd and Jorge Cruz said Friday they support Testanis intent. Theyre just security guards, right? Boyd said. As long as our kids are protected, thats all I care about. We need to get them (SROs) in there, Cruz said. If we dont help our schools, we will be complicit if something as bad as that (Uvalde) happens. And their colleague, Councilman Ernie Newton, a budget committee chairman, said, I think its a dialogue we should have. With whats going on around the country, we just gotta be more prepared. But his co-chairman, Scott Burns, and others on the council referred to the potential negative impact the SROs are thought to have. Critics say they contribute to the school-to-prison-pipeline by placing a greater emphasis on discipline than on social services, particularly in the case of students of color. I do have the concern about urban settings where you put a cop in the school and the long-term repercussions arent great, Burns said Friday. You want to keep kids safe. I get that. But Im a little concerned its a knee jerk reaction. ... I think SROs can work in the right way and place, but just a blanket policy of putting cops in schools Im not sure is proven to be the best approach. Councilwoman Maria Pereira is a former school board member. She cited a report released in April 2019 by the Connecticut Voices for Children nonprofit that concluded, based on data from the 2015-16 academic year, that SROs did not have an appreciable impact on safety, but their presence may contribute to more students experiencing discipline (and) the average arrest rate of Latino students at schools with an SRO was six times greater than the average arrest rate of Latino students at schools without an SRO. In addition, schools with SROs disciplined students more often for behaviors that were likely not criminal. Schools with SROs reported higher levels of school policy violations, such as skipping class, insubordination, or using profanity, concluded Connecticut Voices for Childrens analysis. Pereira also questioned how a school resource officer could stop a heavily-armed individual. If youre an SRO with a traditional pistol and somebody comes in with an assault rifle (and) bullet proof vest, tell me how that SRO is gonna stop the terrorist? Pereira said. Give me some data, some evidence, that SROs do anything other than cause predominantly minority children ... anything other than severe disciplinary consequences. City Council President Aidee Nieves is torn on the subject. She said initially the intent behind SRO programs was a noble one to provide a kind of community policing where officers built positive relationships with students and organized youth activities. But then there was a shift when they were using SROs not to foster relationships, (but) more to penalize students, Nieves said Friday. They became disciplinarians. Nieves also suggested that, with Bridgeport beginning a national search for a permanent police chief, the city hold off on bolstering the existing number of SROs until the individual hired later this year can weigh in. State Rep. Antonio Felipe said Testani had spurred an important discussion. Felipe said before he were to try and seek any state funding to assist in hiring SROs, he would want to change the definition of what they do with a greater emphasis on addressing students mental health needs. They need to be better at de-escalation than a militant force, Felipe said. They cant be guards. They have to be resources. Joseph Sokolovic sits on the Bridgeport Board of Education and, with Weldon, is one of the few Republican elected officials in this Democrat-dominated city. Sokolovic in a statement Friday said SROs should be stationed outside of the school buildings. They should not be used to enforce school policy and resolve disciplinary issues, Sokolovic said. Care must be taken to not increase the school-to-prison pipeline by the use of increased policing of a demographic that has not traditionally been known to be involved in mass shootings. The heads of two prominent community groups FaithActs for Education and the Greater Bridgeport Branch NAACP on Friday said they were opposed to hiring more school resource officers. Our thousands of members and registered voters have consistently shared that they dont want a police presence in our school buildings that what our kids need are more social workers and counselors, Jamilah Prince-Stewart, FaithActs executive director, said in a statement to Hearst Connecticut Media. The superintendent should listen to the voices of the people, and base his decisions on their feedback. And Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the NAACPs president, in an interview said, Students of color have suffered at the hands of resource officers. ... First thing that breaks out, you call the officer, the school-to-prison pipeline continues. Meanwhile Ana Batista, head of the Bridgeport Education Association teachers union, said the SROs can have a positive influence if they build relationships and get to know students and their families. That is something the private security do not do, she said. I know there have been many people that have criticized it. Ive been in meetings where they say, No, we dont want that, Batista recalled. But we also cannot continue with whats going on. I know many of us did not sleep at all when we heard about this (Uvalde). This has been devastating. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. Like I always say, well come down on them suddenly one night. And we must, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his plane following his Saturday visit to Azerbaijan, according to daily Hurriyet newspaper and other media. Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. That conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, has killed tens of thousands of people. However, the YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations. Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same. The YPG and its affiliated political party have controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad withdrew in 2012. All coalition forces, leading with the U.S., have provided these terror groups a serious amount of weapons, vehicles, tools, ammunition and they continue to do so. The U.S. has given them thousands of trucks, Erdogan said. He warned that Turkey wouldnt need anyones permission to fight terror. If the U.S. is not fulfilling its duty in combating terror, what will we do? We will take care of ourselves, he declared. While acknowledging Turkeys security concerns, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has voiced concerns about Turkeys plans, saying a new offensive could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Ankara has launched four cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and controls some territories in the north with the goal of pushing away the YPG and establishing a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep safe zone where Erdogan hopes to voluntarily return Syrian refugees. In 2019, an incursion into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries' historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their alleged support for the Kurdish groups. Turkey has stepped up military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where they are based. The PKK is considered a terror group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Just as we are conducting operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and PKK's offspring, the same situation applies even more to Syria and is much more important, Erdogan said. SHELTON For Lorraine Williams, teaching was always about building relationships. Williams has spent nearly four decades as a teacher and administrator in the Shelton school system, starting at Lafayette School before going to Mohegan School as principal and finally becoming the first principal at Perry Hill School in 2010, where she has been ever since. Now as she steps into retirement, Williams says she could not have chosen a better profession or a more perfect city to ply her craft. This has been so fulfilling. It was a perfect career, Williams said, smiling, as she talked about her decision to go into education. I wanted a career that can change lives, that can make a difference. Thats what I did, and I am so proud to have been here to do it. Williams will officially retire at the end of the school year. As she leaves, so too does the only principal that Perry Hill School has ever known. It has been a tough time the last couple years dealing with COVID, but I cant say enough about how wonderful this school is, and what a special, special place it truly is to be a part of, added Williams, sitting in her office surrounded by momentos from students and staff collected over her years. Ive been very lucky, Williams said. Williams, a nearly lifelong city resident, attended Huntington and Mohegan schools before graduating from Shelton High. She began her career teaching at Holy Rosary School in Bridgeport before moving to Lafayette School, where she taught fifth grade for one year and fourth grade for the next 19. Lafayette was the best place in the world, she recalled. That school was magical. In her time there, Williams said one of her fondest memories is of the schools speech festival, which she coordinated. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade would all prepare speeches, culminating in a competition. Williams remembers sending VCR tapes of the speeches to Valley Radio to be broadcast. I run into people now who talk about what their speech was back then, Williams said laughing. So fond of her children, Williams said she kept every class list and all the class photos, and to this day can talk about each student from her days walking the halls of Lafayette School. I remember all the kids. They all had an impact on me, and I think I had an impact on them, she said. After two decades at Lafayette School, Williams moved into the administrators chair, taking the principal job at Mohegan School, where she was once a student. I went to Mohegan, so it was cool to go back to the school, Williams said. Some of the teachers I had as a student were still there. I was now their boss. We actually became very good friends. Williams said losing the daily interaction with the children made the move difficult. But she said the administrators role grew on her over time, and she was able to continue to build relationships with staff she has to this day. Her big move came 12 years ago, when Williams was tapped to be the first principal at the newly opening Perry Hill School, which houses fifth and sixth graders. It was exciting, Williams said. She said she and other staff would don hard hats and work boots and walk the site during construction. She would attend building committee meetings nearly weekly for a time, while putting together staff from all the other elementary schools. I was involved in all the decisions, Williams said, adding she spent time researching similar schools and touring various locations in the state to gather ideas. It was a very, very busy time, but it was wonderful to do that. She said the key was the team-building with staff prior to the opening. She said she remains proud of the outcome, as the staff bought into her plans. We gelled so fast. It became Perry Hill School so fast that first year, and I am so proud of that, Williams said. Everyone worked so hard to put together six schools of kids. We talked about the importance of making them feel comfortable, and it all worked, and it still works today. Williams called Shelton a fabulous district, one in which during her 37 years she always felt supported as she attempted to try new ways in educating students. She also praised the district for keeping up with the times. She said she leaves with a strong curriculum in place and technology that gives all ages a chance to succeed including administrators. Williams said she was once the technology champion at Lafayette School, meaning she helped those in need of technological assistance. Now I need help from everyone, she said with a laugh. She remembers spending a Saturday helping connect the old Gateway computer to the internet. There was one large computer for each class, she said, which everyone thought was the most exciting thing in the world. Now every student in grades 5 to 12 in the district has a Chromebook. It has been nice to see that evolve, going from nothing to baby steps to now, where every student has access to a computer, she said. Teaching has changed a lot for the good. Williams leaves a legacy that has touched generations. She presently has five students at Perry Hill School, each a child of one of her former students from Lafayette School. Its really cool, she said. Sometimes I dont recognize them, but as soon as they tell me their name, I can tell you everything about them. Its a nice feeling. Board of Education Chair Kathy Yolish said she has known Williams for 35 years, first meeting her when she began her career in Shelton at Lafayette School. She genuinely loved her profession and the students she taught every day, Yolish said about Williams. Each child was equally important, and she always treated even the most challenging ones as works in progress. Yolish said as Williams moved into an administrative role as principal of Mohegan School and later Perry Hill School, she remained always concerned, always ready to help, and always willing to go that extra distance to make sure that everything was handled well to benefit both the student and the teacher involved. Her professionalism, passion for education, effectiveness and demeanor are key attributes to her successful career, Yolish added. I am happy to call her a colleague and a friend and wish her many blessings and joy in her retirement. I know shell be missed by many. Superintendent Ken Saranich called Williams a dedicated teacher and administrator. The Shelton Public Schools system is very appreciative of the service that Lorraine Williams has provided over the years and wishes her the best in her retirement, he said. For Williams, though, even in the face of such praise, its still all about the kids. I feel I had a good career and made a difference in the lives of fellow staff, families and the kids, she said. I have been lucky to have such great kids. I have no regrets. Its been a great career. It is hard to step away, but its time. brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com SHELTON The city is giving new meaning to the phrase take a hike. In celebration of National Trails Day, the Shelton Trails Committee will hold a guided hike on Saturday, June 4 at 9 a.m. at Indian Well State Park and the Shelton Land Trusts Tahmore Preserve. The two-mile hike features a scenic overlook of the Housatonic River and an optional spur to the falls. Over the past couple years, the Tahmore Trail has been rerouted and improved to allow for better footing, better views and new loop options, according to committee member Val Gosset. Despite the short distance, the trail rises steeply, providing a good workout, Gosset said, adding that the return route follows the recently created Beach Cutoff Trail, which parallels Indian Well Road. Hikers will gather at the trail kiosk in the small parking lot directly across from the main entrance to the Indian Well State Park beach area. Additional parking is available at the main lot for Indian Well State Park beach. Parking is free for Connecticut residents. Theres an entrance fee for those from out of state. Children and leashed pets are welcome. Note that the terrain is not stroller-friendly. Shoes with good traction, bug spray and water are recommended. Arrive at 8:45 a.m. for a 9 a.m. start. Pre-registration is not required. The rain date is Sunday, June 5, at 9 a.m. For details, visit the Shelton Trails Committee blog at http://sheltontrailscom.blogspot.com. To receive email notices of future Shelton Trails Committee events, email sheltontrailscommittee@gmail.com. brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com SAN DIEGO (AP) A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered Tuesday by the federal judge in San Diego to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the assault on a May 23, 2021, Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego. The 29-year-old Sacramento woman is prohibited from flying for three years while she is on supervised release and must participate in anger management classes or counseling. Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair. Neither she nor her attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday. During the flights final descent, the attendant had asked Quinonez to buckle her seat belt, stow her tray table, and put on her facemask properly. Instead, Quinonez began recording the attendant on her cellphone, pushed her, then stood up and punched the woman in the face and grabbed her hair before other passengers intervened, authorities said. The assault was recorded on another passengers cellphone. The plea agreement said that the flight attendant suffered three chipped teeth, two of which needed crowns, along with bruises and a cut under her left eye that needed stitches. Attacks on flight crew members, who perform vital jobs to ensure passenger safety, will not be tolerated," U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement after the sentencing. FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy said the sentence should send a very strong message to air travelers the FBI will vigorously pursue anyone who assaults or interferes with flight crews. The incident was part of an escalation in unruly behavior by airline passengers amid the coronavirus pandemic and led the president of the flight attendants union to ask for more federal air marshals on planes. Airlines in 2021 reported more than 5,000 incidents of unruly passengers to the Federal Aviation Administration. Most were passengers refusing to follow the federal requirement for passengers to wear face masks while on planes, but nearly 300 involved intoxicated passengers, the FAA said. I was born and raised in Bridgeport. I attended the University of Bridgeport and I have served Bridgeport Public Schools first as a counselor, then as an administrator and now as the superintendent of schools. I love the people of Bridgeport. These are the kids and families Ive been committed to for over 20 years. Our community is diverse with a small-town feel despite being the largest city in Connecticut. Bridgeport Public Schools takes pride in this richly diverse, multicultural community. Here, we believe all students, regardless of race, religion, gender, immigration status, language, sexual orientation, political view or socioeconomic status has an inalienable right to a healthy, high quality, free public education. We are, however, in a critical time in Bridgeport. We are educating students through a pandemic and grappling with teacher shortages another crisis that needs our immediate attention. While we make every effort to mitigate the impact of these shortcomings on student achievement, our first priority remains the health and safety of all children in our school community. We are undeterred in our efforts to maintain healthy learning environments where our childrens full potential is realized. Still, challenges to attaining this goal persist. The climate crisis and extreme weather events contribute directly to the well-being of our faculty, staff and students. Weve seen the impact of the climate crisis on Bridgeport when floods from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 revealed the citys vulnerabilities and damaged homes, businesses and public school buildings. According to the Connecticut Educators Associations Back to School Survey, 97 percent of Connecticuts teachers reported substandard HVAC and ventilation systems, a challenge to maintaining optimal health and air quality in our schools. The outdated systems exacerbate asthma and allergy symptoms, which in turn leads to high rates of absenteeism. Bridgeports children cant afford to lose learning time as a result of unsafe conditions related to extreme heat or cold, and poor air quality due to mold and other environmental contaminants. There has been some progress. For example, the Yale Urban Design Workshop paired a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, urban planners and landscape designers with Resilient Bridgeport to launch two pilot programs aimed at protecting Bridgerports most vulnerable communities from the impact of chronic flooding. But we can do more. We must do more. That is why it is time for the city to come together and face this issue in our schools head on. I urge city officials, educators and parents to join me in support of a city-wide Carbon Free and Healthy Schools initiative. The Bridgeport Carbon Free and Healthy Schools steering committee has recommended we make improvements using a funding mix that includes federal stimulus dollars made available by the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, state school construction grants, and a multi-year bond issuance through the Connecticut Green Bank backed with a federal guarantee through the Department of Energy. As it stands, Bridgeport Public Schools emissions account for 4.5 percent of all Connecticut public school emissions and spends $5 million annually in energy costs. Although the district already has five LEED-certified buildings, we can do more. We can conduct energy audits and get students involved through an apprenticeship program so they can assist in the modernization of their own schools. We can expand our rooftop solar initiative, build solar carports, install fuel cells, address the battery shortage in some of our schools, upgrade the boiler systems, provide EV charging stations, and invest in small-scale wind demonstration projects. Not only are these projects good for the environment, they are good for the citys budget. Renewable energy and energy efficiency projects will save the city and the district money that can be reinvested in after-school and summer programs, in addition to the recruitment and hiring of highly qualified teachers. The CFHS initiative is consistent with the Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure to upgrade public schools with modern, clean, energy-efficient facilities and transportation delivering health and learning benefits to children and school communities, saving school districts money and creating good union jobs. There is also strong support for improving air quality in our schools in the Connecticut legislature. A Bridgeport Carbon Free & Healthy Schools campaign launched May 14 at Bridgeport Public Schools Volunteer Day as members of the building trades, teachers, parents and students worked to make improvements to James J. Curiale School. The campaign has local leadership and is invested for the long term. There is even a part-time position open for a Bridgeport resident to serve as a community organizer. I believe in the possibilities of what we can accomplish because I believe in Bridgeport. I know we can get the job done. We must act now to protect these public spaces. Our students deserve better, our teachers deserve better and Bridgeport can do better. Michael Testani is superintendent of Bridgeport public schools. KATHMANDU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane that was flying from Nepal's Pokhara to Jomsom in the Mustang district went missing on Sunday morning, a local government official said. WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, May 28, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... East central Foard County in northern Texas... West central Wilbarger County in northern Texas... Southeastern Hardeman County in northern Texas... * Until 630 PM CDT. * At 606 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 4 miles south of Margaret, moving northeast at 35 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Vernon, Crowell, Margaret, Thalia, Lockett and Rayland. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL KING COUNTY... At 608 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Guthrie, moving east at 25 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. Locations impacted include... Guthrie and Finney. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather For all the talk that Kevin Spacey faces extradition from the US, after prosecutors here authorised charging him with four sex offences, is the Usual Suspects actor really in any danger of being sent over the Pond? Or does he face extradition in the same way diplomats wife Anne Sacoolas does? She fled to the US after allegedly killing 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn while driving dangerously near a secret military base in Northampton, where her spooky hubby worked. There was little evidence of the special relationship when last year Uncle Sam told his favourite ally that Sacoolas was staying put. Contrast that with the plight of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, who is awaiting extradition to the US for exposing lies and human-rights violations during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If the crime on which Assange is being sought remains unchallenged, then a British journalist also risks prison in the US for publishing in the public interest any of Americas classified information Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to imminently rule whether Assange should be judicially rendered to the US. The decision is in her hands after a High Court judge accepted laughable assurances from Uncle Sam that Assange will receive the best treatment in their famously humane jails. After watching the grieving Dunn family deprived of justice for Harry, shouldnt Priti wait to see what happens with Spacey before sending Assange overseas? Last night, a Home Office source insisted the cases are entirely separate. Yes, but united by a common theme the extradition treaty is one-sided, open to political interference and supine towards our American cousins. Granted, the Assange extradition does not have the tabloid fodder qualities of a horny Hollywood star. But it does have far-reaching implications for the British media. If the crime on which Assange is being sought remains unchallenged, then a British journalist also risks prison in the US for publishing in the public interest any of Americas classified information. For all the talk that Kevin Spacey faces extradition from the US, after prosecutors here authorised charging him with four sex offences, is the Usual Suspects actor really in any danger of being sent over the Pond? This month, Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europes Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote to Patel to say extraditing Assange would have a chilling effect on media freedom and could hamper the press in performing its task as purveyor of information and public watchdog in democratic societies. Not that Fleet Street appears remotely concerned. Mijatovics warning was picked up by only two national newspapers the Telegraph and the Times, which bravely gave it a paragraph. But The Guardian which basked in the glory of publishing the very documents Assange is being hung out to dry over ignored it altogether. Luckily, my colleague Peter Hitchens has repeatedly kept MoS readers informed of the chilling nature of the Assange case and its implication for a free press. Those concerned still have time to write to Patel at 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF. A storm erupted in the art world after my last column reported private V&A tours were being auctioned off to Tory donors at fundraising auctions. MPs and charity wonks concerned about political impartiality demanded the London museum explain why an inspiring tour with V&A chair Nicholas Coleridge was one of the prize lots, alongside a membership donated by V&A Foundation trustee Heather Acton. The museum issued a statement insisting that no special access was offered. This prompted yours truly to ask how many private tours Coleridge has given to members of the public including of his favourite ten items from the collection that he promised to show the winning Tory donor. Im still waiting for an answer. Arch-loyalist Treasury Minister Simon Clarke outdid himself on Friday by hailing a fantastic reception for the Prime Minister at his Teesside constituency. The MP also posted pictures of Boris with ice cream alongside another loyal local Tory MP, Jacob Young, seen by some as the Squealer of the 2019 intake for his closeness to the Whips Office. With all the Bojo love in the air, Clarke forgot that just days earlier the former chairman of the local Conservative Association tore up his membership card over Partygate. Under Boris Johnson dishonesty is not just tolerated in the Conservative Party, its become the done thing, said Lee Holmes. Boris broke the law and lied to Parliament. KABUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have arrested a weapon trafficker in the country's southern province of Kandahar, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Sunday. The arrest was made in Spin Boldak district and the security forces also confiscated weapons and ammunition, the ministry said in a statement. Among the seized materials were seven assault rifles, three machine guns, one pistol, four shells, over 1,000 rounds of bullets, 19 gun magazines, and 33 rounds of hand grenades. The man tried to transport the weapons and ammunition to a neighboring country, according to the statement. Further investigation was underway. The Taliban-led caretaker government has vowed to collect arms from irresponsible armed men as part of efforts to ensure law and order across the country. Thousands of pieces of weapons ranging from AK-47 guns to tank and anti-aircraft guns have been seized from different provinces in recent months. There is never a good time for a political partys members, especially MPs, to plot against their leader. But in the second half of a parliament such behaviour is even more dangerous and foolish. The next General Election is likely to fall by May 2024. If the Tory Party now gives itself over to internal strife, which is never over quickly, this will be the main thing that voters will remember two years hence. And it is well known that the public actively hate it when their would-be leaders squabble in public. If those who seek to govern the country cannot behave with self-restraint and discipline, why should they be entrusted with the seals of office? But, alas, internal war is enjoyable for many of those who take part in it. There is never a good time for a political partys members, especially MPs, to plot against their leader. But in the second half of a parliament such behaviour is even more dangerous and foolish It can further the ambitions of the obscure, who can make names for themselves in small-scale strife as they never could in normal times. It can also provide revenge for those who have held office and lost it. Perhaps too many Tories have forgotten the era of Theresa May, during which incessant division gravely weakened their party. But they surely ought to remember the success which followed its reunification under Boris Johnson, who famously got Brexit done, won a convincing majority in a General Election and, by common consent, has coped well with Covid and the Ukraine crisis. It is precisely because his opponents have so little political ammunition against him that they have needed to make a huge issue out of Partygate. And while Mr Johnson has many failings, and has had a bumpy ride over the past few months, he remains an unusually effective political leader with a direct personal appeal to the public which no Tory has had for decades. Those who now say that he has lost his magic need to understand that the challenges of actual office strip the outward shine off almost everyone who takes it on. Which of them could stand the incessant personal scrutiny that is nowadays the lot of a UK Prime Minister? And they need to ask themselves, who else could do any better especially in the key task of appealing beyond the Conservative Partys traditional constituency in the so-called Red Wall seats which will be so important at the next Election. Murmuring against him will only help Sir Keir Starmer, and his allies, with all this implies. It is precisely because his opponents have so little political ammunition against him that they have needed to make a huge issue out of Partygate Raise a glass to our Crown For many people in this country, it was the European Unions interference in our way of life which made its rule so unacceptable. The grander issues of monetary union and foreign policy mattered, but they did not actually upset people. What did upset them was being told, for no good reason, that for example they could no longer buy their fruit and vegetables by the pound, and that the weight of newborn babies would be given officiously in kilograms, something meaningless to millions. When these matters came to court, as they sometimes did, it often seemed that it was not just the EU pushing for soulless changes, but that there were jacks-in-office in this country who rather enjoyed expunging these harmless and treasured aspects of Britishness. The widespread failure to reverse such meddling since we left the EU has strengthened that impression. So The Mail on Sunday gives hearty thanks for news that the traditional Crown symbol is to return to pint glasses in pubs. But this should be only the start. Why should English lawmaking and officialdom be relentlessly metricated in purely domestic matters? Man went to the Moon in feet and inches, so why cant we buy petrol in gallons and butter by the half pound? A mother-of-two who left her job as an employment lawyer to launch a cross-stitching business is set to turnover 1million next year. Sally Wilson, 38, who lives in Warwickshire, founded Caterpillar Cross Stitch while on maternity leave in 2015, starting out with 2,000 in savings and a small office in the box room of the family home. In her first year, Sally made just 600. But now, seven years later, Sally has a large warehouse, a team of six employees, is stocked in National Trust shops and has turned over 800,000 in the last 12 months. Sally Wilson, 38, who lives in Warwickshire, founded Caterpillar Cross Stitch while on maternity leave in 2015, starting out with 2,000 in savings and a small office in the box room of the family home. She is now set to turnover 1million next year 'It's the most exciting, fulfilling journey and I'm so grateful that it turned out like this,' she told FEMAIL. Sally, who had worked in big city law firms, the public sector and smaller high street firms, said she realised she wanted more creativity in her day-to-day life. Growing up, her family were artistic and she spent her childhood exploring paper crafts, embroidery and cake decorating with her mum and grandmother. Sally first discovered cross stitch when she was only eight years old. Following the birth of her daughter, Felicity, now eight, Sally realised it was the perfect opportunity to pursue a new passion. While decorating the nursery, she realised the cross-stitch market was old-fashioned and used stereotypical colours, such as pink and blue, and typical patterns, such as teddy bears and animals. She wanted to make her daughter's room cool and minimalist and saw a gap in the market to make cross-stitching more modern. Strength to strength: In her first year, Sally made just 600. But now, seven years later, Sally has a large warehouse, a team of six employees, is stocked in National Trust shops and has turned over 800,000 in the last 12 months. Pictured, in her office Bright and beautiful: An example of one of Caterpillar Cross Stitch's patterns Other companies were using obvious colour palettes but Sally wanted to think outside the box, for example by suggesting hot pink and blue for a Halloween range. 'I thought to myself "now's the time!" It was one of those lightbulb moments where it ticked every box because it was something I was so passionate about,' she said. 'I've never wanted to go back or regret it at all. I think you know in your heart when you've made the right decision.' While her newborn daughter napped in the afternoon, Sally studied an e-commerce course. She also had a fashion course and a photography course under her belt and drew on all of this experience in launching her company. She bought a camera and initial supplies with 2,000 of savings from her law career. Modern take on a traditional hobby: A Caterpillar Cross Stitch patterns filled with detail When business grew, the kids moved into the same room and Sally moved into her son's old room to make space for new stock. It has gone from strength to strength and Caterpillar Cross Stitch is forecast to turn over 1million in 2023. She has hit over 35,000 followers on Instagram and over 23,000 subscribers on YouTube. The entrepreneur hopes that Caterpillar Cross Stitch will one day become the leading global brand for cross stitching. But launching her own business has also come with challenges, as the entrepreneur has needed to balance her career ambitions with being a mum to Felicity and Hugo and a wife to husband Tim. Sally said she never had a moment where she wasn't working as she was running a business while homeschooling two small children. She said: 'There's been a lot of sacrifice and I have to accept that I can't do everything. I'm not the perfect mother and I'm not the perfect CEO. 'It's been challenging on an emotional level too because I wanted to be at home all the time as a new mum.' Eva Longoria has showcased her enviable sense of style with more than 10 eye-catching looks over the past two weeks. The actress, 47, from Texas, who is best known for starring in Desperate Housewives, put on a stylish display throughout the Cannes Film Festival in France where she donned multiple outfits worth thousands of pounds. She left very little to the imagination in a 7,105 plunging black chiffon gown by Alberta Ferretti on the opening night, then stole the show again just 24 hours later on the red carpet of the Top Gun: Maverick screening. Eva evoked old school glamour in a sparkling silver off-the-shoulder gown by New York based designer Cristina Ottaviano, while sweeping her glossy brunette hair off her face to reveal dazzling drop earrings. She went on to flash her thigh in a cut-out waist black dress from Monot, which is currently unavailable to buy at the amfAR charity gala and gave a glimpse of her enviable figure once more in a Roberto Cavalli dress while hosting her annual Global Gift Gala. The eye-watering price of her outfits worn over the past two weeks comes as Eva admits to only spending $40 on the dress she wore to her first ever Cannes Film festival in 2005. Below, FEMAIL reveals how Eva remains one of the best dressed women in Hollywood with a selection of her striking looks worn at The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival. Eva Longoria, 47, has revealed why she remains one of the best dressed women in Hollywood after stepping out in Cannes in a selection of showstopper looks - including a floor length black gown from Italian brand Roberto Cavalli at her annual Global Gift Gala (pictured) Eva highlighted her toned midriff in a beautiful silver Cristina Ottaviano bustier, orange blazer and matching 575 trousers from Giuseppe di Morabito as she stepped out at the Martinez Hotel during a L'Oreal photoshoot on May 17th The Desperate Housewives star turned heads at the amfAR Gala, where she teamed a daring cut-out dress from Monot, which is currently unavailable to buy, with silver embellished stiletto heels and smoky eye Eva stepped out alongside her husband Jose Baston in a summery 1,600 Stella McCartney cut-out green dress and 655 Gianvito Rossi translucent pumps on 19th May Fashion stylist Charlene Roxborough Konsker got Eva to wow in a sexy gothic inspired 219 lace body by Pinko, teamed with Aquazzura and Chopard jewellery at a dinner on 25th May On the 17th May, the mother-of-one beamed in a couture outfit from the SS22 collection of Italian designer Antonio Grimaldi Later in the day Eva took to the red carpet in a striking 7105 chiffon gown by Alberta Ferretti, while styling her hair in relaxed waves The actress, 47, put on a glittering display for the Top Gun: Maverick screening at Palais des Festivals in a custom gown by New York based designer Cristina Ottaviano paired with Chopard jewellery and Aquazzura shoes Eva looked glamorous in an orange midi dress, strappy heels and a sleek blow-dry that flicked out at the ends Eva donned a chic 990 Victoria Beckham dress for the L'Oreal Paris' 25th anniversary dinner during the Cannes Festival Eva looked sophisticated in a sheer black top and high waist trousers as she attended a talk at the American Pavilion the festival Eva stunned in a black cut-out dress and strappy heels as she arrived at Nice Airport carrying an oversized handbag Advertisement Mike Tindall had his hands full as he took his three children to the funfair while wife Zara competed in the Houghton Hall Horse Trials on Saturday. Eight-year-old Mia led her siblings around the Norfolk grounds after being entrusted with money to pay for rides, while former England rugby player Mike, 43, watched cautiously. Baby brother Lucas, one, looked eager to join in with his sisters as he was spotted taking his first steps in public after being given an opportunity to step down from his father's shoulders. The thrill-seeking family appeared in good spirits, with three-year-old Lena smiled broadly as she took to the funfair's bungee ride. Mia Tindall, eight, joined her siblings Lena, three and Lucas, one (pictured) on rides including the teacups as their father Mike watched on at the funfair in Norfolk on Saturday Mike (pictured left) teamed a grey jacket with a cap and jeans for the fun day out, while wife Zara competed in the Houghton Hall Horse Trials The former rugby player was seen walking around the grounds with one-year-old son Lucas (pictured left), who was keen to get involved in having fun with his sisters Lucas was spotted taking his first steps in public as he walked confidently alongside father-of-three Mike and crowds watched on Lucas looked adorable in dark trousers and a turquoise sweater as he showed an eagerness to get involved in the funfair activities Mike Tindall, who is married to the Queen's eldest granddaughter, paired a grey jacket with jeans and a cap for a casual look. Throughout their time in Norfolk, he was mindful of his children's safety and was seen stretching his arm out towards Lena as she bounced on the bungee ride. Mia, who is 22nd in line to the throne, was visibly confident on the amusement as she practiced somersaults and kicked her legs high in the air with her hands off of the harness. Mike multi-tasked supporting his daughters' antics with keeping Lucas entertained, ensuring the tot had full views of everything happening before giving the one-year-old an opportunity to get involved with the baby-friendly activities. The siblings took to the teacups with Lucas sat on Mia's lap as Mike let them spend time bonding playfully among themselves. Eight-year-old Mia looked confident as she took to a bungee ride wearing denim shorts, red t-shirt and sparkly pink trainers Mia smiled proudly as she continued to bounce on the bungee ride after successfully completing a somersault Mike placed Lucas on his shoulders as he watched three-year-old Lena enjoying her time on a bungee ride Zara, who is an accomplished equestrian and Olympian, missed out on the fun as she was busy competing at the Houghton Hall Horse Trials. The daughter of Princess Anne is an accomplished equestrian and Olympian, who keeps a relatively low public profile and often spends her weekends at sporting events. Mike and their three children have continuously shown their support by attending Zara's competitions. This weekend's outings come as the royal, who does not have a HRH title, launched her own website to celebrate her sporting success. The glossy new site - zaratindall.com - makes no mention of her royal connection. Mia was spotted getting her baby brother Lucas involved as they went on different rides Former rugby player Mike entrusted Mia money to pay for the rides as she explored the funfair with her siblings Mia and Lena were spotted trying their luck on a card game, while Mike and Lucas cheered their efforts Lucas looked keen to try winning something for himself as he stood alongside Mia at a hoopla stall The website was created by Equimi after Zara became a brand ambassador for the company, which designs online pages for equestrians. It features little mention of her family life, and no indication that her mother is the Princess Royal. The page is also bannered by a Rolex advert, and lists and links to her many sponsors, including Landrover and Equine America. Her bio reads: 'Following the birth of her first child in January 2014, Zara was competing at the highest level once again just seven months later, going on to win a team silver medal at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy. 'In April 2017 she finished third on High Kingdom at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event before going on to have her second child in Spring 2018. Mia prevented Lucas from any mischief as they followed their dad Mike throughout the funfair Mia, Lena and Lucas appeared to be having fun as they gathered together on the tea cup ride The siblings were able to bond throughout the day as their mother Zara competed in the Houghton Hall Horse Trials 'Since then Zara has been back competing regularly at National and International events.' Zara also lists all eight of her current and former horses on the page, as well as a link to her results and a 'news' page with updates about her career. Despite being the Queen's eldest granddaughter, Zara doesn't hold a HRH title and isn't a working royal. Her deal with Equimi is the latest in a long line of sponsorships and brand collaborations for Zara, who is able to use her unique position of being a part of the royal family but not having a title to maximum advantage. The mother-of-three is also a brand ambassador for Rolex and Musto, and has her own jewellery range with Australian brand Cajella, and experts have estimated they could be worth a combined 1.1m or more a year. Through their work, Zara and Mike have managed to enjoy a 'normal' life - at least within royal circles - and live with their daughters in relative privacy, but still reap the benefits of lucrative contacts that they have secured, at least in part, thanks to their positions within the royal family. The Tindalls also dedicate a significant amount of time to charitable causes and have phonebooks dotted with celebrity names. Families can be messy and complicated. Old feuds and unresolved rows abound. Wounds run deep. Arguments about apparently small, daft things lead to monumental fallings out as they resonate with something far deeper and more profound. Standing on the sidelines, other peoples families can appear mystifying. So I dont pretend to understand the relationship between the Duchess of Sussex and her father Thomas Markle. Clearly, theres bad blood between them and its a difficult relationship to say the least. This is glaringly obvious by the fact that, despite him being rushed to hospital last week following a major stroke, she has not, according to reports, been to see him. Dr Max Pemberton comtemplates the phrase 'too late' in relation to families. He uses the Duchess of Sussex's (pictured with Prince Harry) relationship with her father to highlight the need to make the decision of whether to cut him out or to make peace But at some point shell have to bite the bullet and make a decision either cut him out entirely and make your peace with that, or try to make amends in some way and do it sooner rather than later. Her father was discharged from hospital at the weekend and seems to have ongoing problems with his speech, so Id urge her and indeed everyone in an ongoing feud not to delay. My mum has often said that the two saddest words in the English language are too late. Ive found this time and time again in medicine the smoker who realises its too late to quit when they get lung cancer, the person who keeps meaning to lose weight then has a heart attack. And its pitiful seeing people realise that the window of opportunity has closed. The time to change has been and gone. But the most tragic cases of leaving things too late are when it comes to people reconciling rifts and fallings out. People rush to the bedside and yes, sometimes there is a deathbed reconciliation, but Ive also seen many, many times when people have arrived too late. Or their loved one is utterly incapacitated and cant respond. Dr Max Pemberton (pictured) says how it is tragic to see families leaving it too late to reconcile rifts and mend fallings out Theyve been meaning to say something, meaning to apologise, meaning to clear the air for months, years sometimes decades. And then, when the moment comes, its not like in the films. Theres no gentle fading light, soft focus, a tender touch and wise last words said with a warm smile as someone slips away. Theres an unexpected phone call urging them to get there as soon as possible. Theres a scramble to the car. Theres a rush down a brightly lit corridor, confusion where the ward is and then, as they burst in, the strangeness that there isnt some fanfare waiting for them. Thomas Markle (pictured) was rushed to hospital last week following a major stroke, but Meghan, according to reports, has not been to visit him Its eerily quiet and peaceful. Theres a nurse who looks up from some notes and says, Sorry, they passed away about half an hour ago. The relative stands there catching their breath and then the enormity of whats happened whats been lost and missed hits them. No second chances. No rerun. Its over. Youd be surprised how often people are ushered into a room with the body and left alone for them finally to say their piece. Its futile and offers little closure. Its too late. I remember one middle-aged man who rushed to see his sister. They hadnt spoken for 20 years after some row at a family gathering that blew up and refused to abate. He flew over from Ireland and she died literally as he walked on the ward. He was taken to the family room and sat with a nurse who recounted how he kept repeating that if hed known she would die, hed have called her and cleared the air. Hed been waiting for the right moment. A young Meghan with Markle with her father Thomas Markle. Dr Max Pemberton urges the Duchess to end the feud she has with her father He obviously thought that, being in her 40s, he had years to make up with her. How wrong he was. We have this image of reconciling as something big, dramatic as though in some soap opera. But the best reconciliation doesnt involve running to someone's deathbed. They happen with a boring Tuesday afternoon phone call, or a coffee in Sainsburys cafe with a bunch of flowers to say sorry. Theyre a postcard saying I miss you, lets patch things up. They happen when you realise its too risky to put things off, when were confronted with an urgent situation that requires us to lower our guard and swallow our pride. Its understandable to want to put off addressing these kinds of feuds and arguments. They often touch on very deepseated and painful memories; things wed rather keep buried or not address until we absolutely have to. But then this risks the gnawing, agonising self-flagellation that comes with not making it in time, with missing out. Dont wait for the perfect time all too often, it doesnt come until its too late. I dont know if in a year we will look back on monkeypox and realise we were on the brink of another catastrophic pandemic. But we need to face reality pandemics are here to stay. Globalisation means viruses can spread far quicker than before. Pretending this isnt going to keep happening wont help anyone. Cheers to Wills top beer idea The Duke of Cambridge has suggested a free pint in exchange for a check-up to encourage reluctant men to look after their health A free pint in exchange for a check-up has been suggested by the Duke of Cambridge as a possible way to encourage reluctant men to look after their health. This actually isnt as daft as it sounds. In fact, I think William is on to something. Men traditionally dont attend appointments or go for check-ups. The reasons why are complex but its thought to be a combination of not prioritising their health, thinking it weak to go to the doctor or think about health, fear of finding out and feeling out of control and so on. But actually men do worry they are just reluctant to act on it. They often just need the tiniest of nudges to go. If a pint helps get them through the door, then I say cheers to that. Max commends Ronnie Wood, 74, (pictured) for posing topless for Esquire magazine, as men also feel under pressure as they get older Good on Ronnie Wood for posing topless for Esquire magazine at 74. We hear a lot about the pressures on women especially older women with their bodies. But theres no doubt men feel under pressure, too. That picture of Daniel Craig emerging out of the water as Bond in Casino Royale has done nothing for men worried about their middle-aged spread. Ronnie Wood looks great for his age, but good for him for fearlessly showing off what a real body looks like. DR MAX PRESCRIBES... HEARTSTOPPER Dr Max Pemberton recommends watching new Netflix drama Heartstopper (pictured), which is a simple love story about two gay students. He says it's good for younger people to see sexuality portrayed positively This new Netflix drama is a sweet, simple love story about two gay students finding each other. Its really helpful for youngsters struggling with their sexuality to see it so positively portrayed. Whats the one thing we can do thats any of us, regardless of age or body shape that will instantly make us look summer 2022? Get an X-gap. Thats the gap between trouser hem and shoes, the couple of inches of ankle on display in cropped trousers or jeans. Never mind your decolletage, its this sliver of bare skin thats going to make the difference. Its not often a fashion comes along that anyone can join in with. Better still the X-gap works with almost every trouser style so the chances are you own them already. They could be those navy tailored trousers, re-hemmed to make them just ankle bone revealing; or your cotton khakis rolled up a couple of inches; or flared jeans from many summers ago chopped off and left frayed, because thats another way to make jeans look instantly modern. The X-gap is the gap between trouser hem and shoes, the couple of inches of ankle on display in cropped trousers or jeans. It has been seen on the catwalks such as Jason Wu (pictured) If just the other day you were thinking (as I was), when am I going to wear these floppy black trousers with the satin ribbon down the outside leg? now you know what to do. Favourite pair of blue jeans look dowdy? Snip the ankles off. And, if youre in the mood to buy some new trousers, just make length your new priority. Marks & Spencer has always done trousers in different lengths and its tapered cropped black trouser (35, marksandspencer.com) is a good all-round bet for now. (Yes, so long as its anklebaring, black is as summery as white or pale pink.) Amal Clooney pictured here is sporting the X-gap, which is a style that suits everyone. Shane Watson suggests altering your favourite pair of blue jeans to achieve this look The cropped style that suits everyone is straight and loose fit andfinishes at ankle-sock height (though the whole point of the X-gap is it must be bare, so any socks youre wearing should be invisible). I like Arkets just-anklebone-grazing suit trousers in dark navy (79, arket.com) with the all-important high waist, plus angled side pockets. This barely-cropped length is the easiest to dress up or down. Id wear them with a semi-tucked-in billowing boyfriend shirt and ballet flats because there is something 2022 Audrey Hepburn about this look. The X-gap makes trousers more feminine and somehow neater. Mango does a similarly smart pair with darts in tan or off-white (49.99, shop.mango.com). UK-based fashion expert Shane Watson says that you need to experiment to find your perfect length. She says that the gap with tailored trousers is a bit narrow, like Katie Holmes (right) and for jeans she would suggest three inch gap, like the Duchess of Cambridge (left) You will need to experiment with your perfect length, but for me the gap that works with tailored trousers is a bit narrower (no more than 2 in above the ankle) than the one I prefer for jeans (nearer three). The fashion editors swear by Zaras The Dreed jeans (32.99, zara.com), a high-waisted, cropped narrow flare that looks good in indigo, black or white denim, and Mango does a good highwaisted, cropped straight jean in eight colours (35.99). The secret with a cropped flare (to my mind the most flattering style) is a gradual widening. The ones that are a tighter fit and flare from the knee can look a bit silly. A little more cropped (just below the calf) and wider in the leg, Jigsaws crepe trousers in navy (120, jigsaw-online. com) are neat and smart for work with loafers or blockheeled slingbacks. Any cotton trousers you can simply roll up, so long as theyre not extra-wide-legged and you dont roll them too high (or youll look like youve just been paddling!). THE X-GAP RULES Try a gradual flare Hem your suit trousers Leave denim hems raw Wear with slingbacks Advertisement Rolling up is more casual but can still be smartish if the trousers are crisp and snug on the hips try H&Ms cotton chinos (24.99 hm.com). Cropped trousers in general require a waist-grazing, tucked-in or at least half-tucked-in top (French style); you cant cover up your waist or youll end up looking dumpy. And a word of warning: what wont work is turning up calf-tight skinny jeans. The ageless gap has to swing. Something else to bear in mind with the X-gap is it showcases your shoes, so invest in some up-to-theminute footwear. This, plus your cropped hems, will score you double fashion points. Wear the new length with ankle boots until the weather gets too hot, otherwise let your shoes dictate the look. Id wear my newly taken-up black tuxedo trousers with black platform loafers, if I could walk in them. As it is, Ill probably stick with low, blockheeled, gold slingbacks and a peasant-style print top. Black, shiny pumps or sandals look good with cropped, white trousers. A cropped flare works well with ankle boots, and when it gets hotter, block-heeled or kittenheeled mules or slingbacks. I think cropped trousers benefit from a bit of Audrey attitude, so dont go chunky or unisex. The much ridiculed campaigner Mary Whitehouse is one of historys losers. Born in 1910, she never let go of her Edwardian sensibilities, even as the society she knew collapsed around her ears. She spent 37 years organising letter-writing campaigns in an effort to halt the arrival of what she called the permissive society, horrified as she was by the displays of sex and violence that suddenly appeared on British television screens from the 1960s onwards. A contemporary of hers described her as a little Canute, exhorting the waves of moral turpitude to retreat. She didnt campaign for change, she campaigned for stasis. And she failed utterly, in a grand display of public humiliation. Some of her concerns look rather silly now. She and her fellow campaigners expended a huge amount of energy on the kind of sauciness that nowadays seems quaint. The double entendres in songs such as Chuck Berrys My Ding-a-Ling and sitcoms such as It Aint Half Hot Mum all provoked letters, as did a suggestively placed microphone during Mick Jaggers appearance on Top Of The Pops. Louise Perry makes the case that the sexual revolution went to fair, evoking the treatment of mocked 20th century activist Mary Whitehouse One of her first forays into public life was an anonymous 1953 piece for The Sunday Times that advised mothers on how best to inhibit homosexuality in their sons. This open homophobia was combined with a crusade against blasphemy. In 1977, she pursued a private prosecution against Gay News for printing a poem that described a Roman centurion fantasising about having sex with the body of the crucified Christ. The editor was convicted of blasphemous libel, and the QC who represented him later wrote that Whitehouses fear of homosexuals was visceral. He may well have been right. Her reputation as a bigoted fuddy-duddy means that, if Whitehouse is remembered now, it is usually as a punchline. And indeed in her own lifetime she was the subject of constant ridicule. One of her books was ritually burned on a BBC sitcom, her name was used in jest as the title of the hit comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience, and a porn star mockingly changed her name to Mary Whitehouse by deed poll (this second Mary Whitehouse later committed suicide). Indeed, I fear we are now starting to see some slippage back towards the paedophilia advocacy of the 1970s, in media like Netflix's Cuties Sir Hugh Greene, director-general of the BBC between 1960 and 1969, openly despised Whitehouse so much that he purchased a grotesque naked portrait of her to hang in his office. The story goes that he would vent his frustration by throwing darts at the portrait, squealing with delight if he managed to hit one of her six breasts depicted in the painting. Arch-progressive Owen Jones, a columnist at The Guardian, is among those who now use Whitehouses name as shorthand for being on the wrong side of history. For those wedded to the permissive society, she is villainy incarnate. What was the Paedophile Information Exchange? The Paedophile Information Exchange was founded in Edinburgh in October 1974 by two gay campaigners, Michael Hanson and Ian Campbell Dunn, both of them leading members of the Scottish Minorities Group, which later became the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group. An outspoken, egocentric individual who worked as a town planner in Edinburgh, Campbell Dunn was a trade union official and Labour party activist. At one stage he was a local Labour council candidate, and, before his death, he had applied to become a candidate for the Scottish Parliament. He publicly denied he was a paedophile, claiming he had become involved in PIE because he believed in supporting minorities. Yet he allowed his flat to be used as the mailbox for an insidious journal called Minor Problems, which billed itself as a radical review for free inter-generational and child sexuality. The group also lobbied for the of the age of consent to be abolished, and said the law should only interfere in sexual activity if consent was not given. They offered support to adults facing legal action concerning sexual acts with underaged partners. It's believed there were up to 250 members, mostly from London and the South East, at any one time. Part of the group's strategy was to link up with other Left-wing campaign groups, and it infiltrated the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) and joined the National Council of Civil Liberties. The Paedophile Information Exchange was officially disbanded in 1984. By Leo McKinstry for MailOnline Advertisement But this historical narrative only works if one is deliberately selective. Whitehouse has found herself condemned by history on the issues of homosexuality, blasphemy and the phallic use of microphones on Top Of The Pops. But on one issue she was remarkably prescient. She was one of the few public figures of her day who gave a damn about child sexual abuse. At the same time as Sir Hugh Greene was lobbing darts at her naked portrait, his organisation, the BBC, was enabling abuses perpetrated against women and children by many famous men, including, most notoriously, TV presenter Jimmy Savile. It was only after Savile died, unpunished, in 2011 that the scale of his crimes became clear. It is now believed that, over the course of at least 40 years, BBC staff turned a blind eye to the rape and sexual assault of up to 1,000 girls and boys by Savile in the Corporations changing rooms and studios. He abused many more victims, young and old, male and female, in hospitals, schools and anywhere else he could seek them out. His celebrity status enabled his sexual aggression, allowing him access to vulnerable victims, particularly children, and discouraging investigation. Savile made little effort to conceal what he got up to and, indeed, would often joke about it. Answering the phone to journalists, he would apparently greet them, unprompted, with the phrase She told me she was over 16, which was invariably met with nervous laughter. In his autobiography, published in 1974, he admitted to some of his crimes, writing of a time before he became a TV presenter when he had been running nightclubs in the north of England and a police officer asked him to look out for a young girl who had run away from a home for juvenile offenders. Savile told the officer that, if the girl showed up at one of his clubs, he would be sure to hand her over to the authorities but Ill keep her all night first as my reward. The girl did show up and he did spend the night with her, but no criminal action was ever taken. Savile told this story openly, as if it were funny, and seemingly without fear of consequences. When the Savile scandal broke in the early 2010s, the same refrain was repeated by commentators again and again: It was a different time. And indeed it was, although we sometimes forget quite how different attitudes towards child sexual abuse really were during the 1970s and 1980s. In Britain, members of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) were openly campaigning for the abolition of the age of consent and found themselves welcomed warmly in some Establishment circles. In the United States, NAMBLA (the North American Man/Boy Love Association) was founded at the end of the 1970s and attracted support from figures including the poet Allen Ginsberg. In some European countries at this time, child pornography was freely available, having been legalised at the same time as other forms of pornography from the end of the 1960s. Whitehouse has found herself condemned by history on the issues of homosexuality, blasphemy and the phallic use of microphones on Top Of The Pops In hyper-liberal Sweden, it emerged that the Royal Library in Stockholm was in possession of a collection of child pornography acquired between 1971 and 1980 and still being loaned to members of the public into the 21st century. In 1977, a petition to the French parliament calling for the decriminalisation of sex between adults and children was signed by a long list of famous intellectuals including Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Simone de Beauvoir and Michel Foucault. All of these figures are now the ones who find themselves on the wrong side of history after the 1990s saw a sharp swing back against efforts to normalise paedophilia. Back in the 1970s it was primarily conservatives who opposed groups such as PIE, with Mary Whitehouse, for instance, lobbying hard for the Private Members Bill that became the Protection of Children Act 1978. Eventually, she was joined by progressives in her condemnation of child sexual abuse. But her contribution was erased, and the shameful history of the liberal tolerance for paedophilia in the decades following the sexual revolution was mostly forgotten. Paedophilia is now condemned by liberals, and if the case for paedophilia presented by sexual revolutionaries such as Foucault is remembered at all, it is as a brief and embarrassing detour from the progressive path a kink (so to speak) in the arc of the moral universes bend towards justice. For liberals, the wall between licit and illicit sexual behaviour is now built upon an emphasis on consent. According to this argument, what makes paedophilia different is that children cant consent, therefore any sexual activity involving them will always be unacceptable. However the personality was also one of the few public figures of her day who gave a damn about child sexual abuse 'Netflix is comfortable with this': Viewers called on the streaming giant to cancel controversial 'Cuties' film in 2020 Furious viewers mounted a cancel Netflix campaign in 2020 after the controversial French film 'Cuties' hit the streaming service. Backlash against the movie erupted when Netflix debuted a trailer and poster prompting outrage from social media users who were left horrified by the 'sexualized' portrayal of its young stars. While director Maimouna Doucoure, 35, said she was stunned by the outrage and that the the poster was 'not representative of the film', anger and calls for it to be dropped remain. Viewers posted video and images of the twerking 11-year-olds featured in the Netflix trailer as they accused the movie and its makers of pedophilia. Furious viewers mounted a cancel Netflix campaign in 2020 after the controversial French film 'Cuties' hit the streaming service Several social media users accused Netflix of supporting child abuse by hosting the movie. 'Unbelievable that they released Cuties. So child porn is ok now Netflix? Raise your hand if you agree this is disgusting,' wrote Twitter user David Fischer, adding the hashtag #CancelNetflix. 'If you watch 11-year-olds twerk, youre a pervert. If you direct 11 year olds to touch themselves on camera, youre a pedophile. If you support Netflix making and airing #Cuties, youre enabling abuse,' said Republican candidate for Congress James P. Bradley. Some critics hit out at those who are defending the movie and claimed that it should not be sold as art. 'Netflix is comfortable with this. Plenty of people will defend it. This is where our culture is at,' said Daily Caller writer Mary Margaret Olohan. 'If you call "Cuties" art or a "social statement". I call you a child abuser. We have no time for niceties while children are being sexualized for mass entertainment,' added writer Sonia Poulton. An online petition was also started calling on people to cancel their Netflix subscription in light of its decision to host the movie. 'Please make the choice to prove to Netflix our children are more valuable than our entertainment, and our money is better spent else where!' reads the petition that has been signed by almost 600,000 people as of Thursday evening. Cuties, tells the story of an 11-year-old Senegalese Muslim girl named Amy, and, according to the director, it is meant to depict the struggle of 'many children who have to navigate between a liberal western culture and a conservative culture at home'. However, while publicizing the movie, Netflix chose to focus almost solely on Amy's participation in her school dance team and their quest to 'twerk their way to stardom at a local dance contest'. The site's trailer and poster featured imagery of pre-adolescent girls dancing provocatively in very skimpy outfits, while Netflix's description of the movie centered around their 'increasingly sensual dance routines'. In stark contrast, the original poster for the movie - which has been used on other sites like IMDB - depicts the youngsters on a shopping trip. Netflix issued an apology for the trailer and poster featuring the skimpy outfits. 'We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Cuties,' a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement at the time. 'It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film, which premiered at Sundance. We've now updated the pictures and description.' Advertisement So far, so good. But on closer scrutiny, the consent argument falls apart. Liberals may be able to accept the banning of child porn without any qualms, since it necessitates the abuse of real children in its production. But what about images that the police term pseudo-photographs which appear to depict real children? What about illustrations? What about adults dressing up and pretending to be children during sex? What about porn performers who appear to be very young? What about porn performers who deliberately make themselves look even younger? What about the 21-year-old social media star who sells pornographic images of herself wearing braces and girls clothes and in 2021 was criticised for sharing images of herself seemingly dressed as a child and pretending to be raped by a man dressed as a kidnapper? The problem has always been where you draw the line, and this puts liberals in an awkward position. When you set out to break down sexual taboos, you shouldnt be surprised when all taboos are considered fair game for breaking. Including the ones youd rather retain, such as consensual incest, cannibalism, sex with animals, sex with dead bodies, and sex acts that are at the very least paedophilic-adjacent, if not outright paedophilic. The principles of sexual liberalism do, Im sorry to say, trundle inexorably towards this end-point, whether or not we want them to. Indeed, I fear we are now starting to see some slippage back towards the paedophilia advocacy of the 1970s. In 2020, Netflix released a film called Cuties in which the protagonist is 11-year-old Amy. Living in a poor district of Paris, she finds herself in the orbit of a group of girls who call themselves the Cuties. They are not nice girls. They bully Amy and each other, they physically attack other children, they steal, they lie, and they also twerk, gyrating in skimpy outfits, bumping, grinding and pouting. They jiggle their tiny backsides and hump the floor in an imitation of pornified ecstasy. Netflix defended the film by pointing out that it was intended as a commentary on the harms of child sexualisation. The problem was that it also featured a lot of actual child sexualisation, and the original marketing for the film played on this theme, with the four very young actresses dressed in glorified bikinis and arranged in suggestive poses. Gritty depictions of child sexualisation are not entirely new. Taxi Driver (1976), Pretty Baby (1978) and Thirteen (2003) all portrayed pre-pubescent girls in sexually inappropriate scenarios. But Cuties went farther than any of these films in not only suggesting sexualisation but actually showing it, and at length. Nevertheless, Cuties received positive reviews in outlets such as the Washington Post, Rolling Stone and the New Yorker. Here, one newspaper critic praised this act of provocation in an age terrified of child sexuality and later tweeted his delight that the film had p***ed off all the right people. The word hysterical recurred in these reviews, alongside the suggestion that the outrage over Cuties was wholly disproportionate, derived solely from a conservative moral panic over paedophilia. There is something about paedophilia anxiety that is currently considered rather low-status among the liberal elites. Snobbish progressives present it as an obsession of the ignorant and credulous working classes, fired up by tabloid newspaper stories. They cite the case of the trainee paediatrician in Gwent who came home to find the word Paedo painted on her front door by teenagers who had confused the word paediatrician with paedophile. We should all be alert to such wrong and frenzied overreactions. But equally we should not forget that there have been shocking examples of child sexual abuse taking place, at scale and without detection. Jimmy Savile abusing up to a thousand children on BBC premises would sound like a conspiracy theory if we didnt know it to be true, just as Jeffrey Epstein supplying underage girls to famous and powerful men sounds like bizarre fiction. Yet these things really happened. They are an indication of the murky places to which a no-holds-barred attitude to sexual liberation can lead just as Mrs Whitehouse was warning all those years ago, and got no thanks for. Adapted from The Case Against The Sexual Revolution: A New Guide To Sex In The 21st Century, by Louise Perry, to be published by Polity on June 2 at 14.99. Louise Perry 2022. To order a copy for 13.49 (offer valid to 11/06/22; UK P&P free on orders over 20), visit www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. A TikToker has revealed a simple hack to transform sterling silver jewellery in two minutes using a common pantry staple. In a now-viral video, Aussie retail worker Emma said all you need is a bowl, hot water and baking soda. She placed her 925 sterling silver Pandora rings into a bowl lined with aluminium foil then added baking soda and poured hot water over the top. The jewellery was transformed from dull to shiny almost instantly, which impressed thousands online. 'Okay so the more I tell people about this hack, the more I realise that people don't know, and they need to know!' Emma said in the video. Scroll down for video Before: Retail worker Emma posted the now-viral TikTok video sharing how to clean sterling silver rings using baking soda and hot water After: It's believed a chemical reaction occurs between the baking soda and silver when the hot water is added, removing any dirt and leaving the rings looking sparkling clean (pictured) 'All you need is a bowl of any kind, pop in some alfoil in the bottom, baking soda and then put in your jewellery,' Emma said. 'You can use this on earrings, necklaces, anything with real diamonds or fake diamonds, just as long as it's 925 [sterling silver].' She then added boiling water from the kettle directly over the jewellery and let it the baking soda 'work its magic'. It's believed a chemical reaction occurs between the baking soda and silver when the hot water is added, which removes any dirt and leaves the rings looking sparkling clean. In the comments Emma also revealed another hack to ensure the jewellery is clean but not damaged during the process. She recommended using a toothbrush to carefully clean each piece followed by a polishing cloth. 'I work at Pandora and the best way is to soak it in warm soapy water and scrub gently with a toothbrush! Use our polishing cloth, it's how we do it!' she wrote. Pandora, which has store locations around Australia, offer free cleaning services to polish their products customers own. Since being published, the video has been viewed a staggering 948,000 times and received hundreds of comments. 'How amazing!' one person wrote, another added: 'Toothpaste also works great.' Radio 2 DJ and presenter Edith Bowman tells Miranda Thompson about a favourite childhood thirst-quencher, her first glass of fizz and sharing tequila with a loose-lipped Hollywood star There was a never-ending supply of Ribena when I was growing up. My mum ran a hotel in Anstruther, Scotland, with four of her sisters (shes one of seven), so there was a constant gaggle of family around I had 15 or 16 cousins, and wed all have lunch together. Youd find Ribena in any of my relatives houses: in summer, youd quench your thirst with a massive pint with ice, or youd have it hot to help a sore throat. The hotel meant there was a library of alcohol at my fingertips and the temptation was always there. But it wasnt until I was 15 that I was offered Babycham, my first official drink, at one of the family gatherings in the function room. It made me feel so grown-up and special and started my taste for bubbles. I do love a glass of champagne. Growing up in a little fishing village, my drinking habits werent very healthy. As a teenager, Id steal from my dads drinks cabinet and go and get p***ed with my mates down at the harbour. I didnt dare drink at the hotel bar in case I got my parents in trouble. Instead, Id go to a local pub where there was an unspoken agreement that the landlord would serve us a drink if we behaved. It was the same with Mum if she knew I was having a drink there, shed know that he was keeping an eye on me. My order? A vodka and fresh orange. For a long time, Jack Daniels and Coke was my go-to. I started drinking it at university in Edinburgh, then when I was working at MTV and Radio 1. My dad would always buy me a bottle for Christmas, even though Id say Dad, dont encourage me. Ill never forget the Jack Daniels and Coke I had on a rooftop in New York. Id broken up with a boyfriend at the time and had friends there. I remember thinking, Im going to be all right. Its not often that I sit down with nothing else to do and no one else there to have a drink with, but it was a memorable moment. I once shared some tequila with Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and the director Denis Villeneuve. It was before we did a Q&A for their film Sicario, and lets just say one of them could hold their tequila better than the others! Emily hadnt yet been announced as the new Mary Poppins, but after a couple of rounds, she said E, I have to tell you something no one else knows! But I did keep it a secret. Cider always reminds me of Glastonbury. The last time I was there, in 2019, I remember finishing work for the evening, grabbing a cider from the bar and walking down to watch The Chemical Brothers. Its part of the territory, really. My friend Claires brother has a reclamation yard in Street, near Glastonbury, and he sells amazing pieces as well as cider. Its like a chaser with every outlet in that part of the world. You want a sofa? Have a cider too. After a couple of drinks Im one of those people who dances like no ones watching. I love it Ill be on the dancefloor all night. The first party I went to after lockdown had a light-up dancefloor and I kid you not, I had to be dragged off it. Weirdly, one of the worst hangovers Ive ever had was during lockdown. My husband Tom (of the band Editors) organised a Zoom birthday drinks for me in January 2021, and my friend sent me cocktails that came in little pouches. I had one too many negronis and, the next day, no amount of Irn-Bru or salt and vinegar crisps was going to get me over the finishing line. These days, I dont drink as much as I used to. Last year, we got a new puppy, River. It means 6am starts, to the sound of his barks, so I cant do hangovers as well as I used to. But Tom and I alternate between who gets up with him. Ill have a glass of red wine every now and again, and if we have people over then I will drink, but I dont really reach for a drink in the evening. Its also because of where we live were in Gloucestershire now, and youve got to drive everywhere. My daily routine is all about a healthy mind, healthy body. Water is my first drink (tap, as Kirsten Dunst once said to me in an interview when having a whinge about a co-stars weird water requests, waters water) followed by tea milk, one sugar, builders and then a turmeric shot, which I buy online. My mother-in-law introduced my 13-year-old to nonalcoholic wines, which hell have with a Sunday roast. As much as Ive tried, I wasnt able to pass on my love of Ribena to my kids. My new favourite wine is nonalcoholic too a fizz called Wild Idol and its delicious. An espresso martini always makes me feel stylish. Before lockdown my husband used to take me to The Delaunay for my birthday every year and I just love it there its like stepping back in time, getting dressed up and going out for dinner. Id have an espresso martini in the bar before wed go in for dinner. But theyre so dangerous. They have this effect of recharging your brain and your metabolism to the point where its just not possible to switch off. The celebrity Id love to have shared a drink with was Marilyn Monroe. Id ask what she thought about Kim Kardashian wearing her dress to the Met Gala. She would just be in her jeans and amazing cardigan and sunglasses, at a Malibu beach house girls having a glass of something, putting the world to rights and listening to the ocean. Ive been a Marilyn fan for as long as I can remember. The drink Id like people to toast me with at my funeral? It has to be Jack Daniels and Coke. In the meantime, for the jubilee, Ill raise some bubbles to Liz the legend from Portugal, where well be on holiday. Edith presents Playing The Queen, part of the BBCs celebration of the Platinum Jubilee, on Sunday 5 June at 9pm on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds. Soundtracking with Edith Bowman is available on all podcast platforms KITCHEN IT-KIT Charlotte Page lays out her pick of pretty napkins Striped, 6, smallable.com Blue and green, 3.99 for two, hm.com Paisley, 9.99 for two, zarahome.com Blossoms and birds, 7.50, mila-london.com When breast-cancer survivor Christa DSouzas uterine scan last year showed telltale signs of the disease, she couldnt help worrying that her own health choices were partly to blame The doctor warns that pelvic radiation is no walk in the park Its only in retrospect I notice the warning signs. A slight gravid feeling in my lower abdomen. A little bit like how it used to be just before a period. But Im sure its nothing. And besides, I had a uterine scan in 2018 and it was fine. Its nothing. Calm down. Stop focusing all the time on me. But then theres the bleeding. Only very slight bleeding, true (a chemical bleed is a normal side-effect of combined oestrogen/progesterone HRT treatment). However, it has become more frequent in the past six months. Often, Ill look down at the stain in my knickers and think, Wait? Whats that doing there? Again? In the back of my mind, I feel the late Professor Studds finger wagging at me. The Professor oversaw my HRT after I had breast cancer in 2007 and recommended that I take progesterone ten days a month. But Ive let it drop to seven days, sometimes even less, because I dont like the way it can make me feel bloated and woozy. I know I need to take it because it counteracts the build-up of oestrogen (which can thicken the uterine lining and in certain cases lead to endometrial cancer); I know its a non-negotiable choice for those, like me, who still have a uterus. But I figure it all balances out given I take slightly less oestrogen than prescribed. Still, to rule everything out before I go on holiday, I call the doctors office for a uterine scan. Its been nearly three years because of Covid and, at 61, Im meant to have them every year. The nice Italian man doing the ultrasound tilts his screen towards me so I can see what he is seeing. But everythings fine, right? I say, leaning round as best I can with my feet in stirrups. A flicker of a grimace as he points to the screen. See here, he says, pointing to a bulge: my uterine lining is thicker than he expected it to be given my age and history. I repeat my question. Everything is fine, though, right? A minuscule bullet lodges in my brain. It couldnt be could it? I dont know, he says carefully. It could be nothing, but you need to have some further tests to rule out certain possibilities. A minuscule bullet lodges in my brain. It couldnt be could it? Straight afterwards, I head to Harley Street with my results in a brown envelope. The doctor has such a sympathetic bedside manner I find myself bursting into tears the moment I sit down. Damn. I so didnt want to do that. He looks through the results and then, placing his fingertips on his desk, brightly says he wants me to have something called a hysteroscopy, which involves having a tiny camera inserted through the cervix up into my womb to do a biopsy of any abnormal-looking growths. I clutch the nurses hand throughout; its not nice at all, on the painful side of uncomfortable, but everyone is so sympathetic and kind. Hopefully, this will be the end of it. The doctor, who is disquietingly handsome and almost young enough to be my son, says it is fine to go ahead with the weeks holiday we have planned as the results are not in for another ten days. Off we go to Greece. The beach-house is tiny, and I dont want my eldest son, who is with us, to hear me, so I secrete myself in a bedroom when the doctors secretary calls a day earlier than she said she would and asks if I can get on Zoom with him now. The results of the hysteroscopy have come through and it looks almost certainly like endometrial cancer. I sit down with a towel wrapped round my bathing suit to absorb this latest piece of information. Im in a daze and only half listening to what he is saying. Endometrial cancer is more likely to occur in post-menopausal women; the biggest risk factors relate to the amount and duration of exposure to oestrogen through a womans life. The next step is an MRI to see what kind of tumour it is, followed by a laparoscopic hysterectomy to take out not just my uterus, but my ovaries, fallopian tubes and cervix. Oh. Still in that glaze of incomprehension, I ask him if I need to come back from holiday early. Oh no, he says with an almost-laugh, it wont make an iota of difference the best thing you can possibly do is forget about this and enjoy the rest of your holiday. I want to relay all this to my partner immediately, I want a bear-like hug from him, but he is outside on the deck with my son and his girlfriend, and it will look odd if I pull him away. The MRI, which I have the day I get back from Greece, reveals it is only stage 1 and has not spread. We got it in time. No treatment necessary, just the hysterectomy. The world tilts back to normal. How lucky am I? I have no emotional ties to my reproductive organs. They have done their job. As I am wheeled down to the operating theatre, I feel a sense of euphoria: by the time I wake up, I can put this whole thing behind me. But the pathology results of my hysterectomy reveal its not quite what wed thought. Cancerous cells appear to have migrated into the cervix and come within 15mm of the serosal surface [of the uterus], so my tumour has changed from grade I to II. It has gone and there is no evidence of lymph or vascular invasion, but there is no way to know for sure if Im totally clear. For that reason, the doctor strongly recommends further treatment. The fat lady still has to sing. That night as I brush my teeth, I look at the blue and white Estradiol HRT pump dispenser sitting there innocuously beside the basin and hurl it in the bin. Was this my fault? Something entirely preventable had I been taking more progesterone? Was I playing Russian roulette by taking HRT (with my cancer background) in the first place? Why, why, why didnt I have a prophylactic hysterectomy [to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes], which Professor Studd told me that American women routinely have after treatment for breast cancer? But my doctor thinks theres a chance its been around there for a while and that it may well be something genetic rather than my fault for not taking enough progesterone. At the same time, I am not your average endometrial cancer patient. Im not overweight. I didnt take tamoxifen, the drug commonly prescribed for oestrogen-positive breast cancer (yes, a link has been shown). And Im only 61. I suppose you could call me unlucky. Its certainly beginning to feel this way. My oncologist assures me that having chemo would not increase my chances of survival or prevent it from coming back again. We spotted it early, Im fit and healthy and, of all the cancers to get, endometrial is probably one of the best. He warns me, though, that pelvic radiation might not be quite the walk in the park it was for breast cancer. For a start, the course lasts five weeks. For a second, the area irradiated is larger. And for a third, you have to have a full bladder during treatment. As for the side-effects diarrhoea, constipation, indigestion, soreness, fatigue, cystitis, sunburnt vagina, discharge they shouldnt kick in until the third or fourth week, and if they do, well manage it. I can, as it were, carry on as normal. But they all take a back seat to the crippling nausea, which strikes me down so violently after just one session that I think it must be a stomach bug. On my second day of treatment, it is so bad I cannot be treated because I keep having to rush to the loo to vomit. A week later, drinking enough water to fill my bladder without wanting to chunder becomes the most important mission in my life. Three weeks in, more than half a stone down, the sickness is still there with a vengeance and the diarrhoea is biblical. You know that old person constantly in fear of being caught short? Thats now me. Guilt, embarrassment, reflection, consideration of others, fear of looking like a crazy person nausea like this cancels out EVERYTHING. I spend at least five hours a day prostrate on the sofa watching Selling Sunset and Below Deck. I cant handle anything more taxing. For the two last sessions, I have brachytherapy: a form of internal radiotherapy as opposed to the external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) Ive had up to this point. Also used for cervical and prostate cancer, brachytherapy involves having what looks like a large Tampax or vibrator inserted into the vagina to deliver radiation more precisely to the target area. It takes even less time than EBRT and isnt painful, but the ignominy of it all having ones feet in stirrups in front of the nurses viewing platform with this thing up ones you-know-what cant help but feel slightly kinky. And then it is over. Within two weeks the sickness has gone, and my appetite is back with a vengeance. I am my normal self once again. As for missing the effects of HRT, to be honest I feel no different to how I did when I was on it. Some women are prescribed progesterone after endometrial cancer, but my oncologist doesnt recommend it for me. Of course, I cannot take oestrogen any more. Oestrogen is my enemy. But what is life going to be like without it, I wonder? As I write this, I cannot detect any noticeable difference, but that may very well change. Is it only a matter of time before the hot flushes, the insomnia, the sense of doom and so on, return? And Im one of the lucky ones. What of you out there who feel, quite literally, suicidal without your HRT? Back to the prophylactic hysterectomy. Shouldnt our doctors be recommending more vigorously that we have them? There is no conclusive proof that it was a lack of progesterone that caused my cancer that I would have got it whether Id been on HRT or not but if I had my time again, I would almost certainly have had one. And maybe I wouldnt have even taken HRT in the first place. If there is a take-home message I can offer, it is this. If your menopausal symptoms are mild, dont feel societally coerced to take HRT. And if you do end up taking it, take it exactly as your doctor prescribes dont be an idiot and wing it like me. Most importantly, insist on an annual uterine scan. And if you bleed, whether you are taking HRT or not, you must, must, must tell your doctor. Straight away. You are not making a fuss. You are taking care of yourself. Do it, would you, for me? An Afghan security force member searches a vehicle at a checkpoint in Herat province, Afghanistan on May 30, 2022. Police have discovered 9 kg of heroin in Afghanistan's western Herat province and taken two alleged drug smugglers into custody, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Sunday. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) KABUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Police have discovered 9 kg of heroin in Afghanistan's western Herat province and taken two alleged drug smugglers into custody, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Sunday. This is the second crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in the western region over the past couple of days. On Friday, police arrested one person and discovered 40 kg of opium poppy in his possession in Nimroz province. The Taliban-run caretaker administration has vowed to fight the illicit drug until the war-torn country gets rid of the menace. Photo taken on May 30, 2022 shows a checkpoint in Herat province, Afghanistan. Police have discovered 9 kg of heroin in Afghanistan's western Herat province and taken two alleged drug smugglers into custody, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Sunday. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) An Afghan security force member searches a man at a checkpoint in Herat province, Afghanistan on May 30, 2022. Police have discovered 9 kg of heroin in Afghanistan's western Herat province and taken two alleged drug smugglers into custody, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Sunday. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua) The float of Haleon, the consumer health business being spun out of GSK next month, will be the biggest in London since commodities group Glencore listed more than a decade ago. The City is expecting a valuation in the range of 38billion to 45billion. But the break-up of the pharmaceuticals flagship is more than just another big City deal. Its success, or otherwise, will affect the UK's ambitions to be a life-sciences powerhouse, for national research and development capability and for levelling up. Attracting attention: The break-up of pharmaceuticals flagship GSK is more than just another big City deal Both businesses will be potential takeover targets. Haleon has already attracted the unwanted attentions of Unilever, and Swiss group Nestle also briefly eyed the firm. Ironically for a sector built on mega-mergers GSK is an agglomeration of Glaxo Wellcome with SmithKline Beecham it is now the fashion in pharma to do the splits. Johnson & Johnson in the US is hiving off its Listerine mouthwash and baby powder division to focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The rationale at GSK is that the mundane business of selling Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste has diverged from the high-octane development of drugs and vaccines. Therefore, the two operations would create more value apart. This is the view of activist investor Elliott, which has been a thorn in the side of GSK's chief executive Emma Walmsley, questioning whether as a non-scientist she is the best person to lead the new drugs group. Although aggressive, Elliott has some valid points. On a sum of the parts analysis, GSK has been trading for years at a hefty discount to its intrinsic value. The unhappy contrast with AstraZeneca, which won the battle to produce a Covid jab despite GSK's expertise in vaccines, has only compounded investors' discontent. It would be unfair to blame Walmsley for GSK's predicament when much of the culpability lies with her predecessors. She inherited a depleted pipeline in urgent need of replenishment, particularly in oncology. As well as the demerger, she has pushed through big deals including the $5billion purchase of US cancer specialist Tesaro. But she still has plenty to prove. The new GSK pharma business has a target of five years of consistent growth of more than 5 per cent a year in sales and more than 10 per cent in profits. These are figures it has in the past failed to achieve. The demerger will boost the new GSK balance sheet with a 7billion dividend from Haleon, enabling investment in growth. At the point of the split, new GSK will still have a stake of around 13.5 per cent in the consumer health business. The plan is to sell off that holding over time, providing a stream of money to invest in new drugs. Separation will also result in a reduced debt burden for the pharma side, as a large chunk of the 19billion currently on the combined books will be allocated to Haleon. Stronger financial underpinnings are only one part of the battle, however, and GSK still needs to deliver new blockbusters. High hopes are being pinned on a respiratory disease vaccine. GSK is ahead in the race and is expecting to deliver phase-three trial data shortly. This could be huge, with possible sales of more than 1bn, or it could prove another disappointment. The firm is setting up a 400m life-sciences nerve centre on land it owns in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, creating a hive of start-up biotech and pharma companies. Again, great if it bears fruit. 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. Jail: James Scotney runs the law firm P.W. writes: On April 6, my wife and I paid 2,220 to Town & Country Law Ltd of Lincoln for legal documents including wills and a trust. On April 11, we cancelled the agreement within the cooling-off period allowed, and have the company's acknowledgement. Though we have been assured someone would contact us about a refund, we have had no word from the company. Tony Hetherington replies: Town & Country Law is an unusual company. Four of its former directors are awaiting trial on fraud-related charges, some of which involve the company itself, and its sole remaining director has a prison record of his own. Yet surprise, surprise Town & Country Law is fully authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority without a blemish on its record. The company is licensed by the FCA as a credit broker, but its listing on the FCA's public register gives it a seal of approval with a wider impact. It advertises: 'Town & Country Law are specialists in planning your future. We offer a range of services including wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney and funeral plans.' It has offices in Lincoln, Stamford, Derby and Leeds, and offers to meet prospective clients in their own home. Company records show the business is run by its sole director James Scotney. In 2010, the then 33-year-old was a semi-professional pool player when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court and admitted to dealing in Class A drugs. In a raid on his home, police found bags of cocaine with a set of digital scales. Evidence was given that he made more than 10,000 selling drugs and he was jailed for 15 months. Several years later, Scotney was back in court when he pleaded guilty to failing to provide information about who was driving a car at the time of an offence. He was fined 550 and given six points on his driving licence. Against this background, it is odd the FCA has given Scotney and his company its blessing. And it gets odder. The FCA's online register tells the firm's clients that if they need to make a complaint, they should email 'Robynne' at Town & Country Law. This is Robynne Casswell, one of the former directors of the company, who is charged with being 'knowingly a party' to fraudulent activity at the business between 2014 and late 2016. Because she and the other accused are quite rightly entitled to a fair trial when this takes place next year, The Mail on Sunday is limited in what it can report about the allegations. So, back to the question of the 2,220 fee you paid to a salesman who came to your home. After he left, you and your wife had second thoughts. You decided the draft legal documents on offer were simply too expensive, and they may not have achieved what you wanted, so you cancelled the deal. I asked Scotney what had happened to your refund. To give him his due, he immediately looked into the delay, telling me 'it should never have happened'. The staff member involved was working from home, he explained, and she had tried to call you but got no answer. He has refunded your 2,220 and added a further 280 to make up for not repaying you earlier. I told Scotney I was aware of his prison record and the driving conviction. He replied: 'These are a source of deep regret to me.' At the time he was 'a different person' he said, adding: 'We are regulated by the FCA for any financial services, and I am the approved person.' And, according to Scotney, Casswell, the complaints contact, no longer has any role at Town & Country Law, despite what the FCA says. Watchdog is no more... it has ceased to be! No comment: FCA boss Nikhil Rathi The Mail on Sunday's revelations about Town & Country Law Ltd raise serious questions for the Financial Conduct Authority. Applicants to the watchdog have to supply details of any convictions, and the FCA has access to criminal records so its investigators can carry out checks. The FCA, which has a staff of about 4,000, even has an intelligence department that harvests information that the watchdog's bosses should know about offenders or suspicious transactions. So, was the FCA aware of James Scotney's convictions? If not, why not? And how could it tell complainants to contact Robynne Casswell if, as suggested, she is no longer at the firm and is awaiting trial? More fundamentally, was the FCA even aware before today of the charges facing those linked to Town & Country Law? On May 11, I contacted the watchdog and offered all the details published today, and more about the individuals awaiting trial and what they are alleged to have done, and I asked whether the FCA would comment. I was told someone would contact me 'so they can assist'. Nobody did. On May 18, I prodded the slumbering regulator, and offered all the details to the FCA's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi. He did not reply. I also offered all the information I had to the FCA's director of intelligence, Jessica Rusu. She did not reply. Instead, a manager at the FCA's press office asked me to hand over all my findings to her, and she would then decide 'whether we can provide you with a comment'. In short, please do our job for us and then we'll bring down the shutters by refusing to comment, just as we have done before. A few days ago, the FCA changed tack and decided to blame this newspaper for its own failings. It issued a statement saying: 'The Mail on Sunday did not share with us any of the facts of the case, despite us asking. We will therefore have to consider the details of the case once it is in print.' Well, here are the details in print, so watch this space next Sunday for the FCA's answers. The regulator has failed in so many of its consumer protection tasks that it has cost ordinary savers and investors millions of pounds through its negligence. When The Mail on Sunday names offenders, the FCA fails to act. On Tuesday there was even a protest march in London, organised by the Transparency Task Force, which describes the regulator as 'morally bankrupt'. I would go further. Stealing lines from John Cleese's dead parrot sketch, I suggest that as far as ordinary consumers are concerned, this watchdog is no more. It has ceased to be. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. Looking over the FCA's shoulder is supposedly the Treasury Select Committee. Time for it to declare this zombie organisation dead and replace it with one that actually does the job. My gas bill will rise by... 17,968 Mrs B.B. writes: I am sending you an email we received from utility company SSE advising us of an impending 18,280 rise in our energy bills. I did not dare show this to my husband as he is 91 years old and I feared it might give him a heart attack. Happy to help: Mrs B.B.'s was advised by SSE of an impending 18,280 rise in her energy bills Tony Hetherington replies: We all know gas and electricity prices are rocketing, but this is ridiculous. The email from SSE warns you that your electricity bill will rise by 312 a year, while your gas bill will climb by an amazing 17,968. I contacted Ovo, the company that owns SSE, and staff there looked back to see how the estimate was calculated. In June last year, your traditional meters were removed and smart meters were fitted. Some months before this you read your meter and gave the figures to SSE but unfortunately they included an error. The mistaken figures were spotted and not used on a bill, but they were used as the basis for estimating future bills. You can ignore the nightmare 18,280 jump in prices. SSE has corrected your account, apologised and offered you a lower rate to make up for the upset. 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. Fall from grace: The once lauded fund manager Neil Woodford This Friday, the nation will be into day two of a joyous four-day celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Street parties will take place, and red, white and blue bunting will be to the fore. There will be dancing and partying long into the night and over the weekend and I plan to be part of it. But June 3 will also mark another anniversary, which, for those ensnared in it, will not be a joyous one at all. There will be no celebrations, just a sense of betrayal, of being let down, of being legged over, forgotten and pleas for financial justice being met with a wall of silence. Why? Well, it will be three years to the day since Neil Woodford, at the time one of the country's most lauded fund managers, was forced to suspend dealings in his showcase investment vehicle, Woodford Equity Income. A 3.7billion fund that at its height was valued in excess of 10billion and which hundreds of thousands of investors depended upon as part of their retirement finances. And a fund that has now been dismantled as a result of possible mismanagement, crystallising 1billion of losses for some 400,000 investors. It's considered by some as one of the biggest investment scandals of our lifetime. Egged on by glowing recommendations from high-profile companies such as wealth platform Hargreaves Lansdown, investors thought that when it came to investing, Woodford, with more than 30 years of investing under his belt (most of it at Henley-on-Thames-based Invesco Perpetual), could walk on water. He couldn't. By the end, he had got too big for his boots, deluded by being made a Commander of the British Empire in 2013 for 'services to the economy' and setting up a business (Woodford Investment Management) where he could make investment decisions without being accountable to anyone. He ruled the roost, a dangerous management strategy in an industry where the challenging of investment decisions by peers is often seen as healthy, prudent and a safeguard. Woodford Equity Income was suspended because a big corporate client Kent County Council wanted its 263million stake sold and Woodford couldn't find enough liquid assets within the portfolio to meet its request. Although equity income in name, the Woodford fund had become more akin to a venture capital fund, with big holdings in start-up companies, many of them unlisted, unprofitable and impossible to sell. Sadly, June 3, 2019, was the beginning of the end for Woodford Equity Income and Neil Woodford's Oxfordshire-based Woodford Investment Management. Suspension was followed by the fund's break-up, ordered by its overseer, the authorised corporate director, Link Fund Solutions. As a result, most of the fund's assets bar an illiquid rump have now been flogged off and the proceeds passed on to the 400,000 investors. Other Woodford funds, such as investment trust Patient Capital and Income Focus, have been taken over by rival asset managers Schroders and Abrdn respectively. Yet time has healed no wounds. An investigation into the fund's suspension, initiated nearly three years ago by City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, has (scandalously) yet to be completed. This has fuelled concerns that no one will ever be held accountable for the losses that Equity Income investors have incurred. So, Neil Woodford has yet to be censured. At best, he badly managed the fund by taking the portfolio far away from its equity income brief which was to typically invest in big UK companies such as tobacco stocks that pass on a big chunk of their profits to shareholders by way of dividends. Nor has Link Fund Solutions been held to account. Its duty was to ensure Woodford managed the fund in line with its mandate. Nor for that matter has wealth platform Hargreaves Lansdown and some financial advisers who were happy to keep backing Woodford even though it was obvious in 2018 and early 2019 that the wheels were beginning to fall off his bus. As we said in our Wealth section at the time: 'Is it time to dump Neil Woodford?' That article ran towards the end of March, 2019 and the answer from every financial expert we spoke to bar one (Hargreaves Lansdown) was that investors should run for the hills. Yet the focal point of most current criticism is the FCA. As one Woodford Equity Income investor told me last week: 'Over 1billion of investors' money in this fund has been lost, written down or paid over in fees in fund wind-up contracts. 'Yet no one has been held to account and not a single word of comment, censure or criticism has been issued by the regulator: an organisation specifically created with the objective of protecting individuals from financial malpractice.' As an aside, he also said: 'Thank you for your numerous articles in The Mail on Sunday over the past three years, holding those responsible for the break-up of Woodford Equity Income to account. 'In the current challenging financial climate, many pensioners like myself would welcome some modest compensation for the life savings we lost.' Palatial: The offices of Neil Woodford's new firm in Marlow Some investment experts are also scathing in their criticism of the FCA. Among them are highly regarded fund manager Alan Miller and tough-talking investment expert Brian Dennehy. Miller does not mince his words. 'The nasty rash that is the Woodford scandal has cost Equity Income investors more than 1billion. 'Yet the FCA has done nothing no one has been arrested, nobody has been suspended from their work and nobody has been fined. It has not conducted its enquiry in a timely manner and it has yet to set up an investor redress scheme.' Miller says the losses suffered in previous investment scandals such as Arch Cru (120million), London & Capital (230million) and the British Steel Pension Scheme (221million) are a fraction of those suffered by Equity Income investors. Yet a redress scheme or any form of compensation seems years away. His belief is that compensation is most likely to come via class actions taken by claims companies. Yet these claims could take until 2026 to be settled longer if challenged. There is more. The joint founder of asset manager SCM Direct says the scope of the regulator's investigation is far too narrow, centring on the fund's suspension when it should be far broader and go back further. For example, Miller says that at the end of 2014, the regulator ignored 'red flag warnings' in the annual accounts for Equity Income that confirmed the fund's 30 per cent exposure to illiquid assets. He believes the regulator should also be investigated. FundExpert's Dennehy also believes that the FCA is culpable. He says: 'If they had not been asleep at the wheel, the Woodford debacle would never have ended as it did. But I fear the most damaging reputational risk is not to the regulator, who is invisible to the investing public, but to the financial services industry.' He adds: 'The risk is a strike by investors, who will refuse to invest for their future with an industry whom they no longer trust.' Brian Dennehy: The risk is investors will refuse to invest for their future with an industry whom they no longer trust Dennehy reckons it is time for the Treasury Select Committee to start kicking regulatory backsides again. Early this year, chair of the committee Mel Stride, urged the FCA 'to allocate the resources required to enable as swift a conclusion to their investigation as possible'. Last week, The Mail on Sunday asked to talk to Neil Woodford. Through his former public relations adviser, we were told he 'would rather not speak'. What Woodford is actually up to at the moment remains something of a mystery. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that he had set up a new company called WCM Partners, operating out of rather grand, serviced offices in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Its role, we were told, would be to advise on the portfolio of life sciences companies acquired by US company Acacia Research in June 2020 from the wreckage of Woodford Equity Income. Clifford Press, chief executive of Acacia, said of Woodford: 'I've met a few of the really legendary investors, and when I met Neil I knew I was standing in the presence of a truly exceptional investment manager.' WCM Partners was set up with trusty colleagues from Woodford Investment Management Craig Newman and Paul Green. Yet on Friday, its website was incomplete, while no one in the Marlow offices or the managers of the property Exeid could or would confirm that Woodford still rented space there. Acacia was asked to confirm whether WCM Partners was still giving it investment advice. However, no response was forthcoming. We sought a comment from Hargreaves Lansdown on the failure of the Financial Conduct Authority to issue its report into Woodford. It said: 'No comment from us, thanks for checking.' Link Fund Solutions was invited to comment on whether its decision to break up Woodford Equity Income was, with the benefit of hindsight, the right one as well as on the FCA's ongoing investigation. It declined to comment. A wall of silence. The great wall of silence. It was the policy the City had been bracing itself for and it finally arrived last week oil and gas companies were hit with a windfall tax. While shares in oil giants BP and Shell remained steady, attention turned towards others that may be in the firing line. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he is mulling an extension of his 'energy profits levy' to utility companies, such as British Gas owner Centrica and SSE. Overheating: Deepa Venkateswaran, at stockbroker Bernstein, says the Treasury had 'grossly overstated' the potential its windfall tax could take from renewable energy generators The shares of both companies were down this week. The advice from the City seems to be: 'Don't panic.' Deepa Venkateswaran, at stockbroker Bernstein, says the Treasury had 'grossly overstated' the potential its windfall tax could take from renewable energy generators. She said the share price fall at SSE and Centrica last week was an 'overreaction' and investors should 'buy into the dip'. US bank JPMorgan criticised the effectiveness of taxing energy supply firms, saying: 'We do not believe that it would be material from a financial standpoint.' Primark set for price rises to combat costs Primark is expected to put through 'considerable' price rises this autumn to combat rising costs, according to investment bank Credit Suisse. The retailer, owned by Associated British Foods, is said to be open to altering its prices according to fluctuations at rivals. The fashion market is expected to come under huge pressure this year, with the value end especially vulnerable. But the bank forecast a return to double-digit pre-tax profit margins before its peers thanks to Primark's scale, products and supply chain. It has also pushed ahead with its digital strategy, with a website revamp and greater engagement on social media. Chief executive Paul Marchant told analysts at a new store in Milan the spring/summer 2022 range was 'as good as we've ever looked'. Who would bet against it? Hard start to life on Stock Exchange for First Tin It has been a hard start to life on the London Stock Exchange for metals firm First Tin. The UK-based company, which develops advanced hard rock tin projects, floated last month with a market value of 86million. First Tin is aiming to develop one project in Germany and one in Australia before the end of 2025, with a third German mine in the pipeline. But shares have tanked 36 per cent since listing. Time for the board to dig a little deeper, perhaps. Dr Martens investors hoping for Jubilee cheer Dr Martens investors will be hoping for some extra Jubilee cheer ahead of the bootmaker's final results, which are released on Wednesday. In its trading update in January, the British brand reported quarterly sales of 307million, up 11 per cent on the year before. In that quarter to December 31, Dr Martens opened 11 stores, including six across Italy and the US, giving it 158 stores worldwide. City analysts have forecast that annual sales will rise by about 17 per cent, but said Dr Martens was 'still playing catch up' as it would take months before post-Covid production levels could meet demand. The City will also be looking for signs that customers are continuing to splash out on its leather boots as the cost-of-living crisis bites. An American tech veteran has signalled to Ministers he is ready to step in at a British semiconductor plant after its Chinese ownership was put under review. Ron Black has written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng with assurances that he has funding for an alternative offer if the deal is blocked. His backers are understood to have 300million earmarked to buy and grow Newport Wafer Fab, Britain's biggest chip factory. It was sold last year to Nexperia, which is a European subsidiary of Shanghai-based Wingtech. Last week, Kwarteng launched a review into the takeover. Under the new National Security and Investment Act, he could thwart the deal. Looking ahead: Ron Black's backers are understood to have 300million earmarked to buy and grow Newport Wafer Fab, Britain's biggest chip factory Black's letter is believed to raise concerns about the factory's new links to China, as well as offering to discuss his plan with officials, The Mail on Sunday understands. Last night, he described his offer as a 'white knight' intervention. Black said that unless the Chinese firm could prove that its ownership poses no danger to UK or allied security, 'it should be considered a risk and as such, it should not be approved'. Black is leading a consortium of ten investors with a war chest that he says would turn Newport, which produces vital parts for semiconductors, into a leading microchip plant. He previously ran Imagination Technologies, where he and other directors resigned in protest over an attempted Chinese-led boardroom coup. Last week, Kwarteng said: 'There will now be a full assessment under the new National Security and Investment Act. We welcome overseas investment, but it must not threaten Britain's security.' The Government has 30 days to investigate the takeover. Nexperia has rejected claims of security concerns. Company executive Toni Versluijs has told The Mail on Sunday it is a 'Dutch company with primarily European heritage'. But Tom Tugenhadt MP, chair of the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee, has said the Government should reject the takeover to protect Britain's 'industrial heartlands'. Nexperia and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were asked for comment. Ambitious: Emma Walmsley plans to split GSK in two GSK is close to a deal to build a 400million science campus in the UK that could create 5,000 highly skilled jobs as part of a super-charged growth plan. The drugs giant has been seeking a property developer to transform 33 acres of land it owns in Stevenage into one of Europe's biggest hives for life science start-ups. It is expected to make an announcement imminently. The move to create a biotech nerve centre in the Hertfordshire town is part of an ambitious strategy drawn up by chief executive Emma Walmsley to revitalise GSK's credentials as a life science innovator. The City is eagerly awaiting the latest results of GSK's trial next month of what it hopes will be a new blockbuster vaccine. The group is in a race with America's Pfizer and France's Sanofi to launch the first vaccines for RSV, a common viral respiratory disease. GSK is the world's leading vaccine company, with widely praised innovations such as its Shingrix jab for shingles, despite falling behind in the race for Covid inoculations. Walmsley is preparing to split the company into two, separating the consumer healthcare brands from the drugs business. She wants to run the pharmaceuticals side and transform it into a vaccine and drugs powerhouse. The consumer arm, Haleon, will list on the stock exchange as a separate entity, with brands including Sensodyne and Panadol. GSK will release its prospectus for the separation within weeks. Documents will detail the financial arrangements for the break-up including how the firm's debt pile will be split between the two companies. French bank Societe Generale said the two businesses could be worth much more than previously thought, with a combined value of as much as 115billion, up from around 90billion today. It forecast that the new GSK pharmaceuticals business could be worth 18.12 per share on its own higher than the current share price for the whole group. That would still lag behind Britain's other major pharmaceuticals group, AstraZeneca, which has a market value of more than 160billion. 'Spinning off GSK Consumer in mid-July will be a catalyst for both the new listed entities,' Societe Generale said in a report. The bank believes the new RSV vaccine could be 'this decade's most material milestone for New GSK'. Construction on the research campus, which will be of national importance in Britain's race to compete globally in the sector, could begin before the end of this year. GSK has a 92-acre research and development site in Stevenage and plans to erect the new facility on unused land. The town is already the biggest cell and gene therapy research cluster in the UK and the third-largest in the world. Walmsley, who worked at L'Oreal before joining GSK in 2017, has drawn up a blueprint for consistent growth over the next five years that she hopes will silence her critics and deter predators. She has drawn criticism from activist investor Elliott Advisors, which believes the board should consider other candidates with more pharmaceutical experience for the top job. Elliott took a stake in the company after identifying a significant underperformance compared with AstraZeneca. Frustrations with GSK increased when it fell behind in the quest to produce a Covid vaccine. Haleon has already been a target for bidders and more offers could emerge after it is listed on the stock exchange. Unilever made a 50billion bid for the business and it emerged last week that Nestle has also made a bid. GSK is facing other problems, including votes in April by workers at several British plants owned by the company to go on strike over pay. Unions have criticised a 'derisory' 2.75 per cent rise as a 'substantial real-terms pay cut'. The board has also suffered an investor rebellion over executive remuneration. Nearly 40 per cent of voting shareholders opposed the company's remuneration policy following the introduction of a more generous bonus scheme for executives. Walmsley was paid 8.2million last year and has earned 34million since taking the job in 2017. The National Lottery could be suspended for the first time in its 28-year history in a row over ownership. The Gambling Commission said in submissions to the High Court that a legal challenge by Camelot, its current operator, against the loss of its licence to Czech rival Allwyn could delay the handover, which is planned for February 1, 2024. John Tanner, the watchdog's executive director, warned that the delay could leave Allwyn with insufficient time to set up its operation, saying it needed at least 19 months to prepare. Fingers crossed: A delay in the handover from Camelot to Allwyn could result in the lottery being suspended for a period of time He added that a delay meant there was a 'real risk that there will be a period when the National Lottery does not operate at all', meaning players, as well as good causes that receive funding, could be deprived of cash, it was reported yesterday. The commission is asking the High Court to reverse a previous ruling that suspended the handover process pending the outcome of Camelot's legal challenge. In contrast, Camelot's former boss recently urged the Gambling Commission to delay the transfer of the firm's licence to Allwyn. She said that delaying the transfer of the ten-year licence was a 'relatively straightforward solution' that would 'avoid any unseemly and unnecessary haste in legal proceedings and remove the risk to good causes'. Meanwhile, lawyers representing Camelot warned earlier this month that a brewing legal battle could hit 'hundreds of thousands' of good causes funded by the National Lottery. According to Lord Pannick QC, the court case, due to be heard later this year in a trial, could mean good causes 'suffer' for up to a decade. Lawyers added that the Gambling Commission was asking the court to 'take a gamble' on the case. Camelot lost its licence earlier this year to Allwyn, which vowed good causes will get 38billion over ten years. Camelot claims that the Commission got the decision to appoint Allwyn 'badly wrong', adding the move could put the firm out of business. Infosys, the software firm that counts Rishi Sunak's wife among its shareholders, has hit back at critics following a backlash over the length of time it took to quit Russia. The Chancellor and Akshata Murty, daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, found themselves at the centre of a controversy after Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko accused the family of benefiting from 'blood money', arguing that any company contributing to the Russian economy was supporting its invasion of Ukraine. Controversy: Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy Links to the Sunaks, forced Infosys into the spotlight after it emerged that the business still had a presence in Moscow until May. But its president, Mohit Joshi, said claims that it hadn't pulled out of Russia fast enough were unfair, adding that it had fewer than 100 people there and was only serving global clients. Speaking to the Mail at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said: 'We don't think the criticism was fair. We've been recognised as one of the most ethical companies in the world.' He denied the Chancellor played a part in his decision to quit Russia, saying: 'The Government would never have dreamed of stepping in.' The family of a two-year-old Australian girl found alone outside a church in Mexico have revealed they were taunted by trolls in the 60 minutes before officials allowed them to bring the child home. Two-year-old Adelynn was found outside the chapel in Cancun on May 3 before her mother Tahnee Shanks, 32, and dad Jorge Aguirre Astudillo were both been reported missing. The young girl's uncle Ben Shanks and grandmother Leanne had flown from Queensland to Mexico to bring her home, with growing fears someone from Astudillo's family may come and claim her. Dan Shanks, another of Adelynn's uncles, told Daily Mail Australia the family waited anxiously through a evening where their delegation landed, retrieved the child, went to their hotel and back to the plane - all within 60 hectic minutes. 'Within an hour of landing and getting Addy, Mexican officials offered to fly them home,' he said. 'The government agreed it was the best thing for the child that she fly to Australia immediately'. Adelyn had previously been cared for by Mexican child welfare authorities before her grandmother Leanne (left) and uncle Ben (right) arrived Two-year-old Adelynn is seen with her grandmother and uncle after landing safely in Australia. She was found wandering barefoot in Mexico Dan also revealed the family were victims of disgusting trolls who were messaging their social media accounts alleging Adelynn had already been adopted. 'We were told someone had come and adopted Addy. Then we were told Jorge's father came to take her out,' he said. To their relief, Adelynn was waiting for them at the government building, ready to be taken home to her family in Queensland. 'The Mexican and Australian officials were great, we want to thank them and everyone that's helped out. Particularly Tahnee's friends on the ground, her friends in Mexico have been such a big help particularly with the language barrier,' her uncle said. The family were told 'three eyewitnesses' saw Astudillo leave his daughter outside the Chapel of the San Archangel. However, when it came time to make formal statements to police, the three suddenly changed their story and said the man they saw was taller than Astudillo. 'We're putting up millions of posters to try and find her. We're appealing to everyone,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We're putting money saved for our renovations towards the reward. $70,000 is a lot of Pesos. Someone might open their mouth.' Dan said even Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had enquired about Adelynn's situation. It was revealed last week that Ms Shanks, from Queensland, had disappeared and her two-year-old daughter Adelynn (pictured together) was found dumped at a church On Thursday the toddler met other relatives including cousins for the first time in Mackay, Queensland after landing safely in Australia Adelynn has been living at their family home in Mackay for more than a fortnight now, with Dan saying she's handling her mother's absence incredibly well. 'She's amazing, she's the happiest little girl,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'She barely cries, she doesn't want her own way but she's got five adults chasing after her making sure she gets her own way. 'She hasn't asked where her mum is. That's what we were scared of. That would be heartbreaking, but she's been so good.' The Shanks family say they won't give up on looking for Tahnee. A disturbing image of a burnt out van on the side of the road in Mexico has been distributed, with police investigating possible links to Ms Shank's disappearance. The Mexican news outlet Por Esto published an image of the smouldering vehicle, which is now reportedly being held as evidence in the case. Mexican police have also seized a video of a woman being forced into a van and are investigating whether it too is linked to Ms Shanks. Police are reportedly investigating whether the Australian woman and her missing partner were targeted by criminals in a random attack. Jorge Aguirre Astudillo has not been seen since May 2 when he was with Australian native Tahnee Shanks, the mother of his two-year-old daughter Adelynn had previously been cared for by Mexican child welfare authorities before her relatives arrived. She was given an emergency Australian passport. Dan said his sister, who is from Queensland's Whitsundays, claimed she was on a vacation with her family in a small fishing village with poor reception but something felt off. Ms Shanks had been holidaying around the Yucatan peninsula and was set to return to Australia after her relationship broke down with her partner Mr Astudillo. Mr Shanks also said his sister was due to fly home to Australia on June 22, after splitting from Mr Astudillo, after he reportedly cheated on her. Quintana Roos general attorney Oscar Montes de Oca Rosales said the couple had visited Cancun for a day and then planned to drive back to Merida. On the way there they turned around and returned to Cancun where they then disappeared and Adelynn was later found by herself. Mr de Oca Rosales said Astudillo had a domestic violence claim against him from a previous girlfriend, but both he and Ms Shanks were being treated as victims in the investigation into their disappearance. The Shanks family say they are confident Mexican authorities are doing what they can to find the missing mum. Tahnee Shanks (pictured middle) was on vacation with her ex-partner (right) and her daughter (left) when she vanished in Mexico, a continent away from any of her family The last known photos of Ms Shanks and Astudillo show them in Las Coloradas, Yucatan, 93 miles from where their daughter was found in Cancun on Mexico's tropical southern tip. Ms Shanks moved eight years ago from Australia to Merida, Mexico. She split from her partner a year after Adelynn was born. 'She would have been home months ago,' Dan told the ABC. 'She thought she could get home easily, but America had shut down visas for Mexican-born people for a period because of Covid. She's had to go and get an Australian citizenship and passport for Addy to try and divert around that issue.' Witnesses say they saw a man pass Adelynn to a stranger in front of a church in the 220 Quintana Roo district. The devoted mum's social media pages are full of happy snaps of her little girl. The mother had been traveling the world since she was 18 and describes herself on social media as a 'Happy Hippy Ginger Ninja meeting around the world one country at a time.' Australian mother Tahnee Shanks (pictured with her ex-partner Jorge Aguirre Astudillo) has gone missing in Mexico Before she went overseas, she worked in Australia as an assistant nurse looking after the elderly, which she described as a rewarding career. 'The travel bug bit me in 2010 taking me on my first 18 month journey through Asia and parts of Europe volunteering and couch surfing my way across the country,' the freelance writer wrote on a travel blog for the Whitsundays. Shanks returned home and saved for two years and then headed back overseas traveling through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the United States before settling in Mexico. She is described as having a fair complexion, and has red hair, light brown eyes, 5 feet 4 inches tall, thin build and has a distinctive tattoo along her right thigh. Australians have admitted taking drugs, sex toys, secret lovers and legs of lamb on their holidays to Bali in a hilarious and at-times outrageous online forum. The thread, asking 'Strangest thing you've taken to Bali?', went viral in a Facebook group for Australians who share tips about travelling to the Indonesian island. Vegemite, cigarettes, chicken salt, beer, coffee and pool noodles were mentioned several times, although there's nothing bizarre about those choices. The more daring luggage items included multiple vibrators, marijuana, heroin and banned food. The thread asking 'Strangest thing you've taken to Bali?', went viral in a Facebook group for Australians who share tips about travelling to the Indonesian island The stranger items included '400 bras', a portable toilet seat, a Christmas tree, glitter capsules, a set of heavy curtains, a horse rug and dog treats. Several admitted to packing their own washing powder in small plastic bags - sparking immediate interest from Indonesian customs officials. The same thing happened to someone who took their own milk powder. 'My friend took washing powder in a zip lock bag let's just say they were suspicious,' she said. One Perth father who joked the strangest thing he took to Bali was 'my wife'. He immediately ran into trouble when his spouse, supermarket worker Shawnee, joined the thread and corrected him, 'I think you mean the hottest, but anyway'. 'I could annihilate you so bad right now but I won't,' she added. One Perth man who joked the strangest thing he took to Bali was 'my wife' (the couple pictured above) The Perth man immediately ran into trouble when his wife, Shawnee (pictured), joined the thread and corrected him, 'I think you mean the hottest, but anyway' Others were more serious about those they travelled with. Some were obviously good-natured potshots at mates, but plenty appeared to genuinely regret their choice of human company. 'My piece of s*** ex,' one man commented. 'A new boyfriend,' said one Perth woman, explaining how she quickly regretted the choice to pay for his ticket. 'I had already booked to go solo but he begged to come with me then complained about everything. 'I liked him (but) the negativity started as soon as we landed. Didn't like the driver, didnt like the hotel, didnt like any food at any restaurant. 'It spoiled my experience so much that I avoided Bali for three years. We parted ways at the airport. Even writing about it is giving me PTSD!' 'My wife's best friend,' wrote a Melbourne truck driver. 'My wife and both girlfriends,' said a boastful Queensland photographer. More than one said their trip to Bali together went so badly they broke up there. A South Australian woman who loves Bali asked fellow Aussie travellers in a Facebook group the strangest things they'd ever taken to the Indonesian island Several admitted to taking sex toys to spice up their time away. 'Went one time with my niece who decided to tell me on the flight over she had 3 dildos in her bag. I said omg do you really need 3 lol then she told me the different sizes,' one Rockingham woman said. The most dangerous item confessed to was 'heroin', by a South Australian mechanic. Predictably, there were plenty of jokes about taking boogie boards in a reference to Schapelle Corby, who was jailed in Bali for nine years in 2005 for using one to smuggle 4.2kg of cannabis One Melbourne man joked he'd also taken 'a boogie board full of weed'. A Queensland man said he took 'a bodyboard bag full of mixed herbs'. One Brisbane mum admitted actually taking marijuana through customs by mistake. 'I accidentally took a big fat bud in a cigarette packet after my mate left two packs of Winfield blue on my fridge and I threw them in my luggage. 'I went through all the X-rays- in Bali too! I was so damn lucky, it wasnt til my 3rd day there I opened the pack to have a smoke and saw it and literally stood there in shock- then I flushed it down the toilet. 'Someone was looking out for me. I could have been the next Schapelle.' Aussie travellers also admitted taking their own food to Bali - despite the low cost of meals on the island. Several admitted to packing a leg or side of lamb (presumably cooked) in their luggage. 'Three kilos of cheese,' a Perth woman said. Another took 'eight kilos of kangaroo meat', while a man from Sydney's Blue Mountains took 'a 3kg roll of Devon'. He gave fellow travellers some handy tips: 'Just put [meat, cheese and small goods] in a Coles chiller bag with some frozen ice packs.' Another woman claimed she took a massive 30kg of food including meat, crumpets and olives. One man admitted bribing Bali officials to allow him to bring in 16kg of honey. A Sydney woman who is 'going in nine days' admitted she's taking 'a side of lamb in my suitcase, [and] butter, cheese and chocolates.' One mum (pictured) took a pool toy which she left behind in Bali for others to enjoy Travellers on the Facebook thread also said they packed warm, bulky clothes despite the humid weather and lower luggage limits with budget flights. A Perth woman admitted she packs winter clothes to wear in her air-conditioned hotel room. '[I take] a jumper, tracksuit pants, flannelette PJ's, bed socks and a beanie. 'I get cold really easily, and having the aircon on 25 for sleeping I freeze and have to rug up.' Another Sydney woman said: 'My sister brought a woollen overcoat. Her husband insisted.' Many others said they packed jeans which they regretted due to the hot conditions. Another woman admitted to packing '400 bras' - and didn't seem to be joking. She also claimed to be trying to get '15,000' more 'brand new ones' to north Bali. Australians are returning to Bali in big numbers after the Covid pandemic decimated the island's tourism industry Australians are beginning to return in big numbers to Bali, especially after Indonesia dropped mandatory Covid test requirements upon arrival into the country. Previously, both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers had to perform a $150 PCR test and produce the negative result after landing. The decision is expected to boost tourism into the country, with one extra piece of red tape removed from the process. Mask-use is still mandatory indoors and on public transport throughout Indonesia. Bali is hoping 1million Aussies will visit in 2022, which would be a return to pre-pandemic levels. KATHMANDU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Nepal Army has halted all efforts to search a missing plane with 22 people on board due to "loss of daylight and adverse weather conditions," the army announced Sunday night. "The search will be resumed early in the morning tomorrow both from air and ground," Narayan Silwal, the army's spokesman, tweeted. The passenger plane under Nepal's Tara Air went missing in the morning when it was flying from Nepal's Pokhara to Jomsom in Mustang district. "We are trying to reach the place where locals have allegedly seen something burning," Silwal tweeted hours ago. Six foreigners, including four Indians and two Germans, were among the 19 passengers on the plane. The great diplomatic freeze between Australia and China could be starting to thaw out, signalling a billion-dollar windfall for key industries Down Under. There is cautious optimism that Beijing may be looking to reset relations with Canberra now that newly-elected Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is at the helm. For over two years the communist superpower has waged an economic war against Australia by bullying farmers and producers with arbitrary tariffs. China's fury was triggered when the Morrison government called for an international inquiry into the origins of the Covid pandemic in April, 2020, which started in Wuhan. The call for transparency, coupled with criticism of the authoritarian regime's appalling human rights record, angered Beijing bureaucrats who sought to punish Australia by imposing $20billion worth of sanctions on barley, wine, beef, seafood, cotton, timber, copper and coal. Relations had become so bad there was no formal communications between diplomats. Communist Party officials even refused to answer phone calls from their Australian counterparts. But the wall of silence now appears to be broken with Premier Li Keqiang sending a message of congratulations to Mr Albanese after his historic election victory on Saturday. The great diplomatic freeze between Australia and China could be starting to thaw out, signalling a billion-dollar windfall for key industries Down Under. Pictured: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, flanked by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, attends the Quad Security meeting in Tokyo Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (right, pictured shaking hands with Scott Morrison) congratulated Mr Albanese on his election win Poll DO YOU THINK ANTHONY ALBANESE SHOULD RESET AUSTRALIA'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA? YES - It would be good for business No - It could see Australia beholden to Beijing DO YOU THINK ANTHONY ALBANESE SHOULD RESET AUSTRALIA'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA? YES - It would be good for business 116 votes No - It could see Australia beholden to Beijing 176 votes Now share your opinion 'The Chinese side is ready to work with the Australian side to review the past, look into the future and uphold the principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit, so as to promote the sound and steady growth of their comprehensive strategic partnership,' Mr Li said in the Communist Party mouthpiece Xinhua. The hard-hit wine industry crippled by 212 per cent tariffs is already raising a glass in celebration of the softer tone. 'Australian Grape & Wine welcomed the congratulatory message from China's Premier Li Keqiang to Prime Minister Albanese upon his election victory,' a statement Australia's largest wine association said. 'While we do not expect an immediate re-opening of the Chinese market as a result of this gesture, we hope that it signals a willingness to engage in dialogue between our two countries at the political level.' In the 12 months to March 2020, before the import duties really took effect, exports to mainland China were nearly $1.2billion. In the the year to March 2022, after the import duties were in place, exports to China collapsed to $24.2 million. 'There is still strong demand for Australian wines in China and we hope Chinese consumers can enjoy Australia's finest wines again in the near future,' Australian Grape & Wine said. In the the year to March 2022, after the import duties were in place, exports to China collapsed to $24.2 million (stock image) WA Grains Group Chairman Doug Smith (pictured) said it would be a tremendous benefit if the tariffs China imposed on the barley industry were lifted WHICH SECTORS STAND TO GAIN MOST FROM IMPROVED RELATIONS? - Wine - Barley, - Coal, - Beef - Seafood - Timber - Cotton - Copper Advertisement Grain growers slapped with 80 per cent tariffs by Xi Jinping's China echoed the sentiment. 'It would be a tremendous benefit if the tariffs China imposed on our industry were lifted,' WA Grains Group Chairman Doug Smith told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. 'We have been able to sell feed grain for livestock, finding new markets such as Saudi Arabia and other places which have a high demand, but that's at the lower end of the market when it comes to price. 'We have not been able to find substantial alternative markets for high-end malt barley that was previously shipped to China mostly for making beer.' While Australian growers have still been been seeing high prices due to a shortage of grain worldwide sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine - two major wheat-producing nations - there have still been significant struggles. 'People might see the headline prices for grain but they don't realise the costs are going up more than what the grain prices are going up. Fuel has double, fertaliser has doubled, parts have in some cases doubled,' Mr Smith said. Australian beef was banned from China in 2020. Pictured: Customers buy meat at a market in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province on August 10, 2020 Australia's lucrative lobster trade with China was brought to a halt by the trade war 'If we were to add demand from China back on top of that we could see prices stay really strong for the foreseeable future. It would be great for grain farmers in Australia. 'At the end of the day we do produce one of the cleanest and safest foods in the world and you would hope the Chinese market would want to come back to us.' Mr Albanese welcomed the letter of congratulations from the Chinese Premier but also added he will not be giving in to any of Beijing's demands after the Chinese embassy released a bizarre list of 14 grievances it had with Australia in November, 2020. The dossier included everything from unfavourable media coverage, banning Chinese firm Huawei from the national 5G rollout over security concerns and calling out Beijing for cyber attacks. An Australian coal flotilla was trapped off the coast of China with about $1billion in blacklisted cargo. Pictured: File image of tankers waiting to unload cargo Coal was among the industries hardest hit by China's trade bans. Pictured: A coal bucket wheel reclaimer at the port of Newcastle China's '14 grievances' 1. 'Incessant wanton interference in China's Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs' 2. 'Siding with the US' anti-China campaign and spreading misinformation' 3. 'Thinly veiled allegations against China on cyber attacks without any evidence' 4. 'An unfriendly or antagonistic report on China by media' 5. Providing funding to 'anti-China think tank for spreading untrue reports' 6. 'Foreign interference legislation' 7. 'Foreign investment decisions' 8. 'Banning Huawei technologies and ZTE from the 5G network' 9. 'Politicisation and stigmatisation of the normal exchanges and coorperation between China and Australia' 10. Making statements 'on the South China Sea to the United Nations' 11. 'Outrageous condemnation of the governing party of China by MPs and racist attacks against Chinese or Asian people' 12. 'The early drawn search and reckless seizure of Chinese journalists' homes and properties' 13. Calls for an independent inquiry into Covid-19 14. 'Legislation to scrutinise agreements with a foreign government' Advertisement Fronting the Quad security meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday to meet with leaders from the US, India and Japan, Mr Albanese said his government will be no kowtowing to China. 'The demands which were placed by China were entirely inappropriate and we reject all of them,' he said. 'We will determine our own values. We will determine Australia's future direction. 'It's not Australia that's changed, China has. It is China that has placed sanctions on Australia. There is no justification for doing that. And that's why they should be removed.' Meanwhile, as US President Joe Biden, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Japanese leader Fumio Kishida sit down at the regional security meeting with Mr Albanese to discuss the threat posed by China, the nation's foreign minister is preparing to visit eight nations in the South Pacific. Right to left: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet at the Tokyo Quad summit to discuss the growing threat posed by China Wang Yi will tour the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste from Thursday in a move that's likely to stir up further tensions. James Laurenceson, director of the Australia China Relations Institute, told AFR any improvement in relations is likely to come in 'baby steps'. 'The more realistic, best-case scenario is that there will be a gradual process of two-way diplomatic signalling and confidence building, charting an improvement in the trajectory over time,' he said. 'I think both sides understand there will not be any 're-set' to the days of 2015. 'So the question now is the extent to which the Albanese government is willing to send some positive diplomatic signals in response. Baby steps, but that's how openings get created.' U.S. President Joe Biden (right) jokingly pretends to walk away as Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre with Penny Wong) talks about his broad experiences in the U.S. years ago Jethro Lazenby's on-and-off girlfriend claims she 'wasn't given closure' and was excluded from his funeral and wake after his tragic death in a seedy motel. The 30-year-old son of rocker Nick Cave was found dead inside the Coburg Motor Inn in northern Melbourne on Friday, May 6. Danica Conwell, who'd been both a close friend and girlfriend to Lazenby for six years, denied rumours he'd taken his own life, saying he'd made plans to see her later than night. She said his death was related to him using heroin. She's struggling to cope with his death and hit out at his family for allegedly excluding her from memorial. 'Unfortunately I wasn't invited to the funeral... His family won't allow me closure and I really f**king need it,' she said. Ms Conwell said there is no doubt in her mind that he would have wanted her there. 'I'm not doing well with this at all and that's what wakes are for to say good bye, help closure on the mourning process... It's evil to deny someone this.' Danica Conwell, who shared a close friendship with Lazenby for six years and was in a turbulent relationship with him, has put to bed rumours he may have taken his own life, noting had made plans to see her that evening and was using heroin Lazenby had a checkered history with law enforcement and had been using drugs for years Lazenby's devastated mum Lee-Anne 'Beau' Lazenby joined two friends down the road from her Collingwood home, just outside of Melbourne's CBD, to remember her troubled son over a glass of red. It's unclear if any formal funeral ceremony took place. His ex made several admissions during a series of heartbroken social media posts - including details of Lazenby's history of drug use. Lazenby had a checkered history with law enforcement and had been using drugs for years. But Ms Conwell claims heroin 'was not a big part of his life' and he 'did not use every day'. She recalled three times in the last seven years in which he'd allegedly overdosed and noted her 'unconditional love' for him sometimes meant 'allowing him to crash'. At the time of his death, Lazenby had resorted to shoplifting food. He was arrested last year for stealing a packet of chili beef jerky and a bag of Smith's Crisps for $12.50. Lee-Anne Lazenby looked devastated after learning of her son Jethro's death Lazenby had previously spoken about his tough upbringing on the streets of Collingwood. Pictured above towards the end of his life Ms Conwell claims heroin 'was not a big part of his life' and he 'did not use every day' Later that day he was busted stealing food again, this time helping himself to two meat pies and a Smoothie, worth $11. On May 6, he was found inside the dingy Coburg Motor Inn three-star motel, with pictures of the accommodation showing a seedy pool, graffiti on walls and filthy appliances. He'd recently been released from prison amid allegations he bashed his Melbourne-based former model mother after she refused to buy him a pack of smokes. Ms Conwell claims the pair had made plans to meet up for dinner on the Friday of his death, but cancelled earlier in the day. 'Had things have been different we would have come together again, drank bubble tea... Why didn't we just have dinner Friday night?' Ms Conwell categorically ruled out suicide as a cause of death, adding that he 'loved life'. Nick Cave did not meet Lazenby until he was aged 7 - something which Jethro struggled with prior to his death on May 6 The Coburg Motor Inn where Jethro Lazenby was found dead on Friday May 6 - a $100-per-night three-star accommodation in Melbourne's north 'Jethro was vibrant, passionate. He played piano amazingly and wrote great gothic poetry,' Ms Conwell said. 'He lived a fantastic life and I loved him... He had a lot to live for.' But she's struggling with the fact that she never got to say goodbye, and has vowed to 'mourn Jethro alone... the way he would have wanted'. 'He was definitely more than he showed most people. He was hard to get close to... A higher being in so many ways. But his shadow plagued him.' Lazenby had the world at his feet in the early 2000s when he managed to score some top modelling jobs on the back of his famous father's name. One guest posted a picture of the hotel's pool which appeared uncleaned and even had graffiti He opened the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in Sydney in April 2006 when he was just 15-years of age. A year earlier, he made his runway debut in his hometown at Melbourne Fashion Week. By 2009 the teen sensation had made waves across the ocean in Paris and Milan and appeared destined for greatness. He was later dumped from a Myer fashion show and fell off the radar amid claims of erratic behaviour behind the scenes. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Transgender woman Jennifer Buckley (above) has described how breastfeeding her baby boy made her feel more womanly A transgender mother who was born male has described how 'breastfeeding' her baby an hour after her wife gave birth to the boy made her feel more feminine. Brisbane paramedic Jennifer Buckley was warned by doctors against trying to nourish newborn son Auden from her own chest but she went ahead anyway. 'Being a trans woman I can't carry, it's one of the limitations of it all,' Ms Buckley told Daily Mail Australia. 'To know I could breastfeed my own child and have that experience, I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to know what it was like to be a mum and breastfeed.' The controversial practice has been criticised by specialists as experimental and unethical but Ms Buckley believed she had the right to breastfeed her infant. The 41-year-old would never be able to carry her own baby but began medically transitioning into a woman in 2017 after years of feeling she was female. Before the transition Ms Buckley froze her sperm which was used to conceive Auden with wife Sandi Honnery-Buckley, now 35, who gave birth in 2019. Transgender paramedic Jennifer Buckley (above) was warned by doctors against trying to feed her newborn son Auden but she and her wife went ahead anyway. 'To know I could breastfeed my own child and have that experience, I wanted to be a part of that,' she said Ms Buckley (right) would never be able to carry her own baby but began medically transitioning into a woman in 2017 after years of feeling she was female. She froze her sperm which was used to conceive baby Auden with wife Sandi Honnery-Buckley (left) 'I will never know what's it like to menstruate or carry a baby or give birth,' Ms Buckley said. 'But to be told I could have the opportunity to breastfeed, it was something that was nice to be able to experience as a trans woman.' Ms Buckley said her endocrinologist had suggested she try to produce breast milk a couple of months before her wife gave birth. 'I never thought it would be possible. I jumped at the opportunity,' she said. Ms Buckley said her wife was completely supportive of her wishes while she was pregnant with Auden and that her milk was meant to supplement Ms Honnery-Buckley's supply. After consulting with her endocrinologist Ms Buckley upped her oestrogen to mimic pregnancy and started taking the drug domperidone. Domperidone is an anti-nausea medication found to increase levels of the hormone prolactin, which causes breasts to grow and make milk during pregnancy and after birth. Ms Buckley (right) said her wife was completely supportive of her wishes while she was pregnant with Auden and that her milk was meant to supplement Ms Honnery-Buckley's supply. The couple is pictured in hospital after Auden's birth in 2019 Ms Buckley then began using a breast pump to induce 'milk' which she froze. 'The first time it came out I just started leaking,' Ms Buckley said. 'Then I pumped and it was a weird feeling having a suction cap suck out milk, but it was exciting. 'I thought, "Oh my God, I am actually producing human milk".' Ms Buckley said she breastfed Auden just an hour after his birth while her wife was being treated for a haemorrhage. 'It was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be,' she said. 'I'd only been transitioning for a year and half. My breast development hadn't been completed and it was harder than I thought it would be to get him to latch on.' Ms Buckley said when doctors at the hospital learnt she was trying to breastfeed Auden they warned Ms Honnery-Buckley it could put her newborn at risk. The doctors asked Ms Honnery-Buckley to sign a waiver and wanted to see documentary evidence of Ms Buckley's blood infection status. Ms Buckley said her endocrinologist had suggested to try to produce breast milk a couple of months before her wife gave birth. 'I never thought it would be possible. I jumped at the opportunity,' she said Ms Buckley said she was made to feel like she was not Auden's biological parent during the first days after his birth. 'I was very angry,' she said. 'The last day she was in hospital I brought my frozen milk in because he was going jaundiced, and they weren't listening to my wife's concerns about her not producing breast milk. 'A day and a half after she came home, Sandi was still trying to breastfeed. A lot of it was left to me going through my stored supply and whatever I was expressing.' Dr Foteini Kakulas (above) from the University of Western Australia believes only women produce breast milk While at home Ms Honnery-Buckley suffered severe abdominal pain and an elevated heart rate. An ambulance took her to hospital and it was discovered she had retained placenta products, which meant she was not producing milk. 'Apart from the milk he was getting from me he was essentially starving,' Ms Buckley said of the couple's hungry son. 'I genuinely believe had I not brought my breast milk into the hospital he could have become very sick with liver and kidney issues from lack of nutrition.' It was at that point the couple made the decision to both stop breastfeeding. Ms Buckley said she stopped being able to produce milk from the night she called the ambulance and believed that was due to the stress of potentially losing her wife. 'I kept up the regime for at least a week, but I was barely getting 5ml a day,' she said. 'It was sad. It was frustrating, but as brief as it was, I did get to experience it. I would have preferred to do it a lot longer. But Auden's wellbeing was paramount.' Jennifer Buckley (right) and her wife Sandi Honnery-Buckley (left) say their three-year-old son Auden (centre), who Ms Buckley attempted to breastfeed, is a happy and healthy little boy Dr Foteini Kakulas from the University of Western Australia's Medical School specialises in lactation and believes only women produce breast milk. 'While it is possible for male breast tissue to produce something, what exactly that is, how it may or may not resemble breast milk, and whether this is healthy for the individual person or for the baby, are all unknown and never been studied,' she said. 'In my view in nature only females lactate in mammals, so trying to do something against nature won't result in any good. 'At the end of the day women make babies and breastfeed.' Dr Naomi Achong (above) is the Brisbane endocrinologist who recommended Ms Buckley breastfeed her son Auden Anna Kerr, principal solicitor at Feminist Legal Clinic, said it was harmful to characterise galactorrhea - a milky nipple discharge - in trans women as breast milk. 'I haven't seen any evidence men can lactate and produce milk in the quantities that can sustain a child's life and to attempt to do so is experimenting on the child,' she said. 'It detracts from the importance of maternity and women engaged in nurturing their offspring. 'It is extraordinarily offensive to women. Producing a few droplets doesn't equate to breastfeeding.' Ms Kerr firmly believed the practice belittled the marvel of lactation and trivialised that aspect of motherhood. 'Calling it breastfeeding is already misleading. Ultimately the child is not being fed,' she said. 'The ideology that claims men can breastfeed is harmful. It has no evidence base and undermines not only the rights of babies to their mother's milk, but also respect for maternity in general.' The Australian Breast Feeding Association was criticised for co-authoring with Rainbow Families a booklet called Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and Human Milk Feeding to guide transgender women through the process of milk production Ms Buckley proudly shared her experience with Auden through the Australian Breastfeeding Association on Mother's Day last year. A month later the ABA was criticised for co-authoring with Rainbow Families a booklet called Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and Human Milk Feeding to guide transgender women through the process of milk production. Dr Naomi Achong, a former president of Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH), is the Brisbane endocrinologist who recommended Ms Buckley breastfeed Auden. It is understood she has helped five other transgender women breastfeed. Dr Achong spoke on the topic of 'lactation induction in transfemales' at a AusPATH conference last weekend and her talk was one of the most booked events. Ms Buckley said Auden was now a happy and healthy three-year-old. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been ordered to remain in jail on charges of stoking the Capitol riot after a judge said he was too dangerous for home detention. US District Judge Timothy Kelly denied Tarrio's request on Friday evening, stating the evidence against he was 'very strong' and that measures like a bond and home confinement 'do not adequately mitigate the threat of dangerousness Tarrio poses.' He said home detention and banning Tarrio, 38, from using social media would not be enough, as Tarrio and other far-right leaders used social media and encrypted channels to reportedly plot the January 6 riot. Kelly also said that Tarrio 'has the skill set, resources, and networks to plan similar challenges to the lawful functioning of the United States government in the future.' The former Proud Boys leader argued 'the government does not have a smoking gun, perhaps in the form of direct evidence of an order from Tarrio to other Proud Boys to storm the Capitol.' Tarrio has been in jail again since early March this year, where he was arrested in his underwear in a dawn raid, a day after he was indicted on conspiracy charges. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has been ordered to remain in jail on charges of stoking the Capitol riot after a judge said he was too dangerous for home detention after he and other far-right leaders used social media and encrypted messaging to communicate about the riot A judge in Florida previously denied a request by Tarrio for pretrial release, which he had asked Kelly to review the Florida judge's order. The conservative had been banned from DC the day of the riot. But he reportedly meet with other far-right leaders, like Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes in a parking garage near the Phoenix Park Hotel with four other far-right figures, which was shot by a British filmmaker shooting a documentary about the Proud Boys. Tarrio left Washington soon after the meeting on January 5, 2021, and claimed their was no discussion about an impending attack on the Capitol during their conversation, sources said. Tarrio is not accused of physically taking part in the riot, but the Justice Department claims that he led the advance planning and remained in contact with Proud Boys members on January 6 when they breached the Capitol. He was named in an indictment filed in March in the District of Columbia that also includes five previously charged defendants: They include: Ethan Nordean, 31, of Auburn, Washington; Joseph Biggs, 38, of Ormond Beach, Florida; Zachary Rehl, 36, of Philadelphia; Charles Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, North Carolina; and Dominic Pezzola, 44, of Rochester, New York. He was arrested in early March in the early morning, catching the conservative off guard as he was placed in cuffs while dressed only in his underwear He was indicted the day before for conspiracy charges The indictment claims that in December 2020, Tarrio and his co-defendants, all who were part of a Proud Boys chapter that dubbed themselves the 'Ministry of Self Defense,' which conspired to corruptly obstruct Congress from confirming President Joe Biden's election win. 'Tarrio and his co-defendants, all of whom were leaders or members of the Ministry of Self Defense, conspired to corruptly obstruct, influence and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote,' the Justice Department said in a press release. 'On January 6, the defendants directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property and assaults on law enforcement,' according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Tarrio maintained an active leadership role behind the scenes on January 6, forcefully telling his followers on social media not to leave the Capitol, and later, in the encrypted chat, telling them: 'We did this.' Tarrio's attorney Nayib Hassan told reporters in March Tarrio left Washington DC on January 5, 2021 - a day before the attack on the Capitol. Police originally arrested Tarrio on January 4, 2021, for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic African-American church in December 2020 'It's our estimation as far as what we have reviewed right now that the evidence is weak,' Hassan said. Thousands of people stormed the Capitol that day to try to keep Congress from certifying current President Joe Biden's victory over then-President Donald Trump, a Republican. More than 800 face criminal charges. The 38-year-old is among the most high-profile of more than 775 people criminally charged for their roles in the assault on the Capitol. Police originally arrested Tarrio on January 4, 2021, for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic African-American church in December 2020, a charge for which he later served four months in jail. Many of the victims allegedly were sex workers or transgender people The youngest victim is 16-year-old Marnay Haynes who died in St Louis on September 13 Reed is suspected of killing his last victim, Stephon D. Johnson, in Kansas City, Missouri, in November Reed was found to be in possession of the same gun used in all the shootings, and he was wearing shoes that linked him to the crime scenes, cops say He was arrested by FBI task force in Independence, Missouri, in November In addition to first-degree murder, Reed was charged with one count of criminal action as well as fraud after using a credit or debit device that wasn't his Perez Reed, 25, was charged in connection with seven homicides in Missouri and Kansas A suspected serial killer already charged in six killings in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas has been charged with first-degree murder in a seventh death. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the new murder charge Friday against Perez Deshay Reed. Baker also charged Reed with one count of armed criminal action and two counts of fraud involving a credit or debit device. The most recent charges against the 26-year-old Reed, who lived in the St. Louis area, stem from the November 2021 shooting death of Stephon D. Johnson, of Kansas City, Missouri. The prosecutor's office did not provide Johnson's age. Brian Horneyer, an assistant Missouri public defender in St. Louis representing Reed did not immediately return messages seeking comment left Saturday on his office phone and cellphone. When law enforcement officers arrested Reed in nearby Independence on warrants from St. Louis County, they found a key on him that fit a deadbolt lock at Johnson's apartment, Baker's office said, citing court documents. Testing indicated DNA collected from an empty cigarillo package found in Johnson's apartment was connected to Reed, Baker's office said. Baker's office said the bullet found inside Johnson was fired from the gun that Reed had on him when he was arrested. Witnesses also told police that a man who had been a guest of Johnson's was the 'serial killer' from St. Louis whom they had seen on the news. They identified him by a distinctive, crescent moon-shaped tattoo on his forehead. This undated photo provided by St. Louis County Justice Services shows Perez Deshay Reed. Reed, a suspected serial killer who already has been charged with six killings in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas has been charged by a Missouri prosecutor with first-degree murder over a seventh death This map shows the locations of the six killings that have been linked to Reed. The seventh murder - the one of Stephon D. Johnson - took place in November in Kansas City, Missouri Reed remains in custody in St. Louis, and Baker's office is asking that he be held on the new charges with no bond. Reed is charged in the St. Louis County killings of 16-year-old runaway Marnay Haynes on September 13, 2021, and 40-year-old Lester Robinson on September 26. He also is charged in the killings in St. Louis of 49-year-old Pamela Abercrombie on September 16 and 24-year-old Carey Ross on September 19. All four were shot in the head. In Wyandotte County, Kansas, he is charged in the October 28-29 deaths of Damon Washington Irvin and Rau'daja De'Naya Farrow. Their bodies were found in separate apartments at a complex in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, authorities have said. Lester Robinson, 40, was killed by Reed on September 26 in St. Louis. He was shot to death Damon Washington Irvin, 35, was shot dead by Reed, either on the October 28-29, in Kansas. It is unclear if he died before or after Rau'daja De'Naya Farrow The youngest victim, Marney Haynes, 16 (left), a missing runaway, was found shot dead in St Louis on September 13. The oldest victim, Pamela Abercrombie (right), 49, was found shot dead in the street in St Louis on September 16 Rau'Daja Fairrow, 25, was found shot dead inside her apartment in Kansas City with the same gun that was used in all the other killings Authorities said Reed shot an unnamed man multiple times in the chest on September 12 in St Louis County. The victim survived but was left with a permanent disability, reported KMOV4. Many of the victims allegedly were female sex workers, or transgender people. They ranged in age from 16 to 49 years old. Johnson's family reported him missing after they hadn't seen him since November 1. Officers eventually found him dead in a closet in his apartment, shot in the back of his head. Officers were tailing Reed on November 5 when he got on an Amtrak train in Kansas City, Missouri, bound for St. Louis. They arrested him when he got off on the train's first stop in Independence and boarded a bus. At the time of his arrest, officials said Reed also was wearing shoes that linked him to several crime scenes. Investigators said they do not believe any of the victims knew one another, or Reed, prior to the shootings. As of Saturday, no motive has been announced. Reed is currently being held in St. Louis without bond. A mother and her three young children were shot to death and the suspected gunman - her husband - has been hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head, a sheriff in central Michigan said Saturday. Hailey Salisbury confirmed that her mother Dawn Gillard, 40, was murdered by her husband and Salisbury's stepfather, Charles, who also killed her half-siblings, 6-year-old Katelynn Gillard, 4-year-old Ronald Gillard and 3-year-old Joshua Gillard. 'I am in total shock. I am so devastated,' she told 13 ABC. Salisbury also posted about the killings on her TikTok account, making several videos sharing her grief at her mother and siblings' deaths and her step-father's heinous actions. In one of the videos, she shares an image of her stepfather with the caption: 'I WILL find a way to speak to you before you die in prison you disgusting sickening thing.' In another, she shared a video of herself sobbing and sharing while repeatedly screaming 'What the f**k?' after discovering the horrific news. Hailey Salisbury confirmed that her mother Dawn Gillard, 40, was murdered by her husband and Salisbury's stepfather, Charles, who also killed her half-siblings, 6-year-old Katelynn Gillard, 4-year-old Ronald Gillard and 3-year-old Joshua Gillard Salisbury posted a photo with her three slain siblings in remembrance after confirming their deaths Salisbury's mother, Dawn Gillard, was also murdered. Her stepfather Charles is hospitalized and in critical condition Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller said deputies responding to reports of shots fired found Dawn, the children and a wounded Charles Friday afternoon in a home near Big Rapids in Austin Township, about 180 miles northwest of Detroit. 'There are no words that can explain what happened,' Miller told MLive.com. Miller said evidence suggests the woman's husband was responsible for the deaths. He is being treated at an Ann Arbor hospital. The killings are under investigation. 'Were not exactly sure what the circumstances were,' Miller said. 'Its tragic by all accounts.' The person who alerted authorities was outside the home when deputies arrived and was not shot, he said. Sheriff Brian Miller's press release announcing the news of the murders Roger Cole, Superintendent of Schools, announcing students will be given counseling regarding the shooting on Tuesday The local school district has been notified and is expected to have crisis counseling available, Miller said. 'We have a very tight-knit community in Mecosta,' Miller said. 'There's no better place I'd rather raise my kids at.' The shootings have taken an emotional toll, he said. The town is holding a candlelight vigil on Monday. 'With our first-responders, almost everyone at the scene had children of their own. I can tell you they took it very hard,' Miller said. 'We have to be there to counsel and comfort our community,' he said. 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said at the rally Lauren Boebert of Colorado said Cheney needed to be 'taken out' 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC' Told Wyoming voters 'to tell her Liz you're fired get out' of Congress He mocked her with an image displayed on several screens in the event center of her face mashed up with former President George W. Bush's Trump said during a rally in Wyoming on Saturday that GOP Representative Liz Cheney is as bad as the 'the Clintons, Bushs, the Obamas [and] the Bidens' Donald Trump issued on Saturday his most staunch opposition of an incumbent Republican lawmaker yet as he rallied against 'Pelosi's lapdog' Liz Cheney in Casper, Wyoming as he flashed an image of her face mashed up with George W. Bush. 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC,' Trump said, using his mashup of the liberal network MSNBC and the DNC (Democratic National Committee). 'Liz Cheney hates the voters of the Republican Party and she has for longer than you know. Wyoming deserves a congresswoman who stands up for you and your values not one who spends all of her time putting you down and going after you president in the most vicious way possible,' the former president told thousands of supporters gathered in Casper on Saturday afternoon. ' He added that the three-term congresswoman is 'the face of the Washington swamp and the same failed foreign policy of the Clintons, Bushs, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the entire sick political establishment.' He then put up on the jumbotron at the front of the Ford Wyoming Center an image of Cheney's hair and face mashed up with an image of former President George W. Bush. 'I think she looks good, looks nice,' Trump jested. 'But Liz Cheney is about America last.' Trump visited Casper, Wyoming nearly three months before the Wyoming GOP primary on August 16, 2022 where the candidate he endorsed Harriet Hageman is the favorite to win. Hageman received several standing ovations in her remarks ahead of Trump taking stage. Her simple message: Wyoming is 'fed up' with Cheney and other congressional RINOs, which Trump uses degradingly to refer to those he claims are Republicans In Name Only, but who do not represent real ideals of the Party. Trump said toward the top of his nearly hour and a half remarks that RINOs are worse than Democrats. Donald Trump takes stage at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming on Saturday to rally against Representative Liz Cheney and for her rival Harriet Hageman Trump said Cheney is as bad as the 'the Clintons, Bushs, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the entire sick political establishment.' He mocked her with an image displayed on several screens in the event center of her face mashed up with George W. Bush's Hageman (pictured) received a standing ovation and wild applause as she walked out on stage Saturday and gave a message of Wyomingites being 'fed up' with Cheney, RINOs and Democrats. She is 30 points ahead of Cheney is recent polling The former president told Wyoming voters to 'fire Liz' from Congress. 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC,' Trump lamented As a throwback to his famous line from his days as a judge on reality television show The Apprentice, Trump told Wyoming residents at the Saturday rally that they need 'fire' Cheney. 'Because of what Liz Cheney did, that's why she was thrown out of the House Republican leadership, which is just about a first. It's why she was censured by the Republican National Committee, which is so lame that virtually never happens,' he said. 'It's why she was censured by the Wyoming GOP. We have [Frank Eathorne Jr.] here, I'll introduce him, but I'm very proud of Frank.' 'And that's why in two months from now, the people of Wyoming are going to tell her Liz you're fired get out.' This comment sparked potentially the loudest applause of the night. After voting for Trump's impeachment, joining the January 6 select committee probing the Capitol attack and speaking out repeatedly against the former president, Cheney faced swift fallout from the GOP. Trump lamented that he has been investigated more than notorious mobsters and criminals. 'Now you look at the so-called word 'insurrection.' January 6, what a lot of crap. And most of this country knows it, and you know who else knows it, the Democrats. It's another con job just like Russia, Russia, Russia. This was made up by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. A total fake story. And they have another fake story coming, the insur-and many others,' Trump said. 'Don't forget,' he cautioned, 'I've been investigated more than Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and the great legendary mobster Alphonse Capone- did anyone ever hear of him? Al Capone.' 'If you add them all up and double 'em and triple 'em I've taken the cake for investigations,' Trump claimed. 'Friend of mine said you know this has been going on for years - you must be the most honest man in the history of our country.' Firebrand Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert received a warm welcome from the crowed in Wyoming as she took stage to help tee up Trump. The congresswoman bragged about being a 'RINO hunter' when talking about Cheney., but left her name out when telling the crowd that the establishment conservative need to be 'taken out.' 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said to heavy applause. 'I have not found a three-letter agency that Liz Cheney does not want to grow, a CNN interview that she does not want to take, or a war that she does not want to engage in and fund with your tax dollars. And that is why we are taking her out and putting in Harriet Hageman,' she said. Boebert is one of several high profile GOP cast who Trump invited to the rally for Hageman, his first event in Wyoming for the candidate. Trump recruited Hageman to challenge Cheney for Wyoming's lone House seat after the incumbent angered him by working with Democrats on the house select committee investigating the US Capitol attack. Boebert also touted her restaurant, Shooter's Grill in Rifle, Colorado, as the 'safest' in the United States because she allows waitresses to open-carry their firearms. 'I own a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado where my waitresses open carry,' Boebert boasted at the top of her speech after an enthusiastic welcome. 'We are the safest restaurant in America.' Lauren Bobert of Colorado bragged about being a 'RINO hunter' when talking about Cheney at Trump's Wyoming rally. 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said to heavy applause She claimed her Rifle, Colorado restaurant was the safest because her waitresses can open-carry (pictured) She also took aim at Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke for demanding more gun control in the wake of the horrific massacre in Uvalde, Texas, last week that took the lives of 19 children and their two teachers. Responding to O'Rourke's stance on guns without mentioning the shooting in Texas last week, she added: 'Hell no, you are not taking our guns and he's back at it again.' 'But I don't mind wiping the floor with him again.' She also slammed President Joe Biden, 79, as the 'pathetic commander in chief who is command of nothing.' Earlier on Saturday, Republican Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona accused Cheney of trying to 'destroy' the GOP and Congress itself in a conversation with DailyMail.com ahead of his speech at Trump's rally Casper, Wyoming. Biggs also accused his fellow GOP lawmaker Cheney of trying to 'destroy' the GOP and Congress itself ahead of his speech at Donald Trump's rally in Casper, Wyoming. The former House Freedom Caucus chair tore into the Wyoming conservative, claiming that her Trump-backed rival Hageman is an 'America first-er' who better understands the Republican base. 'Liz Cheney is the worst candidate for Wyoming,' Biggs said. Trump's appearance there Saturday was his first in Wyoming on Hageman's behalf as she seeks to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney in the state's upcoming August 16 primary His supporters filed into the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday afternoon, where a high-profile list of speakers are expected to address the crowd Hageman (right) is a former ally of Cheney's (left) and previously had an unsuccessful run for Wyoming governor in 2018 'Harriet is going to be an America first-er. I mean, she gets the policies that I think the conservative populist movement is taking hold of. I really, really think she gets it, and she's going to carry it forward and advocate for it in Congress.' He added, 'And Liz Cheney, instead of trying to work with the Republican Party and build it up in Congress, is now trying to actively destroy - not just the party, but the institution itself.' Biggs is among several high-profile speakers the former president invited to Saturday's rally, Trump's first appearance in Wyoming for Hageman since recruiting her to run against Cheney in the August 16 Republican primary. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who also turned against Cheney to endorse Hageman, made a video address - but was booed by the audience. Pro-Trump Reps. Matt Gaetz and Kate Cammack of Florida made appearances as well. Rep. Andy Biggs, one of the speakers, told DailyMail.com that Rep. Cheney 'left' the Republican Party behind Cheney, the state's lone House representative, is facing an uphill battle ahead of the race. She was removed from her leadership role heading the House GOP Conference last year over her criticism of Trump and cooperation with Democrats' January 6 investigation. But Biggs told DailyMail.com on Saturday that he believes it was Cheney who abandoned Republicans rather than the party casting her out. 'She left the conference a year ago or more, and she basically said that she didn't want to be part of the conference - she didn't agree with the conference,' the Arizona Republican said. Biggs is among the five sitting lawmakers who has been subpoenaed by the House Capitol riot committee. The panel has accused him of being involved in 'plans to bring protestors to Washington for the counting of Electoral College votes' and said he 'was involved in efforts to persuade state officials that the 2020 was stolen.' He's formally objecting to the panel's subpoena, Biggs' spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who replaced Cheney in the No. 3 House leadership role, made a video address at the rally. 'I know what it takes firsthand to beat Liz Cheney, and I'm telling you, Harriet has what it takes,' Stefanik said. The Cheney name has been a fixture in US politics since her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, held his daughter's seat for a decade throughout the 1980s. During that time he, like Rep. Liz Cheney, held the House GOP Conference Chair position. But a new poll released on Friday shows Cheney trailing Hageman by a whopping 30 points with less than three months until the race. The WPAi/Club for Growth PAC survey shows that 56 percent of Republican Wyoming primary voters would support Hageman if the election were held today. Cheney officially filed for the 2022 primary on Thursday, but only 26 percent said they would vote for her reelection of the 400 likely Republican primary voters polled in the deep red state on May 24 and 25. Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard - who has been accused of 'a continued pattern of intimidating and disorderly conduct' - is in third place with 12 percent, while another 6 percent are undecided on who they will vote for. Voters on the ground appear split on whether they want to keep Cheney in office. 'I'm gonna support Hageman. I'm pretty disappointed in Liz Cheney's whole - just kind of everything that's going on,' said Ed, 64, a patron of Johnny J's Diner in Casper. But Ed's wife Liz, 63, said her ballot for Hageman has nothing to do with Trump's endorsement of the trial lawyer. A poll released Friday the same day of the filing deadline for the Wyoming GOP primary shows that Trump-backed Harriet Hagemen is a whopping 30 points ahead of Representative Liz Cheney Several Wyoming residents at Johnny J's Diner on Saturday told DailyMail.com that they will vote for Hageman but not because of Trump's endorsement. Billboards around Casper urged voters to 'Ditch Liz!' 'I'm voting for Hageman, not because of Trump though,' she said. 'I'm voting because I don't believe in Liz Cheney. 'So it's different, for me it isn't about coattails or anything like that.' The couple, who were dining with a third woman who is attending the rally Saturday, said that they voted for Cheney in all of her previous elections, but will not be recasting a ballot for her in the primaries. Meanwhile Robert Morris, 73, a local of Casper, told DailyMail.com on Saturday that 'Liz is a real Republican' and said he would be voting for her in the August primary elections in Wyoming. The former engineer said he is a 'registered Republican', but voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. 'Just everything he [Donald Trump] did turned me off. I mean, I didn't think much of Hillary Clinton either, but I voted for her rather than him,' Morris said while dining with a friend at the diner's bar. The Uvalde school mass shooter has an older sister who is currently serving in the United States Navy, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively. Marisabelle Ramos, 21, is three years older than her dead brother Salvador, who was responsible for Tuesdays massacre at Robb Elementary School. My granddaughter Marisabelle is in the Navy and currently stationed in San Diego, California her grandfather, Rolando Reyes, exclusively told DailyMail.com. Reyes said Marisabelle rushed back to San Antonio to be with her grandmother Celia after receiving the tragic news. Shes with her grandmother in the hospital and staying in San Antonio for the time being. A GoFundMe set up to raise funds for Celia, who was shot in the head by Salvador but survived, has so-far raised just $230 of its $30,000 target. Marisabelle Ramos, pictured above, is the sister of Texas mass shooter Salvador Ramos, and also serves in the US Navy, based out of San Diego The Uvalde killer has an older sister who is currently serving in the United States Navy, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively Marisabelle Ramos, 21, is three years older than her dead brother Salvador, who was responsible for Tuesdays massacre at Robb Elementary School Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said on Friday, last September Ramos asked his sister to buy him a gun, she flatly refused, he said Crossroads Academy High School, where Marisabelle Ramos, the sister of Uvalde shooter Salvador went to Celia is in a San Antonio hospital, after being shot in the face by her grandson, Marisabelles 18-year-old brother Salvador, just before he gunned down 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School. Marisabelle is believed to have graduated from Crossroads Academy High School in Uvalde, TX in 2020. She also attended Uvalde High School for her freshman and sophomore years in 2017 and 2018 while living with her Celia and other family members at their Diaz Street home. The high school is on an alternative campus in the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. According to their Facebook page, Crossroads Academy High School is built around an ethic of care for the whole student in order to support the academic needs of at-risk students toward the completion of a High School Diploma. Celia Gonzales (pictured right) is in a San Antonio hospital, after being shot in the face by her grandson, Marisabelles 18-year-old brother Salvador, just before he gunned down 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School Celias daughter Natalie Salazar (pictured right) has set up a GofundMe account her mother Natalie said that Celia has had four major surgeries since entering the hospital and has more to come and may not be home for several months Marisabelle's father Salvador Ramos - who has a lengthy criminal record - told The Daily Beast, that he is currently estranged from his daughter, because she was upset with him for not spending enough time with the family. He also told them she had joined the Navy and is no longer living at home. He said: My daughter, I guess, changed her life, she went to the Navy. I wish my son would have gone and changed his life.' Authorities have said for the past several months Ramos discussed buying a gun and shooting up a school. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said on Friday, last September Ramos asked his sister to buy him a gun, she flatly refused, he said. Rolando Reyes said: My wifes condition is day-to-day. We are praying for her. A woman kneels amongst crosses bearing names of victims following the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas People pray during a prayer service as they visit a memorial for the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting Celias daughter Natalie has set up a GofundMe account for her mother. Natalie wrote that what happened on May 24 'has my family shaken to the core, especially my mom. We give our condolences to all the families that lost a loved one that day as my children and I have lost my little cousin Layla on my dad's side of the family too and my nephew on my mom's side. I speak for my children and I when I say we've been hit from all sides.' She added that Celia has had four major surgeries since entering the hospital and has more to come and may not be home for several months. 'I'm asking wholeheartedly to please help my mom. Bills will be piling up from home and from the hospital. Any donations are greatly appreciated.' So far, only $350 out of a requested $30,000.00 has been donated. Celias daughter Natalie has set up a GofundMe account for her mother. So far, only $350 out of a requested $30,000.00 has been donated In comparison the GoFundMe account for Joe and Irma Garcia the Robb Elementary School teacher who was killed in the massacre and her husband who died of a heart attack days later has raided more than $2.5 million dollars, well surpassing their goal of $10,000. Ramos slaughtered at least 19 innocent children in the second deadliest school shooting in American history in Uvalde, Texas before being shot dead in a shootout with a border patrol officer. Police say Ramos said bought two AR-15 assault rifles for his 18th birthday days before the shooting, bragged about them on social media and suggested he would commit an atrocity before the deadly attack. Advertisement A crowd of mourners and community members embraced and consoled each other at a memorial service close to the scene of the Texas shooting, where an 18-year-old gunman massacred 19 children and two teachers. Flowers, balloons, candles and handmade posters were laid by the fountain of the Uvalde town square, just roughly a mile away from Robb Elementary School, on Saturday, as well as 21 crosses in honor of all of the victims. There was also an outpouring number of community members who were there for those who had lost a loved one from Tuesday's shooting. It seemed that every local inhabitant knew at least a connection to a victim, as Uvalde only has a population of 16,122 residents. Al 21 crosses were spread across the fountain. Each of them had a pink balloon tied to the ground. An abundance of flowers were laid down in front of each cross, as well as stuffed animals, heartfelt hand-written messages and candles too. Blue hearts were also glued to every cross so that friends, family and classmates could honor victims with words of kindness. Furthermore, the name of each victim was seperately engraved on every cross. Mourners were also seen chalking up sidewalks in the town with verses from the Bible that promote love, compassion and eternal life. Messages of remembrance and names of the victims were written on the concrete floor too. A motorcade in support of the shooting victims were also seen driving through the town with heartfelt messages written on their windows. One of them read: 'Our hearts are with Uvalde TX.' Families of the Uvalde massacre victims gathered around the small town's square on Saturday in honor of the 19 children and two children who died from the shooting on Tuesday A family of mourners were pictured embracing one another as they paid their respects to the 21 victims on Saturday afternoon A woman in purple and other mourners observe the memorial site, where 21 crosses were spread out in honor of each victim An abundance of flowers were laid down in front of each cross, as well as stuffed animals, heartfelt hand-written messages and candles It was an emotional day for many local residents as they mourned and showed their support at the memorial for the victims Two men were seen embracing one another as they observe the memorial site, where hundreds of community members gathered on Saturday afternoon Mourners were also seen chalking up sidewalks in the town with verses from the bible as they remember those who lost their lives earlier this week Some of the other messages promoted an end to gun violence, while others read the names of the victims A motorcade in support of the shooting victims is pictured on the highway on the way to the small town of 16,000 residents One of the messages on a pick-up truck read: 'Our hearts are with Uvalde TX' The town's square is usually used as a place where residents meet to grab a bite and enjoy live music and local art or do some late night shopping on every second Friday of the month for an event known as Four Square Fridays. 'It's a place where we have gatherings like Four-Square Fridays where we all come out and enjoy good food and music,' Arianna Diaz, 18, told Border Report. 'We gathered here once a month as a town, small businesses here. You come and listen to music. You eat food. You see your fellow community members gathered here so it's such a tragic event,' Jaime Cruz, 18, also told the new outlets. 'This should have never happened,' he added. There were also twenty-one empty chairs with the names of every victim taped to them outside of a daycare center nearby. Another local school, Crossroads Academy High, displayed a message of support over the long weekend with its panel board showing the words: 'UVALDE STRONG.' In front of Robb Elementary was another display of 21 crosses with the name of each victim written on them. There were 21 crosses with the name of each child and teacher engraved on them. They were all laid out in front of the school's entrance on Saturday, just four days after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos gunned down 21 people on campus Crossroads Academy High School showed its support towards the families of victims over Memorial Day Weekend, with the words 'UVALDE STRONG' written on the main entrance's white board A local daycare center had 21 empty wooden chairs on display outside its doors with the name of one victim taped per chair Meanwhile, a celebrity who visited Uvalde - his hometown - on Friday to comfort the community left reeling was Texan-native Matthew McConaughey. The 52-year-old actor visited staff at the Uvalde school district, and was photographed with them inside their building. McConaughey's mother Kay, who turned 90 in January and lived with her son throughout the pandemic, was a teacher at St. Philip's Episcopal School in Uvalde. Her school, which McConaughey attended, is only a mile from Robb Elementary, where 19 children and two teachers were murdered on Tuesday. McConaughey did not address the public during his visit, but was accompanied by Republican Representative Tony Gonzalez, who thanked him for coming. 'Thank you Matthew for helping to heal our community,' Gonzalez tweeted on Friday. 'Your visit brought so many smiling faces to Uvalde. See you soon my friend.' Matthew McConaughey, center, is seen on Friday visiting Uvalde - his hometown McConaughey, 52, is seen arriving at the city of 16,000 people, where he grew up The actor did not address the press, but instead met privately with local people Earlier, Gonzalez shared photos of McConaughey in the school offices. 'Appreciate Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey helping us heal,' he said. 'This week was a solemn reminder that evil exists in the world, but we will never let it break us. 'We'll unite to be an even more powerful reminder that love never fails & together we can change things.' Gonzalez, a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, has previously tweeted with pride about blocking gun control measures. McConaughey's own views are more nuanced: while he was weighing up a run for governor, which he called off in November, he was diplomatic about his position. In March 2018, he addressed the gun control March For Our Lives in Austin, where he lives, and said he supported restrictions on who could buy firearms. A month later, McConaughey says he supports some gun control but fears the youth-led March For Our Lives movement could be 'hijacked' by those hoping to eliminate all guns in the United States. On Wednesday, McConaughey once again said there needed to be change. 'As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs,' the actor said. 'We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue. 'This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better.' Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, visits a memorial site in Uvalde, Texas on Thursday, to honor the victims killed in this week's elementary school shooting Meghan Markle places a bouquet of white roses at the memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse On Thursday, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made a visit to a different memorial site paying tribute to the victims. Meghan placed white flowers tied with a purple ribbon at a memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse. Living in California with her husband Prince Harry and their two children, she took the trip to Texas in a personal capacity as a mother to offer her condolences and support in person to a 'community experiencing unimaginable grief,' according to her spokesperson. Meghan left the flowers at the memorial and stood with her arms crossed while she looked at the memorials. Three civil servants allegedly lobbied Sue Gray to water down her Partygate report on the eve of its Wednesday publication by removing the names of key players and scrapping details of the ABBA flat gathering. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, Permanent Secretary at No 10 Samantha Jones, and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Alex Chisholm are understood to have put pressure on Gray to dilute her findings, according to the Sunday Times. Case's name was among those that they wanted to anonymise, according to sources. Elsewhere, there were said to be requests to change parts of the report that referred to Boris Johnson's wife, Carrie. Three civil servants allegedly lobbied Sue Gray to water down her Partygate report on the eve of its Wednesday publication by removing the names of key players and scrapping details of the ABBA flat gathering Cabinet Secretary Simon Case (left), Permanent Secretary at No 10 Samantha Jones (centre), and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Alex Chisholm (right) are understood to have put pressure on Gray to dilute her findings The PM, his wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have all received fines for attending an event in June 2020 It comes amid growing claims of a cover-up regarding the illicit Whitehall bashes. The Partygate report revealed that Downing Street staff drank, fought and vomited their way through lockdown, knowingly breaking lockdown rules and taking steps to avoid being caught out. While the Prime Minister got off relatively lightly in the 37-page document, officials and aides were less fortunate. Ms Gray highlighted 12 occasions where they played hard and fast with the law, taste and decency. Up to 30 people are believed to have been contacted by Gray before the report was published and were told that she would name them - but ultimately, only half actually were. Ms Gray released pictures of the PM and Chancellor at Mr Johnson's birthday party. The PM is shown with a beer in his hand Among the text changes that were made - according to sources who saw the draft report prior to it being published - were details of an alleged 'ABBA night' party in Johnson's flat on November 13, 2020. The PM was accused of attending a party with loud ABBA music in the No 11 flat he shared with his family, to celebrate the ousting of Lee Cain - his departing director of communications - and Dominic Cummings. If there was an election tomorrow, Tories would lose 85 out of 88 battleground seats including Boriss own Polling company YouGov produced new modelling which suggested the Conservatives would lose all but three of 88 'battleground' constituencies if a general election were held on Saturday, putting Mr Johnson's majority in jeopardy. The predicted outcome would see Mr Johnson's own Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat 'likely fall' into Labour hands and Red Wall seats such as Blyth Valley and Stoke-on-Trent North also revert back to Sir Keir Starmer's opposition outfit. Only Ashfield, Bassetlaw, and Dudley North would remain blue, according to YouGov. Source: YouGov Advertisement But Ms Gray described the event as 'a meeting ...to discuss the handling of their departure' and revealed she did not seek to probe it in great detail. 'Five special advisers attended. The Prime Minister joined them at about 20.00. Food and alcohol were available,' she said. 'The discussion carried on later into the evening with attendees leaving at various points. The information collected on this gathering is limited as the process of obtaining evidence had only just been commenced when the Metropolitan Police announced their own investigations, which included events on the 13 November 2020. 'At this point I stopped my investigation, given the need to avoid any prejudice to the police investigation. 'Following the Metropolitan Police announcement on 19 May 2022 I considered whether or not to conduct any further investigation into this event but concluded it was not appropriate or proportionate to do so.' Meanwhile, David Davis said this week that discontent was spreading through the Conservative party due to MPs fearing the controversy around the Downing Street lockdown parties as two more Tory MPs called for Mr Johnson to quit. The former cabinet minister, 73, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Nobody in the world could have made it plainer, I don't think, that I want the Prime Minister to go - I haven't changed my mind about that.' Asked whether discontent was spreading in the Tory party, Mr Davis said: 'There is no doubt about that, for two reasons. 'Number one, frankly they see their own seats disappearing in many cases, they see themselves losing the next election on the back of this. 'Also, it has a bad effect on the country ... it is a distraction on everything you do and it doesn't help the reputation of the country.' The former Brexit secretary said party leadership trouble traditionally took a 'long time' to be sorted out, pointing to the length of time Sir John Major and Theresa May stayed in No 10 despite experiencing backbench revolt. He added: 'I fear we'll not resolve this until the latter part of the year.' Veteran Conservative Sir Bob Neill and 2019 entrant Alicia Kearns both voiced their dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister's insistence that he had not broken coronavirus rules by attending leaving-dos for departing officials. Sir Bob, a qualified barrister and chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, confirmed he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson's premiership following the publication of Sue Gray's report into Downing Street partying. David Davis (pictured) said discontent was spreading through the Conservative party due to MPs fearing the controversy around the Downing Street lockdown parties Ms Kearns said the senior civil servant's inquiry demonstrated that Mr Johnson had been 'complicit in the holding of many goodbye parties for his staff' which the backbencher said 'displayed a complete disregard' for Covid restrictions in place at the time. The Rutland and Melton MP said she had reached the conclusion that the 'Prime Minister's account of events to Parliament was misleading'. When reports of lockdown breaches at the top of Government first surfaced, Mr Johnson repeatedly told the Commons coronavirus rules had been adhered to in Downing Street. In her report, Ms Gray found the Prime Minister - who was slapped with a fine by police for attending his own birthday bash in June 2020 when indoor mixing was forbidden - attended a number of leaving-dos in No 10 during the lockdown months in England, often giving speeches about departing officials. But he has insisted these were work events - a conclusion he said was backed up by the Metropolitan Police opting not to fine him for being present at such gatherings - which only became raucous after he left, with Ms Gray detailing excessive drinking and altercations at one such gathering. ISLAMABAD, May 29 (Xinhua) -- On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, Pakistan reiterated its commitment to continuing working with the UN for advancing the shared ideals of peace, stability and cooperation, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday. Pakistan joined the international community in celebrating the special day and reaffirmed the commitment to ensuring that peacekeeping remains an effective mechanism for the maintenance of international peace and security under the UN auspices, the ministry said in a statement. "As one of the top troop-contributing countries, Pakistan deeply values the vital role played by 'blue helmets' in maintaining security and stability in many conflict-ridden areas around the world," said the ministry. Since 1960, over 200,000 Pakistani service men and women have served with honor and valor on 46 UN Missions on almost all continents of the world, it said. "169 of our bravest peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty for the cause of international peace and security," said the ministry. Pakistani female peacekeepers have been providing assistance in conflict and post-conflict situations, the ministry said, adding that a team of the country's officers is serving as the first all-female group from Pakistan on a UN peacekeeping mission, deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pakistan's contribution to peacekeeping on the ground has also been recognized by its sustained engagement in policy development in peacekeeping and peacebuilding, according to the ministry. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed on May 29 every year. Failed Labor candidate Kristina Keneally still refuses to take any blame for her humiliating loss, despite Anthony Albanese admitting 'the community sent a message'. Ms Keneally was the NSW premier who in 2011 led Labor into one of its biggest ever losses at a state election. A decade later she turned the south-western Sydney seat of Fowler from a 28 per cent Labor majority in the 2019 election into a five per cent loss to independent Dai Le last Saturday. But she said her being parachuted in from 70km away on the posh Scotland Island had nothing to do with losing the seat that could cost Labor majority government. Instead, the woman Mr Albanese calls his Sam Burgess (after the former South Sydney rugby league player), for her toughness, blamed Covid lockdowns and anything but herself. Ms Keneally also explained her resilience came from losing a child to stillbirth more than two decades ago. A sombre looking Kristina Keneally has been spotted collecting groceries from a boat on the island she calls home after her failed bid to win a seat at the election last weekend Kristina Keneally (left) the former NSW premier, who was beaten by independent Vietnamese-Australian Dai Le in the western Sydney seat of Fowler, was one of the most high-profile failures among those seeking a lower house seat at the election Despite claiming she would always live in the battler seat she was parachuted into, Ms Keneally days later left apartment she rented in Liverpool in southwest Sydney during the campaign and moved back to her lush mansion on the northern beaches. Ms Keneally blamed her loss on lockdowns and vaccine mandates, despite Labor having nothing to do with them, not being in state or federal government at the time. 'There was an understandable sense of anger at both major parties, with people reacting with "a pox on both your houses",' she said in a Q&A with the Sydney Morning Herald after calling the newspaper to explain her loss. However, Labor or the Liberals won every other western Sydney seat with no others falling to independents - unlike the inner-city where 'teal' independents triumphed. The former senator also tried to blame billionaire businessman Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the $100 million he spent on advertising. Dressed in a dark jacket and trousers with a red t-shirt, Kristina Keneally is pictured carrying groceries to her island home on Sydney's northern beaches After collecting her groceries Ms Keneally was seen chatting to an unidentified man 'When pre-polling started, the number of people who only took the UAP how-to-vote cards seemed unnaturally high to me,' she said. UAP got only 1,193 more first preference votes in Fowler in 2022 than it did in 2019 - nowhere near enough to overturn Labor's previous 23,416 vote majority. The American born, raised, and educated Ms Keneally also blamed being up against 'a strong independent candidate', Ms Le. She was selected to run by Labor's top brass, including Mr Albanese, over another local Vietnamese-Australian, lawyer Tu Le, who was the the choice of local ALP members. More than 15 per cent of the population of Fowler was born in Vietnam, and another 45 per cent were also born overseas, including Iraq, Cambodia, China and India. Ms Keneally also blamed an 'understandable sense of parochialism that the community had', for her loss. Ms Keneally's groceries were brought to Scotland Island by boat and unloaded onto a jetty Kristina Keneally (centre) is pictured campaigning in the seat of Fowler, which opponent Dai Le won with a huge swing against Labor Fowler is one of Australia's most multicultural communities, with 81.8 per cent of the population having one or both parents born overseas. But Labor's candidate was a wealthy, American-born white woman who lived an hour away before being parachuted in to run for the seat. 'A lot of Labor voters were so angry with the fact that the Labor Party was arrogant enough to think that they can parachute somebody from the northern beaches to represent us,' Fowler's new MP Dai Le, who is not related to Tu Le, said. Former Labor senator Graham Richardson said on election night that Ms Keneally was 'like an alien walking around the Fairfield shops in a $2,000 dress'. Mr Albanese on Sunday admitted Labor had to accept the outcome in Fowler, but also 'have to learn from' it. 'Of course, you have to learn lessons from an outcome like that. And I think the lessons are very clear that the community sent a message,' he told Sky News. 'Kristina Keneally is a big loss to our team. She was a valued friend. She was the deputy Senate leader and it is a loss, but you have to accept outcomes in democratic processes, but you also have to learn from them.' Vietnamese-born lawyer Tu Le (right) was originally set to win pre-selection for Fowler. Ms Le was a former staffer of Mr Hayes and received his backing as the Labor candidate. (Pictured with Anthony Albanese) Kristina Keneally is pictured cleaning her front balcony in an orange t-shirt, having removed her jacket Ms Keneally said on election night, her 'major fear... was that I would lose Fowler and that would be responsible for the ALP not winning government, so when that didn't materialise, it helped'. Her loss didn't lose Labor the election, but with 75 seats and still needing one more for a majority of 76, she may have cost it the chance to rule without needing Greens or independent votes in the lower house. Ms Keneally said though the loss of the safe Labor seat hurt, it didn't come close to the loss of a child. 'The greatest loss in my life was when my daughter Caroline was still-born in 1999, the single most defining moment in my life. Thats when I felt searing pain, not this...' she said. 'If you can survive giving birth to your dead child and burying her, you can pretty much survive anything.' She said the day after the election, she and her husband went to the cemetery to Caroline's grave. The couple normally goes every month on the 18th because she was born on June 18, but she was unable to go for the past few months because of the campaign. The senator conceded on Sunday before she congratulated Ms Le on her victory in a tweet. Several users on the platform noticed the carefully-worded tweet focused the loss of Fowler on the party rather than Ms Keneally herself She also denied being mean to the late Labor senator, Kimberley Kitching, who died suddenly in March, aged 52. Ms Keneally and fellow Labor senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher were branded as 'mean girls', with claims their treatment of Ms Kitching contributed to her death. But Ms Keneally said she shed tears for Ms Kitching, who she sat next to for 18 months in the Senate. 'I always described her as "good bad company". It means she was great fun to be with but you always knew you were flirting with a bit of danger and intrigue... She was incredibly smart, and a wickedly clever political operator. I respected her.' Ms Keneally was also unable to admit her loss in a stinging tweet last Sunday, instead declaring it was Labor that couldn't claim the seat, before she congratulated Ms Le on her victory. 'At the end of today, it seems that Labor will not claim victory in Fowler,' she wrote. 'I congratulate Dai Le and wish her well. Thank you to the people who voted Labor & the volunteers on our campaign.' Ms Keneally concluded her concession tweet by congratulating newly-appointed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Labor party and telling her followers a 'better future for Australia lies ahead'. Several users on the platform noticed the carefully-worded tweet focused on the loss of Fowler on the party, rather than Ms Keneally herself. 'In the end, Kristina Keneally is to blame for losing the super safe heartland Labor seat of #Fowler,' tweeted journalist Troy Bramston, who penned a piece in The Australian on the debacle. 'But in true Keneally style, she is not to blame, only Labor is - 'Labor will not claim victory' ' The political journalist later told Sky News Australia that it was ultimately a 'terrible decision' from Labor. 'You can't just parachute someone from the northern suburbs of Sydney to western Sydney,' he said. 'It's a lesson for Labor too; don't take constituencies for granted.' Labor's Katy Gallagher (left) and Kristina Keneally (centre) listen to Penny Wong (centre) as senators paid tribute to the late Senator Kimberley Kitching on Monday, March 28, 2022 Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (pictured) died suddenly, aged 52, in March, just before the federal election campaign started Ms Keneally quickly moved back to her mansion on Scotland Island after the election, a luxury enclave only accessible by boat on Sydney's northern beaches. She looked sombre when spotted collecting groceries from a boat on Saturday and doing some weekend cleaning on the exclusive island she calls home. Ms Keneally was alone as she picked up a cardboard box and two full plastic shopping bags - including one from Aldi - at a jetty on Scotland Island at Pittwater on Saturday. Dressed in a dark jacket and trousers with an orange t-shirt, Ms Keneally carried her haul of groceries back to her house, a three-storey, waterfront property surrounded by dense foliage. Later Ms Keneally was seen chatting to an unidentified man and cleaning her front balcony in the orange shirt, having removed her jacket. Australia is fighting to stop up to 10 Pacific island nations signing security deals with China after the Solomon Islands' controversial pact with Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in the Solomon Islands this week to commence a 10-day tour of the Pacific, where he is pushing a regional security deal on behalf of his government. During the trip, which includes visits to PNG, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and East Timor, Wang has been spruiking the potential for China to provide high-level police training and security and data co-operation across the region. Australia is battling to stop up to ten Pacific nations from signing deals with China after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (left) made a security pact with Beijing The excursion proved fruitful, with Samoa on Tuesday announcing it struck three agreements with China including one featuring 'economic and technical co-operation', The Age reports. In response, Australia is racing to strengthen its relations with Pacific neighbours amid fears China may secure a massive military foothold within the region if further alliances are forged. On Friday, Australia's new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, touched down in Fiji where she pleaded with Pacific nations to consider the 'consequences' of accepting security offers from Beijing. Meanwhile, more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel will be sent to Papua New Guinea in coming months to help the country with its national election in July. The nation had election troubles in the past, including violent clashes and concerns of rigged results. The Defence Department said Australia would support the campaign at the request of the PNG Government by supplying air force, army and cyber personnel. They will assist with logistics and planning, including air lifts to help distribute and collect votes. Australia has also sent about 90 troops to PNG since March to take part in joint military activities, with more to be deployed in coming months to help with infantry skills and operations. In another recently signed agreement, Australia pledged to help the country better detect and fight cyber attacks by sharing information and assisting in the training of PNG cyber experts. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets with Henry Puna, the Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum, on May 26, in Suva, Fiji The Foreign Affairs Department said the 'number, type and sophistication' of cybersecurity threats to Australia and the region was rising. 'A variety of cyber-enabled means such as cybersecurity incidents and misinformation or disinformation campaigns can represent potential threats,' it said. 'We must engage internationally to advance and protect our shared interests.' Mr Wang on Friday warned the US and Australian attempts to prevent China's security plans for the pacific were 'doomed to failure'. Speaking in Fiji on the same day, Senator Wong implored the country to refrain from forming ties with China. 'We want to be a partner of choice and demonstrate to your nation and other nations in the region that we are a partner who can be trusted and reliable, and historically we have been,' she told reporters on Friday. 'We have expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement between the Solomon Islands and China and the reason why is because we have, as do other Pacific nations, we think there are consequences.' More than 100 ADF troops will be sent to Papua New Guinea to help with the country's upcoming election and to participate in joint operations However, Senator Wong said the visit from the Chinese minister did not influence Australia's decision to visit Fiji in the wake of Labor's election victory. 'I was very keen to come to the Pacific as soon as I became foreign minister, this is my first bilateral visit,' she said. 'I wanted to come back here because it is important to underline and emphasise the importance of our provided partnership and the importance of the Pacific family.' Earlier in the visit, Senator Wong used a speech to stress Australia was listening to the concerns of Pacific nations, particularly on climate change. The foreign minister said there had been a lost decade on climate change action under the previous coalition government and she was determined to make up for it. Senator Wong said the major security decisions in the region needed to be decided by countries in the area. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa attended an agreements signing ceremony this week 'It is for Pacific nations to make their own decisions about who they want to partner with and in which areas, and we respect that,' she said. 'We want to work with you on your priorities and as part of the Pacific family.' Concerns about China's influence in the region have been growing since Beijing signed a security pact with Honiara in April. There are fears the alliance will enable China to build a military base in the Pacific, less than 2,000km from Australia's east coast. Both Solomon Islands and Chinese governments have denied plans for a base to be built, with Mr Wang reiterating the claims again this week. '[The deal is] above board, with honesty and integrity,' he told a news conference after meeting with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister, Jeremiah Manele. 'It is not imposed on anyone, nor is it targeted at any third party.' A second man has been charged with the alleged murder of a young woman who was shot in the head and left to die outside a hospital. Feebie McIntosh, 25, was rushed by car to Caloundra Base Hospital after she was allegedly shot in the head about 9.30am on Friday. Hours later, Bradley Ian Cotten, 30, from Narangba, was arrested 22km away after police swooped on a suburban road in Sippy Downs and charged him with murder. A second 30-year-old man from Wurtulla a suburb of Kawana Waters on the Sunshine Coast has also been charged with murder. Feebie McIntosh was rushed by car to Caloundra Base Hospital on the Sunshine Coast after Bradley Cotten allegedly shot her in the head about 9.30am on Friday. She died at the hospital Feebie McIntosh, 25, had found love again with Mitch White, 30, (pictured together) who is currently serving a jail sentence and was behind bars when she was shot Queensland police charged Bradley Ian Cotten with the murder of Feebie McIntosh, 25, at Dicky Beach on Friday morning, arresting him at Sippy Downs that afternoon Police also charged the second man with unlawful possession of a category A weapon, two counts of drug possession, and one count each of possession of tainted property, dangerous driving and unlicensed driving. They were both denied bail. Cotten is understood to have been known to Ms McIntosh before the she was gunned down. They were friends on social media but were not in a relationship. Police believe the shooting happened during 'a disturbance' in Coolum Street in sleepy Dicky Beach at the home of a woman who Cotton and Ms McIntosh were visiting. 'However, preliminary investigations suggest this is not a domestic-related incident,' police said. Ms McIntosh was dropped off at the hospital door by a 58 year old man who police say was known to her, but died shortly afterwards. Just days earlier, Ms McIntosh's boyfriend proposed to her in a touching love letter. Her murder prompted heartbroken tributes on social media from friends. It's the final chapter in her short life after her previous boyfriend died suddenly two years ago, on May 22, 2020, aged 22. Just before Christmas in 2018 Jack Thomsen posted a blissful photo with Ms McIntosh captioned 'forever my happiness'. Just before Christmas in 2018 Jack Thomsen posted a blissful photo with Feebie McIntosh captioned 'forever my happiness' In December last Feebie McIntosh (pictured right) sat by ex-lover Jack Thomsen's grave and later posted a tribute to him, 'I honestly would give the world just to be able to see you and hear your voice just one last time' In December last Ms McIntosh sat by his grave and later posted a tribute to him, 'I honestly would give the world just to be able to see you and hear your voice just one last time.' Less than a week ago, Mr Thomsen's mother posted a heart-breaking tribute to her son: 'You left this world without a good bye or a reason why. I miss you every day.' Ms McIntosh found love again when she began dating current boyfriend Mitch White in September 2021. White was serving a prison sentence when Ms McIntosh was shot and killed. Before he went to jail he posted a loving message to her describing how he liked the person he was becoming with her. 'I can't get enough of you and the person I've become being with you,' he wrote. She posted a photo of the heartfelt letter White, 31, wrote to her alongside a word search puzzle which spelled out the question 'Feebie will you marry me?' Feebie McIntosh's (right) just weeks ago got engaged to Mitch White (left) who was serving a jail sentence when when she was shot Mitch White was incarcerated at the high security Borallon Training and Correctional Centre in Ipswich 'You're the most sweetest man ever and the best part is, you're all mine!,' Ms McIntosh captioned the post. White has been incarcerated at the high security Borallon Training and Correctional Centre in Ipswich. His crime is unknown. Hundreds of gut-wrenching tributes to Ms McIntosh have continued throughout the weekend. On Saturday one of her girlfriends posted, 'Be free my girl. Your fight is over. You battle is won. Your war is done. Find your way home baby.' In a touching post Feebie McIntosh shared the heartfelt letter (above) and puzzle in which her partner Mitch White proposed to her Ms McIntosh was remembered as a caring friend by many. Devastated loved ones began sharing tributes to Ms McIntosh who was 'taken way too young'. '20 years of memories, good times and constant laughter,' one friend shared. 'Your laughter and smile would light a room up. I have so much to say and I don't know how to put it all in words. Feebie McIntosh (above) was dropped off at Caloundra Base Hospital at about 9.30am on Friday by a 58-year-old man known to her who is now voluntarily assisting police inquiries Hundreds of tributes poured onto social media for the 'kind and funny' Feebie McIntosh 'I'm so beyond gutted that you grew wings early. I still remember sitting in class in Year One when we became friends. 'Dancing in the rain after school on our way home. Talking about our crushes and planning our weekends. 'You were one friend that always put a smile on my face. I'm going to miss you so much, this is so painful to write. Fly high babe, this isn't goodbye. But until next time. 'Love you always Feebs.' Police have established a forensic crime scene (above) at a Sunshine Coast home after 25-year-old Feebie McIntosh died from an alleged gunshot wound to her head 'I can't believe you're gone, you had such a good soul,' another person wrote. Police arrested Cotten, 30, at 3.30pm on Friday after intercepting his vehicle on Fitzwilliam Street at Sippy Downs. The Narangba man was denied bail in Maroochydore Magistrates Court and is due to appear again on July 29. The second man was also denied bail and will front Maroochydore Magistrate's Court on Monday. A grieving father has called for the resignation of an NHS boss after a report exposed a string of failings that meant his seven-year-old daughters mentally ill killer was free to roam the streets. Mark Jones said he was appalled by the findings of an independent review that ruled staff at Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust did not understand the threat posed by Eltiona Skana. The 126-page report, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals Skana was having psychotic episodes and may have tried but failed to get medical help just two days before she killed Mr Joness daughter, Emily, in 2020. Emily with her father Mark Jones who is blaming the poor mental health treatment Eltiona Skana received at Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust for the murder of his daughter Last night Mr Jones urged Neil Thwaite, the trusts chief executive who enjoys a pay package of about 380,000 a year, to take responsibility and resign. He said: The more information I have, the worse the whole treatment plan for this woman looks. This has been incredibly difficult and upsetting to learn. Skana, 32, an Albanian who entered the UK illegally in 2014, grabbed Emily as she rode her scooter in a park in Bolton on Mothers Day and slashed her throat with a craft knife. NHS bosses ordered an investigation after the MoS exposed a catalogue of failings into her care, including how staff knew Skana had previously threatened a 13-year-old girl while possibly armed with a knife yet had not included the incident in her risk assessment. Also, Skanas mental state was assessed only once in the three months before the attack, despite her previously wielding a knife and attacking her mother. Now an independent investigation has rubbished the trusts report into the tragedy which concluded that it could not have been prevented. We do not believe the report provides sufficient analysis to justify this conclusion, the review says, adding that the trusts understanding of risk concepts was poor. It states: The trusts policy placed too much emphasis on how a service user presented on any given day, rather than their underlying risk profile. An independent investigation has rubbished the trusts report into the tragedy and Mr Jones has called for Neil Thwaite (pictured) the trusts chief executive to resign over the failings Just 11 days before she killed Emily, Skana met her mental health nurse and lied that she was taking her medication but later admitted she was taking only half her prescribed dose and was having psychotic episodes. Skana also claimed to have had an appointment at Bentley House, the community mental health teams centre in Bolton, two days before she killed Emily, but did not get seen. The trust said it had no evidence of the visit, but the report concluded it is possible that Skana tried to get help. Mr Jones added: No one from the trust has been held accountable. It is time for the trusts chief executive to take responsibility and resign. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said: The recommendations in the report will be actioned as a highest priority, and regularly reviewed. A children's charity supported by a string of celebrities has been fiercely criticised by a coroner over the death of a vulnerable boy in its care. Five-year-old Connor Wellsted died alone at The Childrens Trust centre in Tadworth, Surrey, after getting trapped in a faulty cot. An inquest found that his airway had been obstructed when his neck became stuck between the side of the cot and a padded board that had not been fastened tightly. The Trust, which counts David Walliams, Holly Valance and former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond among its high-profile ambassadors, has now been accused of a lack of transparency and failing to properly investigate the tragedy in May 2017. Surrey Deputy Coroner Karen Henderson has sent a prevention of future deaths report to Health Secretary Sajid Javid and the bosses of Englands main health authorities. In it, she wrote: The current senior management team have not acknowledged there was a lack of transparency and openness as to how Connor died, or that the Trust did not properly investigate his death or inform the relevant statutory bodies of the circumstances of his death. The Children's Trust, supported by a string of celebrities, has been fiercely criticised by a coroner over the death of vulnerable five-year-old Connor Wellsted (pictured) who died after getting trapped in a cot Dr Henderson said the cot in which Connor died was nine years old, had not had a yearly servicing for the previous five years and there was no guidance about how padded boards should have been attached to the cot. She added that Connors neck was wedged so firmly that force by either one or two nurses was required to free him. Dr Henderson concluded the police, coroners service, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy and the care home regulator, the Care Quality Commission, were not fully informed of the circumstances of his death and that the charity arguably misled the CQC about it. Although staff found Connor trapped in a sitting position, staff lay down his already stiff body. Dr Henderson complained that the scene had not been preserved and investigators were not told of the position Connor was found, that he had been dead for some time (likely hours) or that the padded board was initially found across his neck. Connor had suffered brain damage as a baby and was four weeks into a six-week stay for intensive rehabilitation therapy at the Trust when he died. He had lived with his foster parents, Barbara Harriott and Dr Shazia Noor, since he was six months old. Five-year-old Connor Wellsted died alone at The Childrens Trust centre in Tadworth, Surrey (pictured), after getting trapped in a faulty cot. An inquest found that his airway had been obstructed when his neck became stuck between the side of the cot and a padded board that had not been fastened tightly Condemning The Childrens Trust for what the couple view as an attempted cover-up, Dr Noor, a Sheffield-based GP, said: Connor was a boy with a future, a future he has been robbed of. Although he had a brain injury, hed made massive progress in the years he was with us. But he was taken from us in such a dreadful way. From the start, The Childrens Trust tried to make out hed died naturally. They moved his body because they wanted to present a situation where it seemed like hed just died in his sleep. Ms Harriott added: We were meticulous with his care, which is more than can be said for Tadworth. This wasnt just an unfortunate accident, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. When Ms Harriott was called in to Connors room minutes after he was found, she said she saw him lying in an unnatural position and as stiff as board. The Childrens Trust, which is partly funded by the NHS, denies any attempt at a cover-up, insists that it had willingly complied with all external investigations and says staff moved Connors body only to see if he was still alive. Its chief executive Dalton Leong said: While we are saddened by the coroners findings, we accept them and sincerely apologise. We strive for the highest possible standards and are committed to listening and responding to all feedback, even when it is difficult to hear. He said the charity was reviewing the report, adding: We are confident in the measures we have put in place over the five years since Connors death, including new beds and cots and changes to our overnight monitoring policy. Social media is polarising society and destroying the common narrative of the Christian story uniting Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury warned yesterday. Justin Welby criticised online platforms for giving people a very loud voice and creating colliding waves of opinions. The Archbishop, who has 173,000 Twitter followers, said social media had led to the erosion of shared experiences. People dont know the narratives and the stories of the Christian faith the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep, he added. Justin Welby criticised online platforms for giving people a very loud voice and creating colliding waves of opinions When you lose those cultural signposts, people rely on gut feeling and it doesnt really work. There isnt a common narrative what are we as a country? What social media does is it gives a very loud voice to people who previously couldnt make their voice heard so it becomes much more evident. You get these waves going one way or another. But I think thats a symptom. I dont think its the disease. Dr Welby said he still believed there was a Christian narrative in Britain but lamented the rise of radical autonomy a societal trend of holding the self in the highest level of reverence. If youre in a society that is internally riven, you will behave less well to outsiders, he said in an interview with The Times. Were much more vulnerable. I think this is an incredibly fragile time, but also an incredibly hopeful time. The Archbishop extended his criticism to Twitter storms that have engulfed figures such as JK Rowling, who has been hounded for her views on gender identity. Its fine to disagree vehemently but not abusively The culture wars approach is where we end up in the greatest trouble, he said. Dr Welby entered the transgender debate himself, defining a woman as someone who is sexually a woman, who is born and identifies as a woman or who has transitioned. He said there was a difference between how you identify a woman and how you ensure that trans people are valued and cared for in exactly the same way as every other human being. The archbishop added: Theyre not less, they have their particular challenges, every human being has their particular challenges. But we cant get away from the science. Weve got to start there. Dr Welby also defended his recent controversial comments on Partygate, when he said we need to rediscover good standards in public life, and the Governments plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying the policy raised serious ethical questions and cannot stand the judgment of God. He said: The idea that I shouldnt be political is a nonsense. Everyone is political You have to [stand up and be counted] everyone does. The killer mother of Baby P has been denied a new identity when she is released from jail - and will have to 'lose weight and dye her hair' to change her appearance. Tracey Connelly, who is now 40 and weighs more than 20stone, will be free within weeks after a judge refused Dominic Raab's attempt to block her release. Connelly was jailed for a minimum of five years in 2009, for causing or allowing the death of her tortured 17-month-old son Peter in a horrific case that shocked the nation. 'Tracey was fuming when she heard the news. It is very rare to give prisoners a new identity,' a prison source said, according to the Daily Star. Tracey Connelly - the killer mother of Baby P - has been denied a new identity when she is released from jail and will have to 'lose weight and dye her hair' to change her appearance. (She is pictured in 2013, when she was released on licence before being ordered back to jail) Connelly was jailed for a minimum of five years in 2009, for causing or allowing the death of her tortured 17-month-old son Peter in a horrific case that shocked the nation 'The prison officers managing her release have told her the best thing she could do to avoid attention would be to change her appearance by drastically losing weight and dyeing her hair,' they added. Connelly has also been told she won't have police protection, even though she is worried about being targeted by vigilantes. The move to release her sparked a furious row, with the Justice Secretary raging against the decision - saying it showed why the parole board 'needs a fundamental overhaul'. Connelly was released in 2013 but was recalled to prison in 2015 for selling naked photos of herself and breaching her licence conditions by 'developing intimate personal relationships' online. In March, the Parole Board announced she had been cleared for release due to a low risk of reoffending. But within hours Mr Raab vowed to block the move, describing the notorious case as 'harrowing'. Connelly was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London , on August 3, 2007 Connelly's lover Steven Barker (left) was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of 32 years for torturing the 17-month-old to death while his brother, Jason Owen (right), received a six-year jail sentence for allowing the toddler to die The evil mother will be subject to 20 licence conditions, including having to wear an electronic tag and disclose all her relationships. She will also have her Internet use monitored and be forced to obey a curfew. Known publicly as Baby P, Peter had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months. Connelly's lover Steven Barker was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of 32 years for torturing the 17-month-old to death while his brother, Jason Owen, received a six year jail sentence for allowing the toddler to die. A series of reviews identified missed opportunities for officials to save the toddler's life had they reacted properly to warning signs. A couple accidentally showed themselves having sex while attending a bat mitzvah on Zoom after forgetting to join the virtual ceremony with their audio only. The middle aged pair were filmed fondling and pleasuring one another while virtually attending the service at the Temple Beth El in Minneapolis on May 14, the New York Post reported. And shocked onlookers said the randy pair engaged in an extended sex session, which only ended when they finally spotted a private chat begging them to stop. 'It went on for about 45 minutes,' said one person who witnessed the couple hitting it on during the virtual religious service. 'She was walking around naked, she got dressed, she's in and out of the Zoom, he was in the bed, he whipped it out, she started going to work. Someone on the Zoom saw and called her and was like, ''WTF are you doing? You're on camera.'' She freaked out.' 'It was a Zoom for a bat mitzvah,' the person further said. 'Most people were not on camera except like, the old bubbes who don't know how to turn off their camera, and these two people. So the boxes were pretty big and everyone could see who was on camera.' There's no suggestion the pair are exhibitionists who deliberately broadcast themselves having sex to shock onlookers as part of a pandemic-era trend known as Zoom-bombing. HOLY MOLY: The embarrassing moment occurred over a Zoom call for a bat mitzvah in Minneapolis, Minnesota The woman appeared to be giving her man some pleasure for 45-minutes in front of other attendees on the virtual The couple freaked out after they were told that their camera had been on the entire time while they were having sex The raunchy couple have not been identified by the synagogue, according to the New York Post. 'I'm aware of the incident and won't be commenting on the details,' said Matt Walzer, who is the managing director of Temple Beth El. Zoom bombs and gaffes have become popular on social media since the COVID-19 pandemic, when workers worldwide relied on the video-calling platform to work from home. A Texas lawyer accidentally left a kitten filter on during a court hearing on Zoom in 2021, hilariously telling the judge 'I'm not a cat' as he frantically tried to remove the animated image. The amusing mishap happened to Presidio County attorney Rod Ponton during a live streamed hearing for the 394th Judicial District Court of Brewster. The video begins with presiding judge Roy Ferguson telling Ponton: 'I believe you have a filter turned on in video settings and you might want to turn it off.' Ponton is then heard letting out a panicked 'aghh', as the cat filter over his face begins shifting its eyes back-and-forth and moving its mouth in unison with his voice. 'Can you hear me judge,' the feline-emblazoned Ponto is heard asking, his voice quivering. Ferguson confirms that he can hear Ponton and reiterates that he believes he has a filter switched on. The hilarious 2021 Zoom bomb begins with presiding judge Roy Ferguson telling Ponton: 'I believe you have a filter turned on in video settings and you might want to turn it off' 'It is [a filter]', Ponton hastily interjects. 'And I dont know how to remove it. Ive got my assistant here, shes trying to, but ahhh Im prepared to go forward with it Im here live, Im not a cat.' Judge Ferguson later tweeted about this incident, writing: 'IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th.' He continued in a second post: 'These fun moments are a by-product of the legal profession's dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times. Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism all around!' Accidentally leaving a web or phone camera on while engaging in sexual activity on a Zoom is known as 'pulling a Toobin.' The expression is dedicated to CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with employees at the New Yorker in 2020 According to Urban Dictionary, accidentally leaving a web or phone camera on while engaging in sexual activity on a Zoom is known as 'pulling a Toobin.' The expression was named after CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who was caught masturbating on a live Zoom call with staff of the New Yorker in 2020. The magazine fired Toobin for inappropriate behavior but he was allowed back on-air by CNN after a brief suspension. A cleaner who murdered her elderly client texted her husband saying she was 'going to die' moments after the ferocious bashing and stabbing. Hanny Papanicolaou climbed the back fence of Marjorie Welsh's home in Ashbury, Sydney's inner-west, before attacking the vulnerable 92-year-old on January 2, 2019. The 39-year-old was found guilty of murder by the NSW Supreme Court in February before she was sentenced to 22 years with a non-parole period of 15 years on Friday. The court heard Papanicolaou sent her husband a series of texts after she beat Ms Welsh with her own walking sticks and stabbed her with a knife taken from a cutlery drawer in the kitchen. A cleaner (pictured, Hanny Papanicolaou) who murdered her elderly client texted her husband she was 'going to die' moments after the ferocious bashing and stabbing Marjorie Welsh (pictured), 92, died in hospital six weeks after being bashed and stabbed in her inner west Sydney home The court heard Papanicolaou sent her husband a series of texts after she beat Ms Welsh with her own walking sticks and stabbed her with a knife taken from a cutlery drawer in the kitchen 'Please, I'm going to die, I think it's better for me', one message read. Another one read: 'You'll never believe me anymore, please please. You will never you will not believe me forever. Better I die. Please take care of the kids, I'm sick with this life. Sorry, deep of my heart.' Justice Robertson Wright said the murder was 'unplanned and impulsive'. The court heard Papanicolaou was a gambler who intended to rob Ms Welsh when she broke into the property. Justice Wright said Papanicolaou had spent $430 on the pokies in just 15 minutes at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL before she then drove her car to the park behind Ms Welsh's house. 'After parking, Papanicolaou crossed the park and climbed over the back fence of Ms Welsh's property and into the backyard,' he said. 'The offender also hit Ms Welsh in the head, face, chest and arm with decorative ceramic bowls or plates which had been on display on shelves in Ms Welsh's kitchen,' Justice Wright said. 'Papanicolaou also stabbed Ms Welsh in the lower chest and abdomen about six times with a knife taken from the cutlery drawer in the kitchen during part of the attack.' Hanny Papanicolaou (pictured), 39, was jailed for 22 years for the brutal murder 'I am satisfied on all the evidence that the murder was unplanned and impulsive,' Justice Robertson Wright said on Friday (Pictured: Ms Welsh's home) Ms Welsh activated her medical alert necklace and Papanicolaou fled the scene before emergency services arrived at the house. The elderly woman was taken to hospital for emergency surgery before she died six weeks later. She gave two police interviews when in hospital, naming her assailant as 'Hanny the housekeeper' and describing the 'utterly ferocious' attack in detail. When asked if she could think of a reason for the attack, she replied: 'It would be a peace of mind if I could.' 'There are usually logical reasons for things that happen in this world, but I cannot see any logic in this.' The judge found Ms Papanicolaou was not suffering from a major depressive illness at the time, but did have some symptoms of depression and anxiety. Justice Robertson Wright found Ms Papanicolaou (pictured) had gone to the house with the intention of stealing from her employer, but later developed an intention to kill her 'The death was a great human tragedy especially for her family and for all others affected by this sad matter,' he said. Angela MacLeod, one of her two daughters, previously said their mother was someone who could achieve anything she wanted in life. 'Life wasn't always perfect for mum... but she was strong, intelligent, loving, protective, all those things that you'd want in a mum. We were always very proud of her,' she said. The judge said she was taken from her daughters and families in a way they found unthinkable and inexplicable. Vladimir Putin has reportedly been given warned he has just three to years to live as Russian intelligence sources become increasingly worried about their ailing leader. An FSB officer described the Russian president's condition as a 'severe form of rapidly progressing cancer', as speculation ramped up that Putin was suffering with some form of serious illness amid the invasion of Ukraine. The spy explained the wartime leader has 'no more than two to three years' left and he is also losing his sight, reports the Mirror. News of the Russian leader's terminal illness emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov. The message warned Putin is refusing to wear glasses over fears it would admit a form of weakness, and he is now lashing out at his subordinates with 'uncontrolled fury'. The developments come as news of his deteriorating health continues to leak out of Russia from a Telegram channel which claims to have sources inside the Kremlin. Putin reportedly underwent 'successful' cancer surgery this month and is recovering following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR. The news emerged just hours before Putin appeared on state TV meeting with ally Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, when he was caught on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks. It is the second time Putin has been filmed making the odd movement, which was caught on camera during a meeting with Tajikistan's president a week ago, and comes off the back of rumours that he is suffering Parkinson's. Rumours have been circling for years that Putin (pictured gripping table during a meeting last month) has health problems, and they have intensified since he launched invasion of Ukraine Other spooks have also hinted at the strongman's poor health condition, warning he was unable to maintain concentration for long periods of time without taking breaks 'for treatment' Emomali Rahmon appeared to notice the movement during his meeting with Putin and glanced at the leader's feet, though did not raise it in conversation. Critics have suggested the twisting motion could be an attempt to cover up the kind of involuntary twitches caused by Parkinson's - after Putin was seen shaking his arm and led before another meeting with Lukashenko on February 18. Since then, he has been seen to grip the arms of chairs and corners of tables in what some believe to be an effort to disguise any shaking. Other spooks have also hinted at the strongman's poor health condition, warning he was unable to maintain concentration for long periods of time without taking breaks 'for treatment'. Christopher Steele, a former MI6 Russia desk officer explained Putin was constantly monitored and accompanied by a team of doctors, as rumours of a new Kremlin succession plan continue to swirl. Whispers about Putin's health began at least two years ago when he was said to be suffering both Parkinson's and cancer, but have received renewed attention in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has not commented on the latest allegations of Putin's ill-health, but regularly denies he is suffering any kind of difficulties. General SVR wrote last week: 'On the night of Monday May 16 to Tuesday May 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin underwent a surgical operation. 'The fact that Putin should be operated on as soon as possible was insisted upon by his attending physicians. 'According to the doctors involved in the treatment of the President, the operation was successful. 'We have already talked about the fact that Putin was personally absent from the information space from May 17 to May 19 and was not available even to his inner circle, with the exception of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Top-ranking Russian officials are said to be plotting a government without Vladimir Putin (pictured) after Kremlin sources claimed the Russian President has turned almost everybody against him amid the invasion of Ukraine 'There are almost no people who are satisfied with Putin' among Kremlin officials and Russian elites, according to government sources cited by Meduza (Putin is pictured speaking with members of the Security Council last week) Oliver Stone, an American director who spent two years interviewing Putin for a documentary series, said last week that the Russian leader had cancer but beat it 'From May 17 to May 19, 'canned', pre-recorded meetings and messages were posted in the information space, and Putin personally held two telephone conversations during this time.' Amid news of his increasing isolation the Russian President has also seized control of the military operation in Ukraine, personally handing orders out to generals and struggling to delegate responsibilities. Meanwhile, the head of the main intelligence directorate of Ukraine's ministry of defence declared last week Putin is cutting himself off from close contact with his subordinates to avoid any assassination attempts. 'Looking at some of his manic syndromes, he is afraid to seriously prepare a successor, realising that in preparation, this successor may want to take the chair a little earlier than Putin himself wants,' Major General Kyrylo Budanov told Ukrainskaya Pravda. 'Therefore, he keeps everyone at a certain distance. And he believes that he will rule forever. But it will not be so.' Sir Dearlove told the One Decision podcast: 'I think (Putin) will be gone by 2023 - but probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as the leader of Russia' It comes as a former MI6 chief predicted Putin will be 'gone by 2023' due to health problems and will not re-emerge as the leader of Russia. With persistent rumours of serious ill health for the Russian strongman, one method of 'moving things on' without need for a violent coup would be to place him in a long term hospital for the incurably unwell, suggested Richard Dearlove. The various Russian systems of governance over the centuries have always been autocratic and have never been designed with transitions of power in mind. But now, with Russia facing military humiliation and economic catastrophe thoughts are turning inwardly in the Kremlin as to how to replace the man in power. These are the thoughts of Dearlove, who was speaking on the One Decision podcast which he co-hosts. 'I think he'll be gone by 2023 - but probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as the leader of Russia.' 'I'm not saying he won't emerge from the sanatorium, but he won't emerge as the leader of Russia any longer. 'That's a way to sort of move things on without a coup,' he concluded. A transgender murderer was caught having drunken sex with a female inmate, leading to an urgent investigation by prison bosses. Despite having male genitalia, the killer, 43, was permitted to serve their sentence at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey. The trans inmate allegedly got drunk on illegal home brew when they had sex with the younger prisoner in a cell, according to The Mirror. A prison source said: 'It's gone all the way to the governor. This inmate had free rein to move around, mingling with the other women, even though she had her functioning male parts.' A transgender murderer was caught having drunken sex with a female inmate, leading to an urgent investigation by prison bosses. Despite having male genitalia, the killer, 43, was permitted to serve their sentence at HMP Bronzefield, in Ashford, Surrey The police were not called. The trans inmate has since been moved 16 miles away to HMP Downview, also in Surrey, which has its own transgender wing. HMP Bronzefield has around 570 prisoners and is privately run by services giant Sodexo. It is described on its website as a 'dynamic and forward-thinking women's prison which accommodates a diverse and complex population of women'. The jail was once home to notorious female serial killers Rose West and Joanna Dennehy. More than 400 Welsh residents have been left 'shocked' and 'elated' after winning a share of 3.7 million. The 435 winners, who live in Rhymney, South Wales, scooped a share of the prize money through the People's Postcode Lottery. Nine neighbours from Pen-Y-Dre shared the largest portion of the prize after their postcode, NP22 5DL, was named as the full winning postcode. The 435 winners, who live in Rhymney, South Wales, scooped a share of the prize money Edward Owen, 76, who played with two tickets, won 370,000 while the other eight, each with one ticket, walked away with 185,000. Mr Owen, a retired steel worker, said he was 'elated' with his win said he will spend part of the money on a new car and a world cruise. 'You never expect to win this amount of money, I am absolutely elated,' Mr Owen said. 'I don't think they'll believe me when I tell them how much I've won.' Lisa Scanlon, 43, a quality control officer in a chocolate factory, scooped 185,000. She said: 'I really don't know what I'm going to do with my winnings. 'I'm always teased in my family about how sensible I am with my money, so I'll need to think of something exciting to spend it on, maybe a trip to the Maldives.' Matt Johnson is an ambassador for the People's Postcode Lottery and grew up nearby, and Lewis Lance, 68, and his partner Rose were delighted to welcome him to find out they had won 185,000. Mr Lance, who has lived in his house for more than 34 years, said he hopes to buy a bungalow with his winnings. 'I'm on cloud nine,' he said. 'We've been thinking for the last couple of years about buying a bungalow and now I definitely think we'll take the plunge and go for it.' Rose, an NHS worker, could not enjoy the celebrations for long as she had to head off for a shift, but said the win will 'help our whole family'. 'The last couple of years have been really tough and I've been working seven days a week, so this money has really come at a great time,' she said. 'We're going to have a big party to celebrate, and we'll spoil our children and grandchildren. This will help our whole family.' Gladys Kent, 72, another recipient of 185,000, said she is looking forward to buying some new slippers. Mrs Kent, a retired home help, said she also plans to get a new car with ramp access for her mobility scooter, a new three-piece suite and will take her whole family on a trip to Benidorm. 'It's my husband Gary's 75th birthday tomorrow so we'll have a big party with our three children and eight grandchildren, now we have even more reason to celebrate,' she said. Other winners who share the same postcode include David Price, 65, Mary Brooks, 62, and Raymond Jenkins, 73. A further 426 players in the postcode sector received cheques ranging from 3,894 to 11,682, depending on how many tickets they played with. Two other winners with the full postcode chose to remain anonymous. A rail boss tasked with convincing commuters to get back to the office is still mainly working from home. Jacqueline Starr, 50, who earns 270,000 a year as chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), travels to its office at the Barbican in London only twice a week. For the remainder, she usually works from her Somerset home. RDG ran a campaign this year under the slogan Lets get back on track telling commuters that working in the office helped the economy. Commuters have been encouraged to return to the office, making train stations busier An Association of British Commuters spokesman described her arrangement as blatant hypocrisy and an example of the growing inequality in public transport where those who can, work from home; and those who cant, are forced to pay ever more extortionate rail fares. A spokesman for RDG told The Sunday Telegraph that Ms Starrs work arrangement was consistent with both her role and her personal travel arrangements. A scandal-hit NYPD rookie has been suspended over claims she interfered in her brother-in-law's drink driving arrest - just five months after she was filmed giving a married colleague a lap dance. Officer Vera Mekuli, 27, has been suspended after being accused of interfering with the arrest of her brother-in-law in New Jersey on May 8. Mekuli's brother-in-law, who wasn't named, was arrested by New Jersey State Police for allegedly peeing by the side of the road, reports The New York Daily News. And that is said to have prompted Mekuli to storm into a nearby station barefoot early the next morning, where she allegedly announced she was a police officer, and demanded to know why her brother-in-law had been arrested. Her alleged antics saw her suspended without pay on May 27. Officials have not said how long the suspension will last. NYPD cop Vera Mekuli, pictured, has been suspended over claims she meddled in the arrest of her brother-in-law after he was allegedly caught peeing at the side of the road while driving drunk Mekuli was suspended without pay on May 27. Officials have not said how long the suspension will last Mekuli became a viral sensation in December 2021 when a video of her giving a lap dance to a married superior officer at a holiday party Mekuli is accused of showing up in a dress and bare feet to complain about her brother-in-law's arrest here at the New Jersey State Police Barracks in Totowa In the early hours of May 8, Mekuli showed up at the state police barracks in Totowa clad in a dress and barefoot. According to the report, Mekuli wanted to know why officers the arrest had occurred. When Mekuli was confronted with the reasons for the detention, the officer started to record officers on her phone. The Daily News quotes a report as saying: 'Officer Mekuli immediately began to question the validity of the arrest.' Mekuli became a police officer with the NYPD in February 2021 An investigation into the state troopers arrest of her brother-in-law found no wrong doing Mekuli was told by an officer that the department had 'procedures to follow.' She is described as becoming 'irate' and demanding to speak to a lieutenant, reports The New York Post. She allegedly told the state police: 'You guys are talking out of your ass; none of this was done correctly.' Mekuli did not file an official complaint at the time but someone she was with filed a report with the New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards. That investigation found no wrongdoing by the officers. Mekuli's lap dancer recipient Lt. McGarry lives in the city's northern suburbs with his wife, Melissa, and their kids A source told the New York Post McGarry, left, knew he 'f***** up' after the video of the lap dance went viral. His wife Melissa lunged at a reporter outside of their house following the news of his risque dance The 44th Precinct's annual holiday party charged $75 per person, and had a DJ and open bar An investigation was launched by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau into Mekuli's antics. That investigation is using the state police body cameras that were worn during the incident, according to The Post. Mekuli is an officer with the 44th Precinct in The Bronx. She became a cop in February 2021 and is on probationary status. When the video of Mekuli straddling her superior officer, Lt. Nick McGarry, went viral, McGarry was reassigned to the transit police. The video showed Mekuli in a black top, plaid miniskirt and knee-high boots grinding her backside on McGarry's lap as he sits in a chair and holds onto her thighs. Mekulih later apologized to McGarry's wife, Melissa, after the lap dance that occurred at Rory Dolan's bar in Yonkers on December 15 Mekuli also revealed she's been working from home since the story emerged - and angrily told of how she's felt 'judged' over the incident, which she says has been fueled by misogyny. 'I want to apologize the lieutenant's wife, you know, I am sorry, truly I am,' she said in a video obtained by TMZ. 'I hope it didn't cause too much damage in the marriage or in your personal life. 'I know it's been rough,' she continued. 'It wasn't meant to be like this, I really had no knowledge of your marriage.' She claimed it was supposed to be for 's**ts and giggles' and that 'everyone had been having drinks,' but it has led to embarrassment. The cop is now 'working from home' this week. 'There's a lot of judgment and shame that shouldn't be there, even though there's a lot of support.' McGarry didn't look so happy on Tuesday when he was spotted outside his home in New Windsor, New York, shortly after the lap dance video went viral Lt. Nick McGarry was filmed smiling as a scantily-clad rookie officer gyrated on him Mekuli also said that the 'mile of area' that her precinct patrols made her worry that people will recognize her and go: 'Oh, that's the girl, she gave the lap dance.' 'My work me, my work self, and the off duty are two different people. I can still patrol and police the streets like I used to and the way anyone can. I feel like I shouldn't be judged or anything of that sort because of a lap dance off duty, not in uniform.' She also claimed she was judged harsher because she was a 'woman' and 'not a man,' and that her 'rookie' status also played a role. She claimed that if she was a man 'it would have been more of a joking matter and remained in-house.' In another video, the rookie cop turns around to face McGarry and straddles the 44th precinct commander as he grabs her by the waist. In the video one onlooker yelled 'Oh my God,' and another appeared to hand the lieutenant a wad of cash McGarry was reportedly reassigned to serve in Transit District 12 in the Bronx after the tawdry video surfaced In the video, Mekuli appears carefree as she throws her hands in the air and dances on her superior to cheers from the crowd. One onlooker, meanwhile, yelled 'Oh my God,' and another appeared to hand the lieutenant a wad of cash. In a different scene, she grinds on a different man, who is bent over and facing the floor. NYPD brass wasted no time in disciplining McGarry, who has been with the NYPD since 2010. He was reportedly reassigned to serve in Transit District 12 in the Bronx after the tawdry video surfaced. An unnamed source told the New York Post in the aftermath that he 'knows he f***** up.' 'Messing with your subordinate is a no-no on the job,' the source said, adding that the rookie cop 'doesn't know any better because she just came on the job. 'I can't even tell you how many times they tell incoming supervisors that,' he said, noting: 'It sets a bad precedent.' Following the news of Mekuli's raunchy encounter with her boss, her father said she has been crying over the ordeal - and he now plans to sue. The rookie's dad told the Post on Monday that his daughter told him: 'Daddy, I made some mistake. I'm very embarrassed about what I did. I embarrassed you and my family.' The father said his daughter is 'frustrated' over the incident. 'She cried and cried,' he said. 'She is young. She doesn't know how but he is married, the lieutenant. He should know better. 'I am going to sue them.' There was further drama on Monday when Melissa McGarry yelled at a New York Post reporter and photographer outside the house in New Windsor, screaming 'F*** you!' at them as she was restrained by her husband. 'It's not worth it, get back in the car,' the lieutenant told his fuming wife as she continued her rant. Melissa McGarry told the press members: 'There are other things to worry about in this world!' As the couple drove away, Melissa McGarry took her hands off the steering wheel and flipped the bird to the reporter with both hands, screaming: 'F*** you! F*** you! F*** you!' Advertisement It's been 70 years on the throne for Her Majesty The Queen, who has seen far more highs, lows, and everything in-between than any other world leader or monarch. Since ascending the throne in 1953, Queen Elizabeth has seen 14 prime ministers run the country and has kept approximately 30 Corgis in her lifetime. From fundraising attempts to fix Windsor Castle after its fire in 1992, whereby the royal family welcomed the public into Buckingham Palace to make cash, to the 20,000 birthday cards the Queen received on her 80th birthday in 2006, there has been plenty of notable moments during the 70-year reign of Elizabeth Windsor. Here, the Mail's legendary cartoonist Mac takes you on a trip down memory lane to look back on some of the highs and lows of the Monarchy ahead of next weekend's celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee... August 1993: Buckingham Palace opened to the public for first time in history to raise funds to repair Windsor Castle after the fire at the royal residence on 20 November 1992 February 1996: Royal security is stepped up in February 1996 following anthrax scares in the US, where letters laced with anthrax began appearing in letters soon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 November 2000: The Queen had been photographed wringing the neck of an injured bird at Sandringham while on a hunting holiday, causing outrage amongst animal rights groups November 2002: Palace staff were accused of selling off Royal treasures. Mac's cartoon shows a staff member asking the Queen: 'A chippendale table, ma'am? Are you sure? I don't remember a table being there.' April 2006: On her 80th birthday, the Queen reportedly received 20,000 cards from wellwishers, as well as another 17,000 emails sending their Happy Birthday messages June 2006: The Royal Family's annual cost to the taxpayers hits 37million. Republicans called for royal spending to be overhauled while officials insisted that the money was spent on official overseas trips and palace maintenance January 2007: British film The Queen sweeps the board at the Golden Globes. Helen Mirren starred as Her Majesty, with the film bringing home four awards March 2011L It was reported that Sarah Ferguson accepted 15,000 from late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to help settle her debts May 2013: Her Majesty was reportedly unhappy over key measures contained in the Queen's Speech. The Queen, pictured by Mac dressed as a clown, in protest of the speech December 2016: The BBC reported claims that in the run up to the EU referendum, the Queen backed Brexit, causing one of the biggest rows of the referendum campaign, leading to a successful complaint to press regulator Ipso by Buckingham Palace, which said it was 'misleading' November 2017: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement. The pair married in May 2018 and have since had two children, Archie and Lilibet An Airbnb owner harassed one of his guests and told her to 'burn in hell' after she left a review saying his guesthouse was 'just OK'. David Penman, 54, sent a series of emails to the woman and left a vile message on her answering machine in May 2021. The woman stayed at his award-winning guesthouse The Clifftop in Hepburn, central Victoria, which was 'crowned No.1 from 55,000 rental homes'. The woman had stayed at his award-winning guesthouse known as the Clifftop in Hepburn, central Victoria, which was 'crowned No.1 from 55,000 rental homes' Penman pleaded guilty at Moorabin Magistrates Court to using a carriage device to harass the guest and admitted to leaving the voice message. 'You have greatly misjudged me,' Penman said in the message. 'You obviously didn't do your research about the defamation case on Google... don't bother removing your review, don't bother offering to settle. 'I'll see you in f**king court, you better have a lot of money. This is not over, we're not accepting a payout. We're going to f**king court, and you will burn in hell.' His barrister Mihal Greener described the outburst as 'out of character' and said her client was under lots of pressure and his business was suffering because of the Covid pandemic due to lockdowns and travel restrictions to regional Victoria. He was fined $2,500 and no conviction was recorded by the court. Penman also sent a series of texts and messages to other guests who left unflattering reviews, The Age reported. He sent a text in May 2019 to a bank employee who booked The Clifftop to propose to his partner before leaving a two star review of the property. His barrister Mihal Greener described the outburst as 'out of character' and said her client was under lots of pressure and that his business was suffering because of the Covid pandemic, lockdown and travel restrictions to regional Victoria Penman had also sent a series of texts and messages to other guests who had left unflattering reviews 'We have today received a complaint of possible domestic violence in your villa from another guest next door... We will consider this matter before deciding if it should be reported to the police,' Penman wrote. Penman also threatened court action against a guest who worked for the Department of Education Training after they cancelled a booking because they had been called to Gippsland after the bushfires in January 2020. He warned he had launched a defamation case against another guest who left a bad review and they were forced to pay more than $300,000 in legal costs. The suspect, believed to be a black male around 30-years-old, fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction A man in the Upper East Side wearing an all-black outfit and mask was caught on surveillance camera hacking a pedestrian he didn't know with a knife in broad daylight. The NYPD said the stabbing took place at about 1:50p.m. on Thursday at the corner of Third Avenue and East 63rd Street, just a couple of feet away from the entrance of the subway station on Lexington Avenue and 63rd. The suspect reportedly approached the victim from behind after hopping off his electronic bike and crossing the street, according to law enforcement officials. The NYPD only released video footage of the attack on May 28, two days after it took place. In the footage, the victim attempts to fight off the stabber with his bare fists before running away and dropping his delivery bag in the process. Police said the unidentified victim was slashed by the madman several times, around his arm and his back, according to AMNY. Cops say there was no suggestion the two men knew one another, and are stumped as to a motive for the attack. Before the attack broke out on Thursday, the unidentified suspect was seen getting off his e-bike before crossing the street near Third Avenue and 63rd Street The knifing took place near the entrance of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street subway station, serving the F and Q lines. Without provocation, the victim was attacked by the madman after he took out his knife The victim, who remains unidentified, tried dodging slashes made by the attacker, but suffered injuries near his arm and on his back before being taken to Cornell Medical Center Police did not reveal the cause behind the knifing, and reported that the victim was attacked without any knowledge of provoking the perpetrator. The assault, though, did not go unnoticed, as blood stains on the sidewalk drew the public's attention. Police also said that the suspect had fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction. The near-deadly assault was then reported to the 19th Precinct. First aid responders brought the victim to Cornell Medical Center, where he is believed to be in stable condition. The suspect has been described by police as a black man, believed to be about 30-years-old. He is also said to have a medium build and to be wearing a black sweater, a black mask, black jeans and black shoes. His electronic bike is also black, according to footage of the Thursday's incident. New Yorkers have been growing weary over the latest spite in violence and crimes on the city streets and subways. While murders and shootings are down 10 and roughly five percent from the already crime-riddled 2021 under lame duck Mayor Bill de Blasio, overall crime in the Big Apple is up 40 percent so far in 2022. That includes a 19 percent rise in felony assaults, a nearly 15 percent increase in rapes and a 40 percent jump in robberies. Transit is up the highest at 62 percent as well - and the the recent rise in subway crime has set New Yorkers on edge. On Sunday, Daniel Enriquez, a 48-year-old Goldman Sachs employee was riding the Q train from his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn to Manhattan when a gunman, believed to be Andrew Abdullah, opened fire as the train was crossing the Manhattan Bridge in an unprovoked attack. In April, during the morning commute, suspect Frank James opened fire on a Manhattan-bound N train. No one was killed. James was charged with carrying out a terror attack against a mass transit system and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, reports said. NSW women undergoing IVF or other reproductive treatments will receive a cash rebate of up to $2,000 under a new government scheme. The 2022/23 budget commitment will help about 12,000 women who use private fertility clinics, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said. Another 6,180 women will be given access to publicly supported IVF treatment under the $80 million package. 'We know that the costs of these treatments can be prohibitively expensive,' Mr Kean said in a statement on Sunday. The NSW government has announced a new $80 million fertility package that will come into effect from January 1 'No-one should have to face the impossible choice between looking after their household budget and starting a family.' A single cycle of IVF can cost Australian couples up to $10,000. Adora Fertility, which bulk-bills for some IVF-related expenses, is able to reduce that cost to about $1500. 'With today's announcement, Adora Fertility patients could potentially have no out of pocket expenses for their fertility treatments,' Adora's national medical director Paul Atkinson said. 'Cost is a major barrier to couples accessing fertility treatment. We believe that high-quality fertility treatment should be accessible to all Australian couples.' The $80 million package will also extend rebates for pre-IVF fertility testing, boost the number of fertility preservation services and provide five days of paid fertility leave for teachers, nurses and other public servants. The $2000 rebate scheme will open on January 1, but women who undergo an eligible procedure from October 1 can also submit a claim. 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said at the rally Lauren Boebert of Colorado said Cheney needed to be 'taken out' 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC' Told Wyoming voters 'to tell her Liz you're fired get out' of Congress Trump went on to mock Rep. Liz Cheney with an image displayed on several screens in the event center of her face mashed up with former President George W. Bush's Trump seemed to assert that his famous hair is diminishing saying: 'I'm not happy. I don't like that' Trump paused while lapping up applause to ask the audience at a rally in Casper, Wyoming, if they thought that his hair was thinning Donald Trump cracked a joke about how his famed bouffant hairdo was thinning after catching sight of himself on a screen at a Wyoming rally Saturday. Trump, 75, was lapping up applause from a campaign rally crowd in Casper when he caught sight of himself on a big screen. The 45th president asked the crowd: 'Excuse me, these massive screens that we paid a fortune for, I'm just looking at the back of my head. Is it getting a little thin?' He continued saying: 'I'm not happy, I don't like that.' Trump was in the middle of a rant regarding the teaching of LGBTQ ideology in schools When Trump noticed the big screen behind him he began to stare and gesture to his hair That's when Trump asked the audience if they felt too that his hair was thinning. This is the second time in a little over a month that hair has been an issue at a Trump rally. In April, Trump described President Joe Biden's former press secretary Jen Psaki as: 'The woman with the really beautiful red hair.' At a rally in Michigan, Trump continued on by saying that MSNBC hired Psaki because the network needed a redhead on air. He said: 'You know she's going to MSDNC. They need a redhead. They don't have a redhead over there, so they need a redhead.' Trump refers to the network as MSDNC to highlight its liberal bias, which he says strongly favors Democrats. In April, Trump made reference to President Biden's former press secretary Jen Psaki calling her: 'The woman with the really beautiful red hair' It has been a difficult few months for Trump's thatch, which is said to have been the result of painful scalp reduction surgery carried out while he was wed to his first wife Ivana. Ivana's then-surgeon Dr Steven Hoefflin allegedly carried out the operation, which saw Trump's bald spot cut from his scalp, before the surrounding skin was pulled tightly together to close the gap, before being stitched back up. In December 2021, the Washington Post reported that Trump's final chief of staff, Mark Meadows, mocked the then-president's hair. This left Trump 'particularly upset' at Meadows, according to the Post. The incident occurred while the president was sick with Covid-19 and had spent hours in bed. A few months earlier Melania Trump's former chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, revealed her memoir that the president used a 'huge pair of scissors that could probably cut a ribbon at an opening of his properties' to cut his hair. Donald Trump takes stage at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming on Saturday to rally against Representative Liz Cheney and for her rival Harriet Hageman During the rally in Casper, Trump issued on Saturday his most staunch opposition of an incumbent Republican lawmaker yet as he rallied against 'Pelosi's lapdog' Liz Cheney in Casper, Wyoming as he flashed an image of her face mashed up with George W. Bush. 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC,' Trump said, using his mashup of the liberal network MSNBC and the DNC (Democratic National Committee). 'Liz Cheney hates the voters of the Republican Party and she has for longer than you know. Wyoming deserves a congresswoman who stands up for you and your values not one who spends all of her time putting you down and going after you president in the most vicious way possible,' the former president told thousands of supporters gathered in Casper on Saturday afternoon. ' He added that the three-term congresswoman is 'the face of the Washington swamp and the same failed foreign policy of the Clintons, Bushs, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the entire sick political establishment.' He then put up on the jumbotron at the front of the Ford Wyoming Center an image of Cheney's hair and face mashed up with an image of former President George W. Bush. 'I think she looks good, looks nice,' Trump jested. 'But Liz Cheney is about America last.' Trump visited Casper, Wyoming nearly three months before the Wyoming GOP primary on August 16, 2022 where the candidate he endorsed Harriet Hageman is the favorite to win. Hageman received several standing ovations in her remarks ahead of Trump taking stage. Her simple message: Wyoming is 'fed up' with Cheney and other congressional RINOs, which Trump uses degradingly to refer to those he claims are Republicans In Name Only, but who do not represent real ideals of the Party. Trump said toward the top of his nearly hour and a half remarks that RINOs are worse than Democrats. Trump said Cheney is as bad as the 'the Clintons, Bushs, the Obamas, the Bidens, and the entire sick political establishment.' He mocked her with an image displayed on several screens in the event center of her face mashed up with George W. Bush's Hageman (pictured) received a standing ovation and wild applause as she walked out on stage Saturday and gave a message of Wyomingites being 'fed up' with Cheney, RINOs and Democrats. She is 30 points ahead of Cheney is recent polling The former president told Wyoming voters to 'fire Liz' from Congress. 'Wyoming thought you were electing a conservative warrior, but instead you got a lapdog for Pelosi and a human sound bite machine for CNN and MSDNC,' Trump lamented As a throwback to his famous line from his days as a judge on reality television show The Apprentice, Trump told Wyoming residents at the Saturday rally that they need 'fire' Cheney. 'Because of what Liz Cheney did, that's why she was thrown out of the House Republican leadership, which is just about a first. It's why she was censured by the Republican National Committee, which is so lame that virtually never happens,' he said. 'It's why she was censured by the Wyoming GOP. We have [Frank Eathorne Jr.] here, I'll introduce him, but I'm very proud of Frank.' 'And that's why in two months from now, the people of Wyoming are going to tell her Liz you're fired get out.' This comment sparked potentially the loudest applause of the night. After voting for Trump's impeachment, joining the January 6 select committee probing the Capitol attack and speaking out repeatedly against the former president, Cheney faced swift fallout from the GOP. Trump lamented that he has been investigated more than notorious mobsters and criminals. 'Now you look at the so-called word 'insurrection.' January 6, what a lot of crap. And most of this country knows it, and you know who else knows it, the Democrats. It's another con job just like Russia, Russia, Russia. This was made up by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. A total fake story. And they have another fake story coming, the insur-and many others,' Trump said. 'Don't forget,' he cautioned, 'I've been investigated more than Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and the great legendary mobster Alphonse Capone- did anyone ever hear of him? Al Capone.' 'If you add them all up and double 'em and triple 'em I've taken the cake for investigations,' Trump claimed. 'Friend of mine said you know this has been going on for years - you must be the most honest man in the history of our country.' Firebrand Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert received a warm welcome from the crowed in Wyoming as she took stage to help tee up Trump. The congresswoman bragged about being a 'RINO hunter' when talking about Cheney., but left her name out when telling the crowd that the establishment conservative need to be 'taken out.' 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said to heavy applause. 'I have not found a three-letter agency that Liz Cheney does not want to grow, a CNN interview that she does not want to take, or a war that she does not want to engage in and fund with your tax dollars. And that is why we are taking her out and putting in Harriet Hageman,' she said. Boebert is one of several high profile GOP cast who Trump invited to the rally for Hageman, his first event in Wyoming for the candidate. Trump recruited Hageman to challenge Cheney for Wyoming's lone House seat after the incumbent angered him by working with Democrats on the house select committee investigating the US Capitol attack. Boebert also touted her restaurant, Shooter's Grill in Rifle, Colorado, as the 'safest' in the United States because she allows waitresses to open-carry their firearms. 'I own a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado where my waitresses open carry,' Boebert boasted at the top of her speech after an enthusiastic welcome. 'We are the safest restaurant in America.' Lauren Bobert of Colorado bragged about being a 'RINO hunter' when talking about Cheney at Trump's Wyoming rally. 'I am a professional RINO hunter. It has been brought to my attention that your RINO-In-Chief needs to be taken out of Wyoming,' she said to heavy applause She claimed her Rifle, Colorado restaurant was the safest because her waitresses can open-carry (pictured) She also took aim at Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke for demanding more gun control in the wake of the horrific massacre in Uvalde, Texas, last week that took the lives of 19 children and their two teachers. Responding to O'Rourke's stance on guns without mentioning the shooting in Texas last week, she added: 'Hell no, you are not taking our guns and he's back at it again.' 'But I don't mind wiping the floor with him again.' She also slammed President Joe Biden, 79, as the 'pathetic commander in chief who is command of nothing.' Earlier on Saturday, Republican Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona accused Cheney of trying to 'destroy' the GOP and Congress itself in a conversation with DailyMail.com ahead of his speech at Trump's rally Casper, Wyoming. Biggs also accused his fellow GOP lawmaker Cheney of trying to 'destroy' the GOP and Congress itself ahead of his speech at Donald Trump's rally in Casper, Wyoming. The former House Freedom Caucus chair tore into the Wyoming conservative, claiming that her Trump-backed rival Hageman is an 'America first-er' who better understands the Republican base. 'Liz Cheney is the worst candidate for Wyoming,' Biggs said. Trump's appearance there Saturday was his first in Wyoming on Hageman's behalf as she seeks to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney in the state's upcoming August 16 primary His supporters filed into the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday afternoon, where a high-profile list of speakers are expected to address the crowd Hageman (right) is a former ally of Cheney's (left) and previously had an unsuccessful run for Wyoming governor in 2018 'Harriet is going to be an America first-er. I mean, she gets the policies that I think the conservative populist movement is taking hold of. I really, really think she gets it, and she's going to carry it forward and advocate for it in Congress.' He added, 'And Liz Cheney, instead of trying to work with the Republican Party and build it up in Congress, is now trying to actively destroy - not just the party, but the institution itself.' Biggs is among several high-profile speakers the former president invited to Saturday's rally, Trump's first appearance in Wyoming for Hageman since recruiting her to run against Cheney in the August 16 Republican primary. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who also turned against Cheney to endorse Hageman, made a video address - but was booed by the audience. Pro-Trump Reps. Matt Gaetz and Kate Cammack of Florida made appearances as well. Rep. Andy Biggs, one of the speakers, told DailyMail.com that Rep. Cheney 'left' the Republican Party behind Cheney, the state's lone House representative, is facing an uphill battle ahead of the race. She was removed from her leadership role heading the House GOP Conference last year over her criticism of Trump and cooperation with Democrats' January 6 investigation. But Biggs told DailyMail.com on Saturday that he believes it was Cheney who abandoned Republicans rather than the party casting her out. 'She left the conference a year ago or more, and she basically said that she didn't want to be part of the conference - she didn't agree with the conference,' the Arizona Republican said. Biggs is among the five sitting lawmakers who has been subpoenaed by the House Capitol riot committee. The panel has accused him of being involved in 'plans to bring protestors to Washington for the counting of Electoral College votes' and said he 'was involved in efforts to persuade state officials that the 2020 was stolen.' He's formally objecting to the panel's subpoena, Biggs' spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who replaced Cheney in the No. 3 House leadership role, made a video address at the rally. 'I know what it takes firsthand to beat Liz Cheney, and I'm telling you, Harriet has what it takes,' Stefanik said. The Cheney name has been a fixture in US politics since her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, held his daughter's seat for a decade throughout the 1980s. During that time he, like Rep. Liz Cheney, held the House GOP Conference Chair position. But a new poll released on Friday shows Cheney trailing Hageman by a whopping 30 points with less than three months until the race. The WPAi/Club for Growth PAC survey shows that 56 percent of Republican Wyoming primary voters would support Hageman if the election were held today. Cheney officially filed for the 2022 primary on Thursday, but only 26 percent said they would vote for her reelection of the 400 likely Republican primary voters polled in the deep red state on May 24 and 25. Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard - who has been accused of 'a continued pattern of intimidating and disorderly conduct' - is in third place with 12 percent, while another 6 percent are undecided on who they will vote for. Voters on the ground appear split on whether they want to keep Cheney in office. 'I'm gonna support Hageman. I'm pretty disappointed in Liz Cheney's whole - just kind of everything that's going on,' said Ed, 64, a patron of Johnny J's Diner in Casper. But Ed's wife Liz, 63, said her ballot for Hageman has nothing to do with Trump's endorsement of the trial lawyer. A poll released Friday the same day of the filing deadline for the Wyoming GOP primary shows that Trump-backed Harriet Hagemen is a whopping 30 points ahead of Representative Liz Cheney Several Wyoming residents at Johnny J's Diner on Saturday told DailyMail.com that they will vote for Hageman but not because of Trump's endorsement. Billboards around Casper urged voters to 'Ditch Liz!' 'I'm voting for Hageman, not because of Trump though,' she said. 'I'm voting because I don't believe in Liz Cheney. 'So it's different, for me it isn't about coattails or anything like that.' The couple, who were dining with a third woman who is attending the rally Saturday, said that they voted for Cheney in all of her previous elections, but will not be recasting a ballot for her in the primaries. Meanwhile Robert Morris, 73, a local of Casper, told DailyMail.com on Saturday that 'Liz is a real Republican' and said he would be voting for her in the August primary elections in Wyoming. The former engineer said he is a 'registered Republican', but voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. 'Just everything he [Donald Trump] did turned me off. I mean, I didn't think much of Hillary Clinton either, but I voted for her rather than him,' Morris said while dining with a friend at the diner's bar. As the heat piles on Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, he's now being investigated for possibly not having a police radio on him when he told his officers to stand back as Salvador Ramos slaughtered 19 children and two adults. Arredondo, a former 911 dispatcher who'd been elected to Uvalde's city council just days earlier, may have used that as an excuse for why he held his officers back despite the 911 calls from students inside the school desperate for assistance. 'That's going to be key,' a source told the New York Post. 'If those 911 calls were being communicated to the officers or the incident commander.' The source says that investigators are still trying to determine whether Arredondo had a radio. 'If they were being relayed, it also raises questions as to why it was not treated as an active shooter situation.' As the heat piles on Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, he's now being investigated for possibility not having a police radio on him when he told his officers to stand back as Salvador Ramos slaughters 19 children and two adults Arredondo, a former 911 dispatcher who'd been elected to Uvalde's city council just days earlier, may have used that as an excuse for why he held his officers back despite the 911 calls from students inside the school desperate for assistance The source says that investigators are still trying to determine whether Arredondo had a radio Salvador Ramos slaughtered 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday During a bombshell presser Friday, Texas Department of Public Safety head Steven McCraw slammed Chief Pete Arredondo for failing to engage 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, mistakenly believing the teen had finished his killing spree and was hiding out from cops. It was revealed Friday that the Uvalde Schools Police Department ignored several protocols from their own active shooter training drills, which they had practiced just two months ago. It was revealed Friday that the Uvalde Schools Police Department ignored several protocols from their own active shooter training drills, which they had practiced just two months ago Arredondo has spoken to the Texas Rangers, who are handling interviews on behalf of the state's department of public safety investigation into the massacre. A cop on the scene of the shooting has said that Arredondo is wrongly being made a scapegoat. 'It's a lie that Arrendondo told everyone to stand down,' said the anonymous officer. 'It's a lie. And we're all getting death threats. It's a f*****g nightmare.' During a bombshell presser Friday, Texas Department of Public Safety head Steven McCraw slammed Chief Pete Arredondo for failing to engage 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, mistakenly believing the teen had finished his killing spree and was hiding out from cops. 'With the benefit of hindsight, from where I'm sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period,' McCraw said. The assertion from the state safety official comes as the the school district's police force continues to face scrutiny for their handling of the shooting. McCraw revealed that 911 calls had been made by students while locked in the classroom with Ramos, as Arredondo and his men waited outside the room for more than an hour. Eventually, Border Patrol agents who rushed to the scene after hearing the incident unfold on scanners, breached the locked classroom door, with one fatally shooting Ramos. Video footage from the scene shows angry parents pleading with officers parked outside the school to enter the building, as they wondered as to the fate of their children According to a law enforcement official who anonymously spoke to The New York Times, the agents had been puzzled as to why they were being told not to enter the school and engage the gunman. McCraw asserted that Arredondo, identifying the district chief by title and not by name, made a miscalculation assuming the active shooter situation had become a barricade event. Arredondo, 50, become the focus of backlash from parents wondering if their children could have been saved. Arredondo, who was born in Uvalde and was elected to city council just days before the massacre, has had an unremarkable career as a cop. He started his law enforcement career as a 911 dispatcher for Uvalde's town police department in 1993, and over the course of the next 20 years, worked his way up to eventually assume the role of assistant police chief at the department in 2010. Afterwards, he worked various roles at Webb County Sheriffs Office in Laredo - a small Texas town a little more than 100 miles from Uvalde. He then moved to the city's school district police force, United ISD, which is comprised of 88 sworn peace officers. In March, during the early days of the pandemic, Arredondo got the chance to return home, when he was offered the position of school district police chief in his native Uvalde. 'Its nice to come back home,' Arredondo, who has family in the small, rural town, told the Uvalde Leader News upon accepting the gig. The department, which only presides over the town's school seven-school district, is comprised of four officers, one police chief, and a detective. 'All four of us are on a group text,' Arredondo said at the time, adding 'they are very knowledgeable, and I encourage them to give ideas.' He went on to assert: 'Of course, my title is important, but having a good group is also important,' Arredondo said, adding, somewhat prophetically, 'If not, you can surely fail.' During Friday's presser, state director McCraw corrected information released by Arredondo's department Thursday that the gunman entered the building unimpeded, contradicting prior assertions that one of their officers exchanged fire with Ramos before the gunman entered the building. Law enforcement are seen at the scene of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday Arredondo, who was born in Uvalde and was elected to city council just days before the massacre, has had an unremarkable career as a cop, starting out as a 911 dispatcher in the town's police force in 1993 before accepting the school police chief gig in March 2020 In fact, police now say that the officer had actually passed by Ramos while rushing to the scene, as the gunman crouched behind a vehicle outside of the building. Arredondo was not at Friday's press conference to answer questions and it remains unconfirmed if he was even inside the school at the time of the shooting. Local law enforcement was called in to break up a confrontation between gun control advocates and those attending protesting outside the NRA Convention in Houston - with a group of far-right Proud Boys joining in the fight. Hundreds of people calling for gun control following the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas gathered outside the George R. Brown Convention Center on Saturday for the second day of the NRA Convention. Many held signs blaming lax gun control laws for the deaths of 19 school children in Uvalde as they called those attending the convention 'murderers,' according to the Houston Chronicle. In response, a group of about 20 members of the far-right Proud Boy group appeared as counter-protesters and hurled anti-gay slurs at the nearly 200 protesters. Fencing was put up to keep the two sides apart, the Chronicle reports, but law enforcement was still called in to break up the chaos. It is unclear whether any arrests were made. Nearly 200 protesters gathered outside the NRA Convention in Houston on Saturday They called for stricter gun control laws in Texas, where 19 children and two adults were killed at an elementary school last Tuesday The protesters claimed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican state lawmakers have 'blood' on their hands for refusing to enact stricter gun laws One protester asked 'Where was the "Good guy with a gun?"' in the massacre in Uvalde Law enforcement had to get involved when a group of about 20 members of the Proud Boys started clashing with the protesters The altercation reportedly came after NRA officials denied them from entering the George R. Brown Convention Center The altercation reportedly came after NRA officials denied members of the Proud Boys from entering the Convention Center. The group then walked away in their yellow and black clothing toward the gun control protesters on the other side of the street, the Washington Times reports. And though the crowd of protesters was not as large as it was one day prior - when former President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz spoke - they continued to demand that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state lawmakers introduce new gun control measures. They are specifically calling for new legislation increasing the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21, require universal background checks and introduce a red flag law that would temporarily remove firearms from those who are a danger to themselves or to others, according to KHOU. An attendee of the National Rifle Association also started arguing with the protesters outside Law enforcement officials were patrolling the scene of the protests Officers pleaded with the Proud Boys to stop the verbal confrontation with the protesters Fencing had been put up to keep pro-gun rights advocates and gun control advocates separated The group reportedly walked over to the gun control protesters after they were denied entry into the NRA Convention The NRA convention comes on the heels of an 18-year-old gunman killing 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde - just about four hours away from where the convention is being held. In the aftermath, Gov. Greg Abbott denied that gun control was the answer. 'I know people like to try to oversimplify this,' Abbott said during a news briefing on the shooting Wednesday after he was asked whether there are any new gun laws he supports. 'There are "real gun laws" in NY. There are real gun laws in California I hate to say this but there are more people who were shot every weekend in Chicago than in schools in Texas.' 'People need to realize-- who think well maybe we can just implement tougher gun laws, it's gonna solve it-- Chicago and LA and New York disprove that thesis,' the governor said. 'What you're talking about its not a real solution. Our job is to come up with real solutions we can implement.' Abbott laid blame for the school shooting instead on the 'mental health crisis' the state was facing. He said he asked a group of Texas sheriffs what the 'problem' was, claiming they told him: 'We have a problem with mental health illness in this community.' 'We as a state, we as a society, need to do a better job with mental health. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period,' Abbott said. 'We as a government need to find a way to...do something about it.' Gov. Greg Abbott denied that gun control would help prevent mass shootings in a press conference following the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas ranks 15th for weakest gun laws of the 50 states, according to the Giffords Law Center. Gun homicide rates in the state have risen 90 percent in the last decade, rising every year since 2011. Gun crimes have risen in major cities with strict gun laws, too-- a rise in shootings in Chicago left more people dead in 2021 than in any other year in a quarter century. Shootings in New York City are also on the rise, numbering 296 for the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. Homicides in Los Angeles hit a 15-year-high in 2021, according to police. Abbott then went on to say it has been legal for 18-year-olds in Texas to buy guns for 60 years, but that school shootings have not been happening for as long. 'What has changed is mental health.' But since the shooting, several high-profile gun rights enthusiasts decided to cancel their speaking arrangements at the NRA convention, and groups including Black Lives Matter Houston, Indivisible Houston, the Harris County Democratic Party, Moms Demand Action decided to stage protests outside of it. And on Friday Beto O'Rourke urged some thousand protesters at the convention to break the opposition of Republicans to gun control by 'getting in their faces before another child is shot in face.' He delivered an impassioned plea for action citing the recent massacre as he runs to unseat Abbott as governor. 'So I ask you for those of you in power and who hold office right now and were in the way and refuse to act: Please promise me you will get in their faces before another child is shot in their face,' he told protesters. Advertisement The National Rifle Association put on a concealed carry fashion show at its Houston fashion show where models displayed guns tucked into their underwear just four days after the Uvalde shooting. Two women proudly showed off hand guns strapped to their chest area as they pulled up their shirts with big smiles on their faces . Another blonde woman wearing a beige pencil skirt and an off-the-shoulder top gave a mischievous grin as she lifted up her shirt to reveal a black gun tucked tightly into a white lacey undergarment. Other women wore their concealed weapons in less provocative places, such as under their armpits and stashed in fashionable purses. While one man unzipped his khakis, revealing a waist holster holding a bright blue handgun. Two women smiled as they pulled up their shirts to reveal guns strapped to their chest at the NRA concealed carry fashion show on Saturday night, just four days after the Uvalde shooting Another blonde woman wearing a beige pencil skirt and an off-the-shoulder top gave a mischievous grin as she lifted up her shirt to reveal a black gun tucked tightly into a white lacey undergarment Several women stored their guns in their handbags, with one woman having a secret back pocket for hers A tatted woman showed her purse can hold more than just her wallet and mints, but her gun Another men showed you didn't have to choose between having your gun or your kid on your hip as he graciously walked the runway with his child while he gun was stored on his hip. He son adorably ran down the runway wearing a matching outfit, sans gun. Many models appeared to show that concealed weapons didn't mean you had to give up fashion as women and men were seen in various styles from secret agent-style suits to cowboy boots and sundresses. However, despite the fashionable ways the NRA's models showed weapons can be concealed, the convention - which boisterously displays guns of all-types throughout Memorial Day weekend - comes after 19 children and two teachers were murdered in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. One woman pulled up her top to show off her secret hiding for her gun: her armpit One woman showed off a tight fitness outfit while holstering her gun two blue guns to her waistline Salvador Ramos, 18, shot up the school around 11am on Tuesday, shooting up two fourth-grade classrooms in the same school his cousin attended after buying two rifles around his 18th birthday. Shelby Celeste Salazar said her son was a third grade student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where her 18-year-old cousin opened fire Tuesday in a horrific shooting spree that killed 19 children and two teachers. Speaking to DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview, Salazar, 28, said days before the massacre, Ramos had spoken to her son and had asked him which school he attended and what time students were let out for lunch. 'At the time I didn't think anything of it, they had a good relationship. They are second cousins,' the mother-of-four said. Salazar and her children were living with Ramos and their grandmother, Celia Gonzalez, who was shot in the face by her grandson just before the massacre. She is the daughter of Ramos's mother's half-sister. One father strutted the runway with his pants unzip to display his gun and his child stealing the show One man proudly displayed his unzipped khakis to show off his bright blue gun holstered to his waist The models were seen in various outfits, from suits to boots to sundresses 'At the time I didn't think anything of it, they had a good relationship. They are second cousins,' the mother-of-four said. At a Friday even at the NRA convention, Senator Ted Cruz dramatically called for multiple cops and ex-military members to be stationed at school doors to avoid another horrific school massacre. Cruz, 51, suggested at the annual conference in Houston on Friday that schools should model security measures of courthouses, such as 'limiting the means of entry to one entrance.' 'Schools, likewise, should have a single point of entry,' he lamented on Friday. 'At that single point of entry, we should have multiple armed police officers, or if need be, military veterans trained to provide security and keep our children safe. 'We need serious funding to upgrade our schools to install bulletproof doors, and locking classroom doors.' The Republican lawmaker also recalled the six shooting sites he has visited since 2016 and called all of them 'horrible.' 'I was in Dallas in 2016, in Sutherland Springs in 2017, in Santa Fe in 2018, in El Paso and Midland Odessa in 2019, and now Uvalde. Each time was the picture of horror,' he said on Friday. Despite visiting the sites of six shootings, Cruz - among other GOP leaders, like former President Donald Trump, who also attended the NRA conference - are not calling for gun reform or tighter restrictions. 'We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law-abiding citizens,' Cruz said on Friday. Trump, 75, also spoke at the conference and call for a 'drastic' change of the nation's approach to mental health, saying the US needs a 'top-to-bottom security overhaul at schools across the country.' Nineteen students and two teachers died in the shooting after Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school around 11am and shot up two fourth-grade classes New photos have emerged depicting part of the law enforcement response to the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, where they helped children escape through a window The former president said 'the existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens. The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.' Trump also agreed with Cruz, saying schools need to amp up security measures by having a single point of entry, strong exterior fencing, and metal detectors, as well as armed officers. He also called for teachers to be trained to be able to carry concealed weapons in classrooms. The conference - a first since 2019 - came three days after the Uvalde shooting, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, originally of North Dakota, shot 19 students and two teachers around 11pm on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. The teen purchased two rifles around his 18th birthday and had worked at local Wendy's to save up for the purchase. Mark McGowan and his deputy premier Roger Cook will visit six countries in seven months to convince tourists to visit Western Australia. The WA premier will go with Mr Cook to the UK in June and visit Italy, South Korea, and Japan later on his own while Mr Cook will travel to Indonesia, Germany, and India. The 'Reconnect WA tour' aims to draw in tourists and migrants after they were banned from the state when borders shut in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. Mark McGowan and his deputy premier Roger Cook will visit six countries in seven months to convince tourists to visit Western Australia The 'Reconnect WA tour' aims to draw in tourists and migrants after they were banned from the state when borders shut in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic Delta outbreaks locked out most of the east coast for more than nine months and Omicron led to all other states being banned from November and December. Mr McGowan stubbornly kept his hard border up even as the rest of the world learned to live with the virus, even cancelling a planned reopening date on February 5 until WA's own outbreak rendered the issue moot. Western Australia finally reopened its borders to visitors in March 2022. 'The McGowan Government is embarking on trade and investment missions to let the rest of the world know that WA is safe, we are the strongest economy in the country, we are full of opportunities and we're open for business,' Mr Cook told The Sunday Times. 'I will be making two major trips to Europe and India in the coming months to drive WA business opportunities and tourism. 'The European trip will be focused on London Tech Week, skilled migration, trade and investment, tourism and space, as well as an event showcasing WA.' Mr McGowan will meet with tourism and trade representatives and key banking and finance investors when he visits the UK. Most of the visitors to Western Australia came from the UK before the pandemic. Some 141,600 British people travelled to the state and spent $249 million. The state's tourist attractions include Nature's Window, Ningaloo Reef Marine Park and Rottnest Island with its furry and loveable quokkas. 'Increasing the number of visitors from overseas is a priority, which is why a focus of Reconnect WA has been on re-establishing key aviation routes with airline partners,' Mr Cook said. Most of the visitors to Western Australia came from the UK before the pandemic (pictured, Nature's Window at Kalbarri National Park) Mr McGowan will also be trying to firm up trade relations when he visits South Korea and Japan. The two countries are Western Australia's largest trading partners. Mr Cook will lead a trade and investment mission with a large business delegation when he visits India in July. Businesses are desperate for workers as skills shortages cripple the industry. Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison said he would increase wages from $40,000 to $120,000 in a bid to draw in more workers. WA existed as a virtual hermit state when it shut its borders, with businesses forced to close from a lack of tourists and foreign staff while families grieved a forced separation from loved ones in other states and abroad. Western Australia finally reopened its borders to visitors in March 2022 While there were some compassionate exemptions made within that time, they were very few and far between. Mr McGowan acknowledged the hard border greatly affected many people but insisted it was necessary in a lengthy post on Facebook in March. 'The hard border was never about politics, and it was definitely never about the silly notion of secession (from the rest of Australia),' he wrote. 'It was about the value we placed on the lives of Western Australians, and the lengths we were willing to go to in order to protect them. 'It had been over a hundred years since Western Australia last had a hard border to keep out the Spanish Flu. Advertisement Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault weapons as mourners laid to rest the last of 10 black people killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket on Saturday. The funeral for 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield the oldest of the 10 people killed in the attack two weeks ago included an impromptu speech by Harris. Harris told the mourners this is a moment in time for 'all good people' to stand up to the injustice that happened at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, as well as at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and in other mass shootings. Then, speaking to reporters afterwards, she said: 'We know what works on that,' she said, reiterating support for background checks and a ban on assault weapons. 'Lets have an assault weapons ban. An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in civil society.' Her comments echo similar remarks from President Biden who said last week: 'The idea that an 18-year-old can walk into a store and buy weapons of war designed and marketed to kill is, I think, just wrong.' Kamala Harris calls for a ban on assault rifles before boarding Air Force Two on Saturday in Buffalo President Biden and Jill Biden are on their way to Uvalde to meet with victims' families Speaking at the funeral earlier, she said: 'This is a moment that requires all good people, all God-loving people to stand up and say we will not stand for this. 'Enough is enough,' said Harris, who was not scheduled to speak and came to the microphone at the urging of the Reverend Al Sharpton. 'We will come together based on what we all know we have in common, and we will not let those people who are motivated by hate separate us or make us feel fear.' Following the funeral, Harris visited a memorial outside the supermarket. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden had placed flowers at the same memorial on May 17 and had visited with the victims families. Biden is expected to head to Texas for a visit this weekend with the families of victims of Tuesdays school shooting. Harris later told reporters that the administration is not 'sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like' to the nations gun violence problem. 'An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in civil society. 'Background checks: Why should anyone be able to buy a weapon that can kill other human beings without at least knowing: Hey, that person committed a violent crime before, are they a threat against themselves or others?' The VP had just attended the funeral of Buffalo shooting Ruth Whitfield. She gave an impromptu speech next to Rev. Al Sharpton Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a memorial near the site of the Buffalo supermarket shooting after attending a memorial service for Ruth Whitfield, Saturday, May 28, 2022 Payton Gendron, the Buffalo shooter (left) and Salvador Ramos, the Uvalde school shooter (right) both legally purchased AR-15s Harris said the nation has to come together, as well. 'We have to agree that if we are to be strong as a nation, we must stand strong, identifying our diversity as our unity,' she said. It has been a sad week of goodbyes for family and friends of the Buffalo shooting victims, a group that includes a restaurant worker who went to the market to buy his three-year-olds birthday cake; a father and die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who worked as a school bus aide; and a 32-year-old sister who moved to the city to help a brother battling leukemia. Authorities said 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who is white, targeted the store three hours from his home in Conklin because it is in a predominantly black neighborhood. In all, 13 people were shot in the attack which federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Three people survived. Gendron is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail. His attorney has entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. A Sydney Harbour island is returning to Aboriginal hands with the NSW government committing $43 million to its clean-up and repair. The transfer of Me-Mel, or Goat Island, to its traditional owners is a 'personal priority', Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday. 'A big part of my commitment is ensuring the island is remediated before it's transferred to the Aboriginal community,' he said in a statement. The funding will help repair seawalls and buildings, improve wharf access, upgrade services and remove contaminants like asbestos over the next four years. Goat Island in Sydney Harbour (pictured) will be given back to the local Aboriginal tribe The island features a number of colonial buildings which were constructed using sandstone mined on the island (pictured) The National Parks and Wildlife Service is calling for expressions of interest to join a committee making recommendations about the transfer of Me-Mel to Aboriginal ownership. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Franklin said the Me-Mel Transfer Committee includes Aboriginal people and representatives of NSW government agencies. 'Me-Mel holds great significance to Aboriginal people, including in the creation story Boora Birra, where the great eel spirit created the water courses known today as Sydney Harbour,' he said. Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council deputy chair Yvonne Weldon said the island is a place for people to be within their culture, pass stories to the next generation and share with others. 'Me-Mel is an opportunity for truth telling, and it's about recognising the past and unlocking the future,' she said. The island is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and has a range of important Aboriginal, historical and natural values including more than 30 buildings and other structures from the 1830s to 1960s. The NPWS will continue to manage Me-Mel until the transfer is finalised and maintain public access to the island. Shocking footage shows a 30-foot ship completely engulfed in flames after its engine exploded at an Illinois marina on Saturday, while 17 people were on board. The Illinois State Conservation Police said several families were on board the boat, about to get ready to head out on the water, when the ship exploded at the Spring Brook Marina in Seneca, Illinois at around 4.26pm. The ship was apparently having engine problems at the time, and went to the marina to refuel, ABC 7 reports. But after refueling, the families tried to restart the engine, when there was an explosion, according to Sgt. Phillip Wire. In the aftermath, 13 people on board the ship were transported to local hospitals - and another was airlifted to an area hospital with 'serious injuries.' A marina employee working in the area was also injured, but suffered non-life threatening injuries. The victims ranged in age from 'youths' to adults, ABC 7 reports. Photos from Jeanette Hudson, an aerial photographer for the network, show the ship was still submerged as of Saturday night. Video posted online shows a 30-foot ship completely engulfed in flames following an engine explosion at around 4.30pm on Saturday Witnesses described how they heard a large boom before they saw the black smoke Fourteen people on board the ship were injured - one seriously - as another dock worker sustained non-life threatening injuries Photos from Jeanette Hudson show the ship remained submerged as of Saturday night Witnesses near the dock said they first heard an explosion around 4.30pm, before they saw flames and heavy smoke emanating from the boat. 'We were at the pool, kids were swimming,' Stephanie Manzello told FOX 32, adding that she was startled by a sudden noise. 'We just heard a loud boom, and we looked around. 'It's Memorial Day weekend, we thought maybe it was just fireworks,' she said. 'About 30 seconds later, that' when we saw gray smoke turn to black smoke. 'It was only a few minutes later we started hearing sirens.' Photos showed the ship still submerged at the Spring Brook Marina on Saturday night Crews tried to contain an oil spill from the ship, and plan to return to the scene on Sunday Both local and state agencies responded to the scene to help, including the Seneca Police Department, the Seneca Fire Department, the Grundy County Sheriff's Office and the Illinois State Police. But the ship remained submerged over night, as officers worked to contain a fuel spill. They now plan to be back at the scene on Sunday to continue to remove the remains of the boat. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is now investigating the incident. Australian voters have turned on failed Labor candidate Kristina Keneally who has been described as 'completely delusional', ignorant and shameless for refusing to take any blame for her humiliating election loss. The one-time NSW Premier has broken her silence a week after she turned the federal seat of Fowler in Sydney's south-west from a 28 per cent Labor majority in the 2019 election into a five per cent loss to independent Dai Le. Ms Keneally insists being parachuted into Fowler - 56km away from the posh Scotland Island on Sydney's northern beaches she called home - had nothing to do with losing the seat that could cost Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a majority government. She instead blamed Covid lockdowns, Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and anything else but herself in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Her comments have sparked an outpouring of online backlash against her with many slamming her for being out of touch. Kristina Keneally (pictured on Saturday) has returned to her posh mansion on Scotland Island, almost 60km away from the seat of Fowler, which she lost last week Many slammed her claims the loss was the result of Covid lockdowns last year, pointing out that several Labor MPs in neighbouring electorates, which also had strict lockdown measures enforced, were re-elected - including Chris Bowen, Michelle Rowland and Ed Husic. Ms Keneally's claims sparked a scathing attack from former federal Labor leader turned NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham. 'Kristina Keneally blaming the NSW Liberal Govt lockdowns and the UAP for her loss in Fowler,' he tweeted. 'Yet in neighbouring McMahon, also in lockdown LGAs, the Labor primary vote increased by 1.5%. Keneally's primary crashed by 18.6%. Completely delusional. Narcissistic on steroids.' Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi was just as scathing. 'Keneally has learnt absolutely nothing, blaming lockdowns for her loss in Fowler, rather than accepting that it's because she was a rich white woman from Scotland Island parachuted in. She is shameless,' he wrote. The massive outrage on Ms Keneally's Twitter was just as brutal after she retweeted a link to her interview. Kristina Keneally (pictured with Anthony Albanese) blamed Covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates for losing the seat of Fowler in Sydney's south-west Ms Keneally's comments blaming other factors have sparked outrage from furious voters 'I reside in an LGA that was also under the tighter lockdown rules last year. My ALP member has been returned with no swing against him. Might want to try and think of another excuse,' one voter wrote. Another added: 'This is just wrong. You lost because you expected a community that your not from to back you, stepping over a local candidate who was well liked & part of that community. The time of parachuting politics is over. Voters want real, local representation.' A third wrote: 'Oh Kristina! At least own this! Your loss had less than zero to do with Covid lockdowns!' Other were stunned Ms Keneally didn't believe being parachuted into the seat was a factor. 'If she thinks that 'parachuting' wasn't the reason for her loss. Tell her she's dreamin,' one man wrote. Another added: It's good that you failed and the seat went to a passionate local That's how it should be.' The overwhelming online backlash forced some supporters to jump to Ms Keneally's defence. 'You had the most exemplary parliamentary career too often taking the fall for the machine men's faults. I hope you resurface soon in another public role. We need your humane & witty presence. Go well,' one woman wrote. Another wrote: 'Thank you Kristina for all your hard work these last few years. I am a huge fan and my husband and I will miss you and your great passion for all that you do. Come back as soon as it is made possible. Normally don't twitter replies but just felt I had to write this one.' Many of the comments on Kristina Keneally's Twitter were just as scathing A sombre looking Kristina Keneally has been spotted collecting groceries from a boat on the island she calls home after her failed bid to win a seat at the election last weekend Kristina Keneally (left) the former NSW premier, who was beaten by independent Vietnamese-Australian Dai Le in the western Sydney seat of Fowler, was one of the most high-profile failures among those seeking a lower house seat at the election It was the first time Labor has lost the seat of Fowler since it was created almost four decades ago. Ms Keneally was the NSW premier who in 2011 led Labor into one of its biggest ever losses at a state election before history repeated itself 11 years later. Ms Keneally refused to take any blame for her humiliating loss, despite Prime Minister Albanese admitting in Sunday 'the community sent a message'. Despite claiming she would always live in the battler seat she was parachuted into, Ms Keneally days later left apartment she rented in Liverpool in south-west Sydney during the campaign and moved back to her lush mansion on the northern beaches. Ms Keneally blamed her loss on lockdowns and vaccine mandates, despite Labor having nothing to do with them, not being in state or federal government at the time. 'There was an understandable sense of anger at both major parties, with people reacting with 'a pox on both your houses',' she said in a Q&A with the Sydney Morning Herald after calling the newspaper to explain her loss. However, Labor or the Liberals won every other western Sydney seat with no others falling to independents - unlike the inner-city where 'teal' independents triumphed. The former senator also tried to blame billionaire businessman Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the $100 million he spent on advertising. Former federal Labor leader turned NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham led the outpouring of backlash Dressed in a dark jacket and trousers with a red t-shirt, Kristina Keneally is pictured carrying groceries to her island home on Sydney's northern beaches After collecting her groceries Ms Keneally was seen chatting to an unidentified man 'When pre-polling started, the number of people who only took the UAP how-to-vote cards seemed unnaturally high to me,' she said. UAP got only 1,193 more first preference votes in Fowler in 2022 than it did in 2019 - nowhere near enough to overturn Labor's previous 23,416 vote majority. The American born, raised, and educated Ms Keneally also blamed being up against 'a strong independent candidate', Ms Le. She was selected to run by Labor's top brass, including Mr Albanese, over another local Vietnamese-Australian, lawyer Tu Le, who was the the choice of local ALP members. More than 15 per cent of the population of Fowler was born in Vietnam, and another 45 per cent were also born overseas, including Iraq, Cambodia, China and India. Ms Keneally also blamed an 'understandable sense of parochialism that the community had', for her loss. Ms Keneally's groceries were brought to Scotland Island by boat and unloaded onto a jetty Kristina Keneally (centre) is pictured campaigning in the seat of Fowler, which opponent Dai Le won with a huge swing against Labor Fowler is one of Australia's most multicultural communities, with 81.8 per cent of the population having one or both parents born overseas. But Labor's candidate was a wealthy, American-born white woman who lived an hour away before being parachuted in to run for the seat. 'A lot of Labor voters were so angry with the fact that the Labor Party was arrogant enough to think that they can parachute somebody from the northern beaches to represent us,' Fowler's new MP Dai Le, who is not related to Tu Le, said. Former Labor senator Graham Richardson said on election night that Ms Keneally was 'like an alien walking around the Fairfield shops in a $2,000 dress'. Mr Albanese on Sunday admitted Labor had to accept the outcome in Fowler, but also 'have to learn from' it. 'Of course, you have to learn lessons from an outcome like that. And I think the lessons are very clear that the community sent a message,' he told Sky News. 'Kristina Keneally is a big loss to our team. She was a valued friend. She was the deputy Senate leader and it is a loss, but you have to accept outcomes in democratic processes, but you also have to learn from them.' Vietnamese-born lawyer Tu Le (right) was originally set to win pre-selection for Fowler. Ms Le was a former staffer of Mr Hayes and received his backing as the Labor candidate. (Pictured with Anthony Albanese) Kristina Keneally is pictured cleaning her front balcony in an orange t-shirt, having removed her jacket Ms Keneally said on election night, her 'major fear... was that I would lose Fowler and that would be responsible for the ALP not winning government, so when that didn't materialise, it helped'. Her loss didn't lose Labor the election, but with 75 seats and still needing one more for a majority of 76, she may have cost it the chance to rule without needing Greens or independent votes in the lower house. Ms Keneally said though the loss of the safe Labor seat hurt, it didn't come close to the loss of a child. 'The greatest loss in my life was when my daughter Caroline was still-born in 1999, the single most defining moment in my life. That's when I felt searing pain, not this...' she said. 'If you can survive giving birth to your dead child and burying her, you can pretty much survive anything.' She said the day after the election, she and her husband went to the cemetery to Caroline's grave. The couple normally goes every month on the 18th because she was born on June 18, but she was unable to go for the past few months because of the campaign. The senator conceded on Sunday before she congratulated Ms Le on her victory in a tweet. Several users on the platform noticed the carefully-worded tweet focused the loss of Fowler on the party rather than Ms Keneally herself She also denied being mean to the late Labor senator, Kimberley Kitching, who died suddenly in March, aged 52. Ms Keneally and fellow Labor senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher were branded as 'mean girls', with claims their treatment of Ms Kitching contributed to her death. But Ms Keneally said she shed tears for Ms Kitching, who she sat next to for 18 months in the Senate. 'I always described her as 'good bad company'. It means she was great fun to be with but you always knew you were flirting with a bit of danger and intrigue... She was incredibly smart, and a wickedly clever political operator. I respected her.' Ms Keneally was also unable to admit her loss in a stinging tweet last Sunday, instead declaring it was Labor that couldn't claim the seat, before she congratulated Ms Le on her victory. 'At the end of today, it seems that Labor will not claim victory in Fowler,' she wrote. 'I congratulate Dai Le and wish her well. Thank you to the people who voted Labor & the volunteers on our campaign.' Ms Keneally concluded her concession tweet by congratulating newly-appointed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Labor party and telling her followers a 'better future for Australia lies ahead'. Several users on the platform noticed the carefully-worded tweet focused on the loss of Fowler on the party, rather than Ms Keneally herself. 'In the end, Kristina Keneally is to blame for losing the super safe heartland Labor seat of #Fowler,' tweeted journalist Troy Bramston, who penned a piece in The Australian on the debacle. 'But in true Keneally style, she is not to blame, only Labor is - 'Labor will not claim victory' ' The political journalist later told Sky News Australia that it was ultimately a 'terrible decision' from Labor. 'You can't just parachute someone from the northern suburbs of Sydney to western Sydney,' he said. 'It's a lesson for Labor too; don't take constituencies for granted.' Labor's Katy Gallagher (left) and Kristina Keneally (centre) listen to Penny Wong (centre) as senators paid tribute to the late Senator Kimberley Kitching on Monday, March 28, 2022 Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (pictured) died suddenly, aged 52, in March, just before the federal election campaign started Ms Keneally quickly moved back to her mansion on Scotland Island after the election, a luxury enclave only accessible by boat on Sydney's northern beaches. She looked sombre when spotted collecting groceries from a boat on Saturday and doing some weekend cleaning on the exclusive island she calls home. Ms Keneally was alone as she picked up a cardboard box and two full plastic shopping bags - including one from Aldi - at a jetty on Scotland Island at Pittwater on Saturday. Dressed in a dark jacket and trousers with an orange t-shirt, Ms Keneally carried her haul of groceries back to her house, a three-storey, waterfront property surrounded by dense foliage. Later Ms Keneally was seen chatting to an unidentified man and cleaning her front balcony in the orange shirt, having removed her jacket. Russia is unlikely to use its tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, according to the country's ambassador to Britain. Andrei Kelin said that due to Russia's military rules, nuclear weapons are under strict provision and not used for conflicts such as Ukraine. Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert three months ago in a move many considered to be a warning after criticising Nato and the West, the BBC reports. At the time, Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described it as a diversion tactic away from the failures of its delayed invasion of Ukraine. Russia is thought to have around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons. Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin said that due to Russia's military rules, nuclear weapons are under strict provision and not used for conflicts such as Ukraine Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert three months ago in a move many considered to be a warning after criticising Nato and the West Tactical nuclear weapons can travel short distances, unlike 'strategic' nuclear weapons which can go farther and are much more closely linked to the prospect of nuclear war. Ambassador Kelin has denied Russia shelled civilians in Ukraine and insists claims of war crimes in Bucha are 'a fabrication'. He added: 'The mayor of Bucha in his initial statement has confirmed that Russian troops has left, everything is clean and calm, the town in a normal state. 'Nothing is happening, no bodies are on the street. But next, after it has been done - but anyway... 'In our view it is a fabrication. It is used just to interrupt negotiations,' the ambassador replied.' Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has previously insisted pictures of bodies strewn in the streets of Bucha were 'staged' - a claim contradicted by numerous eyewitnesses. Kelin's declarations come as the leaders of France and Germany implored Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz reportedly spoke with the despot for 80 minutes and insisted he must hold 'direct and serious negotiations' with Zelensky to bring about a ceasefire. Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin denied Russia has nuclear plans in Ukraine during a tense interview with the BBC The ambassador denied Russia shelled civilians in Ukraine and insists claims of war crimes in Bucha are 'a fabrication' French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) implored Putin to consider peace talks with Zelensky The pair 'insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops', according to a statement given by Scholz's office. The Kremlin meanwhile said Putin would be 'open' to resuming talks with Kyiv, but did not mention any possibility of direct negotiations between the leaders of the warring nations. Zelensky previously said he was not 'eager' for talks after weeks of having his repeated calls for negotiations aired, but recognised they would likely be necessary to end the conflict. France and Germany also urged the Russian President to release 2,500 Ukrainian fighters captured at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. Advertisement Meghan Markle is trying to heal four-year rift with estranged father Thomas as he leaves hospital five days after suffering stroke, ahead of Sussexes travelling to UK for Queens Platinum Jubilee. The Duchess of Sussex, 40, reached out to Thomas Markle's camp after it emerged he left hospital following five days of treatment for a stroke. However, it is understood that Meghan is concerned about involving her half-siblings Thomas Jr, 55, and Samantha, 57, as she 'believes they have their own agendas'. A source told The Mirror: 'Despite their estrangement, Meghan is concerned. She wants to know if there is any way to contact her father privately, without other family knowing about it or having to get involved.' The insider added: 'Meghan cant contact her half-siblings because she believes they have their own agendas. 'If she can contact their dad, she wants it to be totally private. It wont involve Netflix, it wont involve any photographs and it must not involve any tip-offs to the paparazzi.' Meghan Markle wants to make contact with her estranged father to heal the four-year rift The Duchess of Sussex , 40, reached out to Thomas Markle's camp after it emerged he left hospital following five days of treatment for a stroke MailOnline has contacted Meghan's team for comment. Retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas, 77, promptly sent his best wishes to the Queen for a happy Jubilee after suffering a stroke. He said: I feel hugely grateful and know how lucky I am to be alive. I want to thank everyone, especially the wonderful doctors and nurses who saved my life. They are angels. I have been deeply moved by loving messages Ive received from all over the world. People have been so kind. I cant speak right now, but I am working hard and will thank people properly when I can. It comes as reports suggested Mr Markle suffered a serious fall in the days leading up to his stroke. Thomas, who had been preparing to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the UK, told his friend Tom Bower he had 'fallen' but 'thankfully, some good people picked me up from the pavement', reports the Sun. Retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas promptly sent his best wishes to the Queen for a happy Jubilee after suffering a stroke Mr Markle had been planning to fly to the UK this week to celebrate next weekends Platinum Jubilee, but the stroke on Monday night, which has left him with limited speech, scuppered the trip. Writing on a whiteboard with a felt-tip pen, he said: I wanted to come to pay my respects to the Queen. I wish her a happy Jubilee and many more years. The severe stroke was caused by a blood clot on the right side of Mr Markles brain. He was rushed to a hospital near his home in Rosarito, Mexico, before being transferred by ambulance to the US border where an ambulance was waiting to ferry him to a hospital in San Diego, California. He has been in a critical-care ward all week and has made what one doctor told him was remarkable progress. While he is now able to speak a few words, he faces what he calls an uphill battle to regain his power of speech. I have lots of hard work to do and will do it, he wrote. I want to get well. Im so lucky to have had amazing care and love. Thank you everyone. Mr Markle was forced to miss his daughters wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 after he had two heart attacks just days before. However, it is understood that Meghan is concerned about involving her half-siblings Thomas Jr, 55, and Samantha, 57, as she 'believes they have their own agendas' He blamed them on the stress he suffered after posing for paparazzi pictures to improve his image. He has been estranged from his daughter ever since and has never met son-in-law Prince Harry or his grandchildren Archie, three, and 11-month-old Lilibet. Mr Markle will be cared for by his 56-year-old son, Tom Jr, who drove 11 hours through the night to be with his stricken father. I was visiting my son and his family in Oregon when I got the call, said Tom Jr. I will be here for Dad and do whatever it takes to help him on his road to recovery. Its been a terrible shock for everyone but Dad is a strong man and he is determined to get well. Mr Markle has never met son-in-law Prince Harry or his grandchildren Archie, three, and 11-month-old Lilibet. Pictured, Harry, Meghan and Archie with the Queen, Prince Phillip and Meghan's mother Doria Ragland Hes already started working with a speech therapist and is making great progress. Weve received hundreds of messages of support for him from people all over the world. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love for Dad. Im here for him for as long as it takes. On Thursday, Mr Markle's daughter Samantha said that he may need a year of therapy to recover his speech after being struck down by a stroke this week. His family had been worried about his high blood pressure for some time before he fell ill, resulting in him losing even the ability to tell paramedics what was wrong with him. Mr Markle, 77, had to write down his symptoms on a piece of paper. Samantha said Mondays ordeal could have been fatal but her father was on the mend in a California hospital. She told GB News last week: I dont think he saw it coming but hes doing better hes in good spirits. Its going to take several maybe six months, maybe a year, to get his speech back. He can work with a speech therapist and its good, the attack he had in the speech producing part of the brain wasnt so big that he cant recover. She added: But you know when youre almost 80 years old, theres less plasticity and things are more difficult. So he has the memory of the words and the associations, the stroke was on the right side of the brain, so the damage was on the left and hes left handed. But it also impaired his speech and his ability to swallow. Castle Goring, Lady Campbell's West Sussex stately home which she bought in 2013, could have hosted Thomas Markle The Duchess' father will not be able to attend the Queen's Platinum Jubilee after he was rushed to hospital in California earlier this week, suffering a suspected stroke On Thursday, Daily Mail columnist Richard Eden said that Mr Markle was due to stay with Lady Colin Campbell when he visited the UK for the Platinum Jubilee. Lady Colin, 72, who was criticised for her overbearing behaviour and caustic put-downs when she competed on I'm A Celebrity, had generously offered to put up Mr Markle, 77, at her West Sussex stately home, Castle Goring, which she bought in 2013. 'She had made plans for Mr Markle,' one of the royal biographer's friends told Mr Eden. 'She'd hired him a dinner jacket and was taking him to Royal Ascot. And she'd organised a black-tie dinner, so he could meet lots of interesting people.' The former Georgie Ziadie who has her title thanks to a year-long marriage to the Duke of Argyll's younger son, Lord Colin Campbell in 1973 established the connection to Mr Markle via his grandson, Tyler. Her two adopted sons, Michael and Dimitri, appeared with Tyler in an MTV reality show called The Royal World in 2018. Tyler created a new strain of cannabis called Markle Sparkle ahead of Meghan's 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. Speaking about Tyler, Lady Colin said: 'We hit it off straight away. He's a very nice boy.' Lady Colin wrote a 2020 biography of Mr Markle's daughter, Meghan and Harry: The Real Story. Hiring, rather than buying, clothes for Mr Markle was a wise precaution on Lady Colin's part. The Palace commissioned a 7,000 Savile Row suit for him to wear to Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding, only for him to fall ill and stay at home in Rosarito, Mexico. Roly-poly racing PR man Johnno Spence was later spotted parading around Royal Ascot in the suit. After also snapping up Thomas's extra garments, including a summer suit and three shirts, Spence told Mr Eden: 'They were half price and there's a bit of room for expansion.' Last week, social media had some harsh words for Meghan Markle after her surprise appearance at the site of the Uvalde, Texas massacre that killed 21, including 19 children. Meghan was spotted on Thursday laying a bouquet of white roses at a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse, not far from the scene of the senseless slayings at Robb Elementary School. She also stopped by an Uvalde community centre that was hosting a blood drive, where she toured the facility and donated food, a volunteer there told DailyMail.com. 'She did not want anybody to know who she was,' the person said. The duchess took the trip in a personal capacity as a mother, to offer her condolences and support in person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief, her spokesperson told People. However, some took umbrage with what they felt was the duchess' attempt to take centre stage after an unimaginable tragedy. They also highlighted the fact that her estranged father Thomas was in hospital after suffering a stroke - and that Meghan has not visited him. Meghan Markle places a bouquet of white roses at the memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse on May 26 Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, visits a memorial site in Uvalde, Texas on Thursday, to honor the victims killed in this week's elementary school shooting Paying her respects in Texas, Markle was dressed incognito in a simple T shirt, jeans and ballcap, but nevertheless sported on her left wrist a $6,900 Cartier Love Bracelet and Princess Diana's $23,000 Cartier Tank Watch Her top bodyguard Alberto Alvarez (left) looked on as Markle walked around the memorial, looking at the white crosses bearing the names of the other victims Britain's Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, places flowers as she mourns at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse in Uvalde, Texas on May 26 'I find her posing like this with no doubt her own photographer utterly disgusting,' one user tweeted. 'Im used to her PR stunts but this actually makes me angry. By all means, pay your respects but posing 4 photographs & releasing to the media is SICK' Another pointed out that Meghan's father, Thomas, has been hospitalised after having a stroke. 'All the way from California to Texas, camera in tow, to strike a pose at the memorial site of dead children,' tweeted one user. 'You are callous. Your PR is dark. A flight to Texas but not to your Dad.' 'Her dad had a massive stroke a few days ago. Apparently no call, card or white roses for him yet,' wrote another. Jill Kargman, the author and star of Bravo's Odd Mom Out, was also critical: 'This rings hollow and feels opportunistic. I thought she stepped down for privacy? Using dead kids for a photo op isn't drawing attention to the tragedy it's drawing attention to her obvious quest to be our People's Princess. No thanks.' Speculation has swirled about whether she would visit his bedside in Chula Vista, California, only a few hours' drive from the home she shares with Prince Harry in Montecito, following years of strain in her relationship with her father. Prince William and Prince Harry are holding 'weekly video calls' and are 'very much back on their old buddy terms' ahead of reunion at Queen's Jubilee celebrations, source claims ByLatoya Gayle For Mailonline Prince William and Prince Harry are working on improving their bond with regular video calls and messages and are 'very much back on their old buddy terms', a source has claimed. An insider explained the tension between the two brothers since the Duke of Sussex, 37, moved to California and quit his role in the royal family is being left in the past as they are now in frequent contact alongside their respective children. The source told The Mirror that Harry and William are having one-to-ones without their wives. They said: 'The brothers needed time for everything to settle down. The family, including William, had been disappointed in the way Harry and Meghan chose to leave the royal family. 'But now there is a strong feeling that what happened is in the past and that they have moved on... It seems that the two of them have healed the rift and are very much back on their old buddy terms.' Prince Harry and Prince William (pictured with their wives in March 2020) have 'healed' their rift with WhatsApp messages and FaceTime calls, according to a source An insider explained the tension between the two brothers (pictured) since the Duke of Sussex, 37, moved to California and quit his role in the royal family is being left in the past as they are now in frequent contact alongside their respective children The source explained that Harry and William have been exchanging WhatsApp messages every few days and have included their children in FaceTime calls. However, Meghan and Kate, both 40, haven't been involved in the video calls as they are giving their husbands time to bond. According to the source, William sees Meghan as a 'good mother and loyal wife' to his brother. 'Meghan's distance from Kate has also helped heal the friction bet the two men,' the source added. It has been claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge made Meghan cry during a bridesmaid dress fitting for her 2018 nuptials. The source said that Harry and William (pictured) are having one-to-ones without their wives Having not spoken to each other since the Duchess of Sussex quit royal duties two years ago, the Queen's platinum Jubilee will be their first time reuniting. Rumours of a rift between Prince Harry and Prince William emerged in 2019 when the brothers divided their households following a series of disagreements about Harry's role. It was also claimed that Harry was upset when William advised him not to rush into marriage with 'this girl', which the younger brother took as a slight against Meghan. After the infamous Sandringham summit when the Megxit deal was hammered out William and Harry went for a walk to clear the air. However they did not part shores as friends, it was reported. Meghan and Harry are reportedly expected to fly to England with their children Archie, three and 11-month-old Lilibet this week. The couple's return to London is their first trip to the UK with their children and they are expected to go straight to Frogmore when they arrive. Harry and Meghan told the Queen they will keep a low profile during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations as the family comes together next weekend The Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the Queen they will keep a low profile during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations next weekend and only take part in official engagements after the monarch 'ordered the family to come together' with 'no dramas' to overshadow the event. Harry and Meghan will reportedly take part in the service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday 3 June after Trooping the Colour on Thursday 2 June - but will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with senior working members of the Royal family. Harry and Meghan are also facing a dilemma with how to celebrate their little girl's birthday, who turns one on Saturday 4 June. A source told The Sun: 'Harry and Meghan will want to celebrate Lilibet's birthday somehow with their family. But diaries are full on Saturday. There isn't much wriggle room to fit in a birthday party for a one-year-old.' Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to find ways to 'expose' petrol stations that fail to pass on lower prices from the Government's fuel duty cut. The PM is pushing for action after figures last week showed average petrol prices exceeded 1.70 per litre for the first time - despite the Chancellor introducing a 5p per litre duty cut on March 23. Department for Transport officials have been tasked with drawing up plans to 'name and shame' garages that choose to raise profit margins rather than pass on the cut to customers. The PM is pushing for action after figures last week showed average petrol prices exceeded 1.70 per litre for the first time - despite the government introducing a 5p per litre duty cut on March 23 (picture posed by a model) Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to find ways to 'expose' petrol stations that fail to pass on lower prices from the Government's fuel duty cut According to Sunday Telegraph, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested a 'pump watch' name-and-shame scheme. A Downing Street source said: 'Officials are considering mechanisms available to expose those companies that aren't passing on tax benefits to consumers.' Figures last week showed the average price for a litre of petrol exceeded 1.70 per litre for the first time ever. It has increased by 41p in the last 12 months, adding around 23 to the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car. The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Tuesday was 170.4p, according to data firm Experian Catalist. Diesel also reached a record high of 181.4p per litre. Chancellor Rishi Sunak implemented a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty on March 23, two days after average prices were 166.8p for petrol and 180.3p for diesel - but retailers have since been accused of raising profit margins. Demands to slash fuel duty and VAT by 40 per cent were raised in Parliament last after more than 102,000 signatures were collected for a petition outlining the two-year proposal to combat soaring costs for fuel. MPs debated the petition on reducing fuel duty and VAT in Westminster Hall and, while not specifically endorsing the proposal, called for the Government to go further to help. A Coalition senator has described his own party as 'cooked' in the wake of the federal election - and says there is a lot of work to do for likely new leader Peter Dutton. James McGrath, a Liberal politician from Queensland, ripped into the party which he said was divided by 'factional warfare'. 'The biggest issue facing Peter Dutton isn't net zero, the biggest issue facing Peter Dutton is the cooked state of the Liberal Party,' he told the Sunday Telegraph. Queensland Liberal Senator James McGrath (pictured) said his party is 'cooked' after the federal election The experienced MP, who has worked in the UK for the Conservative Party and was re-elected in last week's election, said while Queensland's LNP members ran a successful campaign, NSW and Victoria massively underperformed. QLD Coalition members retained 21 of the 23 seats it held heading into the election, a strong majority over the state's 29 total places. NSW and Victoria however were decimated by Labor and Independent campaigns, with Mr McGrath blaming the party for failing to relate to its voters. 'Numerous divisions are beset by factional warfare, weird policy priorities, ageing members, spiv warlords, and a dying local campaign structure,' he said. Victoria's Coalition MPs had a disastrous election, with the party now holding just 8 of the state's 39 seats after losing two seats to Labor and two to Independents. 'The number one priority must be a reform of our campaigning capability from the ground up,' Mr McGrath said. Mr McGrath said new leader Peter Dutton's biggest challenge will be healing the party rather than addressing climate change Members will decend upon Canberra next week to vote for the next leaders of the Liberal and National Party. It's expected Mr Dutton will run unopposed for the Liberal leadership, with Sussan Ley to be his deputy. Barnaby Joyce will face competition from former leader David Littleproud for the top job at the Nationals, with Victorian MP Darren Chester also confirming he will nominate. A plane with 22 people on board has gone missing in Nepals mountains, an official said on Sunday. The plane, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, was on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the mountain town of Jomsom before it lost contact with the airport tower not long after take-off. The plane flew from the tourist town of Pokhara, some 125 km (80 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. The possible incident site is believed to be in and around Lete, Mustang, according to the Nepalese Army. The army sent search teams to the site of a fire spotted by local residents, but it was forced to stop searching for the flight because of adverse weather conditions and loss of daylight. 'The search will be resumed early in the morning tomorrow both from air and ground,' said a spokesperson. 'Our search and rescue team with HC is on standby at Jomsom.' State-owned Nepal Television said villagers had seen an aircraft on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River at the foot of the Himalayan mountain Manapathi, in a district bordering Tibet. A plane with 22 people on board has gone missing in Nepals mountains, an official said on Sunday. A Yeti Airlines domestic flight is pictured taking off from Kathmandu Airport carrying rescue team members to search for missing Tara Air plane crash A general view of Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu. The Nepalese Army began conducting searches, but later in the day said it was forced to stop searching for the flight because of cloudy weather conditions Family members and relatives of passengers on board the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Tara Air, weep outside the airport in Pokhara State-owned Nepal Television said villagers had seen an aircraft on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River at the foot of the Himalayan mountain Manapathi 'Ground search teams are proceeding toward that direction,' Tara Air spokesperson Sudarshan Gartaula told Reuters, referring to the fire site. 'It could be a fire by villagers or by cowherds. It could be anything.' The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) also said a team was headed to that area. Hours before, an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport said they were investigating an unconfirmed report of a loud noise in Ghasa of Jomsom, according to the Kathmandu Post. The plane was carrying 13 Nepalis, four Indians, two Germans and three crew members. There was no information on the Twin Otter aircraft but a search was now under way, according to police official Ramesh Thapa. A helicopter has been dispatched to the areas where last contact was made. Planes on the route normally fly between Nepalese mountains before landing in a valley in the Himalayas. It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights have been operating normally. The route is popular with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the Muktinath temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. Pilgrims planning on hiking to the the Muktinath temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists, often board the flight with the hope of reaching the holy site Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the missing aircraft, with registration number 9N-AET, made its first flight in April 1979. The weather office said there had been thick cloud cover in the Pokhara-Jomson area since the morning. Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically located in mountainous areas that are hard to reach. In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board. In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu. Advertisement Tributes have flooded in for horse racing legend Lester Piggott, considered one of the greatest jockeys in the 20th century, who has died aged 86. The nine-time Derby winner, who had a 46 year career and notched up a total of 4,493 wins, passed away a week after he was admitted to hospital in Switzerland, his family announced today. Rod Street, Chief Executive of Great British Racing said, 'Lester was a true titan of sport, a one off who transcended horse racing. 'To this very day, the top answer to "name a famous jockey", remains Lester Piggott. 'Enigmatic and reserved, it was on the track that he did his talking, with nine Derby wins amongst his 30 British Classics together with 11 Champion Jockey titles.' Sir Michael Stoute was also quick to pay tribute to Piggott and says he will forever be grateful to Piggott for helping get his training career off the ground. Piggott rode both an English and Irish Classic winner for the Newmarket trainer, who saddles the likely favourite Desert Crown in Saturday's Cazoo Derby at Epsom. 'It is sad news,' said Stoute. 'He rode my first winner on the Rowley Mile on a horse called Sandal, who was owned by my father, in 1972. 'He won the Irish Derby on Shergar (1981) and he won the 2000 Guineas on Shadeed (1985), as Walter (Swinburn) was suspended for both of those. He was super-sub and he was not a bad sub! 'Lester was a genius on a racehorse. I don't think there has been anyone better.' Stoute added: 'Lester could be very entertaining when he was in the mood - he had a great sense of humour. But he was tough to talk to at times. 'In 1980, actually, he had the pick of plenty of mine, with the hope of carrying that on, but he had fallen out with a few people by that stage. 'He is an icon, a brilliant jockey. Many have tried to be like him and no one has come close.' His cause of death or reason for his hospital admission has not been revealed, but his family told yesterday how his condition appeared to be 'improving' and they hoped he would seen be returning home. Piggot's son-in-law, Derby-winning trainer William Haggas, today said: 'Sadly we can confirm that Lester died peacefully in Switzerland this morning. 'I really don't wish to add much more than that at this stage, although Maureen will be making a statement later.' Speaking at Haydock Park on Saturday, his daughter Maureen Haggas, had said he was 'much better' than earlier in the week. She said: 'I went to see him earlier in the week and he's improving, which is good news. He's much better than he was earlier in the week and hopefully he'll be going home on either Monday or Tuesday.' Unquestionably one of the greatest jockeys of all time, Piggott rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock in 1948 when he was just 12 years of age. Legendary jockey and nine-time Derby winner Lester Piggott has died at the age of 86 Unquestionably one of the greatest jockeys of all time, Piggott rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock in 1948 when he was just 12 years of age His last win came with Palacegate Jack at the same Merseyside track in 1994, a few weeks short of his 59th birthday. He retired for a final time in 1995 His last win came with Palacegate Jack at the same Merseyside track in 1994, a few weeks short of his 59th birthday. He retired for a final time in 1995. Crowned champion jockey 11 times, Piggott first won the Derby in 1954 aboard Never Say Die. Eight more wins followed - including Nijinsky in 1970 - with his last Epsom hero being Teenoso in 1983. Also successful in the 2000 Guineas, Nijinsky and Piggott went on to land the Triple Crown with his triumph in the St Leger. A brief training career saw Piggott saddle Cutting Blade to win the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in 1986, a meeting at which he rode a record 116 winners - with 10 of those coming in the Gold Cup. Piggott was admitted to intensive care back in 2007 due to a recurrence of a heart problem, but made a swift recovery. In 1961, Piggott married Susan Armstrong, the daughter of trainer Sam Armstrong, and the couple moved to Newmarket. They later separated but remained married, with Piggott moving to Switzerland. Eldest daughter Maureen is married to Derby-winning trainer William Haggas and youngest daughter Tracy is a sports broadcaster with RTE in Ireland. Piggott also leaves a son, Jamie, from a relationship with Anna Ludlow, his personal assistant at the time. The Queen and Lester Piggott view the Lester Piggott Gates at Epsom racecourse before the Derby in 1996 Crowned champion jockey 11 times, Piggott first won the Derby in 1954 aboard Never Say Die. Eight more wins followed - including Nijinsky in 1970 - with his last Epsom hero being Teenoso in 1983 In 1961, Piggott married Susan Armstrong, the daughter of trainer Sam Armstrong, and the couple moved to Newmarket. They later separated but remained married, with Piggott moving to Switzerland Eldest daughter Maureen is married to Derby-winning trainer William Haggas and youngest daughter Tracy (pictured) is a sports broadcaster with RTE in Ireland Piggott also leaves a son, Jamie, from a relationship with Anna Ludlow, his personal assistant at the time Piggott receiving the Ritz Club trophy from the Queen Mother in 1981 Willie Carson also paid tribute to Piggott. Carson and Piggott held sway on the track in the 1970s and 80s when both jockeys were in their pomp. Five-times champion Carson said he felt like a part of him had died with the most iconic racing figure of the 20th century. 'I feel as though I have lost part of my life in way, as Lester has been part of my life ever since I came into racing,' said an emotional Carson. 'I came to his in-laws as an apprentice and he was part of my life right from the word go, until the end. He was an iconic figure in the horse racing world. He is a legend. 'We had the luck of some ding-dongs on the track and he was a person who made us all better - because we had to be better to beat him. We had to up our game to compete with him, because he was so magical on top of a horse.' Piggott was known for his single-mindedness and was not averse to phoning up trainers to get rides he thought he could win on, regardless of the incumbent jockey. Carson added: 'He was confident. He had the confidence, because he didn't care about others, where normal people worry about doing the wrong thing. 'That man, for some reason, never showed any pressure. He never seemed to be under any pressure. He rode his horses with such great confidence. 'I wouldn't call him a close friend, but as the years go on, the more endearing you are to one another - we had a racing life together and I wish I had been as good as him.' Asked if there had been anyone better before or since Piggott, the Stirling-born winner of 17 British Classics added: 'Maybe Gordon Richards and possibly you might put Frankie Dettori up there - those are the three iconic jockeys in the last 250 years.' Willie Carson (left) also paid tribute to Piggott. Carson and Piggott held sway on the track in the 1970s and 80s when both jockeys were in their pomp It comes just a week after he was taken to hospital in Switzerland and was said to be improving by his daughter Maureen Haggas, with the hope he would return to his home next week. It is currently unclear how he died. Pictured: Piggott on Desert Orchid in 1998 Piggott taking part in a celebrity parade in 1997 aboard Desert Orchid at Wincanton, with his son Jamie, who took part on a pony Also successful in the 2000 Guineas, Nijinsky and Piggott went on to land the Triple Crown with his triumph in the St Leger Carson added that he was hopeful that his great rival had begun to pull through after being hospitalised last week and hopes were high that he had recovered enough in time to go home over the next few days. 'That is the worst part,' said Carson. 'That has made things worse - I was drafting a letter in my head for a card to say "welcome home" for when he got out. 'It is so sad. Part of my life has gone - that is how I feel.' Piggott was the 'housewives' favourite', particularly when it came to riding in races such as the Derby, and Dettori has long since taken up the baton as the sport's flag-bearer. The Italian had a close relationship with Piggott through the pair's association with the late bookmaker turned gambler and charity fund raiser Barney Curley. Three-time champion Frankie Dettori said: 'It is a shock when you hear news like that. He has been part of our lives forever really. 'Lester was a hero of mine and a good friend. The impact he has made in racing, on all of us, is second to none. 'I will always try to remember him for the good things and I offer my sincere condolences to his family and his many friends. 'He was a legend. We always tried to aspire to be like him and none of us can do it. 'I am not old enough to remember him riding when he was in his peak, but I'm talking as a professional jockey, we all grew up wanting to be like him. 'I kind of got close to him personally, because obviously we were both good friends with Barney (Curley), and Lester was a good friend to me. He will never be forgotten.' KEY MOMENTS IN THE CAREER OF LESTER PIGGOTT 1948: Piggott, aged 12, has his first ride in public on The Chase at Salisbury on April 7. The horse provides him with his first success at Haydock on August 18. 1950: He rides 52 winners as he finishes the season champion apprentice. 1954: Piggott, now 18, partners Never Say Die (33-1) to the first of his nine Derby victories. 1960: Successes in the Derby and St Leger help to win a first jockeys' championship with 170 successes. Marries Susan Armstrong on February 22. 1965: Rides eight winners at Royal Ascot, a score bettered only by Sir Gordon Richards with nine. 1966: Piggott wins fourth championship with his highest ever total 191, 94 clear of his nearest rival. 1970: Wins 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger on Nijinsky, the first horse to win the Triple Crown for 35 years. The pair also finish second in the Champion Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. 1973: Rides Rheingold to record his first success in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after 16 previous failures. 1975: Awarded OBE. 1976: Rides record seventh Derby winner on Empery. 1977: As contract rider to pools magnate Robert Sangster, Piggott wins the Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes on The Minstrel. 1981: Having split with Sangster the previous year, Piggott - now attached to Henry Cecil - wins 1000 Guineas on Fairy Footsteps a week after nearly losing an ear in a starting stalls accident. 1982: Wins the last of his 11 jockeys' championships. 1983: Teenoso carries him to his ninth win in the Derby. 1984: Piggott breaks record set by Frank Buckle 157 years previously when winning 28th classic on Commanche Run in the St Leger. Loses job with Cecil, who signs up Steve Cauthen. 1985: Retirement is announced at end of season. Rides 29th classic winner, Shadeed in the 2000 Guineas, but records only 34 victories, the last of which is on Full Choke at Nottingham, bringing career total to 4,349. Finishes second on final ride. 1986: Piggott sets up as trainer in Newmarket, saddling 30 winners including one at Royal Ascot. 1987: Wins first Classic as trainer with Lady Bentley in the Italian Oaks. Jailed for three years for tax evasion in October. 1988: Stripped of OBE. Released from prison after serving a year of sentence. 1989: Returns to saddle with three rides in Peru. 1990: Return to race riding announced and Piggott finishes close second on first ride back. Rides first winner of comeback on Nicholas, trained by wife Susan, at Chepstow. Gains memorable triumph in 1million Breeders' Cup Mile in New York on Royal Academy. 1992: Wins 30th British classic on Rodrigo De Triano, owned by Sangster, in 2000 Guineas. The pair also collect the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Juddmonte International and Champion Stakes to earn tilt at Breeders' Cup Classic. Fractures collar-bone and breaks two ribs in horror fall from Mr Brooks in opening race of Breeders' Cup meeting in Miami, Florida. 1994: Rides last winner, Palacegate Jack, at Haydock on October 6. Advertisement A brief training career saw Piggott saddle Cutting Blade to win the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in 1986, a meeting at which he rode a record 116 winners - with 10 of those coming in the Gold Cup. Pictured in 1948 Piggott was admitted to intensive care back in 2007 due to a recurrence of a heart problem, but made a swift recovery. Pictured in 1960 Piggott at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire for Royal Ascot in 1964 Piggott riding Free Guest in 1985 Chapple-Hyam told Racing TV: 'It was just unbelievable for a young man like myself to have Lester Piggott riding for you. He was my hero, he was everyone's hero. Everything went like clockwork, Lester and the horse suited each other down to the ground. 'He had an aura about him all the time, I remember before the Juddmonte, when he'd had time off and I brought him back and galloped him. Lester rode him, he pulled up and the first words he said to me were "if you'd had him this right for the Derby I wouldn't have come off the bridle." That was just Lester. 'There are very few people in racing who are known by their first names, Frankie (Dettori), Lester, probably Henry (Cecil) - and that's by the general public, not just us people who think it's a huge world in our business. You mention Lester's name, everyone knows Lester, everyone has got a story to tell about Lester. 'Whether they backed him in the five o'clock somewhere or they bumped into him, he was worldwide.' Lester Piggott's thirst for success knew no boundaries - at times, dangerously - and his life really was too far-fetched to be a novel... but The Long Fellow's obsession with winning made him perhaps the Greatest jockey of all time ByMarcus Townend for MailOnline Lester Piggott, arguably the 20th century's most iconic racing figure, has died at the age of 86. Piggott had been in hospital in Switzerland where he moved to live in 2012. That move in retirement may have meant he was largely out of the public eye but the Piggott name remained synonymous with racing, and over 25 years after his riding retirement he remained one of the few jockeys members of the general public would still be able to name. The word legend can be thrown around like confetti but in Piggott's case it was undoubtedly true. Sir Gordon Richards may have been champion jockey more times 26 as opposed to 11 but Piggott will forever be remembered as a winning machine in the saddle, a rider whose quest for success was obsessive as well as mind-boggling. You could use a dictionary of adjectives to try to sum up Piggott some of them surprising - and still not get close to summing him up. Complex, compelling, introverted, mischievous, miserly, ruthless, shy, uncompromising, unique, flawed. Take your pick. Each one could be an adjective linked to a jockey who won his first race at 12 years old and went to win 4,493 more in Britain (around 5,300 worldwide), including a record 30 Classics and nine Derbys before finally retiring when he was 57. Lester Piggott, arguably the 20th century's most iconic racing figure, has died at age of 86 Competing during an era of charismatic sporting superstars headed by motor-mouth Muhammed Ali, the Piggott legend was built around silence. Partially deaf and with a speech impediment, to the public he was a distant and unlikely hero. He said little, at least audibly, and rarely smiled. Old Stoneface, with his craggy features, had his eyes focused on winning, and punters loved it. What he would do every year in the Derby became a national obsession. Punters signed up to the fan club of the jockey with a style only fools tried to imitate as he folded his 5ft 8in frame in two, his bottom perched high like a shark's fin as he hunted down his prey. The Long Fellow, another nickname because he boiled down his body to two stone under its natural weight on a diet of cigars and fresh air, had married Susan Armstrong, daughter of Newmarket trainer Sam Armstrong, in 1960. By then he was already an established winning machine and master tactician whose natural talent was to re-write racing history with a thirst for success which, at times, knew no boundaries. That disregard of rules on occasions saw him clash with the racing authorities and ultimately crash to earth and spend a year in prison for tax evasion. Yet from that nadir, at the age 54, Piggott wrote possibly the most remarkable chapter of his life by returning to the saddle and winning the Breeders' Cup Mile on Vincent O'Brien's Royal Academy 12 days after his release in front of 100,000 spectators at Belmont Park in New York. If the Piggott story had been penned as a novel, it would have been in danger of been dismissed as far-fetched. Certainly, no-one who witnessed that first success on The Chase at Haydock on August 18, 1948 (his first ride had been in April that year on the same horse at Salisbury) could have predicted the path that the then angelic-looking boy would tread. But even those early days, the fierce will to win surged through his veins, cultivated by his father Keith, himself a capable jump jockey with over 500 winners and who later trained 1963 Grand National winner Ayala. Racing was in Piggott's blood. His grandfather Ernie rode three Grand National winners and was champion jump jockey three times. His mother Lilian hailed from the Rickaby racing family. Piggott spent a year in prison for tax evasion and as a result forfeited his OBE and the near certainty of a knighthood. Pictured the former jockey greets the Queen at the Epsom Derby Piggott as an apprentice jockey at his father's training stable at Lambourn in 1950 During those early riding years, it is clamed Piggott's father was determined to toughen his son up and pitted him against bigger stronger opposition in boxing matches within the stable. The result was a driven teenage sensation. Despite attempts by Berkshire County Council to prevent the youngster riding full time, Lester was champion apprentice in both 1950 and 1951. His first Derby ride came on unplaced Zucchero in that second year. Three years later, 33-1 outsider Never Say Die gave Piggott his first win in the premier Classic when only 18. He celebrated that evening by mowing his parents' lawn. At the time he was also riding over jumps. Eldoret was his first win at Wincanton on Boxing Day 1953 and he landed the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival that season on Prince Charlemagne. But only days after that first Derby win in 1954, the stewards, seemingly frustrated by his lack of respect, banned him for the rest of the season for an overly aggressive ride on Never Say Die in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. It meant he missed Never Say Die's St Leger win but proved no hinderance to his progress. Derby success on Crepello in 1957 and St Paddy in 1960 came as he rode for hugely respected royal trainer Noel Murless but it was not enough. Piggott wanted to be on the best horses all the time no matter who trained them and the restrictions of being a stable jockey prevented that. In 1967, he broke with convention and turned freelance. The move allowed him to forged a lucrative relationship with Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien and owner Robert Sangster. At times Piggott's selfish approach when he tested out horses on the gallops and ignored O'Brien's orders were a huge frustration but he delivered the trainer five Derby wins. Sir Ivor 1968 was the one Piggott picked out as the best but 1970 Triple Crown winner Nijinsky was the one with the highest profile. The Minstrel edging out Willie Carson in 1977 when Piggott was at his strongest and most liberal with the whip was arguably the most memorable. With Piggott on the prowl for rides, his weighing room rivals were nervously glancing over their shoulders. No-one was safe. One of the best known examples came with Commanche Run, the 1984 St Leger winner. Piggott had deputised for suspended American jockey Darrel McHargue when the Luca Cumani-trained colt had won its trial at Goodwood and was determined it would be his mount. A pressurised owner Ivan Allan later recalled: 'I remember him telling me that McHargue couldn't ride a bicycle and I'd better put him on the horse.' When the news emerged of his 'jocking off' a disgruntled McHargue told reporters he would spend St Leger day playing tennis instead. As he read that on his way up to Doncaster while rain fell, Piggott reportedly turned to his travelling companion and unrepentantly quipped: 'He won't be doing that either.' Two weeks later, McHargue's contract with Cumani was ended. It is just one of the stories recalling Piggott's quick wit. When the trainer Ben Leigh, who averaged fewer than 10 winners a season, was unhappy with a ride Piggott had given his horse in a selling race at Sandown he loudly told the jockey: 'You'll never ride for me again.' 'Well I'd better pack it in then, hadn't I?' Piggott responded. When trainer Jeremy Tree once asked him: 'I've got to speak to my old school, Lester, all the boys at Eton, and tell them all I know about racing. What shall I say?' After a pause, Piggott replied: 'Tell 'em you have flu.' Another memorable incident came in the 1979 Grand Prix de Deauville when Piggott, having dropped his whip riding runner-up African Hope, grabbed the stick of leading French jockey Alain Lequeux as his mount needed extra encouragement. 'I thought he was beat,' claimed Piggott, whose explanation that Lequeux had handed the whip over voluntarily were dashed by his French colleague's lack of English. His mount was demoted by the stewards. Piggott's father Keith (left) was also a successful jockey but his son's achievements dwarfed his But, if Piggott was obsessed with winning, he was equally focused on money, a careful attitude imbued in him since childhood. But simple parsimony unfortunately turned to law breaking. Piggott's massive reputation in the saddle meant he could name his own price to ride and frequently did. Income was stashed away and tax ignored, with Piggott blaming his lack of education as cause of him not realising his obligations. In the mid-1980s, horseracing figures were already under wider scrutiny from the Inland Revenue. A fruitful time as stable jockey to Henry Cecil had ended in 1984 and at the end of the 1985 season after two rides at Nottingham on October 29 including a win on Full Choke Piggott retired to set up as a trainer in Newmarket where, at his peak, he had almost 100 horses in his care. But a secret letter had emerged from Cecil asking his owners to pay a secret retainer in cash (compounding the suspicion with orders to destroy the letter). Despite strenuous efforts to keep the story quiet, the affair finally became public. Even so, Piggott might still have escaped with a hefty demand plus interest, together with VAT. But he made the error of failing to admit to all of his bank accounts when the Inland Revenue inspectors knew, through Special Branch and other sources, that he had numerous others. 1970 Triple Crown winner Nijinsky (left) was the highest profile horse he was connected to Piggott was crowned champion jockey 11 times and racked up 4,493 race wins in Britain The case finally came to court on October 23, 1987. Despite having already repaid 3.25million to the Inland Revenue as well as the full sum demanded by Customs and Excise (VAT) he was sentenced to three years in jail. He was released on bail 366 days later from Highpoint prison, near Bury St Edmunds. It was a terrible fall from grace from one of Britain's most high-profile sporting stars. He forfeited his OBE and the near certainty of a knighthood but Piggott sought sanctuary in the one thing he knew riding horses and that Breeders' Cup ride. He was to ride one more Classic winner Peter Chapple-Hyam's Rodrigo De Triano in the 1992 2,000 Guineas and, with perfect symmetry, his last win came on board Palacegate Jack on October 5 1994 at Haydock, the track where it had all begun, and a statue stands at the Merseyside course to commemorate the achievements. A month later his last professional ride was unplaced on Mr Confusion in the November Handicap at Doncaster. In his 'second' retirement, Piggott initially kept riding out for his son-in-law, Derby winning Newmarket trainer William Haggas, who married his eldest daughter Maureen. Younger daughter Tracy continues to work as a TV racing presenter in Ireland while Piggott's marriage to Susan, which had survived the birth of a son Jamie with his former assistant Anna Ludlow in 1994, drifted to an end as he spent time with a new partner Barbara living in Switzerland. When the Professional Jockeys Association inaugurated their annual awards in 1990 their version of the Oscars they chose the name Lesters for their prized statuettes. It was a decision which reflected their respect for jockey seen as one of the all-time greats. Many believe the Greatest. Piggott won 30 Classics and is seen as one of the all-time greats. Many believe the Greatest All residents in Western Australia and South Australia can receive a free flu jab in June. WA residents of all ages will be able to receive their free influenza jab from Wednesday at state-run clinics or participating pharmacies and GPs. People aged over five in South Australia can go to their local GP or pharmacy to get their free vaccine. There have been 1195 confirmed cases of influenza in SA this year, compared with 12 cases for the same period last year SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said his state's program was expected to cost $4.9 million. 'The dual challenge of broad community spread of COVID-19 and influenza at the same time during winter threatens to put further pressure on a hospital system already facing significant demand,' Mr Malinauskas said in a statement on Sunday. 'We must do everything we can to ensure as many South Australians as possible are immunised against both COVID and influenza to ease pressure on our hospitals.' There have been 1195 confirmed cases of influenza in SA this year, compared with 12 cases for the same period last year. WA has had 194 flu cases in 2022, with only about 20 per cent of West Australians receiving their flu jab so far this year. 'After two years of very low flu cases, I would urge all Western Australians to roll up to protect themselves now before the worst of winter,' WA Premier Mark McGowan said in a statement. WA has had 194 flu cases in 2022, with only about 20 per cent of West Australians receiving their flu jab so far this year It comes after Queensland made influenza vaccines free to all people aged six months and over. In NSW they'll be free of charge via GPs and pharmacists for those five years and above during June while Victoria is considering a similar arrangement and other states and territories are likely to follow. NSW Pharmacy Guild president David Heffernan said on Sunday the state's decision to go ahead with the program underlined its commitment to protecting residents in what is emerging as a very severe flu season. 'Harnessing the vaccinating capacity of community pharmacists is crucial to tackling all avoidable hospitalisations,' he said. A one-year-old girl who had her lipped torn in two and was left needing skin grafts after the family's 'perfect' St Bernard tried to rip her face off is still 'traumatised' by the attack nearly a year ago, her horrified mother has said. The pet - weighing 132lbs and standing at 6ft tall on its hind legs - had to be put down following the incident, when mother Lizanne Naude, 32, from Johannesburg, South Africa, found little Mene covered in blood. The toddler also had a 'huge wound near her neck' from the completely unexpected assault. Ms Naude has told of how the horrific onslaught, which still haunts the family, seemingly came out of nowhere as the dog was 'house trained and perfect with the kids'. Last year her young daughter Mene was sat with one of their family dogs in the kitchen while father Jaco, 32, cooked the dinner. Out of the blue, the St Bernard, which dwarfed the tiny girl, was overcome with a random bout of aggression and sank his teeth into her face. Following the incident, mother Lizanne Naude, 32, from Johannesburg, South Africa, found little Mene (pictured) covered in blood Ms Naude (pictured with Mene) has told of how the horrific onslaught, which still haunts the family, seemingly came out of nowhere The dog left Mene with blood pouring down her face and neck from her countless wounds. Ms Naude ran inside when she heard screams. She said: 'I saw bite marks and blood, and Mene was screaming. 'At this stage, I wasn't thinking about anything except to comfort her and try to stop the blood. 'I had no idea what I was doing but it was instinctive, I wanted to keep her close to me.' Mene's entire face was bandaged up to the point that her skin was barely visible - and the parents had no idea how she would look until the bandages came off. Pictured left as she is now, and right following the horror assault Father Jaco, 32, pictured with the family St Bernard which was put down after the gruesome attack The horrified parents rushed Mene to hospital where doctors operated on her wounds, including a deep cut across her neck, and a tear from her top lip all the way up to her nose. They had to do skin grafts and realign her skin to reform her lip, as well as attend to her deep neck wound. Speaking about the day of the attack, the mother-of-two said: 'Her lip was completely ripped open and she had a huge wound near her neck - it's amazing that didn't hit a major artery. 'We had no idea how she would even look after the skin grafts and face surgery because she was so bandaged up.' Ms Naude said she and her husband still have nightmares about the incident, which took place on August 22, 2021. The horrified parents rushed Mene to hospital where doctors operated on her wounds, including a deep cut across her neck, and a tear from her top lip all the way up to her nose Speaking about the day of the attack, the mother-of-two said: 'We had no idea how she would even look after the skin grafts and face surgery because she was so bandaged up' She added: 'It's been nearly a year now but the impact has been huge - it's hard not to think about the worst that could have happened. 'My daughter and son are both traumatised and my husband and I both have nightmares about it. 'We had had him almost a year and he was house trained and perfect with the kids - he'd never flinch and we'd never had any issues but that day he just changed. 'He gave no signs he was going to attack - animal instinct you can never really trust and you need to be aware of it. Ms Naude (pictured with her children) said she and her husband still have nightmares about the incident, which took place on August 22, 2021 'We're thankful at the end of the day because it could have been so much more serious, but it's been a hell of a rollercoaster.' The day after the attack, the pet was being bundled into the car to go to the SPCA shelter, when it savaged Jaco's arm too. It was decided by vets that a dog who attacked on more than one occasion was too much of a risk and could not be rehabilitated - and it had to be put down. 'I couldn't understand it,' Ms Naude said. 'In that moment, it was like having a different dog.' Every week the family would have to return to the hospital to check all fourteen wounds to ensure none of them had become infected Now, Mene's wounds have healed although she has been left with lots of red scars that she is having treatment for at a scar clinic Every week the family would have to return to the hospital to check all fourteen wounds to ensure none of them had become infected. Mene's entire face was bandaged up to the point that her skin was barely visible - and the parents had no idea how she would look until the bandages came off. Now, Mene's wounds have healed although she has been left with lots of red scars that she is having treatment for at a scar clinic. But the trauma has left her unable to speak properly and she still 'babbles' now - despite being able to say some words before the accident. Ms Naude said: 'It has had a traumatic effect on her and on our whole family. 'We still don't understand it - Mene used to love sitting next to Bernie and stroking his fur. 'He loved it too, she would never pull his fur or ears, even at a young age. 'But we are very thankful at the end of the day - the doctor said we are lucky everything was well aligned so it didn't hit her eye or neck. 'It could have been so much worse and hopefully by the age of ten she won't have any visible scars left.' Flying Frenchman Franky Zapata, who made history by becoming the first person to cross the English channel on a homemade jetpack, has been injured after crashing into a lake while demonstrating his invention. Mr Zapata, 43, sustained injuries after appearing to lose control of his flyboard during an exhibition event at Lake Biscarrosse, in Landes, France, on Saturday. Stretching across 35km, the vast stretch of water is the second largest lake in France after Lake Hourtin. A video of the incident posted on Twitter, shows Mr Zapata wearing a full body suit and helmet, taking off at speed and rising high into the air. Crash impressionnant de @frankyzapata aujourdhui au meeting aerien de #biscarrosse Heureusement il est tombe dans leau et devrait sen sortir je lespere sans trop de soucis. #frankyzapata #biscarrosse #crash pic.twitter.com/SjWbGOp74W Alex (@Alex170346741) May 28, 2022 French inventor Franky Zapata, pictured in 2019 during his historic crossing of the English Channel on his Flyboard, has been injured while demonstrating his invention in France Franky Zapata pictured in 2019 just prior to achieving his historic English Channel crossing He then makes several turns while still gaining height, before spiralling rapidly, falling around 15 metres and crashing into the water below. French media outlet Sud Ouest reported Mr Zapata was conscious and officials later told reporters he was showing 'good sensitivity and motor skills' while under observation in hospital, BBC News reports. Further planned appearances by Mr Zapata at the exhibition show have been cancelled, Biscarrosse mayor Helene Larrezet told local media. The crowd watch as Franky Zapata takes off during an exhibition show at Lake Biscarrosse Zapata is seen quickly rising into the air on his device, which can go at speeds of up to 110mph Footage captures Zapata rising quickly into the air as the flight initially seems to be going well Within moments Zapata appears to spiral off further away from the crowd and loses height The crowd audibly gasps as Zapata spirals out of control before crashing into the lake below The former army reservist and jet-ski champion made a name for himself after a successful and audacious crossing of the English Channel on his device in 2019. At the time, cheering crowds shouted 'Allez le Flying Frenchman!' as he flew at a speed of some 87mph, staying at least 49 feet above the water, towards the White Cliffs of Dover from Sangatte beach, in Calais. Upon landing just 23 minutes later, a triumphant Mr Zapata landed at St Margaret's Bay in Kent, saying: 'Frankly, this feels magnificent!' Franky Zapata punches the air with happiness after crossing the English Channel in 2019 The feat was completed second time around after his first attempt ended by crashing off a refuelling boat 12 miles into the trip. His Flyboard took four years to develop at a cost of 200,000. It is propelled by five 250-horsepower engines on the underside of the board and can reach speeds of up to 110mph. This is not the first time Mr Zapata has been injured in the development of his invention, which can reach a staggering 10,000ft. In 2016, he lost two fingers in the turbines during his first flight on the Flyboard. Boris Johnson is set to announce the return of imperial measurements after the UK's break with the European Union. The Prime Minister could reportedly announce a consultation into how to further incorporate imperial measurements in Britain on Friday to coincide with the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Downing Street hopes the move could shore up support in Leave-voting areas after Conservative polling took a hit amid revelations about lockdown-busting parties at No 10, the Mirror reported. Boris Johnson (pictured at a Jubilee celebration last week) is set to announce the return of imperial measurements after the UK's break with the European Union The EU weights and measures directive came into force in 2000, with traders legally required to use metric units for sale-by-weight or the measure of fresh produce (File image) Pint glasses will also be adorned with a Crown for the first time in nearly 20 years after Ministers axed EU rules banning the patriotic symbol. With the country gearing up for a long bank holiday weekend to mark the Queen's 70-year reign, the Government has launched a consultation on sweeping away the ban on imperial measures meaning shops could once again be allowed to sell products in pounds and ounces. The EU weights and measures directive came into force in 2000, with traders legally required to use metric units for sale-by-weight or the measure of fresh produce. In anticipation of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, pint glasses will be adorned with a Crown for the first time in nearly 20 years after Ministers axed EU rules banning the patriotic symbol (File image) It remains legal to price goods in pounds and ounces but they have to be displayed alongside the price in grams and kilograms. Although there will not be a move away from metric units the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will lead a consultation about where it makes sense to incorporate or switch to imperial measurements, such as with feet and yards or pints and gallons. Traders will likely to be free to choose which system they use. The UK currently uses a mix of imperial and metric, with speed limits in miles per hour rather than kilometres, and milk and beer bought in pints. Food packaging in supermarkets is mainly labelled in grammes, while most soft drinks and other liquids on shop shelves are sold in litres. Last night, the move to reintroduce the Crown on pint glasses which first appeared in 1699 during the reign of William III was hailed by Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg as 'a very fitting symbol of how the Queen's realm is being returned to her people now that they have been freed from the bureaucratic Suzerain of Brussels'. From Friday, pubs will be able to sell pints in glasses bearing the symbol for the first time since the 2004 EU Measuring Instruments Directive required the use of the EU-wide 'CE mark' to demonstrate conformity with EU rules. A Government source said last night that the legal requirement to use the CE mark led to the effective removal of the Crown symbol because the UK 'could not have two competing indications of conformity'. Boris Johnson is determined to demonstrate a 'Brexit dividend' for voters since leading us out of the EU and is equally keen to harness a political 'bunting bounce' after being battered by criticism over Partygate and leadership plotting against him by rebel MPs. The move has faced criticism from the Conservative backbenches, with Alicia Kearns - one of at least 20 Tory MPs to declare they have lost confidence in the Prime Minister over his handling of lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street - calling the idea 'a nonsense'. Yet Tory MP Brandon Lewis said voters and businesses are 'pleased' that the UK Government is set to open the door to greater use of imperial weights and measures. Mr Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said that while the policy was 'light-hearted' and a 'smaller' freedom provided by Brexit, there were people who 'want to go back' to using imperial weights, such as pounds and ounces, and measures such as yards and miles. How the EU stole the pint's Crown King William III Of England (1650-1702) The symbol of the Crown was introduced on pint measures more than 300 years ago during the reign of William III to stop publicans ripping off their customers by serving drinks in smaller glasses. The insignia shows that, when filled to the brim or to a line measure, 20 imperial fluid ounces or 568ml of beer has been served. When the rule was introduced in 1699, innkeepers faced a penalty of up to 40 shillings if they did not serve ale in a vessel marked with the Crown. Glasses were also required to display the initials of the reigning monarch, although this was scrapped in 1964. In 1824, The Weights and Measures Act, along with a later 1878 Act, created the British imperial system and the Crown stamp as it would be recognised today. More recently, a certification number was required to be added under the Crown so a glass could be traced back to the weights and measures inspector responsible for certifying it. Each inspector like a police officer had an identifying number and was responsible for a certain area or factory. In 2004, the EU Measuring Instruments Directive, which came into force in 2006, required the EU-wide CE mark to be added to pint glasses. Pubs and brewers pleaded unsuccessfully with the then prime minister Tony Blair to save the Crown and to allow it to be displayed next to the CE. However, following the directive, glasses could only be adorned with the symbol for decorative purposes, rather than as an indicator of measurement. Advertisement Ms Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, tweeted that 'not one constituent, ever, has asked for this'. She added: 'This isn't a Brexit freedom. It's a nonsense.' Mr Lewis, however, said it would allow the likes of greengrocers and pub landlords to run their businesses as they see fit following the UK's exit from the European Union. He told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: 'This gives people and businesses the freedom. 'There are sectors out there - I know people out there in my constituency, the market traders and vegetable traders as well as some of the pubs - which will be pleased to be able to go back to those imperial measurements. 'We're just saying you now have a choice, and now we've left the EU we can do that. 'Yes, it is one of the smaller things we can do since we left the EU, there are other bigger things we can do and want to do, but it is an indication we now have the freedom to make these decisions ourselves.' Before a looser interpretation of the EU's directive was introduced, some shop owners were prosecuted for failing to adhere to the Brussels stipulations, becoming known as 'metric martyrs'. Reviving imperial measures could also help the Prime Minister to win support in pro-Brexit seats, which will be vital at the next General Election. In other Jubilee developments: The Mail on Sunday can reveal the Queen will make two appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony despite her ongoing mobility difficulties; Meghan Markle's father Thomas paid tribute to Her Majesty as he left hospital after treatment for a stroke; Prince William performed in a dress rehearsal for Trooping the Colour while riding a horse named George; A new poll revealed that the Queen has an 86 per cent public approval rating, with more than two-thirds of Britons wanting the country to remain a monarchy. Pint glasses were first marked with a Crown more than 300 years ago to reassure suspicious customers that they were not being cheated by unscrupulous landlords trying to serve drinks in undersized glasses. The Government will this week publish guidance endorsing the use of the symbol by businesses and will also launch a consultation on removing the legal requirement for metric units to be used for all trade purposes with only limited exceptions. Currently, imperial units are only authorised for use on their own in a small number of cases, such sales of draught beer and cider. A Government source said: 'We Brits measure our walks in miles and our beer and milk by the pint. Nobody knows what a four-and-a-half kilo baby looks like, but we all know a ten-pounder is a whopper. 'It's time we held our heads high about our long history of traditional measures. 'And what better way to celebrate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee than restoring the Crown emblem back on to the side of pint glasses so that we can toast her health and service to this country.' The move was welcomed by Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, the leader of the Common Sense Group. 'This is superb news. Now that we are free from the clutches of the European Union we can realise once again our proud history and our confident future,' he said. 'The symbols of identity are very important in that endeavour. So let's have Britannia and the Crown and the other symbols of our kingdom stamped all over the place. This is an entirely fitting tribute. It is just so uplifting and heart-warming. 'Let's make Britain again a flag-waving patriotic country and a tribute to Her Majesty's dedicated service to our nation. This is building from our glorious past to our even more glorious future.' Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith added last night: 'I look forward to raising a Crown of beer to toast Her Majesty's Jubilee.' Learner drivers are left frustrated by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) backlogs preventing them from booking a test within a reasonable time frame, as many face waiting until 2023 for a slot. Industry campaigners have warned that preventing young people from the 'rite of passage' was stopping many from planning for the future. Analysis of the DVSA's test booking site by The Telegraph found that the UK capital didn't have any available test slots for at least 24 weeks as of Saturday night. Major cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Bristol were last night plagued by similar issues. The DVSA's business plan, released last week, promised to tackle delays. It said training capacity has already been doubled and the body is 'on track to recruit over 300 additional driving examiners'. Learner drivers are being left frustrated by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) backlogs preventing them from booking a test within a reasonable time frame, as many face waiting until 2023 for a slot (stock photo used) The plan also aims to bring average waiting times down to nine weeks by the end of the year. However as the issues persist, driving test backlogs could hit young people with further issues. As current rules mean learners can only book one test at a time, a failure could result being slammed with another months-long wait. AA president Edmund King yesterday told The Telegraph: 'The backlog does not appear to be improving. It's incredibly difficult for young people to plan their future. 'Learning to drive is incredibly important to the start of adult life. Unfortunately for young people that freedom, that rite of passage is being taken away from them.' The Driving Instructors Association (DIA) has also cautioned that certain websites with algorithms also work harder to swipe up available slots than a person can, making it even harder to book anything. Analysis of the DVSA's test booking site by The Telegraph found that the UK capital didn't have any available test slots for at least 24 weeks (stock photo used) The association's general manager Karen Bransgrove told the outlet: 'There's a lot of frustration about it. Driving instructors feel that these sites make the situation worse.' Last year the agency said backlog is not expected to return to normal levels until 2023 but that they are implementing several measures to tackle the waiting list including a recruitment drive and looking to the private sector to help with testing. Figures for October 22, obtained by the AA Driving School from the DVSA, showed that 538,832 tests were booked for the following 24 weeks. DVSA's Chief Executive, Loveday Ryder said: 'We are doing all we can to provide as many tests as possible so we can get our services back to normal. 'I know learners will be keen to take their test now, but it is important that they are properly prepared for their test and don't take it before they are ready. 'With more than half of candidates failing, and demand currently extremely high for tests, learners should only take their test when they are confident they can pass. 'This will help them to avoid a lengthy wait for a retest and help us by not adding to the driving test waiting list.' The DVSA said the average waiting time for a driving test is 14 weeks, depending on test centre availability and demand. It was in November reported that there were more than 500,000 learners waiting to take a test with an average waiting time of 14 weeks, the DVSA said, but some were even then being handed a slot that is up to 24 weeks away. Driving tests were prohibited for 12 months as part of the Government's response to prevent the spread of Covid and only resumed in April 2021. As a result, thousands of drivers were left unable to take their test, creating a backlog which now means some learners are waiting months for a slot. The last known movements of an Australian mother who mysteriously vanished in Mexico were captured on CCTV hours before her toddler was found wandering barefoot and alone late at night. Tahnee Shanks, 32, originally from the Whitsundays in Queensland, had been living in Merida, Mexico with her estranged partner Jorge Aguirre Estudillo and their two-year-old daughter Adelynn. She had been enjoying a short break in Cancun with her former partner and their daughter when she vanished without a trace. Her frantic family back in Australia raised the alarm and reported her missing after photos surfaced online of little Adelynn wandering the streets alone and barefoot outside a church late at night on May 2. Four weeks on, Adelynn has settled well into her new life in Australia as the search for her parents on the other side of the world continues. Investigators have pieced together the pair's last known movements though CCTV, mobile phone data and licence plate recognition technology. Tahnee Shanks and her estranged partner Jorge Aguirre Estudillo remain missing in Mexico. Their daughter Adelynn was later found wandering the streets of Cancun alone Earlier on May 2, the family checked out of their hotel in Cancun with their white ute captured on CCTV, which has been aired publicly for the first time The footage shows the pair's white ute leaving the hotel around 11.30am as they began the 300 kilometre drive back to Merida. They travelled 20 kilometres when the ute suddenly did a U-turn and headed back towards Cancun, before taking a detour off the highway. The last signal from Estudillo's phone was picked up just after midday. Nine hours later, Adelynn was found wandering the streets barefoot and alone outside the Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel church in Cancun. Not long after, her parents' car was found burnt out in Puerto Morelos, 40 kilometres south of Cancun. One month on, authorities are still trying to place how, when and why the family returned to Cancun. Tahnee's mother Leanne Shanks refuses to give up hope she may still alive. 'The last few days I've had this renewed feeling, I can't understand it, I would have felt it if she was gone,' she told 60 Minutes as she fought back tears. 'I know that sounds silly to some people but that is how I feel. It gives me that bit of hope I guess. 'She's my baby, my youngest, I hope we get her back.' The pair's white ute was captured on leaving a Cancun hotel on the morning of May 2. They travelled 20 kilometres towards Merida when the ute suddenly did a U-turn and headed back towards Cancun, before taking a detour off the highway The family were heading back home to Merida after spending the night in Cancun when Tahnee and her former partner vanished Adelynn (pictured) was found wandering alone and barefoot outside a church in Cancun hours after her parents checked out of the hotel Tahnee's brother Dan has offered a one million peso reward (A$70,000) for information on his sister's disappearance. 'We've just got to keep going until we bring Tahnee home until something happens, a miracle happen,' he said. 'But I'm not giving up on her.' Police in Mexico are investigating two lines of inquiry into the pair's disappearance. The first is Ms Shanks is a victim of domestic violence and Estudillo is on the run. The second, and more likely, is that is Estudillo is a criminal with links to infamous cartels in Mexico and the couple's disappearance was payback. 'What I can say is that they may have been followed and that's why they turned around, they took the secondary road,' state attorney Oscar Montes de Oca Rosales told the program. 'He had been threatened before and even had hired a bodyguard because he had been threatened before and he was afraid.' 'According to the law, we consider them as alive, for them and that's the way that we look until something else is shown.' Little Adelynn (pictured) is settling well into a new life in Queensland after her grandmother and uncle Dan made the frantic dash to Mexico to collect her Adelynn's godmother Nikita Weller claimed her good friend Tahnee had confided in her about her fears about her former partner. The couple had recently separated Tahnee found out he had an affair and Tahnee had booked a flight to return home to Queensland with Adelynn. 'She found out he was into some shady stuff. She didn't say what. But it scared her enough to want to come home,' Ms Weller said. 'She just said he was into shady stuff and she was scared and that was it. 'I told her 'I think you need to come home. I think this is it, it's time you've got to come home somehow.' Ms Shanks later sent a disturbing text message to another friend asking them to remember her estranged partner's name. 'I know this is gunna sound weird but keep (his) name. Jorge Luis Aguirre Astudillo! Just in case anything happens to me they can go after him.' 'Not that anything will! But I just want to keep that as a backup.' Tahnee told the same thing to her friend Nikita. 'She even said to me, make sure you know Jorge's full name in case I go missing,' Ms Weller said. 'I think it has to do had to do with what she found out and she kept those cards to herself.' 'I know the statistics logically in my head of her being alive are very slim but evn if there's one per chance, I need her to come back alive.' The pair's white ute was found burnt out shortly after their little girl was found wandering the streets alone in Cancun Tahnee's mum Leanne Shanks (pictured) holds onto the slim hope her daughter is still alive Mystery also remains about how Adelynn ended up wandering the streets alone outside the Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel church. Tahnee's mother and brother rushed to Mexico within days after a family friend alerted them about the online photos of Adelynn. Leanne had only met her granddaughter once before but Dan had never met his niece due to Covid. '(Tahnee's) never been away from that child,' Tahnee's mum said. '(I wanted to) get her out, just get her here.' Cancun local Carlos recalled how one man asked him and his family if the two-year-old belonged to them before asking them to look after her while he looked for the girl's parents. The man never returned so Carlos reported the incident to police and posted photos of the little girl on Facebook, which went viral around the world. 'A random guy just approached us and said, 'be careful, your little girl may cross the road and get hit by a car,' Carlos recalled. 'He said 'I will go around the church and look for the family and I'll come back. Can you look after the girl for just a few seconds?' Tahnee was enjoying a short holiday with her ex and their daughter when she last spoke to her brother Dan and sister-in-law Angela a day before her disappearance on May 1. Tahnee had been living in Yucatan capital of Merida. She was waiting to receive her toddler's passport and had booked plane tickets to arrive in Australia on June 22. Adelynn was reunited with her uncle Dan and grandmother Leanne (pictured together) in Mexico before they brought her back to Australia This is one of the last photos of Tahnee Shanks with daughter Adelynn taken on their holiday The devoted mum's social media pages are full of happy snaps of her little girl. Ms Shanks had been travelling the world since she was 18 and describes herself on social media as a 'Happy Hippy Ginger Ninja meering around the world one country at a time.' Before she went overseas, she worked in Australia as an assistant nurse looking after the elderly, which she described as a rewarding career. 'The travel bug bit me in 2010 taking me on my first 18 month journey through Asia and parts of Europe volunteering and couch surfing my way across the country,' the freelance writer wrote on a travel blog for the Whitsundays. Ms Shanks returned home and saved for two years and then headed back overseas travelling through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the US before settling in Mexico. Mystery remains what happened to Tahnee Shanks and Jorge Aguirre Estudillo on May 2 Family of Aussie toddler found wandering the streets in Mexico reveal the HORRIFIC abuse they've copped from trolls - and the heartbreaking question they dread the two-year-old will ask about her missing mum By Sam McPhee for Daily Mail Australia The family of a two-year-old Australian girl found alone outside a church in Mexico have revealed they were taunted by trolls in the 60 minutes before officials allowed them to bring the child home. Two-year-old Adelynn was found outside the chapel in Cancun on May 3 before her mother Tahnee Shanks, 32, and dad Jorge Aguirre Astudillo were both been reported missing. The young girl's uncle Ben Shanks and grandmother Leanne had flown from Queensland to Mexico to bring her home, with growing fears someone from Astudillo's family may come and claim her. Dan Shanks, another of Adelynn's uncles, told Daily Mail Australia the family waited anxiously through a evening where their delegation landed, retrieved the child, went to their hotel and back to the plane - all within 60 hectic minutes. 'Within an hour of landing and getting Addy, Mexican officials offered to fly them home,' he said. 'The government agreed it was the best thing for the child that she fly to Australia immediately'. Adelyn had previously been cared for by Mexican child welfare authorities before her grandmother Leanne (left) and uncle Ben (right) arrived Two-year-old Adelynn is seen with her grandmother and uncle after landing safely in Australia. She was found wandering barefoot in Mexico Dan also revealed the family were victims of disgusting trolls who were messaging their social media accounts alleging Adelynn had already been adopted. 'We were told someone had come and adopted Addy. Then we were told Jorge's father came to take her out,' he said. To their relief, Adelynn was waiting for them at the government building, ready to be taken home to her family in Queensland. 'The Mexican and Australian officials were great, we want to thank them and everyone that's helped out. Particularly Tahnee's friends on the ground, her friends in Mexico have been such a big help particularly with the language barrier,' her uncle said. The family were told 'three eyewitnesses' saw Astudillo leave his daughter outside the Chapel of the San Archangel. However, when it came time to make formal statements to police, the three suddenly changed their story and said the man they saw was taller than Astudillo. 'We're putting up millions of posters to try and find her. We're appealing to everyone,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We're putting money saved for our renovations towards the reward. $70,000 is a lot of Pesos. Someone might open their mouth.' Dan said even Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had enquired about Adelynn's situation. It was revealed last week that Ms Shanks, from Queensland, had disappeared and her two-year-old daughter Adelynn (pictured together) was found dumped at a church On Thursday the toddler met other relatives including cousins for the first time in Mackay, Queensland after landing safely in Australia Adelynn has been living at their family home in Mackay for more than a fortnight now, with Dan saying she's handling her mother's absence incredibly well. 'She's amazing, she's the happiest little girl,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'She barely cries, she doesn't want her own way but she's got five adults chasing after her making sure she gets her own way. 'She hasn't asked where her mum is. That's what we were scared of. That would be heartbreaking, but she's been so good.' The Shanks family say they won't give up on looking for Tahnee. A disturbing image of a burnt out van on the side of the road in Mexico has been distributed, with police investigating possible links to Ms Shank's disappearance. The Mexican news outlet Por Esto published an image of the smouldering vehicle, which is now reportedly being held as evidence in the case. Mexican police have also seized a video of a woman being forced into a van and are investigating whether it too is linked to Ms Shanks. Police are reportedly investigating whether the Australian woman and her missing partner were targeted by criminals in a random attack. Jorge Aguirre Astudillo has not been seen since May 2 when he was with Australian native Tahnee Shanks, the mother of his two-year-old daughter Adelynn had previously been cared for by Mexican child welfare authorities before her relatives arrived. She was given an emergency Australian passport. Dan said his sister, who is from Queensland's Whitsundays, claimed she was on a vacation with her family in a small fishing village with poor reception but something felt off. Ms Shanks had been holidaying around the Yucatan peninsula and was set to return to Australia after her relationship broke down with her partner Mr Astudillo. Mr Shanks also said his sister was due to fly home to Australia on June 22, after splitting from Mr Astudillo, after he reportedly cheated on her. Quintana Roo's general attorney Oscar Montes de Oca Rosales said the couple had visited Cancun for a day and then planned to drive back to Merida. On the way there they turned around and returned to Cancun where they then disappeared and Adelynn was later found by herself. Mr de Oca Rosales said Astudillo had a domestic violence claim against him from a previous girlfriend, but both he and Ms Shanks were being treated as victims in the investigation into their disappearance. The Shanks family say they are confident Mexican authorities are doing what they can to find the missing mum. Tahnee Shanks (pictured middle) was on vacation with her ex-partner (right) and her daughter (left) when she vanished in Mexico, a continent away from any of her family The last known photos of Ms Shanks and Astudillo show them in Las Coloradas, Yucatan, 93 miles from where their daughter was found in Cancun on Mexico's tropical southern tip. Ms Shanks moved eight years ago from Australia to Merida, Mexico. She split from her partner a year after Adelynn was born. 'She would have been home months ago,' Dan told the ABC. 'She thought she could get home easily, but America had shut down visas for Mexican-born people for a period because of Covid. She's had to go and get an Australian citizenship and passport for Addy to try and divert around that issue.' Witnesses say they saw a man pass Adelynn to a stranger in front of a church in the 220 Quintana Roo district. The devoted mum's social media pages are full of happy snaps of her little girl. The mother had been traveling the world since she was 18 and describes herself on social media as a 'Happy Hippy Ginger Ninja meeting around the world one country at a time.' Australian mother Tahnee Shanks (pictured with her ex-partner Jorge Aguirre Astudillo) has gone missing in Mexico Before she went overseas, she worked in Australia as an assistant nurse looking after the elderly, which she described as a rewarding career. 'The travel bug bit me in 2010 taking me on my first 18 month journey through Asia and parts of Europe volunteering and couch surfing my way across the country,' the freelance writer wrote on a travel blog for the Whitsundays. Shanks returned home and saved for two years and then headed back overseas traveling through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the United States before settling in Mexico. She is described as having a fair complexion, and has red hair, light brown eyes, 5 feet 4 inches tall, thin build and has a distinctive tattoo along her right thigh. Two more Russian colonels have been killed in Russias war in Ukraine - including the countrys 'best paratroop commander'. Lieutenant colonel Alexander Dosyagayev, 34, was a commander of an airborne assault battalion of the 104th paratrooper regiment. Troops from his 104th air assault regiment were reportedly in Bucha, the scene of alleged rape and torture atrocities committed by Vladimir Putins forces earlier in the war. His battalion based in Pskov had been recognised as the best in Russia in its extensive combat training and military discipline. At the military festival Army of Russia-2021, he was judged the winner of the Winged Infantry category. 'I was filled with pride that my soldiers and officers showed the result they were striving for,' he said. Lt-Col Alexander Dosyagayev, 34, was a commander of an airborne assault battalion of the 104th paratrooper regiment He was described as Putin's 'best paratroop commander' and his troops were reportedly involved in the in occupation of Bucha, a scene of alleged rape and torture atrocities. His battalion based in Pskov had been recognised as the best in Russia in checks on combat training and military discipline A friend carries a portrait of Colonel Vladimir Ivanov, killed in Ukraine, who was labelled a 'propagandist' by the Ukrainian media because he served in the Russian defence ministrys department of Information and Mass Communication Colonel Vladimir Ivanov, killed in Ukraine 'This did not help him at a meeting with Ukrainian warriors,' said a statement from the Kyiv armed forces. Russian media outlet Mediazona confirmed the death of another colonel killed earlier in the war which has not been announced. Col Vladimir Ivanov, 41, has been labelled a 'propagandist' by the Ukrainian media because he served in the Russian defence ministrys department of Information and Mass Communication. It is now established that he died in March. A friend Yevgeny Poddubniy carried his portrait at a march of the 'immortal Regiment' on 9 May commemorating Russians killed in action in multiple conflicts. At the time it was not known he had died in Ukraine. Dosyagayev and Ivanov are the 47th and 48th colonels known to have died fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine. The toll of generals is now believed to be ten. It is likely that the true toll is higher, as Russian officials have not revealed details of those killed in action in Ukraine. Russian aircrafts fly in 'Z formation' during Victory Day parade rehearsal A couple whose daughter took her own life say they have still not received an apology a week after winning a landmark civil case against a university for contributing to her death and claim that officials have 'trivialised' the matter. Bob and Margaret Abrahart were awarded 50,000 after physics student Natasha, 20, tragically killed herself in April 2018. A senior judge found Bristol University liable to 'multiple breaches' of its legal duties towards Natasha, who was described as a 'hard-working and high-achieving' student. Despite her social anxiety, the court hear Ms Abrahart had enrolled on a four-year masters course at the University of Bristol, and was in her second year when she died. A court found that the University of Bristol contributed to physics student Natasha Abrahart, 20, taking her own life in 2018, by engaging in 'indirect disability discrimination' Her parents, Bob and Margaret Abrahart, say they have still not received an apology more than a week after winning the landmark civil case against the University of Bristol She had been due to give a presentation in front of 300 people, but Natasha could not cope and was found dead later that day at her flat. Natasha had been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder just two months prior. She had made a previous attempt to end her life earlier in the winter term, and university staff were aware she was struggling. Before the presentation, known as a laboratory conference, Ms Abrahart had struggled to complete one-on-on interview-based assessments, attending only two out of five. Natasha was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder just two months before she took her life In her first assessment, she was so shy she scored only eight out of a possible 20 marks, the court was told. In February 2018 she emailed one university employee saying: 'I've been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it.' A court found the university did not make reasonable adjustments to Natasha's assessment in light of her anxiety. It said Bristol University therefore discriminated against her under the Equality Act. The Abraharts were paid 50,518 in damages, but the University of Bristol is now considering appealing the decision. In the week following the hearing, Bob says they have not received an apology from the university. Natasha's devastated parents say they have not received an apology from Bristol University Speaking to student news site The Tab, he said: 'The bit that really bugs me, the bit that hurts, is that they haven't even said they're sorry. 'They put Natasha through six months of hell. They destroyed her. 'They don't even have the humanity to actually own up and say 'we're really sorry for what we did to her'. 'How can they sleep at night? We're so angry at the way we were treated by the uni'. Natasha Abrahart had chronic Social Anxiety Disorder and would ask friends to go into shops on her behalf and speak for her in class. After an inquest revealed the cause of death to be suicide, her parents were spurred into action. Bob said: 'The decision to take them to court was made at the end of the inquest. 'We were so angry at the way things had gone on, the way we were treated by the university. 'There was no way we weren't going to court. We knew we had a strong case.' Bob and Margaret Abrahart, pictured with Natasha, are campaigning to implement change Bob and Margaret say the university has spent time and money fighting the couple in court, rather than instead of implementing change. Margaret said: 'The more you delay, the more students are suffering. 'Students are opting out of university now. Students are ending their life now. 'We had sufficient information three-and-a-half years ago to make changes. 'By the end of the inquest we were pretty sure we had a case. Four years on what changes have been made? 'Well, if they haven't acknowledged the problem, I don't see what changes could have been made.' Margaret Abrahart (left) believes universities could make changes to better help students like her daughter Natasha, who suffered from social anxiety disorder She adds: 'There's been this belief that universities are doing the right thing and doing as much as they can, but in my view they've never really gone back and looked in sufficient detail at what happens when things go wrong, which they need to do because those are the things that can be fixed. 'They can be fixed quite simply. If they really don't have the resources to help people, phone the parents.' Bob and Margaret have joined forces with Learn Network, a group of bereaved parents and family members campaigning for change, including improving internal processes at universities and sharing information, which they hope could save lives. 'Instead of investing in the sticky plaster to put it right, what they need to do is stop causing the problem in the first place,' Margaret told The Tab. Bob adds: 'We want to be consulted and fight for change.' Following the case's conclusion, a University of Bristol spokesperson said: 'Our whole university community has been deeply affected by Natasha's tragic death and we would once again like to extend our sympathies to her friends and family. 'We believe staff in the School of Physics worked incredibly hard and diligently to support Natasha during her time with us, and it was due to their efforts that she was receiving specialist mental health support from the NHS. 'Our staff's efforts also included offering alternative options for Natasha's assessments to alleviate the anxiety she faced about presenting her laboratory findings to her peers. 'We are very grateful to them for their endeavours on Natasha's behalf and for their unwavering commitment to our students. 'We cannot replicate the NHS, but are committed to working with the NHS and other partners to improve services and ensure we are collectively providing the best possible support for students. 'Given the significant impact this decision could have on how all higher education providers support their students, we are reviewing the decision carefully, including whether to appeal. In light of that review, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the judgment at the present time.' Bob Abrahart told The Tab: 'That statement trivialises Natasha's death.' In response, a spokesperson for the University of Bristol added: 'We apologise that our previous media statement was felt to trivialise Natasha's death and we continue to express our deepest sympathies to her parents. 'We do not in any way underestimate the impact of Natasha's death on her family and friends. 'We are considering an appeal as the wider implications of the judgement could have significant ramifications for the whole higher education sector, particularly in relation to how we assess the work and learning outcomes of students with an undisclosed or undiagnosed disability. 'The judgement calls into question how universities can best support these students through making necessary mitigations while ensuring the academic integrity of degrees is maintained.' Russian and Ukrainian troops are locked in intense close-quarter combat today in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk as Moscow's soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain strategic footholds in the region while facing fierce Ukrainian resistance. Ukrainian regional officials reported that Russian forces were 'storming' the eastern city in the Luhansk region, where the fighting has knocked out power and mobile phone services and terrorised civilians who have not fled. Severodonetsk, a manufacturing hub, has emerged as an epicentre of Russia's quest to conquer Ukraine's industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where Ukrainian officials reported constant shelling. The two cities, with a combined pre-war population of around 200,000, are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with neighbouring Donetsk. Putin's troops are focused on capturing parts of both not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists and have made painstakingly slow but steady advances as their heavy artillery eats away at Ukrainian positions, allowing infantry to slowly creep forward. In his Saturday night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the east as 'very complicated' and 'indescribably difficult'. The 'Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result' by concentrating its attacks there, he said. Severodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the city's central bus station on Saturday, thwarting any evacuation attempts from the transport hub. A humanitarian centre was unable to operate due to the danger, he said, and mobile phone services and electricity were knocked out. Residents also reportedly risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells. Some supply routes were functioning, and evacuations of the wounded were still possible, Mr Striuk said. But he estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a pre-war population of around 100,000, have died from the fighting as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that could not be treated. Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk, during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas An injured woman lays on a wooden pallet inside the centre for distribution of humanitarian aid in Severodonetsk. Ukrainian regional officials reported that Russian forces were 'storming' the eastern city in the Luhansk region and terrorising civilians still living there A man walks near the remains of a missile in the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, on May 26, 2022 Residents of the city of Lysychansk cook food outside their houses, as the city is without electricity and water, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, on May 26, 2022 The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Sunday morning that Russian shelling had caused fires around Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city (devastation in Kharkiv pictured yesterday) A local resident stands next the Karkhiv fire station, built in 1887, on May 26, 2022 A photographs shows a downed bridge which connects the city of Lysychansk with the city of Severodonetsk in the eastern Ukranian region of Donbas Regional governor Serhiy Haidai claimed the Russians had retreated 'with losses' around the village of Bobrove, around 12 mile (20km) south-east of Severodonetsk, but were carrying out air strikes on a nearby village on the strategic Siversky Donetsk river. 'The situation in Lysychansk is severe due to constant shelling by the occupiers; there are fatalities and wounded people,' he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday one civilian died and four were injured when a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building, according to Haidai. A local cinema and 22 other residential buildings were also damaged, he said, before adding that fighting is now advancing street-by-street in the city. The governor said the sole road link to the outside world was expected to be the focus of continued Russian attacks. 'Next week will be very hard, as Russia puts all its resources into seizing Severodonetsk, or cutting off the (area) from communication with Ukraine,' he announced. The Ukrainian military said on Sunday morning that Russian forces were also trying to strengthen their positions around Lyman, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. 'The enemy is reinforcing its units,' the Ukrainian armed forces' General Staff said in an operational update. 'It is trying to gain a foothold in the area.' Moscow claimed on Saturday to have taken Lyman, announcing the city had been 'entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists', but there was no acknowledgement of that from Kyiv authorities. Ukrainian news outlets and Telegram channels continued to suggest the battle for the city was still underway. Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak repeated a call for U.S.-made long-range multiple-rocket launchers amid the bitter fighting. 'It is hard to fight when you are attacked from 70km away and have nothing to fight back with... we need effective weapons,' Podolyak posted on Twitter. Zelensky voiced hopes in a late-night video address that Ukraine's allies would provide needed weapons, adding that he expected 'good news' in the coming days. Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and U.S. self-propelled howitzers, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Saturday. A view from damaged sites amid Russian attacks in Mariupol, Ukraine on May 27, 2022 An adviser to the mayor of the decimated port city Mariupol reported that one of the city's largest supermarkets is being used as a mass morgue (general view of destruction in Mariupol pictured May 27) This photograph taken on 27 May 2022, shows Russian military vehicles destroyed on a road near the village of Kutuzivka, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine In this handout photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service released on Saturday, May 28, 2022, Russian soldiers control the situation sitting on a board of a Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian air force during a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) The Ukrainian army said heavy fighting was continuing around Donetsk, the provincial capital. It also said Russia had launched an offensive on Saturday night around the city of Bakhmut, in the neighbouring Luhansk region, but had been pushed back. In the same operational update, the military hinted at high levels of casualties sustained by Moscow, claiming that civilians were no longer being admitted to hospitals in Russia-annexed Crimea as beds were needed by injured troops - though these claims have not been verified. Meanwhile, adviser to the mayor of the decimated port city Mariupol reported that one of the city's supermarkets close to the Azovstal steel plant is being used as a mass morgue because there are too many bodies to bury after three months of near constant bombardment. Petr Andryushchenko said Russian troops were dumping civilian bodies in the Shchirii Kum supermarket and leaving them to rot, and posted a harrowing picture of decomposing corpses lying in the aisle on his Telegram channel. 'In the premises of the supermarket the Russians set up a morgue. Literally. The Russians are bringing the bodies of the dead here, which they washed away when they tried to restore the water supply. 'They just dump them like garbage. There is a catastrophic shortage of people to bury and operate even makeshift mortuaries, to such an extent that a separate recruitment campaign of pathologists was launched in Moscow.' He said the photo, which captured partially decomposed and rotting bodies piled up together and only partially wrapped in clothing, represented a 'visual demonstration of inhumanity'. A view of damaged territory of Azovstal plant is seen in Mariupol, Ukraine on May 27, 2022 Petr Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said Russian troops were dumping civilian bodies in the Shchirii Kum supermarket and leaving them to rot because the losses are so high and there are not enough people to dig graves and operate mortuaries More widely, Russia launched renewed air strikes overnight on Ukraine's northern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, Ukrainian state agencies said. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Sunday morning that Russian shelling had caused fires around Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. Russia has kept up a bombardment of Kharkiv, located in north-eastern Ukraine, after Ukrainian fighters pushed its forces back from positions near the city several weeks ago. The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office said a Russian shell broke through the roof of a house in the town of Zolochiv, around 20 miles (40km) north-west of Kharkiv, early on Sunday, injuring a 50-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman. The Ukrainian Border Guard Service said border areas in the Sumy region, east of Kharkiv, were hit with six unguided missiles. The agency did not mention reports of any casualties. More than three months after Moscow invaded its pro-Western neighbour, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday called for 'direct serious negotiations' between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The two European leaders also 'insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops' in an 80-minute phone call with the Russian leader on Saturday, the German chancellor's office said. In return, the Kremlin said Putin would be 'open' to resuming talks with Kyiv, but did not mention any possibility of direct negotiations between the leaders of the warring nations. Zelensky previously said he was not 'eager' for talks after weeks of having his repeated calls for negotiations aired, but recognised they would likely be necessary to end the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) implored Putin to consider peace talks with Zelensky The Kremlin said Putin would be 'open' to resuming talks with Kyiv, but did not mention any possibility of direct negotiations between the presidents of the warring nations In their call with Putin, Scholz and Macron also pointed to a looming global food security crisis. In addition to capturing key ports such as Mariupol, Russia has used its warships to cut off other cities still in Ukrainian hands, blocking grain supplies from being transported out. Russia and Ukraine supply about 30 percent of the wheat traded on global markets. Russia has tightened its own exports and Ukraine has vast amounts stuck in storage, driving up prices and reducing availability across the globe. Putin has repeatedly rejected any responsibility, instead blaming Western sanctions. But on Saturday, he told Macron and Scholz that Russia was 'ready' to look for ways to allow more wheat onto the global market. 'Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports,' the Kremlin quoted him as saying. He also called for the lifting of sanctions to allow 'an increase in the supply of Russian fertilisers and agricultural products' to the global market. Britain's Ministry of Defence tweeted that Moscow's attempts to barter for a reduction in the severity of sanctions was testament to their efficacy in crippling Russia's economy. 'Russia has demonstrated is it prepared to leverage global food security for its own political aim and then present itself as the reasonable actor and blame the West for any failure... 'Russia's attempt to achieve a reduction in the severity of international sanctions also highlights the stresses sanctions are placing on the regime,' the tweets read. Advertisement The 85ft superyacht worth 6million that sank after a blazing inferno in a harbour yesterday was a luxury ship that could house eight passengers and had an al-fresco dining room, bar, sunpad, and a 55-inch TV. The race is on to stop a devastating oil spill after the Princess Y85 superyacht, which was called the Rendezvous, went up in flames at 11.57am on Saturday in Torquay Marina, Devon. The ship had 2,000 gallons of fuel on board when it caught fire. Were you at the scene? Were you in Torquay or affected by the fire? Do you know who owns the superyacht? Contact chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement The South West Environment Agency set its focus on a pollution response with fears of an oil slick after approximately nine tonnes of diesel poured into the Atlantic Ocean. The agency said: 'Our officers are providing assistance to the Harbour Master Authority (HMA) to contain the oil and fuel within the booms that have been set up in the marina. 'The Environment Agency will be providing further advice in the coming days to the HMA on waste management as part of efforts to recover the sunken yacht.' It added: 'Our officers have been checking air quality around Torquay harbour following the yacht fire, which was declared a major incident. Thought to be no real issues with air quality but we're keeping an eye on the situation. 'With yacht now sunk, and with approximately nine tonnes of diesel on board, [the] focus [is] now on pollution. 'Pollution response led by harbour master. Our officers are helping with advice and guidance on bathing water quality.' Oil spills can be detrimental to the ecological health of oceans, coastlines, rivers, seabeds and habitats of sea life. The luxury superyacht is one of just 31 such models the world and is in the top 10 per cent of fastest boats with a top speed of 33 knots. It cost 6million and boasts an al-fresco dining room, bar and sunpad as well as one 32-inch and two 55-inch TVs. The sleek ship has a fibreglass hull and was even designed by Pininfarina, the same company that designed almost every Ferrari car for 66 years between 1951 and 2017. It has four guest bedrooms that can house eight passengers and two staff rooms with space for three crew members. Furniture in the Rendezvous was likely either oak or walnut with granite or quartz worktops and LED deck-level lighting. Its twin fuel tanks made from NS8 marine grade alloy allowed the ship to carry 11,000 litres of fuel for the two MAN V12 engines. Overall the ship is 26.2 metres long (85'11") with a beam of 6.3 metres (20'8") and a gross tonnage of 110 tons. It also had automatic and manual override fire extinguishers in the engine room as well as hand-operated fire extinguishers in every cabin, the galley, crew and lower helm. Marina staff told MailOnline they were in contact with the Rendezvous' owners and said they were likely going through a very distressing time. Their lavish 6million superyacht was on fire for around five hours before it sank. A Princess Y85 superyacht, the same model as the Rendezvous, has a lavish interior set with either oak or walnut furniture Rendezvous,an 85ft superyacht worth 6million which was carrying 2,000 gallons of fuel has sunk after it went up in flames at Torquay harbourside in Devon just before midday on Saturday Firefighters desperately tried to extinguish the blaze as they watched the vessel slowly sink into the water The raging inferno left the harbour wall at Torquay Marina in a state of great damage as Environment Agency workers rushed to stop an oil spill It has a bar and sunpad as well as ample space to lounge on the 6million superyacht. The Rendezvous was built in 2010 and is one of just 31 in the world The ship spans over two levels, with an al-fresco dining area on the lower deck with enough space for up to eight guests There are four guest bedrooms with space for eight passengers, as well as an additional two crew cabins that can hold three members of staff A high-tech dashboard completes the luxury feel of the multi-million pound superyacht that was designed by the same company that styled Ferraris for more than 50 years A Princess Y85 also has the option to helm from the top deck with a superior view as well as electronic maps set into a sleek screen Classy bar stools in cream and silver complement a wooden kitchen that has a view of the sea as well An smaller indoor table has enough space for six people to eat comfortably if the weather takes a turn for the worse Two single beds in the starboard guest cabin make the ship perfect for a family holiday with the kids The bathroom has wood panelling and white marbled granite, adding a touch of class to the superyacht Leading naval architect Bernard Olesinksi, who has styled hundreds of ships, helped to design the Princess Y85's exterior Although the ship has two main decks it has a third to house the ship's powerful twin MAN V12 engines and an optional lower deck Firefighters raced to Torquay harbourside after the plush boat caught fire shortly before midday. The flames and smoke caused by the blaze left some people trapped at the far end of the pier, according to one witness, with police confirming the boat drifted from its mooring. Emergency services declared a major incident and officers evacuated a nearby beach and roads, with one witness describing the blaze as 'like a fireball'. Dramatic footage on social media showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing across the harbour and flames enveloping the boat. No injuries were reported but the harbour was temporarily brought to a standstill, with fears over a large amount of diesel on the yacht. A Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) spokesperson said the yacht contained 'approximately 8,000 litres of diesel fuel'. Police said no one was injured in the fire, which forced the closure of the harbour and waterfront as crews desperately tried to put out the flames. Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'Police were called at 12.10pm [on Saturday, May 28] to Princess Pier in Torquay, following reports of a fire on a yacht in the marina. 'The boat is believed to have caught alight and broke away from the mooring but was later secured by the Fire Service near the pier. There have been no reported injuries. 'Shortly before 4pm the vessel became fully submerged underwater. The Harbourmaster supported by the Environmental Agency will look to safely recover the vessel in due course. 'All road closures and majority of cordons have now been lifted and the public are able to access the area again. One cordon remains in place at the pier. People contain an oil spillage at the scene where a yacht caught fire yesterday in Torquay Marina in Torquay, Britain, May 29 Oil spills can be detrimental to the ecological health of oceans, coastlines, rivers, seabeds and habitats of sea life The aftermath of the scene where a yacht caught fire in Torquay Marina in Torquay, Britain, May 29 An emergency response vehicle is seen near the scene where a yacht caught fire yesterday in Torquay Marina in Torquay, May 29 A pollution response unit is seen near the scene where a yacht caught fire yesterday in Torquay Marina Environmental responders carry oil selective sorbents near the scene where a yacht caught fire yesterday in Torquay Marina in Torquay 'Enquiries remain ongoing to establish the cause of the fire, which is currently being treated as unexplained. 'We thank the public for their patience and support whilst officers closed Torquay seafront and the surrounding area.' People living nearby were warned to keep their doors and windows closed to protect themselves from the hazardous fumes. Witnesses described seeing the flames burn through the rope mooring the boat, cutting it adrift so it floated along the marina before hitting a bridge, which acted as a barricade. It later sank and by 6pm firefighters were damping down the pier, DSFRS said. Torquay-based musician David Balmer, 58, said the sinking raised fresh concerns about fuel on the boat leaking into the water. He said: 'That could create another hazard in the harbour. They're worried about the fuel getting into the water and into the harbour, which is obviously the last thing you want. 'There were masses of people around. It was engulfed in flames and there was this huge cloud of black smoke. 'It was quite a spectacle, it was just an unbelievable sight.' One witness said onlookers had been told to leave the area because "there might be an explosion" and were moved to a safe distance away. One witness told Devon Live they saw explosions shortly after the fire began while the boat was alongside the pontoon. They said: 'Ropes burnt through and it drifted into pier. Firemen took trolleys and pumps along pontoons but water not reaching. 'Some people are trapped on the other end of the pier and can't get back. Firemen are running along the pier. Still huge flames.' Another described the blaze 'like a fireball'. Grace Kedzior-Macdonough, 20, was visiting the seaside town with her partner when she heard 'bangs or explosions' coming from the harbour. She said she saw crew in neighbouring vessels spraying hoses to stop them catching alight as the fire was 'spitting' flames out on to the water. 'We were just confused at first because we were just sat round the harbour and there was just this black smoke coming from nowhere. 'It was just getting worse because it broke off from the harbour because the ropes burned off and that's when it travelled down [to] the bridge.' Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the yacht contains approximately 2,000 gallons of fuel and that crews are battling the flames. A spokesperson said: 'Crews again confirm one 85-foot yacht well alight alongside Princess Pier which is also involved in fire, all persons are accounted for and the immediate surrounding area has been evacuated. Three fire engines were on the scene after the 85ft motorboat went up in smoke in an attempt to tackle the raging inferno Fire crews later managed to move the huge ship away from its mooring, which luckily was not too near any other boats Marina staff told MailOnline they were in contact with the Rendezvous' owners and said they were likely going through a very distressing time Thick black smoke was seen rising from the Rendezvous superyacht on Saturday after the 6million ship caught fire The superyacht was completely sunk by the inferno, leaving charred debris floating on the water of the Devon harbour The smoking remains of the 6 million superyacht boat could be seen inTorquay Harbour on Saturday afternoon, with boats carrying firefighters still in attendance Emergency services were alerted to the fire on the superyacht while it was moored on Princess Pier in the harbour at around midday According to a spokesperson from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, five fire engines are on the scene after the motorboat caught fire The boat was engulfed in flames and drifted off its mooring after the fire broke out, with one witness saying they heard explosions 'The yacht contains approximately 8,000 litres of diesel fuel, crews are currently at work using four Breathing Apparatus wearers, one Compressed Air Foam Jet, two 45mm Jets, two Light Portable Pumps, water relay is currently being carried out by an open water source as well as a street hydrant being used.' Smoke has been seen all across South Devon and as far as Newton Abbot and Shaldon, with the fire service saying they called for extra crews before arriving at the scene due to the sheer amount of smoke. A spokesperson for the fire service told Devon Live that five appliances are at the scene, and that a 'major incident' has been declared, with the beach evacuated and residents urged to stay indoors. In a statement Devon and Cornwall Police said no one one was reported to be injured. 'Police were called at 12.10pm today to Princess Pier in Torquay following reports of a fire on a yacht moored in the marina,' it said. 'The boat is believed to be well alight and had broken from the mooring. It has now been secured by the Fire service near the pier. A witness described hearing explosions from the boat shortly after it caught fire, adding that it had drifted from its mooring It is not known at this time what caused the dramatic fire. It forced the closure of the harbour while firefighters battled the flames One witness described the blaze 'like a fire ball'. Police say no one is thought to have been injured in the fire, but crews continue to battle the flames Smoke has been seen all across South Devon and as far as Newton Abbot and Shaldon. Residents are being warned to keep their windows and doors closed Torquay Marina has space for almost 1,000 yachts and is one of the best-equipped harbours in the southwest of the UK (File image) 'There have been no reported injuries at this time. 'Emergency services remain at the scene where the incident is ongoing. 'Due to levels of smoke and fumes we are asking residents in the area to keep their doors and windows shut at this time. Members of the public are also urged to avoid the area and beaches are being cleared by officers for public safety.' The plume of smoke from the fire could be seen rising high into the air above the picturesque harbour in Torquay in Devon today Devon and Cornwall Fire Service said firefighters called for backup before arriving when they saw the size of the smoke plume while travelling to the scene Crowds gather at Torquay Harbour to see fire crews trying to put out the raging inferno. Police have since closed the harbourfront and nearby beach Firefighters could be seen using their water hoses to dowse the smoking carcass of the boat, while grey smoke rose into the sky The Rendezvous, pictured here at Torquay Harbour on April 12, is a luxury pleasure craft built by UK boat maker Princess Yachts in 2010 The yacht, pictured here at the harbour in April, can hold 11 people - eight of whom are guests and three of whom are crew Police closed a number of roads in the area while fire crews dealing with the raging inferno, including the promenade and waterfront areas. Roads traffic and monitoring service Inrix reported: 'A379 Torbay Road in both directions blocked, queueing traffic due to fire services activity from Torquay Harbour to Road.' According to SuperYacht Times the Rendezvous was built in 2010 by Plymouth-based boat maker Princess Yachts. The yacht has been in the harbour for at least a month, with photos taken in April showing it dwarfing other boats in the marina. It can hold eight guests in its four guest cabins, as well as three crew in two crew cabins. Torquay Marina said in a statement that the area had been saved from a 'major catastrophe' by authorities and emergency services at the scene. 'We had to deal with a major incident today. Sadly one of our boats was destroyed by fire. I can confirm there were no casualties or other boats damaged,' the statement said. 'Due to a fantastic team effort by the emergency services, harbour authorities, my staff and our customers, we were able to contain the emergency situation and avoid a major catastrophe. 'We now have several booms around the area to protect the environment. Please continue to be patient during the clean-up process.' Amerie Jo Garza, 10 Amerie Jo Garza (right) Amerie Jo Garza, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary, was one of 19 students confirmed to be killed Tuesday morning by Ramos, who cops say was carrying a handgun and an AR-15 during the attack that also killed two teachers in the classroom. Her grandmother, Berlinda Irene Arreola, said the 10-year-old was killed as she tried to phone 911 while sitting next to her best friend, who ended up 'covered in her blood.' Arreola said Ramos told the students and staffers inside the room, 'You're going to die,' before opening fire - shooting her granddaughter dead as she tried to phone for help. 'So the gunman went in and he told the children, 'You're going to die,' Berlinda told The Daily Beast. 'And [Amerie] had her phone and she called 911. And instead of grabbing it and breaking it or taking it from her, he shot her. She was sitting right next to her best friend. Her best friend was covered in her blood.' Uziyah Garcia Uziyah Garcia, 8 Uziyah Garcia, the youngest victim at age eight, was also killed in the attack. The child's family announced he was killed hours after announcing he was among the many children unaccounted for following the tragedy. The boy's grandfather, Manny Renfro, broke the news early Wednesday after being notified by authorities. '[He was] the sweetest little boy that I've ever known,' Renfro said. 'I'm not just saying that because he was my grandkid.' Renfro recalled how Uziyah last visited him in San Angelo over spring break. 'We started throwing the football together and I was teaching him pass patterns. 'Such a fast little boy and he could catch a ball so good,' the grieving grandad said. 'There were certain plays that I would call that he would remember and he would do it exactly like we practiced.' Makenna Elrod, 10 Makenna Lee Elrod Makenna Elrod, 10, had also been among the missing in the chaos that followed the massacre, with her father, Brandon Elrod telling reporters at the time he feared 'she may not be alive.' Her death was eventually confirmed by a family friend on Wednesday. 'It's pretty sad what this world's coming to,' the girl's father told local outlet KTRK after the shooting. A mother of one of Makenna's friends lamented the loss in a post to Facebook. 'Sweet Makenna Rest in Paradise!! My heart is shattered as my daughter Chloe loved her so much!!' the mom wrote. A relative Wednesday confirmed that the girl had been among the victims. Xavier Lopez, 10 Xavier Lopez Xavier Lopez, 10, was the first student victim to be identified as one of Ramos' victims. The child's mother, Felicha Martinez, told the Washington Post Tuesday that just hours before the massacre, the mom had been at the school to see her son participate an honor roll ceremony. She took a picture showing her son showing off his certificate. In the last exchange she had with the child, the mom heartbreakingly told the boy that she was proud of him and that she loved him, giving him a hug goodbye - not knowing it would be the last time she would see him alive. 'He was funny, never serious and his smile that smile I will never forget,' she recalled after learning of his death from police. 'It would always cheer anyone up.' The boy's cousin, Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington, said Xavier enjoyed swimming and had been looking forward to the summer. 'He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,' she said. 'He was very bubbly, loved to dance with his brothers, his mom. This has just taken a toll on all of us.' Amelia Sandoval, Lopez's grandmother, said: 'It's just so hard... you send your kids to school thinking they are going to make it back home but they're not.' Eliahana Torres, 10 Eliahana Cruz Torres Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, had also been missing for hours until she was confirmed to be among the dead. Adolfo Cruz, her great-grandfather, said she didn't want to attend school the day of the shooting - but was told by her family that she had to attend. He said he remained outside the school gates throughout the night until he leanrned of her fate from local authorities. 'I hope she is alive,' he said at the time. Torres was an avid baseball player and played the sport in a local little league. Ellie Lugo, 10 Ellie Lugo Ellie Lugo was named as a victim of Tuesday's attack by her parents, with Steven Garcia and Jennifer Lugo confirming her death several hours after she was listed among the missing. 'It's hard to issue out a statement on anything right now my mind is going at 1000 miles per hour but I do wanna send our thoughts and prayers to those who also didn't make it home tonight!!! Our Ellie was a doll and was the happiest ever,' Steven Lugo said Wednesday. 'Mom and Dad love you never forget that and please try and stay by our side.' Nevaeh Bravo, 10 Nevaeh Bravo Nevaeh Bravo was confirmed to be among the dead late Tuesday, after her cousin posted on social media following the shooting to ask for helping the girl. Around 9 pm, she broke the news on Twitter. 'Unfortunately my beautiful Nevaeh was one of the many victims from todays tragedy,' she wrote. Sje said the schoolchild was 'flying high' and asked for the family to be kept in people's prayers 'Our Nevaeh has been found. She is flying with the angels above. We love you Navaeh very much princess.' 'Thank you for the support and help,' she wrote. 'Rest in peace my sweet girl, you didn't deserve this.' Bravo's age could not immediately be confirmed. Tess Marie Mata Tess Marie Mata Tess Marie Mata was also among those to perish in the attack, her sister, Faith Mata, revealed in a post to Facebook Wednesday. 'I honestly have no words just sadness, confusion, and anger,' she wrote. 'I'm sad because we will never get to tag team on mom and dad again and tell each other how much we mean to each other, I'm confused because how can something like this happen to my sweet, caring, and beautiful sister, and I'm angry because a coward took you from us.' Photos shared with the post showed Tess smiling in a baby photo, snuggling with a cat, doing gymnastics, flashing a peace sign, and posing in front of a large heart mural. 'Sissy I miss you so much, I just want to hold you and tell you how pretty you are, I want to take you outside and practice softball, I want to go on one last family vacation, I want to hear your contagious laugh, and I want you to hear me tell you how much I love you,' she wrote. Her age could not immediately be confirmed. Rojelio Torres, 10 Rojelio Torres Rojelio Torres, 10, was initially reported missing by his father, but on Wednesday was confirmed dead by his family. A person who said she was the boy's cousin wrote on Twitter: 'It breaks my heart to say my rojelio is now with the angels I'll forever miss you and love you my angel.' The child's father , Federico Torres, told Houston reporters that he was at work when he learned about the shooting and immediately raced to the school. 'They sent us to the hospital, to the civic center, to the hospital and here again, nothing, not even in San Antonio,' he said. 'They don't tell us anything, only a photo, wait, hope that everything is well.' Nearly half a day later, cops broke the news to the boy's family. 'Our entire family waited almost 12 hours since the shooting to find out Rojelio Torres, my 10-year-old nephew, was killed in this tragedy,' Torres' aunt, Precious Perez, told KSAT. 'We are devastated and heartbroken. Rojer was a very intelligent, hard-working and helpful person. He will be missed and never forgotten.' Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10 Jayce Luevanos Jayce Luevanos, 10, died in the shooting along with his ten-year-old cousin, Jailah, the child's mother said Wednesday. In a Facebook post, uncle Unberto Gonzalez shared photos of both kids while offering a touching tribute. 'My babies going to miss them like crazy!!!,' Gonzalez wrote. 'We luv y'all so much!!! I'm just lost right now!!! Fly high my beautiful Angels!!' Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10 Jailah Nicole Silguero Ten-year-old Jailah Nicole Silguero was also killed in the shooting, her mother, Veronica Luevanos, tearfully revealed to Univision Wednesday. She also lost her 10-year-old nephew Jayce to the tragedy. She said Jailah loved to dance and film videos on TikTok. The child reportedly also asked her mom the morning of the shooting if she could stay home from school - a request the now mourning mom rebuffed. 'I took her to school, but she didn't want to go. She told her father, 'Can I stay home?'' Luevanos said, noting that it was not a common occurrence for her daughter to make such a request. 'I think she knew something would happen.' Luevanos' mom confirmed the loss on Facebook Wednesday. 'Fly high my angels. We're going to miss yall so much,' wrote Veronica Luevanos - whose dad had died just a week earlier. 'I'm so heart broken,' she wrote with a photo of her daughter and nephew. 'My baby I love u so much fly high baby girl.' Alithia Ramirez, 10 Alithia Ramirez Fourth grader Alithia Ramirez was confirmed dead early Wednesday by her father, Ryan Ramirez, who shared a post to Facebook showing the 10-year-old with angel's wings. He had used the same photo the previous day as he pleaded for help finding her after the massacre He had heartbreakingly used the same photo the previous day as he desperately pleaded for help finding her after the massacre. 'Trying to find my daughter Alithia. I called all the hospitals and nothing,' he wrote at the time. He also reporters during his frantic search, 'I'm trying to find out where my baby's at.' Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10 Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, was another killed by Ramos Tuesday - along with her cousin, who has yet to be identified. Annabell's father spent the afternoon after the shooting in frantic search for his daughter. Speaking to KHOU11 Tuesday, he lamented at how he was at a loss as to what do, having little success with the search. 'They're not letting us in at the hospital right now so we don't know where to go.' She has since been declared to be among the dead. Miranda Mathis, 11 Miranda Mathis Miranda Mathis, 11, was also confirmed as another casualty from the mass shooting early Wednesday, in a Facebook post by an older cousin who earlier that day had posted a desperate plea for help in locating the child. 'My sweet baby cousin we loved u dearly,' Deanna Miller wrote alongside a photo of the child with angel wings. 'I'm so sorry this happen to u baby please keep my family in your prayers,' she grieved. Miller's kids had also been at the school at the time of the shooting, but survived the attack. One of her sons told her that they were ushered out of a window by staffers during the attack and subsequently ran to a nearby funeral home after 'he heard the shooter say he was gonna kill all the kids.' Alexandria 'Lexi' Aniyah Rubio, 10 Alexandria Aniyah Rubio Alexandria Aniyah Rubio - who was better known to friends as 'Lexi' - was confirmed dead just before midnight on Tuesday. The ten-year-old was shot dead just hours after posing for a photo with her parents at the school's honor roll ceremony. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the girl's mother, wrote of the loss: 'My beautiful, smart, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio was recognized today for All-A honor roll. She also received the good citizen award. We told her we loved her and would pick her up after school. We had no idea this was goodbye.' Maite Yuleana Maite Yuleana Maite Yuleana was another student to die in the attack that had attended the honor roll ceremony just hours before. A cousin of the girl's mother, Ana Rodriguez, announced the loss Wednesday. 'It is with a heavy heart I come on here on behalf of my cousin Ana who lost her sweet baby girl in yesterday's senseless shooting. 'We are deeply saddened by the lose [sic] of this sweet smart little girl. God bless and may she R.I.P Maite Rodriguez we love you.' Another relative shared a photo of Maite with her honor roll certificate. Her age could not immediately be confirmed. Jose Flores Jr, 10 Jose Flores Jose Flores, 10, was also killed in the shooting after attending the honor roll ceremony, where he was pictured triumphantly clutching a certificate celebrating the accomplishment. Uncle Christopher Salazar confirmed to the Washington Post Wednesday that his 10-year-old nephew was among the dead, after sharing a tribute to the child on Facebook. 'I love you and I miss you,' Salazar wrote in the post. The boy's father described Jose to CNN as an amazing boy and big brother to his two younger siblings. 'He was always fill of energy,' Jose Flores Sr. said. 'Ready to play till the night.' He said the boy loved playing baseball and video games. Jackie Cazares Jackie Cazares, 10 Jackie Cazares, 10, was another to be killed during the vicious attack at the elementary school. Her father Jacinto confirmed she lost her life inside her fourth-grade classroom. 'My baby girl has been taken away from my family and I,' the grieving father said in an online post. 'We're devastated in ways I hope no one ever goes through. ... It hurts us to our souls.' Cazares said his daughter, who was with her cousin, Annabell Rodriguez, when she died, was 'full of life and love'. Layla Salazar, 10 The 10-year-old student was the last of the slaying victims to be identified. Vincent Salazar told the Philadelphia Inquirer his young daughter was among those killed. He said she was 'a lot of fun' and recalled how they sang along to 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns 'n' Roses whenever he drove her to school. Layla Salazar Irma Garcia, 46 - fourth grade teacher Irma Garcia Irma Garcia, who co-taught with Mireles for the last five year, had been at Robb Elementary for 23 years. Married to Joe for 24 years, she was a mother of four - Cristian, completing Marine boot camp; Jose, attending Texas State university University; Lyliana, a sophomore in high school; and Alysandra, a 7th grader. 'My tia did not make it, she sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom, i beg of you to keep my family including all of her family in y'all's prayers , IRMA GARCIA IS HER NAME and she died a HERO,' tweeted her nephew John. 'She was loved by many and will truly be missed.' She was nominated as teacher of the year for the 2018-19 awards, organized by Trinity University. Eva Mireles, 44 - fourth grade teacher Eva Mireles Eva Mireles, a fourth grade teacher, was identified by her family as being one of the staff members shot dead. She had worked in education for 17 years. Her husband Ruben Ruiz, a veteran detective and SWAT team member currently serving as a police officer with the school district, held regular active shooter drills for the schools - most recently at the end of March. A teenager left 'petrified' after her driving instructor became obsessed and created a TikTok account dedicated to her has said she is 'glad' he has not been jailed as he can now access the help he needs. Graham Mansie, 52, from Beckenham, was given a suspended sentence earlier this month for stalking his former pupil Maisie Relph, 19. Speaking out for the first time since his sentencing, Maisie said she was glad he had been helped not punished. A court heard how he became obsessed with the then 17-year-old while teaching her how to drive in Bromley. Maisie Relph, 18, from Bromley, has spoken for the first time since her driving instructor Graham Mansie, 52, received a suspended sentence for stalking her earlier this month She said initially she had no worries with his behaviour, but after her 18th birthday, he changed. Mansie asked the teenager out for drinks and created a TikTok account called 'For Maisie' which featured a red heart emoji and the bio description, 'my favourite'. He taught around 15 of her friends to drive and gave another student a gift bag to pass on to her, it was said, containing 65 in restaurant vouchers. The present hamper had a keyring featuring a bone with her dog's name on and a University of York sign, where she was due to move to. Maisie, who was 17 when she first met Graham Mansie, said she is 'glad' that driving instructor has received a suspended sentence, so that he can access the help he needs When the victim blocked Mansie on all social media and stopped learning how to drive with him, his car was spotted on her road. Even when she moved to university he followed her electronically, creating a fake Instagram account pretending to be an 18-year-old student called Ben Williams. He even joined a WhatsApp group for her halls of residence. Mansie turned up in the city although did not enter her accommodation and was arrested soon after. When interviewed, he confessed to police that he had used the dark web and paid people hundreds of pounds to try to hack into her social media accounts. Brave Maisie was forced to face him in court before he changed his plea to guilty. Graham Mansie was given an eight-week suspended prison sentence, ordered to pay court costs and is banned from contacting the victim for the rest of his life He was given an eight-week jail term suspended for a year at Bromley magistrates' court, was told to complete 30 rehabilitation days and visit the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre to get help. In addition to this, Mansie has been banned from contacting the victim for the rest of his life and told to pay the court 300 in costs, as well as a 128 victim surcharge. The court was told he has already breached his bail conditions twice by contacting her on Instagram and WhatsApp. Maisie, a psychology in education student from Bromley, south-east London, said: 'It was a nightmare I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. 'I want to raise awareness, because I'd have stopped my lessons much sooner if I'd read a story like this. 'In my lessons he used to say things like: 'Oh, I'll add that to the file', and I always thought it was a joke, but now I wonder if he did have a file on me. 'The police still haven't told me everything they found on his computer. Maisie said she was left 'terrified' by Mansie's actions, which included creating a TikTok account dedicated to her and paying dark web hackers to access her social media accounts 'It's really shocking and I'm still terrified, but I think he needs help, not to be locked away. 'I'm really pleased he's getting help with the therapy sessions, and the life-long restraining order gives me peace of mind. 'If he'd gone to jail I'd only be worrying about when he gets out, and they said he'll go to prison for five years if he breaks the order so I feel pretty confident he'll stick to it. 'It's a win-win - he'll get help and I feel relieved, so do all my friends and flatmates and their families, who are all victims of this too.' Maisie signed up for ten lessons with Mansie, from Beckenham, south-east London, in July 2020 and ended up having 32 in total. Maisie said of her former driving instructor: 'He's not a bad person but he's absolutely obsessed, and needs help not punishment' Mansie, 33 years older than the sixth-former, taught around 15 of her friends who had all passed their tests and recommended him. The then-Year 13 schoolgirl took a break from the weekly driving lessons in November during the Covid 19 lockdown and started again in April 2021, just after her 18th birthday. But Mansie's behaviour towards her had changed, she said. He started calling her his favourite, invited her out for drinks, and talked for much of the two-hour lessons about wanting to be in a relationship with someone, she recalled. Unnerved, but keen to take her test that booked for the end of May, the schoolgirl carried on with her now twice-weekly lessons, but turned down the offer of drinks. When she didn't pass her test Mansie cried and said he couldn't teach her anymore, she said. Confused, Maisie said it wasn't his fault and he booked her a second test for the end of September, so she arranged a set of lessons starting again in August. The 52-year-old showered Maisie with unwanted gifts and visited her university halls in York Maisie said: 'At first he was totally normal - none of my friends had any issues with him. I thought he was very reliable. 'When we restarted lessons I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. 'He started saying, 'Oh you're my favourite, you're my favourite.' 'I thought "this really doesn't seem right", but it was so hard to get a test and an instructor I thought I'd see it out. I just really didn't think it would get worse. 'Then the Tik Tok seemed kind of crazy - the content was just driving advice, but it made me feel really uncomfortable. 'And you don't talk about how much you want to be in a relationship to your 18-year-old pupil. I'd never go there. '[Seeing] him crying when I failed my test made me feel extremely awkward, and when he set up the Insta, things really didn't feel right.' The teenager then received a request from a random account on Instagram in July, and Mansie messaged to say he created it to show how many days until he next saw her. When she accepted it, she saw it was on 28 days he then deleted it, she said. One of her friends said he kept telling them he had a student he wanted a relationship with, and another said he gave weekly updates on the development of a potential relationship, she claims. She then became terrified when she got a message to say he had joined her student block WhatsApp group at the University of York on October 8. Police believe he located her via her Facebook and pretended to be a student to gain access. Denise Clewes, prosecuting, told the court during Mansie's sentencing: 'In September 2021 she moved to York. He managed to join a WhatsApp Group for her halls of residence with a profile for an 18-year-old boy. 'He befriended all her hall mates. 'He used the dark web to ask people to hack into her private messages to see what she was doing. He lost hundreds of pounds trying to do this. 'On 31 October 2021 he travelled to York by train. He walked outside her halls of residence, but did not go inside. 'Her dad called him saying 'you are a pervert'. He responded 'I love your daughter, she is 18. 'Her dad called police and the defendant was arrested on 3 November.' 'I was absolutely petrified,' Maisie said. 'He knew exactly where I was. 'It was really scary. I slept in my flatmates' rooms I was so scared. 'They walked with me everywhere so I wasn't ever alone. I'm so lucky they were so supportive and caring. 'I was really, really worried.' Maisie changed her clothing and cut her hair into a bob after the police advised she change how she looked when Mansie was on bail. He has been in contact with her via Whatsapp to say: 'You've just killed me,' before he went missing for two days. Maisie said: 'I felt so threatened and I was balling when he said I'd killed him. I didn't want to be responsible for him killing himself. I was so upset. 'I was terrified when he went missing, I thought he was looking for me and I didn't feel safe. Bail meant nothing to him, that made me wonder what else he might do.' She added: 'He's not a bad person, but he's absolutely obsessed, and he needs help not punishment. 'I'm still worried about what he could do next - people can have stalkers for years. 'It's a fixation and an obsession, and going in and out of prison doesn't help. We'd be better off investing in some kind of treatment. 'What he's doing is definitely wrong, but he was a nice normal man so many people had respect for and he's lost all of that.' Nearly 4,000 flights have been cancelled over Memorial Day Weekend, with airlines citing bad weather conditions and 'air traffic control actions,' as passengers continue to pay top-dollar for airfare. Americans are paying more than $400 for domestic flights, a 24 percent price increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic, yet airlines cannot meet the surging travel demands. In addition to soaring ticket prices, which Fox News reported are 45 percent higher than this time last year, passengers are finding their travel plans disrupted by route cancellations and significant delays. More than 1,500 flights were cancelled worldwide on Saturday, which followed over 2,300 cancellations on Friday. Global passengers also saw more than 14,400 and 17,500 delayed flights on Saturday and Friday, respectively. The trend appears to be continuing into Sunday, with over 900 cancellations and nearly 5,000 delays worldwide, as of 9am EST, according to tracking service Flight Aware. The Federal Aviation Association says staffing issues and traffic volumes are causing many of the nation's largest airports to experience ground stops and delays, limiting takeoffs and landings. In response, airlines have begun to scrap certain routes and reduce summer flight plans, as well as cut back on training requirements in an effort to get more pilots in the skies as quickly as possible. Nearly 4,000 flights have been cancelled over Memorial Day Weekend due to staffing shortages as passengers continue to pay top-dollar for airfare. Travelers are pictured in a crowded security checkpoint queue at the Denver airport on Thursday More than 39.2 million people were expected to travel over Memorial Day weekend, with over 3 million opting to fly, according to AAA. While the flight disruptions are impacting holiday travelers across the globe, the vast majority cancellations and delays in the U.S., as of Sunday morning, appear to be out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta's Sunday morning disruptions mirror that of Saturday, which saw a total of 50 cancelled flights, or five percent of all outgoing routes, and 179 delays, impacting 19 percent of the departing flights. As of 9am Sunday, Atlanta had already cancelled 3 percent of departing routes, impacting 28 flights, and issued 18 delays. Friday, which saw a staggering number of disruptions, saw the vast majority of delays and cancellations at New York City's three airports and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in DC. Analysts allege the aviation industry is seeing an influx in demands and customers now that COVID restrictions have been lifted. Coupled with the shortages of pilots and other crew, airlines cannot meet the travel demand, forcing many of the nation's Big Four carriers - American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines - to drop routes, The Wall Street Journal reported. The three New York-area airports have been hardest hit by flight scrapping with around 15 percent of flights scrubbed. More than 1,500 flights were cancelled worldwide on Saturday, which followed over 2,300 cancellations on Friday. Global passengers also saw more than 14,400 and 17,500 delayed flights on Saturday and Friday, respectively As of 9am Sunday morning there were over 900 flight cancellations and nearly 5,000 delays worldwide Delta Air Lines cancelled six percent of its mainline routes on Friday disrupting Memorial Day weekend travel. The airline has also scrubbed several of its summertime routes. On Saturday, the air carrier said: 'Our schedule today reflects heavy impact from adverse weather and air traffic control actions.' Passengers are pictured Thursday at a security checkpoint in Denver Delta Air Lines cancelled six percent of its mainline routes on Friday disrupting Memorial Day weekend travel. The airline has also scrubbed several of its summertime routes. 'In recent months, we've made a number of adjustments to minimize disruptions and bounce back faster when challenges occur. And that's why we'll be taking additional steps in the coming days and weeks to strategically decrease our flight schedule this summer,' Delta said in a press release Thursday. 'From July 1-Aug. 7, we'll reduce service by approximately 100 daily departures, primarily in markets in the U.S. and Latin America that Delta frequently serves.' The airline, on Saturday in a statement to Insider, added: 'For this Memorial Day weekend, we are looking to enact cancelations at least 24 hours in advance of departure time wherever possible. Our schedule today reflects heavy impact from adverse weather and air traffic control actions yesterday.' Delta did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Similarly, American and United are reducing flight capacity against their pre-pandemic levels. Air carriers also revealed they are cutting back on training requirements to get more pilots in the skies amid ongoing staffing shortages which the air carriers claim have 'exacerbated scheduling issues.' 39.2 million people are expected to travel this weekend with 3.01 million planning to fly. Ninety percent of people will travel by car Analysts allege the aviation industry is seeing an influx in demands and customers now that COVID restrictions have been lifted. Coupled with the shortages of pilots and other crew, airlines cannot meet the travel demand, forcing the nation's Big Four carriers to drop routes. Travelers are pictured Thursday at the United Airlines check-in counter in Denver Customers impacted by the disruptions took to Twitter to express their frustrations. 'Hey @Delta, first you inexplicably cancel my flight less than 24 hours from departure and now you have me on hold for an hour and 20 minutesand counting. Youve lost come cool points today!' William Pierce wrote. 'I love when @Delta makes me miss my flight because of non-weather related delay, has no in-person customer service rep available, and wont engage on the phone or online,' echoed Cameron Tanner. '@Delta canceled for the second time in a week and now trying to cancel my rebooked flight and no one can do it,' Paul Marshall said. 'This shouldnt be this hard! Very poor customer service.' 'I will never fly @United again,' Adam stated. 'Yesterday, they had us sit on a plane for 3 hours, then they canceled it because of "weather" but we were told another flight was leaving in 25 minutes so why not take off? Then next day flight is delayed for missing crew.' 'Just spent 7 hours at my home airport but never left. @United canceled my flight they rebooked three times but late flight never came. Canceled legs four times, canceled return trip entirely and double charged. Most ridiculous thing Ive been a part of in 35 countries,' Kris Dreessen penned. Customers impacted by the disruptions took to Twitter to express their frustrations In addition to delays in the skies, motorists can also expect significant delays this weekend as more than 34 million people hit the roads, an increase of over one million compared to last Memorial Day. AAA traffic data partner INRIX predicts 'drivers in major U.S. metros could experience double the travel times compared to a normal trip' this weekend. The data service claims the worst of the delays should've taken place on Thursday and Friday afternoon, however roadway congestion is expected throughout the entire weekend. Analysts allege the three worst cities to drive in over Memorial Day weekend are Atlanta, Boston and Chicago, respectively. INRIX also advised that those who do choose travel this weekend should hit the road before 10am, noting that afternoon into early evening would see peak traffic jams and delays. Passengers traveling by bus or train are also warned to anticipate longer queues at stations and route delays. In addition to delays in the skies, motorists can also expect significant delays this weekend as more than 34 million people hit the roads. Travelers are pictured in NYC on Friday boarding a shuttle bus to JFK Airport AAA traffic data partner INRIX predicts 'drivers in major U.S. metros could experience double the travel times compared to a normal trip' this weekend. Motorists are pictured driving along the congested Capital Beltway surrounding DC on Friday Additionally, travelers and holiday celebrators alike should be prepared for the chance of severe weather, AccuWeather warned. Much of the northwest U.S. is expecting showers, rain and thunderstorms throughout the holiday weekend, with parts of Wyoming and Montana preparing for the possibility of snow. Floridians and those along the southern Atlantic coast, in Georgia and South Carolina, can also expect rainy weather to spoil their weekend fun. The northeast saw most of its bad weather hit Friday night and early Saturday when storms a swath of thunderstorms - spanning from the Carolinas to eastern New York - brought powerful wind gusts, hail and at least one isolated tornado. However, residents in the region, as far south as Maryland and as far north as Maine, can expect balmy weather with temperatures hitting 90F in some areas as a warm front rolls through. Despite the warm weather, beachgoers can expect chilly water temperatures, which are expected to be in the 50s in some areas. This map shows how much of the northwest and southeast will experience rainfall on Memorial Day while the southwest and northeast are trending hot and dry The daughter of a notorious murderer has revealed how she discovered the true identity of her father after he let it slip that he was in jail during a secret phone call. Renee McBryde is the daughter of double-murderer Michael Caldwell, who at 19 killed two gay men - Constantine Giannaris, the Greek Consul General to Australia, and Peter Parkes, a schoolteacher - in cold blood in 1981. Ms McBryde had been completely unaware of her father's crimes and spent most her childhood believing his absence was because he was living away from home at a Cottees Cordial factory. During one of her weekly phone calls to her father when she was just six, he finally let slip that he was a killer. 'He said 'I can't see you not because I'm working at a farm/factory, but because I'm in jail,' she told Mamamia. 'I thought he was doing 'important' things and that he worked so far away,' 'I did wonder 'why don't I have a dad around like everyone else' and 'where is he'.' Renee stumbled upon a series of newspaper headlines about her father in her local library when she was nine - helping her piece together his shocking past Renee McBryde was born to double-murderer Michael Caldwell, but she was completely unaware to her father's crimes until he told her on the phone when she was six Her mother had met Caldwell, who had been working as a sex worker in Sydney's Kings Cross at the time, when she was 15 and living on the streets. She fell pregnant shortly after the pair met. Months after she told Caldwell she was pregnant he was arrested for killing the two men. He'd robbed them before stabbing them to death. The crimes shocked Australia and earned him a life sentence behind bars. Growing up Ms McBryde's family had kept her father's true indentity from her secret. The only time she ever spoke to him was when her grandmother arranged secret calls. She had wanted ensure the pair had a relationship, but her mother was unaware the pair were speaking. After learning of his horrible past, Ms McBryde was sworn to secrecy by her family, with people in the community unaware of the crimes and through fear of being ostracised at school. Ms McBryde would often ask her family questions about her father's past and they would try to answer them. 'I certainly got a watered-down version. He was almost painted as a hero,' she told 7News. 'But what I do remember is that they both told me I couldn't tell anyone about him. Renee's father Michael Caldwell (pictured) was 19 and working as a sex worker when he was sentenced to life in prison for a double murder 'If I did, no one would want to be my friend. At the time I was like, 'Am I going to have to keep this secret forever?' It wasn't until she was in her teens and working on a school project that the true nature of his horrific crimes became apparent. Ms McBryde's curiosity took her to her local library where she discovered newspapers from her father's arrest. 'One morning I got ready in my school uniform, went straight to the State Library instead of school and just sat there for the whole day pouring over the newspapers, realising it was front page news,' she said. Renee said she now wonders why she hadn't 'connected the dots' earlier than she did. Growing up her family had kept her father's true indentity from her secret. The only time she ever spoke to him was her grandmother arranged secret calls Her mother had met Caldwell, who had been working as a sex worker in Sydney's Kings Cross at the time, when she was 15 and living on the streets Ms McBryde wrote a book about her experiences learning her father was a murderer, admitting the two hadn't spoken again since he revealed his secret. 'After the book came out, he wrote to me on my website's author page and said 'I'm really proud of you for writing this book and I'm glad that you went on to have a normal life and you look happy. And that was a huge relief for me.' Now a mother-of-three, Renee has released Unravelling Us, a book that documents her journey with her dad and accepting his crimes' influence on her life. Police in Indiana are ramping up their hunt for the family of a boy who was found dead in a suitcase in woods last month, revealing that the child was clean, clothed, showed no signs of abuse and died of dehydration. The five-year-old remains unidentified more than a month after he was discovered in a hard-shell case suitcase with the phrase 'Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas' on it in woods near Salem, Indiana. The only description police have given so far is that he was black and four feet tall. They do not want to share a description of his clothing for fear that it could lead to erroneous tips. But they are now hunting the people responsible for his death. An autopsy has revealed that the child showed no signs of physical abuse. He was clean when he was found in the suitcase, but died as the result of an electrolyte deficiency likely caused by gastroenteritis. The five-year-old boy found stuffed inside this suitcase in woods in Indiana in April died from dehydration, police have revealed as they continue to hunt for his killer The boy was found in a heavily wooded area in Salem by a mushroom hunter on April 16 The child's body was found stuffed inside a suitcase in woods off the main road in New Pekin It is a common illness in children and adults that causes diarrhea and vomiting, which in the child's case led to severe dehydration. At a press conference on Friday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said: 'Somebody knows something. He didn't put himself in that suitcase. 'Somebody out there has firsthand knowledge on what happened in the situation... and we need that person to come forward,' he said. Strangers are paying for his funeral with donations to the local sheriff's department. He will be buried this week in a service arranged by the department. 'This little boy wasn't respected in life and we, Washington County, want to make sure he's respected in death,' Todd Murphy, the chaplain of the Washington County Sheriff's Department, said. 'It's been incredible. He's been adopted by the county. We want to make sure he's properly cared for and properly laid to rest,' he added. Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls announced at a press conference that the boy died from dehydration The suitcase was discovered on April 16 by a mushroom hunter in the woods. He does not match any description for missing children. This case is different. I mean, this isn't a missing children's case where we have a child that we know exists. 'We have a child we know nothing about and nobody wants to come forward and say, "I know this child, this is my child" or "I know how this child got there,"' Huls said at the press conference. So far, police have received more than 500 tips but none have led them to the people responsible for the child's death. There does not seem to be any surveillance camera footage from homes near the woods that would suggest who might have dropped the suitcase off. The child is believed to have been dead for a week before the bag was found. Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 1-888-437-6432. The Liberal Party are plotting an audacious bid to lure former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian back to politics in time for the next federal election. The plan to woo Ms Berejiklian comes as Peter Dutton prepares to take over leadership from Scott Morrison after a calamitous vote saw the Coalition haemorrhage seats around the country. Ms Berejiklian resigned in disgrace last year after allegations of corruption saw her the focus of an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation. The party want Ms Berejiklian to contest the key North Sydney seat for the 2025 election, believing she is the woman to win the area back. Insiders believe she will hold a favourable public opinion regardless of the findings of ICAC, which is still yet to be released. The Liberals want Gladys Berejiklian to help them turn the tide and regain power in the 2025 federal election The plan to woo Ms Berejiklian comes as Peter Dutton prepares to take over leadership from Scott Morrision after a calamitous vote saw the Coalition haemorrhage seats around the country A Liberal source told the Daily Telegraph the party would be unable to win back power without snatching back key Sydney seats, including North Sydney, Wentworth and Mackellar. 'It's vital that we try and get these seats back,' they said, adding Ms Berejiklian would be the 'ideal person' to restore the trust of moderate Liberals. Mr Morrison had been attempting to convince Ms Berejiklian into federal politics, but she resisted the offer and instead took a role at Optus. After declining the chance to contest for Warringah, Ms Berejiklian said she wouldn't consider coming back into the fold for a 'very, very, very long time'. Liberal NSW Senator Andrew Bragg said it was too early to be relying on the former premier to save the party. 'If the question is 'do I think she would be a good member of parliament' the answer is yes, but I don't think a week after the election is the right time to be canvassing candidates to run in three years' time,' Mr Bragg said. The party want Ms Berejiklian to contest the key North Sydney seat for the 2025 election, believing she is the woman to win the area back On Monday, the Liberal Party will hold a ballot which is expected to confirm Mr Dutton as their next leader. He will be tasked with resurrecting the Liberals from their election defeat after a wave of teal independents devastated the party. The former defence minister is favoured to succeed Mr Morrison after other possible candidates either lost their seats in the election, or pulled out of the race. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he believes he will have a better working relationship with Mr Dutton than what he had with his predecessor. 'I congratulate him if that is the decision of the Liberal Party. Being the leader of the Opposition I know is no easy task,' he told SkyNews. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he believes he will have a better working relationship with Mr Dutton than what he had with his predecessor 'Peter Dutton though, I must say, I have a much better relationship with Peter Dutton than I had with Scott Morrison. 'Peter Dutton has never broken a confidence that I've had with him.' Dutton formally launched his bid for the Liberal Party leadership on Wednesday last week, promising to bring together moderate and conservative wings. He said that while the public had grown accustomed to seeing him in 'tough portfolios' like defence and home affairs, he hoped to show them a different side. 'I hope now, in moving from such tough portfolios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character, the side my family, friends and colleagues see,' he said. Gladys Berejiklian attended a Liberal Party in early May to support Trent Zimmerman prior to the federal election 'The side my community sees where they have elected me eight times. I come from the suburbs and I have never changed my values or forgotten where I have come from.' His wife Kirilly, a successful businesswoman, gave her insight into the man vying to step into the leadership role, revealing that he has a 'great sense of humour'. She said he was incredibly compassionate, especially when it came to the protection of women and children. 'He hides a lot of his emotion from the public but he gets most upset at reports of children or women being sexually abused or harmed. It obviously stems from his time as a policeman working in that area, but it's also from being the eldest of five kids growing up in the suburbs,' she said. Mrs Dutton is standing side by side with her husband on the journey that is expected to see him announced as the next Liberal leader as soon as next week. The couple has two sons, Harry, 17, and Tom, 16, and Mr Dutton also has a daughter Rebecca, 20, from his first marriage. Mrs Dutton said he is an 'amazing father and the kids adore him'. The boy who was thrown from the 10th floor of London's Tate Modern art gallery has been able to celebrate his birthday with other children for the first time since the attack. The French youngster was six years old when he was seriously injured in the fall after autistic teenager Jonty Bravery threw him off the top of the tourist attraction in August 2019. Bravery grabbed the youngster and threw him from a viewing balcony in the gallery onto the ground some 100ft below. The boy suffered life changing injuries but has been slowly improving back in France. In a post on a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than 353,000 euro (nearly 300,000) for the boy's treatment and rehabilitation, his family said: 'Our son was able to invite classmates and even one of his buddies from our old town was able to come! 'They had a great afternoon together, despite their differences in mobility. 'It was exhausting for us, but it was a step closer to a classic life, and it's worth it.' He was able to return to school last May, not long after his parents said their 'lives were in ruins' following the attack. They feared their son would never walk again, and that the psychological damage from the trauma would stay with him for the rest of his life. 'How can one explain to a child that someone deliberately tried to kill him?' they asked. Jonty Bravery, pictured, grabbed the youngster and threw him from a viewing balcony in the gallery onto the ground some 100ft below Emergency crews attend a scene at the Tate Modern art gallery on August 4, 2019 The boy is moving his left ankle, has strengthened his back, and even tried to use the school canteen but is still very sensitive to noise. He complained of having earache after the canteen meal and next week his occupational therapist will lend him noise-cancelling headphones to see if it can help soothe his eardrums when needed. Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2019 and jailed for 15 years. He was living in supported accommodation in Northolt, West London, at the time he struck, and had a history of violence against staff. Despite this, he was allowed to leave home, unsupervised, for up to four hours at a time. In April 2019, Bravery punched a care worker and a member of Burger King restaurant staff whilst on a supervised trip to Brighton. Following his arrest, he assaulted a custody officer and urinated in the waiting room. Bravery is serving a minimum 15-year jail term in HMP Belmarsh, pictured. He was arrested inside the prison on Thursday and taken to a south London police station for questioning having been arrested on suspicion of raping a fellow prisoner The judge said Bravery's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not explain the attack, and acknowledged expert evidence he presents 'a grave and immediate risk to the public'. Last year, police arrested Bravery again on suspicion of raping a man in prison. Bravery is alleged to have attacked a man in his 30s in the shower block When he was first prospected for the attempted murder in 2020, Bravery was granted anonymity by a court because of his age, being only 17 when he threw the young boy off of the balcony, but order expired on his 18th birthday. Documents released under a Freedom of Information request show Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council paid 12,400 over the course of four court hearings as they fought with the press over naming the teenager. The young French boy was given anonymity, which also extends to the identity of his parents so he cannot be identified through them. He is still in a wheelchair today, and wears splints on his left arm and both of his legs. Up until recently, he spent most days in a corset molded to his waist and sat in his wheelchair. Bravery, who has autism and a personality disorder, was a 'looked after child' under the care of Hammersmith and Fulham council at the time he struck - telling horrified onlookers social services were to blame for the atrocity His family said the new ankle movement is 'still light of course, but clearly visible for two weeks'. They added: 'Our little knight is standing more and more upright (he has gained muscle tone and strengthened his back) and he has made enough progress in his right ankle for his doctor to decide to remove the splint from the right foot! 'Our son therefore only has two splints left, on the left foot and on the left hand. Little by little, his armour is disappearing!' The boy also has a 'strong desire' to go in the water as he had always liked swimming but this can now only be managed with 'great vigilance', according to his relatives. They said: 'He still can't put his head under water because of his swallowing difficulties. Our son has to start all over again from the beginning but that doesn't scare him!' The family added: 'Some periods are so difficult. Sadness and discouragement would sometimes take hold of us, but we must hold on and focus on all the progress made. 'Thank you so much for continuing to think of our little knight and for encouraging us.' Southern California students plea for protection from gun violence after Texas mass shooting Xinhua) 10:32, May 29, 2022 Distraught and frightened students walked out of schools in Southern California on Thursday, demanding action from U.S. lawmakers after Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two teachers dead. It is part of a nationwide protest to demand stricter gun control and greater protection for the nation's innocent youth. In the Los Angeles region, student protestors chanted such slogans as "Protect kids, not guns" and "Enough is enough." In Saugus, where in 2019 two students were killed and three injured in a shooting, school children are particularly disturbed. Mia Tretta, who was wounded in the shooting, rallied students at Saugus High School to protest gun violence. "We are devastated. We are angry. This can't keep happening to us," she told KABC-TV, the West Coast flagship station of the ABC television network, adding that "This can't keep happening to people like us or kids younger than us. This is not fair." She told the news outlet that "I'm disappointed in the people who are higher-ups who say 'we need more guns, we need armed teachers.' " "We need less guns over here. We need a safe place," she was quoted as saying by KABC-TV, noting that "schools should be a sanctuary of learning, not of death." Some 150 students walked out of Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, reported KNBC-TV. According to the TV station, students at Locke High School in South Los Angeles also staged a walk-out, chanting "protect our kids!" Some of the signs held by students said "Are we next?" and "Put the guns down!" In Alhambra, teachers, students and community members came together to rally and called for an end to gun violence, The Los Angeles Times reported. Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson Shannon Haber said that the second-largest school system in the United States is aware of the walk-outs and that educators are helping students plan advocacy efforts and activities on campus, reported The Los Angeles Times. Shooting threats and rumors continued disrupting some Southern California schools days after the Texas shooting. A high school in City of Rosemead was closed Friday after a potential threat posted on social media. An elementary school in the City of Whittier was placed on lockdown Friday as a precaution while police officers were searching for armed suspects nearby. Disillusioned with adult lawmakers and elected officials who refuse to take the necessary steps to protect them, American students are taking matters into their own hands. They have formed nationwide activist groups like Students Demand Action. The website of Students Demand Action writes, "We are young activists committed to ending gun violence. We are Students Demand Action," and "We deserve better, and we're turning our outrage into action." Started in 2016 as a pilot program, Students Demand Action now has more than 400 groups across the country and active volunteers in every state and Washington, D.C., according to the website. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the country's war-ridden east marking his first official appearance outside Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion. On a trip to the Kharkiv region, from where Moscow has retreated in recent weeks, Zelensky handed out bravery medals. He told troops: 'I want to thank each of you for your service. You risk your life for all of us and our state.' The Ukrainian leader has been based in Kyiv since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale attack on February 24. Zelensky's office posted a video on Telegram of him wearing a bullet-proof vest in surroundings with heavily destroyed buildings. '2,229 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv and the region. We will restore, rebuild and bring back life,' the post said. 'In Kharkiv and all other towns and villages where evil came.' Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the country's war-ridden east for the first time since the Russian invasion On a trip to the Kharkiv region, from where Moscow has retreated in recent weeks, Mr Zelensky handed out bravery medals He told troops: 'I want to thank each of you for your service. You risk your life for all of us and our state' In the video, Ukrainian soldiers showed Zelensky destroyed trucks on the side of a road going through a field. 'In this war, the occupiers are trying to squeeze out at least some result,' Zelensky said in a later post. 'But they should have understood long ago that we will defend our land to the last man. They have no chance. We will fight and we will definitely win.' He also met local officials - the governor of Khariv region and the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov - to discuss reconstruction programs for the region. He called on them to 'find cool projects' to rebuild destroyed areas. 'This is a chance for such districts to have a new face,' Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader has been based in Kyiv since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale attack on February 24 Zelensky's office posted a video on Telegram of him wearing a bullet-proof vest in surroundings with heavily destroyed buildings In the video, Ukrainian soldiers showed Zelensky destroyed trucks on the side of a road going through a field He also met local officials - the governor of Khariv region and the mayor of the city - to discuss reconstruction programs for the region. Pictured speaking to Kharkiv's Mayor Igor Terekhov (L) He called on them to 'find cool projects' to rebuild destroyed areas It comes as Putin has reportedly been given just three to years to live as Russian intelligence sources become increasingly worried about their ailing leader. An FSB officer described the Russian president's condition as a 'severe form of rapidly progressing cancer', as speculation ramped up that Putin was suffering with some form of serious illness amid the invasion of Ukraine. The spy explained the wartime leader has 'no more than two to three years' left and he is also losing his sight, reports the Mirror. News of the Russian leader's terminal illness emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov. 'This is a chance for such districts to have a new face,' Zelensky said Zelensky signing a national flag during his visit in Kharkiv, Ukraine Zelensky visited the frontline positions in the east of the country and presented state awards to the military during a working trip to the Kharkiv region 'In this war, the occupiers are trying to squeeze out at least some result,' Zelensky said in a later post 'But they should have understood long ago that we will defend our land to the last man. They have no chance. We will fight and we will definitely win' The message warned Putin is refusing to wear glasses over fears it would admit a form of weakness, and he is now lashing out at his subordinates with 'uncontrolled fury'. The developments come as news of his deteriorating health continues to leak out of Russia from a Telegram channel which claims to have sources inside the Kremlin. Putin reportedly underwent 'successful' cancer surgery this month and is recovering following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR. The news emerged just hours before Putin appeared on state TV meeting with ally Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, when he was caught on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks. It is the second time Putin has been filmed making the odd movement, which was caught on camera during a meeting with Tajikistan's president a week ago, and comes off the back of rumours that he is suffering Parkinson's. Rumours have been circling for years that Putin (pictured gripping table during a meeting last month) has health problems, and they have intensified since he launched invasion of Ukraine Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have begun 'serious' negotiations on finding a bipartisan solution to rising gun violence, Senator Chris Murphy confirmed on Sunday. The Connecticut Democrat said he was 'in touch' with members of the GOP including Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and others on both sides of the aisle in the wake of a horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas where a gunman with an assault rifle killed 19 elementary school students and their two teachers. 'We have continued to work throughout the weekend,' Murphy said on ABC News' This Week. 'These are serious negotiations and we are going to continue to meet through early next week to try to find some common ground.' The lawmaker, who was a House Representative from Connecticut's 5th Congressional District when 26 people were killed at the local Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, said he was also engaging with a legislator who shares a similar experience. Murphy told ABC on Sunday that he's approached Republican Senator Rick Scott about how, as governor of Florida, Scott was able to get several gun control measures passed after the Marjorie Taylor Douglas High School shooting in Parkland. That includes raising the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21, banning bump stocks and other preventative laws - despite the influence of the vast gun lobby. Connecticut Democrat Senator Chris Murphy said a bipartisan plan on gun control could emerge as early as next week Sen. Chris Murphy tells @jonkarl that serious bipartisan negotiations following Uvalde shooting could show that progress is possible and that the sky doesnt fall for Republicans if they support some of these common sense measures. https://t.co/wVPsSlBMok pic.twitter.com/D64LCm2dST This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022 'The Florida law is a good law and it's a signal of what's possible, right? It married together changes to Florida's gun laws with some significant investments in mental health and school security,' Murphy said. 'And I, you know, had a long conversation with Senator Scott last week, and had him tell me the story of how they were able to pass that legislation and get Republicans to support it.' He added, 'It also proved that Republicans could take on the gun lobby because the NRA opposed that measure and still get re-elected, which has been the case I've been making to Republicans for a decade.' Murphy anticipated the new legislation would not 'mirror' Florida's but it 'certainly is a model.' 'Listen, I've been clear - I'm not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good,' Murphy said at another point. 'Of course, I would love to ban assault weapons. I think that's probably the most impactful way to stop these mass shootings.' 'I would love universal background checks - that's the best way to try to curb the level of violence that happens in my city of Hartford and other cities like it across the country.' Both of those measures would be a tough sell for the majority of Republicans. GOP lawmakers have for years insisted that the troubling rise in mass shootings committed by young men is a mental health crisis and a lack of school security, rather than an issue of firearms. Talks have been brought to the table with urgency after a gunman killed 19 elementary school students and their two teachers in Uvalde, Texas last week A woman prays at a makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 28 Aware of the disparity, Murphy continued: 'But, what we're talking about is not insignificant. Inside this room we're talking about red flag laws, we're talking about strengthening and expanding the background check system, if not universal background checks. We're talking about safe storage.' 'And yes, we're also talking about mental health resources and more security dollars for schools,' he said. Murphy said the final piece of legislation 'in the end, could have a significant downward pressure on gun violence in this country.' The Democrat hoped it would also 'break the log jam' of hyper-partisanship in the Senate. 'Maybe that's the most important thing we could do, is just show that progress is possible and that the sky doesn't fall for Republicans if they support some of these common sense measures,' Murphy said. He said the legislation could be ready as early as next week, when lawmakers return from Memorial Day recess. Hours after the massacre at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday last week, an impassioned Murphy took to the Senate floor to demand of his colleagues: 'What are we doing?' Murphy had been moved to make gun violence a central priority of his in 2012, when he witnessed families' reactions firsthand being told that their six and seven-year-olds had been shot dead by a gunman with an assault rifle. 'Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate, why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority, if your answer, is as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing?' he implored. His Sunday interview came after CNN reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he directed Cornyn, Texas' senior senator, to work with Democrats toward a solution on gun violence. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would force a vote on gun control legislation when Congress returned in June after its recess. Meanwhile President Joe Biden is in Uvalde, Texas on Sunday to meet with families of victims and survivors of Tuesday's shooting. He and First Lady. Dr. Jill Biden will pay their respects at a makeshift memorial outside of Robb Elementary School, where the slaughter took place. It comes amid outrage over revelations that police waited nearly an hour outside of a reportedly locked classroom while the gunman was inside with the children and two teachers - and while multiple students made frantic 911 calls asking for cops to help. The president and first lady were clad in black when they arrived at Delaware Air National Guard Base early on Sunday morning They're headed for an all-day visit to Uvalde, Texas to honor the victims of the mass shooting there last week Footage has emerged of officers detaining angry and scared parents trying to get into the school themselves after pleading with law enforcement to act. Cornyn defended the police on Saturday, writing on Twitter that attacks against them are 'destructive, distracting, and unfair.' Meanwhile, less than 300 miles away from Uvalde, Second Amendment advocates and big name Republicans descended on Houston for the annual National Rifle Association meeting. Cornyn had reportedly pulled out of the event before the shooting. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was slated to appear in-person, delivered a video message instead. The Lone Star state's junior senator - and a potential 2024 nominee - Ted Cruz, did appear on stage at the NRA event. 'Tragedies like the event of this week are a mirror forcing us to ask hard questions, demanding that we see where our culture is failing,' Cruz said. 'We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law-abiding citizens.' Former President Donald Trump accused Biden of exploiting the tragedy by calling for common sense gun control, telling his supporters that 'when Joe Biden blamed the gun lobby, he was talking about Americans like you.' 'The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,' he also said. Margaret Thatcher's statue in her home town has been vandalized with paint just two weeks after a man was fined for throwing eggs at it. The 300,000 sculpture of the former Prime Minister - installed on May 15 in Grantham, Lincolnshire - has now been targeted twice. In the second incidence of vandalism, red paint has been thrown over Thatcher's likeness. At the base of the monument, which is designed to protect it from vandal attacks, a communist red hammer and sickle have also been spray-painted. Lincolnshire Police said: 'Just before 11.15pm yesterday we received reports of a person shown on CCTV acting suspiciously near the site. The statue of the former Prime Minister was installed in Grantham, Lincolnshire, just two weeks ago and has been vandalised for a second time The statue was pelted with eggs on the day of its unveiling and last night was subjected to a second act of vandalism, with red paint thrown at it A communist hammer and sickle symbol was also spray-painted on the base of the monument - designed to protect it from attack 'Officers attended and found graffiti had been spray painted onto the barriers surrounding the statue, no damage was thought to have been caused to the statue itself. 'This is being treated as criminal damage and an enquiry is ongoing.' In February 2019 a planning committee at South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) unanimously voted to house the 300,000 statue, which was meant to be displayed in Parliament Square, Westminster originally. The local council said that two CCTV cameras as well as a large metal fence around the memorial are there to prevent any future acts of vandalism. A town hall report states the statue was moved to the area over fears of a 'motivated far-left movement... who may be committed to public activism'. After the council approved the large-scale 100,000 unveiling ceremony in 2020, a Facebook group proposed an 'egg-throwing contest' at the statue which attracted interest from over 13,000 people. Plastic sheeting covers the plinth of the newly installed statue of Baroness Margaret Thatcher which is now guarded by two CCTV cameras and a metal fence The contents of a thrown egg drip down the newly installed statue of Baroness Margaret Thatcher in her home town of Grantham, Lincolnshire Jeremy Webster was photographed and filmed throwing eggs at the statue of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher moments after it was unveiled this month Before the statue had planning permission, Baroness Thatcher was remembered solely by a plaque on the corner of North Parade and Broad Street to show where she was born in the town. Thatcher was born in Grantham in 1925 and died in London aged 87 in 2013. Her statue was officially unveiled on May 15 but eggs were thrown at it on the same day. Jeremy Webster, 59, a deputy director at the University of Leicester's Attenborough Arts Centre, was later identified as the man responsible for the egging. He showed up just over an hour after the monument was placed and threw four eggs, one of which hit the statue and then left the scene. Mr Webster was given a 90 fixed penalty notice under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. Anyone with information about the latest act of vandalism can contact Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 488 of May 28. Staten Island business owners have seen a surge in interest thanks to Kim Kardashian's low key visits with her local-boy boyfriend Pete Davidson. While they may have hoped to keep a low profile with their unglamorous outings, their dates to pizzerias and movie theaters have driven an influx of celebrity tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of them, sit where they sat and eat what they ate since going public last year. There are now lines out the door at Campania, the Italian restaurant where the pair shared a pizza, salad and jug of sangria in October, and the local movie theater which they visited in December has been booked out in her honor. Servers at Campania tell The New York Times patrons now regularly ask about the star during dinner service. 'I was like, "Kim isnt here today, but check back tomorrow." It took me a few times to realize they werent talking about my friend Kim, who works here with me. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davison posing with the manager of Angelino's a restaurant in Staten Island, in December after a visit The owner of Angelino's (above) says he's never seen so much interest in the restaurant 'They were talking about Kim Kardashian,' waitress Nicole Bressi said. The pair visited Campania in October last year, entering through the back door. Kim had been staying at the Ritz Carlton in Manhattan - it was only a week after her SNL appearance, which is how the pair met. 'So many people ask us about Kim, we now make up stories. I wasnt even here when Kim was here, but now I say, "Oh yeah, we had coffee. It was lovely,"' Bressi added. The manager of Campania, Umberto Guzman, said business boomed after their visit became public knowledge. 'It was crazy. The phone was ringing off the hook, and we had long lines every day. 'People wanted to sit on the roof all winter long because thats where she sat, but I had to explain to them the roof was closed because it was cold,' he said. He isn't entirely happy about the influx of attention, however. 'I dont want lines anymore because its annoying for my customers. 'We have been busy since we opened last April because our food, and service, is amazing. We dont even need her,' he said. In December, Pete and Kim visited Atrium Stadium Cinemas along with Scott Disick. The small boutique movie theater has since been inundated with people hoping to snag tickets to movies. Recently, one fan rented out the entire theater and paid for popcorn for all his guests because he wanted to hold a party where Kim and Pete had watched House of Gucci in December. Since Kim and Pete visited in December, Atrium Stadium Cinemas has been booked out by people wanting to visit the theater where they watched House of Gucci with Scott Disick Star power: Kim, 41, and Pete, 28, went public last year after meeting on the set of Saturday Night Live 'Someone called a few weeks ago, someone from out of town, saying he wanted to come to the theater that Kim visited. 'He rented out the whole theater for his friends and paid for everyones popcorn and food. 'You cant get any bigger than Kim Kardashian. The president could be here, and it wouldnt be any bigger,' the owner, Jesse Scarola, said. When Kim, Pete and Scott visited in December, they were spotted on their way into the theater. By the time the film ended, there was a crowd of people outside. That same night, the couple visited Angelino's, another restaurant. They posed for a selfie with the restaurant's owner, who posted it on Instagram soon after. The photo received more than 7,000 likes - far more than any other picture on the restaurant's feed. Pete and Kim dined on a pizza, salad and sangria at Campania in October last year. Now, the owner says the phone rings off the hook and there are lines out the door The owner of Campania says Pete and Kim dined on the roof while it was open, which led to people demanding to eat there throughout the winter even when it was closed 'We have never had exposure like that. People started coming in from Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, South Jersey, everywhere.' Local politicians say the sudden interest helps to revive the local economy after a difficult few years of COVID. But some residents are wary of all of the attention. One woman said she hopes Kim doesn't spoil the borough's best kept secrets, like her favorite beach. 'If Kim went there I would want to get a photo with her, but then I wouldnt want the crowds that followed. I want my beach to stay undiscovered. Its nice and quiet and its not dirty,' Ruby Hernandez, a teacher, told the Times. Kim and Pete went public last year, not long after her guest appearance on Saturday Night Live. Since then, he has quit the comedy show which made him famous. It's unclear what he now plans to do. Kim is predominantly based in Los Angeles, where she films The Kardashians for Hulu with her famous family, and where she shares custody of her four kids with the rapper Kanye West. Six people in their teens or early 20s have been rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds in Tennessee. The victims were believed to have been struck by bullets during a shootout in downtown Chattanooga around 11.45pm. Cops were on patrol when they heard shots fired and found 'multiple parties exchanging gunfire and numerous people fleeing the area'. Six people in their teens or early 20s have been rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds in Tennessee The victims were believed to have been struck by bullets during a shootout in downtown Chattanooga around 11.45pm Sgt Jeremy Eames said: 'I don't have ages or a status on the victims. However most of them will be teenagers to early 20's. 'We had large groups of juveniles walking around the downtown area this date and we believe it's from within that group that the shooting took place.' Officers took down and arrested one suspect over the shooting, which was less than a mile from Tennessee Aquarium. British authorities are considering the formal extradition of Kevin Spacey from the US over four sexual assault charges, unless he comes to the UK voluntarily. The actor, 62, may be detained by US police on behalf of the UK, so that he can be formally charged. On Thursday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the four charges in relation to alleged attacks on three men between 2005 and 2013 following a Metropolitan Police investigation. Nick Vamos, a former head of extradition at the CPS, told the Guardian that formal extradition could take many months, with officials in the US needing to analyse papers sent over from Britain. British authorities are considering the formal extradition of Kevin Spacey (pictured) from the US over four sexual assault charges, unless he comes to the UK voluntarily The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2005 (pictured) and 2013, when Spacey was one of the world's biggest stars They would then need to feel that there was a 'probable cause' the offences happened, before finding and detaining the actor. 'The US Department of Justice will task US marshals to find Mr Spacey and take him to a federal court. He always had the option of surrendering and not contesting extradition,' Mr Vamos told the paper. The former CPS official said that it is harder to resist an extradition request in the US than it is Britain. If he does not contest the process, it could happen within weeks, Mr Vamos explained. Kevin Spacey outside The Old Vic theatre in London, where he was artistic director for 11 years. The alleged sexual assaults are said to have taken place in this period He added that extradition provides greater protections, as Mr Spacey would only have charges brought against him that had been agreed by the US, as part of the process. If he returns to the UK and is charged, he could then be back in the US fairly quickly, if bail arrangements allow him to cross the Atlantic. The four charges relate to alleged attacks against three men in London and Gloucestershire. Kevin Spacey holds up his best actor Oscar during the 72nd Academy Awards for his role in American Beauty. He posed with Michael Caine, who won a best supporting actor gong The first alleged attack in London is said to involve a man, now in his 40s, in March 2005. The actor is alleged to have caused another man, now in his 30s, to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent in August 2008, in London. And Mr Spacey is alleged to have sexually assaulted another man, now in his 30s, in April 2013, in Gloucestershire. Kevin Spacey faces charges of four counts of sexual assault against three men The Hollywood star faces charges of four offences: Sexual assault (Count 1) on a man, who is now in his 40s, in March 2005 in London; Sexual assault (Count 2) on a man, who is in now in his 40s [the same complainant as Count 1] in March 2005 in London; Sexual assault (Count 3) on a man, who is now in his 30s, in August 2008 in London; Sexual assault (Count 4) on another man, who is now in his 30s, in April 2013 in Gloucestershire. He is also accused of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent - in August 2008 in London [the same complainant as Count 3]. Advertisement The actor, who was seen in House of Cards and was the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London from 2004 to 2015, has denied all of the allegations. He has won two Oscars. The first was in 1995 for Best Supporting Actor in The Usual Suspects for his role as gangster Keyser Soze. On Friday, Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: 'The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men. 'The CPS has also authorised one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The authority to charge follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation. 'The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.' A spokesman said the CPS has authorised charges against Kevin Spacey, but he has not yet been charged by police. Spacey is a two-time Oscar winner and known for starring roles in American Beauty, The Usual Suspects and House Of Cards. He came out as gay in 2017. The actor, 62, was interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police's Complex Case Team in America back in 2019. They passed a file to the CPS last year. Mr Spacey did not attend the Cannes Film Festival last week. But he is one of the stars of a micro-budgeted film called Peter Five Eight. Advertisement An American animal rights organisation has said that Prince William's horse could have been lowering its head at the Trooping the Colour rehearsal because it was injured, after military veterans last night claimed that the horse looked 'drugged'. The Duke of Cambridge, 39, rode a black Household Division charger, named George, as he went through the practice inspection - known as the Colonel's Review - in central London. Elisa Allen, vice president for the charity PETA, said today that 'sometimes horses will lower their heads or move oddly when they're sore or injured'. It comes as an unnamed source told MailOnline: 'William's horse looks drugged. Its head is on the floor. It's a disgrace.' Despite what PETA and the military source have claimed, it has not been confirmed that anything was necessarily wrong with the horse. Ms Allen said: 'Because horses, including those used for racing, are high-strung and easily frightened by noise and unexpected commotion, which can cause them to bolt, handlers have been known to administer sedatives to the animals ahead of public displays a sure sign that they shouldn't be exposed to large parades in the first place. 'We can't know if this is the case here, as sometimes horses will lower their heads or move oddly when they're sore or injured. 'But horses shouldn't be put at risk. Just as the days of using horses for war are over, so, too, should be the days of placing these large, often skittish animals in situations that may spook them, thereby putting themselves, the rider, and the public at risk for injury.' A Clarence House spokesman declined to comment. For the event, William wore his red and blue military uniform adorned with medals, which he teamed with the traditional bearskin hat as he sat on the charger, also festooned in ceremonial regalia. Horses of the Household Cavalry which feature in such parades undergo special training so that they are desensitised to noise and traffic. They also need to be comfortable standing still for long periods and become accustomed to the weight of extra kit. Prince William rose early to take part in the rehearsal of the Queen's birthday parade in London on Saturday. A military veteran tonight claimed that the prince's horse appeared 'drugged' during the event. The unnamed source told MailOnline: 'William's horse looks drugged. Its head is on the floor. It's a disgrace' The Duke of Cambridge, 39, rode a black Household Division charger, named George, as he went through the practice inspection known as the Colonel's Review in central London William wore his red and blue military uniform adorned with medals, which he teamed with the traditional bearskin hat as he sat on the charger, also festooned in ceremonial regalia. Horses of the Household Cavalry which feature in such parades undergo special training so that they are desensitised to noise and traffic The famous salute at the real Trooping the Colour is usually performed by the Queen but William has stepped in this year Prince William salutes as he rides across the parade ground during the Colonel's Review at Horse Guards Parade Prince William looked very serious at the rehearsal of the prestigious military birthday event in London for the Queen. Irish Guards wear a blue plume to the right of their bearskin Soldiers are seen on parade during the Colonel's Review - the second rehearsal for the Trooping the Colour, which dates back to 1748 The Colonel's Review is identical to Trooping the Colour, the Queen's annual birthday parade, which she will not be at This year, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal will ride on the parade as colonels of the Welsh Guards, the Irish Guards and the Blues and Royals Members of the Household Division parade during the Colonel's Review ahead of the Trooping of the Colour next week The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry and the Queen's drum horses parade during the review yesterday The Queen's birthday on June 2 sees her Household Division troops march and ride on Horse Guards Parade with Her Majesty usually attending and taking the salute. But this year, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal will ride on the parade as colonels of the Welsh Guards, the Irish Guards and the Blues and Royals. Only William was seen at the run-through yesterday, which went without a hitch - unlike last week. Two people had to be rushed to a major trauma hospital and three others needed treatment from paramedics after a stand collapsed at the Trooping the Colour rehearsal on May 21. The 'terrifying' incident took place in front of a crowd of 'shocked' onlookers who had gathered to watch the event in Horse Guard Parade, London, at around 11am. Witnesses reported part of the stand collapsed, causing at least one person to fall through into the area below. Part of the stand was evacuated following the incident, and two people have been taken to hospital by London Ambulance and St John Ambulance for treatment. Three other people who were hurt in the incident were treated at the scene and discharged without needing hospital treatment. Last week it was revealed the Queen would not take the royal salute at the Trooping the Colour for the first time in 70 years. The Irish Guards regiment was formed in 1900 by order of Queen Victoria in response to the numerous acts of bravery and gallantry shown by Irish soldiers during the Second Boer War The Irish Guards' regimental mascot - an Irish wolfhound - is taken through its paces during the parade review Above, the regimental mascot Turlough Mor - also known as Seamus. The canine is one of the biggest dog breeds in the world The Irish Guards display their regimental flag. Prince William has been Colonel of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards since 2011 During the event, only one colour can be carried ('trooped') at a time. The five Household Regiments - Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards each take their turn each year Prince William, who is Colonel of the Irish Guards, leads the Colonel's Review on Horse Guards Parade on May 28. The procession can be viewed along The Mall or along the edge of St James's Park in London Spectators watch the rehearsal. The 'colour' in Trooping the Colour refers to the regimental flags of the British Army which were historically described as such because they displayed the uniform colours and insignia worn by the soldiers of different units Irish Guards march across the parade ground on Saturday during the 90-minute rehearsal By sheer coincidence, William's brother Harry was on horseback yesterday playing a polo match for his team in America The Queen will not take the royal salute at the Trooping the Colour for the first time in 70 years as she continues to delegate responsibility to senior members of The Firm. She is pictured on the balcony of Buckingham Place during the ceremony in 2019 The news comes as the 96-year-old monarch continues to entrust members of the Royal Family with increased responsibilities as she faces 'episodic mobility problems' It came two years after the ceremony had to be scaled back due to coronavirus and took place in Windsor. This year, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal will ride on the parade as colonels of the Welsh Guards, the Irish Guards and the Blues and Royals. According to the Sunday Times, Her Majesty still hopes to attend some of the ceremony, which kicks off four days of celebration to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The news comes as the 96-year-old monarch continues to entrust members of the Royal Family with increased responsibilities as she faces 'episodic mobility problems'. Earlier this month, Her Majesty missed the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years, with Prince Charles and Prince William given power to jointly act at the event on the Queen's behalf. She has though made three recent public outings this month, including attending the Windsor Horse Show, star-studded Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Windsor and the opening of the Elizabeth Tube line, appearing in good spirits at all of them. Her Majesty has always been present at the Horse Guards Parade and has taken the royal salute at every Trooping the Colour ceremony during her reign. Traditionally during the ceremony following the Horse Guards Parade, the Queen is greeted by a royal salute before carrying out an inspection of the troops. From her first appearance at the annual Trooping the Colour to 1986, the monarch would attend the ceremony on horseback (Pictured during one of her early ceremonies) The monarch has limited the Trooping The Colour balcony appearance to working members of her family, with the Duke of York and Duke and Duchess of Sussex missing out According to the publication, one option being considered by Palace officials is Her Majesty travelling by carriage from Buckingham Palace to briefly inspect troops before making an appearance on the balcony. Alternatively, Her Majesty may only only appear on the balcony after the duration of the ceremony. Following Trooping the Colour, 18 family members will be on the balcony: The Queen; Charles and Camilla; William and Kate with George, Charlotte and Louis; Edward and Sophie and their children Louise and James; Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince Andrew and Prince Andrew's daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, will not join the royal family there. Harry, Meghan and their children will attend the celebrations, but it is not known at which elements of the four-day Jubilee weekend they could make an appearance. The balcony appearance, which is often seen as the centre-piece of major royal occasions, including Trooping the Colour and weddings, usually sees the Queen's extended family gather to watch a fly-past and is a rare chance for fans to see the entire extended family together. In paring the list down to just 16 people to avoid potential diplomatic pitfalls, the Queen has been forced to omit a number of well-liked family members including her much-loved grandchildren and their families. Advertisement The gunman was Dennis Butler, a 37-year-old criminal who had already been cautioned for speeding near children when he drove to the graduation party that was being held outside at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia. A woman, who has not yet been identified, shot him dead A West Virginia woman is being hailed a hero for using her legally-owned pistol to shoot and kill a criminal armed with an AR-15 after he opened fire at a graduation party last week. The woman has not been named by police and she has not come forward to identify herself since the incident on Wednesday, just a day after the massacre in Uvalde. The gunman was Dennis Butler, a 37-year-old criminal who had already been cautioned for speeding near children when he drove to the graduation party that was being held outside at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia. He had been told to stop driving so quickly while children were nearby. He drove away then returned with an AR-style assault rifle and opened fire. The woman was among guests at the outdoor party. When she saw Butler open fire, she immediately pulled out her weapon and shot at him. It's unclear exactly how many people were there but police described it as a 'crowd'. Miraculously, no one was injured. The woman then pulled her legally-owned gun out of her purse and shot and killed him. At a press conference on Thursday, Charleston Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett praised the woman as a hero. 'Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,' he said. And as America debates gun reform in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, pro-2nd amendment advocates are invoking the woman as a hero of their cause. 'The other side of the gun debate,' said one advocate on social media. Others questioned why the story hadn't received attention. 'A big enough story to make the Saudi Gazette but I found nothing from New York Times, CNN or MSNBC. Yes, media bias is real... on both sides,' said another. This is the apartment complex in West Virginia where the gunman opened fire at a graduation party at 10.45pm on Wednesday night. The unidentified woman pulled her legally-owned weapon out and shot him dead. No one else was hurt Lawmakers are now facing intense calls for gun reform in the wake of Tuesday's tragedy in Uvalde, where 19 kids and two teachers were killed by a teenage shooter who legally purchased two AR-15 rifles within days of his 18th birthday. The disastrous police response to the shooting meant that injured kids were trapped alone in their classroom with the gunman for an hour after being shot. Charleston Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett praised the woman as a hero for shooting the gunman dead Medical experts now say they may have been saved if they'd been reached sooner. Police did not immediately rush into the classroom to disarm the shooter. There have been various explanations for that. First, cops said it was because they feared they would be shot. On Friday, Texas' top cop said that the officers thought Salvador Ramos had already killed everyone in the classroom and that he had just barricaded himself inside. The Department of Justice is now investigating. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are leading calls for AR-15s to be banned. Butler, the man with the AR-15 in the West Virginia shooting, has an extensive criminal history, according to local reports. It's unclear how he was able to obtain his weapon. There is now an investigation into how he was able to purchase the firearms, if he did, or where he stole them from. The woman who shot him dead is not facing any charges. A teenager has been charged with the murder of an 18-year-old boy who was fatally attacked while walking home from his school prom. Kajetan Migdal, 18, was found with life-threatening injuries in Cutty's Lane, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, by police and paramedics at around 11.20pm on Friday. The schoolboy was rushed 2.4 miles away to the nearby Lister Hospital where despite the efforts of emergency doctors, he was pronounced dead in the early hours of Saturday morning. Patrick Sharp, 18, has been charged with the murder of Kajetan as well as the possession of drugs and an offensive weapon in a public place. He will appear before St Albans Magistrates' Court on Monday. A spokesman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: 'A man has been charged following the death of another man in Stevenage. Patrick Sharp, aged 18 years, was today (Sun) charged with murder, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of Class A drugs. 'He has been remanded in custody to appear before St Albans Magistrates' Court tomorrow (Mon). Kajetan Migdal (above) was on his way home from a school prom when he was attacked in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, at around 11.20pm on Friday. He was taken to the Lister Hospital but died in the early hours of Saturday morning 'Police were called at around 11.20pm on Friday following an incident in Cutty's Lane, during which Kajetan Migdal sustained life-threatening injuries. 'Despite best efforts to save him, he sadly passed away in hospital during the early hours of yesterday (Sat).' Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: 'Our inquiries have continued over the weekend and, following a fast time arrest, we have now secured a charge. 'However, we are still appealing for any witnesses who haven't yet spoken to police to please come forward. If you have any information at all, please contact us.' Police are pictured at the scene of the attack. An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder Detective Superintendent Michael Trotman said: 'I understand that news of this incident will have come as a huge shock to the community and our thoughts are with all those who have been affected. If you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact your local police Safer Neighbourhood Team. Family described the 18-year-old as a loving, joy-filled young man with 'a bright future'. His family wrote in a tribute to murdered Kajetan: He was known for his love of dance, animals, hard work and caring friendships. As a high achiever academically and in his hobbies, he was set for big things. He had just finished school and had his life to look forward to.' Police forensics at the scene of the crime. Kajetan's aunt, Corrie Everett, from Texas, has now set up a GoFundMe page in his memory to raise money for funeral and travel costs Kajetan's aunt, Corrie Everett, from Texas, has now set up a GoFundMe page in his memory to raise money for funeral and travel costs. Nearly $13,000 (10,300) has so far been pledged. Ms Everett wrote: 'As a family, we are in complete shock and devastated at this huge loss. He had his whole life ahead of him and an exciting summer planned. 'He leaves behind his parents (my sister Gemma and her husband Janusz), along with his younger brother Fabian and our extended family across the globe.' The bodies of three more people were pulled from a river in coastal Georgia on Sunday, raising the death toll from a head-on motorboat collision to five. Two boats were traveling in opposite directions along the Wilmington River in Chatham County on Saturday morning when the vessels crashed into each other. Two people were confirmed dead immediately following the crash, four passengers were injured and transported to hospital and three others were declared missing. Georgia and U.S. Coast Guard divers recovered the bodies of the three missing victims from the bottom of the river on Sunday near the coastal town of Savannah. The victims have been identified as Savannah resident Christopher Leffler, 51, his wife, Lori, 50, and their sons Zachary, 23, and Nathan, 17. According to WTOC, 37-year-old Robert Chauncey was also killed in the crash. Mark Christopher Stegall, 45, also of Savannah, was arrested for 'boating under the influence' during in the incident, the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed. His bond has been set at $3,500. Georgia DNR notes that the cause of the crash is currently unknown and the incident remains under investigation. Five people died and four were injured after two motorboats collided along the Wilmington River in Chatham County, Georgia on Saturday morning Mark Christopher Stegall (pictured), of Savannah, was arrested for 'boating under the influence' during in the incident. His bond has been set at $3,500 The two boats collided around 10.30am on the Wilmington River, in what's known as a dangerous area near the Oatland Island Wildlife Center docks where Richardson Creek meets the river. One of the boats was carrying six people and the second had three aboard when they collided, Georgia DNR spokesperson Mark McKinnon said. The Coast Guard was alerted about the crash by a good Samaritan around 10.42am, prompting a rescue mission. Two of the nine victims were immediately pronounced dead. Four others suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Video posted by the guard on Twitter, revealed officials were able to rescue one person via a helicopter search, who was then airlifted to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. The maritime security confirmed Saturday that at least one of the survivors was in good condition. Four of the five victims have been identified as Chris and Lory Leffler (left) and their two sons Zach and Nathan (right). The couple's daughter Katie (also pictured) survived the collision Lori, Zach, Chris, Nathan and Katie Leffler are pictured from left to right The two boats collided around 10.30am on the Wilmington River, in what's known as a dangerous area near the Oatland Island Wildlife Center docks where Richardson Creek meets the river. One of the boats was carrying six people and the second had three aboard The three remaining victims were found on Sunday after authorities resumed their search of the area and utilized sector scan sonar and divers, Sgt. Cindy Miller, of Georgia DNR, confirmed to WTOC. The victims were found at approximately 9am in 14-foot deep water. DNR said the bodies were located in 'close proximity to each other.' Four of the five boaters killed were from the same Savannah family. The Lefflers, whose boat carried six passengers, are survived by their daughter, Katie, who had been on the boat with a friend. Chris Leffler was a faculty member at Calvary Day School, an independent Christian academy in the area. In an email issued to WJCL, the school said it was 'saddened' by Leffler's death and asked the community to pray for their family. Video posted to Twitter showed how the Coast Guard able to rescue one person via a helicopter search Emergency responders are pictured responding to the scene of Saturday's fatal boat crash Saturday's crash is the second involving a boat and serious injuries on the Wilmington River this month. A local businessman was killed May 5 when a boat he was aboard struck an unlit channel marker near the Savannah Yacht Club and he was struck on the head by an unknown object, authorities said. Memorial Day weekend, which culminates in ceremonies to honor U.S. military dead, sees many Americans flock to beaches, river fronts and other coastal areas to enjoy the outdoors at the start of the summer season. Boaters and beachgoers are reminded to maintain safety protocols while enjoying the water. Nancy Pelosi's husband has been arrested in Napa on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was involved in a crash on Saturday. Paul Pelosi, 82, was booked on two counts for the incident in Napa, California, shortly before midnight while attempting to cross State Route-29 in his 2021 Porsche. DailyMail.com understands he was arrested by members of California Highway Patrol at 11.44pm. He was booked in Napa County Jail at 4.13am on Sunday morning. The two misdemeanor charges are driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher. He is believed to have been released after posting $5,000 in bail. Nancy and Paul Pelosi, both 82, are shown on April 24, 2022 Pelosi was arrested at 11.44pm last night but was booked into Napa County Jail at 4.13am Nancy has not yet commented on his arrested. She made no mention of it while giving a commencement speech to graduating students at Brown University in Rhode Island on Sunday Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is hooded after receiving an honorary degree during commencement services on the campus of Brown University, Sunday, May 29, 2022 Nancy has not yet commented on his arrested. She made no mention of it while giving a commencement speech to graduating students at Brown University in Rhode Island on Sunday. The couple own a vineyard in Napa, in addition to a home in nearby San Francisco, but she does not drink, according to previous statements given by her representatives. The sprawling estate is one of many the couple owns. Paul Pelosi on May 16 Neighbors were unaware of Paul's arrest. One vineyard owner who lives nearby told DailyMail.com the couple often block the road with their convoy of blacked-out SUVs when they come to town, but that they didn't seen anything this weekend. Some suggested that Paul might have been attending the Bottle Rocks festival which Snoop Dogg was playing at this weekend. 'It probably tracks more with the younger Paul,' the neighbor said, referring to the couple's 53-year-old son, Paul Pelosi Jr. 'I wouldn't be going to the kinds of fundraisers and parties they go to. I don't like them very much or find them very interesting,' the vineyard owner said. The property on Zinfandel Lane sits on the banks of the Napa River and features a tennis court. Neighboring vineyards have told in the past how the couple throws lavish parties for Silicon Valley executives. Nancy and Paul Pelosi's vineyard in St Helena, Napa, is one of the many properties they own The couple also own a mansion in San Francisco He has raked in millions through investments in tech companies like Alphabet, Google's parent company, and Disney. The couple's vineyard is not open to the public but they made wine from it which they sell. California Highway Patrol has not issued any public information about Pelosi's arrest. Pelosi previously faced criticism over her husband's profiteering on tech stocks at a time when their security was being debated by the House. He bet millions on the future of Alphabet and Apple. On May 21 last year, Paul also bought 20 call options for Amazon, with a strike price of $3,000, as well as 50 call options of Apple stock, with a strike price of $100. Both expire in June 2022. Pelosi's arrest was first reported by TMZ. The couple have been married since 1963. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of holding House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in contempt for his refusal to comply with the Democrat-led Capitol riot committee's subpoena. Kinzinger said McCarthy had 'no respect for the institution' of Congress and accused him of seeking only 'power' in his ambitions to be House Speaker if Republicans take back the majority in November's midterms. The retiring Illinois lawmaker is one of two Republican members of the House Select Committee Investigating the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol, alongside Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. McCarthy is part of a group of five sitting lawmakers subpoenaed by the panel in an unprecedented move over their ties to former President Donald Trump and communications with him leading up to the January 6 insurrection. CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash asked Kinzinger on Sunday, 'Are you considering holding the sitting House minority leader in contempt of Congress?' 'You know, that's -- that's a big deal,' he began. 'Obviously, there are things we can do, including whether it's with ethics or other things. Trust me, every day, we're talking about what to do when these members - if these members don't comply with the subpoena. And so we will see.' However, he added that it 'says way more' about [McCarthy] than us if he doesn't come in.' Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tore into the leader of his party, claiming Kevin McCarthy has 'no respect for the institution' that he hopes to lead as House Speaker 'Because, look, he has information, and we want to talk to him. This is the House that he wants to be the Speaker of, by the way,' Kinzinger said. He suggested that McCarthy would be hard-pressed to get the respect of his colleagues in the House if he rejects a subpoena from one of its own committees. 'I'm not going to be here next year in Congress, but I guarantee, if he is speaker, there's going to be people that are like, wait, you didn't even bother to comply with a subpoena,' Kinzinger said. The military veteran announced late last year that he was stepping down from his Illinois House seat. 'Kevin McCarthy has no respect for the institution anymore, for the process. All he wants to do is be powerful, and it's not even be powerful through normal means,' he said. 'It's through really kissing up to Donald Trump. I mean, that's more on him than us.' Earlier this month the committee said it would take the historic step of subpoenaing five sitting lawmakers of its own body including a Congressional leader when it ordered McCarthy along with Reps. Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry and Mo Brooks to cooperate. McCarthy was in communication with President Trump before, during, and after the attack on January 6th' as well as his White House staff, the committee said in a May 12 press release. The California Republican is one of five sitting lawmakers who was subpoenaed over their communications with Donald Trump leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol Audio recordings of McCarthy's private calls with colleagues in the riot's immediate aftermath feature him saying that Trump acknowledged having 'some responsibility' for January 6 'Mr. McCarthy also claimed to have had a discussion with the President in the immediate aftermath of the attack during which President Trump admitted some culpability for the attack,' the release reads. McCarthy's lawyer responded in a letter on Friday that the committee was 'not exercising a valid or lawful use of Congress subpoena power.' A leaked private phone call published by the New York Times earlier this year features McCarthy telling colleagues that he would ask Trump to step aside in the immediate aftermath of the riot. But he was pictured with the ex-president at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida just weeks later. In one of the tapes McCarthy can be heard saying Trump acknowledged having 'some responsibility' for the violence at the Capitol that day. Kinzinger's Sunday interview comes less than two weeks before the panel holds its first in a series of eight televised hearings, beginning June 9. Trump had vowed to endorse a primary challenge to the Illinois Republican over his vote to impeach the ex-president over the Capitol riot, and a newly-redrawn map would have pit him against an ally in an nearby district. However he did leave the door open to future campaigns for higher office - including potentially the White House. Cheney, the panel's vice chair and only other Republican, formally filed for re-election on Thursday - but she faces an uphill battle with nearly the entire House GOP caucus including McCarthy against her. Trump was in her home state of Wyoming on Saturday to campaign for Cheney's Republican primary opponent, attorney Harriet Hageman. Peter Dutton will be voted in as the new leader of the Liberal Party today while Barnaby Joyce could be kicked out of the Nationals top job. Mr Dutton will replace Scott Morrison while former environment minister Sussan Ley will become the deputy leader when the Liberals meet on Monday. He will become the first Queenslander to ever lead the party since it was formed in 1944. The Nationals will also hold a leadership ballot with Mr Joyce facing off against deputy David Littleproud and former veterans' affairs minister Darren Chester. Peter Dutton is set to be voted in as the new leader of the Liberal Party while Barnaby Joyce could be kicked out of the top job in the Nationals Mr Dutton will replace Scott Morrison for the plum role while former environment minister Sussan Ley will become the deputy leader when the Liberals meet on Monday Mr Dutton emerged as the clear favourite for the job after Mr Morrison's expected successor, then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg, was unseated by a 'teal' independent. Other candidates, mostly from the party's centre, were put forward but with 10 moderates voted out at the election, Mr Dutton's support only grew and he will be crowned unopposed. Mr Dutton, a former police officer, spruiked his credentials for the job of opposition leader as he nominated for the position. 'In a prime minister you need someone who won't buckle in hard times and will stand up for our country and I have proven that in the portfolios I've had,' he wrote on Facebook. 'My work ethic is second to none and I have the skill and experience having served five leaders and have learnt from each.' In his post, Mr Dutton vowed Australians would see another side to his character, after having held difficult portfolios. 'I hope now, in moving from such tough portfolios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character. The side my family, friends and colleagues see.' Mr Dutton also pledges to take the party back to its core values, and represent the aspirational 'forgotten people' regarded as the nation's middle class. 'We aren't the Moderate Party. We aren't the Conservative Party. We are Liberals,' the post reads. Mr Morrison stepped down as party leader to return to the backbench after losing the prime ministership last weekend to Labor's Anthony Albanese, while Liberal deputy Mr Frydenberg lost his Victorian seat of Kooyong. The Nationals will also hold a leadership ballot with Barnaby Joyce facing off against deputy David Littleproud and former veterans' affairs minister Darren Chester The Nationals leadership is less clear, with its party facing a three-corner contest and Mr Joyce going up against Mr Littleproud (pictured) and Mr Chester Mr Albanese said he won't underestimate Mr Dutton as opposition leader. 'I never underestimate my opponents,' he told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program. 'I've been underestimated my whole life. I think there are some people who are regretting underestimating me over the last three years.' The Nationals leadership is less clear, with its party facing a three-corner contest and Mr Joyce going up against Mr Littleproud and Mr Chester. Mr Littleproud, the party's high-profile deputy leader, announced on Saturday he'd told Mr Joyce of his decision to nominate. 'I also took the opportunity to thank him for all his service to our party,' Mr Littleproud said. Nationals member Cowper Pat Conaghan arrives at Parliament in Canberra on Monday Former minister for home affairs Karen Andrews arriving at Parliament House as the Liberal Party prepares to meet and vote for their new leader Mr Chester confirmed his nomination for the Nationals on Friday, pitching a fresh start for the party 'I feel this is the appropriate time to put myself forward for my party room's consideration as their leader. 'Ultimately, this is a decision on who will lead The Nationals to the 2025 election.' Mr Chester confirmed his nomination on Friday, pitching a fresh start for the party. 'Australians want a calmer, moderate and more respectful political debate which is focused on policies, not personalities,' he said in a statement on Facebook. The junior coalition partner will have its first post-election meeting on Monday where they will spill the leadership as per tradition. On Tuesday, the factions of the victorious Labor Party will meet in Canberra to thrash out who will sit on the government frontbench, and those ministers will be sworn in by the governor-general on Wednesday. Clare O'Neil is set to replace Kristina Keneally after she lost her bid for the seat of Fowler while Jenny McAllister will stand in for Terri Butler who lost her seat of Griffith to the Greens The Right is expected to hold 16 of the 30 positions available in the Labor ministry while the Left will have 14. Clare O'Neil is set to replace Kristina Keneally after she lost her bid for the seat of Fowler while Jenny McAllister will stand in for Terri Butler who lost her seat of Griffith to the Greens. Member for Lilley Anika Wells will replace Queenslander Shayne Neumann in the ministry while deputy leader Richard Marles will be shifted to defence. Labor needs 76 seats to gain a majority in the lower house of federal parliament, with the party sitting on 75, according to the Australian Electoral Commission website. The AEC considers three seats as in doubt - Deakin in Victoria, Lyons in Tasmania and Gilmore in NSW. A fourth seat is also seen as tight by some pundits - the Victorian seat of Macnamara. Tory rebels were last night ordered to abandon their attempts to oust Boris Johnson for the sake of the country. Cabinet ministers rallying around the Prime Minister warned plotters that a challenge to his leadership would fail. Under Conservative Party rules, Mr Johnson will face a confidence vote among Tory MPs if 54 write to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, demanding one be held. The PMs critics would then need more than half of the partys MPs to back removing him. Tory rebels were last night ordered to abandon their attempts to oust Boris Johnson for the sake of the country. Pictured: The Prime Minister is seen on Thursday Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said yesterday he does not believe the rebels have the numbers to call a confidence vote. He told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge on Sunday: I dont think it is in the interests of the country, I dont think it is in the interests of the Conservative Party. I dont think it is in anybodys interest... No, I dont think we will see that happen. It comes as Mr Johnsons allies believe Jeremy Hunt, who was beaten in the 2019 Tory leadership race, is on manoeuvres. The former foreign secretary has not ruled out a return to frontline politics, but has said now is not the time for a leadership change. Asked whether Mr Johnsons position was in jeopardy if the Conservatives lose next months Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections, Mr Lewis replied: No, I dont think so. I equally dont think we will lose [them]. The Government yesterday rejected suggestions that ministers and civil servants persuaded Sue Gray to water down her report into lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall. According to The Sunday Times, tweaks were made on the eve of publication in relation to the so-called Abba party in the Prime Ministers flat on November 13, 2020. But Mr Lewis said he did not recognise the reports. Asked on Sky News whether he could vouch that pressure was not placed on Miss Gray, he said: Im absolutely confident thats the case. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said yesterday he does not believe the rebels have the numbers to call a confidence vote Mr Johnsons allies believe Jeremy Hunt (pictured), who was beaten in the 2019 Tory leadership race, is on manoeuvres. The former foreign secretary has not ruled out a return to frontline politics, but has said now is not the time for a leadership change A Cabinet Office spokesman added: As with all such investigation reports, the process of obtaining formal representations from those perceived to be criticised prior to publication took place. This is an appropriate and usual process in such matters. Meanwhile, there was fevered speculation Tory backbenchers are thinking about who could replace Mr Johnson after it emerged at least 16 MPs dined together last week. As revealed in The Mail on Sunday, the group was brought together by Mel Stride, the Tory chairman of the Treasury committee. However, he denied the meeting involved any plotting and pointed out the gathering was addressed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. A source close to Mr Stride said: Grant ran Boriss leadership campaign and is about as loyal as anyone gets. Former Cabinet minister David Davis last night told LBC that he believed the last chance saloon for changing leader would come after the partys annual conference in October. Prince Harry and Meghan have renewed their lease on Frogmore Cottage in an unexpected move that suggests the couple may have plans for more frequent visits to the UK. Ahead of next week's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have vacated the property as the Sussexes will be staying there during their time in the UK. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have allowed the use of the five-bedroom house while they live in their 13million Californian manison. A source said that the lease renewal is a 'signal that they aren't going to disappear' as they could 'easily give up Frogmore' since they now live full-time in the US. 'By agreeing to extend the lease, and with Jack and Eugenie focusing on Portugal, they have a firm prescence smack bang in the middle of Windsor court where it's all happening,' the source told The Sun. 'They can now come and go any time they please. The coming year could be one of the most tumultuous in royal history and the Sussexes are making sure they have a foothold in Windsor.' The family have been allowed the use of the five-bedroom house by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex while they live in California The Sun reported that royal insiders believe that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan on spending more time in Windsor. However, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were reported to have been interested in Frogmore themselves. The couple are said to have viewed homes nearby as they consider a 'potential move' in the summer with their three children. Prince William and Prince Harry also said to be working on improving their bond with regular video calls and messages and are 'very much back on their old buddy terms'. An insider explained the tension between the two brothers since the Duke of Sussex, 37, moved to California and quit his role in the royal family is being left in the past as they are now in frequent contact alongside their respective children. The Brooksbanks have now packed up and moved out for Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet Frogmore Cottage is only a short drive away from the Queens private apartments at Windsor Castle The source told The Mirror that Harry and William are having one-to-ones without their wives. They said: 'The brothers needed time for everything to settle down. The family, including William, had been disappointed in the way Harry and Meghan chose to leave the royal family. 'But now there is a strong feeling that what happened is in the past and that they have moved on... It seems that the two of them have healed the rift and are very much back on their old buddy terms.' Ahead of this week's Jubilee celebrations, the Queen is set to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet for the first time at the soon-to-be one-year-old's birthday party on Saturday. The 96-year-old monarch, who Lilibet is named after, is likely to miss her favourite sporting event, the Derby horse races at Epsom, for the little one's birthday. Since she was born on 4 June 2021, parents Prince Harry and Meghan have only been to the UK once, in a fleeting visit where they made a detour to see Her Majesty while on their way to the Invictus Games in The Hague in April. In their first trip to the UK with Archie and Lilibet, Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, are going to stay at the property during their four-day trip over to the UK for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Prince Harry and Prince William (pictured with their wives in March 2020) have 'healed' their rift with WhatsApp messages and FaceTime calls, according to a source An insider explained the tension between the two brothers (pictured) since the Duke of Sussex, 37, moved to California and quit his role in the royal family is being left in the past as they are now in frequent contact alongside their respective children Baby Lilibet, was born in California unlike her brother Archie, three, who was born at London's Portland Hospital, a Royal favourite. The Queen met Archie two days after he was born on 6 May 2019. The couple are staying at Frogmore Cottage for the Jubilee, where Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have been living while the Sussexes live in California. And Eugenie has made it her home, having recently redecorated the cottage to suit her own style. Frogmore was converted into one home in 2019 for Harry and Meghan, having previously been five separate properties for staff working on the Windsor Estate. The whole renovation famously cost the Sovereign Grant 2.4million. The family home is thought to have five bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room and a nursery first designed for Archie. The Queen will meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet, pictured right, for the first time at the soon-to-be one-year-old's birthday party during Jubilee celebrations next weekend. Archie is pictured left with Prince Harry Eugenie has previously shared glimpses of her interior redesign on Instagram. One photo of Mr Brooksbank asleep with August on his chest showed a neutral room with a white linen sofa, beige panelled walls and bohemian cream and black scatter cushions. Eugenie has also been pictured sitting on a cream sofa in front of a blue painted bookshelf in another room. This time there was far more colour with red, fluffy trimmed cushions and a small green cushion with the personalised embroidery August born in February. Other photos posted have shown a kitchen with white painted cabinets and a white tiled floor. The Queen has extended an olive branch to Harry and Meghan, who will join the royal family to celebrate the monarchs historic Platinum Jubilee during the national Service of Thanksgiving at St Pauls Cathedral on Friday. The 96-year-old monarch, who Lilibet is named after, is likely to miss her favourite sporting event, the Derby horse races at Epsom, for the little one's birthday. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh pictured meeting their great grandson, Archie, two days after he was born on 6 May 2019 As revealed by the Daily Mail on Saturday, it is understood that the Sussexes are likely to attend at least one other public engagement although sources have warned that the public should not expect them at every event. Sources say the 96-year-old monarch is looking forward to seeing her great-grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet. The Queen is likely to spend time with the family privately on Saturday, when Lilibet celebrates her first birthday. Frogmore Cottage is only a short drive away from the Queens private apartments at Windsor Castle. An Azov hero has told of his Mission Impossible-style helicopter escape from the Mariupol steelworks under a hail of gunfire. Details of the rescue mission were revealed yesterday by Ukraines military chief, who described how old Soviet helicopters flew in lines of twos and fours through Russias air defences to drop off aid and pick up the wounded from the besieged city. Not all the pilots made it home, with at least two helicopters known to have been shot down. But Lieutenant Colonel Giorgi Kuparashvili, co-founder of the Azov regiment which held out for nearly three months in the face of the Russian onslaught, was among those who escaped. Azov co-founder Lieutenant Colonel Giorgi Kuparashvili, who was one of the injured soldiers evacuated in a daring helicopter rescue from the Mariupol steelworks shortly before the rest surrendered The 44-year-old was evacuated naked immediately after doctors performed risky surgery inside the Azovstal plant after he was shot twice in the stomach, severing his sciatic nerve and leaving him unable to walk. I was brought wounded into the basement several floors underground, Lieutenant Colonel Kuparashvili told the Daily Mail from his hotel in Kyiv, where he is recovering. All the hospitals in Mariupol had been bombed, but we still had a small number of doctors in the steelworks. The guys performed the operation perfectly. It was really incredible. In this so-called bunker underground they still had proper equipment at that point. They took out the two bullets from my stomach while bombs were raining down on us. Next to me was a comrade who had his arm completely cut off and he was already helping another wounded soldier even though he could barely walk himself. They are all such inspiring men. They couldnt even put clothes on me they had to take me out completely naked. A Ukrainian medical evacuation helicopter lands in front of Yuliia Paievska, known as Taira, in Mariupo Details of the impossible missions undertaken by helicopter pilots to the steelworks were finally released by Kyrylo Budanov, Kyivs head of military intelligence. He claimed that all missions were successful, but did not share casualty figures from the downed flights that saw at least two helicopters shot down. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously praised the absolutely heroic pilots for undertaking the mercy missions knowing that 90 per cent do not return. Lieutenant Colonel Kuparashvili was one of the lucky few who got out. It was at four in the morning that we had to get to the rescue point, he said.But to reach this point we had to get through bombing, people shooting. Battles were raging all around. A satellite image taken by Planet Labs PBC shows the damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol this month What followed was extraordinary even for the Lieutenant Colonel who has fought for his native Georgia in Iraq and has been a bodyguard to his former president, Mikheil Saakashvili. It was crazy, he said. Ive been in all sorts of places in my career and have seen everything but this was a different kind of madness. Miraculously Lieutenant Colonel Kuparashvilis helicopter made it straight through the Russian air defences which were all focused on the steelworks and out to Dnipro. Sadly, he has not heard from his pilot since and believes he is dead after returning on yet another mission after dropping off the colonel. This satellite image shows the eastern end of the Azovstal steel plant and the aftermath of continued aerial and artillery attacks on the compound in eastern Mariupol There was a minuscule chance of us reaching our destination. But what difference did it make whether you died on the ground or in the air? It still was a chance. Lieutenant Colonel Kuparashvili mentored Azovs leader, Denis Prokopenko, after leaving Georgia to join the fight against Russia in 2014. His wife, Natalie, 40, and their children Luka, 16, Elizabeth, 14, and Andrew, 12, had to move to London after a price was put on his head that year. He has not seen his family since. He dreams of living with them, but for now his focus is on getting his comrades back. We cannot forget them, and I will not stop until I have my men back, he said. The Uvalde School District Police Chief who changed the status of the Robb Elementary School shooting from an 'active shooter' situation to a 'barricaded suspect' has been slammed as a coward by his own neighbor. As a result of the change in status, critics claim, police officers stood back for more than half an hour as Salvador Ramos continued to slaughter 19 children and two adults who were locked in the classroom with him. Some students even continued to call 911 at the time, informing police that Ramos, 18, was still shooting at them. 'Pete Arrendondo is a coward,' his neighbor, Lydia Torres, 56, told the New York Post in the aftermath. 'He didn't do his job. He failed the children.' Arrendondo, 50, is now under police protection as Texas state investigators probe whether he even had a police radio on him when he made the decision. But one cop on the scene of the shooting Tuesday has said that Arredondo is wrongly being made a scapegoat. 'It's a lie that Arrendondo told everyone to stand down,' said the anonymous officer. 'It's a lie. And we're all getting death threats. It's a f*****g nightmare.' Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief of Police Peter Arrendondo has been slammed as a 'coward' by his neighbor Arrendondo changed the status of the Robb Elementary School shooting from an 'active shooter' situation to a 'barricaded suspect' on Tuesday as Salvador Ramos, 18, locked himself inside a classroom and continued to fire As a result of the decision police officers stood back for more than half an hour Worried parents gathered outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center on Tuesday as calls continued to come in from children stuck inside Col. Steven McCraw admitted at a news conference on Friday that the decision to change the status of the shooting was 'the wrong decision' The assertation comes after Texas Department of Public Safety head Steven McCraw slammed Arredondo for failing to engage 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, mistakenly believing the teen had finished his killing spree and was hiding out from cops. But, McCraw said, students continued to make 911 calls while locked in the classroom with Ramos, as Arredondo and his men waited outside the room for more than an hour. It was revealed Friday that the Uvalde Schools Police Department ignored several protocols from their own active shooter training drills, which they had practiced just two months ago Eventually, Border Patrol agents who rushed to the scene after hearing the incident unfold on scanners, breached the locked classroom door, with one fatally shooting Ramos. According to a law enforcement official who anonymously spoke to The New York Times, the agents had been puzzled as to why they were being told not to enter the school and engage the gunman. McCraw asserted that Arredondo, identifying the district chief by title and not by name, made a miscalculation assuming the active shooter situation had become a barricade event. 'With the benefit of hindsight, from where I'm sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period,' McCraw said. His decision is now being investigated by state authorities, as cops continue to protect outside his home - apparently upsetting his neighbor. 'I do not understand why the police from Uvalde, Texas are guarding Pete Arrendondo's home,' Torres said. 'He is in his home, requesting the police department patrol the area and guard his home day and night. He should come out and speak up,' she said, adding that the parents of the 19 children killed in the shooting deserve an explanation from him about why he did not storm the classroom sooner. 'I want to know why the police officers in the hallway didn't take action immediately, when the children were begging for help. 'If they cannot protect the children and citizens of Uvalde, Texas, then they have no business in law enforcement,' Torres said, adding: 'They may as well go flip burgers somewhere else.' Uvalde residents mourned at a makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School One woman kept a young girl by her side as they stood outside the memorial on Saturday A woman was seen paying her respects to the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in the massacre on Tuesday One young boy sat outside the memorial on Sunday to pay his respects Arrendondo is now being investigated for possibly not having a police radio on him when he told his officers to stand back as Salvador Ramos slaughtered 19 children and two adults. Arredondo, a former 911 dispatcher who'd been elected to Uvalde's city council just days earlier, may have used that as an excuse for why he held his officers back despite the 911 calls from students inside the school desperate for assistance. 'That's going to be key,' a source told the New York Post. 'If those 911 calls were being communicated to the officers or the incident commander.' The source says that investigators are still trying to determine whether Arredondo had a radio. 'If they were being relayed, it also raises questions as to why it was not treated as an active shooter situation.' And on Friday, it was also revealed that the Uvalde Schools Police Department ignored several protocols from their own active shooter training drills, which they had practiced just two months ago. The United States Justice Department is now conducting an investigation of the police response to the shooting, with spokesman Anthony Coley saying the review would be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and that the findings would be made public. Officials said the review is being conducted at the request of Uvaldes mayor. Arrendondo, 50, was born in Uvalde and was elected to city council just days before the massacre. He is now under police protection Arredondo, who was born in Uvalde and was elected to city council just days before the massacre, has had an unremarkable career as a cop. He started his law enforcement career as a 911 dispatcher for Uvalde's town police department in 1993, and over the course of the next 20 years, worked his way up to eventually assume the role of assistant police chief at the department in 2010. Afterwards, he worked various roles at Webb County Sheriffs Office in Laredo - a small Texas town a little more than 100 miles from Uvalde. He then moved to the city's school district police force, United ISD, which is comprised of 88 sworn peace officers. In March, during the early days of the pandemic, Arredondo got the chance to return home, when he was offered the position of school district police chief in his native Uvalde. 'Its nice to come back home,' Arredondo, who has family in the small, rural town, told the Uvalde Leader News upon accepting the gig. The department, which only presides over the town's school seven-school district, is comprised of four officers, one police chief, and a detective. 'All four of us are on a group text,' Arredondo said at the time, adding 'they are very knowledgeable, and I encourage them to give ideas.' He went on to assert: 'Of course, my title is important, but having a good group is also important,' Arredondo said, adding, somewhat prophetically, 'If not, you can surely fail.' During Friday's presser, state director McCraw corrected information released by Arredondo's department Thursday that the gunman entered the building unimpeded, contradicting prior assertions that one of their officers exchanged fire with Ramos before the gunman entered the building. In fact, police now say that the officer had actually passed by Ramos while rushing to the scene, as the gunman crouched behind a vehicle outside of the building. Arredondo was not at Friday's press conference to answer questions and it remains unconfirmed if he was even inside the school at the time of the shooting. A four-month-old baby who was sitting in the backseat of a car when it was 'randomly' stolen by a driver has been found. The white Honda Jazz hatchback, with registration S619AXE, was parked outside a deli on Fourth Avenue in Klemzig, Adelaide, at 7.45am on Monday. The mother had quickly ducked into the shops while her four-month-old remained in the car when a driver, aged in his mid 20s, pulled up in a stolen Mazda ute and jumped into the vehicle before taking off. Police later found the car abandoned on Wilkinson Avenue at Enfield with the child sitting 'safe and well' in the backseat. He was taken to the Women's and Children's Hospital as a precaution. A car with a four month old baby inside has been stolen leading to a massive search for the vehicle Senior Constable Gen Cullinan said the car appeared to be stolen at 'random' as images of the driver were released The driver is Caucasian, aged in his mid 20s, and has dark hair, according to police Superintendent Matt Nairn said police had received the call for help from the baby's distressed mother. 'This morning police received a call from a very distraught mother in regards to her vehicle being stolen with her four-month-old child in the rear seat of the vehicle,' he said. 'Mum described that the baby was seated in a capsule in the rear seat... at the time with mum trying to intervene and stop him from leaving.' He said the mother was 'extremely relieved and very, very happy to be reunited with (her) baby'. 'It's probably the greatest amount of distress to any parent to see this happen. It is a reminder to any parent - be careful,' Supt Nairn said. 'I don't believe the mother has done anything wrong ... we're not apportioning any blame to the mum at all.' Senior Constable Gen Cullinan said the car appeared to be stolen at 'random' as CCTV images of the driver were released. 'It would appear they've dumped one car and then literally tried to take another car so there's no indication these people are known to each other,' he told ABC Radio Adelaide. Deli worker Allan Porter said the mother jumped in front of the car to try and stop the driver from taking off in her vehicle. 'The customer went running out to try and stop him, she sort half went infront of the car, but she stepped back a little bit because I think she thought she would get run over,' he told The Advertiser. The white Honda Jazz hatchback, with registration S619AXE, was taken on Fourth Avenue in Klemzig, Adelaide, at 7.45am on Monday 'She was only in here for a minute or two, it all happened so quick. I ran to the window, but by the time I saw him he was in the car and had a surgical mask on so I could only see his eyes.' Resident Mark Blackborough lives near the deli and said he heard a commotion outside. The stolen Honda was seen heading towards Windsor Grove at the eastern end of Fourth Avenue. CCTV footage showed the driver wearing a face mask, grey hat, red and white striped shirt and black pants. Police said he is Caucasian and has dark hair. Senior Constable Cullinan has urged residents who have seen the driver to call police on 131 444. More to come George Clooneys latest movie is about a rowing team who overcome their struggles to win Olympic gold but Im told some of the actors hired as extras have failed to make the grade as oarsmen. Earlier this year, film firm Casting Collective put out an urgent rallying cry for extras aged 18 to 30 with a good level of experience of rowing and, ideally, who were in a club. But the Oceans Eleven star, who is directing The Boys In The Boat, is understood to have relieved some of the background cast of their roles after realising they werent up to scratch. Sources close to the movie, which was last week filming at Molesey Boat Club on the River Thames, say it has left Clooney with a headache as it has already proved tough to find suitable actors, let alone last-minute replacements. Casting Collective declined to comment. George Clooney, pictured, is filming The Boys in the Boat about the 1936 American Olympic gold-medal winning rowing team The Oceans Eleven star, who is directing The Boys In The Boat, is understood to have relieved some of the background cast of their roles after realising they werent up to scratch Several extras have been relieved of their posts as they were not capable of rowing adequately It isnt the first moment of frustration for the movie, which tells how the working-class rowing team from the University of Washington competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Two weeks ago, while filming in Henley, Oxfordshire, Clooney, 61, appeared frustrated after rubberneckers ruined his shot. Now he may have to call in some of his new pals at the Molesey Boat Club to help with his casting woes. He made quite the impression after arranging for the redecoration of the club. Its supposed to be an Olympic venue so it had to look pristine by his standards and no boat club looks pristine, so it got a lick of paint, a high-up at the Surrey club tells me. They did a good job. Two weeks ago, while filming in Henley, Oxfordshire, Clooney, 61, appeared frustrated after rubberneckers ruined his shot. Now he may have to call in some of his new pals at the Molesey Boat Club to help with his casting woes Just as well, because locals were a little surprised by the swastika flags fluttering over the club during filming last week. One source told me: You dont see a Nazi flag fluttering very often in leafy Molesey. I am sure that will ruffle a few feathers. George Clooney didnt respond to requests for a comment. While George has been grafting behind the camera, his lawyer wife Amal last week attended the Princes Trust Awards alongside Prince Charles, as part of her work campaigning for womens rights. Hell hath no fury like a yummy mummy scorned! Parents and locals who use Prince George and Princess Charlottes 24,000-a-year South London school are fuming at the bodyguards who do the royal school run, complaining that they block pavements and keep their engines running when they drop the pair off. One parent complained online that the security detail regularly park, blocking off the dropped kerb, which forces pedestrians out into the road to get past. I dont know how wheelchair users manage to cross. They are an absolute nightmare! Another said they complained directly to bodyguards about keeping the engines of their hybrid vehicles running when they dropped off the youngsters and were told: We need to charge the battery. I personally think that the royal childrens mother, who possibly knows nothing about it, should be alerted, another grumbled. Kensington Palace said it did not comment on security matters. Royal bodyguards have been criticised in the manner they drop Prince George and Princess Charlotte to school because they block the pavements One parent complained online that the security detail regularly park, blocking off the dropped kerb, which forces pedestrians out into the road to get past. I dont know how wheelchair users manage to cross. They are an absolute nightmare! The sister of controversial Topshop tycoon Philip Green has written a script about being a black sheep in her family and is looking for cash to make it into a film. Elizabeth Green last week showed possible investors a 20-minute concept film about growing up in her brothers shadow, in the hope of winning funding. Its based on her memoir Not In The Script, in which she revealed she wasnt even invited to her brothers wedding. Dont suppose shes counting on a contribution from him! The Duchess of York is no stranger to setting up businesses. Now I can reveal shes getting into the trendy but volatile market for NFTs non-fungible tokens that prove ownership of digital files. Her company, called Librasol after her star sign, will deal in her art. Its going to be things like her pictures, photographs and drawings, says a source close to Fergie, 62. Shes the first royal to venture into NFTs, with the source adding: Shes always been creative. Her first NFTs are expected on sale in the next few months, with some proceeds going to refugees via her charity, Sarahs Trust. Most of us get excited by the prospect of a sticky bun. But Jack Whitehall was so keen to tuck into goodies from a posh London bakery that it seems he forgot to pay for them. Im told that the comic picked up a 70 box of treats at Buns From Home in Notting Hill but was unable to settle the bill as the stores card machine wasnt working. He was pointed towards a nearby cashpoint, and left with his buns, but never returned. It was manically busy, says a ex-employee who was there. We all make mistakes, but he could have come back another day. However, theres no bun fight, with the bakery saying: Its buns on the house for all when our card machines are down, not just celebs! We tried to contact Jacks team for a comment but got no response. Jack Whitehall was so keen to tuck into goodies from a posh London bakery that it seems he forgot to pay for them The star picked up a 70 box of treats at Buns From Home in Notting Hill but was unable to settle the bill as the stores card machine wasnt working Ben's good bash The beaver-based installation he sponsored has just won top prize at the Chelsea Flower Show, and now Tory environmentalist Ben Goldsmith is staging a 500-a-head party to help save the dam-dwellers. Wittily titled Saturday Night Beaver, though it takes place on Wednesday, the bash will be hosted by Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry. Bens wife Jemima, left with him, will treat 150 guests at her London restaurant Wild By Tart to a feast, although she is seven months pregnant, while a folk band will perform Bring Back The Beaver, a song that Ben admits contains a bit of innuendo The beaver-based installation he sponsored has just won top prize at the Chelsea Flower Show, and now Tory environmentalist Ben Goldsmith is staging a 500-a-head party to help save the dam-dwellers In the TV adaptation of his best-selling book This Is Going To Hurt a diary of life on an NHS maternity ward celebrity doctor Adam Kay was creator, executive producer and the model for the main character, played by Ben Whishaw. Kay even had a cameo role in one episode. So why was he a no-show at a party the crew held at the end of production? In fact he wasnt the only absentee as a number of people on the show seemingly didnt go. Not a healthy sign Mayfair goes top of the tables Is this Britains poshest street party? While neighbourhoods across the country will be putting out plastic chairs and sarnies for the Platinum Jubilee, in Mayfair theyre laying out gourmet food and Earl Grey cocktails. It will sprawl across the district on Thursday and Friday, with a huge table designed by aristo sisters Alice and Jemima Herbert, who run the table-scaping firm LAY London, blocking North Audley Street. Weve never done a table thats 200ft long before, Lady Alice, pictured left, tells me. The event, which is free and open to the public, is expected to draw 20,000 visitors even though there are only 150 places at the table! Ewan McGregor and his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead were pictured attending Disneyland's Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, California on Friday evening. The 51-year-old actor and the 37-year-old actress held hands while strolling through from ride-to-ride throughout the beloved theme park. The couple's outing comes just one month after they tied the knot during an intimate wedding ceremony in Los Angeles. Night out: Ewan McGregor and his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead were pictured attending Disneyland's Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, California on Friday evening McGregor wore a dark gray button-up jacket on top of a black t-shirt as he spent time with his wife. The Trainspotting star also wore a pair of dark pants and a black cap as he strolled along the park's walkways. Winstead opted for a blue button-up jacket and a pair of slim-fitting black leggings as she enjoyed her husband's company. The Scott Pilgrim vs. the World actress' gorgeous brunette locks fell towards her shoulders during the event. Sweet: The 51-year-old actor and the 37-year-old actress held hands while strolling through from ride-to-ride throughout the beloved theme park Beaming: Winstead had a huge smile on her face as she boarded a ride with her husband The pair both sported facial coverings to keep themselves safe from COVID-19 during their outing. McGregor and Winstead initially met on the set of the third season of Fargo, in which they costarred, in 2017. Three years into their relationship, the couple also shared the screen in the 2020 feature Birds of Prey. McGregor and Winstead tied the knot during an intimate ceremony that was held last month. Keeping comfy: McGregor wore a dark gray button-up jacket on top of a black t-shirt as he spent time with his wife Effortless: Winstead opted for a blue button-up jacket and a pair of slim-fitting black leggings as she enjoyed her husband's company According to a source who spoke to People, the pair's ceremony was 'a small wedding for family and close friends.' The insider added that the couple 'had an outdoor ceremony. It was lovely and joyful...they are an adorable couple.' McGregor was previously married to Eve Mavrakis, with whom he tied the knot in 1995. They split in 2017 after 22 years of marriage and their divorce was finalized in August 2020. Winstead was also previously married to Riley Stearns, although the two went their separate ways in 2017. Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute were fired from Vanderpump Rules by Bravo for making racist comments and racially profiling former co-star Faith Stowers when they accused her of a false crime to police. Now, some two years on, Schroeder is offering new details to the story that ended her eight season run on the hit reality series. In a new interview on the Skinny Confidential Him And Her podcast on Friday, Schroeder claimed that there were more Vanderpump Rules cast members involved in the incident, but she and Doute kept quiet about it. New details: Stassi Schroeder, 33, claims more Vanderpump Rules cast members were involved in 'the indent' that led to her and Kristen Doute being fired from the reality show in June 2020 'There were more people involved in "the incident" that I was fired for,' the Louisiana native, 33, claimed. 'And Kristen and I, obviously we were not gonna take people down with us. So we were like "Lucky you guys, those of you who didn't get called out for this."' Suggesting that she and Doute took the fall for others, Schroeder added, 'So everyone was pretty kind because I think they were feeling lucky that they didnt, that they still had a job.' The scandal: In a new interview on the Skinny Confidential Him And Her podcast on Friday, Schroeder said she and Doute 'were not gonna take people down with us' and didn't reveal any names after being fired from Vanderpump Rules Schroeder and Doute reported their co-star Faith Stowers, who was the only Black cast member to have appeared on the Bravo series, to police in 2018, claiming she was the suspect they were seeking in an investigation. It would take about two years for the story resurface, in early June of 2020, during an Instagram Live chat with Stowers. Not long afterwards both ladies were axed by Bravo for their 'racially-insensitive actions.' It was also unearthed that Schroeder had previously made offensive comments during an episode of her Straight Up With Stassi podcast in 2017, where she spoke about Black people and how they ask for special treatment in Hollywood. As the backlash grew, Schroeder took to Instagram on June 7, 2020 to issue a public apology for her past 'racially insensitive comments.' She also stressed that it's important she 'continue to take accountability for what I have said and done, while pushing myself to do better.' Schroeder reassured fans that she has grown significantly over the years and that she's 'filled with remorse and regret for the hurt' she caused, including the hurt to Stowers. Falsely accused: Shroeder and Doute reported their co-star Faith Stowers, who was the only Black cast member to have appeared on the Bravo series, to police in 2018 and falsely claimed she was the suspect they were seeking in an investigation Controversy: The story of Doute and Schroeder reporting Stowers to police resurfaced in June 2020 during an Instagram Live chat with Stowers; Not long afterwards both ladies were axed by Bravo for taking 'racially-insensitive actions' When asked what it would take for her to return to reality television nearly two years after her firing, Schroeder confessed that she has thought about that question quite a bit. 'I've had so many people ask me in my private life, and producers ask me; I've been asked a lot and I've had these conversations. And I think I've struggled with the fact that my answer is kind of like an, "I don't know."' The mother of one added, 'But I'm allowed to still be figuring it out. I love my life so much right now, and I know how reality TV disrupts your life and it puts you in situations that you normally would not be in. And you kind of get put in this category, this lifestyle, that maybe you don't want. But at the same time, I really enjoyed doing reality TV. It was fun.' Schroeder then clarified her answer and added, 'All I know is that I wouldn't go back to reality television unless I was an executive producer,' which would allow Schroeder the ability to control her own narrative much more on the show. Her life now: Schroeder revealed she doesn't know if she will return to reality television, but added that she won't go back unless she's an executive producer, which would allow her more control over her own narrative on the show New lease on life: The Louisiana native starred on Vanderpump Rules for eight season by the time she was fired from the show in June 2020; since then she got married to Beau Clark and they welcomed a daughter Hartford the following year While Schroeder believes those in power at Bravo made a 'quick decision' in their firing and that it was 'not thought out', she did reveal that she 'understood' their reasoning for the firings. 'I don't have any animosity towards whomever - Bravo or NBC Universal - because I do understand having to protect what you've have built,' she said, in a reference to the companies having to protect their brand and image. Since leaving Vanderpump Rules, Schroeder married Beau Clark in a small backyard ceremony in September 2020, and they welcomed their first child together: a daughter they named Hartford, who was born in January 2021. Just last month, the couple decided to exchange their vows again and got married in Rome, Italy, which documented by Us Weekly. The celebration was said to be more in line to the celebration that they had in mind before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed their plans in 2020. Married At First Sight's Jackson Lonie has been brutally trolled on Instagram after he was busted kissing another woman on Friday. A video of Jackson locking lips with aspiring TikTok star Han Hughes in a nightclub went viral on Saturday. Fans have flocked to social media to criticise the 30-year-old's behaviour, with one writing: 'You seemed like a faithful person unfortunately you're not.' 'He has changed for the worse': Married At First Sight's Jackson Lonie, 30, (left) is brutally trolled on Instagram after he cheated on his girlfriend Olivia Frazer, 28, (right) with a 20-year-old during a wild night out 'I see you kissed another women,' another one said. 'Who were you kissing last night bro?' a third questioned. 'Boy you're in trouble,' another person said. 'Sorry but Jackson has really changed not the guy he seemed to be in the first week of MAFS changed for the worse,' one commented. Critics: Fans have flocked to social media to criticise the 30-year-old's behaviour, with one writing: 'You seemed like a faithful person unfortunately you're not' Jackson was caught on camera passionately kissing another woman during a wild night out with the boys at a bar called Lava Lounge in Melbourne on Friday. Footage shared to Facebook shows Jackson tongue kissing a brunette bombshell Han Hughes for some time. A devastated Olivia told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday she's 'speechless'. In the footage, Jackson is seen embracing the 20-year-old, who showed off her curves in a tight-fitting black mini dress and clutched a blue cocktail. Scandal: Jackson was caught on camera passionately kissing another woman during a wild night out with the boys at a bar called Lava Lounge in Melbourne on Friday He then goes in for the kiss before another woman runs up to Han and taps her on the shoulder. Olivia was with Jackson earlier in the night and went home to bed before her beau headed off to party with his friends, including fellow MAFS groom Anthony Cincotta. The blonde beauty shared a loved-up photo with Jackson on the night to her Instagram Stories, looking gorgeous in a yellow frock and unable to wipe the smile off her face. They were at 81 Bistro & Taphouse in Berwick, which is just down the road from Lava Lounge. Married At First Sight star Jules Robinson has spent the night in hospital after a horror fall in Queensland. The reality star, 40, was left with a broken arm after slipping and falling on wet tiles the evening after returning from a glamorous photo shoot on the Gold Coast. 'It's proper broken,' husband Cameron Merchant told Nine Honey on Saturday, confirming that she may need surgery. Hospital: Jules Robinson, 40, (pictured) was rushed to hospital on the Gold Coast after breaking her arm over the weekend 'There is no surgeon on tonight so they may put it in a cast and send her home and we'll schedule the surgery as soon as possible,' he added. Hours before her fall, Jules had been on-set shooting a campaign for a collaboration between her shape-wear brand Figur and homewares company Maisey & Oscar. Speaking to Nine from hospital, Jules told nine that she hoped to have a cast put on her arm as soon as possible so she attend the launch of her new Figur x Maisey & Oscar collection on Sunday afternoon. Injured: The reality star was left with a broken arm after slipping and falling on wet tiles the evening after returning from a glamorous photo shoot on the Gold Coast Jules' unfortunate injury comes after she and Cameron splashed $3.65 million on a new holiday house on the Gold Coast in March. They snapped up a six-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Broadbeach Waters as a holiday home. Jules and Cameron also have a $1.8 million beachside pad in Sydney, and it is unclear whether the couple plan to relocate to the Gold Coast permanently. Surgery: 'It's proper broken,' husband Cameron Merchant (right) told Nine Honey on Saturday, confirming that she may need surgery New home: Cam and Jules recently snapped up a six-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Broadbeach Waters, Queensland The pad boasts six bedrooms and five bedrooms and is located at Broadbeach Waters. Jules welcomed her first child, son Oliver, with her husband Cameron Merchant last year. The pair officially married in January 2019, after meeting on the reality show Married At First Sight. Julia Fox appeared chill as she enjoyed some beach time with friends on Saturday in Santa Barbara, California. Instead of turning heads in one of her signature skimpy looks, the 32-year-old actress covered up with an oversized black hooded sweatshirt. She styled the hoodie with some matching black cutoff shorts and a pair of black Air Force 1 sneakers. Chill: Julia Fox appeared chill as she enjoyed some beach time with friends on Saturday in Santa Barbara, California She strolled through the sand carrying a large beach towel during her Memorial Day weekend outing. The Uncut Gems actress appeared makeup free, brushed her long brown hair straight and had a pair of sunglasses perched atop her head. The actress is perhaps most famous for her short-lived but highly publicized relationship with Kanye West, 44, earlier this year. The two met at a New Year's Eve party in Miami, but split up in February. Uncharacteristic: Instead of turning heads in one of her signature skimpy looks, the 32-year-old actress covered up with an oversized black hooded sweatshirt. She styled the hoodie with some matching black cutoff shorts and a pair of black Air Force 1 sneakers This was during the time the Grammy winner, who now prefers to go by Ye, was making public overtures toward ex-wife Kim Kardashian, 41 and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, 28. The actress seems to have been focusing on her work lately. She has a part in No Sudden Move last year, playing a biting housewife in thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and David Harbour. The film noir is streaming on HBO Max. The busy artist is currently working on The Trainer, alongside Bella Thorne and Gina Gershon. Bella Hadid and her beau Marc Kalman matched in white looks as they enjoyed time in France on Saturday. The 25-year-old supermodel wore a strapless monokini and Bermuda shorts while her counterpart wore a short-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. The twosome joined friends, and Bella later reemerged in a navy blue bikini top. Coordinated: Bella Hadid and her beau Marc Kalman matched in white looks as they enjoyed time in France on Saturday The runway regular's wide-leg white shorts were secured at her hips with a caramel-colored leather belt. Her one-piece bathing suit had side cutouts that exposed bits of her flat midriff and a silver ring centerpiece. She finished the summer-ready look with a pair of cream and brown Adidas sneakers. The fashionista matched her belt to her small designer handbag, which had leather straps and panels. Switch-up: The twosome joined friends, and Bella later reemerged in a navy blue bikini top The dark-haired beauty slicked her long locks into a low and neat ponytail that flowed down her back. The tresses were arranged in a side part and she left a few strands of her short, face-framing bang out in the front. Piling on the jewelry, the superstar dripped in gold with sizable cuffs on each arm, statement earrings, and layered necklaces. Accessory: The runway regular's wide-leg white shorts were secured at her hips with a caramel-colored leather belt Showing skin: Her one-piece bathing suit had side cutouts that exposed bits of her flat midriff and a silver ring centerpiece Hadid shielded her aqua-colored eyes in a pair of dark-tinted, small, rectangular frames. Underneath the eyewear she rocked a soft face of flattering makeup that warmed her flawless visage. The subtle glam look was complete with a swipe of soft brown lipstick. Marc finished his light and airy ensemble with a pair of black shoes and stayed close by his lady's side. Footwear: She finished the summer-ready look with a pair of cream and brown Adidas sneakers Matching: The fashionista matched her belt to her small designer handbag, which had leather straps and panels. Bella was seen using a black digital camera to take snapshots of her fun vacation moments. She smiled as she recorded bits of the trip and passed the device to her boyfriend when she boarded a tender boat. Once in the inflatable vehicle the beauty continued taking selfies with her girlfriends. Picture perfect: Bella was seen using a black digital camera to take snapshots of her fun vacation moments Precious: Bella and her loved ones enjoyed quality time with each other on the water Snapping their best angles: Once in the inflatable vehicle the beauty continued taking selfies with her girlfriends Bella has consistently showed off her unique stile since arriving in Cannes earlier this week. Throughout her brief time overseas the star has already made several showstopping red carpet appearances. Bella and Marc first sparked rumors of a romance back in the summer of 2020 and been photographed together regularly since then. She first confirmed she was dating Kalman in July 2021 when she posted an Instagram snap of the two kissing. Marc has worked as a specialist in merchandise design, album art, and branding. His portfolio includes work for Travis Scott, KNG Records, and the Smoke x Mirrors eyewear brand. Fun times: The small group piled into the inflatable boat before heading to a restaurant Alexander Ludwig shared the tragic news that his wife Lauren has suffered a third miscarriage. The 30-year-old actor made the heartbreaking announcement on his Instagram last week, which included a photo of him kissing his better half as she rested in a hospital bed. Ludwig lauded praise on his wife and her strength in the post's emotional caption. Tragic: Alexander Ludwig shared the tragic news that his wife Lauren has suffered a third miscarriage. The 30-year-old actor made the heartbreaking announcement on his Instagram last week, which included a photo of him kissing his better half as she rested in a hospital bed 'This woman's strength astounds me every time,' he wrote. 'I love you @laurenludwig and your resilience through this just is one more of the countless reasons I love you. all the bumps life throws our way, we got this and for anyone else, you're not alone. It's a hell of a lot more normal than I thought.' He also re-posted a lengthy post shared by Lauren, where she opened up about her miscarriage and how she wanted to share the news publicly to remind women who've also suffered miscarriages that they're 'not alone.' Lauren admitted that she wasn't sure at first if she would share anything about the miscarriage but 'decided we all need to start talking about the truth more.' 'Last week @alexanderludwig and I had our 3rd miscarriage. I decided I wanted to share because I don't think it's a shameful thing to talk about. I want to help others realize how common miscarriages are and how they aren't something to be embarrassed about. Going through this has made me realize, I definitely am not alone. It's so common and yet, I feel its not talked about nearly enough. If more of us talked about these things, maybe we would feel less alone and at fault. Information is power and I want to start sharing more of it.' Strength: 'This woman's strength astounds me every time,' he wrote. 'I love you @laurenludwig and your resilience through this just is one more of the countless reasons I love you. all the bumps life throws our way, we got this and for anyone else, you're not alone. It's a hell of a lot more normal than I thought'; Lauren and Alexander pictured in 2021 Opening up: He also re-posted a lengthy post shared by Lauren, where she opened up about her miscarriage and how she wanted to share the news publicly to remind women who've also suffered miscarriages that they're 'not alone' She finished off the post by noting that the tragedy will always be a part of their lives, but hoped 'by sharing this, if for no other reason, is for that one person reading this to know they are not alone .' Friends and fans of the couple left messages of support in the comments section. Poster Boys actor Kieran O'Reilly wrote, 'Hoping you are both okay! All you need is love!' The band Tigirlily wrote, 'Sending love .' Support: Friends and fans of the couple left messages of support in the comments section. Poster Boys actor Kieran O'Reilly wrote, 'Hoping you are both okay! All you need is love!' More love: The West Wing star Mary McCormack wrote, ' love you guys. And thank you for sharing this part of your story. A true gift' The West Wing star Mary McCormack wrote, ' love you guys. And thank you for sharing this part of your story. A true gift.' While dealing with this personal tragedy, Ludwig also recently completed filming on the movie The Interpreter which is now in post-production. The movie follows an Army sergeant who teams with an interpreter in Afghanistan. Ludwig will star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Anthony Starr in the film. She's dealing with a brutal blow after her boyfriend Jackson Lonie was caught kissing another woman in a nightclub on Friday. And on Saturday, Olivia Frazer appeared to be having a tense phone conversation as she arrived to Sydney Airport after leaving Melbourne, where she and Jackson were on holiday. Joined by a female pal, the MAFS star, 28, looked downcast and appeared to be growing increasingly agitated throughout the conversation as she landed back home in Sydney. Downcast: Heartbroken Olivia Frazer, 28 (right), had a tense phone call as she arrived at Sydney Airport Saturday - the day after boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheated during a wild night out. She was joined at the airport by a female pal (left) Olivia wore blue jeans, a green jumper, warm grey coat and a pair of comfortable white sneakers. She went makeup free for the flight and kept a low profile in sunglasses and a face mask. Olivia carried a tote bag as she held her phone and strolled through the airport. Agitated: The Married At First Sight star looked downcast and grew increasingly agitated throughout the conversation Casual: Olivia wore blue jeans, a green jumper, warm grey coat and a pair of comfortable white sneakers Low profile: She went makeup free for the flight and kept a low profile in sunglasses and a face mask Style: Olivia carried a tote bag as she held her phone and strolled through the airport The sighting comes after Olivia's boyfriend Jackson was caught on camera passionately kissing another woman during a wild night out with the boys at a bar called Lava Lounge in Melbourne on Friday. Footage shared to Facebook shows Jackson tongue kissing a brunette bombshell Han Hughes for some time. A devastated Olivia told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday she's 'speechless'. In the footage, Jackson is seen embracing the 20-year-old, who showed off her curves in a tight-fitting black mini dress and clutched a blue cocktail. Scandal: The sighting comes after Olivia's boyfriend Jackson was caught on camera passionately kissing another woman during a wild night out with the boys at a bar called Lava Lounge in Melbourne on Friday Caught on camera: Footage shared to Facebook shows Jackson tongue kissing a brunette bombshell Han Hughes for some time Heartbroken: A devastated Olivia told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday she's 'speechless' He then goes in for the kiss before another woman runs up to Han and taps her on the shoulder. Olivia was with Jackson earlier in the night and went home to bed before her beau headed off to party with his friends, including fellow MAFS groom Anthony Cincotta. The blonde beauty shared a loved-up photo with Jackson on the night to her Instagram Stories, looking gorgeous in a yellow frock and unable to wipe the smile off her face. They were at 81 Bistro & Taphouse in Berwick, which is just down the road from Lava Lounge. Timeline: Olivia was with Jackson earlier in the night and went home to bed before her beau headed off to party with his friends, including fellow MAFS groom Anthony Cincotta Pedro Pascal and Rosario Dawson led a star-studded Star Wars celebration in Anaheim on Saturday that included a panel for the upcoming season of The Mandalorian and the first season of Ahsoka. The 47-year-old Pascal, who plays the lead character in The Mandalorian, donned a short sleeve light blue button-down shirt with a pair of matching pants. He stood in a pair of white sneakers and thick-framed black glasses. May the force be with you: Pedro Pascal and Rosario Dawson led a star-studded Star Wars celebration in Anaheim on Saturday that included a panel for the upcoming season of The Mandalorian His messy dark brown hair was swept off to the right and stuck up at a number of different angles. His beard and mustache were groomed neatly and cut close to his face. Dawson, 43, donned a white sundress with patches of orange and purple dotting the front of it. Stylish: Pascal's beard and mustache were groomed neatly and cut close to his face (pictured left with Temuera Morrison) Just past her knees: The sleeveless gown ended just below her knees and hugged her figure nicely Short hair: Rosario's black hair was cut into a short bob and her bangs stopped right above her perfectly sculpted eyebrows The sleeveless gown ended just below her knees and hugged her figure nicely. She stood in tall pink high heels and wore huge white hoop earrings that dangled down from her lobes. Her black hair was cut into a short bob and her bangs stopped right above her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. Stars galore: Dawson stopped on the red carpet to pose with legendary actor Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito Looking good: Both men looked dapper in well-tailored suits: Co-starring: Pascal's character Din Djarin regularly received assignments from Weathers' Greef Karga Dawson stopped on the red carpet to pose with legendary actors Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. The Rocky star, 74, stepped out in a gray suit over a light blue button-down shirt that he wore without a tie. The Breaking Bad actor, 64, wore a black polo with several buttons near the neckline under a matching blazer. He added thick-framed black glasses and a big black bowler cap sat atop his gray hair. Showing her face for once: Emily Swallow, who plays the masked character The Armorer on The Mandalorian, wore a sleeveless black jumpsuit with fringe protruding from the neckline of the top Denim: Katee Sackhoff, who appeared in the Mandalorian as Bo-Katan Kryze for two episodes of the show's second season, wore a denim vest and matching jeans to the affair Close-cropped: Her blonde hair was cut short and swept off to the right Emily Swallow, who plays The Armorer on The Mandalorian, wore a sleeveless black jumpsuit with fringe protruding from the top. She brushed her red hair out of her face, its curly tresses falling just below her shoulders. Katee Sackhoff, who appeared in the Mandalorian as Bo-Katan Kryze for two episodes of the show's second season, wore a denim vest and matching jeans to the affair. Her blonde hair was cut short and swept off to the right. Keeping it simple: The Book of Boba Fett star Temuera Morrison wore a sheer white button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks to the event Co-stars: Dawson's Ahsoka co-star Natasha Liu Bordizzo wore a short black leather dress that barely reached the middle of her thigh to the event Popualr character: Bordizzo will play Sabine Wren, a character from the popular animated show Star Wars Rebels, in the highly-anticipated series (left to right: Dave Filoni, Bordizzo, Dawson and Jon Favreau) Love for recognized personnel: Pascal's body double Brendan Wayne and stuntman Lateef Crowder posed with Sackoff and Dawson on the red carpet The Book of Boba Fett star Temuera Morrison wore a sheer white button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks to the event. Dawson's Ahsoka co-star Natasha Liu Bordizzo wore a short black leather dress that barely reached the middle of her thigh. She stood on black high heels and her dark brown hair fell in one solid wave down her back. She will portray Sabine Wren, a character from the popular animated show Star Wars Rebels, in the highly-anticipated series. Pascal's body double Brendan Wayne and stuntman Lateef Crowder posed with Sackoff and Dawson on the red carpet. Group picture: A big group stood for a picture before heading into the event (L to R: Bordizzo, Sackhoff, Weathers, Daweon, Esposito, Crowder, Swallow and Wayne) Showing off his skills: Temuera Morrison showed off his dancing skills to the crowd during the panel Grogu appearance! Show creator Jon Favreau showed off a tiny Grogu puppet during the panel New droid: A droid even went on stage to speak to the audience Group shot: The whole team posed together onstage at the panel The group then took the stage for a panel that included a dancing Morrison, creator Jon Favreau with a Grogu puppet and a droid addressing the audience. All of the actors huddled together for a group shot while up onstage. The team talked about The Mandalorian's third season which will come out next year and Dawson even talked a bit about the story in the first season of her upcoming series Ahsoka, calling the show 'not just a distraction, its a way of life.' The four-day Star Wars Celebration, held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, brings fans and stars of the beloved franchise together. Billie Lourd, daughter of original trilogy star Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia, was among the dozens of celebrity guests taking part in meet-and-greets and other festivities. And for the final day, which is Sunday, Lourd revealed on her Instagram that she would be carrying on her mother's tradition of throwing glitter on adoring fans. Family tradition: Billie Lourd, 29, took to Instagram and announced she is going to carry on her mother, Carrie Fisher's tradition of throwing glitter and 'handing out little bags of Lea glitter' 'My Momby used to throw glitter on people when she went to Star Wars celebration,' Lourd, 29, wrote in her post, along with a photo of a bag of glitter with a cartoon version of Princess Leia's image on the front. She then announced, 'So I'm carrying on the family tradish tomorrow by passing out little bags o Leia glitter!!! See y'all there !!!' There's no doubt many fans will want to get their hands on one of those bags she will be handing out at the gathering of hardcore Star Wars fans. Post: Lourd shared the news about 'carrying on the family tradish' on Instagram Saturday Iconic: Fisher was always among the most popular actors at Star Wars events; she is pictured at the Star Wars Celebration in April 2015 Fisher died in December 2016, at the age of 60, four days after she had a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Her star grew bright in Hollywood following her role as Princess Leia in the first three installments of the franchise: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). She would end up reprising her role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Rise Of The Skywalker, although her appearance in the latter of the three was only made possible, following her death, through the use of repurposed unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Lourd appeared as Lieutenant Connix in those first two films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. She also played Young Princess Leia Organa and stood in as a body double for her mother following her sudden passing in The Rise Of Skywalker (2019). OGs: Fisher, who died at the age of 60 in December 2016, starred in the original Star wars trilogy, beginning in 1977, alongside Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford Triumphant return: Fisher and Ford were among the actors who reprised their roles in Star Wars - The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) The first Star Wars Celebration was held about four months after Fisher's death, in April 2017. Amid all the various events, revelations about the franchise, and new trailers, former collaborators, castmates and fans used the event as an opportunity to pay tribute to Fisher, as reported by The Verge. George Lucas made a special appearance at the event, that included a tribute reel dedicated to Fisher. Lourd came out to thunderous applause when she took part in a special homage, where she gave a perfect reading of her mother's famous hologram message to Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original 1977 film. Appreciative of all the love fans and colleagues had for her mother, Lourd thanked the audience for all the support over the years, and reassured them that Fisher loved playing her character in the films. At last check of the Celebration event's website, it showed Lourd's sessions of signing autographs and taking part in photo ops on Sunday , the final day of the event, has already sold out. Lisa Clark has some friends in high places. The former Big Brother Australia star is on holiday in the British Virgin Islands and she made a famous pal during her adventures. The 36-year-old headed to the famous floating bar, Willy T, where she joined billionaire Sir Richard Branson, 71, for a round of shots on Saturday. Mates! Former Big Brother Australia star Lisa Clark (far right) was joined by billionaire Sir Richard Branson (second from right) at the famous floating bar, Willy T, in the British Virgin Islands on Saturday In videos and photos shared to her Instagram, Lisa enjoyed a drink from a wooden tray, with the entrepreneur and business magnate by her side. After taking a drink from a neon coloured shot glass, Branson shook hands with the former reality star and appeared to be having a ball. Laughing, the shirtless Virgin Group founder also handed out high fives to Lisa's friends beside him. Fun! Taking a drink from a neon coloured shot glass, Branson appeared to be having a ball Good mood: Laughing, the shirtless Virgin Group founder also handed out high fives to Lisa's friends beside him Fun day: In later footage, Branson tucked dollar bills into the shirt of a male reveller who was doing a comical dance on a table, with Lisa explaining the group were attending a buck's party In later footage, Branson tucked dollar bills into the shirt of a male reveller who was doing a comical dance on a table, with Lisa explaining the group were attending a buck's party. Lisa captioned the series of photos and videos: 'Clarky and Branson walk into a bar'. She has been touring the Caribbean, and paid a visit to Necker Island, which is Branson's private island paradise, earlier on Saturday. Having fun: Lisa has been touring the Caribbean, and paid a visit to Necker Island, which is Branson's private island paradise, earlier on Saturday The Business Chicks manager, who has turned her back on her reality show days, rose to fame on Big Brother as a housemate in 2014. Speaking of her time on Big Brother, Lisa, who is now also a content creator for Stella Insurance, has said that she wanted to put reality TV behind her. 'I feel like I'm done with it,' she said in 2014. 'I've been working hard on a number of projects.' Jane Horrocks has accused television producers of 'churning out' the same actors for leading roles. The British actress, renowned for her role in BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, claimed that TV bosses are 'so short-sighted' during an intimate event, The Space, in Brighton. The 58-year-old believes that a wider range of actors should be considered for such roles, as they could bring something new. 'The producers are so short-sighted': Absolutely Fabulous star Jane Horrocks has accused TV bosses of 'churning out' the same actors for leading roles (pictured February 2022) Quizzed on how she felt about Olivia Colman, Keeley Hawes and Lily James being handed all the coveted telly gigs, she responded: 'And Sarah Lancashire.' She continued: 'I think it's a bit limiting for the audience to see the same crowd always coming on. 'I just feel sorry for the audience really that the commissioners and the producers are so short-sighted that they have to keep churning out the same people. Speaking out: The British actress, 58, believes that a wider range of actors should be considered for such roles, as they could bring something new (pictured September 2019) In character: Jane took on the role of Bubble - Edina (Jennifer Saunders') 'utterly brainless personal assistant' - and Katy Grin in BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (pictured on the show) Leading ladies: Jane was quizzed on how she felt about Olivia Colman (pictured this month), Keeley Hawes and Lily James being handed all the coveted telly gigs 'They do an amazing job and if theyre being offered the roles then, of course, you take them,' she said, before adding that she deems this to be 'slightly dull.' Elsewhere during the discussion, Jane, who also starred in the 90s musical film Little Voice, admitted she's always been nervous with 'sexy' roles and described herself as 'not very good at them.' Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, was created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Iconic: Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, was created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (From L-R: Jennifer, Julia Sawalha, Jane and Joanna Lumley) Jane took on the role of Bubble - Edina (Jennifer Saunders') 'utterly brainless personal assistant' - and Katy Grin, and starred alongside the likes of Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha. The first three series ran from 1992 to 1995, with a two-part series finale airing in 1996. It was revived for two more series and two 60-minute specials which aired from 2001 to 2004. Then in 2011 and 2012, three new episodes, collectively titled Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary, were released. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie - the de facto series finale for the show - hit cinemas in 2016. Baz Luhrmann's wife, costume and set designer Catherine Martin, has shared behind-the-scenes secrets of the director's highly anticipated Elvis biopic. Speaking to Vogue Living's July/August issue, the four-time Academy Award winner, 57, revealed that she and Baz, 59, were given 'unprecedented access to Graceland and its archives'. Catherine said they wanted to recreate Graceland (Elvis' mansion) 'as accurately as possible' so that viewers would become immersed in the King of Rock and Roll's life. Inside look: Baz Lurhmann's wife Catherine Martin (pictured together on Thursday) shared behind-the-scenes secrets of the highly anticipated Elvis biopic with Vogue Living's July/August issue 'As we donned our white gloves and carefully sifted through the extensive archives of Elvis' life, we were very cognisant of how special this moment was,' Catherine told Vogue Living. Catherine, who won two Oscars for Moulin Rouge! and two for The Great Gatsby, also revealed that they toured Elvis' birthplace and Memphis. 'It was incredibly important for my team and I to become familiar with Elvis' Southern experience. We visited both Tupelo (Elvis' birthplace) and Memphis, and also followed Elvis' touring itinerary to absorb the topography of the landscape,' she said. Dedicated to their craft: The four-time Academy Award winner, 57, revealed that she and Baz, 59, were given 'unprecedented access to Graceland and its archives'. Catherine said they wanted to recreate Graceland (Elvis' mansion, pictured) 'as accurately as possible' First-hand: Catherine, who won two Oscars for Moulin Rouge! and two for The Great Gatsby, also revealed that they toured Elvis' birthplace and Memphis. 'It was incredibly important for my team and I to become familiar with Elvis' Southern experience,' she said Catherine's comments come after Baz revealed he was moved by Priscilla Presley's praise for the biopic. The filmmaker was emotional as he reflected on Priscilla's review of the film which features Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll in which she described the flick about her late former husband as 'outstanding'. At a press conference for the movie, Baz said: 'No critique, no review was ever going to mean more to us than the one from the woman who was married to him. Warm reception: Catherine's comments come after Baz revealed he was moved by Priscilla Presley's praise for the biopic. Baz and Priscilla are pictured earlier this month 'She said: "If my husband was here today, he'd say, 'Hot damn, you are me'"... it was the best review I've ever had.' Priscilla wed Elvis in 1967, later divorcing in 1973, when she was 27 - and just four years prior to his death. Elvis passed away from a heart attack in 1977, leaving behind daughter Lisa Marie Presley, now 54. What a movie: The filmmaker was emotional as he reflected on Priscilla's review of the film which features Austin Butler (pictured) as the King of Rock and Roll in which she described the flick about her late former husband as 'outstanding' The film stars Tom Hanks as Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker, who was infamous for cheating the music icon out of a fair share of royalties for his songs. But the actor believes that his alter ego should be recognised for his part in making Elvis a megastar. Tom said: 'I've heard from many people that he was a delightful guy, lit up every room. Was he a cheap crook who played fast and loose with the money? Yeah, [but] he brought joy to everything he did. With just a little bit of larceny. At a press conference for the movie, Baz said: 'No critique, no review was ever going to mean more to us than the one from the woman who was married to him.' Pictured is Austin Butler as Elvis in the film Memories: Priscilla wed Elvis in 1967, later divorcing in 1973, when she was 27 - and just four years prior to his death. Pictured on their wedding day 'Baz said there was no Elvis without Colonel Tom Parker, it was a completely symbiotic relationship. 'You have to give him credit and see the reality that the amount of ways Colonel Parker cheated people out of nickles and dimes was extraordinary.' The movie follows Elvis from his childhood poverty through his emergence as a global superstar before his untimely death at the age of just 42 in 1977, and the director wants audiences to have an immersive experience when watching the film. The Moulin Rouge! director said: 'I want the audience who don't care about Elvis to feel what it was like to be there (when he first performed). He was the original punk rocker.' Anne Marie and her new boyfriend Slowthai stepped out together in London earlier this week, before the rapper launched a tirade at bouncers. The pop star, who has grown close to the fellow musician in recent months, had enjoyed a date night with her new beau at Ronnie Scott's jazz club, where John Legend had been performing. But things went south when 27-year-old Slowthai, real name Tyron Kaymone Frampton, was ejected from the London venue and filmed giving the bouncers an earful. New romance: Anne Marie (pictured this weekend) and her new boyfriend Slowthai stepped out together in London - before the rapper was ejected from a music venue and launched a tirade at bouncers In footage obtained by The Mirror, the Ciao Adios hitmaker, 31, can be seen attempting to hold Slowthai back, but to no avail. 'Do you know who my family are, you f***ing d**khead?' he shouts at the doorman. Welcome to the family, yeah... you want to see something? You think youre a serious guy? Lets see how serious you are.' Date: The pop star, 31, who has grown close to the fellow musician, 27, in recent months, had enjoyed a date night with her new beau at Ronnie Scott's jazz club, where John Legend had been performing (Slowthai pictured in March) An onlooker told the publication: 'Anne-Marie was seen trying to stop her partner as he hurled abuse at the doorman. 'He was pretty riled up. Eventually, the pair walked up the road and got into a waiting van. They seemed like they were a couple.' MailOnline has reached out to representatives for Anne Marie, Slowthai and Ronnie Scott's for comment. For the outing, the pop songstress, who has remained tight-lipped on her romances in the past, donned a frilly pink dress adorned with butterflies, while Slowthai wore a grey tracksuit and trainers. Peacemaker: In footage obtained by The Mirror, the Ciao Adios hitmaker could be seen attempting to hold Slowthai back, but to no avail (pictured on Tuesday) Northampton-born rapper Slowthai is associated with 'gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politically charged lyrics.' He rose to popularity in 2019 and has previously centred his songwriting around Brexit and Theresa May's tenure as Prime Minister. At his 2019 Mercury Prize ceremony performance, he sparked controversy after holding a fake severed head of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. She is expecting her first child with her husband Alex in June. And Olivia Bowen took to Instagram on Sunday to show off her growing baby bump as she discusses her pregnancy journey. The Love Island star, 28, looked sensational in a figure-hugging khaki midi dress with a belt detail while she made a joke about how difficult her third trimester has been in the video. Glowing: Olivia Bowen took to Instagram on Sunday to show off her growing baby bump as she discusses her pregnancy journey The influencer looked radiant as she sported a bronzed makeup palette which accentuated her natural features while her blonde locks were in a half-up half-down style. Alongside the post, she penned: 'Third trimester has got me right in the uterus these last few weeks. what was your favourite?! '2nd trimester for me felt like a whole holiday I was LOVING life. Ive loved being pregnant but this end stage, patience has gone out the window Stunning: The Love Island star, 28, looked sensational in a figure-hugging khaki midi dress with a belt detail while she made a joke about how difficult her third trimester has been in the video Gorgeous: The influencer looked radiant as she sported a bronzed makeup palette which accentuated her natural features while her blonde locks were in a half-up half-down style It comes after Olivia revealed that she has been shamed by cruel trolls for posting pictures in her underwear throughout her pregnancy. The TV personality recently opened up about the harsh judgement she has received for sharing snaps to social media of herself in lingerie while pregnant. She admitted she felt judged from the moment she announced her pregnancy as she said there are always people who criticise her and her husband Alex's decisions. Speaking to the C&G baby club for their #LoveDontJudge campaign, Olivia said: 'You get judged as soon as you announce your pregnancy and there are always people who aren't so happy for you, and we were judged, straight away.' Critical: It comes after Olivia revealed that she has been shamed by cruel trolls for posting pictures in her underwear throughout her pregnancy as she spoke alongside Alex The expectant mother admitted she is no stranger to judgement, having experienced trolling ever since leaving the Love Island villa, as she spoke about being slammed for her underwear snaps. She said to Alex: 'We've had it for a long time haven't we? Being judged about different things. 'The one that annoys me the most that I had quite early on in my pregnancy was 'you shouldn't be posting in underwear'.' Alex, who also appeared in the campaign, admitted he has been criticised for DJing, saying people have told him he won't be able to continue when his baby is born, despite his plans to pursue music as a career. Olivia also spoke about other decisions that parents are judged for, including giving their baby a dummy, as she added: 'The list is actually endless of what you get judged for.' Hate: She admitted she felt judged from the moment she announced her pregnancy as she said there are always people who criticise her and her husband Alex's decisions She went on to urge people to 'think twice' before writing a judgemental comment on social media. While Alex added: 'I think it's time to be more supportive and less judgemental.' In the video, Oliver and Alex spoke in front of a white wall with several comments written across it in support of C&G baby clubs latest awareness campaign. From a study, seven in 10 parents said they feel judged on a regular basis on how they choose to give birth and raise their child. The reality stars are helping promote #LoveDontJudge, which aims to raise awareness of the damaging effects of parental judgement and provide tips, impartial advice, and support through articles and a dedicated careline. Harsh comments: Olivia admitted that cruel trolls' critical comments have made her feel 'scared' and question her ability as she called for people to be less judgemental Olivia shared the happy news she was pregnant with her first child with Alex on New Year's Day. The couple previously revealed they are not finding out the sex of the baby before it is born in June, and wanted their nursery to be 'gender neutral'. Earlier this year, Olivia told MailOnline of her pregnancy: 'I'm so excited to become a Mum. It feels very surreal still to even say it, but we both can't wait for the next part of our lives. Alex is going to be the best dad - he's so caring, kind and a big kid at heart. 'My pregnancy is going really fast; We still both can't quite believe it's happening. We're having to stop ourselves buying all the baby clothes at the moment, we just get too excited. 'Our family and friends were so shocked when we told them, but I just knew very early on, you know your body. We're not going to find out what we're having, I think the surprise will make it extra special.' Exciting: Olivia shared the happy news she was pregnant with her first child with Alex on New Year's Day Olivia and Alex, formerly a sales executive and scaffolder respectively, soared to fame in 2016 when they appeared on the ITV2 reality show, where she was an original star and he, a late and extremely popular entrant. After leaving the villa their romance soon when from strength to strength and Alex popped the question in New York in 2016. Loved-up couple Olivia and Alex tied the knot in a luxurious Essex ceremony two years after meeting on Love Island during series two. He is known for his eclectic and bold fashion displays. And Lewis Hamilton put on another stylish display as he arrived on a boat at the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo on Sunday. The racing driver, 37, donned a beige baggy shirt encrusted in tiny diamonds by Valentino, with the coordinating beige trousers. Looking good: Lewis Hamilton put on another stylish display as he arrived on a boat at the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo on Sunday He added a white pair of Balenciaga trainers and a chunky silver chain and pearl necklace. Lewis shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun behind a pair of tinted sunglasses. His braided hair was tied back from his face in an effortlessly cool manbun and he wore his usual multiple earrings. Sparkling: The racing driver, 37, donned a beige baggy shirt encrusted in tiny diamonds by Valentino, with the coordinating beige trousers Water-bound: He arrived in style onboard an expensive looking speedboat Lewis was dripping in jewellery after he backed down over his promise to boycott the Miami Grand Prix over wearing piercings while racing. Earlier this month, he said he'd have to pull out of the race if FIA insisted he remove his piercings but in a swift U-turn, agreed to a medical examination at the track and whipped out all but two piercings. Lewis insisted his remaining studs could not be removed easily and was granted a two-race exemption to keep them in place while he looks into possible solutions. Ahoy! Lewis looked out on the water as he made his smooth arrival Now, Lewis is gearing up to compete in Monaco after a moratorium was taken on the jewellery crackdown to find a way to come to an agreement on the issue. 'Honestly, I feel like there's just way too much time and energy being given to this,' he told The Guardian. 'I've said everything I feel I need to say on it in the last races and that's not what my focus is this weekend.' Lewis is hoping for success at Monaco after he was the fastest driver on the track in Barcelona and made an incredible comeback from 19th to 5th place after he took a puncture. Accessories: He added a white pair of Balenciaga trainers and a chunky silver chain and pearl necklace According to reports FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem was 'fixated' on cracking down on Lewis' flouting of the rules as he wears jewellery to race. During a press conference at the start of May, Lewis made a statement in three watches, eight rings, four necklaces, one bracelet and two earrings. When asked what was happening regarding his piercings, he said: 'I really don't know. As I said, I can't remove at least two of them. Cool: Lewis shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun behind a pair of tinted sunglasses 'One I can't really explain where it is. But what I can say is it's platinum that I have, so it's not magnetic. It's never been a safety issue in the past.' Adding that there's a possibility he may not race in Miami, Lewis said: 'So yeah, if they stop me then so be it. We've got a spare driver. So we're well prepped for the weekend. 'There's lots to do in the city anyway so it will be good either way. I couldn't get any more [jewellery] on today!' Handsome: His braided hair was tied back from his face in an effortlessly cool manbun and he wore his usual multiple earrings Uh uh: Lewis was dripping in jewellery after he backed down over his promise to boycott the Miami Grand Prix over wearing piercings while racing He said that he believes that the initiative is a 'step backwards' for sport and told how he has been wearing jewellery while racing for 16 years. However, his U-turn agreement to the medical test and two-race exemption to keep them in meant he could continue to drive for the time-being. Race director Niels Wittich had sent a letter to teams revealing his intention to clamp down on jewellery, because it may become 'lodged or snagged' while driving. Decision: Now, Lewis is gearing up to compete in Monaco after a moratorium was taken on the jewellery crackdown to find a way to come to an agreement on the issue Formula One drivers were served a reminder that they are banned from wearing jewellery while racing ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. The ruling was included in the Melbourne event notes that were issued by new F1 race director Wittich, who will share the position with Eduardo Freitas following the sacking of Michael Masi. It has been part of the sporting regulations since 2005, though drivers who have worn jewellery behind the wheel have not been penalised. Unimpressed: He said that he believes that the initiative is a 'step backwards' for sport and told how he has been wearing jewellery while racing for 16 years Lewis was seen wearing a nose stud at both last year's season-ending Abu Dhabi GP and this year's opener in Bahrain, where it was clearly visible through his open visor. The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) confirmed a nose stud would fall foul of the ban, raising the prospect of Hamilton being forced to remove it. The rule prohibiting the wearing of jewellery is Article 5 of the third chapter of Appendix L of the governing body's International Sporting Code (ISC). The full wording of the rule states: 'The wearing of jewellery in the form of body piercing or metal neck chains is prohibited during the competition and may therefore be checked before the start.' Rebecca Judd has partnered up with Melbourne fashion label Ena Pelly to create a winter capsule collection. And on Sunday, the AFL WAG, 39, modelled a chic white leopard print faux fur coat in two mirror selfies shared to Instagram, from the comfort of her $7.3million home. The mother-of-four flashed a hint of her rock-hard abs as she paired the coat with a black crop top and matching leather trousers. Her own best advertisement! Rebecca Judd, 39, flashed a hint of her rock-hard abs in a black crop top and a white leopard print coat in mirror selfies shared to Instagram on Sunday, as she promotes her new winter capsule fashion collection Her honey hued tresses were styled out in soft waves and her makeup was elegant. Bec also posed for several other selfies in a shorter version of the jacket, giving her followers a closer look at the colour block detail from the back. 'It's snow leopard season!' the entrepreneur excitedly told her fanbase. Baby, it's cold outside: Posing from the comfort of her $7.3million mansion in Melbourne's Brighton, Bec paired the look with black leather trousers. Her honey hued locks were styled out in soft waves All in the details: The businesswoman also posed for several other selfies in a shorter version of the jacket, giving her followers a closer look at the colour block detail from the back Promo mode: 'It's snow leopard season!' Bec excitedly told her fanbase Just days prior on Friday, Bec modelled a few of the other pieces from the collection as she headed out on the town. In a series of Instagram snaps, the Melbourne-based star showed off her trim frame in a leather miniskirt and matching motorcycle jacket from the range. She also clad her long lean legs in a pair of thigh high boots. Bec has become quite the fashion influencer as her lucrative career flourishes. Night moves! Just days prior on Friday, Bec modelled a few of the other pieces from the collection as she headed out on the town Stunning: In a series of Instagram snaps, the mother-of-four showed off her trim frame in a leather miniskirt and matching motorcycle jacket from the range Thrifty Bec! Meanwhile, on Thursday, Bec made a $41.30 knitted Target dress look like a million bucks as she attended the opening of the the budget department store's pop-up at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne On Thursday, the stunner made a $41.30 knitted Target dress look like a million bucks as she attended the opening of the the budget department store's pop-up at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. She teamed the store's 'Pointelle Dress' with other affordable items, including a $63.20 Longline Teddy Overcoat and Wool Felt Hat that retails for just $17.50. She wore her glossy locks out in perfectly styled soft waves, and accessorised with a pair of cream Target boots. Bec posted several pictures of the event on her Instagram page, and explained that the new direction of the brand 'includes elevated designs, incredible quality, sustainable and ethically sourced materials'. Teamwork, makes the dream work! The entrepreneur posed with members of the Target team and said the new direction of the brand includes elevated designs, incredible quality, sustainable and ethically sourced materials Elyse Knowles was every bit the doting mother on Sunday. The model's fiance Josh Barker documented a sweet moment between Elyse and the couple's son, Sunny, one. In the black and white Instagram Stories video, the 29-year-old cuddled up to the tot, who giggled as he played with his mum's hat and sunglasses. Aww! Elyse Knowles was every bit the doting mother on Sunday. The model's fiance Josh Barker documented a sweet moment between Elyse (pictured) and the couple's son, Sunny Elyse, who was dressed in a bikini top and shorts, as well as bucket hat, laughed with delight as Sunny, who has learned to stand, grabbed at her playfully. Josh and Elyse moved from Melbourne to Byron Bay in 2019 seeking a quieter life. They bought a $2.3million beach house in the NSW coastal town, which they subsequently renovated. Cute: In the black and white Instagram Stories video, the 29-year-old cuddled up to the tot, who giggled as he played with his mum's hat and sunglasses Sweet: Elyse, who was dressed in a bikini top and shorts, as well as bucket hat, laughed with delight as Sunny, who has learned to stand, grabbed at her playfully Bottoms up! The blonde lifted her son above her head as he chuckled helplessly The couple, who became engaged in 2021, welcomed Sunny, shortly after announcing their happy news, in February 2021. It comes after Elyse parted ways with Myer after serving as a brand ambassador for five years. 'What a blast the last five years has been, becoming an ambassador for the iconic Myer was always a goal of mine since being a little girl,' she wrote of her exit. Moves: Josh (right) and Elyse moved from Melbourne to Byron Bay in 2019 Family: The couple, who became engaged in 2021, welcomed Sunny, shortly after announcing their happy news, in February 2021 'But it's time for me to say goodbye. It's time for me to follow a different path that's calling my name.' Elyse said she was thrilled with the experience and all the friendships she had made during her tenure. 'Despite choosing to step away from my treasured friends and amazing colleagues at Myer, I am left with lasting memories and love for the brand,' she added. Vick Hope looked in high spirits on Sunday as she continued to show off her huge engagement ring during BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Coventry. And it seemed that newly engaged glow made it all the way to Liverpool, where her fiance Calvin Harris, 38, beamed at the football team's victory parade. It comes after it was revealed on Tuesday that the under-the-radar couple are set to marry, after Calvin proposed to Vick, 32, on his farm in Ibiza. Happy couple: Vick Hope appeared in high spirits on Sunday as she flashed her huge engagement ring at Radio 1s Big Weekend, while her new fiance Calvin Harris beamed over at Liverpools victory parade Radio 1 DJ Vick repeated part of her outfit from Saturday at the music festival, as she wore a dazzling silver crop top while on stage for another day of presenting at the event, held at the War Memorial Park. Vick showcased her bold style in a vibrant purple sleeveless denim jacket and matching jeans, while accessorising with huge silver hoop earrings. The star looked incredible as she sported a light palette of makeup, showing off her natural pretty features - wearing her long dark locks in their natural curly style. Wow! The Radio 1 DJ, 32, repeated part of her outfit from Saturday as she wore the dazzling silver crop top again while on stage for another day of presenting at the event held at the War Memorial Park Beaming: It was revealed on Tuesday that Vick is set to marry music star Calvin, 38, after he proposed to her on his farm in Ibiza Stunning: Vick showcased her bold style in a denim purple vest and matching jeans, while accessorising with hug silver hoop earrings Gorgeous: The star looked incredible as she sported a light palette of makeup, showing off her natural pretty features But it was her hand that caught the eye, as she flashed her gleaming engagement new engagement rock. Big Weekend returns for 2022, taking place in Coventry from May 27-29, with Vick and Jordan North hosting and acts such as Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra performing. Calvin Harris also headlined on Saturday, which marks the comeback for the music festival for the first time since 2019 amid the pandemic. Further north: Calvin was two hours away from the event on Sunday, as he put on a joyous display while DJ'ing Liverpools Victory Parade - following their Champions League win Hi from up there: He took a moment to flash parade goers a thumbs up as he was tucked away in his DJ booth Doing his thing: He kept casual in a white T-shirt, placing black headphones over his ears as he worked his music magic But he was two hours away from the event on Sunday, as he put on a joyous display while DJ'ing Liverpools Victory Parade - following their Champions League win. And the Scot was the picture of happiness at the outdoor event, laughing with crew before sending the parade a thumbs up from his DJ booth. He kept casual in a white T-shirt, placing black headphones over his ears as he worked his music magic. Friends close to the couple, who made their first public appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, say they have been an item for five months and are 'smitten' following a whirlwind romance. Vick, who was beaming as she and the Scottish DJ walked around the London show together, has been wearing her diamond engagement ring for weeks after Calvin popped the question underneath a tree at his Ibiza farm, Terra Masia. Looking good: She wore her long dark locks in their natural curly style while the newly engaged presenter beamed on stage Amazing: Calvin Harris headlined on Saturday, which marks the comeback for the music festival for the first time since 2019 amid the pandemic Comeback: Big Weekend returns for 2022, taking place in Coventry from May 27-29, with Vick and Jordan North hosting and acts such as Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra performing A source told MailOnline: 'Calvin and Vick's relationship has moved quickly but they're smitten with each other. 'They could not be happier and are already planning their wedding, which is set to take place in Ibiza, where they grew close during Vick's secret visits to the White Isle. 'After keeping their relationship private, they decided to go public at the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, they want everyone to now know their happy news.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Vick and Calvin, who both declined to comment. Maeva D'Ascanio and James Taylor are expecting their first child together. The Made In Chelsea couple, who got engaged in Rome last month, have revealed their baby is due in November. French-born Maeva, 25, told Hello! magazine: 'All my dreams are coming true at the same time. I still don't believe it!' 'All my dreams are coming true at the same time': Made In Chelsea's Maeva D'Ascanio and her fiance James Taylor are expecting their first child 'It's all amazing - I just want to enjoy it all as much as I can.' Meanwhile, her co-star and fiance James, 26, said: 'We are more excited every day. 'My dad told me that, when he had his first child, he never thought he could love something so much. Happy news: The Made In Chelsea couple, who recently got engaged in Rome, have revealed their baby is due in November 'And I'm starting to get an inkling of that feeling as this baby growing in Maeva's tummy is pretty special.' Interview: Made In Chelsea's Maeva and James shared their baby news in this week's Hello! magazine After a trip to Japan was cancelled, the couple decided to have a holiday in Italy, where James proposed at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome. Maeva recalled throwing a coin into the Italian landmark as befits the tradition, and made a wish that James, whom she has been dating for three years, would propose. She told the publication: 'I did my wish which was, "I really hope James is going to propose to me soon.'" 'And then I opened my eyes and he was there on one knee. I was thinking, "Wow, this is it! Is this real?" It was everything I had ever wanted.' The couple's proposal may have come as a surprise to some Made In Chelsea viewers after James admitted to kissing another girl behind Maeva's back on the show this month, in what he described as a 'drunken night' at London nightclub Raffles. Heartbroken: The couple's proposal may come as a surprise to some Made In Chelsea viewers after James admitted to kissing another girl behind Maeva's back on the show this month Will you marry me? James' romantic gesture also comes weeks after he rejected Maeva when she got down on one knee in scenes filmed for the E4 series James' romantic gesture also comes weeks after he rejected Maeva when she got down on one knee in scenes filmed for the E4 series. James confessed to drunkenly kissing another woman behind Maeva's back, saying he 'hated' himself for betraying her. James said: 'I disrespected our relationship that night, I disrespected you, I threw everything away for a drunken night and I hate myself for it.' 'I disrespected our relationship': James told Maeva 'I've got a f***ing ring' before the dramatic scene ended with viewers believing the couple had gone their separate ways Hysterically crying at the revelation, Maeva sobbed: 'You were the man, you were the dad of my kids, I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life.' James told Maeva 'I've got a f***ing ring' before the dramatic scene ended with viewers believing the couple had gone their separate ways. But a source told MailOnline that Maeva forgave James for the infidelity, and they have since put the past behind them. Looking forward: A source told MailOnline that Maeva forgave James for the infidelity, and they have since put the past behind them James proposed with a 2.5-carat pear-shaped diamond engagement ring which he designed and had already asked Maeva's father for permission to marry her last year, the magazine said. He said: 'It feels like I have everything I have ever wanted - it's that secure feeling that this is my woman, forever.' His-wife-to-be said: 'I feel protected - being engaged to the man of my dreams is amazing. It's a different love, it's stronger, it's deeper. I feel safe.' The full interview is in this week's Hello! magazine Heidi Klum lit up the Monaco Grand Prix while dropping by the race on Sunday afternoon. The 48-year-old fashion industry personality was also accompanied by her husband Tom Kaulitz at the star-studded event, during which she was seen speaking to her former partner Flavio Briatore. The reality television figure also cozied up with some of her supermodel pals during downtime at the event. Showing up: Heidi Klum lit up the Monaco Grand Prix while dropping by the race on Sunday afternoon with her husband Tom Kaulitz Heidi wore an eye-catching multicolored button-up dress during her time at the annual event. The America's Got Talent judge added various elements of shine to her outfit with numerous articles of jewelry. The model donned a hat from Tiesto Racing and a sizable pair of aviator-style sunglasses while enjoying the races. Her voluminous blonde hair shot out from underneath her headwear and paired well with the light colors of her outfit. Good company: The 48-year-old fashion industry personality and her husband were seen speaking to her former partner Flavio Briatore at the race Date day: The pair put on a loved up display as they entered the motorsports event hand-in-hand Headgear: The model sported a black and yellow Tiesto cap for the outing, smiling for snaps alongside Tom Making an impression: Heidi wore an eye-catching multicolored button-up dress during her time at the annual event Stunning: Heidi looked gorgeous in a floral print splash shirt and trouser co-ord, adding a pair of flat sandals Kaulitz, 32, opted to wear a pinstripe shirt while attending the star-studded event. Klum also shared numerous photos and videos to her Instagram account and Story as she spent time at the Grand Prix. In one of her shots, the model was pictured with Briatore, Elisabetta Gregoraci and Naomi Campbell, who were also present at the races. The former of the actresses donned a bright green jacket, while the latter opted for a flowing dress with several see-through portions. Lightweight: Tom sported a summery look, which featured black trousers and a navy and white striped shirt All access: The pair both donned black sunglasses for the outing, clad with VIP lanyards Letting everyone see: Klum also shared numerous photos and videos to her Instagram account and Story as she spent time at the Grand Prix; seen with Briatore, Elisabetta Gregoraci and Naomi Campbell Close friends: In one of her shots, the model was pictured with Briatore, Elisabetta Gregoraci and Naomi Campbell, who were also present at the races Kaulitz later joined Klum, Briatore and Gregoraci while the reality television personality took a selfie of the group. The Germany's Next Top Model host later posed for another selfie with both her husband and Gregoraci while watching one of the cars featured in the event as it was being worked on. The model also took several videos of racers peeling off while competing in the event. She and her husband appeared to be unfazed by the downpour that had occurred while the races went on. On the ground: The Germany's Next Topmodel host later posed for another selfie with both her husband and Gregoraci while watching one of the cars featured in the event as it was being worked on There they go! The model also took several videos of racers peeling off while competing in the event Klum previously shared a snap that had been taken while she and Kaulitz attended a friend's wedding in London to her Instagram account on Sunday. The fashion industry personality donned a shining silver dress and wore numerous matching articles of jewelry. Her voluminous blonde hair cascaded onto her back and contrasted perfectly with the color of her clothing. Kaulitz kept it classy while wearing a black jacket and matching pants, both of which were contrasted with a white shirt and tie. Khloe Kardashian looked regal in a series of fashion shots taken the day of her sister Kourtney's exorbitant wedding in Portofino, Italy. In a gorgeous vignette, the influencer and big sister Kim Kardashian, 41, teamed up for a snap in the symbiotic sheer black gowns they wore as they watched their sister and rocker Travis Barker, 46, tie the knot. The Skims founder complemented her form fitting frock with a gold choker and cross with green precious stones as Khloe, 37, towered over her in a shoulder lace gown and gold crown decorated with amber and rubies. The post was simple, yet tender: 'KiKi and KoKo 4Life.' In some elegant pics designed to look like behind the scenes coverage, the Strong Looks Better Naked author pretended to powder her nose as she prepared to support her oldest sister at the alter in some soft focus photos in color and black and white. Since her return from Italy, the single mom has been busy promoting her Good American clothing line, showing off her toned abs and legs in a sparkly pink bikini and cover up. Back to work: The influencer has been busy promoting her Good American clothing line recently, modeling a sparkly pink bikini on social media Single pieces are in the $55-$69 price range, while one pieces cost about $99. The 5ft1in beauty is mom to daughter True, 4, whom she shares with ex-partner Tristan Thompson, 31. After being rocked by the revelation her former love had fathered a child with another woman whole they were still together, the influencer said in a recent episode of The Kardashians that the two are 'actually in a good place.' Good place: In a recent episode of The Kardashians, the blonde beauty revealed she and ex-partner Tristan Thompson were 'in a good place' after his paternity scandal Since the show premiered on the Hulu streaming service in April, viewership has been steady. In a report from Variety, Hulu has claimed, The Kardashians is the most-watched series premiere on Hulu in the United States, and on Disney+ and Star+ among Star Originals, across all global markets to date.' The Kardashians series finale is set to stream June 16. Big Brother Season 22: All-Stars alums Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott tied the knot over Memorial Day weekend in Savannah, Georgia. The pair, who announced their engagement last June, married in front of family and friends during a romantic ceremony at the State Railroad Museum on Saturday. 'What excites me most about marrying Christmas is I get to spend the rest of my life with her!' Memphis, 39, told E! News. Newlyweds! Big Brother season 22 stars Memphis Garrett, 39, and Christmas Abbott, 40, tied the knot over Memorial Day Weekend in Savannah, Georgia He continued, 'We can continue to build our relationship and grow together. We have so much fun together and we complement each other. 'When you find something like that, you don't ever want to let that go. She is my forever girl.' Christmas, 40, told the outlet, 'I get to be with the person that God created just for me! After meeting him, it became clear to me that God had a plan from the very start.' Tying the knot: The pair, who announced their engagement last June, married in front of family and friends during a romantic ceremony at the State Railroad Museum on Saturday She added 'I knew that everything that had happened in my life prepared me to meet him, so when I did, I would know he's my person without a doubt. He is my best friend and my HOME and I get to spend forever with him.' According to E! News, the 40-year-old bride wore a Laura Nagle gown while the 39-year-old groom donned a Tom Ford tuxedo. The duo exchanged wedding rings by Los Angeles-based jeweler Adam Campbell, who designed Christmas' engagement ring, and David Yurman. 'What excites me most about marrying Christmas is I get to spend the rest of my life with her!' Memphis told E! News Romantic: The day before the wedding, the entrepreneur shared an Instagram video in which he was seen kissing Christmas, who looked stunning in a white strapless minidress On his Instagram Story, Memphis reposted photos and videos that his friends had taken during the festivities. 'Let's gets these two lovebirds married', one fan wrote on an image of outdoor dining tables covered with navy blue tablecloths and adorned with brown candles and orange and pink roses. Other friends captured images of the rustic venue where rows of wooden chairs were set up amid pieces of railroad relics, while floral chandeliers hung overhead. Fun: On his Instagram Story, Memphis reposted photos and videos that his friends had taken during the festivities Rustic: Friends captured images of the rustic venue where rows of wooden chairs were set up amid pieces of railroad relics, while floral chandeliers hung overhead Taking the reins: Christmas told E! News that Memphis, who owns a hospitality company, planned the festivities himself The day before the wedding, the entrepreneur shared an Instagram video in which he was seen kissing Christmas, who looked stunning in a white strapless minidress. The pair were seen on a charming white front porch in the video, which was set to Dylan Scott's country hit Can't Have Mine. 'I can't wait for tomorrow!!! ', Christmas wrote in the comments. Christmas told E! News that she had initially wanted a low-key ceremony at a local courthouse but her boyfriend convinced her to hold a wedding that their family and friends could attend. 'Let's gets these two lovebirds married', one fan wrote on an image of outdoor dining tables covered with navy blue tablecloths and adorned with brown candles and orange and pink roses 'He wanted to have our family and friends celebrate our love and feel the love of that experience,' the mother of one said. 'We chatted about a few ideas and then he planned it all! 'What he created was breathtaking. It's what he does and he is excellent at it. Marrying him is the best blessing, the wedding is a bonus!' The Tennessee native is the founder of Garrett Hospitality Group, a multi-faceted, curated group of brands, with a focus on hospitality, spirits, and culinary experiences. The proposal: Christmas said she had 'no idea' Memphis was going to propose The couple confirmed they were dating in December 2020, just two months after the series finale of the reality show's 22nd season. Memphis popped the question during a romantic beach proposal while the pair were vacationing in the Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in Florida. Christmas told E! News that she had 'no idea' it was going to happen. 'I was 100 percent surprised!' On one knee: Memphis proposed to Christmas during a vacation at Little Palm Resort & Spa in Florida Speaking about the events leading up to the sunset proposal, Christmas said she had 'no idea' it was going to happen. 'I had no idea it was going to happen then. I know, a beautiful island, sunset at a beautiful resortwho wouldn't have guessed? I didn't'! That's because that's the kind of thing he does regularly to show me how special he believes I am.' She continued: 'I was 100 percent surprised! He's so great at making me feel like I'm the most special person in the world every day, and this day was the most of all.' Alongside a series of engagement photos she wrote: 'We knew we would love each other forever. I'm just so excited to officially say YES!!!' Surprise! 'I had no idea it was going to happen then. I know, a beautiful island, sunset at a beautiful resortwho wouldn't have guessed?' she said Grand gestures: 'He's so great at making me feel like I'm the most special person in the world every day, and this day was the most of all' #final2forever: The pair debuted their wedding hashtag '#final2forever' Boat ride: After he proposed they went on a sunset boat ride Memphis said he worked tirelessly to create the custom ring. 'My favorite part was creating her custom engagement ring with my longtime friend and jeweler Adam Campbell. 'The entire process was awesome. Adam and I reviewed so many diamonds until I found the perfect one for Christmas,' he said, also adding that even before the pair met on the All Stars season he 'felt a cosmic attraction to her.' 'Before I even met Christmas, I felt a cosmic attraction to her. Once we spent 24/7 together for three months, I knew she was the one that I would spend the rest of my life with. I knew I found my twin flame,' he added. Christmas continued to say that their love story was also wild. 'It's wild to know Memphis and I fell in love with each other before we even shared a kiss. He's my best friend, twin flame and brings out the best of me everyday.' Debut: 'Sometime people come into your life and you know they just belong. We tried to fight it but fate had its own plan. Excited for the future,' he wrote as he shared snaps in December Proud: For their big Instagram reveal, the couple uploaded their favorite photos with one another and proudly voiced their happiness Big Brother: During their stint on the 22nd season of Big Brother: All-Stars, which premiered over the summer in 2020, Christmas came in fourth place, while her man Memphis came in fifth Love wins: 'The questions can be complicated but the answers are simple. Love always wins,' wrote the star on her Instagram Story as they made their debut The pair revealed they were dating in December as he posted a selfie with the caption: 'Sometime people come into your life and you know they just belong. We tried to fight it but fate had its own plan. Excited for the future.' They had met during season 22 of the hit CBS show which occurred over the summer. After debuting their romance she said: 'I wasn't looking for a relationship, I was there to WIN.' Christmas came in fourth place, while her man Memphis came in fifth, but they walked away with the grand prize of love. 'It's so wild to have this experience because we reverse engineered how society promotes falling in love. Memphis and I got to know one another through real conversations, building trust with each other and not starting with a physical connection. That's a rare thing,' she previously told E! News. She is currently living it up in Dubai on a sun-soaked holiday with her boyfriend Tommy Fury. And Molly-Mae Hague looked radiant as ever as she posed for a sizzling bikini snap while on a trip to the beach on Sunday. The former Love Island star, 23, displayed her jaw-dropping figure in an orange and yellow patterned bikini. Stunning: Molly-Mae Hague looked radiant as ever as she posed for a sizzling bikini snap while on a trip to the beach on Sunday Showing off her sun-kissed tan, Molly-Mae also sported a white shirt which she paired with a mint green cap. Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, the influencer also carried a pair of sunglasses. Alongside the snap, the PrettyLittleThing creative director wrote: 'Ocean girl ' It comes after Molly-Mae and Tommy packed on the PDA during their lavish holiday on Saturday. Sweet: It comes after Molly-Mae and her boyfriend Tommy Fury packed on the PDA during their lavish holiday on Saturday The reality star shared the loved up snap with her 6.3 million Instagram followers which showed her passionately kissing her boxer beau, 23. The blonde beauty put on a leggy display in a tiny bikini and swept her locks into a stylish bun while laying on the boat. Meanwhile, Tommy went shirtless and donned a pair of trunks while they topped up their tan. The influencer captioned her post: 'Forever thing' with Tommy commenting 'And ever'. Beauty: Tommy also shared a sizzling snap of Molly-Mae in the water and penned: 'My woman. Happy Birthday beautifulthe best partner a man could wish to have' It comes after Tommy pulled out all the stops as her surprised Molly-Mae with an array of lavish decorations and flowers as they celebrated her 23rd birthday on Thursday. He also shared a sizzling snap of Molly-Mae in the water and penned: 'My woman. Happy Birthday beautifulthe best partner a man could wish to have'. Taking to Instagram, the PrettyLittleThing creative director, shared a slew of snaps as she gushed over the boxer's efforts. To kick off her day, the couple soaked up the United Emirates sun, as Molly-Mae slipped into a white bikini to showed off her glow. Her long blonde locks were flowing in the breeze as she clutched onto a bouquet of blue and white flowers. Happy birthday! Taking to Instagram, the PrettyLittleThing creative director, shared a slew of snaps as she gushed over the boxer's efforts The influencer, gave her flowers a further glimpse into the celebrations as she then posed for a photo on the hotel room bed, surrounded by golden balloons. Tommy proved that he was ever the loving boyfriend as he also treated Molly-Mae to another bouquet of red roses a pink balloons. He also ensured to include their two pet cats and Molly-Mae's beloved soft toy elephant, as he purchased another balloon from 'Ellie-Bellie, Eggy and Bread.' Loved-up: Fresh faced Molly-Mae cosied up to Tommy as he shared an adorable photo in bed Julia Fox rocked a bold all-black leather ensemble when she stepped out in Los Angeles on Saturday. The 32-year-old actress channeled 1980s-style power dressing as she donned an oversize backless duster that had massive structured shoulder pads. The Uncut Gems star's latest avant-garde look included a dramatic cat eye and bleached eyebrows. Edgy: Julia Fox rocked a bold all-black leather ensemble when she stepped out in Los Angeles on Saturday Other celebrities who have embraced the bleached eyebrows trend include Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Maisie Williams and Kendall Jenner. Julia belted her trench coat over a low-cut metallic top and a black leather miniskirt The former dominatrix sported thigh-high pointed-toe stiletto boots and black Latex gloves. Throwback: The 32-year-old actress channeled 1980s power dressing as she donned an oversized backless duster that had massive structured shoulder pads The brunette beauty wore her long locks parted in the center and down in a sleek straight style and carried a small black leather handbag. The Milan-born performer accentuated her pout with a coral lipstick and highlighted her cheekbones with a rosy blush. The former Playboy model is known for her daring fashion choices and described her style as 'dominatrix couture' during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast. Eye-catching: The Uncut Gems star's latest avant-garde look included a dramatic cat-eye and bleached eyebrows Trendy: Other celebrities who have embraced the bleached eyebrows trend include Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Maisie Williams and Kendall Jenner Dramatic: The former dominatrix sported thigh-high pointed-toe stiletto boots and black Latex gloves During her short-lived but highly-publicized romance with Kanye West, 44, the two stepped out in numerous eye-catching ensembles. The two met at a New Year's Eve party in Miami and enjoyed a whirlwind romance before parting ways in February. Their split came as the Grammy winner, who has legally changed his name to Ye, began making a series of public overtures toward his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, 41 and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, 28. Fashion-forward couple: During her short-lived but highly-publicized romance with Kanye West, 44, the two stepped out in numerous eye-catching ensembles. Seen in January 2022 Julia was last seen playing a biting housewife in the Steven Soderbergh-directed thriller No Sudden Move. The neo-noir, which also starred Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and David Harbour, is streaming on HBO Max. She is currently working on The Trainer, alongside Bella Thorne, Vito Schnabel and Gina Gershon. In a press release for the upcoming film, Bella said, 'Working with Julia Fox has been a lot of fun. She's a kind of don't screw with me chick and I love those kind of women! We have some really outrageous stuff together.' Her boyfriend Pete Davidson was nowhere to be seen. And Kim Kardashian, 41, focused all her attention on her daughter North, eight, as she posted on Instagram on Sunday about their 'Best Date Ever.' The doting mom posted pictures of herself and her oldest child living it up at a restaurant in Italy last week, where they had traveled for the wedding of North's aunt, Kourtney Kardashian, 43, to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 46. Bonding: Kim Kardashian, 41, bonded with her soon to be nine year old daughter, North, during their recent trip to Italy The Skims founder wore a direct from the runway look of gray leggings and built in boots, with a gray band crop top with crisscross straps, and detached shoulder to wrist sleeves. Her platinum hair was brushed straight and parted down the middle, exposing her raven roots. The soon-to-be fourth grader was adorable in a pair of faded black jeans and a charcoal and black t-shirt. Runway: The fashionista chose a straight from the runway look for her evening out Date night: The Kardashians star posted photos on social media calling the evening the 'Best Date Ever' The elementary school student donned kitten heel black sandals and had her hair styled in long thick braids as she imitated her mother, striking a matching pose as they sat in chairs in the foyer. Fellow diners seemed to enjoy the motherdaughter bonding as Kim coaxed her daughter into a dance on the patio, with a reluctant North finally giving in and laughing at the antics. The fashion forward influencer revealed she went back in time and dug an old dress out of her closet that she bought in 2011 to wear to Kourtney's wedding in Italy May 22. Just like mom: The Skims founder looked sleek in a body hugging leggings and banded top outfit. North followed her mom's example with her own monochromatic look Center of attention: The reality star was the center of attention as she strolled through the town in gray leggings with built in boots and gray band crop top with crisscross straps The strapless black Balenciaga gown was updated with black lace, with a high neck, long sleeve lace overlay. The mom of four, has also been spending time with her younger children Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three since her return. The social media icon shares her children with ex-husband, music mogul Kanye 'Ye' West, 41. The couple finalized their divorce earlier this year. Time with kids: The mom of four, has also been spending time with her younger children Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three since her return Her relationship is hanging by a thread after her boyfriend Jackson Lonie's boozy pash with another woman on Friday night. But Olivia Frazer still has bills to pay. The Married At First Sight star, 28, was back on OnlyFans just hours after footage of Jackson kissing a tattooed brunette went viral on Saturday morning. Brave: MAFS star Olivia Frazer was back posting OnlyFans content over the weekend, after her boyfriend Jackson Lonie cheated on her with another woman on Friday night She posted a throwback swimsuit photo behind a paywall, alongside the description: 'Before it got too cold for swims.' The former teaching assistant then shared a steamy post-exercise snap on Sunday, which she captioned: 'Morning workout has me all sweaty.' While it's possible she scheduled her OnlyFans content to go live ahead of time, her activity tracker indicates she logged into her account over the weekend. Gotta work: Olivia, 28, has shared two posts on OnlyFans since footage leaked of her boyfriend Jackson, 30, pashing 20-year-old TikTok star Han Hughes at a Melbourne bar (pictured) Olivia was left heartbroken after her MAFS 'husband' Jackson, 30, cheated on her with 20-year-old TikTok star Han Hughes on a wild night out in Melbourne on Friday. The couple had been out together earlier that evening, but Olivia went home and Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of another woman at the Lava Lounge bar. Footage of the kiss spread across the internet like wildfire, and a devastated Olivia later told Daily Mail Australia she was 'speechless'. 'Before it got too cold for swims': Just hours after footage of Jackson's indiscretion went viral on Saturday morning, She posted a throwback swimsuit photo behind a paywall Work it, girl: The former teaching assistant then shared a steamy post-exercise snap on Sunday, which she captioned: 'Morning workout has me all sweaty' Their once-rock-solid relationship is said to be hanging by a thread after Jackson's indiscretion as the pair reevaluate their future. 'We're still together... I have told him to have a big think about what he wants,' Olivia said on Saturday night. She is understood to have cut short her weekend trip to Melbourne after the incident and is now back on the Central Coast with her family. Same night: Before Jackson's illicit kiss, the couple had been out together on Friday evening What happened: Olivia went home and Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of another woman at the Lava Lounge bar 'Liv is broken and torn about the whole incident and doesn't know where she stands with Jack,' a source said. The couple had 'a serious discussion about their future' when Jackson sobered up on Saturday, before Olivia offered him an ultimatum. 'They're going to have a bit of a break and work out what they want to do and how they can move forward,' the insider added. 'Liv just wants him to ditch his partying lifestyle and grow up.' Nothing to see here? Han Hughes, the woman Jackson cheated with, told The Wash: 'Olivia was not there... The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that' Day job: Han is a traffic controller and rising social media star Meanwhile, the woman Jackson cheated with has broken her silence. 'Olivia was not there. I'm fairly sure she left prior to me arriving,' Han told Instagram gossip account The Wash. 'The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that. Jackson seems like a nice guy and I have nothing bad to say on his behalf.' He flew into Sydney on his $90million private jet last week. And on Saturday, media baron Lachlan Murdoch and his model wife Sarah spent a relaxing day on their $30million superyacht, Istros. The couple, who have been married for 23 years, enjoyed lunch and champagne on the vessel as they cruised around Sydney Harbour with family and friends. Fun times: Media baron Lachlan Murdoch and his model wife Sarah cruised around Sydney Harbour on their new $30million superyacht on Saturday Luxe: The couple, who have been married for 23 years, enjoyed lunch and champagne on deck Sarah, 49, kept warm in a striped jumper and black pants as she chatted to pals. Meanwhile, Lachlan, 50, looked stylish in a white T-shirt, navy cardigan and grey pants. Later in the day, the pair took their daughter Aerin and her school friends around the harbour on the vessel to see the annual Vivid Sydney festival. It comes just one day after the couple were spotted cruising around Sydney Harbour with friends, including Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief, Edwina McCann on Friday. They looked as happy as ever as they lapped up the sun on-board the vessel and enjoyed the stunning views. Style: Sarah kept warm in a striped jumper and black pants as she chatted to friends on board Keeping warm: Lachlan looked stylish in a white T-shirt, navy cardigan and grey pants Fashionable friends: It comes just one day after the couple were spotted cruising around Sydney Harbour with friends, including Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief, Edwina McCann (far left) and personal hairdresser/makeup artist, Shane Paish (far right) on Friday The News Corp co-chairman last visited Sydney in April when he stopped by after a trip to French Polynesia with his family. Before then, he had visited Australia in February with commentator Piers Morgan. During the Covid pandemic, it looked as though the Murdochs planned to settle Down Under permanently. Lachlan and Sarah are parents to sons Kalan Alexander, 17, and Aidan Patrick, 16, and daughter Aerin Elisabeth, 12. In April last year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Murdochs could be staying in Australia 'for years, not months, as initially believed'. The couple, who own a home in Bellevue Hill, known as Le Manoir, married in 1999. Travel: The News Corp co-chairman last visited Sydney in April when he stopped by after a trip to French Polynesia with his family New home? During the Covid pandemic, it looked as though the Murdochs planned to settle Down Under permanently Lachlan purchased the superyacht Istros earlier this year. The vessel is likely to be moored where the family recently purchased a $38million 'boat shed' at Wunulla Road, Point Piper. The 42-metre Istros, which was built in 1954 and subsequently refurbished, was once owned by the Pappadakis shipping dynasty. New purchase: Lachlan bought the superyacht Istros earlier this year Move: The vessel is likely to be moored where the family recently purchased a $38million 'boat shed' at Wunulla Road, Point Piper It won the grand prize for the best restored vessel at the Monaco Yacht Club Prada Classic Yacht Show in 2001. But it fell into disrepair and was little more than a rusting hulk when it was rescued from a Maltese port in 2015, salvaged and rebuilt. The interiors were redesigned in chic Scandinavian style by Van Geest Design. History: The 42-metre Istros, which was built in 1954 and subsequently refurbished, was once owned by the Pappadakis shipping dynasty Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Celebrity agent Max Markson has denied he 'staged' a cheating scandal involving his clients Olivia Frazer and Jackson Lonie to drum up publicity. Mr Markson, the founder of Sydney PR agency Markson Sparks, said the rumour started by Olivia's MAFS rival Domenica Calarco was totally false. Domenica implied the publicity guru was behind the saga in a tweet on Saturday - just hours after Jackson was filmed kissing another woman on a boozy night out. Setting the record straight: Celebrity agent Max Markson (pictured) has denied he 'staged' a cheating scandal involving his clients Olivia Frazer and Jackson Lonie to drum up publicity 'Kris Jenner works hard, but Max Markson works harder,' she wrote. This was a spin on the popular saying, 'The Devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder,' referring to the business-savvy Kardashian matriarch who is known for using the press to her advantage. The tweet implied Mr Markson had somehow orchestrated the kissing scandal to keep his clients in the news cycle - an allegation the publicist denies. Fake news: Mr Markson, the founder of Sydney PR agency Markson Sparks, said the rumour started by Olivia's MAFS rival Domenica Calarco (right, with Jack Millar) was totally false Conspiracy theory: Domenica implied the publicity guru was behind the saga in a tweet on Saturday - just hours after Jackson was filmed kissing another woman on a boozy night out 'It's very kind of Dom to compliment me on my work ethic. I do like to think I work hard,' Mr Markson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 'However, this whole situation was nothing to do with me. Definitely not one of my PR stunts. 'I was too busy working on the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, and finalising Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's court case.' Fans will remember Domenica and Olivia clashed on this year's season of MAFS. Feud: Fans will remember the two women clashed on this year's season of MAFS. Domenica (pictured) was outed as an OnlyFans model at the couples' retreat after Olivia, with the help of friends, discovered one of her raunchy photos circulating on Twitter Fancy that! In a strange twist of fate, Olivia has now started her own OnlyFans account after her teaching job became untenable due to her negative portrayal on MAFS Domenica was outed as an OnlyFans model at the couples' retreat after Olivia, with the help of friends, discovered one of her raunchy photos circulating on Twitter. The distribution of the image remains the subject of a police investigation. In a strange twist of fate, Olivia has now started her own OnlyFans account after her teaching job became untenable due to her negative portrayal on MAFS. Caught in the act: Olivia was left heartbroken after her MAFS 'husband' Jackson, 30, cheated on her with 20-year-old TikTok star Han Hughes on a wild night out in Melbourne on Friday Olivia was left heartbroken after her MAFS 'husband' Jackson, 30, cheated on her with 20-year-old TikTok star Han Hughes on a wild night out in Melbourne on Friday. The couple had been out together earlier that evening, but Olivia went home and Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of another woman at the Lava Lounge bar. Footage of the kiss spread across the internet like wildfire, and a devastated Olivia, 28, later told Daily Mail Australia she was 'speechless'. Same night: Before Jackson's illicit kiss, the couple had been out together on Friday evening Their once-rock-solid relationship is said to be hanging by a thread after Jackson's indiscretion as the pair reevaluate their future. 'We're still together... I have told him to have a big think about what he wants,' Olivia said on Saturday night. She is understood to have cut short her weekend trip to Melbourne after the incident and is now back on the Central Coast with her family. What happened: Olivia went home and Jackson continued partying with friends - and eventually ended up in the arms of another woman at the Lava Lounge bar 'Liv is broken and torn about the whole incident and doesn't know where she stands with Jack,' a source said. The couple had 'a serious discussion about their future' when Jackson sobered up on Saturday, before Olivia offered him an ultimatum. 'They're going to have a bit of a break and work out what they want to do and how they can move forward,' the insider added. 'Liv just wants him to ditch his partying lifestyle and grow up.' Nothing to see here? Han Hughes, the woman Jackson cheated with, told The Wash: 'Olivia was not there... The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that' Meanwhile, the woman Jackson cheated with has broken her silence. 'Olivia was not there. I'm fairly sure she left prior to me arriving,' Han told Instagram gossip account The Wash. 'The kiss was innocent, a two-way street. It wasn't anything more than that. Jackson seems like a nice guy and I have nothing bad to say on his behalf.' Victoria's Secret model Kelly Gale has sparked concern among fans in a new Instagram post she shared on Sunday evening. The Swedish-Australian stunner, 27, showed off her slender frame in a pair of tiny shorts and a crop top during a hike. Many of her followers flocked to the comments section with questions about her appearance, with one fan saying the brunette beauty looked 'tired' and others stating she was 'too thin'. Concerns: Model Kelly Gale sparked concern among fans in a new Instagram post she shared on Sunday evening. The Swedish-Australian stunner showed off her slender frame in a pair of tiny shorts and a crop top during a hike Meanwhile, many defended Kelly, with one follower urging those making the comments of about her body to mind their own business and to stop 'skinny shaming'. 'Please stop skinny shaming Kelly. You have no idea what goes on in some ones life *(sic). And some people are naturally slim, especially when they are young. I was nearly two stone lighter in my 20's and ate like a horse,' they wrote. 'Used to hate it when complete strangers would come up to me and comment on my weight. I would never dream of commenting on someone's body shape. Many of her followers flocked to the comments section with questions about her appearance and urging her 'to stay healthy' One of her followers thought Kelly looked tired Rushing to her defence: Meanwhile, many defended Kelly, with one follower urging those making the comments of about her body to mind their own business and to stop 'skinny shaming' 'Please be mindful. Would you really say this to her face if you saw her. Probably not. So keep it to yourself hey x.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kelly for comment. Kelly attracted similar comments when she posted photos of herself wearing tiny shorts in Italy last week. More comments: Kelly attracted similar comments when she posted photos of herself wearing tiny shorts in Italy last week 'Starting to worry about you,' wrote one, while another added, 'You look so thin... too thin.' 'Absolutely LOVE you and it's not my business at all, but I know being on the big screen provokes an instinct to get even slimmer,' one fan said. 'But please be careful. You are such an inspiration. And are the most beautiful woman in the world,' they continued. On holiday: The photos, which were posted to Instagram, sparked fears from several followers who commented underneath 'Starting to worry about you,' wrote one, while another added, 'You look so thin... too thin' Mixed: However others were delighted by the beauty's latest images, with one fan saying: 'Damn beautiful my darling' and another agreed, 'Looking great in yellow' 'You look glorious on camera so please don't compromise your health for a skewed and antiquated view of what people wrongly assume looks best on the big screen.' Another fan said: 'You look so skinny'. 'What happened, you are such a beautiful woman but it seems you lost weight a lot... hope everything is okay,' one more wrote. Home and away: Kelly has been enjoying a seaside vacation 'You are beautiful but you are now too thin,' said another. However others were delighted by the beauty's latest images, with one fan saying: 'Damn beautiful my darling' and another agreed, 'Looking great in yellow'. Kelly has been on a seaside vacation with her fiance Joel Kinnamen the past week and sharing lots of holiday photos to Instagram, as well as posing in bikinis. Children enjoy ice gola at the famous cart of Chaush, whose real name is Sayed Ali, at Abids, near St.Grammar School. (Deepak Deshpande/DC) HYDERABAD: The ice gola had for long been a craze to many, but the dessert is seldom sighted on the pavement these days. Yet, memories of the pushcart with a block of ice and coloured bottles of syrup linger. Most of these pushcart vendors have quietly retreated from the scene following the arrival of the mainline dessert outlets. Some still remain in this business and are doing good sales. For, no branded dessert can replace the flavour and taste of ice gola. This is popularly known in the local dialect as baraf ka gola chuski or baraf laddu. In the past, there was no summer without a tasting of this frozen treat. There, for it, are the regular customers. Not just children, several grown-up people too visit these places with nostalgia writ large on their faces, happy as they are with the flavours of kala-katta rain- bow or orange at these push-carts. One such popular pushcart joint is at Abids, near St Gorgeous Grammar School. Children through generations address the cart-wala as chaush. Chaush is here at this spot since 1970. He also visits the surrounding areas of Hanuman Tekdi, King Koti, Gunfoundry and Hyderguda. My name is Sayed Ali, but everyone calls me Chaush. I started selling this for 5 paise and 10 paise. Many of the old students from the surrounding schools made him more popular by making his video scenes and posting them on social media. Thousands of my children who ate my ice cream are now spread across the globe. They make a visit to this spot when they visit Hyderabad, they will make sure they visit me, Chaush said. Minister K.T. Rama Rao recently invited Chaush to his official residence and relished his school-day memories. Am feeling so proud that the children who ate my barafi are now in high positions. KTR introduced me to his family. His hospitality was wonderful. Another popular joint is at Yakutpura, near Volta Hotel, the Saleem bhai ice gola centre run by Sayeed Saleem for three-and-a-half decades. Most of the Old City folks stop by at the push cart joint even today. Saleem said, People not only savour this but they also interact with us. They come in as a bunch of friends, maybe after having their dinner. Stated Mahmood Zubare, a customer: I grew up with this ice gola, at Saleem bhais. The gulab jamun, mixed with ice, khowa and colours is quite popular. Akash Nadinavelu, resident of Karkhana, said, Those flavours still linger in my thoughts. It was my favourite during my school days. Around three decades ago, Karkhana, Trimulgherry etc had no traffic. After school, we used to buy this, and then have it slurping slowly and walking. Farmers said that they are still waiting to be paid for their paddy stocks procured by Rythu Bharosa Kendras. They requested the government to release the payments right away so their activities can go forward without any hindrance. Representational image/DC KAKINADA: The irrigation department will reopen canals from June 1, as 5,000 cusecs of surplus water are being released into the sea at present. Officials said that generally, it is hard to reopen canals as the Godavari remains lean, unlike this year. Farmers can go for the kharif crop early and ensure they are prepared for the second crop adequately. Agriculture department officials are also preparing to supply seeds to farmers from their nurseries. However, farmers said that they are still waiting to be paid for their paddy stocks procured by Rythu Bharosa Kendras. They requested the government to release the payments right away so their activities can go forward without any hindrance. Konaseema districts joint director Y. Ananda Kumari said that paddy is cultivated across 78,000 acres in the district. She said that the major varieties are Swarna MTU 7029 and 1064, and requested farmers to go for MTU 1318 as an alternative to Swarna. ONGOLE: Visibly pleased with the unprecedented turnout of party men to Mahanadu held near Ongole braving unbearable humid conditions, Telugu Desam (TD) president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday sounded the 'election bugle', asserting that all sections of people in Andhra Pradesh were eagerly waiting to send 'Jagan Mohan Reddy home'. "A sea of people came to Mahanadu today. Jagan will go mad at this. He will not sleep tonight. His government has lost the trust of people. Our Mahanadu meeting is full and their ministers bus yatra is empty, said Naidu. In his concluding speech at Mahanadu 2022 in Ongole, the TD chief said Jagan Mohan Reddy had amassed Rs 1.75 lakh crore illegal wealth during the last three years of his rule. While the family treasury of Jagan became full, the AP people got Rs 8 lakh crore debt. How can the people of the state repay all this debt, he asked. Naidu asserted that Jagan Mohan Reddy would go home even if the midterm elections were held at this instant. The TD would stand by the side of people to rescue them from the non-stop oppression of YSRC leaders, he added. The TD leaders were ready to go to jail for the sake of the oppressed sections, Naidu said, and accused the Chief Minister of blackmailing all systems and looting all natural resources. Over 500 to 1,000 lorries were taking laterite every day from agency areas in East Godavari and Vizag to Bharati Cements, he pointed out. Naidu said the electricity bills doubled in May when compared to April. Prices of tomato and chicken skyrocketed to Rs 120 and Rs 320 per kg respectively. Sand rate went up from Rs 600 per tractor during TDP rule to Rs 6,000 under YSRC. "No wonder tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, AP will follow in the footsteps of Sri Lanka," he said. Condemning the YSRCPs 'murder politics', Naidu asked whether Jagan Mohan Reddy had any right to rule the state when he tried to turn 'Babai Viveka Reddy axe attack' into heart attack. Why was the Chief Minister not suspending his party MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy for his role in his uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddys murder just like how MLC Anantha Udaya Bhaskar was suspended after the murder of his driver, Naidu asked. The TD chief said he had developed Amaravati for AP along the lines of Hyderabad for Telangana, Bengaluru for Karnataka and Chennai for Tamil Nadu. But now, Jagan Mohan Reddy had destroyed Amaravati and forced the AP people to go to Hyderabad even to do 'low paid menial works'. The golden future of AP state was totally crushed. Even the lifeline irrigation project of Polavaram was smashed in the name of reverse tendering, Naidu said and warned Jagan, "Kabadadar, be careful. Each and every Telugu Desam activist is an heir to NTR legacy. They will fight till the end for self-respect, for their state. NTR removed meters on agricultural motors. Jagan is fixing meters again. Farmers should fight it out against this injustice." Naidu deplored that the roads and industries, which were symbols of development and civilisation, were also gone. The Rs 24,000 crore worth Asian Paper Pulp factory at Ramayapatnam Port in Prakasam district was driven away. Jagan Reddy's Kodi Kathi dramas had completely ruined the state, the TD chief accused. Accusing Jagan Mohan Reddy of falling at the feet of Delhi leaders, by mortgaging Polavaram, Special Status, Visakha Steel, Railway Zone and all the bifurcation benefits, Naidu said YSRC goons had grabbed galaxy granite mines with their threats and settlements. In just liquor mafia, Rs 5,000 crore illegal income was being made each year, Naidu said. A plane operated by a private airline in Nepal went missing on Sunday with 22 people on board, airline and government officials told Reuters. The small plane was flying from the tourist town of Pokhara to Jomsom in west Nepal, they said. The Tamil Nadu government appealed to the members of public who arrive from various countries, including African nations, to report to the local health officer if they have any symptoms of monkeypox, a top official said on Sunday. Health Department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan said it was due to the strong monitoring mechanism that has been put up in place by the government, it was able to detect Covid-19 cases besides containing its spread. "We have received the interim guidelines from the Centre on the monkeypox disease. That is people arriving from African countries or Europe, Australia, Canada, and the USA, though did not show any symptom at the airport, but developed some symptoms within 21 days of their arrival, they have to report it to the local health official," he told reporters after inspecting the district government hospital here. People should be cautious and adhere to the Covid-19 protocols laid out by the government, he said. "We have been told that the disease will not be severe, but we have to be careful to prevent it. So far, no cases related to monkeypox have been reported in the country," he said. Noting that the Health Department has strengthened the medical infrastructure in Tamil Nadu, he said it was due to the strong monitoring mechanism the government was able to identify cluster of virus cases that were reported in the State. "Earlier, we detected cluster of virus cases on the IIT-Madras campus and later in another private medical college. Now, we have detected another cluster at an private engineering college at Kelambakkam in the city. All the 31 cases reported identified are doing well," he said. Radhakrishnan said the students who tested Covid-19 positive on the campus of IIT Madras and at the private medical college have "fully recovered." To a query, he said 410 students were checked at the private engineering college and 31 have tested Covid-19 positive till date. "What these incidents at the educational institutions indicate is that when the virus is waning in the State, we are giving an opportunity for it to grow by not following the Covid-19 behaviour," he said. Strongly advocating vaccination as it was the only mechanism to prevent the spread of virus, he said there were 1.21 crore people who were yet to receive the second dose of vaccination while 43.45 lakh have taken the first. "Another 13 lakh people are eligible to receive booster dose and are yet to receive it," he said. "Chief Minister (M K Stalin) has been directing the authorities to strengthen the medical infrastructure. We have also strengthened the testing facilities. What we urge people is that they should wear a face-mask while in public, maintain social distance and take the vaccine," he said. Tamil Nadu has been reporting a decline in new Covid-19 cases on account of vaccination, adherence to Covid-19 behaviour while in public, he said. Referring to the status of virus cases in neighbouring States, Radhakrishnan said Kerala was reporting over 700 cases while Karnataka reporting over 150 cases on a daily basis. "Mumbai is recording 350 cases daily, while, overall, Maharashtra as a State, recorded over 500 per day. Tamil Nadu recorded its lowest on April 15 with 22 cases and Chennai 12, but now the metro is reporting 30-40 cases. This shows that we should stay alert," he said. School pupils across Derry are being encouraged to dress up in green on Wednesday next, June 1, to raise awareness of World Environment Day taking place on the following Sunday, June 5. The initiative is being supported by Eco-Schools NI who have just launched a new partnership with Twinkl, a popular online resource platform for teachers. Twinkl NI have worked closely with Eco-Schools to develop resources and teaching materials around environmental education and sustainable development, both of which are increasingly popular subject areas for teachers and students alike. Next Wednesday, pupils and staff are being asked to pay between 50p and 1 to wear green to school and to get involved in some form of environmental action, such as a biodiversity audit, some planting, or a simple session of outdoor learning. All of the money raised will be used to help resource environmental projects in schools across the North that will support both teachers, pupils and the entire school community on their eco-journey. Charlene McKeown, who manages the Eco-Schools NI programme for environ- mental charity, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, said: Im glad to say that interest in the environment is at an all-time high among both young people and their teachers. Every school in Northern Ireland is registered as an Eco-School and were encouraging as many as possible to take some simple steps towards action. Theres a lot of evidence to suggest that becoming an environmental activist, even at the most basic level, such as lifting litter or planting a tree, helps individuals, particularly young people to feel less worried about the future, and the results are even more powerful when they take action as part of a community that is important to them, such as their school. We see Wear Green Be Green as an opportunity for schools to visibly demonstrate their environmental aspirations and to have some fun and raise a little money at the same time! Zara McCusker, from Twinkl NI said: Were so proud of our new environmental teaching resources and of our collaboration with Eco-Schools NI. Teachers are busy people with an awful lot on their plates. "We very much see our role as one of making life as easy as possible for teachers whod like to cover more on the environment during their lessons, but who dont have time to create their own teaching materials and lesson plans from scratch. "Were confident that when they see the quality of the resources on our platform teachers will be excited to deliver these highly relevant and engaging learning activities to their students. A plaque in honour of a young Derry member of Cumann na nBan killed a month before the Civil War began is to be unveiled in the city tomorrow night. Margaret McAnaney, affectionately known as Maggie, was killed in a shooting incident at Burnfoot in Inishowen on May 31, 1922. From the Bishop Street area of the city, she was aged just 18. The IRA said she was 'on active service' at the time of the fatal incident. The plaque will be unveiled at a ceremony, organised by the Bogside and Brandywell Committee, being held on Tuesday evening (31st May) at 7.00pm at Ardfoyle, Bishop Street, where her home once was. She is buried in Derry City Cemetery with her father, Robert, and grandparents John and Matilda. Her mother was Catherine Campbell. One hundred years after her death, mystery to an extent still surrounds the events that led to her untimely demise. Relatively little is known of her demise. Her death coincidentally took place on the same day as that of Cumann na nBan, Margaret McElduff, who was also killed in an accidental shooting in neighbouring Tyrone. The local teenager was the daughter of city councillor Robert McAnaney, a member of the first citys first nationalist led Corporation under Mayor Hugh C ODoherty in 1920. He was a tailor by profession and a member of the IRA. The familys home was 245 Bishop Street. According to the account given at the official inquest by her friend Maggie Canning from Bluebell Hill Terrace in the Brandywell area of Derry, Maggie McAnaney called to her home at 9.30am on the morning in question and they left from there with five other girls to travel to Inch Island for a picnic. On the way they hitched a lift on a Fergusons lorry as it drove through Bridgend. The vehicle was then halted at an IRA checkpoint at the Rectory at Burnfoot. As they waited for the lorry to be given permission to move away again, both Maggie McAnaney and Margaret Canning had a friendly chat with the IRA guard who they both knew well. According to Miss Canning as they talked, the sentry put the butt of his rifle on the ground as he talked and at that the lorry driver told everyone to sit down again as they were about to continue the journey. Margaret McAnaney was 'killed in action' when she was accidentally shot. As this happened, a shot rang out and Maggie McAnaney fell to the ground, fatally wounded. She had been hit by a round accidentally discharged from the IRA mans rifle. The IRA officer at the inquest offered sympathy and said that the sentry responsible could be produced for questioning if required. The inquest chairman said that wasnt necessary and a verdict of accidental death was recorded. However, an inscription on the young womans headstone declares she was Killed in Action an epitaph normally reserved for those engaged in activities on behalf of the republican movement. The official date given for the beginning of the Irish Civil War is June 28, 1922 a month after the death of Maggie McAnaney. Tensions over the imposition of Anglo-Irish Treaty and partition were obviously high and in Derry city and nearby Donegal, like the rest of the island, the IRA were split. Documents and discussions about applications for the IRA pension years later revealed that there was much debate on whether the Derry IRA was in fact neutral when the Civil War began. Whether the ill-fated picnic trip to Inch was a ruse for other activities, the inquest verdict was a matter of expediency, or whether it really was simply a case of a tragic accident remains unclear a century later. Whatever the reason, Maggie McAnaney was just 18-years-old when she died. Her father Robert died less than ten years later, on February 4, 1931 aged 50. The young Derry woman is not alone in that her memory has been largely obscured from the role she played in the fraught political atmosphere of the first two decades of the 20thth century. Several members of Cumann na mBan were accidentally shot and killed. In an era when the womens movements were striving for universal suffrage, the most famous example of this elimination from history remains the literal removal of Nurse Elizabeth OFarrell from a photograph as she accompanied Padraig Pearse when the rebels surrendered to General Lowe on Dublins Moore Street at the conclusion of the Easter Rising in 1916. Following the enrolment of women in the ranks of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913 and the formation of Cumann na mBann in 1914, it became clear that female republicans were willing to bear arms and take the same risks as their male counterparts. However, during the 1916 Rising, for example, women were almost all confined to cooking, first aid, ferrying messages and signalling duties. Some women, of course, managed to overthrow the patriarchal control of the movement and played a full role in the fighting. Constance Markievicz and Margaret Skinnider were the exceptions to the imposed norm of female roles in these times. No women were killed in the fighting at Easter 1916. Despite claims that Nurse Margaretta Keogh was a republican casualty, it isnt true. Although she was definitely killed by the British Army during fighting at the South Dublin Union, she was a civilian nurse and not attached to the republican forces and was not a member of Cumann na mBann. Five years later, during the War of Independence, women undertook the dangerous roles of arms and explosives transportation. But only one citation of women playing a direct role in attacking the British emerged from the entire era. That came, it seems, during an IRA attack on the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks at Killmallock, a town in south Limerick on the border with County Cork. One IRA man recalled 'the Cumann na mBann women used a rifle and boiled kettles as required'. Margaret McAnaney was laid to rest in Derry City Cemetery. Others contend however that the recurring argument, particularly during the centenary commem- orations of 1916, that women were com- pletely written out of history in this era is incorrect. Numerous women veterans of the republican struggle including Kathleen Clarke, Madame Czira (Sarah Gifford), Nora Connolly-OBrien, Maud Mitchell, Kathleen Keyes McDonnell, Maud Gonne, Lil Conlon, Brigid Dirrane had their own biographies published during their own lifetimes. Whilst forbidden from taking part directly in battle, republican women were still, of course, at risk of serious injury and death during encounters with the British, and several members of Cumann na mBann were killed during the Irish War of Independence. Josephine McGowan was from Dolphins Barn in Dublin and served as a member of the Marrowbone Lane Garrison during the 1916 Rising. On September 22, 1918 Josephine attended a Cumann na mBann rally at Foster Place in Dublin to protest against the internment of republican prisoners. The Dublin Metropolitan Police baton charged the crowd and McGowan was struck several times on the head. Rescued by her comrades, Josephine was ferried to the Cumann na mBann medical post at Ticknock but died there a week later as a result of her injuries and was buried without fanfare at Glasnevin. As a result of her death, her father died a week after his daughter. It was not until the 1940s that Josephine Mc- Gowan was post- humously awarded a War of Independence service medal. It bore a Comhrac bar a symbol of recognition normally reserved for male fighters. Margaret Keogh was a 19-year-old printer's assistant and at around 11.15pm on the evening of July 10, 1912 she was fatally wounded by a gunshot during a British Army raid on her Ringsend home. It was the night before the truce in the War of Independence was announced. A captain of the Croke Ladies Hurling Club, a member of the Irish Clerical Workers Union and a member of Cumann na mBann, a year prior to her death, Margaret Keogh had been arrested by British forces for refusing to give her name in English when she was interrogated about her fundraising activities for Conradh na Gaeilge, then a proscribed organisation. Her funeral was on July 14, 1921 and she was buried with military honours at Glasnevin by her Cumann na mBann comrades. For her pains, her gravestone is inscribed Margaret Keogh Died for Ireland. On May 31, 1922 Cumann na mBann member Margaret McElduff, from Co Tyrone, died from her wounds after a gun she was transporting for the IRA accidentally discharged. In the same year, Nora OLeary died in similar circumstances in County Kerry when IRA Commandant Denis Reen accidentally discharged his rifle in her home. An Internet search of records about the deaths of Margaret McElduff and Nora OLeary, however, revealed precious little on the details of their deaths. As the War of Independence turned into the Irish Civil War women, most likely through military necessity, women were allowed to play a fuller role in combat. First killed The first Cumann na nBan woman killed in that bitter conflict was Mary Hartney, of Limerick City, followed by Lily Bennett and Charlotte Despard from Dublin, Margaret Dunne from Cappaleigh South in West Cork and Nan Hogan of Cratloe in County Clare. Today, there are national monuments to Constance Markievicz, the boys of Na Fianna Eireann, but none to Cumann na mBan nor the girls of Clan na nGaedheal Girl Scouts. In the period between 1918-1921, three more members of Cumann na mBan were killed. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Dublin Airport has admitted that mistakes were made after it was forced to warn passengers that some could miss flights due to lengthy queues. Concern is growing ahead of the bank holiday weekend in several days time, as both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport asked for answers about the disorder at the airport. Officials at Dublin Airport had earlier warned of significant queues for passengers at the countrys main airport. Queues at Dublin Airport at 3pm this afternoon. Travellers had been queueing at Dublin Airport from early morning. The DAA issued a warning that some passenger were likely to missed their flights and advised rebooking. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie Some travelling were told they could miss flights due to the extent of the queues, with 50,000 passengers expected to pass through the airport on Sunday. Officials pledged to try to compensate all passengers who have missed flights or had plans disrupted, if additional costs are incurred. Taoiseach Micheal Martin, speaking from Lebanon, said the situation was not satisfactory. The minister will be engaging with them and Government will be discussing this and reviewing this in terms of the huge numbers and the delays and so on. Its not satisfactory. In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Transport said Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and junior minister Hildegarde Naughton have expressed deep unhappiness over the scenes at the airport on Sunday. Ms Naughton, who has held twice weekly meetings in recent weeks with the Daa chief executive, will meet Dalton Philips first thing on Monday to discuss the issues. The statement, issued on behalf of the ministers, said: The passenger experience at Dublin Airport is falling far short of the service that our citizens and visitors should expect at our largest state airport. They said that it was not satisfactory that some people, who are following daa guidelines, are turning up to the airport for check-in on time, but are still missing their flights. The situation is causing undue stress and potential cost to people, which is simply not good enough. DAA got things 'wrong' on Sunday Kevin Cullinane, the group head of communications for Daa, the body that runs the airport, admitted they had got things wrong on Sunday. Significantly, we did not have sufficient staff manning sufficient posts throughout the airport to cope with demand early on and hence queues built up, he told RTE radio. We clearly did not have enough lanes open in security from early on this morning, for the numbers who presented themselves at that hour of the morning. And that caused obviously a compounding effect throughout the morning. He pledged that Dublin Airport will try to compensate all passengers who have missed flights or had plans disrupted, if additional costs are incurred. Mr Cullinane also said airlines were providing passengers with the option of booking different flights later on Sunday or Monday, without an additional cost. Queues at Dublin Airport at 3pm this afternoon. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie We will look at each case on a case-by-case basis but well be doing our level best to make sure that nobody will be out of pocket for missing a flight today as a results of these queues at Dublin Airport. Passengers have faced lengthy waits and scenes of disorder at Dublin Airport in recent months. The airport has previously said it is trying to rebound from the impact of the pandemic and has blamed shortages in fully trained staff working at the countrys busiest airport. Mr Cullinane said there will be an additional 370 security staff in the airport from June. Clearly we didnt have and we still dont have sufficient numbers to cater for this, he said. We have to put our hands up and say we got that wrong and we wish we had more staff available this morning to rectify that situation quicker than we did. He said that the situation was now under control at Terminal 1, but lengthy queues could be expected at Terminal 2 for the next couple of hours. In a statement earlier, a spokesperson for the airport said: Dublin Airport is experiencing significant queues for airline check-in, bag drop and security screening this morning as 50,000 passengers are expected to depart over the course of the day. Queuing outside both terminals has been deployed since early morning as part of Dublin Airports contingency plans for the increased numbers of passengers travelling. Due to significant queues inside the terminals passengers queueing outside the terminal have been advised they may not make their flight and may need to contact their airline to rebook. Dublin Airport sincerely apologises for the obvious frustration and inconvenience this is causing. Gardai are appealing to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts of a 51-year-old missing from his home in Cork Edward O'Callaghan is missing from his home in Elmvale in Wilton since Thursday. "Edward was last seen when he left home on the afternoon of Thursday 26th May, 2022 at approximately 2pm," a garda spokesperson said. "Edward is described as being 5 10 in height with a normal build. He has brown hair and green eyes." When last seen, Edward was wearing a red fleece jumper, navy jeans and navy Dubarry (boat style) shoes. It is believed that Edward is in his vehicle, a white Toyota Auris van, registration number 10-C-7245. Gardai said they and Edwards family are concerned for his wellbeing. Anyone with information on Edwards whereabouts is asked to contact Togher Garda Station (021) 494712, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we live, how we work, how we get from where we live to where we work or even if we have to leave where we live to get to where we work. But the number of workers that have had their commutes shortened from 45 minutes to 45 feet constitute only a fraction of the American workforce the remainder are still making the twice daily trek. In his new book, Going Remote: How the Flexible Work Economy Can Improve Our Lives and Our Cities, urban economist Matthew E. Kahn examines how this tectonic shift in work-life balance might eventually play out, as well as the increased economic and social stratification it could bring about. UC Press Excerpted from Going Remote: How the Flexible Work Economy Can Improve Our Lives and Our Cities by Matthew E Kahn, published by the University of California Press. 2022 by Matthew E Kahn. Not everyone can engage in remote work. If 35 percent of the workforce is engaged in remote work at least a few days a week, this will have at least three effects on other workers. First, service jobs demand will rise in the residential areas where remote workers move to. As remote workers move farther from city centers, this will create exurban demand for service workers at the Starbucks and other stores where they shop. Land prices are cheap at the suburban fringe and the purchasing power of such local service providers will be higher than if they sought jobs in the center city. While service workers cannot work remotely, they can move to remote locations where rents are cheaper if more people work from home. If 35 percent of the workforce begins to work from home three days a week and thus are home five days a week, there is a demand for a service sector in areas where they live. This creates new jobs for less educated workers in such areas. In these areas, housing is cheap. This increases the quality of life for such service providers. There will also be new construction jobs as new homes are built farther from the employment centers. Families who spend more time at home will invest money to upgrade the home. This creates new opportunities for those who supply home improvement services. Some people may add a new office to their home or other features to customize it to their needs. While there are significant opportunities for less skilled workers to live and work far from the cities in the cheaper parts of metropolitan areas, one countervailing force is the rising minimum wage. In cities, the minimum wage is usually not binding as workers must be paid higher nominal wages to attract them. In contrast, in more suburban and exurban areas, being required to pay service workers $15 or more per hour may reduce demand for workers. If workers can find very cheap housing far from the cities, then many would be willing to work for less than $15 an hour. While most people think that a high minimum wage is good for low-skill workers, economists emphasize the likely unintended consequence. When employers are required by law to pay a higher than competitive market wage to people, they create fewer jobs. For example, such firms can substitute and rely on robots or other pieces of capital. Economists argue that a higher minimum wage increases unemployment for less skilled workers. In places where housing is cheaper, the minimum wage will more likely be a binding constraint on employers. The net result here is perhaps counterintuitive. Less skilled workers will gain more from the rise of WFH when they live and work in states with less generous minimum wages. Throughout this chapter, I have focused on how the WFH eligible reconfigure their lives to make the most of this new opportunity. Here it is important to note that those who are currently not WFH eligible are not locked into this category. Younger workers can retrain in fields to open up this possibility for themselves. Parents of younger children can make investments in their children to raise their probability of being WFH eligible in the future. Those who work in the service industry and thus earn a living from face-to-face interaction still gain from the rise of WFH because they gain from a larger menu of options of where to live their lives. If a wealthy environmentalist community forms in Bozeman, Montana, then this creates new opportunities for those in the service sector to live and work there. While this option may not be attractive to everyone, the key is to increase the menu of possibilities. Non-WFH-eligible workers know themselves and their life goals, and they will make the right choices for themselves and gain from having a larger menu of alternatives. As more people have the opportunity to live and work where they want to be, this increases not only their physical and mental health but also the accountability of our institutions. If there are places whose governments are failing to meet the desires of local residents, then people will be more likely to move away. In this setting, real estate prices will more quickly reflect changes in local quality of life. If an area features a rising crime rate, in the new WFH economy people will vote with their feet and real estate prices will decline in that area. This demands that local officials be more responsive in addressing emerging quality-of-life challenges because if they fail to do so, the tax base will shrink. While this has been an optimistic chapter, I must add a few cautionary notes about concentrated urban poverty. WFH creates an incentive for the American people to spread out. This chapter has sketched out the benefits from this emerging trend. At the same time, such suburbanization may contribute to the further isolation of the urban poor. Poor people live in center cities in areas such as Baltimore and Detroit because there is old, cheap housing and there is good public transit. If the poor remain in these center city areas and richer people are suburbanizing, then there is greater geographic isolation of the poor and this may reduce political support for programs that redistribute to them because there is an out of sight, out of mind effect and the physical distance between the groups acts as a type of moat. Past research in urban economics has documented that college graduates are more likely to suburbanize when violent crime increases in the center city. This propensity to engage in flight from blight is likely to increase in a WFH economy because educated people no longer commute to center city jobs five times a week. In 1933, archaeologists excavating the remains of Pompeii found the bodies of two individuals, their skeletons almost perfectly preserved by the volcanic ash that buried their home in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24th, 79CE. While many of Pompeiis residents fled the natural disaster, these two did not. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichita In a photo from the early 30s (pictured above), you can see the residents of the House of the Craftsmen slumped over in the corner of their homes dining room, almost as if they were eating lunch just as their lives were about to end. Its a poignant scene archeologists have long sought to unpack, and now we have a better understanding of what may have happened to those two Romans, thanks to the latest advances in DNA sequencing technology. In a paper published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, a joint team of researchers from Italy, Denmark and the US shared that they recently sequenced the genome of one of the House of Craftmens inhabitants marking the first time archaeologists have decoded the mitochondrial DNA of a resident of Pompeii, according to The New York Times. With genetic material pulled from his petrous, a dense, pyramid-shaped segment of bone that protects the inner ears, the team found that the male inhabitant of the house suffered from spinal tuberculosis, or whats better known today as Pott diesase. Associated symptoms include back pain and lower body paralysis. The condition would have forced him to have little mobility, Dr. Pier Francesco Fabbri, one of the anthropologists who contributed to the paper, told The Times. Its very possible the man, who was about 35 years old when he died, would have had difficulty fleeing Pompeii even if he wanted to escape the burning city. We now also have a better idea of the mans origins. Comparing his DNA against 1,030 ancient and 471 present-day West Eurasian individuals, the research team concluded that some of his ancestors came from Anatolia, which is now mostly part of modern Turkey. He also had links to the island of Sardinia. However, he had the most genetic similarities with people who lived in and around Rome during Pompeiis destruction. That lends evidence to the suggestion that the Italian peninsula was a melting pot of racially diverse people at the height of the Roman Empire. With so little left from that time, our understanding of the ancient world will always be imperfect, but thanks to advances in technology, were constantly learning more about what life was like thousands of years ago. It was only at the end of last year that researchers unwrapped one of the most pristine mummies ever found with the help of a CT scan. Professor Gabriele Scorrano, the lead researcher on the Pompeii study, told the BBC that future genetic studies could reveal more about the city, including information about the biodiversity of the surrounding area. "Pompeii is like a Roman island, he said. "We have a picture of one day in 79CE." Enable Ginger U.S. President announced the so-called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework during his recent visit to Asia, in an attempt to pitch the Indo-Pacific Strategy and trying to form a clique that contains China. What the U.S. did was obviously motivated by the Cold War mentality and intended to serve the America first and protect American hegemony. It makes the world divided, incites confrontation and breaks peace, and will exert destructive influence on regional peace, stability and development. There has already been a functional regional cooperation framework in the Asia-Pacific region from which regional countries benefit. The U.S., starting another framework in the region that dilutes the concept of Asia-Pacific, is obviously not working for the development or prosperity of regional countries. Every country in the region is aware of that. The Indo-Pacific strategy, once being announced, has put regional countries on guard for the Cold War features it carries. Recently, the U.S. once again packaged the strategy, hoping to create an illusion of high-standard cooperation by setting up another so-called framework and a new set of rules in the region. However, when the strategy was firstly proposed, the U.S. put it clear that the strategy was formed to make sure that the U.S. wins the competition in the 21st century and presents regional countries an alternative to Chinas approach. This fully indicates that the framework serves American geostrategies, and the so-called importance the U.S. says it attaches to its allies and partners is just to decouple regional countries from the Chinese economy, making Asian-Pacific countries cats-paws for the hegemony of the U.S. This explains why the framework involves no tariff exemption or market access regulation and why it doesnt care about the development and demands of regional countries. Evan Feigenbaum, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace noted that the U.S. is running around Asia making every policy, relationship, and initiative derivative of American competition with China. Theres no affirmative vision for the region that doesnt begin and end with competing with China, he said. The Indo-Pacific framework is not a new trick for the U.S. to politicize, weaponize and ideologize economic problems. The country has said repeatedly that it is not seeking a new Cold War with China or opposing China by strengthening relations with its allies, nor is it supporting the Taiwan independence. However, the recent practices of the U.S. are obviously against what the country has said. When the U.S. was selling the so-called Indo-Pacific strategy, it declared that it would change the environment surrounding China, which has fully exposed its intention to contain China. Besides, the U.S. also played the Taiwan card, trying to bring chaos to the Asia-Pacific region after it disrupted other parts of the world. This is extremely dangerous. China will never allow any country to interfere in its domestic affairs, hurt its interests or smear it. It will firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests. This will never change because of the cliques formed by the U.S. or the bluff of the country. Any vicious attempt to contain Chinas development and rejuvenation or disrupt Chinas mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries is doomed to fail. People in Asia-Pacific countries still have a fresh memory of the conflicts led by hegemony. They cherish the hard-won peaceful environment. It is a trend of the times for the region to promote regional integration and build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future. Countries in the region are not willing to take sides, and they have a mainstream voice for getting along with each other for win-win cooperation. The attempts of a few countries to bring military alliances and bloc confrontation to the region will hurt the common interests of regional countries. At the recent U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, ASEAN countries jointly stressed that they wanted peace and cooperation, not divides or confrontation. They said they would not take sides. China is committed to safeguarding the peace and stability, as well as lasting prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. As the largest trading partner for most of the regional countries, it sees its interests deeply intertwined with those of the regional countries. The gigantic market with 1.4 billion people will keep opening up to regional countries, and China will definitely expand mutual benefits with regional countries. Countries that try to isolate China will only end up isolating themselves. Win-win cooperation holds the key to the success of the Asia-Pacific region, not zero-sum confrontation. Only cooperation makes win-win results, while confrontation leads to only a dead end. Both China and the U.S. are Asia-Pacific countries, they could have a similar circle of friends. The Asia-Pacific should become a high ground for peaceful development, not a battleground for geopolitics. Any country that attempts to create camp politics, build an Asia-Pacific version of NATO and wage a new Cold War in the Asia-Pacific region is placing itself on the opposite side of the regional countries that are committed to peace and development. The U.S. should abandon the outdated Cold War mentality, start from the common and long-term interests of the Asia-Pacific region, follow the principles of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace, stability and development. It should make concrete contributions to the regional cooperation of the Asia-Pacific with a healthy mindset. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE Jesse Romo and five of his sons spent Tuesday morning building a concrete slab foundation on a lot at the intersection of Evans and Juarez streets. Overheated, they took a break to talk about what they needed to get done in the afternoon. Then they went silent. We heard gunshots like choo choo, said Romos stepson, Jordan Rodriguez, 30, who smoked a Marlboro cigarette Saturday morning while sitting on a stack of rebar, his jeans tucked into his brown work boots. They thought the gunfire came from Diaz Street, one block to the southeast, where another brother Adam Rodriguez resides. Jesse Romo, 45, told his son, Jared Romo, 20, to get into his white Chevrolet Tahoe. They drove to Diaz Street to make sure Adam was OK. On arrival, we saw the lady coming out of the house full of blood, said Jesse Romo in between shouts to his sons to finish the days work on the concrete slab. She was shot in the face or in the head. The father and son were witnessing the aftermath of Salvador Ramos attack on his grandmother, Celia Gonzales, 66. Ramos, an 18-year-old high-school dropout, shot her in the face after 11 a.m., authorities said. Ramos then drove less than half a mile to Robb Elementary School, crashing into a ditch at about 11:28 a.m. About three minutes later, he entered the school where killed 19 children and two teachers in the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in a decade. Jesse Romo and his sons said they never saw Ramos that morning. After witnessing Gonzalez emerge from her house, Romo said he drove one block east and hit the brakes at a stop sign. Jared Romo dialed 911 at 11:31 a.m., his cell phones call log showed. (Ramos is believed to have shot his grandmother sometime between 11:10 a.m. and 11:21 a.m.) He handed the phone to his father who recalled telling a Uvalde Police Department dispatcher that theres a lady whos been shot on Diaz Street. Back at the construction site, Jordan Rodriguez and his other brothers said they heard more gunfire coming from the direction of Robb Elementary, about half a mile away. We heard tah, tah, tah, tah, tah, Rodriguez said, though he could not recall exactly how many gunshots. About that time, Jesse Romo pulled up to the worksite. Thats when I turned around and told them, Run! Theres (expletive) shooting! he said. Jordan Rodriguez and his brothers ran. They slipped under a metal fence into a neighbors backyard. Then Jesse Romo ordered his sons into the vehicle anddrove off. S.A. VOTES Voter Guide: What to know for the Texas runoff election A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff. Meanwhile, Adam Rodriguez, Jordan Rodriguezs brother, started a Facebook Live video at 11:38 a.m. outside his apartment on Diaz Street. The 8 minute 35 second video shows Uvalde County Sheriffs deputies and emergency personnel streaming in and out of Gonzales home. My neighbor is talking about she heard five shots, Rodriguez is heard saying in the video. Theyre over there searching for somebody down the street. I just know they put a lady in (an ambulance), bandaged up, he said. Later Tuesday, Gonzales who goes by Sally was transported to San Antonios University Hospital, a Level 1 trauma care facility where she remained in serious condition on Friday. Ramos was killed by law enforcement in Robb Elementarys room 112 at 12:50 p.m. In addition to slaying 21 students and teachers with an assault-style rifle, hed wounded 17 others. A little after 1 pm., Jesse Romo drove back to the worksite to retrieve his tools he needed them for the next days work. eric.killelea@express-news.net In the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, schools around the U.S. have brought in additional security staff and restricted visitors as they deal with a new rash of copycat threats. For some families and educators it all has added to uneasiness in the wake of the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jake Green, 34, of Los Alamos, New Mexico, was jolted when he saw a plainclothes police officer for the first time while walking his 7-year-old daughter into school Friday morning. He grew up in Colorado, not far from where two Columbine High School students shot and killed 12 classmates and a teacher in 1999. Green remembers attending memorials and candlelight vigils as a fifth-grader, but hes torn about whether having police at his daughters school is best. In a way, I dont really feel any safer with police around, Green said. Seeing the police there, it really made it seem like the worst possibility was even more possible today. In El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 23 people in a racist 2019 attack that targeted Hispanics at a Walmart, schools are on edge. The El Paso Independent School District has already encountered some reported threats that turned out to be false. They were either students joking or overly-sensitive parents, said Gustavo Reveles Acosta, a district spokesperson. Our community is still raw from that incident, Acosta said. It hits us in a pretty emotional way. The district, which has its own police department, has also stepped up patrolling at all 85 campuses. Officers have been pulled from monitoring traffic or other duties. Schools already have updated camera surveillance systems. Visitors are required to ring a doorbell and show identification before they can enter. The district is making a point to look out for teachers' and students' mental health. A counseling team has been visiting every school to speak about the shooting in Uvalde. They are also urging people to talk in private about any distress. Mia Baucom, a 15-year-old student at a Forth Worth, Texas, high school said it was surreal to think the Uvalde killings happened in her home state. It also stirred memories of a lockdown at her school two months ago that was prompted by a shooting. Im a little more stressed out about it because just the fear of what if that happened at my school? said Baucom, whose last day of school was Thursday. Lets say we get more police officers. Most likely thats not going to stop people from going crazy and just shooting up schools. Schools have ramped up police presence in a host of states, including Connecticut, Michigan and New York, after the shooting Tuesday that left 19 students and two teachers dead. In Buffalo, New York, where a white gunman fatally shot 10 people in a racist attack in a supermarket on May 14, the largest school district announced new security rules effective immediately. Any visitors parents, siblings, vendors have to call ahead for approval. No exceptions will be made. They may be subjected to a search by a wand detector. Doors will be locked at all times. In Jacksonville, Florida, the Duval County Public Schools' chief of school police banned backpacks or large handbags at any school through Friday, the last day of school. Small purses were allowed but could be searched. A discredited threat against a middle school prompted a Texas school district 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Uvalde to end the school year a week early. The Kingsville Independent School District announced Friday would be the last day of school. But students should not see any penalty for the premature end to the year. In light of the tragedy in Uvalde, there has been an enormous amount of stress and trauma. Unfortunately, more stress and trauma are added with copy-cat threats that start circulating such as the one that was sent today for Gillett (Middle School), Superintendent Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez wrote in a statement on the district's website. It's clear staff and students nationwide are on edge as several reports of firearm sightings on campuses have popped up in the past few days. Two Seattle-area schools went into lockdown Friday morning and police eventually recovered an airsoft gun. The Everett, Washington, schools then had their lockdowns lifted. Two people were arrested Thursday after a Denver high school locked down its campus. Police found a paintball gun but no other firearms. Classes were canceled anyway. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Uvalde pastor whose 9-year-old granddaughter was at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday recounted the joyful atmosphere of awards ceremonies in the hours preceding the deadly shooting. Marcela Cabralez said children gathered in groups of four to five classes in the cafeteria of the school with their families present. The ceremonies were staggered throughout the morning in 30-minute intervals. Students went up on stage in front of a maroon curtain decorated with white lights to be presented with awards for various accomplishments. Afterward, each students got to pose for photos with parents and other family members in front of backdrops set up in the cafeteria. It was a festive, happy, joyful time that morning, Cabralez said, recalling how the school grounds were bustling with activity and excitement. The last batch of award ceremonies was at 10:30 a.m., she said, glancing over a schedule that the school had sent out to parents. Cabralez said after each ceremony, parents were given the option to sign their children out and take them home. But the kids wanted to stay, Cabralez said. Thats hard. Im sure its weighing down on the parents. So much is going through peoples minds. Courtesy Marcela Cabralez Cabralez and her husband are pastors at Jesus Christ Revealed Ministries in Uvalde. The born-again Christians have been ministering in the community for the past eight years. Around 11:40 a.m. less than an hour after the last batch of parents would have left the school one of her daughters, who worked in the school cafeteria and the girls niece, called and said the school was going on lockdown. She said the 9-year-old and her third-grade class were in the cafeteria for lunch. Cabralez declined to identify her granddaughter for safety reasons. The family later found out that the staff had locked the doors, and teachers had hidden the children behind that same maroon curtain on the stage for an hour, Cabralez said. After talking to her daughter, she returned a call from a funeral director whose business was across the street from the school. He tells me theyre shooting at the school, and that he got shot at, she said. The Texas Department of Public Safety later confirmed that the gunman fired at him. He was calling because some of the children had been evacuated to the funeral home, and he was looking for her help. I said yes. I rushed over there, she recalled. Five minutes later, she was at the site, along with parents looking for news about their children. Being such a small community, it doesnt take five minutes for word to get around, she said. The gunman had entered the back of the school, Cabralez said. That part of the building is considered the newer portion and contains the fourth-grade classrooms. She offered her take on news reports that the door was unlocked when the gunman entered. Whether we want to call it a failure on the school or not, there was so much activity that morning, she said. It could have been a door left open for parents at that particular moment. The after-effects of the shooting are still being felt by Cabralez and her granddaughter. Two days after the shooting, her granddaughter looked at her during breakfast and said, Grandma, today would have been the last day. I know, mama, she recalled saying. They talked about dropping off juice boxes at the classroom Tuesday morning in preparation for the end-of-school party. Its hard for them right now, Cabralez said of the students. Cabralez wondered aloud about whether she had seen the gunmans face during her years of ministering in Uvalde. I tend to look at people (such as the gunman) as humans that arent born that way and they hurt. They have trauma maybe, Cabralez said. Theres things that cause mental illness, things that cause people to act this way and that needs to be our focus. How can we reach out to our hurting youth? She said issues like child abuse, broken homes and drug addiction are becoming a problem in Uvalde. Cabralez said she herself is in the process of adopting her granddaughter as a result of such issues. I should not be raising my granddaughter, she said. We as a society, we need to take a look at this. In addition to looking at mental health issues, Cabralez backs the idea of more security measures at schools. But for now, shes looking ahead to the vigils and gatherings to come and worrying about how people will talk about the gunman and how their talk will affect the children. Were their teachers, so you imagine they hear us blaming the shooter, the guy who is evil, and hate and unforgiveness. Can you image how children harbor these emotions? she asked. How can we help them to let go and just heal from this or from other things? jbeltran@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LIVE UPDATES: Follow along for the latest news and analysis on the Uvalde school shooting UVALDE For the second time in as many weeks, President Joe Biden on Sunday assumed his role of consoler in chief, comforting the families of the 21 people who died in Tuesdays mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Biden met with survivors and victims loved ones at an event center in this small town, situated about an hour and a half west of San Antonio. Hours before, the president stopped at the memorial site outside the school, wiping away a tear as he and first lady Jill Biden left a bouquet of flowers at the row of white crosses bearing the names of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the massacre. He also attended a noon Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, joining 600 people in their prayers for Uvalde. Tuesdays massacre was the worst school shooting in Texas history. As the president left the church, a spectator shouted at him: Do something! Evan Vucci/AP We will, Biden replied. The schedule was eerily similar to the one in New York 12 days before, when the Bidens met with the families of 10 people who were killed earlier this month during a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket. To everyone impacted by the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: We grieve with you. Biden Tweeted Sunday evening. We pray with you. We stand with you. And were committed to turning this pain into action. At Robb Elementary late Sunday morning, a crowd gathered ahead of Bidens arrival, cheering as he stepped out of his car. Some shouted at him: We need help. We need change. Our children are not safe. Evan Vucci/AP Mother and daughter Alejandra Salas, 55, and Mireya Salas, 25, stood among the onlookers. Theyd come to see Biden and Gov. Greg Abbott, who joined the president at the elementary school alongside U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who both represent Uvalde, and Don McLaughlin, the towns mayor. They need stricter background checks, Mireya Salas said. No one wants to go through this. Alejandra Salas granddaughter, Adelina, was inside Robb Elementary when a gunman wielding an AR-15-style rifle burst into a classroom late Tuesday morning. Adelina is physically OK but traumatized from what she experienced she still hears the gunshots, Alejandra Salas said. Im just so angry, she said. How can someone not be old enough to buy alcohol but old enough to buy a gun? Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The president then headed to Sacred Heart. Biden sat in the front row as San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller led the services. The president did not deliver remarks. The archbishop invited young attendees to sit at the front of the church, where he told them that Jesus prepared a place in heaven for the 19 children who died. Our response must be one of hope and healing, he said. Outside, Laura Tafoya and her husband circled the blocks surrounding the church, curious to see Biden in their hometown. Standing in the scorching heat, they stared at the onslaught of cars and trucks, many of them from law enforcement agencies as far away as Bexar County and the city of Schertz. Ultimately, they did not see the president. They appreciated him visiting the community, but they questioned whether he could actually bring change to gun regulations in Texas. If youre 18, its easy to buy a gun, Tafoya, 60, said in Spanish. Its wrong. There needs to be tough background and psychological checks. Tafoyas 10-year-old nephew is a student at Robb Elementary. He survived the shooting, but Tafoya worries for him, said her 67-year-old husband, who declined to give his name. Biden will make a decision, but he doesnt have all the power, Tafoya said. Evan Vucci/AP People have little hope, her husband added. Everyone is mad. Biden headed to the Uvalde County Fairplex after Mass, spending hours with those affected by the tragedy. The meetings were closed to the public. Biden later met with first responders at the Garner Field airport before leaving Texas. All the political stuff aside, the president being here and paying his respects means a lot, said Salvador Salas Jr., standing near the airport to see Biden off. This means that were not alone. Across the town Sunday, community members were gathering at various restaurants and parks to pray and comfort one another. Dozens of police cars lined the roads near the elementary school and the town square, and residents held up signs on the sidewalks: Uvalde strong and UPD cowards, among others. Meanwhile, hundreds of people lined up outside Robb Elementary to leave flowers and teddy bears at the memorial site. Some had traveled long distances from San Antonio, Houston, El Paso and farther to pay their respects. Olivia Bakke, 17, from San Antonio, stood in line with her father, Richard, holding 19 hobby horses. Shed tied small hearts to the rods, each one bearing the name of a child who died in the attack. Asked about Bidens visit, Richard shook his head. Were not getting into politics, he said. This is to grieve for a lot of parents that lost their children. The poor kids havent even been buried yet, so no politics. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer At a Dollar General about a mile and a half away, 57-year-old Jose Salazar was shopping for supplies to bring back to his cattle ranch on the outskirts of the town. He had no interest in seeing Biden, whos got to come to places like this. Salazar, a gun owner, said he doesnt believe firearms regulations are the answer to school shootings. Instead, schools should bolster security, he said. Earlier Sunday, Jessica Morales, 30, stood outside her aunts house holding a sign emblazoned with the message Enough is Enough. She yelled at Uvalde police vehicles as they passed by. The police will stop you if you have no inspection stickers or go two miles over the speed limit, she said while standing near several other family members. But they are cowards. They held back the parents from going inside the school. They could have rescued the kids. Morales said she wasnt planning to try to catch a glimpse of Biden when he visited that afternoon. But she expressed appreciation that he decided to come. I hope he sees whats going on, she said. I hope he fires the whole police department. cayla.harris@express-news.net 21 Pro Video A man is in critical condition after being shot by a SWAT officer when he raised his gun at the police, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, a mans mother called police to report that her son, 30, had fired two rounds into the air as he left their home on the 1200 block of Ada Street. Honoring our war dead today, we mourn the past and embrace the present. Since the Revolutionary War, our fighting men and women have battled to preserve the freedom we enjoy today. They are gone, but their spirit survives. America would not be America without them. It is this contradiction, the dead breathing life into the present, that makes Memorial Day our most poignant holiday. More than 1 million Americans have died in battles throughout history. From Concord to Afghanistan, the impact has been devastating, touching countless friends, colleagues and loved ones. If Memorial Day has taught us anything, it is that we should defy the calendar. One day is not enough. Our warriors, past and present, deserve more; they deserve a nation that honors them every day not through parades and marches but through lobbying on their behalf. Voters are or can be the most powerful lobby in the land. We must support politicians who support our fighting men and women. Our soldiers have invested in our future; we should invest in theirs. No person was ever honored for what he received, President Calvin Coolidge said. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. Our soldiers have given, and the toll is often unseen. Body armor is no defense against much of the insidious damage war can inflict. When our soldiers return home, many find a new battlefield their psyches. About 10 to 20 of every 100 Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD post-traumatic stress syndrome in any given year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Symptoms include anxiety, depression and mood swings. Flashbacks are common, the eerie feeling that, no matter how far you roam from the battlefield, you can never escape its horrors. Nobody understands what theyve experienced, David Lane, professor of counseling in the College of Professional Advancement at Mercer University, said in a recent online interview. They come home, and everybodys treating you just like the person that left home a year ago, but youre not that person anymore. Since 2009, Veterans Affairs has expanded health care access for more than 1 million patients, but only 41 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans rated government assistance as good or excellent, according to a poll conducted by the Washington Post and the Kaiser Family foundation in 2014. In March, VA Secretary Denis McDonough outlined a 10-year plan to downsize the network of care facilities serving veterans, opting to outsource the treatment to private providers a move that will undermine the quality of care veterans receive, veterans advocates maintain. Each time youre taking resources out and putting them into the private sector, youre leaving VA dying on the vine, Will Fischer, director of government relations for VoteVets.org, said in 2018, when the push for privatizing started gathering momentum. Its bit-by-bit draining of VA. If all this seems dark and gloomy, it gets worse. Our soldiers have returned to a homeland that looks like a war zone, with Americans battling Americans. One of the manifestations of this dynamic is that mass shootings seem as common as petty thefts. Each incident seems more horrific than the last, with 21 killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde the latest example of the insanity gripping our nation. Hold these children, teachers and their families in your hearts this day, and always, too. If we honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day, we should also honor the men and women they died for our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Our soldiers have saved us from tyranny. The last thing we want is to tyrannize ourselves. Thinking, praying for leaders who will act Once again, a horrible event has taken place in the United States, and our leaders have just offered thoughts and prayers. After sharing some thoughts and prayers with my spiritual community as we tried to deal with the tragedy in Uvalde, I found I had additional thoughts and prayers. These had to do with praying all citizens would vote leaders out of office who stand by and do nothing when it comes to violence in America. They fear and depend on the gun lobbies and on the minority of Americans who believe that each of us should be armed to the teeth with military-style weapons of mass murder. And while you are at it, vote out anyone who denies climate change because it, too, destroys the lives of our loved ones and neighbors. And while you are at it, vote out anyone who believes that it is up to them to make medical decisions for our fellow citizens. Whom we elect matters. I pray that we stop electing those who dont care about the well-being of people. Bob Ridewood Posing with guns? Prepare for ouster What does it say about our country when politicians feel posing with an assault rifle or gun in campaign commercials will appeal to their base? Where else in the civilized world do we see that happening? What message does that send? Overinterpretation of the Second Amendment has allowed individuals to own weapons that were designed and developed for war. Enough with the repetitive condolences. They do nothing to stop the trajectory of mass shootings as long as politicians continue to be beholden to the National Rifle Association for campaign funding. The ballot box presents the opportunity for change. Ed Bakunas Vote them out until society is finally safe Now it is no longer safe to go to church, synagogue, school, the grocery store, nightclubs or large music venues. When will our legislators finally enact some commonsense regulations for gun control? How many more people have to die from this madness? I urge everyone to see which legislators support regulations and vote the others out of office. Judy Peterson, Boerne Turn outrage against weapons supporters I am outraged! How do we allow an 18-year-old to buy armored tactical gear and an AR-15-style weapon? These guns are for warfare. This is an unspeakable ask, but I wish one of the parents would show the public their child in an open casket like Emmett Tills mother. Wake up, Americans. Vote out Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and all those who support these weapons of war under the guise of the Second Amendment. Judy Kajander, Canyon Lake Legislation Change must happen; may it start in Texas Enough is enough! How many more lives of innocent victims need to be lost at the hands of mentally deranged gunmen in possession of assault-style weapons before this nation makes a concerted effort to change our gun laws? Let it begin with Texas. No more gun shows, no selling of guns to unstable individuals, a monetary incentive to confiscate assault rifles, searches of bar and club patrons for any type of weapon, rescinding of right to carry laws. Only law enforcement personnel have the right to enforce and protect. Individuals who exhibit tendencies toward hateful acts and violence should be banned from social media and investigated. As an overprotective idealist great-grandmother, I feel the need for changes must take place immediately. Enough is enough! Lucy Reina-Trevino Times have changed; now, so must the law Last week, we saw another example of mass violence. Before that was the Buffalo Tops grocery store mass shooting. When is enough, enough? As a veteran, I took the oath to the Constitution many times. I firmly believe in the Second Amendment. However Heres another perspective. If Im between the ages of 14 and 25, I must take driving instruction to get a license. All of us must take a test. I must register my car. I am required by law to have the car insured to drive it on Texas roads. If I were to use the vehicle and someone dies, I could be charged for vehicular manslaughter. People say that its not the gun, its the person who is responsible. I agree. However, what is the difference between the gun and the car? Today, that difference is the law. I must go through hoops and pay annually for the right to use my car. There are no requirements for the gun. The Second Amendment was created for a reason. In 1789, the memory of British rule where guns were restricted was still present. Guns were needed for hunting as well as protection. This is 2022. Times have changed. I pray that people have grown as well to where we are more civilized. Yet here we are. Children die. People going about life die. When is enough enough? It is time to understand that it is not against the Second Amendment to require tests, licenses or such. We are not living in 1789. Today, take a stand. Recognize the individuals responsibility to each other. Contact your legislators to resolve petty differences and work for the good of the people. If no action is taken, use another of your constitutional rights and vote for those who will. Retired Lt. Col. Kathryn Kitty Meyers, president, MOAA Alamo Chapter Demand gun policies that protect children From dps.texas.gov: There are many laws specific to teen drivers that you are required to follow when applying for and holding a driver license. These laws are designed to educate you about the rules of the road and ensure you practice safe driving habits before being allowed to graduate to the next step. Texas law requires that 18-year-olds follow many steps to get a drivers license. Texas law does not allow 18-year-olds to purchase alcohol. Yet Texas law allows 18-year-olds to purchase assault weapons and body armor, making them more armed than the police officers who protect us. Write Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, we have to demand that gun legislation protect our children. We believe, as a majority of Americans, in better gun control measures, such as a universal background check, where every gun sale in Texas is subject to a background check. Demand our representatives legislate gun control measures that protect our children. Rebecca Baker Well-regulated militia in Uvalde? The horror of Tuesdays mass killing at the Uvalde elementary school is beyond belief. It was an outright massacre. The heartbreak of those parents and grandparents having to identify their childs body tears at body and soul. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. It can happen again and again in a society so caught up in preserving an unborn life that protection of the living isnt important enough to do something about. No parent should fear sending a child to school; no child should be afraid to go to school; no one should be afraid to go to the grocery store or walk across a parking lot. Yet, here we are. Politicians spouting platitudes and sending condolences isnt enough. Their prayers and thoughts will not bring those children back. We need them to pass sensible gun control laws, to rethink the Second Amendment. I doubt this 18-year-old shooter was part of a well-regulated militia. This should make every one of us angry with our lawmakers, angry enough to call, write, email, converge on their offices and get through to them that this Wild West mentality will no longer be tolerated. And vote them out of office. Is this what America has become? Instead of a symbol of hope in a world in turmoil, we have become a land of fear, hate, resentment that ends in another Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde. Where next? Helen Henderson Been there, know need for restrictions Ive had it. Something needs to be done to stop the mass killing of children at school. In 1983, I was taken to a psychiatric hospital in an ambulance with three attendees. Yes, I was in bad mental health. A co-worker grabbed my arm when I was in my car and stopped me from driving away. I wanted to get a gun, go to a childrens home and threaten the staff. The reasons this happened are not important now. What is important is I know the mind of a mass shooter. Strong laws are needed now, not next year. To own a gun, there needs to be background checks on a national scale and psychological evaluations, along with training in gun safety. If the law states that because of my past mental illness, I cannot own a gun, good! I support such a law. I know the hell involved here. Every time I hear of a mass shooting at a school with many children getting killed, I relive the hell. I beg Congress, especially 50 senators, to pass strong laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And if it includes me, so be it. Failure to pass such laws will prove politicians support the gun rights of dangerous people. Garry White, San Marcos Focus on the kids who are already here The powers that be want to protect a fetus while still in the womb. However, once on the ground, it appears a child is on his or her own as there is a critical shortage of baby formula while, at the same time, an ample supply of easily obtainable assault rifles and bullets. Billy Tassos This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LIVE UPDATES: Follow along for the latest news and analysis on the Uvalde school shooting UVALDE For the second time in as many weeks, President Joe Biden on Sunday assumed his role of consoler in chief, comforting the families of the 21 people who died in Tuesdays mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Biden met with survivors and victims loved ones at an event center in this small town, situated about an hour and a half west of San Antonio. Hours before, the president stopped at the memorial site outside the school, wiping away a tear as he and first lady Jill Biden left a bouquet of flowers at the row of white crosses bearing the names of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the massacre. He also attended a noon Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, joining 600 people in their prayers for Uvalde. Tuesdays massacre was the worst school shooting in Texas history. As the president left the church, a spectator shouted at him: Do something! Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer We will, Biden replied. The schedule was eerily similar to the one in New York 12 days before, when the Bidens met with the families of 10 people who were killed earlier this month during a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket. To everyone impacted by the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: We grieve with you. Biden Tweeted Sunday evening. We pray with you. We stand with you. And were committed to turning this pain into action. At Robb Elementary late Sunday morning, a crowd gathered ahead of Bidens arrival, cheering as he stepped out of his car. Some shouted at him: We need help. We need change. Our children are not safe. Mother and daughter Alejandra Salas, 55, and Mireya Salas, 25, stood among the onlookers. Theyd come to see Biden and Gov. Greg Abbott, who joined the president at the elementary school alongside U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who both represent Uvalde, and Don McLaughlin, the towns mayor. They need stricter background checks, Mireya Salas said. No one wants to go through this. Alejandra Salas granddaughter, Adelina, was inside Robb Elementary when a gunman wielding an AR-15-style rifle burst into a classroom late Tuesday morning. Adelina is physically OK but traumatized from what she experienced she still hears the gunshots, Alejandra Salas said. Im just so angry, she said. How can someone not be old enough to buy alcohol but old enough to buy a gun? The president then headed to Sacred Heart. Biden sat in the front row as San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller led the services. The president did not deliver remarks. The archbishop invited young attendees to sit at the front of the church, where he told them that Jesus prepared a place in heaven for the 19 children who died. Our response must be one of hope and healing, he said. Outside, Laura Tafoya and her husband circled the blocks surrounding the church, curious to see Biden in their hometown. Standing in the scorching heat, they stared at the onslaught of cars and trucks, many of them from law enforcement agencies as far away as Bexar County and the city of Schertz. Ultimately, they did not see the president. They appreciated him visiting the community, but they questioned whether he could actually bring change to gun regulations in Texas. If youre 18, its easy to buy a gun, Tafoya, 60, said in Spanish. Its wrong. There needs to be tough background and psychological checks. Tafoyas 10-year-old nephew is a student at Robb Elementary. He survived the shooting, but Tafoya worries for him, said her 67-year-old husband, who declined to give his name. Biden will make a decision, but he doesnt have all the power, Tafoya said. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer People have little hope, her husband added. Everyone is mad. Biden headed to the Uvalde County Fairplex after Mass, spending hours with those affected by the tragedy. The meetings were closed to the public. Biden later met with first responders at the Garner Field airport before leaving Texas. All the political stuff aside, the president being here and paying his respects means a lot, said Salvador Salas Jr., standing near the airport to see Biden off. This means that were not alone. Across the town Sunday, community members were gathering at various restaurants and parks to pray and comfort one another. Dozens of police cars lined the roads near the elementary school and the town square, and residents held up signs on the sidewalks: Uvalde strong and UPD cowards, among others. Meanwhile, hundreds of people lined up outside Robb Elementary to leave flowers and teddy bears at the memorial site. Some had traveled long distances from San Antonio, Houston, El Paso and farther to pay their respects. Olivia Bakke, 17, from San Antonio, stood in line with her father, Richard, holding 19 hobby horses. Shed tied small hearts to the rods, each one bearing the name of a child who died in the attack. Asked about Bidens visit, Richard shook his head. Were not getting into politics, he said. This is to grieve for a lot of parents that lost their children. The poor kids havent even been buried yet, so no politics. At a Dollar General about a mile and a half away, 57-year-old Jose Salazar was shopping for supplies to bring back to his cattle ranch on the outskirts of the town. He had no interest in seeing Biden, whos got to come to places like this. Salazar, a gun owner, said he doesnt believe firearms regulations are the answer to school shootings. Instead, schools should bolster security, he said. Earlier Sunday, 30-year-old Jessica Morales stood outside her aunts house holding a sign emblazoned with the message Enough is Enough. She yelled at Uvalde police vehicles as they passed by. The police will stop you if you have no inspection stickers or go 2 miles over the speed limit, she said while standing near several other family members. But they are cowards. They held back the parents from going inside the school. They could have rescued the kids. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Morales said she wasnt planning to try and catch a glimpse of the Biden when he visited that afternoon. But she expressed appreciation that he decided to come. I hope he sees whats going on, she said. I hope he fires the whole police department. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is now acting as one of the main European gateways for Russian passengers seeking to leave their country amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and economic sanctions. One of the world's leading travel data and analytics companies, ForwardKeys, notes that available seat capacity scheduled in the first week of March from Russia to Serbia shows around a 50% increase compared to February 21, before full-scale military operations began. Capacity will grow all the way through to the start of the 2022 summer season, on March 27, with Air Serbia yet to update its schedules for the coming summer on its Russia routes, although the airline may be unable to restore its seasonal operations to the airports of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar which are currently closed by Russian authorities due to their proximity to the war zone. The number of tickets issued from Russia for onward travel via Serbia surged 60% in the week immediately after the start of the war compared to the whole of January. Although 85% of Russian transfers via Belgrade were destined to Montenegro during the first month of the year, the figure declined to 40% in the week after the start of the war, as Serbia became a hub for onward travel to other European countries. The main markets for onward travel for Russian passengers via Belgrade, following Montenegro, are Cyprus, France, Switzerland and Italy. Serbia is also one of the rare European markets to see its global flight bookings decline less than 10% following the start of the war, with most other European markets registering a decline of between 30% and 50%. The Vice President of Insights at ForwardKeys noted, Whats most notable is the speed with which Serbia has become the gateway for travel between Russia and Europe. However, these are early days in a global political and economic crisis; so, what happens to travel will certainly be affected by the progress of the war and the impact of sanctions. With Air Serbia doubling its capacity to Russia over the coming weeks, its flights have been selling out fast, most notably in the direction from Moscow to Belgrade. A number of passengers are also using Belgrade to transfer via other European carriers including Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and KLM. Fare variations for Moscow - Belgrade service Fairfield, MT (59436) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 46F. E winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 46F. E winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph. For all of us who fought in our countrys Southeast Asian wars, we have stories; yet it is not easy to talk or write about them. For this Memorial Day, I will share a story about incredible bravery and compassion, a story most Montanans dont know about. This is the compelling account of Col. Fred Vann Cherry, the senior African-American Prisoner of War in Vietnam. Cherry, the first and the highest-ranking Black officer among POWs during the Vietnam War, had close ties to Montana, having served at Great Falls Air Force Base, marrying and beginning a family there. Raised near Hampton Roads, Virginia, young Fred Cherry was fascinated by military aircraft flying low over his home and performing aerial maneuvers. He attended segregated public schools in Virginia, determined to become a military aviator. After graduation from his segregated college just three years after the creation of the U.S. Air Force and the integration of the military, in 1951 he took the test for flight school at Langley AFBand passed with the highest score. Cherry was on his way to become one of the earliest Black pilots in the integrated air force. Commissioned second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings, he immediately deployed to Korea, flying F-84 combat missions. At wars end, Capt. Cherry reported for duty at Great Falls Air Force Base, where he flew F-84s with the 515th Strategic Fighter Squadron. He soon met Shirley Ann Brown, a hostess at a night club. Shirley, daughter of William R. and Pearl Lindsay Brown, was 22, with 10 siblings, and was looking for a ticket out of Great Falls. Her mother was the daughter of a long-serving Buffalo Soldier, and Shirley had heard family stories of military life. Cherry was a dashing, handsome jet fighter pilot, breaking racial barriers in the Air Force. The couple married in July 1954, and their first son was born a year later. Cherry became the favorite wingman of his commander, Col. Murray Bywater, flying to bases around the country. The Cherrys remained in Great Falls for three years, and by then the base had been renamed in honor of Col. Einar Malmstrom a story for another day. By the early 1960s, Cherry was serving with the 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Itazuke Air Base, Japan, flying F-100 Super Sabres on nuclear alert. While there, he transitioned to the air forces newest tactical aircraft, the F-105 Thunderchief, and with his squadron deployed to Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, one of the first air force units to fight in Southeast Asia. Relocating to Takhli AFB, Cherry served as a flight leader, exercising major control over the mission all this in an era when many still believed that Black service members were unfit to command in battle. Yet White officers coveted selection to fly in Cherrys flight. His nickname Chief connoted respect, and his senior officers gave him rave reviews. While the Navy launched aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Air Force operated, from bases in Thailand. Newly promoted, Maj. Cherry and his squadron flew F-105 tactical bombers against targets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to disrupt the flow of supplies from the North to the Viet Cong in the South. In February 1965, after Viet Cong attacks on an American compound and helicopter base in South Vietnam, bombing targets opened up in North Vietnam. One month later, the massive Rolling Thunder campaign brought thousands of sorties by both air force and navy aircraft over North Vietnam. In response, with aid from the Russians and Chinese, North Vietnam rapidly fielded a sophisticated air defense system. On Oct. 22, 1965, while leading his squadron on a low-altitude mission to attack a radar in North Vietnam, his F-105 was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Cherry described his ordeal: The plane exploded, and I ejected at about 400 feet at over 600 miles an hour. In the process of ejection, I broke my left ankle, my left wrist, and crushed my left shoulder. I was captured immediately upon landing by Vietnamese militia and civilians. I remember thinking, Damn, Ill be here a long time. Cherry was the 43rd American captured by North Vietnam and the first Black airman. Imprisoned in Cu Loc Prison, the Zoo, his captors assigned young Navy Ensign Porter Halyburton, a white southerner, to Cherrys cell in an effort to foster racial strife. For eight months, they would live together. Cherry, a virtual invalid at the time, would have died without Halyburton changing the dressings on his infected wounds, feeding him, bathing him and watching over him. In Cherrys words, I was helpless. He nursed me back to health. In turn, caring for Cherry rescued Halyburton from his own despair. Halyburton said, Id never seen somebody who was so tough. Once I was in with Fred, it gave me something important to do, a meaning in my life. Together, they were not men of conflicting races, but fellow Americans helping each other survive the brutal regime of their captors. The bond they made in that dark and dirty prison cell led to a lifelong friendship. On the night of July 6, 1966, Halyburton, with about 60 other POWs, was forced to march through the streets of Hanoi, barely surviving the vilification and physical abuse of Vietnamese mobs. Meanwhile, that same night, Cherry endure excruciating pain while undergoing a third operation on his severely infected shoulder without anesthetic. Five days later, the Vietnamese captors realized at last that their racial ploy had failed completely, and Halyburton was moved to another cell. As they parted, the Black American and the white American hugged, cried and said heartfelt goodbyes. Cherry wrote later, That was the most lonesome night I ever spent in my life. Halyburton considered their parting as one of the saddest days of my life, adding, I was in awe of him, and I had learned to love him. Cherry was captured just as the North Vietnamese cracked down on their American prisoners imposing what the prisoners called the Exploitation Era. Senior Navy POW Cmdr. James Bond Stockdale was shot down a month before this change of policy and bravely assumed leadership of all the prisoners. He later observed, By carrying out a new policy action (of extreme torture), North Vietnam had crossed a boundary. Henceforth, Americans were to be allowed to stay within the bounds of name, rank, serial number, and date of birth only at North Vietnamese sufferance. This change imposed the Exploitation Era. The North Vietnamese knew the critical importance of public opinion. Torture, the captors believed, would be the tool to extract prisoner confessions and statements that could be used to sway American and world opinion. Throughout his captivity, Cherry consistently and bravely resisted pressure from his captors to publicly comment on racism in the United States, for which he was repeatedly tortured and placed in solitary confinement. Cherry related, They wanted it from me more than anybody because I was a major, the senior black officer. They wanted it bad. In response, his line of resistence became, They will have to kill me. Im not going to denounce my government or shame my people. He spent 702 days in solitary confinement, with the longest period lasting 53 weeks. At one time he was either tortured or in punishment for 93 straight days. After spending 2,671 days in captivity, on Feb. 12, 1973, newly promoted Col. Fred Perry boarded the first flight from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base to join Operation Homecoming. There Cherry and Halyburton would reunite once more. Cherry and Cmdr. Halyburton remained in close contact over the years, and together they gave many talks at military institutions and colleges. In 2004, they toured to promote a book about their story, Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship that Saved Two POWs in Vietnam, by James S. Hirsch. Cherry was featured also in a public television documentary narrated by Tom Hanks, Return with Honor, about Vietnam fighter pilots held as POWs. Remaining on active duty, Cherry attended the National War College in Washington, D.C., and then commanded the Defense Intelligence Agency until retiring in 1981. Living in Silver Springs, Maryland, he worked as a technical consultant and manager for several businesses, while dedicating time as a member of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. to urge Black youth to study subjects leading to a career in aviation. President Ronald Reagan named him to serve on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board. On Feb. 16, 2016, Cherry died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 87. He was interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His legacy is continued by a college scholarship fund and the Col. Fred Cherry Middle School in his hometown, Suffolk, Virginia. Cherrys larger-than-life likeness in oil, Portrait of a Fighter Pilot, hangs in the POW Alcove of Honor in the Pentagon. This account was adapted from Ken Robisons "Cold War Montana." Other sources include: Hirsch, James S. "Two Souls Indivisible: the Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam"; Charlotte Observer, July 29, 1984. Robison of Great Falls is a historian, author and trustee of the Montana Historical Society. Farmers are being warned their harvest could be at risk if they don't fit fire suppression system to their combines, as NFU Mutual dealt with claims from 124 combine blazes last year. The rural insurer said this was up 35 percent from the previous year, with fires in 2021 including ten combines worth over 100,000 each. Fire suppression system automatically trigger extinguishers if a small fire is detected in the machine. Theres an even stronger case to do fit the systems this year, as replacement combines and spares are likely to be hard to get hold of. And any delays in harvesting highly valuable arable crops are likely to be very costly this harvest. Following a testing programme on combine harvesters, NFU Mutual said it recommended P-Mark accredited fire suppression systems. The P-mark approved suppression kits involve dual agent systems which have two cylinders, one with powder and the other with a foam. The powder acts by interrupting the chemical reaction taking place and cutting off the oxygen supply. The foam suppressing agent in the second cylinder rapidly cools superhot surfaces of over 200C in larger engine bays which also hold turbo chargers and filters. Bob Henderson, from the agricultural engineering team at NFU Mutual said: Suppression systems significantly reduce the risk of serious combine fires, and we urge farmers to fit them. "An unchecked fire can easily lead to a huge blaze which puts lives at risk, and can easily spread through dry crops and even engulf property and neighbouring fields." The P-mark is a global standard which brings together best practice from Europe. This accreditation confirms that the product is type-tested and that installation and fitting is inspected. This approach ensures that any suppression system is suitably tested and appropriate for the conditions in which agricultural vehicles are being used. What can I do to prevent fires? NFU Mutual has provided farmers with tips and guidance to prevent fires this harvest: On newer machines fitted with information screens please ensure you follow all the guidance displayed during start up process. On older machines ensure all recommended daily checks are carried out Regularly clean out dust and chaff from hot spots in combines and balers and check the machine over when you finish use Fit a suppression system that meets P-mark status to contain, extinguish and prevent fire Switch off engines and ensure moving parts have stopped before clearing blockages or carrying out maintenance Always stop to investigate hot-running engines or bearings Have a plan in place in the event of fire including a system for keeping in contact with lone workers Keep mobile phones on you at all times - not left in a tractor or pickup cab Make sure drivers are aware of the locations and heights of power lines and check that machinery will safely pass under wires Ensure there is a fire extinguisher on the combine that it is regularly maintained - and that you know where the nearest water source is Use a mobile compressor (or a fixed one if fitted to the combine) to regularly blow away debris from the machine, but only do so if the exit pressure is reduced Indian novelist Geetanjali Shree is awarded the coveted International Booker Prize 2022 for her Hindi novel Tomb of Sand. It is the first time that a book originally published in any Indian language has won the prestigious award. The International Booker Prize is granted annually to only one book that has been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The reward of GBP 50,000 is divided evenly between the author and the translator. Daisy Rockwell, a Vermont-based painter, writer, and translator, has translated the novel, which was originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi, into English. Geetanjali, who won the prize alongside Daisy at a ceremony in London on Thursday, said she was completely overwhelmed by the bolt from the blue. Daisy, who joined her on stage to accept the prize, called it a love letter to the Hindi language. I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition, Im amazed, delighted, honored and humbled, she expressed her gratitude during her acceptance speech. There is a melancholy satisfaction in the award going to it. Ret Samadhi/Tomb of Sand is an elegy for the world we inhabit, lasting energy that retains hope in the face of impending doom. The Booker will surely take it to many more people than it would have reached otherwise, that should do the book no harm, she said. The 64-year-old novelist expressed her delight at being the first piece of fiction in Hindi to enter the Booker shortlist, saying it feels nice to be the method through which it happened. But behind me and this book lies a rich and flourishing literary tradition in Hindi, and in other South Asian languages. World literature will be richer for knowing some of the finest writers in these languages. The vocabulary of life will increase from such an interaction, she stated. Ultimately, we were captivated by the power, the poignancy and the playfulness of Tomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shrees polyphonic novel of identity and belonging, in Daisy Rockwells exuberant, coruscating translation, Frank Wynne, head of the judging panel, stated. This is a luminous novel of India and partition, but one whose spellbinding brio and fierce compassion weaves youth and age, male and female, family and nation into a kaleidoscopic whole, he observed. Tomb of Sand, situated in northern India, follows the journey of an 80-year-old lady in a story described as a joyous cacophony and an irresistible novel by the Booker judges. To her familys dismay, the books 80-year-old protagonist, Ma, persists in visiting Pakistan, simultaneously addressing the unresolved anguish of her youthful Partition memories and re-evaluating what it signifies to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, and a feminist. The Booker jury was captivated by Geetanjalis fun tone and vibrant wordplay, which resulted in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original whilst being a pressing and appropriate rebellion against the damaging effect of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or genders. Next Story : Captain Abhilasha Barak Becomes Indian Armys First Woman Combat Aviator Geetanjali has three books and various story collections to her credit. Her writings have been translated into other languages, including English, French, German, Serbian, and Korean. Tomb of Sand, which was initially published in Hindi in 2018, is the first of her works to be released in English in the UK by Tilted Axis Press in August 2021. The prestigious film festival held at the French Riviera has come to an end as the nine-member jury gave out the awards for the 75th edition of this festival. The Swedish movie Triangle of Sadness won the glorious Palme dOr, the biggest honour at the event. Meanwhile, the Indian movie All That Breathes won the LOeil dOr for the best documentary. Triangle of Sadness was Ruben Ostlunds portrayal of a class welfare comedy, which won the top prize. Multiple Korean movies also won awards for their movies. The awards were presented in a closing ceremony at the Cannes Grand Lumiere Theatre. It was selected and presented by a nine-member jury, headed by Vincent Lindon, a French actor. The nine-member jury also included Deepika Padukone. This marks the second time Ruben Ostlund wins the prestigious Palme dOr. He won the award in 2017 for his previous movie, The Square. The Triangle of Sadness features Woody Harrelson as the protagonist. The Grand Prix, which is the second-highest honour was shared by Belgian director Lukas Dhonts movie Close. The feature film received a standing ovation for ten minutes when it was screened at the festival. It was shared with Claire Denis Stars at Noon which stars Margaret Qualley as a journalist working in Nicaragua. This marks the second time Ruben Ostlund wins the prestigious Palme dOr. He won the award in 2017 for his previous movie, The Square. The Triangle of Sadness features Woody Harrelson as the protagonist. The Grand Prix, which is the second-highest honour was shared by Belgian director Lukas Dhonts movie Close. The feature film received a standing ovation for ten minutes when it was screened at the festival. It was shared with Claire Denis Stars at Noon which stars Margaret Qualley as a journalist working in Nicaragua. Park Chan-Wook, a South Korean director, won the Best Director Award for his film Decision To Leave.The mystery movie captures the love story between an insomniac investigator and an alluring suspect. Song Kang Ho was named Best Actor for his work in the Korean film Broker.The actor also starred in Oscar-winning movie Parasite. Meanwhile, the Best Actress Award went to the Iranian actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi for her portrayal of a journalist in Ali Abbassis Holy Spider. The list of winners at the 75th Cannes Film Festival are as follows: Palme d'Or- Triangle of Sadness Grand Prix- Close and Stars at Noon (shared) Jury Prize- The Eight Mountains and EO (shared) Best Director- Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave) Best Actor- Song Kang Ho (Broker) Best Actress- Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider) Best Screenplay- Tarik Saleh (Boy from Heaven) Camera dOr- War Pony Jury Special Award- Tori and Lokita L'Oeil d'Or- All That Breathes Jury Special Award (documentary)- Mariupolis 2 This document updates the previous news release, dated May 26th, 2022, to include the exchange and ticker symbol for Synex Renewable Energy Corporation. No other changes were required in the body of the release. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 27, 2022) - Daniel J. Russell announces today that on May 25, 2022 he acquired ownership of 2,000 common shares (the "Purchased Shares") in the capital of Synex Renewable Energy Corporation (TSX: SXI) (formerly, Synex International Inc.) (the "Issuer"), representing approximately 0.05% of the issued and outstanding common shares (the "Common Shares") in the capital of the Issuer (the "Acquisition"). The Purchased Shares were acquired through normal course purchases through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange for C$2.98 per Purchased Share in cash, for an aggregate amount equal to C$5,960. Prior to the Acquisition, Mr. Russell owned, or had control or direction over, 2,233,379 Common Shares and 24,000 options to purchase Common Shares ("Options"), representing approximately 55.94% of issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. After the Acquisition, Russell owns, or has control of direction over, 2,235,379 Common Shares and 24,000 Options, representing approximately 55.99% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. Mr. Russell acquired the Shares for investment purposes. Mr. Russell may from time to time acquire additional securities, dispose of some or all of the existing or additional securities or may continue to hold the securities of the Issuer. This press release is being issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues which requires a report to be filed under the Issuer's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) containing additional information respecting the foregoing matters. The Issuer's head office is located at 4248 Broughton Ave., Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 0A4. For inquiries or a copy of the related early warning report required under Canadian provincial securities legislation, a copy of which has also been filed on www.sedar.com, please contact: Daniel J. Russell 524 Locust Street Burlington, Ontario L7S 1V2 Telephone: 905-646-7545 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/125659 The police said that they were directed to treat the case carefully in view of the sensitivities involved. Representational image/DC ADILABAD: The Narnoor police said that the murder of a 21-year-old woman, Rajeshwari Pawar, was an honour killing by her father. The incident was reported on May 27. Police said Rajeshwari had married a Muslim man, Sheik Aleem, both residents of Nagalkonda in Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district, against her familys wishes. The couple had eloped to Latur in Maharashtra, where they got married and were living with the support of Aleems family. The womans parents had claimed that she was abducted by Aleem and filed a missing person complaint with the police. Aleem and his family members were booked under SC and ST Atrocity Act, sections of kidnap and under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act-2013 following the complaint. The police traced the couple through their cellphone signals and brought them back to the village. Aleem and his family members were arrested, but the family members were later released on bail. Meanwhile, the village panchayat ordered the couple to separate. Rajeshwari did not agree with their decision. Police said she had attempted suicide, and was admitted to RIMS, Adilabad, and saved. Upon her recovery, she threatened that she would inform the police that she had not been abducted by Aleem. Following this, police said, her father Devidas killed her. The police said that they were directed to treat the case carefully in view of the sensitivities involved. Aleem continues to be lodged in Adilabad jail, with his family trying to secure his release. Bud, a Singapore-based provider of a metaverse UGC platform, raised $36.8M in Series B funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from ClearVue Partners, NetEase, Northern Light Venture Capital, GGV Capital, Qiming Venture Partners and Source Code Capital. The company intends to use the funds to further develop its creation tools, grow its global user base and roll out web3 products for its metaverse ecosystem. Founded in 2019 by former Snap engineers, Risa Feng and Shawn Lin, Bud is a metaverse UGC platform encouraging users to generate and share 3D interactive experiences with creation tools. It allows creators to build 3D experiences from scratch by using geometric modules and interactive props. Apart from adding texts, pictures, music and videos to enrich experiences, lighting and sky-box can be adjusted as well to create an immersive environment. To date, over 15 million 3D experiences and assets have been created on the platform and user-generated 3D assets have been traded more than 150 million times. The company has revealed plans to launch its own NFT marketplace. FinSMEs 29/05/2022 Truck built and sitting at the depot! I ordered my truck on 9/21/2021, it shipped a month ago and has been sitting in the Orlando Depot for over 3 weeks. The estimated delivery date has slipped 7 times!!! I called Ford customer service, and they contacted the logistics department. They typically take 5 days to reply. I considered driving up to the depot to see if there is anyone I can pay (bribe) to get my F4350 onto a delivery truck. I am not sure if there is anything else I can do.??? Has anyone had success at solving this problem? BTW: Ford can fix this issue. Tell the depot that they have 5 days to deliver a vehicle or the dealer will be able to pick up the vehicle. And any money owed to the depot would go to the dealer. -B Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi had last year informed the Lok Sabha that Bihar holds the highest share of India's gold reserves. (Representational Image/ Shutterstock) Patna: The Bihar government has decided to accord permission for exploration of the "country's largest" gold reserve in Jamui district, a senior official said on Saturday. As per a Geological Survey of India (GSI) survey, around 222.88 million tonnes of gold reserve, including 37.6 tonnes of mineral-rich ore, are present in Jamui district. "The state Mines and Geology Department is in consultation with agencies engaged in exploration, including GSI and the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), for exploration of gold reserves in Jamui. "The consultation process started after analysing the GSI findings which indicated the presence of gold in areas such as Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono in Jamui district," Additional Chief Secretary cum Mines Commissioner Harjot Kaur Bamhrah told PTI. She said the state government is likely to sign an MoU with a central agency or agencies for G3 (preliminary) stage exploration within a month's time. In certain areas, G2 (general) exploration can also be carried out, Bamhrah said. Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi had last year informed the Lok Sabha that Bihar holds the highest share of India's gold reserves. In a written reply, he had said that Bihar has 222.885 million tonnes of gold metal, which amounts to 44 per cent of the total gold reserves in the country. "As per the National Mineral Inventory, the total resources of primary gold ore in the country as on 1.4.2015 are estimated at 501.83 million tonnes with 654.74 tonnes of gold metal and out of this, Bihar is endowed with 222.885 million tonnes (44 per cent) of ore containing 37.6 tonnes of metal," Joshi had said. HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Saturday found fault with judicial officers for setting aside awards passed by the Lok Adalats. It observed that when the Supreme Court had reiterated several times that the awards of Lok Adalats could be challenged only by filing a writ petition under Article 226 or Article 227 of the Constitution in the High Court and that too on very limited grounds, it was binding to all courts in the country. Justice A. Venkateshwara Reddy, while dealing with a petition which complained that the settled law had been violated by a junior civil judge in the Warangal court, observed that the said judicial officer had committed grave jurisdictional error by setting aside the award passed by Lok Adalat in 2006, for which he was not authorised. The Lok Adalat led by the secretary of District Legal Services Authority in Warangal had passed an award in 2006 in a suit for scheduled property by compromising both the parties. However, one of the litigants filed a petition before the Warangal court challenging that award and requested it be set aside. In 2015, while setting aside the award, the principal junior civil judge made observations in the orders stating, The evidence clearly shows that for the purpose of obtaining the decree of compromise, one of the parties (litigant) kept the life of the husband of the other party under threat and compelled her to sign on terms of compromise. So, the terms of compromise itself are vitiated by coercion. Consequently, the award passed by the Lok Adalat based on these terms of compromise is illegal. The order and the way the junior civil judge interfered with the AWARD was faulted by the High Court, when it was challenged before it. Justice Venkateshwara Reddy maintained that the principal junior civil judge usurped the jurisdiction which was not vested in him and the order under revision was beyond the jurisdiction of principal junior civil judge. Sydney, March 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of BuddeComm report outlines the latest developments and key trends in the telecoms markets. - https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Bhutan-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW In this document, BICMA outlined a launch timetable along with a set of measures covering the rollout of 5G networks in the country. Notably, the regulator anticipated holding off a launch of commercial services until 2022. It cited a need for operators to learn from the experiences of 5G deployments taking place in other parts of the world. The two MNOs in Bhutan, B-Mobile and Tashi Cell, apparently learnt quickly! In December 2021, both operators launched 5G services in areas of Thimphu, Paro, and Phuentsholing. Still, there is a downside to getting ahead of the regulators schedule: Theres only limited spectrum available for 5G at present, and what is in use is only supported by a small number of handsets. B-Mobiles 5G service is only accessible to customers with selected Vivo models, while Tashi Cell is offering its 5G service on a total of five models from Samsung and Huawei. Both operators are testing Apple iPhone products and hope to certify them for use in 2022. Otherwise, the wait is on for additional spectrum to be re-farmed from existing communications services. Key developments: B-Mobile and Tashi Cell launch 5G services for a selected range of handsets. Tashi Cell reaches parity in mobile market share with the incumbent provider B-Mobile. Bank of Bhutan launches two mobile-based digital banking platforms: eLoan and goBoB. Companies mentioned in this report Bhutan Telecom, Tashi InfoComm, B-Mobile, Tashi Cell, DrukNet. Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Bhutan-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW Dublin, May 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Latin America Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook Q1 2022 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The social commerce industry in Latin America is expected to grow by 34.4% on annual basis to reach US$6205.8 million in 2022. The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 28.9% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$6205.8 million in 2022 to reach US$27370.6 million by 2028. Over the last four to eight quarters, the social commerce industry has gained rapid momentum across Latin America, especially in Brazil and Mexico. The trend is also gaining momentum in other Latin American countries, such as Argentina, where the e-commerce industry has recorded significant growth ever since the outbreak of Covid-19. In parallel to the growth achieved by the e-commerce sector, buying through social media platforms has also gained popularity among consumers. While the major chunk of online shoppers still prefers buying through e-commerce platforms, the popularity of the social commerce business model is gaining ground in the region. With the growing popularity of the social commerce industry in Latin America, the publisher expects more and more consumers to adopt social commerce in the region over the next four to eight quarters. With changes in consumer purchasing behavior expected to persist in the post-pandemic era, the publisher expects the social buyer penetration rate to record strong growth from the short-term perspective in Mexico. According to Q1 2022 Social Commerce Market Survey, the social buyer penetration rate in Mexico reached 31% in 2021, which is second only to Brazil at 39% in the Latin American region. As more and more shoppers buy products and services online, the publisher expects a strong inflow of investment from global investors, including venture capital and private equity firms, over the next eight quarters. Innovative social commerce startups are bringing e-commerce to the non-digital consumers in Mexico In Latin America, a large proportion of consumers still do not have access to digital channels, such as e-commerce platforms and mobile wallets. Moreover, consumers are also wary of the growing concerns around online fraud. Social commerce platforms are innovating with their product offerings in Mexico to tap into this consumer demographic. According to recent survey, more than half of the Brazilian consumers have made a social commerce purchase in the last four to six quarters. The growing internet and smartphone penetration rate among consumers is supporting the growth of the social commerce market in Brazil. Moreover, the shift towards digital channels has also resulted in an increased social buyer penetration rate in Brazil. According to the publisher, Brazil is projected to achieve a social buyer penetration rate of nearly 40%, which is the highest among all of the Latin American countries. For social commerce shoppers in Brazil, features that help them discover and evaluate potential purchases play a much more important role as compared to pricing and discounts. Consequently, it is crucial for social commerce platforms to emphasize their user interface to make shopping more convenient for shoppers in the country. Online influencers are assisting the growth of the social commerce industry in Brazil In Brazil, online influencers are also driving the growth of the social commerce industry. Online influencers are playing an important role in getting consumers to buy products through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. According to recent survey, more than 60% of the consumers have made purchases through these platforms without leaving the applications. As of August 2021, nearly 26.5% of the consumers made purchases on social commerce live streams. With the credibility of influencers reaching more than 75% in Brazil, the publisher expects online influencers to keep driving social commerce sales through live streams and promotional campaigns over the next four to eight quarters. This will subsequently assist the growth of the overall social commerce industry in Brazil from the short to medium-term perspective. Approximately 40% of the consumers in Argentina have made purchases through social commerce platforms. However, as the business model becomes clearer to consumers, the adoption rate is expected to surge significantly from the short to medium-term perspective. Social networks are offering tools to small businesses to gain market share in Argentina Social media platforms offer small business owners tools to set up their virtual shops on the platform to penetrate the social commerce sector. During the global pandemic, this strategy of offering tools to businesses helped social networks to gain widespread popularity in the social commerce market in Argentina. Moreover, the shift toward online shopping among consumers has also led these social media platforms to innovate with their service offerings in the last few quarters. With the online shopping trend expected to continue among consumers in the post-pandemic era, social media platforms and networks are projected to further provide businesses with tools that can help them generate increased sales and revenues. The publisher expects this to further boost the growth of the social commerce industry in Argentina from the short to medium-term perspective. Report Scope Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028 Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028 Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028 Clothing & Footwear Beauty and Personal Care Food & Grocery Appliances and Electronics Home Improvement Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028 B2B B2C C2C Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028 Mobile Desktop Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Domestic Cross Border Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Tier-1 Cities Tier-2 Cities Tier-3 Cities Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028 Credit Card Debit Card Bank Transfer Prepaid Card Digital & Mobile Wallet Other Digital Payment Cash For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/latpeh About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Scottsdale, May 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scottsdale, Arizona - Scottsdale, AZ -- With Memorial Day just around the corner, Zoma Sleep has announced a couple of ways people can save money. A spokesman for the company claimed, "This is the perfect opportunity for people to enjoy a better night's sleep especially since were already running the best Memorial Day mattress sales." Recently, Zoma Sleep, a leading mattress brand in the United States, has been making headlines for its award-winning mattresses. The brand is well known on social media platforms as the mattress of choice among professional athletes and active individuals. Zoma is also known for helping consumers save money without sacrificing quality. This Memorial Day Mattress Sale in 2022 is one of the best of the year. Buying a new bed to accompany a new mattress is usually a good idea for most people. Thats why Zoma Sleep offers its 30% off adjustable bed promotion which is one of the best Memorial Day bed deals around. For more information on Zoma Sleep's best Memorial Day mattress sales, visit their website. Each and every product at Zoma Sleep is designed to enhance your rest and performance. We want to make sure that Americans get a good night's sleep so that they can recover from strenuous exercise or a long workday. Stress can be alleviated by a good night's sleep as well. People often delay purchasing a mattress until it is too late because they believe that mattresses are expensive. Our Memorial Day mattress sales in 2022 are, however, the best in the business, said a spokesperson for Zoma Sleep. Mattresses from Zoma Sleep are available in all standard sizes at $150 off. They are also made in the US, feature cutting-edge technology, and come with free shipping, a 100-night sleep trial, and a 10-year warranty. About Zoma Sleep Zoma Sleep is an American brand thats known for designing and manufacturing some of the best mattresses that money can buy. The brands mattresses are highly sought after by pro athletes and active individuals alike. The company offers free returns, free shipping, and all mattresses are backed by a 10-year warranty. ### For more information about Zoma Sleep, LLC, contact the company here: Zoma Sleep, LLC Danny Wong 888-400-8856 support@zomasleep.com 7167 E Rancho Vista Dr #137, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Gandhinagar: Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Centre and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will soon undertake an ambitious project to computerise around 65,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in the country. Speaking at the 'Sahkar Se Samruddhi' conclave of cooperative entities here at Mahatma Mandir auditorium, he also said the Union government was planning to bring in several amendments to the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present at the event. "There are nearly 65,000 PACS in the country. We have decided to computerise all these PACS with the help of NABARD. This will prove to be a revolutionary step for our agricultural finance credit system. There will be common software for all PACS, and NABARD will get details on a daily basis, such as daily business and recovery of these PACS," said Shah. The system will bring transparency and stop cooperative societies from going bankrupt, he said, adding that the government was working to make the PACS "multipurpose". "We are also bringing in a lot of amendments to Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act. Work is also on to prepare a national database of cooperative entities, as there is no such database at present in the country. We are also in talks with state governments to change the audit system for cooperative societies," said Shah. "All these changes will bring in more transparency in purchase and recruitment processes and eventually make cooperatives more trustworthy among the masses. I am confident the cooperative sector will rise again to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of making India a USD 5 trillion economy," he added. On the occasion, Shah announced that Amul -- the brand owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation -- will soon set up a laboratory in its AmulFed dairy unit in Gandhinagar to certify organic products which will be sold through a cooperative network across the country. Shah thanked prime minister Modi for the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation last year, adding that it was a long-pending demand of the cooperative sector. "This is a revolutionary step by PM Modi and crores of farmers and others associated with cooperatives know that the formation of a separate ministry will give a new lease of life to this sector for another 100 years," said Shah. He also listed various steps the Modi government has taken for the benefit of the cooperative sector, such as reduction in surcharge and minimum alternate tax on cooperatives and abolition of income tax on additional income of cooperative sugar mills. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Retail Stars list, sponsored by AmericasMart Atlanta and Las Vegas Market, publishes each year in Home Accents Today's May issue. Members of the home furnishings industry are invited to suggest stores, and retailers are encouraged to submit information describing their businesses. This year's list was compiled and narrowed down by Research Director Joanne Friedrick and the editors of Home Accents Today. Absolutely Fabulous, owned by Diane Silverstein, is at 6026 Warner Avenue, in Huntington Beach, California. The Retail Stars list, now in its 18th year, recognizes independent brick-and-mortar retailers of home accents including furniture stores, home accessories boutique stores and interior design showrooms that merchandise creatively, have a positive presence in their local communities and stand out from the competition. "Home Accents Today's 2022 Retail Stars list showcases some of the best independent home decor and home furnishings retailers in the country," said Home Accents Today Editor-in-Chief Allison Zisko. "No sooner had the industry adjusted to trade show cancellations, lockdowns and mask mandates than it had to deal with extreme supply chain delays and soaring prices. Although this has not yet dampened consumers' desire for home products, it has made the day-to-day challenges of running a retail business even harder. Our Retail Stars have demonstrated, with enthusiasm and commitment plus a little grit and determination that they are up to the task." Despite a store closure in 2019 due to flooding, followed by the pandemic, Ab Fab has earned multiple awards and grown during that time. For more information, contact: Allison Zisko, Editor-in-Chief Home Accents Today azisko@bridgetowermedia.com Diane Silverstein, Owner Absolutely Fabulous Unique Gifts & Decor diane@abfabhb.com Related Images Image 1: Absolutely Fabulous Unique Gifts & Decor 2022 Retail Star honoree Absolutely Fabulous' award-winning windows that face Springdale, just south of Warner, in Huntington Beach, CA This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, May 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Society of Professional Engineers and Associates announced today that it has initiated strike action at the Darlington nuclear site in Ontario. For nearly six months we have been at the bargaining table in good faith trying to get a fair and reasonable contract with Candu Energy, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, said Reza Ziaei, Specialist Resident Engineer, and Vice President of SPEA. Lack of progress at the table and SNC-Lavalins anti-union tactics have left us with no choice but to initiate strike action. SPEA members voted overwhelmingly (94%) in support of strike action. Candu Energy has returned to the anti-union approach it took in the past, marked by a 12+ week strike shortly after SNC-Lavalin took over AECLs nuclear reactor business in 2011. After 2014, SNC-Lavalin changed course, renewing its board and its senior executives. This included taking a more collaborative approach to labour relations, said Denise Coombs, SPEA Staff Representative. In the early stages of collective bargaining negotiations, the company unilaterally cut off members ability to email their legal bargaining representatives, blocking all communications involving members work addresses at a time when electronic communications are essential. Employees have been prohibited from sharing information with their union, under threat of termination. Coombs further pointed out, These tactics deprive our members and future members of proper representation and protection from their union. For example, during a surge in the pandemic, an employee forwarded to SPEA a management email directing staff to begin attending client sites in person. SPEA raised these concerns with management. In response, employees were told that sharing any internal directives with their union is prohibited even those concerning health and safety during a pandemic. Candu Energy requires highly specialized scientific and engineering staff. We need to make sure we can keep and attract the top-tier talent we need to deliver critical refurbishment and maintenance work for Ontarios nuclear fleet, said Mark Chudak, Specialist Engineer and President of SPEA. We are determined to do whatever it takes to reach fair, competitive agreements, and swiftly. But we need Candu Energy to bring the same focus to the bargaining table. About SPEA The Society of Professional Engineers and Associates is an independent union representing engineers, scientists, technical and administrative staff, who work for Candu Energy Inc- Nuclear division of SNC-Lavalin (formerly Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) Candu division) in Mississauga, Ontario and abroad (excluding AECL Chalk River Laboratories). Formed in 1974, SPEA is one of the oldest professional unions in Canada. For further information contact: Michelle Duncan, Staff Representative Phone: 416-427-3525 Email: michelle.duncan@spea.ca The weather forecast agency had confirmed on Saturday that conditions for the onset of monsoon were favorable over the next 2-3 days including in the Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep area. (Representational Image/ PTI) Vishakhapatanam: The South West Monsoon set in over Kerala on Sunday against the normal start on June 1, IMD has announced. It said the Southwest Monsoon moved into the remaining parts of the South Arabian Sea, the Lakshadweep area, most of Kerala, some parts of southern Tamil Nadu, the Gulf of Mannar and some parts of the southwestern Bay of Bengal. Conditions are favorable for a further advancement of the southwest monsoon in some parts of the central Arabian Sea, reaming parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka and some more southern and central parts of the Bay of Bengal, some parts of the northeastern Bay of Bengal and northeastern states over the next 3-4 days, the IMD report said. The weather forecast agency had confirmed on Saturday that conditions for the onset of monsoon were favorable over the next 2-3 days including in the Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep area. It had also issued storm and rain warnings under the influence of westerly winds emerging from the Arabian Sea over the southern Indian peninsula at lower tropospheric levels. Weatherman from IMD Amaravati, Karuna Sagar, said the monsoon may set in over Rayalaseema by June 3 if the conditions are favorable. He said the temperatures will shoot up by two to three degree C from the next two to three days and the conditions might be severe if the monsoon fails to settle over Andhra Pradesh as per the expected date. He said the temperature went up for many parts of the day on Sunday. Machilipatnam recorded the highest with 43.21 degree C, 4.9 degrees more than the normal temperature; Kakinada 41.0 degrees, 3.4 more than the normal temperature; Gannavaram 43.9 degrees, 3.3 degrees more than normal and Amaravati 43.4 degrees. Airbus is sterngthening its presence in the UK with the launch of a Zero Emission Development Center (ZEDC) for hydrogen technologies. A priority for the UK ZEDC will be the development of a cost-competitive cryogenic fuel system required for the successful entry-into-service of Airbus ZEROe passenger aircraft (earlier post) by 2035 and to accelerate UK skills and know-how on hydrogen-propulsion technologies. The UK ZEDC will benefit from the recent commitment by the UK Government to guarantee (US$865 million) million of funding to the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) over the next three years to support the development of zero-carbon and ultra-low-emission aircraft technologies. Establishing the ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for the ZEROe project across Airbus four home countries. This, coupled with our partnership with ATI, will allow us to leverage our respective expertise to realise the potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonization of the aviation industry. Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer Technology development at the new UK ZEDC, to be based in Filton, Bristol, has already started and will cover the full product capabilities from components up to whole system and cryogenic testing. End-to-end fuel systems development, a speciality of Airbus in the UK, is one of the most complex technologies crucial to the performance of a future hydrogen aircraft. The ZEDC complements Airbus existing Research and Technology footprint in the UK, as well as the work on cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks being done at Airbus existing ZEDCs in Madrid, Spain and Stade, Germany (composite structure technologies) and in Nantes, France and Bremen, Germany (metallic structural technologies). All Airbus ZEDCs are expected to be fully operational and ready for ground testing with the first fully functional cryogenic hydrogen tank during 2023, and with flight testing starting in 2026. The launch of the UK ZEDC follows the opening of the 40-million (US$51-million) AIRTeC research and testing facility in Filton in June 2021, jointly funded by the ATI and Airbus, to deliver the next generation of aircraft wing, landing-gear systems and fuel system designs. Senior Airman Raymond Tenorio, left, and Airman First Class Joshua Celeste are firefighters with the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California. The duo, who were born and raised on Guam, were highlighted on the Instagram account @usaffirefighters in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. YOLO. That was the message from valedictorian Maria Francesca Lapira Garcia to the St. Johns School Class of 2022 as she spoke about taking opportunities, living in the moment, and embracing vulnerability to new experiences and changes in the future. On Saturday, St. Johns held its graduation for the 40 graduates of the Class of 2022. It was a bittersweet day to remember; tears fell down cheeks, parents stood to yell Hwaiting (encouragement in Korean) or I love you, and everyone cheered as the graduates threw their caps into the air as their last hurrah before leaving high school. Garcia had attended St. Johns since freshman year and will be attending the University of California, Irvine, in the fall. She was awarded the English award, Spanish award, an award in the Presidents Education Awards Program, and the Bishops Award. Her best memories of high school include the senior sunrise, senior walk, sophomore lock-in, music performances, and class potlucks. As Garcia moves on to the next chapter of her life, she looks back at her high school years with a sense of accomplishment and pride. High school was definitely very challenging, so its great knowing I can breathe and take in the rewards of my hard work, she said. It is also sad though because I got through high school with such a supportive class, so Im definitely going to miss them since theyve become like my second family throughout high school! Fellow graduate Ava Clark has attended St. Johns School since the first grade and will be attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, in the fall. A recipient of the IB Diploma Candidate award as well as an award in the Presidents Education Awards Program and the Bishops Award, Clark is ready to take on college and has been preparing for this turn in her life meticulously. As she cherishes the memories she made growing up with her classmates, Clark has her eyes set on the future. I feel very accomplished and Im looking forward to whats coming next, she said. Fellow graduate Rachel Seo, who will be attending Wellesley College, received the Music award, Social Sciences award, IB Diploma Candidate award, and an award for the Presidents Education Awards Program. A St. Johns student since 6th grade, she will always remember the senior sunrise on their last day of school, the senior walk, and the Senior-Junior Prom. Seo shared how close her class got during the pandemic, one reason why graduating was such a sentimental and bittersweet ending to their journey through high school together. I was able to make it through high school and eventually graduate because my classmates have brought so much joy into my life and encouraged me to continue to work harder to pull the best out of myself. (I) could not have asked for a better class but (Im) also excited to start a new life in Massachusetts with new people in a completely new environment, Seo said. Seo also had some advice for the underclassmen. Depend on your classmates. Youre not alone so if youre struggling or happen to lose the motivation for schoolwork and literally anything else, remember that your classmates are there for you. Simply said, this class is ready for what will come next. As Garcia said, You have only one shot at life. Live it to the fullest extent, putting your best foot forward in all that you do. Hats off to you, St. Johns School Class of 2022. Guams homeless veterans will be getting some help from the local nonprofit organization Got Your 671. The group has committed to building and managing tiny homes as part of an initiative to give vets a safe place to stay while they transition to long-term housing. The group already has three tiny home projects already in the works that will be constructed soon, with hopes to build up to 20 homes. Roy Gamboa, vice president of Got Your 671, said the organization was inspired to implement the project on Guam and model it after successful tiny house communities that have been established in the mainland by the Veterans Community Project, a national nonprofit organization that provides various services for veterans. The Got Your 671 nonprofit in October 2021 applied for and was awarded a $25,000 Qualifying Certificate grant from the Guam Economic Development Authority, which was used to purchase the materials for the tiny homes. A veteran who is homeless can ask for a place to sleep while they are filling out their application for federal housing. Its meant to be temporary until we can find them more long-term housing, Gamboa said, adding that time limits for veterans who stay in the homes have not yet been set. Partners The Got Your 671 nonprofit group partnered with the veteran-owned local company J. Goodman LLC, who Gamboa said donated half of the cost of the three upcoming tiny house projects. Gamboa said the group also is currently working with village mayors to see if any are willing to partner up and sign a memorandum of understanding to host a tiny house in their village. Priority areas are villages where many homeless veterans are known to stay such as Dededo and Tamuning. Gamboa said there are about 40 homeless veterans on island, according to data provided by the Guam Homeless Coalition, which does not include the approximately 40 veterans who are known to be living with family or friends. Issues Gamboa explained that one issue Guams homeless veterans face is that they do not qualify for certain federal housing programs through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because they have not been homeless for 12 months. That puts a veteran in a very tough spot, where if he or she is on the streets or couch surfing it starts to attack their pride. What we are trying to do is build a community where veterans can hang out with like-minded individuals who have something in common, Gamboa said. He said as a nonprofit organization, Got Your 671 can step in to help provide immediate temporary shelter without the requirements needed through a government program. Future goals A goal in the future, Gamboa said, is to hopefully negotiate with the federal government for land that can be leased from the U.S. Navy. If we can get four acres, the idea is to build about 20 tiny homes on that property to house homeless veterans, he said. The University of Guam conferred degrees to approximately 333 students recently and four graduates shared the stories of their journeys through higher education. Makisimino Veimau Among the degree recipients, seven were members of the University of Guams School of Engineerings second cohort, including 57-year-old, Makisimino Veimau a single father with five grown children, grandchildren, and a life-long career in construction and the military. Originally from Tonga, Veimau moved to California in the 70s where he had a construction business. And when the recession hit, Veimau and his family moved to Guam in 2010, where he would return to school to earn a bachelors degree in civil engineering from UOG. He now plans to pursue work on Guam where he can use his skills specific to hydraulic systems to help improve Guams roads. He hopes that his accomplishment, even at his age, will be an inspiration to his grandchildren to go and pursue a higher education. Angelo Paule Graduating with a degree in political science, Angelo Paule plans to make his mark in Washington. Paule has been accepted to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, one of the top schools in the nation with more U.S. diplomat alumni than any other university. He credits the University of Guam for being able to get into a school with such a prestigious reputation. Growing up, some people used to look down on UOG as like a plan B, but, I think me getting into Georgetown shows that a UOG degree is as good as any other place and it gets you to places like Georgetown, Paule said. Paule, an avid reader of maps and history books, also had a keen interest in travel and international affairs. So he honed his intercultural and leadership experiences in high school and continued growing them in college as both a student and as president of the UOG Student Government Association. I wanted to be someone who was exposed to all kinds of environments and people. In large part through my love of history and politics, social studies, those fields, I wanted to contribute potentially to the country while doing that kind of work, Paule said. He hopes to bring Guams issues to the nations capital and wants to be a voice that brings awareness to all issues in the Micronesia area and hopes that his work and passion will inspire others to take the leap and bring more representation for Guam as well. Im only one person, but at the same time I think I have something unique to offer, and I hope maybe my story and my, passion inspire more people from Guam to take up the field. Paule willl move to D.C. to begin his Master of Science in Foreign Service this fall and hopes to join the U.S. Foreign Service. Beverly Ilemangilish When UOGs Teaching English as a Second Language program became fully available online in 2018, this prompted Beverly Ilemangilish, a Yapese native living in Pohnpei, to take the opportunity to advance her knowledge as an educator and to go on a path not many members from her community have taken before. Despite having limited internet connectivity and a language barrier in the learning process, Ilemangilish pushed through four years of academia to earn a masters degree. At the start of her academic journey, Ilemangilish originally wanted to teach math her favorite subject. However, the College of Micronesia where she earned her bachelors degree did not have a mathematics program available. And although she struggled with English growing up, Ilemangilish decided to become an English teacher so she can help new generations on her island hone their English skills. I wasnt able to communicate with my classmates and others because theyd speak different languages, and I was really limited with my English skills, she said. So from there I started to have the goal that one day, Ill become a teacher to go back and teach English to my island so I can help new generations to not face the same challenges. Ilemangilish plans to teach English at the College of Micronesia. Justin Berg Joining the ranks of masters degree recipients at UOG was Justin Berg, who joined Dr. Bastian Bentlages research team to investigate environmental stressors on reefs and potential mitigation practices. I have always been interested in the sciences, especially biology. Both of my parents had a great impact on science and my education, Berg said. Over the course of his degree program, the Philadelphia native has worked on the impact of river runoff on corals in Fouha Bay, in Humatak. His work has resulted in three published research papers with a fourth paper in the works. Berg will be attending the University of Hawaii in Manoa to begin studying for his Ph.D. in Marine Biology where he will continue to study the effect watersheds play on the coral microbiome. I think a better understanding of watershed effects on downstream coral can benefit Guam through future outreach about anthropogenic impacts, namely fires, and the effects it has on not only the corals, but the preservation of culture, Berg said. Hyderabad: Three persons were electrocuted and another man suffered serious burns after an iron chariot being pulled by the victims came into contact with high tension wires at Kethepally of Nampally mandal in Nalgonda district on Saturday. According to the police, the villagers had celebrated a festival recently at the Ramayalam. The iron chariot had been used then, and was parked near the temple. To shift it back to its shed, five persons were engaged to pull the chariot. "The victims did not realise that 11 kv high tension wires were passing over the route. The chariot came in contact with the wires. Three persons got electrocuted and another person sustained burns. The villagers alerted the police and 108 medical emergency services," said local sub-inspector Rajanikar. The deceased were identified as Rajaboina Yadaiah, 45, Pogaku Mohan, 36, both residents of Kethepally and D. Anjaneyulu, 26, resident of Makkapalli of Gurrampud mandal. Another person Rajaboina Venkataiah suffered serious burn injuries. Police registered a case of death under suspicious circumstances and shifted the bodies to the government hospital for the post-mortem examination. Vijayawada: AP ministers said that the Jagan wave was intact among the voters due to the social justice, welfare schemes and developmental works undertaken by the state government. In an interaction, 17 ministers undertaking the Samajika Nyaya Bheri Bus Yatra said they continued to retain the support of all sections of society. The tour entered its third day on Saturday. Refuting allegations of poor response to the tour, home minister Taneti Vanitha said that they were behind schedule due to enormous public turnout. She said that their welfare schemes were being hailed by the people. Vanitha said that the objective of their tour was to gauge the public mood and improve government services. She hailed the law and order situation and said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was working on getting the Centres approval for the Disha Act to improve the situation. Deputy CM S.B. Amzath Basha, also the minority welfare minister, said that each household was a beneficiary of at least two welfare schemes, and up to four to six in some instances. He said that over Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been directly credited to peoples accounts, to which there was good feedback from SCs, STs, BCs and minorities. He also cited an increase in representation of these groups in the cabinet from 56 per cent in 2019 to 68 per cent in 2022. Basha said the upcoming Atmakuru byelection will reflect the impact of YSRC welfare and development measures. Ministers Adimulapu Suresh, Meruga Nagarjuna, Dharmana Prasada Rao, K. Narayana Swamy, B. Mutyala Naidu, K. Nageswara Rao and others called on backward groups to stand with the party, claiming TDP chief Chandrababu was obstructing the implementation of welfare schemes. The ministers also laughed off the TDs claims of winning 160 seats in the 2024 elections and instead, said that the YSRCP will gain more seats next time around. Cannes: Shaunak Sen's "All That Breathes", an audience favourite here from the outset, won the 2022 L'Oeil d'Or (Golden Eye) for the best documentary at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, making it two in succession for India. "All That Breathes" is about two Delhi brothers Nadeem and Saud who, amid the city's worsening air and deteriorating social fabric, devote their lives to saving migratory black kites that are at the mercy of mankind's unthinking ways. The film was screened as part of the festival's Special Screenings line-up. The award was announced by a jury chaired by veteran Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. The citation read: The 2022 L'Oeil d'Or goes to a film that, in a world of destruction, reminds us that every life matters, and every small action matters. You can grab your camera, you can save a bird, you can hunt for some moments of stealing beauty, it matters. The citation described All That Breathes as an inspirational journey in observation of three Don Quijotes who may not save the whole world but do save their world. Sen's win is India's second in Cannes in two years. In 2021, Payal Kapadia's "A Night of Knowing Nothing", which played in the parallel Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Critics' Week) took home the L'Oeil d'Or. "All That Breathes" was competing with ace Chilean documentarian Patricio Guzman's "MyImaginary Country", Ethan Coen's "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind" and Sergei Loznitsa's"The Natural History of Destruction", among other films. The L'Oeil d'Or jury bestowed a Special Award posthumously on Mantas Kvedaravicius for his film "Mariupolis 2'. The Lithuanian director was among thousands of civilians killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The jury described "Mariupolis 2" as a film impossible to compare with any other from the competition. Ukrainian president discusses defense support with British PM Xinhua) 14:24, May 29, 2022 The following are the latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he had discussed defense support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We talked about strengthening defense support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted, adding that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis. - - - - Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the global food security. Putin informed Macron and Scholz of the latest developments of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, noting that the Russian armed forces strictly observe the norms of international humanitarian law, the Kremlin said in a press release. Macron and Scholz called on Putin "to agree on direct dialogue" with Zelensky, and underscored "the urgent need for the blockade of Odessa to be lifted to allow the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea to avert a global food crisis," according to the Elysee. Putin said the difficulties in food supplies are caused by the erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries as well as their anti-Russian sanctions. As for the peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Putin confirmed that the Russian side is open to resuming the frozen dialogue. - - - - Ukraine is receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles and ground-based launchers, the country's Defense Ministry said Saturday on Facebook. "The latest weapons are provided by Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Other countries will join this process," the ministry said, adding that the missiles will be used to defend Ukraine from Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Three types of 155-mm artillery, namely the M777 howitzers, FH70 howitzers and CAESAR self-propelled howitzers, have already arrived in Ukraine and are working on the frontlines, Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexiy Reznikov said in a separate statement. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Just when we thought that Elon Musk would have bragging rights as the proud new owner of Twitter, the tables have completely turned, and now the South African is being sued by the website's shareholders, according to Deadline. A class-action lawsuit has reportedly been filed against Musk, which accuses him of "unjust enrichment, false statements, and stock manipulation in an attempt to reduce or not pay the $44 billion" which they had previously settled on. Scott Olson/Getty Images While getting the funds together, the Tesla Motors CEO secured a bank loan after promising billions of dollars in Tesla stock, but in the month after his acquisition was announced the company's stock took a dive. The lawsuit alleges that, at the same time, Musk began "[making] false statements and [engaging] in market manipulation of Twitter stock, publicly declaring that the agreement had been put "on hold." Elsewhere, it's noted that the engineer failed to reveal his 9.2 percent stake in Twitter when obligated to do so, prompting an SEC investigation. "Musk first agreed to join the Twitter board as an ally, then reversed that decision in favour of a takeover bid and threatened to go hostile if Twitter wouldnt accept," Deadline's report claims. Shareholders have yet to authorize Musk's purchase this will take place at a special meeting that hasn't been set. As he navigates the dire straits he's gotten himself into with Twitter, the 50-year-old has been making more positive headlines thanks to The Kid Laroi, who revealed some financial advice he got from Mr. Musk at a Saturday Night Live afterparty read more about that here, and let us know if you think that Elon will still make his big purchase in the comment section below. [Via] [Via] Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is establishing a people's militia due to stop Ukrainians from conducting destabilization from their shared border. Other countries close to the Ukrainian border, like Transnistria, a breakaway of Moldova, have reported that Kyiv might have been involved in an attack using a drone, mentioned Pravda. Lukashenko To Establish People's Militia Last Friday, the defense minister Viktor Khrenin said that Lukashenko announced the establishment of a southern military command close to the Ukraine border, reported RT. The Belarusian leader commanded the military to organize a civilian militia in Belarus; while in a meeting of governors and military commissioners of Belarusian regions. Discussions with governors will be governed by law, according to Khrenin, when the Belarusian armed forces' numerical strength will be increased. He added that the most important thing must be that we have both people and weapons for this. Belarus currently has 60,000 active-duty soldiers and a reserve of up to 340,000. In Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, the militia, Narodnoe Opolcheniye, has a long history dating back to medieval times. Napoleon's invasion of 1812 had been thwarted thanks to the 400,000-strong militia. The most recent instance, the mass levy was used occurred during WWII. Belarusian President Lukashenko made the Belarusian military organize the People's militia to set up an operational military district on the country's southern border, citing the escalation of violence in Ukraine. Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Children: Does the Ukraine President Have Kids? Many units have been stationed along the western and northern borders, close to NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, cited CSM Times. Last week, officials in Minsk expressed concern that Ukraine had encamped 20,000 troops along the Belarusian border, alleging Ukraine of erecting defenses and dispatching saboteur units across. Kyiv Considers Belarus an Adversary The start of the conflict in Ukraine has caused more tension as the special operation started by Moscow in Donbas in February. Russian force's assault in several directions included an incursion on Belarus territory, inciting fears that Minsk would be part of the hostilities. Belarusian leaders, despite allegations, said there are no plans to be part of the Russian offensive. Following Ukraine's failure to enforce the terms of the Minsk agreements, which were first signed in 2014, and Moscow's ultimate acknowledgment of the Donbas republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Moscow ordered an offensive. The protocols brokered by Germany and France are intended to confer special status to the separatist regions within Ukraine, noted Al Jazeera. Since then, the Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine affirm itself as a neutral country that would never participate in the NATO military coalition led by the United States. Kyiv asserts the Russian offensive was completely unwarranted and disproves claims that it intended to retake the two republics via armed force. In an earlier meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Lukashenko added that Poland and other NATO members want to sever Ukraine for their agenda, trying to make Kyiv think it has good intentions. The Belarusian president stressed how the people's militia should be formed to strengthen the borders due to Ukraine starting trouble against Russian allies. Related Article: US Neocons Plot the Incursions in Transnistria, Western Ukraine as Biden Schemes To Seize Russian Assets @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Walter Smith Jr. knew what had to be done, but it took time before he was emotionally ready. On the corner of N. Albany Avenue and W. Cypress Street, his father, Walter Smith Sr., started a library in two small homes, one of which was built by their family. Smith Sr., a former president of Florida A&M University, filled the library with books, artwork and artifacts he collected throughout decades of schooling and travels. Opened in 2004, the Dr. Walter L. Smith Library became a haven and community center for the West Tampa neighborhoods children. The library closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith Sr. died of heart disease in November. His son will reopen the library June 11. He said it should have been done sooner. Some of my fondest memories are of seeing my dad at the spot at the table, Smith Jr. said, pointing to a chair in the librarys meeting room. Hed sit there for hours, just writing. I always knew I had to get this place back open, but it took me months to come back here. It was hard. For a time, I just stayed away. But my dad would have wanted me to open it again. The library at 905 N Albany Ave. will eventually be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 - 6 p.m., as it was when Smith Sr. was in charge. For now, it will have erratic hours, open when either Smith Jr. an environmental engineering consultant or a volunteer have time. Well always open if someone calls and asks, Smith Jr. said. Were here to serve. The library needs improvements Smith Jr. recently fixed one of the outdoor decks. It needs new computers too. So, Smith Jr. is soliciting funds from the community. We are not a part of the county library system, Smith said. Were private. We need help to get my fathers dream going again. The history There was once a grapefruit orchard on the corner lot where the library now sits. Smith Sr. was raised in a home behind that orchard. My grandfather, who was a longshoreman, bought the orchard and my grandmother designed a house on the corner, Smith said. They moved into the house in the 1950s. By then, his father had been sent to live with grandparents in Georgia because he was getting into too much trouble in Tampa. Thats when his adventures began, Smith Jr. said. His father fled Georgia at 16 to avoid being lynched for punching a white man who had directed a racial slur at him. Smith Sr. then moved to New York, dropped out of high school, joined the Army, served in the Korean War, got a GED, enrolled in St. Petersburgs Gibbs Junior College for Negro students, and earned a bachelors and masters degrees from FAMU and a doctorate from Florida State University. He returned to FAMU as its president 1977 to 1985 and then headed to Africa as a Senior Fulbright Scholar to the University of Malawi in Central Africa. In 1994, he was a monitor for the election that made Nelson Mandela president of the Republic of South Africa. When dad came home, Smith Jr. said, he was heartbroken by what he saw. Kids in his childhood neighborhood hung out in the street and lacked basic knowledge of Black and African history. So Smith Sr. purchased the home neighboring his parents house and converted the two into a library focused on those topics. The kids loved it, Smith Jr. said. They had computers and theyd get help with their homework. Theyd stay from when school let out until it was time for bed. In recent years, Smith Jr. said, the library was used more for meeting space than an after school program, but he hopes it returns to its roots. I want kids to come read these books and learn, he said. Artifacts include masks that Smith Sr. brought from Africa and tools that Smith Jr.s great-great-grandfather used as a cobbler on the plantation where he was enslaved. Among the librarys rarest books is an autographed copy of Booker T. Washingtons autobiography, Up from Slavery. But Smith Jr. said the most personal book is not yet on the shelves. He is working with a publisher on a second edition of his fathers book, Magnificent Twelve: Floridas Black Junior Colleges. Released in 1994, the book tells the history of Floridas Black junior colleges. I cried when they said the book was almost ready, Smith Jr. said. That second edition is something he wanted. That book is part of his legacy and so is this library. How to help Those interested in donating to or volunteering at the Walter L. Smith Sr. Library should call 813 531-1845. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This story will be updated throughout the day as information becomes available. Live updates from previous days can be found here. 10:30 a.m. A Uvalde police officer who stood outside the classroom where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers that not all officers agreed with the decision to not enter the classroom and take out the shooter. "There was almost a mutiny," the officer told PEOPLE. "We were like, 'There's a f---ing gunman in the school, we hear gunshots, and we're just going to stand here with our thumbs up our asses?' We wanted to go in and save lives. It was the most frustrating situation of my entire career." The officer also said they felt like cowards. "It sucks that we look like we were cowards, because we weren't cowards," he said. "But that's nothing compared to the fact that little kids died and maybe we could've done something to save them. I wish we had known what to do. I wish someone had told us what to do." 7:10 a.m. Congressman Joaquin Castro has joined a push to demolish Robb Elementary School and build a new school for students in Uvalde. He visited Uvalde yesterday with President Joe Biden and said people were concerned about other little kids who were in elementary school. "They don't want those kids to have to go back into Robb Elementary next year. And so I'm going to be pushing the president and the governor to work together to make sure that they're able to build them a new school." 7:10 p.m. President Joe Biden left Texas early Sunday evening after spending a full day in Uvalde to meet with families of those affected by Tuesday's mass shooting. The president arrived in Uvalde in the late morning, first stopping by the memorial outside the Robb Elementary School. He then attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church before spending more than three hours with victims' loved ones. Before leaving Uvalde, he also met with first responders. The president took a helicopter back to San Antonio, where he boarded Air Force One to head back east. "To everyone impacted by the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: We grieve with you," Biden tweeted Sunday. "We pray with you. We stand with you. And we're committed to turning this pain into action." 2:30 p.m. Irma Garcia was one of two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday. Two days later, her husband, Joe, died of a heart attack. The Garcias leave behind four children ranging in age from 12 to 23. A GoFundMe page was created to help the family and as of Sunday, more than 46,000 donations topping $2.6 million had been raised. 1:15 p.m. Anger simmered for some Sunday morning in Uvalde as the city prepared to receive President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Jessica Morales, 30, stood outside her aunts house on Sunday morning holding a sign emblazoned with the message Enough is Enough and yelled at Uvalde police vehicles as they passed by. The police will stop you if you have no inspection stickers or go 2 miles over the speed limit, she said while standing near several other family members. But they are cowards. They held back the parents from going inside the school. They could have rescued the kids. Morales, a mother herself, said her cousin is a police officer here who held down another cousin from entering the school. Were supposed to be family, she said. Morales didnt plan to try and catch a glimpse of President Biden during his visit but did express hope for some sort of executive action. I hope he sees whats going on, she said. I hope he fires the whole police department. 12:23 p.m. Amid mounting pressure and questions about shifting and at times contradictory information about what happened during the deadly Uvalde school shooting, the Justice Department says it will review law enforcement response that day. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said the review would be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and that the findings would be made public. The review is being conducted at the request of Uvaldes mayor, officials said. The department's Office of Community Policing Services will handle the review. 11:50 a.m. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Uvalde a little before 11 a.m., where greeters included Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents Uvalde. The president immediately departed for Robb Elementary School, where mourners have set up a memorial for the 21 people who died. The crowd gathered outside the school cheered as Biden arrived. He and the first lady placed a bouquet of flowers at the memorial and spoke to the schools principal and superintendent, according to White House pool reports. They stayed at the site for several minutes, walking the length of the memorial and reading names of the lives lost. The Bidens are now headed to Sacred Heart Catholic Church for a noon mass. 10:10 a.m. President Joe Biden arrived in San Antonio Sunday morning ahead of a planned trip to Uvalde. He will take Marine One to the small town, where a gunman killed 21 people just days earlier. Biden is scheduled to arrive in Uvalde at 11 a.m. and will first visit a memorial outside Robb Elementary. He later plans to attend mass and meet with families affected by the shooting.8:30 a.m.: He is visiting "to grieve with the community, the White House announced Thursday. First lady Jill Biden will travel with the president, the White House said. The president and first lady will pay respects, attend mass and meet with families of victims and survivors. Saturday Recap New details emerge daily about gunman Salvador Ramos and what happened the morning of May 24 in Uvalde. This interactive aims to answer those questions, using facts gathered by our reporters on the ground in Uvalde. Also, as a growing number of Texas lawmakers call for a special legislative session to address gun violence after the Uvalde school shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott said that all options are on the table. Since Tuesdays massacre left 21 dead, Democrats have been urging Abbott to call legislators back to Austin and pass new laws that would prevent, or at least mitigate, future school shootings. Anna Moneymaker, Staff / Getty Images Editor's Note: This report includes information from the Associated Press and Houston Chronicle. Houston Chronicle A 15-year-old boy who died after he was discovered with gunshot wounds was identified as Bryan Galindo. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted Saturday evening that Galindo was found by a stretch of roadway in an undeveloped area of commercial property near Cypress Preserve Park Drive and Trevor Way, near FM 1960. Gonzalez said officials transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. OnScene TV Two people were hurt after a road rage incident led to a shootout Sunday morning on the South Side. Drivers of a white Pontiac and a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo began chasing each other about 3 a.m. on the South Loop Freeway after a road rage incident in southwest Houston, according to Houston Police Lt. Ignacio Izaguirre. Houston philanthropist and noted investment counselor Fayez Sarofim died Saturday, according to a spokeswoman for his family. He was 93. At one time, Sarofim was the wealthiest man in Houston, amassing wealth after founding the Fayez Sarofim & Co. investment counseling firm in 1958, which is now one of the largest privately held firms of its kind in the country. Fayez was born in Egypt and eventually graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a food technology degree and an MBA from Harvard University. Within five years of launching his firm, Sarofim was managing a corporate retirement fund for Brown & Root and the endowment of Rice University, then valued at $63 million. When he arrived here, he very quickly identified Houston as a can-do city that was growing rapidly and had everything in place to continue that growth, said his eldest son, Christopher Sarofim, who is succeeding his father as chairman of Fayez Sarofim and Co. And another aspect of Houston that may have come as a surprise back then was how welcoming the city was to an Egyptian immigrant, Christopher Sarofim said. Forbes estimated Fayez Sarofim was worth $1.6 billion in May. Those who remain at his company said that his high ethical standards and keen eye for quality in his investments made everyone around him better. He enjoyed a lot of success, but that success never came at anybody elses expense. He really focused on having a strong sense of ethics in everything that he did, and he set a high standard for those around him as far as how he conducted himself, said Gentry Lee, CEO of Fayez Sarofim and Co. and a longtime friend of Sarofims. Sarofims work handling the investments of Rice University, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and other large charities also gave way to large charitable contributions, said Gary Tinterow, MFAH director. He pledged $77 million to the museum's $450 million expansion, and the campus now bears his name. "He certainly is one of Houstons most important and impactful philanthropists over the past 50 years," Tinterow said. "His role at the museum has been extraordinary." Tinterow said Sarofim had a "droll" sense of humor but was a man of few words, which earned him the nickname "the Sphinx." When he did speak up, he often delivered zingers that would make the room erupt in laughter. He was also an avid art collector he especially enjoyed the work of modern artists like Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and Hans Hoffman and spent much of his free time at galleries. The Texas Business Hall of Fame honored Sarofim for his successes and charitable giving. My dad was an incredibly generous person, it was one of the core parts of his personality, and his philanthropy was really broad and spread across many areas, Christopher Sarofim said. He served on the board for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and is past director of the Alley Theatre, the Houston Ballet Foundation, and the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, and past president and past vice chairman of the board of the Houston Symphony Society. Additionally, Sarofim is a former member of The Rockefeller University Council. When my dad arrived in Houston, he saw a great opportunity for growth, and he would love to see this city continue to grow and thrive, Christopher Sarofim said. He was an entrepreneur, and he would always want to see the City of Houston offer opportunities for entrepreneurs because he felt they were the most important drivers of growth and progress for everything. shelby.webb@chron.com Contributing: Sam Gonzalez Kelly OnScene TV Two Houston police officers were hospitalized after a suspected drunk driver crashed into a police vehicle Saturday night while they were blocking traffic in southeast Houston. About 10 p.m., the vehicle was blocking eastbound traffic with the emergency lights activated in the 8900 block of Almeda Genoa Road, while CenterPoint Energy crews fixed a utility pole that had been damaged in an earlier crash, according to Houston Police Lt. Ignacio Izaguirre. Clarissa Lomnick credits her apartment in Jersey Village with changing the life of her son, Jamarcus Kinniebrew. She moved there for the school, and he is flourishing in his new elementary classroom. The child who had had difficulty making friends, looking people in the eye or reading on grade level found buddies and now will happily summarize a plot. Teachers call, leaving positive messages about his progress. No one can tell me that the atmosphere doesnt affect children, Lomnick said. Because it does. But the first time she called the leasing office for the home that changed her familys life, she was rejected, she said. The property management company didnt take housing-choice vouchers, the government rental subsidy she depends on to afford rent. That was before a Houston nonprofit called NestQuest stepped in to serve as a liaison between the landlord and the family. The problem Lomnick encountered is pervasive, impacting the more than 5 million people throughout the nation who rely on housing choice vouchers to afford rent. The vouchers theoretically give low-income families the freedom to choose where they live, a decision that research shows can strongly shape their quality of life. But in reality, most landlords are not interested in jumping through the hoops of participating in the federal program. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development study showed that 78 percent of more than 1,100 apartment listings contacted in Fort Worth said they did not accept vouchers. Texas families face greater barriers finding homes that will accept vouchers than elsewhere because the state passed a law in 2015 protecting landlords who discriminate against voucher holders. Other states have laws protecting voucher holders. NestQuest, founded in 2017, set out to change that. The nonprofit leases apartments zoned to high-performing schools, then subleases them to housing-choice voucher families with school-age children, with the mission of changing their life trajectories. They help families work around complex barriers, including rising rents, lengthy inspection periods, maintenance and social work. And now, after a multiyear pilot including Lomnick and her son, now 11, the program is ready to expand, with hopes of inspiring similar programs in other cities. Weve got all the housing authorities knocking on our door and saying this is an inventive solution ... this needs to be replicated and grown in other states because this is an issue across the board, said Hannah Mannion, executive director at Nestquest. The nonprofit currently serves roughly 50 families, and it is looking to ramp that up to 350. Currently, it is in fundraising mode it spends about $1,800 per family each year to cover case managers, administrative work, property management and the difference between what the local housing authorities cover and what market rates in the neighborhoods its clients choose demand, among other expenses. Behind the scenes Lomnick met Isabel Lopez, one of NestQuests founders, at a housing voucher orientation program. When Lopez described the program, Lomnick was sold. She signed up for the pilot, and NestQuest helped her find the apartment where she currently lives. Whats more, it soon became clear that NestQuest was planning to do a lot more than sublease an apartment. On the day Lomnick, who was living out of a hotel at the time, without a car, was scheduled to move, she fell ill. When Lopez heard, she rented a U-Haul truck and came to the hotel with her mother, her sister and her sisters husband. Together, Lopez and her family drove Lomnick and her son to their storage unit, then helped move their things into their new home. Lomnick still grows emotional thinking of that day. Has anyone ever done anything for you when you felt like thank you just isnt enough? she asked. Its really what it feels like to be blessed. Behind the scenes, NestQuest was also helping out the landlord. Two big hurdles keeping most property owners from participating in the housing voucher program are that the vouchers dont cover what is market rate rent in many areas and onboarding an apartment can require holding the unit empty for months without payment. NestQuest solves the first problem by using money from Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Texas Association of Realtors, United Way and other organizations to make up the difference between what the local housing authority considers a reasonable rate and what market rents are in the neighborhood. Then, by renting the apartment itself, it allows landlords to receive regular payments during what would otherwise be a waiting period in which the housing authority inspects the unit, requests updates and draws up an agreement as to how much it will pay and how much the family will pay. The waiting period can take two to three months for a typical voucher recipient, said Lopez, who used to work at both Houston and Harris Countys housing authority, but NestQuest shortens that wait by performing its own inspection and addressing any potential issues that may be identified in the housing authoritys inspection before it happens. NestQuest also guarantees that it will cover any damages to the unit and helps families make sure that regular maintenance is being carried out by checking on the condition of the apartment quarterly. (One of the reasons it does not place families in single-family homes is because it is simpler to maintain apartments.) The program, when I heard about it, made so much sense to me, said John Boriack, president of Veritas Equity Management, which owns and operates six apartment complexes in the Houston area. He said his company had previously considered accepting housing choice vouchers but balked at the regulatory hoops and payment delays. But after learning about NestQuests solution to those barriers at a board meeting of the Houston Apartment Association, an industry group, Boriack quickly signed up. Now, after working with about 10 NestQuest families, he calls himself a disciple of the program, eagerly sharing his experience with other apartment owners. Its been a wonderful experience. Like family When Lopez and her family arrived at Lomnicks hotel room to help her and her son move, Lomnick felt a sense of disbelief and something akin to embarrassment. It was like these people dont even know me, she recalled. The reason she had applied for and received a housing voucher in the first place was a disability that limited her ability to work, which stemmed from a life-threatening injury she sustained as a toddler. The traumatic event was followed by a harrowing experience in the foster care system before her parents regained custody. Even then, her parents relationship with one another and herself never recovered. It took me a long time to love myself, she said. So when you have people come into your life and give you all this support, and they care about you, and they care about your welfare, you almost dont know how to accept it, she said. But she did because she concluded that NestQuest had the same mission she had herself: to provide her child with the stability lacking in her own childhood. Today, she calls staff her NestQuest family and is happy when they ask about her sons grades and attendance. She feels secure in knowing that if she were ever in dire straits say her disability check didnt come in and she was struggling to pay for food she would have someone to call. And she welcomes the check-ins and that if she doesnt answer her phone, someone will stop by to make sure shes OK. You know when people say, I want everything for my child? she asked. I will accept nothing less for him than whats in our reach. She feels certain that if her son went to a different school, as a student with autism, he would not have received the resources he needed to thrive. For that, she thanks NestQuest. NestQuest, they dont have a school or anything like that. But they do have resources, they do have connections, they do make sure you have everything you need. rebecca.schuetz@chron.com twitter.com/raschuetz This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEWTOWN For those who have lived the trauma of an elementary school massacre, theres no easy way to convey to a grieving town in Texas that the pain of irreplaceable loss will continue to reverberate, except to say that hope can grow up alongside it. You will find a way through it, although it doesnt seem possible, said Nicole Hockley, co-founder of a homegrown nonprofit who lost her son in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, directing her thoughts to families in the small Texas town of Uvalde, where an 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers last week. We are here for you when you are ready. From the moment news broke in Texas on Tuesday about the deadliest school shooting in America since the Sandy Hook shooting nearly 10 years ago, it became apparent that the two tragedies were, in Hockleys words, far too eerily and hauntingly similar causing some here to wonder in what ways recovery in Uvalde might parallel Newtowns experience. Like Newtown, the Texas shooter was a young man described as isolated and troubled who shot a loved one in his home before bursting into his local elementary school with an AR-15-style rifle, intent on killing children. Like Newtown, Uvalde has a modest population with a rural spirit and a tight-knit school community. Like Newtown, Uvalde has been besieged by media scrutiny, caught in the middle of the polarized gun control debate, and doubted by conspiracy extremists. Like Newtown, the police response to the Texas school shooting has been criticized. Like Newtown, there is no one to prosecute, because the shooter is dead. It would have been easier from my standpoint if there had been somebody to prosecute, said Danbury States Attorney Stephen Sedensky on Friday, speaking of the Sandy Hook investigation he led. In both cases the shooter is dead in our case it was suicide, (in Texas) he was killed by law enforcement. We had the investigation, but we didnt have the prosecution, and I remember thinking, How can this result in some good? Sedensky said. To a certain extent, they are going through that down there. While survivors and those closest to the Sandy Hook shooting who spoke to Hearst Connecticut Media last week do not believe that other mass shootings are any less tragic such as the racist attack in Buffalo, N.Y., earlier this month that left 10 dead there is something about the age of the young Texas victims and the barbarity with which they were slain that resonates with the deepest pain, because it transports survivors back to the horror of Dec. 14, 2012, when 26 first-graders and educators were slain at Sandy Hook School. The traumatic grief in Newtown was so palpable last week that a senior faith leader said, You can hear it in the silence. Life after death What happens next in Texas should be determined by Uvaldes families of loss, leaders in the Newtown recovery effort say. The reason: Not even families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook shooting can know what parents are going through in Texas, except that some families here were incapable of living their lives as usual in the days immediately following the 2012 shooting, because they were in the rawest stages of trauma. For that reason, local families and community members who want to help Texas survivors are adamant about not making the same mistake well-wishers made in Newtown 10 years ago who grouped together Sandy Hook families as though they all grieved the same, and who acted on Sandy Hook families behalf however well-intentioned without first asking. Joel Martinez / The Monitor via Associated Press This is a time to remember and support the victims and the community not to push an agenda, because that pulls support from where the attention should be, said Neil Heslin, who lost a son in the Sandy Hook shooting. The focus now has to be on support for these individual families and the community for the weeks and months to come. At the same time, Sandy Hook has the experience of finding hope through the pain that a similarly situated community such as Uvalde might find helpful when those families are ready to hear it. In the early days of Newtowns recovery, for example, leaders here insisted that while they would never forget the victims, they would not be defined by tragedy. The elements of recovery that Newtown leaders coordinated included a return-to-school plan and a federally funded trauma team that offered treatment assistance to families of loss, the school community and first responders. If Sandy Hooks experience is any indication, leaders in Texas should expect that some first responders and community members traumatized by the widespread pain and grief in Uvalde may not feel right accepting treatment they feel ought to go to families of loss. Leaders should emphasize that post-traumatic stress can have crippling effects on anyone it afflicts and should be treated like any serious ailment, an expert said. Jae C. Hong / Associated Press When the media presence dies down and people go back to their lives is when the most impact is felt and when (Uvalde) is going to need the most support, said Melissa Glaser, a psychotherapist who ran the federally funded Newtown Recovery and Resiliency Team for 21 months in the towns early seasons of grief. Glasers 2019 book about Newtowns recovery devotes a chapter to describing the effect local politics had on the trauma teams effort to reach as many of Newtowns 28,000 people as possible with the message that help was available. Glaser warned against leaders needlessly setting back treatment efforts by setting unreasonable timetables for recovery. Glaser recommended that communities build trauma recovery plans that last 10 to 15 years. Leaders in Uvalde should be prepared to bring in treatment experts who understand complex communitywide trauma, said Abbey Clements, a fourth-grade teacher in Newtown who comforted her students during the 2012 shooting as gunshots rang through her classroom over the loudspeaker. Sadly, sometimes the experts lack experience in this level of trauma, Clements said. Its pathetic when you think about how frequently these things are happening. On a communitywide, basis, the small Texas town will have to rebuild the ties that were broken by the brutal crime. Jae C. Hong / Associated Press Newtown did that in part by building a new $50 million elementary school and building a $15 million community center. Numerous community forums and public hearings helped Newtown air anxieties and share frustrations, eventually leading to majority consensuses. At the same time, the Uvalde community should expect that once the police investigation is complete, law enforcement procedure will be reviewed. In Newtown, multiple reports from the FBI, the states attorney, State Police and the Office of the Child Advocate helped settle lingering questions about how such a vicious mass murder could have happened, and how to keep it from happening again. Finally, when no one in authority would tell a high-profile conspiracy extremist to stop defaming Newtowns families, some of those family members took the conspiracy extremist to court. Last year, Sandy Hook families won three defamation cases against Alex Jones, a Texas-based host of an internet merchandising and broadcast business, who was described by his representative in court as the Coca-Cola of the conspiracy theory community. While the Uvalde shooting happened in the summer at the end of the school year and the Sandy Hook shooting happened 10 days before Christmas in the middle of the school year, other key details of the two tragedies are similar. Criticism of the police response has been mounting in Uvalde, just as police procedure was under the microscope in Sandy Hook following the worst crime in modern Connecticut history. By late last week, police in Uvalde were responding to criticism that the gunman was in the Robb Elementary School building for about 90 minutes before he was confronted, the Associated Press reported. In 2018, a report found Connecticut State Police made a mistake in setting up a command post in the middle of an active crime scene when they responded to the shooting at Sandy Hook School in 2012. The report also faulted police for initially not dealing with family members forthrightly. The report said, there was an overall sense of frustration, and at times anger, because of the amount of time it took for the families to receive the final word about the victims, and some felt it was unnecessary and tortuous to have to wait for so long, because some (parents) reported that it seemed as though the world knew what was going on and they were the last to find out. Jae C. Hong / Associated Press Another similarity between the Texas and Sandy Hook tragedies is the shooters profile. Uvalde shooter Salvador Ramos is described by police as an 18-year-old who frequently skipped class at Uvalde High School and was not set to graduate with his class. Police said he had no criminal record, mental illness history or obvious red flags. Those who said they knew the Uvalde shooter told the Associated Press they saw increasing signs of isolation, outbursts and aggression. The Uvalde shooter posted messages on the social platform Yubo that he was about to shoot up an elementary school, according to the Associated Press. Last week, Sandy Hook Promise said if authorities or peers had taken the signs of the Uvalde shooters pending violence seriously, the school shooting could have been prevented. Sandy Hook Promise has made the same case about Adam Lanza, a chronically isolated 20-year-old who had Aspergers syndrome, anorexia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Lanza, who had become so estranged from the world in 2012 that he was fixated with mass murder, took his mothers AR-15-style rifle from an unlocked closet and shot her to death. He then shot his way into a locked Sandy Hook School and killed 20 first-graders and six educators before killing himself. In 2014, the state Office of the Child Advocate released a 140-page report documenting opportunities that the Newtown school district and Lanzas family missed to treat his mental illness, but the report found that Lanza alone was responsible for the shooting. Newtown educators later defended themselves against the states findings in their own report. They are both very sad cases, Sedensky said. When I heard about (Texas) I said, This is Sandy Hook all over again. My thoughts go out to both the families of the victims in Uvalde and at the same time the Sandy Hook families, because they have to be saying, When will this end? Sedensky said. My heart just breaks. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 As the blanket media coverage of the massacre in Uvalde stretched into the late evening hours Wednesday, the anger which many times fueled my resolve to speak out and organize began to slip away. A sense of despair took hold. So many unthinkable acts of mass violence (Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe, El Paso) only to find ourselves right back where many of us started this fight a decade earlier. As bleak as the situation may well be, the people of Texas deserve to know there were brief but pivotal moments when the possibility of progress was laid out on a table surprisingly set by Gov. Greg Abbott. In the days after the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, which followed on the heels of the murders at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the resulting March for Our Lives movement, Abbott convened the first of his closed door roundtable discussions on gun violence. My advocacy organization at the time, Texas Gun Sense, was invited to attend. In a room filled with our states top elected officials, law enforcement, educators and mental health professionals, the governor sought input on a variety of small but meaningful reform proposals. These included establishing a red flag law, increasing the penalty for failing to secure a firearm, and mandatory reporting of stolen firearms modest but groundbreaking for a Texas Republican. His knowledge of these policy areas was impressive and his interest appeared genuine. So what happened? Why didnt any of these ideas get signed into law? During the roundtables, I sat immediately to the left of the governor, and we engaged during the breaks. I vividly recall an extended discussion of red flag laws passed in other states including Indiana a Republican stronghold. Officials there reported success in identifying individuals who posed a threat to themselves or others and removing their firearms, with a judges order, before they could act out. This was a concept the governor seemed keen to embrace. He was interested in the Indiana model, he said, because Texans may be more open to accepting ideas adopted by a red state. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick would later destroy the notion of crafting a Texas red flag law, announcing it dead on arrival in the Senate. Abbott said nothing. He inexplicably remained silent during the session as his modest gun security and theft reporting reforms were killed in committee. This end result was a stark contrast from Florida, where a Republican-dominated Legislature passed a red flag law just three weeks after the shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School. Following the massacre of 23 in an El Paso Walmart on August 3, 2019 I was wary of participating in another Abbott gun summit, but the victims of that heinous, racist attack deserved to be honored by having advocates at the table. The meeting, held in the same reception room at the Capitol where many of us gathered 14 months earlier, was colored with urgency. An uneasy El Paso legislative delegation was in attendance. A crowd of angry folks carrying their AR-15s gathered outside the building. After initially declining the invite, representatives of the Texas State Rifle Association were there, seated directly across from the governor. In contrast to the first meeting, I was assigned a seat at the far end of the table about as far away as possible from our state officials. What unfolded over the next several hours was a candid, urgent and somewhat surreal conversation covering many facets of gun violence. Surprisingly, it was the lieutenant governor who set the tone, with an animated presentation in favor of taking meaningful action, such as expanding the states background check system to cover what he called stranger to stranger sales. He was clear and rather blunt in his assessment that elected officials would face major repercussions if they did nothing. Patrick went on to express his disdain of some firearms dealers, gun traffickers and others he said had an incentive to oppose certain reforms. He acknowledged the perceived threat posed by the open carry of semi-automatic rifles like the one used by the shooter at El Paso, stating the public was terrified by the sight of people openly displaying these weapons on the streets of major cities. Both Patrick and Abbott seemed open to exploring ways to rein in the startling presence of assault-style weapons in the streets. Patrick floated the idea of a license to carry long guns in cities. This would involve a simple expansion of the existing system, which at the time required a background check and training to carry a handgun. Abbott directly offered this up to TSRA leader Mike Cox as something meaningful that would not differ much from current requirements. Cox explained his group did not recommend the carry of semi-automatic rifles in the streets, yet he feared any perceived expansion of the system would be viewed by members as burdensome and a threat to individual rights. The meeting continued, hours past the allotted schedule. As a group we proceeded to discuss a variety of ideas, including raising the age of purchase for semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, differentiating weapons like the AR-15 from a standard hunting rifle and establishing a more robust system of welfare checks on individuals with a history of violent threats or behavior something that sounded a lot like red flag lite. The discussion of these ideas was open and honest. Options were not dismissed out of hand. Out of obligation to the many victims of gun violence, I personally made the pitch for universal background checks, safe storage laws and limits on ammunition magazines. I also pointed out to the governor his set of original proposals following Santa Fe still held great value and would be welcomed by most citizens. He did not respond. A few days later Patrick appeared live on Fox News to outline his background check proposal and was infamously quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying he would gladly take an arrow through the heart to oppose the NRA. Well, we all know what happened next. Nothing. At least nothing positive. A series of statewide legislative hearings to discuss mass violence sputtered and received little coverage before quietly dying during the pandemic. The next legislative session kicked off with Abbott declaring his full support for so-called constitutional carry allowing almost anyone to carry a handgun without a license or training. In the wake of Uvalde, it is important Texans realize a massive failure in courage contributed to the nightmare in which we are trapped. Our state leaders abandoned their own proposals and even their personal sense of humanity in favor of a dogma that grows more extreme with each day. In a calculated move to avoid addressing the role of guns in gun related crime, lawmakers chose a path of expanding the availability of firearms and relying heavily on law enforcement and traditional deterrence. Millions of dollars were pumped into the hardening of school sites, improved tactical response, threat assessment, information sharing, surveillance of the internet and boosting the number of armed school marshals - especially in rural districts. All of these measures failed at Uvalde. All of them. In recent days it has become difficult to shake the notion that I was a naive but willing prop in a sideshow meant to distract. I cant help but believe most rational folks are currently revisiting their words and actions in that room. Valuable time and energy were wasted trying to persuade elected officials who dont even control their own agendas. Ed Scruggs is a policy aide for the Austin City Council and a former president of Texas Gun Sense. 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Former President Donald Trump scoured the Biden administration and its support for Ukraine, which it considers more important than securing the safety of American kids. He mentions the $40Bln that his successor is spending for another county, not Americans, is not right. Called the savage and barbaric atrocity, the deadly mass shooting perpetrated at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school. Trump Calls To Boost Security of American Children Trump said it was horrible to see, watch, and even hear about. The savage and brutal murder of 19 innocent children and two adult teachers, with many others, critically injured, shocked the conscience of every single American, reported Sputnik News. He spoke at a National Rifle Association (NRA) convention, then a minute of silence and announced the names of the dead who were victims of the government's folly, noted AP News. Furthermore, mention the trillions lose due to Biden's failure, stressing the US should boost school security first instead of the welfare of another nation abroad. Trump called out Biden for blaming the gun lobby and every American, with the Democrats insinuating that Republicans accepted the deadly school shooting last Friday. But the GOP does not condone it calling out the 46th president as divisive and dangerous, even vicious, making US politics worse. Trump suggested that all schools in the US should have one entry only, add fences and even metal detectors allowed by the Biden administration, along with new technology to avoid such violent gun violence against American kids, cited Axios. Read Also: Emmanuel Macron Facts: Interesting Info You May Not Know About The French President An 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire in the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last Tuesday. Victims were fatally shot, including 19 kids, in one hour before being slain by police. President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats are using the tragedy to justify increasing gun control measures. The president signed an executive order on police reform that penalized police misconduct. White House Shifts Blame to Police Officers According to the White House, Biden's executive order instructs the US Attorney General to create a national directory that includes records of police misconduct. Based on the press statement, it will be used to screen officers and be accessible to state and local law enforcement agencies. This executive order makes it mandatory that steps be carried out to enhance thorough investigations into cases of people in custody utilizing lethal force. According to the press release, Biden also ordered federal law enforcement to implement policies that ensure body-worn cameras are enabled during arrests and searches. An order was issued by the White House to prevent officers from chokeholds and carotid restraints only if needed. It negatively limits the police from gaining entry in searches according to the order. The executive order also regulates the transfer of military equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies, but it will continue to ensure that they have access to and use appropriate equipment in the event of a disaster. Other scenarios discussed include active shooter situations, hostage or search and rescue operations, and anti-terrorism operations. Trump slammed the Biden administration for its shady commitment to keep American kids safe from deadly attacks and called it a travesty how the Democrats are taking advantage of the situation. Related Article: Joe Biden's Approval Rating Sinks to the Lowest Ever in Polls, Placing the United States in Crisis After Crisis @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Veteran Spotlight: Army Sgt. Christine Zecker Christine Zecker served in the Army for nearly a decade, including working in a specialized psychiatric unit. LEE, Mass. Christine Zecker served her country in Army as a sergeant from 1989 to 1998. She enlisted on Halloween night at 21 years of age and was sent to basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., where she was platoon leader for her class. "It was the first real basic training, on the verge of war. Lots of people went AWOL or had breakdowns. We were in lockdowns with newspapers and media outlets. They wouldn't let us see anything that would distract us from our training," she remembered of the lead up to Desert Storm. Zecker's first assignment was psychiatric specialist training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, then onto Lackland Air Force Base at the Audie Murphy Veterans Hospital, where she worked in a psychiatric unit. "We were working with veterans and dependents and a range of others: PTSD, drug and alcohol, depression," she said. "I learned a great deal there and forged some great relationships saw a lot of crazy stuff, too. ... "Had this one man, he was a 'tunnel rat' in Vietnam (a soldier who searched and destroyed Viet Cong tunnels) and went outside in the courtyard and was smoking a joint. He had a razor blade with him and was talking to himself he had that look, it's unforgettable he was a person that couldn't function in society." Zecker said it was the war that did that to him, "you can't see your best friend's head on a stick and come out alright." Despite being frightened, she was able to talk to him and get the razor blade away from him. "On the funny side of things, we had this guy that all he talked about was knowing the president and how he embezzled all this money and stole this money," she said. "And you know what? The Feds came and actually got him." Was she ever afraid? "Most definitely. I could throw a grenade or fire my M-16 no problem but jumping off a 60-foot tower was petrifying," she recalled. "Crawling under barbed wire while being fired at with live ammunition was equally terrifying." What was the toughest part of her job? She said it was seeing the people who were being deployed. "We helped the Huey pilots a lot with guided visualization. We tried to help the people that needed it," Zecker said. "Our unit was trained to prevent PTSD, but you never prevent PTSD, you try to help deal with it. Our unit was one of only six to specialize in PTSD." How were the holidays? "In basic training they canceled Christmas. It was a vulnerable time with the war. I was on KP duty and cleaned pots bigger than me," she said. "I cried a lot ... talked to my family at least seven times on Christmas Day. ... "A general came in and wished me a Merry Christmas, asked me where I was from. My mom was a baker and sent our platoon cookies and presents." Zecker also share a wonderful memory: "My dad would walk around town and take pictures of things and send them to me. Mom sent clippings from the local newspapers on people in town that were deployed ... it was nice." What did her service mean to her? "It was the greatest privilege and honor aside from my being a mother," Zecker said. "I'm very patriotic and love our country so much ... I'm still close with the woman I shipped out to basic with as well as my unit." She is a proud mother of two children and a classically trained chef. She lives in Lee. Sgt. Christine Zecker, thank you for your service to our great country. American Legion Post 160 of Adams lays a wreath at the Mount Greylock War Memorial on Sunday morning. This annual observance has taken place for 88 years. PreviousNext North County Observes an Early Memorial Day Olivia Zoito, an eighth-grader at Clarksburg School, reads 'In Flanders' Fields" at the town's Memorial Day ceremony. She also gave the Gettysburg Address. ADAMS, Mass. American Legion Post 160 made its 88th pilgrimage to the Mount Greylock War Memorial to honor their fallen comrades Sunday morning. The towns of Clarksburg and Lanesborough also held observances for Memorial Day. Wayne Soares, motivational speaker, comedian, son of a World War II Seabee, and friend to veterans was the keynote speaker, and he shared some of the stories from his many interviews with veterans over the years. Soares' "Veteran Spotlight" appears twice a month on iBerkshires.com. "Over the last several years I have been honored and privileged to write and hear the stories of the brave men and women that have served our country," he said. "On this special day, I'm reminded of our Vietnam veterans." Soares spoke of Cpl. Bill Blaisdell, an Army combat medic at Lai Khe base camp who assumed command during battle after his commanding officer took a bullet in the head. He said he was reminded of Pvt. Johnny Blake, a tunnel rat in the United States Army. "Talking about the constant threat of danger on every mission, the reoccurring nightmares and cold sweats," he recalled. "And never forgetting the screams of a fellow soldier who was in front of him on a mission. Who ran into a booby trap of poisonous snakes set by the Viet Cong." He mentioned Captain Margaret Swarsh, a combat nurse in the Army who told him about the brutal 14-16 hour work days in the 12th evacuation center in Cu Chi, and Dr. Roger Cayden, an Army surgeon who talked about being overrun daily with wounded during the Tet Offensive. Soares spoke of John Stryker Meyer, Green Beret, MACV-SOG and his recollections from the jungle "The pitch blackness of the night, and the deadly quiet. How every time the wind stirred he felt the NVA soldier grow closer and closer," he said. "Until the soldier touched the tip of his boot, letting out a gasp telling me, 'it felt like an eternity until the soldier moved away'." He spoke of Captain Bill Albracht, United States Army, who recalled being under attack while in a bunker praying to get as many of his men out as possible, regardless of what happened to him. "He recalled holding a dying soldier in his arms and of telling the boy's father and mother years later that their son didn't die alone, didn't die in vain," he said. "He died in the arms of a new friend." Soares closed by thanking the Vietnam Veterans for their sacrifice "To all of our Vietnam Veterans here today and around our great country I say a heartfelt thank you for your service," he said. "And a long-awaited, extremely long-overdue welcome home." Earlier in the morning during the drive up the mountain, the group stopped near a small waterfall to share in a toast to all passed veterans. Before the ceremony, Don Sommer of post 160 remarked on the brisk sunny weather atop Mount Greylock and thanked everyone for attending the ceremony that is often done in the snow, fog, or rain. He said now more than ever Americans need to come together and honor what so many veterans died protecting. "Our country is being separated," he said. "...We need to dedicate ourselves to remembering the veterans that gave their all. We need to bring this country back together again. We need to follow our constitution. That is what they died for, and we need to honor their memory and work towards that." After a ceremony and firing squad, a memorial wreath was set in the rotunda of the tower, originally built on the state's highest peak as a memorial to Massachusetts servicemen killed in World War I. Breakfast was then served at the Bascom Lodge. iciHaiti - Tabarre : The SWAT releases 4 hostages several kidnappers killed or injured Friday May 27, 2022, a few hours after being kidnapped on Toby Street, not far from Riviere grise (commune of Tabarre), 4 hostages including 2 children aged 2 and 8 respectively, were released safe and sound, during a strong operation carried out by SWAT agents from the Tabarre Intervention Brigade and the West-2 Departmental Directorate. During the intervention, several kidnappers and members of the gang led by "Vitelhomme" were injured or killed in exchanges of fire with the police. A red Suzuki Grand Vitara was seized. The police also found several objects including a pair of State Service license plates and a pair of handcuffs in a house in Tabarre where the 4 hostages were held. A resident who was shot and injured during the clashes was rushed to hospital. His condition is stable according to his attending physician. The National Police invites the population to provide them with any information that may help them apprehend all the individuals injured during this operation, which aimed to free the 4 hostages. IH/ iciHaiti India operates Russian nuclear submarines (Akula attack subs) as part of its Navy and prefers Soviet equipment over anything else. The US recently offered its hardware to New Delhi, but the offer has not received any interest. India Trusts Russia, Not America After achieving independence from Britain with the conclusion of the Second World War, the Indian Navy used several used warships, including an aircraft carrier, reported India Defense News. Some of these boats are ex-Royal Navy ships, though the present flagship is the INS Vikramaditya. The warship is a Soviet-era Kiev-class aircraft cruiser bought from Russia in 2004. Other combat sea-going vessels operated by Indians are submarines. From 1988 to 1991, leasing their initial ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) of Soviet origin, and in 2019 when New Delhi inked a $3 billion contract for renting an Akula-1-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) for ten years, cited 19FortyFive. It took two years to reach a deal with Moscow for the price and particulars of the Russian nuclear submarines included in the rental deal. The deal negotiated will have the sub delivered and designated the Chakra III to be returned after 2025. Soon after renting the first one, another attack submarine was arranged from Moscow, and it needed to field two carrier battlegroups. This year, the carrier Vikrant, built in India, will be commissioned by the Indian Navy should all go smoothly. Read Also: Gautam Adani Net worth 2022: Asia's Richest Billionaire Is Wealthier Than Mark Zuckerberg Delhi's Maritime Forces in the Indian Ocean These Russian SSNs will be accompanying four Arihant-class subs, and they will be part of India's carrier strike force, which is expected to bolster the nation's troops by the end of 2020. These Russian-made Akula-class are made for extended times staying submerged, although the only limit is how much supplies the crew has till it needs to resurface. Capable of getting equipped with a range of tactical arms, torpedoes, even ship killer cruise missiles, missiles for land assault through no supplying of long-range nuclear missiles due to international treaties. These submarines are not on missions for deterrence patrols as they are used for other tasks. It is uncertain whether Russia's war in Ukraine will impact the transfer of the Chakra-III or whether Moscow can deliver a second SSN. Akula-class Feared by the West A sub designed late in the 70s and further developed at the start of the 80s, the class has a double made up of an inner pressure hull and an outer "light" hull, noted Army Global. Its exterior hull allows the sub to have more reserve buoyancy compared to western equivalents of the ear. About fifteen of the twenty boats planned for construction were done by the Amur Shipbuilding Plant Joint Stock Company, with Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard. Although five more of the hulls were ready to be built, several were canceled while getting built. Two hulls were used to create the Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic submarines: Yury Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky. In the years from 1986 to 1992, when Seven Akula-I class boats were commissioned, three were in service between 1992 and 1995. But other ships were canceled due to a Russian economic crisis. India considers military hardware like Russian nuclear submarines for their naval forces more preferred even in aircraft and prefers Soviet despite US offers. Related Article: Will China's Next-Gen Submarine Be Prowling the South China Sea? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The last few weeks of Elon Musk's business life have been unusually tumultuous even for him. First, he bought up a lot of Twitter stock, which he kept secret longer than he legally should have. Next came his successful campaign to join Twitter's board. That effort ended abruptly when he decided to forgo his board seat and buy the whole company instead. He offered $54.20 a share, a price that incorporates his favorite number, 420, often used as code for marijuana. After first adopting a "poison pill," presumably to ward off Musk, Twitter's board changed course and voted to accept the offer. But not so fast. Musk announced he was putting the deal on pause because he had questions about the prevalence of bots on Twitter. The only problem is that, having made a firm offer in writing with no allowance for due diligence, Musk may actually have no legal right to pause the deal. So now, with Twitter's stock price dropping, he's being sued by a Twitter shareholder who hopes to launch a class action against him. Whew! All this is head-spinning to say the least. But while Musk is always entertaining to watch, observing his successes and struggles can also teach you a lot about what does and doesn't work, both in business and in life. With that in mind, here are some lessons leaders can draw from the latest events in Muskworld. 1. Acting on impulse might work out for you. Or not. Remember how The Boring Company got started? Musk found himself caught in a Los Angeles traffic jam and tweeted from behind the wheel that he was going to build himself a boring machine and start tunneling under the roadways. It sounded enough like a joke that he felt compelled to add, "I am actually going to do this." Considering it was founded on a whim, The Boring Company is working out better than you might expect. It's had some setbacks, but it has a tunnel open and running in Las Vegas, and has a valuation of $5.7 billion. But that doesn't mean every time Musk acts on an impulse--or you do--that it will work out well. His decision to buy Twitter outright, rather than take a seat on the board as a major shareholder, certainly looks like it was an impulse. His announcement that he was pausing the purchase due to concerns over bot accounts seems both impulsive and disingenuous. Musk certainly knew before he made his offer that bots were widespread on the platform. Right now, it's not clear that either decision will work out well for him. Sometimes impulsive acts don't. 2. Just because you're very good at some things doesn't mean you're good at everything. Musk's extraordinary success is built on extraordinary abilities. He seems able to solve nearly any engineering problem and he literally taught himself to be a rocket scientist. He launched the electric car industry into the mainstream, and may even succeed in his plan to colonize Mars. Plus, he's the world's richest person. All this might lead you to believe that Musk will excel at everything he ever does, but it isn't true. He can't carry a tune. And for all his talk about how Twitter should allow any speech that isn't against the law, he doesn't know how to fix Twitter's problems. He himself halfway admitted this at this year's TED conference when he was asked about specifics and said, "I don't have all the answers here." 3. Emotional intelligence really does matter. Musk has, at times, displayed a stunning lack of emotional intelligence, for example when he smoked pot in front of millions of viewers on Joe Rogan's podcast, or when he called a British diver working on the Thai cave rescue "pedo guy." As it turns out, he has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism, as he revealed on Saturday Night Live. People on the autism spectrum typically lack intuitive empathy and emotional intelligence and must usually learn these skills instead. In Musk's case, it appears he still has some learning to do. Twitter employees were already spooked and many were sending out their resumes even before Musk tweeted that if he completes the purchase of Twitter, "work ethic expectations would be extreme." It's still a tight labor market out there, especially for tech talent. Whatever Musk intends or wants for Twitter, a mass exodus of seasoned employees won't help him get there. Television | TV Channels As a brand, we have always been hungry for growth and expansion: Anand Vishal Inox's chief sales and revenue officer Vishal Anand has helmed critical management roles with various cinema entities. With a career spanning over two decades, he has managed many portfolios including business operations, sales and marketing. Read More... Movies | Hindi 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' to cross Rs 100 crore mark Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani starrer horror comedy film "Bhool Bhulaiya 2" is continuously creating records at the box office. The film has done a business of about Rs 98 crore in just eight days and trade experts believe that the movie will cross the Rs 100 crore mark on Saturday. Read More... Television | TV Channels UK based broadcaster BBC plans to build 'digital-first' focused services UK pubcaster BBC director-general Tim Davie shared his plan to build a "digital-first" British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The plan will see the broadcaster prioritising its apps and websites over traditional broadcasting channels, said in a company statement. Read More... iWorld | OTT ALTBalaji onboards Snehil Dixit Mehra as head of content & digital media : A wholly-owned subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms ALT Digital Media Entertainment appointed Snehil Dixit Mehra as the head of content & digital media. Earlier, Mehra worked with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali as associate director. Read More... Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's relationship has been much-talked about in Bollywood. They are known to be one of the cutest couples who have been nicknamed RanLia by their fans. From going to red carpet events to hanging out at home together, the couple has been gaining all the attention ever since they started dating five years ago. The two got married in an intimate ceremony with only close friends and family in attendance earlier this year on April 14. Unlike other couples, the two lovebirds ditched the age-old tradition of newly married couples going for honeymoon. They instead set off to fulfil their pending work commitments. Recently, some photos of Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor from an ad shoot have gone viral on social media. One of the Sanju actor's fan posted rare photos from their ad shoot on Instagram. Fans took to Instagram to express their feeling about the couple. One wrote, "U look so beautiful together plz stay blessed always," while other shared love and fire emojis in the comment section of the viral post. Indiatimes Arjun Kapoor Teases Alia Bhatt Over Her Latest Instagram Post Alia Bhatt, who is currently in London, also shared a new snap on herself on Instagram on Sunday. "Just give me my sunshine and Ill be on my way ," the actress captioned the photo. Seeing the post, actor Arjun Kapoor teased the Dear Zindagi actress with his comment, "Sunshine is in mumbai shooting with Luv ranjan but !!!" which stole all the limelight on social media. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's Upcoming Project Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's much-anticipated film Brahmastra directed by Ayan Mukerji is set to hit theatres on September 9, 2022. The film stars veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan and TV's popular Naagin actress Mouni Roy. The film will mark the duo's first onscreen project together. Alia Bhatt to Star in Jee Le Zaraa Alongside Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif More on the work front, Alia Bhatt is all set to make her debut in Hollywood with the movie Heart Of Stone alongside actress Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. She is also going to feature in Darlings, for which she has turned co-producer with Shah Rukh Khan. Another project of Alia Bhatt is Jee Le Zaraa directed by Farhan Akhtar. Jee Le Zaraa will have Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif in the lead role as well. She also has Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani opposite Ranveer Singh in her kitty. Web Screen Grab (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) The investigation of the Texas Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde that killed 21 people, including 19 children, had focused on clarifying what transpired within the 90 minutes of terror as authorities provided contradictory and shifting details on the incident and their actions to address the crime. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was "misled" when first informed of the police reaction, as per CBS News. He told reporters in a press conference Friday afternoon that the information he received "turned out, in part, to be inaccurate," and he was "absolutely livid" about it. What Happened During the Texas Elementary School Shooting After three days of compiling information, authorities disclosed the details of the incident, as reported by AP News: Sometime past 11 a.m. - According to Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, shoots his grandmother in the face. While in his yard, Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street from Ramos and his grandmother, heard a gunshot. He rushes to the front, where he sees Ramos speed away in a pickup truck and Ramos' grandma approaching him, covered in blood and screaming for assistance. Gallegos' wife contacts the police to report the incident. 11:27 a.m. - A video shows a teacher propping open an exterior door of the school. According to McCraw, authorities have not officially identified the teacher. 11:28 a.m. - The teacher exits to get a phone and then returns through the exit door propped open. McCraw noted that it is unclear why the teacher needed to get a phone. According to Travis Considine of the Department of Public Safety, investigators have not yet determined why the door was propped open. 11:28 a.m. - Ramos crashes his pickup into a drainage ditch behind the school, McCray said. Two guys working at a neighboring funeral home hear the crash and hurry outside to check. Ramos gets out of the passenger cabin, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a bag of ammunition. The men retreat, and Ramos fires at them but misses. Both men return to the funeral home. A scared teacher then exits the school and phones 911. 11:30 a.m. - 911 receives a call about a crash and a man carrying a firearm at the elementary school, according to McCraw. 11:31 a.m. -As police cars arrive at the funeral home, Ramos begins shooting at the school from the parking lot, McCraw stated. Ramos then proceeds to walk around the building. According to McCraw, the school district police officer on duty that day was not on campus around this time, contrary to prior statements. After receiving the 911 call, the officer rushes to the school and approaches the person he believed to be the gunman at the back of the building. McCraw said the officer "sped" towards the suspect, who was "hunkered down behind" a vehicle. The man turned out to be a teacher. 11:32 a.m. - Ramos fires multiple shots at the school and then moves towards the open door, per McCraw. 11:33 a.m. - The gunman enters the school and shoots into adjoining classrooms 111 and 112. Ramos fires 100 rounds, McCraw said. 11:35 a.m. - Three police officers enter the school building through the door where Ramos came in. Four other officers follow. According to McCraw, two of the seven officers in the building sustained "grazing wounds" from the gunman. 11:37 a.m. - Gunfire continues, with 16 rounds fired in all, according to McCraw. Who fired the rounds is undetermined. 11:51 a.m. - A police sergeant and other law enforcement arrive at the scene, McCraw said. 12:03 p.m. -A female (unknown age) calls 911 and says she is in classroom 112, as per McCraw. The call is 1 minute and 23 seconds long. 12:03 p.m. - The number of officers in the hallway near the room where Ramos is holed up reaches 19 as officers continue to enter the building, according to McCraw. 12:06 p.m. - Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, posted a message on the district's Facebook page: "Uvalde CISD Parents: Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified." 12:10 p.m. - At 12:03 p.m., a female (age unknown) dialed 911. Calls 911 again to report that many have died. At 12:13 p.m., she calls again. McCraw stated she says there were eight to nine students alive at 12:16 p.m. 12:10 p.m. -According to the Marshals Service, the first group of deputy U.S. marshals from Del Rio come from roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away to reinforce the various other law enforcement officers already on the scene. 12:15 p.m. - Members of the US Border Patrol tactical unit come with shields, according to McCraw. 12:19 p.m. - A girl in room 111 dials 911 and hangs up when a fellow student asks her to, according to McCraw. Read Also: Indiana Boy, 5, Found Dead in Suitcase; Police Autopsy, Toxicology Report Reveal Child's Cause of Death 12:21 p.m. - Ramos shoots again, and officers believe he's at one of the adjoining classrooms' doors, according to McCraw. The officers move down the hallway. 12:21 p.m. - According to McCraw, three gunfire can be heard on a 911 call. Police are stuck in the corridor around this time because both classroom doors are locked, and they need keys from school personnel. 12:36 p.m. - A child dials 911 for the duration of 21 seconds. A girl dials 911 around this time and is advised to stay on the line and be very quiet, according to McCraw. "He shot the door," the girl claims. 12:43 p.m. -The girl asks the 911 operator to "please send the police now 12:46 p.m. - The girl claims she can hear the cops next door. 12:47 p.m. - She again requests 911 to "please send the police now." 12:50 p.m. - Officers use keys from a school staffer to unlock the doors, enter the classroom, and kill Ramos, according to McCraw. Over the 911 call, shots can be heard. 12:51 p.m. - According to McCraw, officers can be heard escorting youngsters out of the room. 12:58 p.m. According to Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, law enforcement radio chatter says Ramos has been killed, and the siege is over. VP Kamala Harris Calls For Weapons Ban Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris called for an assault weapons ban in remarks on Saturday following back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, as per a report from CNN. She called everybody "to stand up and agree that this should not be happening in our country and that we should have the courage to do something about it." "On the issue of gun violence, I will say, as I've said countless times, we are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, we're not looking for a vaccine," Harris told reporters in Buffalo. The Vice President called for an "assault weapons ban" that is "designed" to kill "a lot of human beings quickly." "An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in a civil society," Harris said. Related Article: President Joe Biden Calls for Gun Laws That Would Not Negatively Impact the Second Amendment @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Is there a more convivial and fun way to eat out doing a Tapas Trail in a busy Spanish city such as San Sebastian, Grenada or Valladolid? Im not sure there is - but can it be done in Dublin? Blanca Valencia is my Spanish food guru (you might know her from Spice Bags Podcast), and in Spain, she tells me: you never book anywhere, you keep things free and easy and you bump into friends along the way. Some friends might come with you to the next bar, its a sort of culinary Odyssey. Speaking of Odyssey, International Tapas Day coincides with Bloomsday on the 16th June so watch out for events - Molly Bloom was Spanish after all. We began at Pintxo in Temple Bar at 5.45pm on a Thursday. Pintxo means spike in Basque as tapas typically come attached to bread with a cocktail stick. We began with some classics - a plate of fruity fresh Padron Peppers, and a selection of creamy and crisp Croquetas (6) including chorizo, chicken and jamon versions. Next came some Majorero (9) - nutty rich goats cheese with honey for dipping, all cheese should come with honey. Two glasses of excellent Fernando de Castilla Fino (6.50 each) brought our bill to 31.50 and we were off to a fine start. Next up was Fallon & Byrne Wine Cellar which was a must-visit because like all the cool tapas bars in Spain they offer conservas - tins of razor clams or sardines etc. In Spain, all the cool chefs have a line of their own Conservas. Glasses of De la Riva Fino (6 each) were a perfect foil for the meaty sweet marinated Boquerones (10) which came with crisp wheaten melba toast. A large bowl of juicy olives (5) brought the bill to 27. The next stop had to be Uno Mas on Aungier St but of course, they were booked up weeks in advance - in Spain the street would be pedestrianised and we would simply eat and drink outside. On we marched to Las Tapas de Lolas (TdL), Dublins best-known Spanish restaurant - they too were full but had room outside. This was a full Spanish experience with two glasses of gratis Tinta de Verano to start - the fruity sweet mix of red wine and lemon soda - only tourists ask for Sangria! says wise Blanca. Patatas Bravas from TdL in Dublin TdL has a solid wine list and a choice of six Lustau sherries - Peninsula Palo Cortado (7.75) was layered and complex and Don Nuo Olorosa (8.50) was nutty and warming and both worked well. Patatas Bravas (6.25) were possibly the best Ive tasted with crisp potatoes and good aioli and tomato sauce - but better again, and a revelation for me was Berenjenas Fritas Cordobesas - Cordoba-style fried aubergine strips with a drizzle of molasses - utterly delicious. Scallop Gratin (10) had a mix of scallop and white fish with a hit of tarragon topped with a rich bechamel sauce - unctuous and rich in a good way. The bill came to 48.25 (incl. Galician Herbal Liqueurs). Next to Franks on Camden St. which does not take bookings so they were happy to see us and was the perfect place to finish. We also had a proper Spanish experience by bumping into wine importer and old friend Enrico Fantasia with one of his winemakers. Franks has a new menu and we loved the cheesy zingy Scamorza, Nduja and Cauliflower Croquettes (8) and had an outstanding creamy spiky Elderflower Creme Brulee with fermented honey - a few glasses of Bodegas los Frailes Monastrell from Valencia (11) and our bill was 58. So, yes - you can absolutely do a tapas trail in Dublin but start early, choose a quieter day and remember that Franks dont require a booking! The Tab: Total spend for the night was 164.75, an average of 41 per tapas bar. How To: Tapas de Lolas is closed Mon-Tues & Franks on Monday, but Pintxo and Fallon & Byrne are open every day. The Verdict: Standards were high across the board. Food: 9/10 Drink: 9/10 Service: 9/10 Ambiance: 9/10 Value: 8/10 In a Sentence: All our experiences were thoroughly enjoyable - with dishes of the night being the fried aubergines in Las Tapas de Lola and the Elderflower Brulee in Franks - yes, you can do a successful Tapas Trail in Dublin! Patients needing catch-up care after the pandemic delays are facing a critical year just as doctor emigration shoots up, theIrish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned. New figures presented at the organisations annual general meeting show so far this year 402 doctors have emigrated to Australia alone up from 272 in 2019. Incoming president Dr Clive Kilgallen warned of serious challenges to patient safety including unacceptable waiting lists and an exhausted workforce. Dr. Clive Kilgallen, Chairperson of the Irish Medical Organisation Consultant Committee.jpg Unfortunately, the reality after Covid is the same as the reality before Covid. All sections of the health services are under pressure, he said. This year is critical for patients, he said as there is a pent-up demand for treatments and care after the delays caused by Covid-19 lockdowns and reduced healthcare access. He warned that Covid-19 pressures have exposed the fragility of the health system. Working conditions for junior doctors non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) are a key concern for the union. They are balloting for potential industrial action, saying they work 80-hour weeks including 24-hour shifts which puts patients at risk. Research presented by Dr Niamh Humphries, senior lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI), shows the increased lure of other countries. She said Ireland trains 750 Irish or EU doctors every year but loses many to emigration, and she indicated as travel bans are lifted this could increase further this year. Her research shows Ireland has fewer consultants than the UK or Australia, which places greater pressures on younger doctors. Dr Kilgallen said they work up to 80 hours a week including shifts of over 24-hours, a breach of the European Working Hours Directive. These doctors are the future of our medical services, he said. Without NCHDs, there will be no future general practitioners, consultants or public health doctors. When I listen to their stories, they feel forgotten. They feel they are being treated with contempt.. Health minister Stephen Donnelly also addressed the meeting, he described working conditions for junior doctors as completely unacceptable. He said some work has started on addressing their concerns with funding allocated. NCHDs should get paid for all hours worked. NCHDs should not have to work unsafe hours, he said. He has written to the HSE asking them to engage, he said. IMO CEO Susan Clyne said if, as expected, the ballot does approve industrial action, they will seek negotiations with the HSE and department of health. If these fail then 21 days' notice will be given for strike action. Susan Clyne, CEO of the IMO. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins She said Irish-trained doctors are valued in other countries, meaning the HSE is competing in a global market. There are basic contractual breaches she said, and these need to fixed rather than looking at issues around locker access and canteen opening times. Patients have already taken the brunt of two days of industrial action this month when talks broke down between the health authorities and medical scientists over a long-standing pay dispute dating back to 2002. The HSE estimated 14,000 patients were affected each day, with hospitals and GPs unable to have routine tests processed. People took leave from work to campaign. There was an endless variety of badges and buttons. There were the T-shirts, tote bags, and jumpers. There was the mural. There was the covering up of the mural. There was a top-rating podcast created specifically to cover Repeal. There was the half a million euro raised in a handful of days through 2 donations for the posters. There were the groups doctors, lawyers, psychologists, midwives, grandparents, parents, artists all for choice. There was the spotlight of international media. There were documentaries. There was history in the making. There were stalls and marches, public meetings, and press conferences. There was the social media hate, the binary media debate. And then there was the vote. After the exodus of more than 200,000 girls and women to Britain for abortion care since 1983, the night before the vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment on May 25, 2018, there was the spontaneous, unchoreographed influx of our wild geese at Dublin Airport voting with their feet. Four years after the Irish electorate voted by 66.4% to remove the 35-year ban on abortion from our Constitution, what has happened to that uprising of energy that made it possible? Did the toll of telling personal stories send people into silent and permanent retreat? Did the delight of victory turn into disappointment as restrictions to abortion care materialised? Did the emotional labour of overturning constitutionally-enshrined misogyny lead to burnout? Repealers how and where are they now, what happened to their fight? A young woman leaves flowers at the Savita Halappanavar mural as the results in the referendum on the 8th Amendment on the country's abortion laws takes place at Dublin Castle on May 26, 2018. Picture: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Lourda Scott had three young children in 2018, the youngest of which was two, when she was out knocking on doors asking her neighbours to vote to repeal the amendment. After months of campaigning, her exhaustion turned to relief when the vote came in. So did a feeling of buoyancy and a sense that the result was the start of something new and positive. For me it completely changed my life because I pivoted into politics, says Lourda, now a local Green Party councillor in Wicklow. I switched my activism to politics. Repeal encouraged me, she says. How does she feel now, four years later? Dispirited and downhearted, she says. Theres a feeling weve come to a complete standstill in womens healthcare, the men in power have stopped listening. "There are a tonne of barriers to abortion healthcare, theres a feeling the minister for health isnt listening. The way the hospital (new National Maternity Hospital) was rushed through [Cabinet], the men in power saying we had two weeks, thats not listening. The barriers have come down, Lourda adds. Her feeling about the way change occurs in the State is shared by lecturer and author Dr Mary McGill, who campaigned for Repeal in rural Ireland. Emotional time She describes the campaign and the aftermath as an emotional time. The toll the Eighth Amendment took on women should never be forgotten, nor should the work of generations of activists from across this island without whom it would still be in situ, says the academic. And how does she feel about the state of political play, when it comes to women now? As someone born into one of our mother and baby institutions she is especially disappointed. As a Millennial born in one of these institutions, I am tired of waiting for a proper recognition from the government of the harm done to children in this system, however long they spent in these homes," Mary says. The disappointment of the mother and baby homes report was a reminder that while Ireland is capable of change, it never comes without a fight. That sense of fight is something Dr Mary Favier has embodied since the 1980s, when she was in the lonely minority who campaigned against the insertion of the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution, in 2002 when she helped to set up Doctors for Choice and in the aftermath of the 2018 vote when she assisted in implementing the legislation into practice, GP practices specifically. From May 2018 to January 1, 2019, when we had a functional service that was the hardest six months of my life, says Dr Favier. She was involved in convincing politicians, regulators and GPs to implement a community-provided abortion care service. Amy Dunne, the woman at the centre of the controversial Miss D case in 2007, outside the Dail at an event organised by the National Women's Council of Ireland marking the fourth anniversary of Repeal the 8th referendum. Picture: Moya Nolan Ireland remains the only country in the world with a GP-based abortion care national service. But its far from perfect, and is described as patchy. While there is a GP in every county in Ireland that provides the service, only one in three practices provide the service, or said another way only one in nine GPs. It gets patchier if you need abortion care from one of the 19 hospitals nationwide that provide maternity services. Only 11 of those hospitals currently provide abortion care. Women, including those with diagnoses of fatal foetal anomalies, are still travelling to Britain for care four years later. Four years later, how does Dr Favier feel about the advancement of womens healthcare post Repeal? I would still have significant concerns around how woman-centred healthcare is and the fact there are still issues around separation of church and State, she says. Someone who has also worked on the frontline of abortion care post Repeal, is Kitty Maguire. She describes herself as being absolutely burnt out after the 2018 campaign and how it took her a good year to come back to health after it. As a yoga teacher trainer and menstruality mentor she has been hosting pregnancy release circles in the intervening years. I held a pregnancy release circle online last night for people whove had an abortion, miscarriage, still birth or a traumatic pregnancy and every time I host these circles there are women from all over Ireland and other countries that have zoomed in for a kind therapeutic space to process and honour their experience, says Kitty. Sandy Connolly who also campaigned heavily for Repeal describes the very serious relief and the crying after the landslide vote, and how she was unable to speak for a week afterwards. Relief to disappointment That relief though has now turned to disappointment. I am really disappointed by the Governments inaction around maternal healthcare, around perinatal healthcare, I think we get left behind, I think we get used as a soundbite, says the community organiser and postpartum doula. But she is not so disappointed that she is resigned to retreat: The fight is still there. We are not going away, this continues. As a man who campaigned, Ian McGahon used his learnings from the marriage equality campaign to lead in his community on Repeal. But four years later, he feels worried. The two referenda left me very hopeful for the future but I see right now the growth of extremist far-right ideologies that would happily row back on all of our hard fought for social justice wins. We can see in Ireland and many other countries a growing extremist hatred of women and minorities. It worries me, he says. This time four years ago change felt not only palpable, but really possible. Four years later, we see change comes dropping slow on Irish shores. Those who once felt buoyed then felt burnt out and some now even feel dispirited and disappointed. While the arc of the moral universe is long, and we hope it bends toward justice, we now know that change is never permanent and rights are never guaranteed. Those who wish to bend it back rely on the exhaustion of those who fight for the rights of all. America's great appeal to the world was its promise of possibility. It presented itself as virgin territory, a tabula rasa where a society could form anew, free of the past, and where individuals might do the same, reinventing themselves, renewing themselves, starting over. It was a myth, of course: it took no account of those people who were already there, and whose lives and lands were taken, or of those who had been brought to America in shackles. But it was a powerful myth all the same, one whose grip on the global imagination lives on: Witness the success of the stage show Hamilton in seducing yet another generation into the romance of a new world and its revolutionary creation. But now we see something else: A country uniquely burdened with the dead weight of its past, and therefore powerless either to deal with a danger in its present or to make a better future. The land of possibility stands paralysed, apparently unable to make even the smallest change that might save the lives of its young. The evidence came again this week in the Texan town of Uvalde, where an 18-year-old walked into an elementary school and killed 19 children, aged between eight and 10, and two of their teachers. It was the 27th school shooting in the US this year, and its not yet June. There are so many stats like that. In the US, 109 people die of gun violence every day. There have been more mass shootings in the US in 2022 than days of the year. There are more guns in America than there are people. It was Uvalde this week, but last week it was Buffalo, where another 18-year-old walked into a supermarket and killed 10: his animus was directed at black people rather than children, but his method was the same. Each time, the satirists at the Onion bring out the same headline: No way to prevent this, says only nation where this regularly happens. The joke gets at something critical and curiously un-American: A debilitating form of fatalism. A counter protester, centre, is shouted down and has his megaphone taken away by rally attendees for pro-gun control efforts at Discovery Green Park, across the street from the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston. Picture: AP Photo/Michael Wyke After Uvalde, I spoke to several seasoned Washington hands, asking if the horror of this latest massacre might at last prompt action. No, was the reply. Of course, each side makes the same ritual moves. Democrats deliver stirring, even heartbreaking speeches. Republicans then accuse Democrats of politicising tragedy, preferring instead to offer thoughts and prayers to the victims, before suggesting every possible remedy except the obvious one. This week we had Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas demand an end to the menace of unlocked back doors in schools. Not one of them will so much as entertain the idea of, you know, making it a tiny bit harder for a disturbed teenager to get hold of a military grade assault weapon. Refusal to act The easy explanation for this refusal to act is money, specifically the cash put in the hands of pro-gun politicians by the National Rifle Association (whose annual convention, addressed by Donald Trump, went ahead this weekend in Houston, Texas, with the massacre in Uvalde deemed no reason to reschedule). But that is too pat. The NRA has been weakened by a slew of recent scandals, yet Republican politicians still refuse to pass even the mildest gun safety measures. The glum truth is that its not a lobby organisation that has a hold on them so much as pro-gun voters, who have concluded that if a politician dares suggest, say, the massively popular move of requiring universal background checks looking for a record of instability or past violence before selling someone an AR-15, they have taken the first step towards government confiscation of citizens guns. That, of course, is seen as an unconscionable violation of the constitutions second amendment, which enshrines the right to bear arms. Never mind that no Democrat is advocating anything like the action Britain or Australia took after mass shootings, all but banning guns, and never mind that its hard to believe that the framers of the constitution were intent on allowing unhinged teenagers access to weapons that could kill en masse and in seconds. That slippery slope argument, combined with the sacred status accorded to the second amendment and the constitution itself, has immobilised Republicans. Their opposition matters because they have far more say than the number of votes that they win might suggest. Under the US system, every state gets two senators, no matter how many or how few people live in that state. It means mainly white, mainly rural states with few voters but strong views on guns exercise an effective veto on more populous, more diverse, more urban states, whose tens of millions of voters are desperate for gun safety measures. A man kisses the cross of Layla Salazar at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School. Picture: AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills Thats why even the modest proposals that followed the Sandy Hook school massacre of 2012 died in the Senate. And thats why so many feel fatalistic about the prospects of change, resigning themselves to another massacre and then another. Some try to keep the fatalism at bay, insisting that with the NRA weak, now is the time to strike. They propose a march on Washington of a million parents and their children. Or a consumer push to demand the Republicans corporate donors withhold their cash until the party acts on guns. Or maybe even international pressure, with foreign leaders raising gun violence with their US counterparts the way theyd raise human rights abuses when meeting representatives of China. The US Senate banned assault weapons back in 1994 (before allowing the ban to expire a decade later): If they did it once, they can do it again. Defiant voices in the minority But those defiant voices are in the minority. Most believe that the state of Americas politics has condemned the US to suffer a fate the rest of the democratic world has avoided. Beyond the mortal threat that represents to Americans, that despair, that sense that political effort is futile and that change is impossible, endangers US democracy and the countrys very sense of self. That it arises out of the constitution its second amendment and its design of the Senate is a bitter irony. The whole point of the American revolution enshrined in that document was to forge a society that could make the world anew, able to adapt to the present unbound by the strictures of the past. In the words of the great English-born revolutionary Thomas Paine, who argued that circumstances always changed from one generation to the next: As government is for the living, and not for the dead, it is the living only that has any right in it. Todays America is sacrificing the living in the name of the dead of two centuries ago. It is betraying its founding ideal. It is offering up its young to placate ghosts from a time long gone. Guardian Service A superyacht carrying around 8,000 litres of fuel has sunk after it went up in flames while moored in a marina in Torquay, Devon, in the UK. Firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze as it ripped through the 85ft vessel earlier on Saturday. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) said it had five appliances at the scene of the fire, and the case has been handed over to the Environment Agency and the harbourmaster. Officers evacuated a nearby beach and roads, with one witness describing the blaze as like a fireball. Police said the cause of the fire is currently being treated as unexplained. By around 6pm, the fire was out and crews were working on damping down the pier, a DSFRS spokesperson said. Dramatic footage circulating on social media shows black smoke and flames enveloping the anchored white yacht. No injuries have been reported but the harbour was temporarily brought to a standstill, with fears over a large amount of diesel fuel on the burning boat. A DSFRS spokesperson said earlier the yacht contains approximately 8,000 litres of diesel fuel and crews had deployed four breathing apparatus wearers, one compressed air foam jet, two 45mm jets, two pumps. Water relay was carried out by an open water source as well as a street hydrant. A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said earlier: Police were called at 12.10pm today to Princess Pier in Torquay following reports of a fire on a yacht moored in the marina. The boat is believed to be well alight and had broken from the mooring. It has now been secured by the fire service near the pier. There have been no reported injuries at this time. Emergency services remain at the scene where the incident is ongoing. Due to levels of smoke and fumes we are asking residents in the area to keep their doors and windows shut at this time. Members of the public are also urged to avoid the area and beaches are being cleared by officers for public safety. Drew Parkinson, coastguard area commander for South Devon & South-East Cornwall Coastline, asked people to avoid the area as coastguards assisted emergency services in tackling the fire. The Environment Agency has been contacted for comment. A stampede on Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead, police said, a shocking development at an event that organisers said aimed to offer hope to the needy. The stampede at the event organised by the Kings Assembly pentecostal church in Rivers state involved many people who were seeking help, said police spokeswoman Grace Iringe-Koko. Many of the victims were attending an annual Shop for Free charity programme organised by the church. Such events are common in Nigeria, Africas largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty, according to government statistics. Saturdays charity programme was supposed to begin at 9am but dozens arrived as early as 5am to secure their place in the line, Ms Iringe-Koko said. At least 31 people died (AP) Somehow they broke open the locked gate, she said, adding that seven people were injured but were responding to treatment. One witness who only identified himself as Daniel said there were so many children among the dead. Five of the dead children were from one mother, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also lost her life. Some church members were attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment. Videos from the scene showed the clothing and shoes meant for the beneficiaries. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field. The Shop for Free event was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede happened. Turkeys president has told journalists he still intends to block Finland and Swedens accession to Nato. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said meetings this week with Finnish and Swedish delegations had not been at the expected level, noting there had been no steps taken to alleviate Turkeys security concerns. As long as Tayyip Erdogan is at the head of the Republic of Turkey, we cannot say yes to countries that support terror joining Nato, he told journalists on his plane following a visit to Azerbaijan on Saturday, according to the daily Hurriyet newspaper. Mr Erdogan referred to an interview on Swedish state television with Salih Muslim, a member of the Syrian Kurdish administration in north-east Syria, on the night of the delegation meeting. He cited this as evidence of Swedens support for Syrian Kurdish militants that Turkey views as an extension of an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg displays documents after Sweden and Finland applied for membership in Brussels, Belgium, on May 18 (Johanna Geron, Pool via AP) They are not honest or genuine, Mr Erdogan said, and vowed not to allow countries that nuzzle terrorists to their bosom feed terrorists on their laps. He also accused Germany, France and the Netherlands of committing the same mistake of supporting terror. The Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) form the backbone of US-led forces in the fight against the so-called Islamic State group. Turkey has been fighting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since 1984 inside Turkey and northern Iraq, where it has stepped up its operations. Ankara has also led cross-border operations into Syria to push the YPG away from its border, saying they are one and the same as the PKK. All Nato members must approve the two Nordic nations historic bid to join the alliance, propelled by alarm at Russias invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, which commands the second largest army in the alliance, has said it will not allow their accession unless steps are taken, including a lifting of restrictions on weapons sales to Turkey. Mr Erdogan added he would be speaking by phone with Russian and Ukrainian leaders on Monday. Hundreds of Lithuanians raise funds to purchase an advanced military drone to help Ukraine defend itself against continued attacks by Russia. Lithuanians pitched in to generate five million euros ($4.7 million) within three and a half days. The amount was used to purchase a Byraktar TB2 military drone. Laisves TV, the Lithuanian internet broadcaster, launched the fundraising campaign, as per Reuters. Agne Belickaite, 32, donated 100 euros when the fundraising launched on Wednesday. She said that before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, none of them considered buying weapons. However, it became "normal" since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack on Ukraine in February. "Something must be done for the world to get better," she said. The drone has proven effective against Russian forces and their allies in Syria and Libya in recent years, and its procurement is being coordinated by Lithuania's Ministry of Defense, which plans to sign a letter of intent to buy the craft from Turkey next week. Unbelievable Effort From Lithuanians The Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial warfare drones are armed with precision missiles that can strike out any encroaching armor, according to The Independent. "Novel, unexpected fundraisers fire people up again. It's the third month of the invasion... it's important to avoid getting used to it," Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in an interview with Laisves TV. According to Ukraine's Ambassador to Lithuania, Beshta Petro, it was the "first case in history" when ordinary civilians contributed funds to purchase a sophisticated weapon. He described the Lithuanians' efforts as "unprecedented, it is unbelievable." In recent years, Ukraine has purchased more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from the Turkish company Baykar, with another 16 being ordered on January 27. The batch arrived in the Eastern European country in early March. Read Also: Former Indian Foreign Minister Issued a Statement with Quad Members Emphasizing Neutrality not Supporting Russian Sanctions Zelensky Calls Russia To Unblock Seaports To End Food Crisis Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russia to unblock Ukraine's seaports to end a global "food crisis" while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, as reported by ABC News. Ukraine's Head of State stated that Russia "has blocked access" to the country's ports in the Black Sea and seized the country's territory in the Sea of Azov. "As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed," said Zelensky. He estimated that Ukraine's storage facilities currently hold 22 million tons of grain. "We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time," Zelensky remarked. According to The President, the block has already impacted grain prices and will soon affect other food prices. Many countries, he projected, would run out of last year's harvest stockpiles by July. Thus, Zelensky urges Russia to open Ukraine's ports as soon as possible to avoid a deepening of the global food crisis. "The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market," Zelensky noted. As per an NBC News report, Ukraine and Russia export a third of the world's wheat and barley, consumed by millions of people in the Middle East and Africa. Related Article: Ukraine Crisis: Legal Experts Warn of "Serious and Imminent Risk of Genocide" as Russian Attack Continues @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. Subscribe or contribute In the hours and days since the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, authorities have given varying accounts of what happened and how they responded Days after a local man burst into an elementary school and killed 19 children and two teachers before officers managed to kill him, the signs of grief, solidarity and local pride are everywhere in Uvalde This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. This so-called leaked document does not belong to the CPS. It does not exist in both internal and public communications of the CPS. It can only be a result of an invention by tinkhundla intelligence operatives, which the Times may be a part of or chief player therein. The Times deceptive narrative has exposed the students to police witch hunts, along with random arrests and assaults, in addition to victimisation by the colleges administration and the state. It also appears that the aim of the Times is to help the state convict some of the youth that have already been arrested and charged with some of the acts listed by the Times. Despite the CPS taking steps to engage directly with the reporter of the story, Mhlonishwa Motsa, with the intention to correct the details of their story, the Times Sunday editor, Thobeka Manyathela, continues to mislead readers. On Sunday 30 January 2022, the editor reiterated the misleading claim that the Times obtained this information from a document belonging to the CPS and went on to verify its authenticity before publishing the story. She also made the erroneous claim that CPS leaders have not complained about the story, thus the Times stands by it. A few days earlier, on 26 January 2022, the Times editor misled the world by claiming that the CPS leadership had confirmed the said document as genuine. It appears that the Times is doing what many other oppressive states propaganda machineries have often done; to repeatedly tell the lie hoping it transforms into truth! Thankfully, in this case, we are here to set the record straight! This so-called document does not exist, except, perhaps, in the Times editors figment of imagination. In any of the communications with the Times reporter, the CPS leadership never confirmed the existence of this document. In fact, in the initial questionnaire sent to the CPS on 14 January 2022, the Times did not state that they were basing their claims on a CPS document, and neither did they share the details of this so-called leaked document. Instead, the CPS leadership had to respond to this question from the Times: We understand that first year students from William Pitcher Training College were a part of the summer school, would you please explain the nature of your (CPS) relationship or engagement agreement with them. As such, there was no mention of a CPS leaked document, and, needless to say, the leadership could not have responded directly to it as well as any matter resulting from the said document. Till this day, the Times has not made the effort to furnish us with this so-called leaked document. The CPS reiterates its position that students reserve the right to fight for their rights, both as students and as members of the community because they are members of the community before they are students. In this regard, students reserve the right to join any political formation of their choice as well as partake in political activities. The Times must desist from criminalising these rights. The CPS calls upon all students and the youth to strengthen their unity against the states malicious propaganda and continue to intensify the fight for democracy. The tinkhundla regimes lies shall be defeated, the peoples truth shall prevail! Johnson City, TN (37604) Today Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Everybody's on TikTok. It's like TikTok's an alternate reality we all choose to be a part of. The trends keep trending. The algorithm never stops filling our feed with content. This week, it's Harry Styles' Harry's House. Styles' latest album is part of every conversation. TikTok users give non-stop reactions and comments. So what's Harry Style's up to? Harry's House Popularity Rose up on TikTok Harry Styles released his third solo album on May 20. It's called Harry's House, and it has since found a home on TikTok. From fan edits and track rankings, you will always come across the 13 tracks on Harry's House on the app. There are also clips of the Styles performing the album during his One Night Only show in New York City on its release day. With almost 2 million videos, the first single off the album, "As It Was," is going on its second month of TikTok stardom. According to Mashable, some highlights of Harry's House TikTok have been fan reactions to the energetic track "Satellite" and the random, but perfect crossover the album has had with the Glee fandom. @skatie96's has an astute observation that the Glee cast would body "Music for a Sushi Restaurant." Meanwhile, @graciwithluv, started assigning each song on the album to a member of the original New Directions. But probably, the best Harry's House trend is a soundbite from Styles's interview with Zane Lowe, said Mashable. Styles describes the inspiration behind the song "Matilda" in an interview. Styles explains, "I had an experience with someone where, in getting to know them better, they revealed some stuff to me that was very much like, 'Oh, that's not normal, like I think you should maybe get some help or something.'" Read Also: TikTok Vaseline Trend: Is Slugging Beneficial or a Dangerous Hack? Harry's House - A Review of Some Tracks What makes Harry Styles Harry Styles is the effortless influence he has over his fan base. His fans online are there for the long haul. Some of Harry's House tracks are constantly being compared to the A.N.T. Farm theme music. While there are similarities between them, it's also pretty obvious that this wasn't done on purpose. In "Music For A Sushi Restaurant," an aspect that deserves attention is the genius use of track list order. The album started off with the upbeat, bright "bahhsss" into the staccato, busy mix of layers, and strong trumpet. This is a great foreshadowing for the rest of the album.. "Late Night Talking" is another upbeat one! It has been used for a lot of montage videos on TikTok. The overall vibe is wholesome, fun, and old. It gives a whimsical feels. It's one of those songs that you can't help but smile listening to it. TikTok approves! In "Grapejuice," the bluesy tone throughout has a calming vibe. However, it still keeps that upbeat energy. There are a few comments on TikTok videos saying this one is kind of forgettable, but there are others who comment otherwise. Harry's House has undeniably found a home in TikTok. And TikTok users seem to love ever single track in the album. Related Article: TikTok's Effect House Will Now Support More AR Effects From Camera IQ The United States expressed concern on Saturday over Chinas efforts to restrict and manipulate the UN Human Rights chiefs visit to the Xinjiang region, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The United States remains concerned about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her teams visit to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and PRC efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit, Blinken said in a statement. We are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the PRC, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing. Washington had warned before Bachelet made her long-planned visit to China that authorities would not grant her the necessary access to get a full assessment of the human rights situation. Blinken reiterated that stance, saying he was troubled by reports that residents of Xinjiang were warned not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region, (and) that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of hundreds of missing Uyghurs and conditions for over a million individuals in detention. Bachelet defended her visit earlier on Saturday, saying it was not an investigation but called on Beijing to avoid arbitrary and indiscriminate measures in its crackdown in Xinjiang. Witnesses and rights groups say more than one million people have been detained in indoctrination camps in the western Chinese region that aim to destroy the Uyghurs Islamic culture and forcibly integrate them into Chinas Han majority. Beijing denies the genocide allegations and says it is offering vocational training to reduce the allure of Islamist extremism. Director Park Chan-wook poses on stage after notching the Best Director award for his romance noir "Decision to Leave" during the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, Saturday. EPA-Yonhap Park becomes 2nd Korean filmmaker to clinch Best Director at Cannes By Park Han-sol Six years after the erotic psychological thriller "The Handmaiden" with a feminist edge premiered at Cannes Film Festival in France, filmmaker Park Chan-wook has returned with the romance noir "Decision to Leave" that earned him the Best Director prize on Saturday (local time). With his latest win, he became the second Korean auteur ever to clinch the honor at Cannes, after Im Kwon-taek for the 2002 historical drama "Chihwaseon." This also marks the director's third prize awarded at the prestigious film festival, following the Grand Prix for the 2003 neo-noir thriller "Oldboy" and the Jury Prize for the 2009 horror drama "Thirst." During his acceptance speech in the Grand Lumiere Theater at the awards ceremony for the 75th edition of the festival, the 58-year-old highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a universal source of fear and anxiety for the last two years, also became an opportunity for the world to realize the importance and value of cinema. "The film industry was suddenly met with an era marked by empty theaters. But this was also a chance for all of us to recognize how precious these movie houses are," he said. "Just like how we have hope and power to overcome this disease, I believe that we cineastes can defend theaters and films for good." He went on to express gratitude to his two main actors, Park Hae-il and Tang Wei, adding, "Above all things, my love for the two is indescribable." Director Park Chan-wook, center, poses with his leading actors Tang Wei, left, and Park Hae-il at the screening of "Decision to Leave" at the Cannes Film Festival, May 23. Reuters-Yonhap "Decision to Leave," starring Park as Hae-joon and Tang as Seo-rae, follows an insomniac Korean police detective on a chase after an enigmatic and mesmerizing widow a Chinese immigrant who is suspected of murdering her husband. The film is born from the marriage of filmmaker Park's two longtime interests fictional police detective Martin Beck from the 10-part Swedish novel series "The Story of a Crime," written by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, and the 1967 Korean pop song "Mist." "I wanted to make a crime movie featuring a thoughtful and polite detective as the main character (like Beck). And I also wished to create a romance flick using the classic Korean pop song, 'Mist.' The film you watched is a combination of the two," he said during a press conference held after the festival's closing ceremony. On the historic, simultaneous wins of two Korean films "Decision to Leave" and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's Korean debut "Broker" for Best Actor at Cannes this year, Park added that such cinematic collaborations taking place in East Asia are meaningful. "While my film stars Chinese actress Tang, 'Broker' (with an all-Korean cast and dialogue) is directed and written by a Japanese filmmaker," he said. "It's meaningful that such exchanges of human resources and capital are taking place in Asia And I feel proud to see that Korea can be at the center of that." A scene from Park's neo-noir thriller "Oldboy" (2003) / Courtesy of Show East Since his 1992 directorial debut "The Moon is the Sun's Dream," Park has been the stylish mastermind behind some of the most iconic titles that put Korean cinema on the map. These include the 2000 mystery thriller "Joint Security Area" and the so-called "The Vengeance Trilogy" in the 2000s, made up of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance." In recent years, he has also ventured into projects outside of the silver screen, such as the 2018 British spy thriller television series "The Little Drummer Girl" and the 2022 short martial arts fantasy "Life is But a Dream," shot entirely on an iPhone. Song Kang Ho makes history at the 75th Cannes Film Festival as he becomes the first Korean artist to receive the Best Actor Award for his outstanding performance in the movie "Broker"! Song Kang Ho Wins Best Actor Award at 75th Cannes Film Festival Another historic moment for the Korean film industry happened this year as "Broker" lead actor Song Kang Ho bagged the Best Actor Award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, making him the first-ever Korean actor to receive the trophy. At the closing ceremony of the prestigious event on May 28, Song Kang Ho received the Best Actor Award, while Director Chan Wook Park of the film "Decision To Leave" received the Best Director Award. Song Kang Ho, who was surprised by the recognition, said in his speech he was grateful and honored by the award. But most of all, he was thankful to director Hirokazu Koreeda for allowing him to be part of the movie "Broker." After calling his co-stars Kang Dong Won, Lee Ji Eun (IU), Lee Joo Young, and Bae Doona. The Best Actor recipient also mentioned CJ ENM's CEO Lee Yoo Jin. Song Kang Ho dedicated the award to all the movie enthusiasts who play an important role in the film industry. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: IU Turns Cannes Film Festival Into Her Fan Event - Here's Why Song Kang Ho as Most Invited Korean Actor in Cannes Film Festival Song Kang Ho made his first Cannes Film Festival appearance in 2006 for the movie "The Host." Since then, he continued to receive invitations to attend the prestigious event. His movies "Secret Sunshine" in 2007 and "Thirst" in 2009 were invited to compete. In 2008, his movie "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" and "Emergency Declaration" in 2021 were invited to the red carpet, making him the most invited Korean actor to Cannes. Song Kang Ho was also mentioned for the possibility of winning the Best Actor Actor for "Parasite" in 2019. He also made a record of being appointed as the first Korean male artist to the Cannes Film Festival as a Jury in 2021. Congratulations to actor Song Kang Ho and the "Broker" team! What's Next for Song Kang Ho Following the successful world premiere of "Broker" at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, the movie will finally be released in Korea this coming June 8, while schedules for international release are yet to be announced. Song Kang Ho is gearing up for a new movie, titled "Cobweb," also known as "Spider's House." He will work with top-notch stars Oh Jung Se, Jeon Yeo Bin, Im Soo Jung, and Krystal Jung. The film production has already begun, and the team aims to release the movie this year. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cannes Film Festival 2022: 'Broker,' 'Hunt' Receive Standing Ovation During Premiere What are your thoughts about Song Kang Ho's winning moment at the 75th Cannes Film Festival? Tell us in the comments! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, follow and subscribe to KDramastars. KDramastars owns this article. Shai Collins wrote this. Actor Song Kang-ho gives his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor award during the ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, Saturday (local times). AP-Yonhap By Lee Gyu-lee Actor Song Kang-ho, who won global recognition with director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film "Parasite" in 2019, has become the first male actor from Korea to win the Best Actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. The 55-year-old actor notched the accolade at the closing ceremony of this year's festival held on Saturday (local time) for his role in "Broker" directed by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. He is the second Korean to win the highest award for a male actor at the festival, following actress Jeon Do-yeon's win for her work in the 2007 film "Secret Sunshine." Starting off his acceptance speech by saying "thank you" in French, Song thanked the director and his co-stars for the honor. "I deeply thank our great artist, Hirokazu Kore-eda. And I would like to share this honor with Gang Dong-won, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young, and Bae Doona who worked together (in the film)," he said. "I'm glad as this feels like a great gift to my lovely family who came here with me. I dedicate the honor of this trophy and the endless love (to them)." From left, actor Song, director Hirokazu Kore-eda and actors Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young and Gang Dong-won pose during the red carpet event at this year's Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 26. Courtesy of CJ ENM During a press conference after the ceremony, Song said he has often been asked by foreign media what makes Korean films dynamic. "I believe our efforts to continuously try and change have affected the country's cultural content," he said. The Palme d'Or director's Korean-language film debut, "Broker" revolves around two baby brokers, who steal a baby from a "baby box," which is a place where mothers are able to leave their babies anonymously because they are unable or unwilling to raise them, intending to sell the baby on the adoption black market. Song played the role of Sang-hyun, a debt-ridden dry cleaner owner who is one of the brokers along with Dong-soo (Gang). One day, So-young (Lee Ji-eun), the mother of the baby they stole, shows up and joins their journey to find parents who can take good care of her child, while cops Su-jin (Doona Bae) and her partner (Lee Joo-young) pursue the brokers. With this award, the actor has become the fourth Korean actor to claim the honor from one of the three globally prestigious film festivals Venice, Berlin and Cannes. Late actress Kang Soo-yeon was the first to win the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival in 1987, followed by actress Jeon in 2007 at Cannes and Kim Min-hee in 2017 in Berlin. A scene from the action film "The Host" (2006) / Korea Times file Song made his screen debut in 1996 with director Hong Sang-soo's directorial debut, "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well." He has built an extensive filmography since then, starring in nearly 40 films. He has starred in various big-name movies, such as director Bong's 2006 action film "The Host," the 2013 sci-fi film "Snowpiercer," director Lee Chang-dong's 2007 drama film "Secret Sunshine" and director Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" (2009). The actor garnered international fame for his performance in "Parasite," winning multiple awards including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He also was invited to serve on the jury of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the fifth Korean to serve in the position. 4 Shares Share I know most of us have started adapting to the new way of life in our practice. However, some of us are still skeptical. Im hoping to reach out to the skeptical ones among us. The reason I say that is I was in your shoes as I started my career in a brick-and-mortar practice. In 2017 when my twins were born and after a short parental leave, I returned to work. I was starting to get tired of watching my nannys videos during lunch hour on their developmental milestones rather than being there to enjoy them. I give kudos to all the physician moms who did it, who are doing it, and who will do it, but it is not my cup of tea. In my case, my husband and I waited 18 long years to find gold. Our twins finally completed our family. In early 2018 when I started full-time telemedicine, I was quite reluctant about losing the physical hands-on evaluation, especially the palpation, percussion, and auscultation components in the physical exam, and the holding hands, hugs, and handshakes of in-person visits. But thankfully, I remembered one of my favorite medical school professors who said how important history is in a diagnosis. He said nothing else matters as much as a good history from the patient. I shed my trepidation and gave it a brave shot, and Ive never looked back. I absolutely enjoy it. I enjoy not only the urgent care but also the primary care side of it. I also enjoy that I am showing up at patients homes nationwide rather than having them coming to my office at a Houston clinic. I love that so many patients know me by my name and choose an appointment with me, whether its an urgent care or a primary care issue. It is a truly fulfilling moment for a physician. I need not explain how wonderful it is for a mom to be present when your infant becomes a toddler, a preschooler, kindergartener, and so on, especially as the pandemic has shaken us up for the last couple of years. Ten or 20 years ago, physician parents did not have this luxury of being clinically active while spending quality weekday time with their children. Im not saying telemedicine is here to replace traditional clinical practice, but it is a wonderful adjunct to the way we practice medicine and deliver care. I remember so many patients in my practice needing to go to urgent care to ask a doctor a nagging question because they did not have an option then to do a telemedicine visit. During the pandemic, many physicians in the U.S. volunteered to consult on patients who were overseas. Those patients have been guided to the right modalities and places of treatment when physical evaluation was not needed, saving valuable resources. So many patients in rural and remote areas have expressed their extreme gratitude for having the peace of mind of 24/7 telemedicine available to them. Sometimes I hear from my colleagues that patients hate telemedicine. My experience has been that most of them love it. They like to avoid long wait times, crowded parking lots, crowded offices, and they like the ability to check vitals in the comfort of their own homes when hands-on physical exams are not needed. If you havent tried offering telemedicine in your practice, please consider it. Im not advocating totally replacing your clinic practice with telemedicine, but rather the incorporation of telemedicine into what you do. For example, I have read some negative comments on social media about concerns about antibiotic overuse in telemedicine. There are studies, however, that suggest virtual visits can lead to more appropriate prescribing compared to in-person visits. I can assure you bad apples are everywhere, not just in telemedicine. I can tell my patients no when I feel its clinically appropriate without feeling threatened. We dont prescribe narcotics, controlled meds, ED meds, recurrent refills without checking care continuity, Z-paks, or Medrol dose packs in any of the three major telemedicine platforms where Ive practiced so far. I do miss having colleagues across the hallway that I can chit-chat with. But honestly, I dont miss the office drama that sometimes comes with it. I dont miss having overhead expenses other than my hardware, software, internet, and phone service. And I dont miss the driving time. I do miss the downtime or quiet time to myself, though. I miss moving around all day long, but I compensate for that with a standing desk, a stationary bike, a Simply Fit Board, and other things. I miss my quick stops for shopping on the way home. And I miss the loyal patients I had to leave behind in my on-site practice when I moved on to my telemedicine platform. I often think about each of them and how they are now. Some have contacted me on social media to update me, and as a primary care doctor, Ill be eternally grateful for that. However, Ive had similar experiences in telemedicine that make it even more fruitful for me where, unlike on-site visits, telemedicine visits are 15 to 20 minutes or less. Developing such long-lasting relationships with patients via virtual visits isnt as common, but sometimes more rewarding. Thankfully the two-year pandemic precaution in a four-year telemedicine career has really made it easy for me with such adjustment, as so many of my colleagues and peers are in the same boat. Im feeling blessed to feel pandemic safe by my ability to practice from my home. I dont miss the administrator knocking on my door to discuss production numbers right when I sit to have a little quiet time or lunch before afternoon patients get roomed. I do miss the physician lounge meals and chats with peers. Perhaps there is an electronic solution to this as well. If we can communicate and care for patients this way, perhaps we can care for each other in this format as well. We know how physician burnout affects so many of us already, and I hope we can find similar solutions soon. As we all know, life is a never-ending compromise. One must try new things to move forward and adjust to this ever-changing world. For me, the positives outweigh all the negatives. So, I will continue my journey for now. Lastly, I think we telemedicine physicians have a major impact on patients convenient medical care. We serve them right in the comfort and safety of their own homes at their chosen times. We guide them on when to go and when not to go into urgent care or ER. We have been a pandemic front line of sorts, and we have helped avoid clogging and delaying vital in-person services for patients in acute need of those. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw Sabari L. Sundarraj is a family medicine physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 146 Shares Share It is getting very crowded in my exam room. As a practicing obstetrician, I have counseled women for more than the past 36 years and our conversations have always been private. Suddenly, for the first time in 50 years, judges and politicians are vying to join me in these intimate moments that can involve the life or death of the mother. This is impossible for me to comprehend or accept. The definition of when life begins has been seen differently by different people. Still, as a practicing obstetrician, it is impossible for a fetus to live outside the mothers womb before 22 weeks at the earliest. So, the life of the mother becomes paramount in the equation. Our country already has a significant problem with maternal mortality: the worst of any developed nation. Women who seek abortion are disproportionately poor and low income. We know that a Black woman dies at a rate of 3 to 4 times that of a white woman during pregnancy. The decision to repeal Roe puts many women at risk; the most recent count is 26 states with trigger or longstanding bills that will go into effect when this law is overturned. Abortion decisions are some of the most difficult decisions a person and her partner can ever make, especially when a pregnancy is desired. There are conditions that occur during a pregnancy that put any mothers life at risk. These conditions do not wait for a fetus to be able to live outside of a mother on its own. We, fortunately, have not seen maternal mortality increase due to hemorrhage and abnormal growth of the placenta, as we can manage these heart-breaking conditions in women with these high-risk situations through appropriate abortion care with outcomes that preserve the life of the mother and her potential to have more children. Severe preeclampsia can occur as early as 20 weeks of pregnancy and can cause stroke, seizure, and death in the mother. The only treatment is to terminate the pregnancy. The concept that someone with no medical training can make decisions for a pregnant person facing life-threatening and reproduction threatening is one we have not seen in our country in the past 50 years. There is no other situation when someone outside an exam room can limit health choices for another person, especially when that persons life is at risk. Ectopic or tubal pregnancy occurs in 1 to 2 percent of all pregnancies, one of every 50 to 100 pregnancies. There is no option to preserve a fetus growing outside the uterus. Yet lawmakers are some states are attempting to write laws to make physicians try to re-implant a fetus in a uterus which is not a known medical procedure. These pregnancies are not always detected before a woman has internal bleeding and require immediate surgical or medical treatment. In this scenario, the risk is death to the mother and no further options to have a desired pregnancy, and potential loss of a mother to any already existing children. Pregnancy resulting from rape or incest is something that a person can never fully recover from. There is no good outcome for someone who suffers this fate, especially if that person is a child who can be as young as twelve. Once again, how do I uphold my oath when faced with the decision of others who do not see the long-term repercussions that these patients suffer, and then to make them carry a baby to term is the ultimate form of torture. These changes on the horizon for our country are unlike anything we have ever experienced. We have only experienced an expansion of rights for those who have been denied fair treatment. Going backwards only infringes our ability to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Future laws that could be overturned include Griswold v. Connecticut, protecting the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception. As an experienced physician with a strong interest in patient safety, I feel the need to educate our patients about potential changes in their health care because of this possible decision and ask for their partnership in getting out the vote for candidates that would support womens rights. Time is of the essence. Susan Mann and Haywood L. Brown are obstetrician-gynecologists. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Colombia deploys soldiers to secure presidential elections Xinhua) 14:29, May 29, 2022 The Colombian government has deployed armed forces to ensure the safety of voters during the first round of presidential elections, which will take place on Sunday, the ministry of defense said on Saturday. About 80,000 soldiers have been deployed across the country to guarantee the security of the elections, and the navy has positioned 7,000 sailors in maritime areas, the ministry said. The security of the capital city of Bogota was reinforced with 1,700 more soldiers, besides 11,200 police officers and 1,800 soldiers. Authorities said that from Saturday afternoon, alcohol sales will be halted throughout the country until noon on Monday. Polling stations will be open from 8:00 a.m. (1300 GMT) to 4:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday, when millions of Colombians are expected to exercise their right to vote. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Members of Korean boy group BTS left for the United States, Sunday, to visit the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss ways of dealing with rising anti-Asian hate crimes. The White House has announced that BTS will meet with Biden, Tuesday, to "discuss Asian inclusion and representation and to address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, which have become more prominent issues in recent years." On Sunday, six members of the septet headed to the U.S. as Jungkook had left a day earlier. After arriving at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport around 9:30 a.m., they waved to fans and reporters before heading to board their flight. (Yonhap) By Lee Min-hyung Woori Financial Group will launch a foundation dedicated to providing multilateral support to the socially vulnerable and young generation here, the company said Sunday. The decision is part of Woori's group-wide efforts to fulfill the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management. Under the plan, Woori's 15 affiliates will raise 20 billion won ($15.92 million) to carry out a series of projects for the public interest, the group said. "We have decided to push ahead with the project by joining hands with Woori's 15 affiliates," Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung said. "Woori Financial Future Foundation will engage in a set of multiple public welfare projects, with a view to helping the vulnerable stand on their own feet and supporting the growth of the young generation." Woori's subsidiaries will also keep donating a certain portion of their operating profits for the foundation each year, so the foundation can continue to carry out social projects sustainably, according to the company. This will be the second social foundation of the financial group. In 2012, Woori launched its first foundation Woori Multicultural Scholarship Foundation to strengthen its social responsibility in education, culture and public welfare. The group has since offered scholarships worth 4.5 billion won to around 4,700 people over the past decade since the foundation's launch. The foundation also organized a set of financial education programs for multicultural families here. This year, the company also donated 7 billion won to the Community Chest of Korea. "Woori's multiple social campaigns will generate synergy with the launch of the new foundation, enabling the group to offer support to every corner of society," an official from the company said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Defense ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan have been arranging trilateral talks on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore next month, Japan's Kyodo News reported Sunday. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Lloyd Austin and Nobuo Kishi, are reportedly expected to join the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore set for June 10-12. Citing a Japanese government official, the report said that the three defense ministers plan to deepen their cooperation against North Korea's recent provocations, including ballistic missile launches, during the planned three-way talks. Should the three-way talks take place, they would mark the first such in-person gathering since November 2019. The defense ministers of South Korea and the U.S. are likely to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the security forum, but Seoul and Tokyo are unlikely to hold bilateral defense talks, the report said. North Korea has staged ballistic missile tests at a record pace this year, including at least four suspected launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Officials in Seoul have said North Korea appears to have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test, which would mark North Korea's seventh nuclear test if conducted. Pyongyang last conducted a nuclear test in September 2017. (Yonhap) Incumbent Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon, second from right, who is seeking reelection on the People Power Party's ticket, takes a picture with his supporters after canvassing at Seoul Forest in the city's Seongdong District, Saturday. Yonhap Polls find PPP candidates leading comfortably in 9 elections, DPK 4, and remaining 4 are battlegrounds By Ko Dong-hwan With only a few days remaining until the country's local elections which are to be held June 1, less than a month after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was inaugurated on May 10, the conservative ruling People Power Party (PPP) is ahead of the main opposition party, according to public opinion surveys. It remains uncertain whether that trend will be continued until Wednesday when voters will elect mayors, governors, city council members and education superintendents. On the same day, voters in some regions will also select eight National Assembly lawmakers in by-elections. The PPP candidates are leading in nine elections out of 17 to select mayors and governors of metropolitan cities and provinces, whereas the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidates are leading in four elections. Candidates of the two parties were competing within a margin of error in the remaining four elections, according to recent surveys conducted by Ipsos, Korea Research and Hankook Research on May 23 to 25. More details of the survey can be found on the website of the National Election Commission. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is running for reelection on the PPP ticket, is ahead of DPK candidate Song Young-gil with a double-digit margin. Oh's rate stood at 54 percent, whereas support for DPK's Song was 31 percent. The highest support ratings for PPP candidates came from the most conservative-friendly regions in the country: Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. Hong Joon-pyo, who unsuccessfully ran in the 2017 presidential election, is expected to grab a comfortable win in Daegu's mayoral election, if last week's support trend continues until Election Day. His rate marked 64 percent, over 40 percent ahead of the DPK's Seo Jae-heon who had 12 percent. Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral election candidate Song Young-gil, left, takes a picture with his supporter at Northern Seoul Dream Forest in the city's Gangbuk District, May 29. Yonhap Lee Chul-woo, the incumbent governor of North Gyeongsang Province who is seeking reelection on the PPP's ticket, is leading in popularity with 61 percent, ahead of the DPK's Lim Mi-ae whose rate was 15 percent in the surveys. The ruling party is also outpacing the DPK in remaining conservative strongholds South Gyeongsang Province (53 to 21), Busan (52 to 26) and Ulsan (43 to 27). In regions largely considered centrist, the PPP candidates dominate the DPK as well like North Chungcheong Province (43 to 30), South Chungcheong Province (44 to 35) and Gangwon Province (45 to 34). The DPK, on the other hand, is dominating the PPP in just four gubernatorial elections, including three that have remained liberal strongholds. DPK's Kang Gi-jung, running for Gwangju mayor, was supported by 56 percent of respondents, while PPP contender Joo Ki-hwan had just 9 percent. Provincial governor elections in North and South Jeolla Provinces also showed comfortable leads for the DPK candidates. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, which has been considered a politically neutral ground, gave more support for the DPK candidate than the PPP candidate in the surveys. Gyeonggi Province, one of the four electoral constituencies where surveys show candidates clashing within the closest margin of error, is considered the cherry-on-top battleground in the local elections with the biggest number of eligible voters (11.5 million). Which party will win the provincial governor's seat remains one of the biggest questions in this election. The PPP's Kim Eun-hye, a former TV news reporter who served as a spokesperson for Yoon Suk-yeol when he was president-elect, recorded 38 percent in the surveys for the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election. The DPK's Kim Dong-yeon, the former economy minister under the Moon Jae-in administration who had forfeited his candidacy in the latest presidential election to unite with the party's frontrunner candidate Lee Jae-myung, closely outpaced his contender in the gubernatorial election with 39 percent. People Power Party Gyeonggi Province governor candidate Kim Eun-hye, left, and her opponent Kim Dong-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea cast their ballots at polling stations in Suwon and Seongnam, respectively, on May 27 during the early voting period for the local elections. Joint Press Corps. Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik speaks during a memorial Mass celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean native Catholic priest, at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in this Aug. 21, 2021 photo. Yonhap Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will appoint 21 new cardinals in August, including South Korean archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, according to news reports Sunday. You, 70, has been serving as Prefect for the Congregation for Clergy overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons since June 2021. He will be the fourth South Korean to receive the cardinal red hat. He was among 16 cardinal electors under 80 years old, who are eligible to vote for the next pontiff in secret conclave. Born in 1951 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Daejeon, You became a coadjutor in the same diocese in 2003 and two years later assumed full responsibility. He was the head of the Peace Committee of the Korean Bishops' Conference and went to North Korea four times. Pope Francis announced his selection of cardinals during his traditional Sunday greetings to the public in St. Peter's Square. The ceremony will be held in at the Vatican on Aug. 27. (Yonhap) Former President Donald Trump chalked up some victories in Tuesday's primaries, but he suffered a trio of defeats where it most mattered: Georgia, epicenter of Trump's efforts to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Three Republicans on whom Trump had declared war for refusing to do his vote-fixing dirty work Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr all cruised to victory, trouncing Trump-backed challengers who had endorsed Trump's election fraud lies. Given the heavy emphasis that Trump's ploys played in these campaigns, Georgia Republicans have spoken loud and clear about their abhorrence of election manipulation. They have done Republicans elsewhere a huge favor by showing them it's OK to stand up for what's right while still being loyal to the party. Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Biden in November 2020. His subsequent efforts to get Georgia's Republican leaders to overturn the results was in itself justification for impeachment and, arguably, criminal charges. Most infamously, Trump then a sitting president, remember personally called Raffensperger, Georgia's top election official and a member of the president's party, to pressure him into committing fraud. "All I want to do is this," Trump told Raffensperger in the recorded call: "I just want to find 11,780 votes," one more than Biden's margin of victory in the state. "There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you've recalculated." This was a blatant attempted overthrow of democracy, and Raffensperger's refusal to yield should make him a political hero to both parties. But Trump, of course, villainized him for it and backed one of his challengers, U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who was among House members who objected to the valid election results on Jan. 6, 2021, and who backed Trump's lies. Raffensperger on Tuesday beat Hice by almost 20 percentage points. Kemp won an even wider margin over former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, another backer of Trump's lies who garnered Trump's support for it. Ditto with Carr, who easily beat back a challenge from Trump-backed attorney John Gordon, whose campaign was almost entirely about promoting Trumpian conspiracy theories. There is a dark lining to this silver cloud. An analysis by The Washington Post found that in most primary races around the country, Trump-backed candidates took around 30 percent of the vote which, in crowded fields like Ohio's U.S. Senate primary, was enough to get Trump-backer J.D. Vance the nomination. That math could be ominous in Missouri, where the U.S. Senate primaries in August will feature more than 20 Republicans. Among them is disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens, who hasn't yet garnered Trump's formal endorsement but whose ties to Trump World and his eager promotion of its lies make such an endorsement possible. Georgia's experience should spur Missouri Republicans of conscience to coalesce around a serious candidate including a conservative independent who is courageous enough to reject those lies. This editorial was produced for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and distributed by Tribune Content Agency. By Shlomo Ben-Ami JERUSALEM The world knows an unjust war when it sees one. That is why Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has attracted such widespread condemnation. But negotiating a peace settlement the key to ending most wars will require attention not only to justice, but also to stability and balance between competing national interests and ambitions. The question, then, is: What would a stable peace in Ukraine look like? In theory, nothing short of true justice in Ukraine should suffice. That means ensuring Russia's unconditional defeat, the restitution of Ukraine's full territorial integrity, and possibly even reparations from Russia to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction. For many observers, this outcome seems entirely likely. Some, such as Russian opposition politician Vladimir Milov, argue that Putin's days in power are numbered. Others believe that Russia will suffer a decisive defeat on the battlefield. British historian Antony Beevor, for one, anticipates a military collapse and humiliating withdrawal. Yuval Noah Harari has assured us that Putin lost the war the day he started it. But the era of glorious wars, overwhelming victories, and clear-cut defeats is over. Yes, Putin's murderous army is an inefficient, clumsy machine that has not moved beyond the archaic tactics of World War II. Yet the combination of barbarism and sheer numbers "quantity has a quality of its own," said Stalin has enabled Putin to achieve significant territorial gains in eastern Ukraine and along the Black Sea coast. Of course, the West is providing vast and growing military aid to Ukraine, which could tip the scales to some extent, especially given Russia's international isolation. But this remains an asymmetric war, not least because it is happening on Ukrainian soil. As a result, Ukraine's economy cannot function, and Russian soldiers can target civilians and, as multiple reports and videos show, have not hesitated to do so. Mutually damaging deadlocks have often spurred progress toward peace settlements. But, in the current war, a military deadlock would hurt Ukraine far more than it would hurt Russia, even if Putin refrains from using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons. If he does cross that line, the costs to Ukraine would skyrocket. This is a real risk. Though the West is attempting to calibrate its military aid to Ukraine to avoid provoking a Russian escalation, the pressure on Putin is intensifying. Indeed, judging by his "Victory Day" speech, he is well aware of both his military's limits and the fragility of public opinion. Many feared Putin would use the commemoration of Russia's victory over Nazi Germany to issue a formal declaration of war on Ukraine, which would have allowed him to send hundreds of thousands of young conscripts to the battlefield. But that day has come and gone, and the war remains a "special military operation" in Russia. Putin, it seems, did not want to risk stirring popular opposition. But this might not be a reason for celebration. Lest we forget, Russia possesses the world's largest nuclear arsenal, and Putin has both the unconstrained authority to use it and an inability to accept defeat. Autocrats who lose wars lose power and, sometimes, their heads. If Putin feels backed into a corner, he may well view deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as the minimum requirement to save face. This points to the dangers of a weakened Russia. But even a resounding Russian defeat is an ominous scenario. Yes, under such circumstances and only such circumstances Putin might be toppled in some kind of coup led by elements of Russia's security apparatus. But the chances that this would produce a liberal democratic Russia that abandons Putin's grand strategic designs are slim. More likely, Russia would be a rogue nuclear superpower ruled by military coup-makers with revanchist impulses. Germany after World War I comes to mind. As they seek to engineer Russia's defeat in Ukraine, the United States and its NATO allies must not lose sight of what happens the day after. A vast, nuclear-armed, and humiliated power cannot simply be isolated or ignored. Even as they help Ukraine resist Putin's aggression, they must attempt to integrate Russia into Europe's broader security architecture, reshaping that architecture in response to Russia's concerns. Otherwise, Putin cannot make sufficient concessions without jeopardizing his political, if not physical, survival. Beyond ending its bid to join NATO and maintain an Austria-like neutrality concessions to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has all but agreed a settlement on the ethnic Russian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose "independence" Putin recognized days before the invasion, will be needed. A form of self-government, along the lines laid out in the 2015 Minsk II agreement, might be the answer. Putin is highly unlikely to agree to reverse Crimea's annexation, even in exchange for the clarification of the status of Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol. But he may be convinced to shelve his dream of a territorially contiguous Russian sphere of influence stretching from Moscow all the way to the Black Sea. He should also agree to respect the territorial integrity of both Moldova and Georgia. The responsibility for convincing Putin to make these concessions, in exchange for appropriate strategic arrangements, falls primarily on the U.S. After all, in Putin's view, Russia is currently fighting the U.S. and NATO not just Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden recognizes the dangers of a cornered Putin, so he should offer a face-saving exit strategy. The economic impact of sanctions, the progressive weakening of Russia's military, the specter of a guerrilla war of attrition against his demoralized army, and a lack of international support for Russia should motivate Putin to accept a reasonable offer. That offer will not deliver the justice Ukrainians deserve. But nor will it be a triumph for Russia. Instead, it will be a mutually unsatisfactory, but ultimately tolerable, arrangement disappointing to all, but better than the alternatives. Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, is author of the forthcoming "Prophets Without Honor: The 2000 Camp David Summit and the End of the Two-State Solution" (Oxford University Press, 2022). His article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). A girl pays respects at the memorial at Robb Elementary school, where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 28. Reuters-Yonhap Days after a local man burst into an elementary school and killed 19 children and two teachers before officers managed to kill him, the signs of grief, solidarity and local pride are everywhere in Uvalde. Many are wearing maroon, the color for Uvalde's school district. And light blue ribbons adorn the giant oaks that shade the city's central square, where mourners come to lay flowers around a fountain and write messages on wooden crosses that bear the victims' names. In front of a day care center on one of the city's main streets, 21 wooden chairs sit empty. Everyone in the predominantly Latino city of roughly 16,000 people seems to know someone whose life has been turned upside down by losing a family member or close friend in the attack at Robb Elementary School, which was one of the deadliest of its kind. Joe Ruiz, pastor of Templo Cristiano, said a teacher who is friends with his wife herself a former Uvalde teacher summed up the community's mood best by saying people have ''cried out everything'' they could and are now just tired and needing rest. Police have come under heavy criticism for waiting more than 45 minutes to confront the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, inside the adjoining classrooms where he unleased carnage. As the investigation into the attack continues, including Ramos' reasons for carrying it out, some residents have expressed anger toward the police. Among them is 24-year-old carpenter Juan Carranza, who said he watched the attack unfold from across the street from the school. The next day, he called the officers cowards. Children pay their respects in front of the memorial at Robb Elementary school, where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 28. Reuters-Yonhap Steven McCraw, who heads the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that the school district's police chief, Pete Arredondo, made the ''wrong decision'' to wait so long before sending officers into the locked classrooms. He said Arredondo, who was in charge of the law enforcement response during the siege, believed Ramos was barricaded inside the two adjoining classrooms and that children were no longer at risk. Arredondo, who graduated from Uvalde High School and was recently elected to the City Council, hasn't spoken publicly since McCraw criticized his decision-making, and his house now has a police guard. Oasis Outback, where Ramos bought his guns, has stayed open and its barbecue restaurant did its usual brisk Friday night business. The gun shop at the back of its sporting goods section was temporarily closed out of respect to victims' families, according to a posted sign. An Oasis employee who declined to give her full name said the store has been getting angry calls blaming it for the attack, but the callers' phone numbers were not from the area. Support for gun rights is strong in Uvalde, which is roughly halfway between San Antonio and the border city of Del Rio. But some parents and relatives of victims are calling for change. ''I just don't know how people can sell that type of gun to a kid 18 years old. What is he going to use it for but for that purpose?'' said Siria Arizmendi, a fifth grade teacher whose niece, Eliahna Garcia, was killed. She spoke in her dining room shortly before Eliahna's great-grandparents, also Uvalde residents, arrived. Javier Carranza, a 43-year-old gun owner and Army veteran whose daughter, Jacklyn, was killed, said it was ''kind of ridiculous'' to sell such firepower to an 18-year-old and that better background checks were needed. Uvalde sits amid flat fields of cabbages, onions, carrots, corn and peppers, but mechanized farming replaced many jobs. Construction material companies are among its most coveted employers. People visit a memorial set up in a town square to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting earlier in the week in Uvalde, Texas, late Saturday, May 28. AP-Yonhap Dr. Terry Gaff is a physician in northeast Indiana. Contact him at drgaff@kpcmedia.com or on Facebook. To read past columns and to post comments go to kpcnews.com/columnists/terry_gaff. No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here. Submit County should consider all aspects of its decisions A doctor from the Korean People's Army visits a pharmacy to give a man prescription medicine in Pyongyang, May 27. Health care workers in North Korea are "intensifying" COVID tests and treatments across the country, state media said, May 27, days after the impoverished country reaffirmed the epidemic was now "clearly" under control. AFP-Yonhap North Korea's daily new suspected COVID-19 cases stayed below 100,000 for the second straight day, according to its state media Sunday. More than 89,500 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It again gave no information on whether additional deaths were confirmed. The total number of fever cases reported in the country since late April came to 3.45 million, of which 3.26 million have recovered and around 186,110 are being treated, the KCNA reported. Meanwhile, the North's leader Kim Jong-un "guided" a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) to discuss measures in the antivirus fight, the KCNA said in a separate report. An employee of Pyongyang Dental Hygiene Products Factory disinfects the floor of a dining room after the state increased measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Pyongyang, May 16. According to North Korea, its fight against the disease has been impressive. AP-Yonhap North Korea indicated Sunday that it may ease COVID-19 curbs as the country's pandemic situation has shown signs of improvement with disease transmission coming under control. Leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and "made a positive evaluation of the pandemic situation being controlled and improved across the country," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without saying when the meeting took place. The Political Bureau meeting "discussed the issues of continuously stabilizing and improving the overall anti-epidemic situation while further consolidating the experiences gained in the early period of the anti-epidemic work," the KCNA said. It also "examined the issue of effectively and quickly coordinating and enforcing the anti-epidemic regulations and guidelines given the current stable anti-epidemic situation." Madison Wojciuch, eighth-grade student at Traver Elementary School, took first-place finish in the junior division of the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Associations (WLWCA) 65th Annual Conservation Awareness Poster Contest. The 2022 contest theme was Healthy Soils: Healthy Life. This is the first time in 14 years that a student from Walworth County has won at the state level. Wojciuchs entry now moves on to represent Wisconsin at the National Association of Conservation Districts Poster Contest at the NACD annual meeting in February 2023. We had a lot of great posters this year, Heather Marquardt, senior urban conservation technician, Walworth County Land Use & Resource Management, said in a press release. We truly have talented and intellectual students in Walworth County who are thinking about our natural resources at an early age and the objective to care for our earth well now, so it can sustain us all in the future. Madisons poster stood out above the rest because of the visual that she provided by giving a breakdown of soil layers cleverly surrounded by all the good things that soil provides. From trees and vegetables to homes and habitats, she was able to portray a variety of uses for soil, which is ultimately the base for all living things. Her poster really signifies the ultimate theme, keeping the soil healthy for life. Wojciuchs journey to the state competition began with a first-place win in the junior division of the Walworth County Land Conservation Poster Contest. Sponsored by the Walworth County Land Conservation Department and the County Land Conservation Committee, the annual contest provides an opportunity for area youth to become more aware of conservation of our natural resources through artistic design. The contest is open to students in grades K through 12. Fifty students from Traver Elementary School and Woods School participated. The county presented first- and second-place awards to students in each age category, and the first-place winners moved forward to the Southeast Wisconsin Conservation Association Area competition held in January 2022. The area competition featured poster entries from students in Walworth, Washington, Ozaukee, Racine, Waukesha, and Milwaukee counties. The area competition winners then moved on to the statewide competition, which was held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Associations Annual Conference. Udham Singh Nagar, May 29: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday slammed the Congress party and alleged that despite ruling the country for "55 years", it could not remove poverty from the country. He added that the country is progressing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During a poll campaign in Tankapur, Dhami said, "The country has been ruled by one party continuously for 55 years and during that time they said that they will remove poverty but poverty was not removed." Champawat Bypoll 2022: Congress Will Give Tough Fight to Pushkar Singh Dhami, Says Harish Rawat. Ahead of the Champawat by-election on May 31, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday urged the voters to achieve 100 per cent voting. While talking to ANI, Dhami said, "I am trying to meet all voters in Champawat ahead of polling. Our party workers are also meeting the people in the area during the election campaign. We should celebrate the polling day to achieve 100 per cent voting." On the last day of campaigning for the Champawat by-election, Dhami held a public meeting in Tanakpur Voting for the Champawat by-election is scheduled to be held on May 31. Despite the BJP winning the majority in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections held earlier this year, Dhami lost the Khatima constituency to candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Later, BJP MLA Kailash Gehtori had resigned from the Champawat assembly seat to pave the way for Dhami to contest by-polls. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) English Bazar (WB), May 29 (PTI) Crude bombs were hurled and houses were vandalised as two factions of the TMC clashed in West Bengal's Malda district, triggering tension among the people. The incident happened in Gopalpur Balutola area in Manikchak block on Saturday as a group of TMC workers led by panchayat samiti office-bearer Saifuddin Sheikh clashed with the faction led by the party's area president Nasir Ali. Also Read | Income Tax Department Starts Investigation Against Kanpur-Based Businessman Piyush Jain. Crude bombs were hurled and at least 12 houses were vandalised in the clashes, police said. A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area, they said. Also Read | Rajya Sabha Elections 2022: AAP Fields Two Padma Shree Awardees for Rajya Sabha Polls from Punjab. However, police said they are yet to make any arrest. Manikchak's TMC MLA Sabitri Mitra said there is an old feud between the two leaders over land, which led to violence earlier as well. "It has nothing to with the TMC," she claimed. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, May 29 (PTI) Two employees of a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts and alcoholics here were injured when an inmate allegedly stabbed them on Sunday, a police officer said. Rajiv d Costa and Arup Naskar suffered injuries after the patient, undergoing treatment at the centre for the past one month, stabbed them in the kitchen around 8:30 am, he said. Also Read | Amit Shah Appeals to Farmers To Switch to Organic Farming. The patient has been arrested. The condition of one of the injured, who had to be admitted to a hospital, is stated to be serious, the officer said. Also Read | Dalit Candidate Will Get Opportunity To Become Karnataka CM: Congress Leader. Further investigation is underway. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 29 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday encouraged the civil service probationers to follow the ideals and dreams of the country's founding fathers and strive to achieve excellence in jobs and serve the nation with pride.According to a statement from the Odisha Chief Minister's Office, 181 IAS probationers and two probationers from Royal Bhutan Civil Service led by Radhika Rastogi, Joint Director, LBSNAA are on a four-day study tour to Odisha as part of their Bharat Darshan programme conducted by Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Welcoming the officers, the CM said, "You are all entering a crucial phase of your life. The country has great expectations from young officers." Also Read | Pakistani Delegation Arrives in India for Talks on Water Dispute. Focussing on 5T Transformative model of governance, the CM said that Odisha is fast emerging as a leading state in many fields. "We have adopted a transformative governance model built on the principles of transparency, team work, technology and time." "We have transformative Initiatives across varied sectors like rural development, housing, skill development, sports, industrial development, mining, tourism, heritage conservation, road development, and many others, he specified. Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: Thane Couple, Their 2 Children on Board Missing Plane; Kin Asked to Contact Embassy, Say Police. He said that Odisha was once known for poverty and disasters like cyclones. Today, we are recognised as a role model for disaster management across the world. We are a food surplus state and doubled the farmers' income in the last decade. There is rapid reduction in poverty in the state, he added. Under Mission Shakti, he said, 60 lakh women have been empowered who have become part of a movement to bring about socio-economic change in our rural areas. Through Kalia scheme, we have been able to directly transfer money into the accounts of farmers, including small and marginal, he added. With Biju Swathya Kalyan Yojana, he said, we have walked an extra mile and given health assurance to our citizens. While the health infrastructure has undergone a major up-gradation, the transformation of High Schools under 5T programme will bring a generational change in our students. Coming to drinking water provision, he said that Puri has become the first city in the country with Drink from Tap facility and now this mission is being taken to other towns in the State. He hoped during their brief stay in Odisha, they would be able to learn from some of these projects. He hoped all of them take back home fond memories of this beautiful state. The Chief Minister felicitated Radhika Rastogi, Joint Director, LBSNAA and presented her a memento representing state's maritime glory. She also presented a memento to the Chief Minister. A short video on State's Transformative Governance was screened. In his address, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said, "Odisha is one of the fastest-growing states and also best-managed state as far as finances are concerned. Citing the success in Covid management, he counted the efforts like free treatment to all patients, Oxygen supply, and community engagement that made Odisha one of the best states with least mortality due to Covid. Joint Director LSBNAA Radhika Rastogi said that experiential learning will have high impact on the learnings of the probationers. They would learn from Odisha's success in various verticals over next three days. A probationer of Chhattisgarh cadre Jayant shared his experience of the Bharat Darshan tour. He said they are amazed by the transformation in disaster management in the state that is registering near zero casualties in every cyclone now. DG Gopabandhu Academy Ranjana Chopra gave the welcome address and Principal Secretary Finance Shri Vishal Dev offered the vote of thanks. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, IAS, Director General of Gopabandhu Academy Administration Ranjana Chopra, IAS and Vishal Dev, IAS, Principal Secretary, Finance Department attended the programme along with senior officers of the State Government. Later on, the probationers proceeded to Konark and Puri to see cultural heritage and architectural marvels of the Odisha temples and have darshan of Lord Jagannath at Puri.The officer trainees during their study tour will visit six districts, Dhenkanal, Angul, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar and Balasore and will have a first-hand experience of various welfare programmes, and development and livelihood schemes launched by the State. The probationers will also get an exposure to the State Government's success in disaster management. The district Collectors will be planning a comprehensive programme to showcase the 5T transformational initiatives of the Government. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) A Redback infantry fighting vehicle showcases its off-road maneuverability during a media invitation event in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province, Friday. Courtesy of Kookbang Ilbo Korean-made infantry fighting vehicle draws interest from US, Europe By Kang Seung-woo HONGCHEON, Gangwon Province The Redback infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), developed by Hanwha Defense, showcased its high-performance maneuverability during a media invitation event, Friday, saying that it would be a great addition to the Korean Army as well as the Australian military as its next-generation IFV. The Redback is one of the two final candidates for the Australian Army's LAND 400 Phase 3 project, via which, it will purchase some 400 IFVs. In response, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) was positive about procuring a Korean version of the Redback that meets its operational requirements. The event took place at the end of the Korean Army's six-week-long trial of the next-generation IFV. The trial followed the Redback's successful performance in tests and evaluations last year under the Australian Risk Mitigation Activity, so as to select the preferred bidder for its IFV program. During the event at a Korean Army unit, the tracked armored vehicle impressed the audience by demonstrating its off-road maneuverability through an obstacle course, including a ramp and a muddy puddle of water. The vehicle also performed its pivot steer, turret rotation and troop dismounting. "The reliability and sophisticated technology of the Redback IFV has been proved during the latest Korean Army trial run of the vehicle, which is expected to be a strong basis for the Redback's international sales and marketing," said Army Brig. Gen. Cho Hyun-ki, head of the DAPA's Maneuver Program Department. Cho said it was considering acquiring a Korean version of the Redback meeting the Army's operational concept and capable of featuring technology and performance required by the service, under a fast-track research and development program. "With this approach, the Korean Army will be able to deploy next-generation IFVs earlier than scheduled, which will contribute to improving the service's capability to deploy and sustain armed forces," Cho added. The fast-track R&D program is aimed at procuring weapons systems equipped with the latest technologies after verifying the military utilization of the systems concerned. With this rapid R&D program, the military will be able to shorten the period needed to introduce state-of-the-art weapons systems to an extent. A Redback infantry fighting vehicle showcases its off-road maneuverability during a media invitation event in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province, Friday. Courtesy of Kookbang Ilbo Jammu, May 29 (PTI) A Pakistani drone with a payload was shot down in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday shortly after it crossed into the Indian side from across the International Border, police said. A search party of police picked up the movement of a drone from the border in Talli Hariya Chak area under the Rajbagh police station's jurisdiction in the morning and fired at it, a police spokesperson said. Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall To Lash Northeast India; Heatwave Conditions Not Likely Over Country for Next 5 Days, Says IMD. He said the drone was brought down after being hit by the ground fire. "It has a payload attached with it and it is being screened by the bomb disposal squad," the spokesperson said. Also Read | BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma Booked Over Remark on Prophet Muhammad During a Television Show (Watch Video). He added the search party was sent to the area to check frequent drone activity from across the border. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): In the 89th episode of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed a man from Andhra Pradesh, who donated all his retirement benefits for the education of girls. The Prime Minister said that Ram Bhupal Reddy, opened about 100 accounts under 'Sukanya Samridhi Yojana' and deposited more than 25 lakhs in their accounts. Also Read | SSC Ladakh Recruitment 2022: Apply for 797 Vacant posts on ssc.nic.in; Check Details Here. "The mantra of serving society by rising above the self, is a part of our values, our sanskar. Countless people in our country are making this mantra their life goal. I came to know about Ram Bhupal Reddy ji, a friend living in Markapuram, Andhra Pradesh. Ram Bhupal Reddy ji has donated all his earnings after retirement for the education of daughters. He opened accounts for about 100 daughters under 'Sukanya Samridhi Yojana', and deposited more than 25 lakhs in it," said PM Modi. The Prime Minister said that philanthropic contributions by some persons highlight the values in Indian society as well as inspire and encourage others to engage in people's welfare. Also Read | UIDAI Suggests Sharing 'Masked Aadhaar' Instead of Photocopies Citing Misuse. The Prime Minister also mentioned Kunwar Singh's younger brother Shyam Singh, veteran army personnel, who donated his retirement funds for constructing a pipeline to supply fresh water to the villagers. Kunwar Singh, is a farmer from Kachora village of Agra in Uttar Pradesh. "There was a shortage of fresh water in this village for many years. Meanwhile, Kunwar Singh, a farmer of the village found water in his field 6-7 km away from the village. It was a matter of great joy for him. He thought... why not serve all the other villagers too with this water! But, Rs 30-32 lakh were needed to transport the water from the farm to the village. After some time, Kunwar Singh's younger brother Shyam Singh came to the village after retiring from the army, and he came to know about it. He handed over all his money received on retirement for this work and by laying a pipeline from the farm to the village; he supplied fresh water to the villagers," he added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], May 29 (ANI): The Southwest Monsoon has set over Kerala on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed. "Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the May 29 against the normal date of onset, June 1. Thus the Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala three days ahead of its normal date," IMD said in a tweet. Also Read | SSC Ladakh Recruitment 2022: Apply for 797 Vacant posts on ssc.nic.in; Check Details Here. According to the IMD, Southwest Monsoon has advanced into the remaining parts of the South Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area, most parts of Kerala, some parts of southern Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar and some more parts of southwest Bay of Bengal on Sunday. "Conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest monsoon into some parts of central Arabian Sea, reaming parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka, and some more parts of south and Central Bay of Bengal, some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal and northeastern states during next 3-4 days," it added. Also Read | UIDAI Suggests Sharing 'Masked Aadhaar' Instead of Photocopies Citing Misuse. The weather forecasting agency had already confirmed on Saturday that the conditions for monsoon onset were becoming favourable during the next 2-3 days, including the Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep area over the same period. It had also issued thunderstorm and rainfall warnings under the influence of westerly winds emerging from the Arabian Sea over southern peninsular India at lower tropospheric levels. Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on May 18 asked all the states, Union Territories (UTs) and Central agencies to be better prepared for the monsoon season, so that losses due to natural calamities like floods, cyclones, and landslides can be minimized. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhubaneswar, May 29 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday suggested to Indian Administrative Service (IAS) probationers to follow the ideals and dreams of our founding fathers and strive to achieve excellence in jobs and serve the nation with pride. Patnaik said this while meeting a delegation of 181 IAS probationers and two probationers from Royal Bhutan Civil Service led by Radhika Rastogi, Joint Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Also Read | Arvind Kejriwal Promises To Improve All Schools in Haryana if AAP Wins Civic Polls. The LBSNAA team is on a four-day study tour to Odisha as part of their Bharat Darshan programme conducted by the institute. You are all entering a crucial phase of your life. The country has great expectations from young officers,' Patnaik said while welcoming them to Odisha. Also Read | Sidhu Moosewala Shot Dead in Punjabs Mansa. Focusing on the 5T Transformative model of governance, Patnaik said that Odisha is fast emerging as a leading state in many fields. We have adopted a transformative governance model built on the principles of transparency, team work, technology and time, he said. The chief minister said Odisha's transformative initiatives across varied sectors like rural development, housing, skill development, sports, industrial development, mining, tourism, heritage conservation, road development, and many others. Once known for poverty and disasters like cyclones, Patnaik said: Today, we are recognised as a role model for disaster management across the world. We are a food surplus state and doubled the farmers' income in the last decade. There is rapid reduction in poverty in the state. Under Mission Shakti, he said, 60 lakh women have been empowered who have become part of a movement to bring about socio-economic change in our rural areas. Similarly, Patnaik said, through Kalia scheme, the state has been able to directly transfer money into the accounts of farmers, including small and marginal. With Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), he said, the state has walked an extra mile and given health assurance to citizens. While the health infrastructure has undergone a major up-gradation, the transformation of High Schools under 5T programme will bring a generational change in our students, he informed the probationers. Referring to drinking water provision, the chief minister said Puri has become the first city in the country with Drink from Tap' facility and now this mission is being taken to other towns in the state. Patnaik expected that the probationers during their brief stay in Odisha, would be able to learn from some of these projects. He hoped all of them take back home fond memories of this beautiful state. A short video on State's Transformative Governance was screened. Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said that Odisha is one of the fastest growing states and also best managed state as far as finances are concerned. Citing the success in Covid management, he counted the efforts like free treatment to all patients, Oxygen supply, and community engagement that made Odisha one of the best states with least mortality due to COVID-19. Joint Director LSBNAA Radhika Rastogi said that experiential learning will have high impact on the learnings of the probationers. They would learn from Odisha's success in various verticals over next three days. A probationer of Chhattisgarh cadre, Jayant shared his experience of the Bharat Darshan tour. He said they are amazed by the transformation in disaster management in the state that is registering near zero casualties in every cyclone now. The officer trainees during their study tour will visit six districts, Dhenkanal, Angul, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar and Balasore and will have a first-hand experience of various welfare programmes, and development and livelihood schemes launched by the state. The probationers will also get an exposure to the state government's success in disaster management. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai, May 29: A couple and their two children currently residing in Thane city near Mumbai, were on board the Nepal plane that went missing on Sunday, and their relatives back home have been asked to contact the Indian embassy in the neighbouring country, a police official here said. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Inspector Rapes Constable's Wife on Pretext of Marriage in Jhansi; Arrested. A small plane of Nepal's Tara Air went missing on Sunday morning in the mountainous region of the Himalayan nation minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara. Four members of a family from Mumbai are among 22 on board the plane, officials earlier said. Also Read | Gujarat: For First Time, India Post Delivers Mail Using Drone in Kutch Under Pilot Project. According to police, Ashok Kumar Tripathi, his wife Vaibhavi Tripathi and children Dhanush and Ritika are on board the missing plane. "After the incident, the Indian embassy in Nepal contacted the Mumbai police to get more information about the four family members who are on board the plane. The address mentioned on the passport of Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathi) was Chikuwadi locality in Borivali suburb of Mumbai," the city police official said. "When a team of the Mumbai police reached her flat in Borivali, they found it locked. It was learnt that she has rented it out to someone, who is also currently out of the country. Later, when asked, her neighbours told the police that the Tripathi family has shifted to Thane city, after which the police contacted her relatives residing there," he said. They currently reside in the area under the jurisdiction of Kapurbawdi area of Thane, he added. "The Mumbai police then provided their details to the Indian embassy," the police official said, adding that the Thane police personnel have asked their family members to contact the embassy in Nepal. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, May 29 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday said her party, the TMC, will organise protests on June 5 and 6 in various blocks, seeking an explanation from the Centre for the alleged non-payment of funds that it owed to the state. Banerjee, who will be attending administrative meetings in Bankura and Purulia districts on Monday and Tuesday, was talking to reporters on her arrival at Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. Also Read | Shocked to Learn About the Killing of Young Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moosewala. My Sympathies Latest Tweet by ANI. "The Centre is playing a dirty political game. For the past five months, poor people employed through 100-day work scheme are having trouble getting their payments. The Centre is not releasing Rs 6,000 crore that it owes to the state under the scheme," the CM said. She maintained that the "state wasn't asking for favours from the Centre". Also Read | Sidhu Moosewala Shot Dead in Punjabs Mansa. "All we want is the money that has already been allocated to us. The Centre is not releasing our dues under Bangla Awas Yojana. "Members of our students' wing, women's unit and the tribal arm will hold protests on June 5 and 6 in various blocks of the state, seeking an explanation from the Narendra Modi government for this indifference," Banerjee stated. Bengal has topped the country in providing jobs to labourers under the 100-day scheme, and "yet we are being discriminated against", the CM said, iterating that the Centre, in all, owed Rs 96,000 crore to Bengal under various programmes. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 29 (ANI): In order to provide a safe environment for women at the workplace, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday, in an order, stated that no female worker can be bound to do the night shift in factories across the state. "No female worker shall be bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm. The authorities will also have to provide free transportation, food, and sufficient supervision if working during the aforementioned hours", said the government circular. Also Read | COVID-19 in India: Delhi Reports 442 New Coronavirus Cases, No Death. As per the order, before 6 am and after 7 pm if the woman worker refuses to work, she would not be terminated from employment. The UP labour department issued the state order to notify the decision late Friday night. It makes it clear that women workers will not be compelled to stay back for work beyond 7 pm and would not be called to work before 6 am without their written consent. Also Read | SpiceJet Plane Headed For Gorakhpur Returns to Mumbai After Windshield Crack Observed. The government has notified the exemptions to women's workforce across all the mills and factories in the state. "The onus of providing a secure working atmosphere to the women workers will lie with the employer to prevent an incident of sexual harassment in the workplace. Moreover, the GO makes it mandatory for the employer to inculcate a robust complaint mechanism in the factory in compliance with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 or in any other related enactments", the order further stated. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 29 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday paid floral tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his death anniversary, in Lucknow. "I pay my heartfelt tributes to Chaudhary Sahab. He always worked towards rural upliftment and welfare of farmers," Adityanath told the mediapersons in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Also Read | SSC Ladakh Recruitment 2022: Apply for 797 Vacant posts on ssc.nic.in; Check Details Here. "Chaudhary Charan Singh believed that the country's path to development is through the streets of villages and farms," he added. Singh was a farmer leader, who played a key role in improving the lives of farmers by advocating and passing different bills for farmers' reforms. Also Read | UIDAI Suggests Sharing 'Masked Aadhaar' Instead of Photocopies Citing Misuse. Born in Uttar Pradesh's Noorpur, Chaudhary Charan Singh served as the 5th Prime Minister of India from July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980. His efforts towards bettering the lives of farmers in the country won him the title 'champion of India's peasants'. He was born on born on 23 December 1902 and died on 29 May 1987 at the age of 84.India observes National Farmers Day or Kisan Diwas on December 23 every year, commemorating his contributions towards the upliftment of farmers in the country.(ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Electric two-wheeler maker BGauss Auto Pvt Ltd plans to invest around Rs 40 crore to double production capacity to 2 lakh units annually by next year, according to a top company official. The company plans to have five to six products in the high-speed electric scooters segment after two years. It is also eyeing around 8-10 per cent of the fast-growing electric two-wheeler market in three years' time. Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall To Lash Northeast India; Heatwave Conditions Not Likely Over Country for Next 5 Days, Says IMD. "This year we are targeting (to sell) around 80,000 to 1 lakh vehicles," BGauss Auto Founder and Managing Director Hemant Kabra told PTI. He further said the company's manufacturing plant at Chakan in Pune has an annual capacity of one lakh units at present and can be scaled up to 2 lakh units. With plans to sell around 1 lakh units in the ongoing fiscal, BGauss Auto is now gearing up to increase its capacity to meet future demand. Also Read | Western Railway Apprentice Recruitment 2022: Apply for 3612 Fitter, Electrician And Other Posts At rrc-wr.com; Check Details Here. Asked about investment on capacity enhancement, he said, "We will be investing close to around Rs 40 crore." In terms of funding, having raised Rs 52 crore in April this year, Kabra said, "At this point in time, we are adequately capitalised." On the product side, he said the company currently has two products in the market -- low speed scooter A2 and a high speed B8. This month, it has launched its third model D15 in two variants priced at Rs 99,999 and Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively, and the deliveries will start in June. "We are going to launch one more product in this financial year. So, there will be four products that we will have in our portfolio in this financial year," he added. He further said, "We have also started designing a product for (launch around) next year Diwali." The company will have a "total five to six products after two years" which are focussed on high-speed electric scooter segment, he added. Commenting on the ambitions of the company, Kabra said the electric two-wheeler segment will expand exponentially and BGauss Auto will "target close to anything between 8 per cent to 10 per cent" of the market in the next three years. BGauss Auto is also accelerating its network expansion to fuel its growth. "Currently we have close to 100 dealerships, 52 are active and 48 will be active by next one month...We are targeting that by March 2023, we should have close to 250 dealerships in 160-odd cities," Kabra said. Asked if the company planned to expand beyond two-wheelers in the electric vehicles segment, he said, "For next three years we are going to be sticking to two-wheelers." (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) To improve the ease of living for the common man, the government is planning to launch 'Jan Samarth' -- a common portal for delivery of various schemes run by different ministries and departments. As part of the Narendra Modi government's vision of minimum government maximum governance, the new portal plans to initially onboard 15 credit-linked government schemes, sources said. Also Read | Weather Forecast: Heavy Rainfall To Lash Northeast India; Heatwave Conditions Not Likely Over Country for Next 5 Days, Says IMD. The offerings will be gradually expanded, depending on compatibility, as some of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes have involvement of multiple agencies, they added. For example, schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) are being administered by different ministries. Also Read | Western Railway Apprentice Recruitment 2022: Apply for 3612 Fitter, Electrician And Other Posts At rrc-wr.com; Check Details Here. The proposed portal intends to bring these schemes on a single platform so that they can be accessed by the beneficiaries without much hassle. Pilot testing is being done and loose ends are being tied up before the actual launch takes place, they said, adding State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders are doing the testing. They said the portal will have open architecture enabling state governments and other institutions to also onboard their schemes on this platform in the future. To provide comfort to borrowers, the government in 2018 had launched a portal http://psbloansin59minutes.com for various kinds of credit products, including MSME, home, auto and personal loans. The portal facilitates in-principle approval of loans for MSMEs and other borrowers in 59 minutes by various state-owned banks compared to the earlier turnaround time of 20-25 days. After receiving an in-principle approval letter, the loan is expected to be disbursed in 7-8 working days. The portal processes loan applications without human intervention till the sanction stage. Any MSME borrower does not need to submit any physical document for in-principle approval for a loan. Instead, the portal depends on advanced algorithms to analyse data points from several sources such as Income Tax returns, GST data, bank statements etc. The platform is integrated with the government's Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to check borrowers' eligibility. In the first two months of the launch of the portal, state-owned banks had given in-principle approval to 1.12 lakh loan applications of micro, small and medium enterprises, totalling Rs 37,412 crore. PTI DP ANZ (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) More than 170 employees from banks and other financial firms have embezzled more than a combined 100 billion won ($79.62 million) over the past five years, but just 11 percent has been recovered, data showed Sunday. Calls have grown recently for financial firms and the authorities to strengthen overall management and supervision of the industry in the wake of a series of embezzlement cases, particularly after a Woori Bank employee was arrested last month for allegedly pocketing more than 60 billion won aided by his brother. According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), a total of 174 workers at the country's financial firms pocketed a combined 109.18 billion won from 2017 through May 2022. The amount of stolen money has surged in recent years from 2.08 billion won in 2020 to 15.27 billion won in 2021 and further to 68.79 billion as of mid-May this year. Bank employees took up the largest share with 91 people, followed by those working for insurance firms with 58 and workers at securities firms with 15. In terms of amount, bank officials stole the largest amount at 80.8 billion won, followed by savings bank workers at 14.68 billion won and securities firm employees at 8.69 billion won, the data showed. But only 12.71 billion won, or 11.6 percent of the total, had been recovered during the cited period, sparking concerns over damage to corporate profits and ultimately to customers. "The FSS and other financial authorities must come up with measures to strengthen their supervision of financial companies over such wrongdoings," Rep. Kang Min-Kuk of the ruling People Power Party said. (Yonhap) New York [US], May 29 (ANI/Xinhua): The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Sunday disclosed 1,167 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in Sudan in recent days. The UNHCR in its latest situation update report said the vast majority of the new arrivals were from Ethiopia with 1,130 crossing over to Sudan's Blue Nile state from Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region. Also Read | Real Madrid Fans Erupted in Celebration when Los Blancos Secured a Record-extending 14th Latest Tweet by Reuters. "The remaining 37 new Ethiopian refugees' arrivals entered Sudan through border crossings in Sudan's Geadref state," the UNHCR report disclosed. Tensions have been high for years in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region, with periodic outbreaks of ethnic strife leaving scores dead and tens of thousands fleeing to other parts of Ethiopia as well as to neighboring Sudan. Also Read | Memorial Day 2022 in United States: Know Date, History, Significance and How the Observance Is Marked on the Last Monday of May. The violence is mainly over access to power and land resources. Benishangul-Gumuz region, located along the Ethiopia-Sudan border, hosts Ethiopia's largest development project - the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is under construction on the Blue Nile River with a construction cost of close to 5 billion US dollars. Separately, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have also crossed to Sudan since the start of the military confrontations between the federal and regional forces in the Tigray region broke out in November 2020. (ANI/Xinhua) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Balochistan [Pakistan], May 29 (ANI): Ahead of the local government elections in Balochistan, aerial firing took place in a ward of Chaman district on Sunday as tensions escalated between political parties due to a delay in polling, Ary News reported. The firing took place in the Municipal Corporation Ward No. 3, Chaman, due to postponement in the polling process and two ballot papers missing from the polling equipment. Also Read | China Eyes for Military Base Near US but Hawaii's Missile Defense Sees No Light of Day. DRO Sohail-ur-Rehman reached the polling station in Ward No. 3 and police and administration took immediate control of the polling station, reported Ary News, citing sources. The Balochistan government has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the local government elections in the province till July 15, however, the reasons for the delay are not explained. Also Read | Tara Air's 9 NAET Aircraft With Four Indians and 18 Others Missing in Nepals Mustang. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja warned of strict action in case of violations during the polling process as local bodies elections are underway in Balochistan province. The CEC who is supervising the election process in the central control room said that the ECP would not tolerate any interference during the polling process and urged the masses to use their right to vote without any fear. "People should come out of their house and vote for their representatives," Sikandar Sultan Raja said and warned that legal action would be taken against anyone barring women from polling. Balochistan was the first province of the country which had held the LG elections in the province in 2014 and after completing the four-year term the LG government's institutions were dissolved in 2018. Since then the LG government institutions were being run by administrators appointed by the government. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Dhaka [Bangladesh], May 29 (ANI): Bangladesh observed the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers on Sunday, according to media reports. Bangladeshi President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made separate statements to commend the UN peacekeeping force, Xinhua News Agency reported today. Also Read | Shanghai Eases Return to Work, Moves to Support Economy Latest Tweet by Reuters. Hasina said Bangladesh is ready to send more peacekeepers to the UN peacekeeping missions as the country is committed to playing a stronger role in establishing world peace. "We're ready to send more peacekeepers in response to the call of the UN," she said while speaking at a program through a videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka. Also Read | Memorial Day 2022 in United States: Know Date, History, Significance and How the Observance Is Marked on the Last Monday of May. As part of the celebrations, relatives of martyred peacekeepers and injured peacekeeping members were given a reception at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center, which is also known as the Bangladesh-China friendship conference center in Dhaka. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed on May 29 every year. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad, May 29 (PTI) Pakistan on Sunday rejected the notion that any delegation from Islamabad had visited Israel, days after Israeli President Isaac Herzog said a group from South Asia that included Pakistani citizens met him in the Jewish state. During a special address at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on May 26 in Davos, Israel President Herzog said that he recently received a delegation of Pakistani-Americans, calling it an "amazing experience". Also Read | Memorial Day 2022 in United States: Know Date, History, Significance and How the Observance Is Marked on the Last Monday of May. "Responding to media queries, the (FO) Spokesperson categorically rejected the notion of any delegation from Pakistan visiting Israel," the Foreign Office said. It, however, added that the reported visit in question was organised by a foreign NGO which is not based in Pakistan. Also Read | Nepal: Tara Air's 9 NAET Aircraft With 22 On Board, Including 4 Indians Found in Mustang. Pakistan's position on the Palestinian issue is clear and unambiguous and there is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is complete national consensus," the FO said. The establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian State with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital, in accordance with the relevant UN and OIC resolutions, is imperative for just and lasting peace in the region, it said. Pakistan and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Cairo, May 29 (AP) The UN envoy for Sudan on Sunday decried the killing of two people in a violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters who once again took to the streets of the capital to denounce an October military coup. Hundreds of people marched Saturday in Khartoum, where security forces violently dispersed the crowds and chased them in the streets, according to activists. Also Read | Memorial Day 2022 in United States: Know Date, History, Significance and How the Observance Is Marked on the Last Monday of May. I am appalled by the violent death of two young protesters in Khartoum yesterday, Once again: it is time for the violence to stop, said Volker Perthes, the UN envoy, on Twitter. The two were killed during protests in Khartoum's Kalakla neighbourhood. One was shot dead by security forces and the other suffocated after inhaling tear gas, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. Also Read | Nepal: Tara Air's 9 NAET Aircraft With 22 On Board, Including 4 Indians Found in Mustang. Perthes urged military authorities to lift the state of emergency imposed since the October 25 coup and find a peaceful way out of the current crisis. Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the military takeover upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by former strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019. Late Sunday, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, lifted the state of emergency which was imposed across the country following the October coup, the council said in a brief statement. Burhan's decision came hours after the Security and Defense Council, Sudan's highest body that decides on security matters, recommended the lifting of the state of emergency and the release of all detainees. The recommendations were meant to facilitate dialogue between the military and the pro-democracy movement, said Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Yassin Ibrahim Yassin in a video statement. Saturday's protests were part of relentless demonstrations in the past seven months calling for the military to hand over power to civilians. At least 98 people have been killed and over 4,300 wounded in the government crackdown on anti-coup protests since October, according to the medical group. Hundreds of activists and officials in the disposed government were also detained following the coup, many were later released under pressure from the UN and other western governments. The protesters demand the removal of the military from power. The generals, however, have said they will only hand over power to an elected administration. They say elections will take place in July 2023 as planned in a constitutional document governing the transition period. The UN, the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional group called the Intergovernmental Authority in Development have been leading concerted efforts to bridge the gap between the two sides and find a way out of the impasse. Meanwhile, the trial of four activists accused of killing a senior police officer during a protest earlier this year began on Sunday amid tight security outside the Judicial and Legal Science Institute in Khartoum. Dozens of protesters gathered in the area in a show of support for the defendants. The four were detained in raids after police Col. Ali Hamad was stabbed to death as security forces dispersed protesters on January 13. Their defense lawyers deny the allegations. The court's judges in Sunday's proceedings ordered the defendants be medically examined after their lawyers claimed they were tortured and mistreated in police detention. The trial resumes June 12.(AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) A 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft of the Tara Air with 22 people on board has lost contact on Sunday, reported ANI citing airport authorities. The plane, which took off at 9.55 am and went off the radar shortly thereafter, was flying from Pokhara to Jomsom in Nepal. The aircraft was hosting 4 Indian and 3 Japanese nationals. The remaining were Nepali citizens and the aircraft had 22 passengers including the crew. Check Tweet: Nepal | The missing aircraft was hosting 4 Indian and 3 Japanese nationals. The remaining were Nepali citizens & the aircraft had 22 passengers including the crew: State Television ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) The #Colombian government has deployed armed forces to ensure the safety of voters in the first round of presidential elections. The security of the capital city of #Bogota was reinforced with 1,700 more soldiers, besides 11,200 police officers and 1,800 soldiers. pic.twitter.com/ueGtPNAWNn IANS (@ians_india) May 29, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) A book about the history of England has been returned to Harvard University--233 years after it was checked out. No one knows where the thick, leather-covered Complete History of England with the Lives of All the Kings and Queens Thereof, Volume 3, has been. It was one of only a few books that survived a fire at the university in 1764, thanks to an unknown borrower who failed to return it. Its remarkable that its come back, said Roger Stoddard, curator of rare books in the Harvard College Library. The book itself is a relatively undistinguished volume of history that was written by Bishop White Kennett, printed in London in 1706 and given to Harvard by Thomas Bannister, a Boston minister, in 1709. It was one of 404 books that escaped a fire in Harvard Hall when the building burned to the ground during the colleges winter vacation on Jan. 25, 1764, destroying the rest of the 5,000-volume collection. Advertisement About 250 books that were being kept in storage were spared. Another 144 were out on loan, including one from the original bequest of John Harvard, after whom the university was named. Festivals are among the cultural activities celebrated in every country, and Paraguay is one of the nations in Latin America that offers the best. Celebrating culture with vibrant colors and unique gatherings, Paraguay is home to festivals that combine traditions and customs. According to Visit Paraguay, the festivals in the South American nation feature the roots and connections to the Guarani people, with a hint of Spanish culture, as the country was once a colony of Spain. READ NEXT: Top Ecuador Traditional Festivals You Won't Want to Miss While in the South American Country Famous Paraguay Festivals To give you an idea of how festivals are celebrated in Paraguay, here are some of the famous events held in the country every year. Verbena de San Juan If you want to experience a fantastic show with a hint of culture and heritage, then Verbena de San Juan is right up your alley. It is traditionally held on May 28 and 29 and is celebrated to honor Saint John. This festival is unique because different ethnic groups in Paraguay join in the fun to practice their customs. This event's highlight is the people walking across hot coals in front of spectators. Trans-Chaco Rally Do you want to see vehicles traversing rough terrains while making the crowd go wild? Then you have to check the Trans-Chaco rally. This annual rally is held every early July. This festival has been running in Paraguay since the 1970s. It is held in the Gran Chaco region, which has a vast rough terrain that vehicles try to unravel. Get ready for your engines because this festival will be one of the wild rides of your life. Nanduti Festival To experience the country's indigenous roots, you must check the Nanduti Festival held around the city of Itagua. This celebration features different arts and crafts from the region, and witness how wonderful aesthetic Paraguay's art can be. Expect music, performances, and food to be around when you check this festival out. This festival is typically held during the last weekend of July and has been running since 1970. Ypacarai Festival Learning Paraguay's folk culture is a must when visiting the South American country, and Ypcarai Festival will help you with that. According to Word Disk, Ypacarai Festival or Festival del Lago is usually celebrated between August and September. This festival has been celebrated since 1971, and it focuses on folklores and greatly emphasizes cultural manifestations. Dia de San Blas Dia de San Blas is a celebration in honor of Saint Blaise, the patron saint of Paraguay. Ciudad del Este hosts the biggest celebrations every February 3. This festival dates back to the eighteenth century when the saint allegedly appeared to the family of Siete Aguas and healed their son, who was about to die. There are music, fun activities, and a lot of food during the celebration of this festival in Paraguay. READ MORE: Top 5 Festivals in Peru You Should Check Out This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: 10 Things Not To Do in Paraguay - From Destination Tips Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, have been married for more than 30 years and still going strong. According to Business Insider, Karen is the closest adviser to her husband and had a major say in some of his political career decisions. Pence's wife was formerly married to her high school sweetheart, Dr. John Steven Whitaker. The couple's marriage ended in divorce partly due to their youth and the doctor's intense medical school schedule. In 1983, Mike and Karen met in the parking lot outside Indianapolis' St. Thomas Aquinas Church. According to the Republic, Karen played the guitar there during mass. Karen was a shop teacher at a local school at the time, while Mike was studying law at Indiana University with one of Karen's sisters. Mike and Karen's first date was with her niece and nephew, skating at the Pepsi Coliseum. Karen's niece reportedly made a $1 bet that Mike would marry her aunt. According to Karen, the first date "went well," and it "was love at first sight" for her. After eight months of dating, Karen had the word "yes" engraved on a gold cross. According to the Washington Post, the former second lady carried it in her purse as she awaited Mike's marriage proposal. About a month later, Mike proposed while they were strolling and feeding ducks along a canal in Indianapolis, and Karen was able to give him her golden cross. The couple tied the knot on June 8, 1985 at St. Christopher's Roman Catholic Church in Speedway, Indiana, and they eventually had three children. READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Doesn't Believe His Son Hunter Biden Broke Any Laws in Dealings With Ukraine and China, Chief of Staff Says Donald Trump on Mike Pence and Karen Pence's Marriage During a White House signing ceremony in 2017, former President Donald Trump told Mike Pence that he has "one hell of a good marriage going." The thrice-married Trump made the comment about Mike's marriage in light of criticism stemming from a Washington Post story. The story said the former vice president told The Hill in 2002 that he never eats alone with a woman other than his wife and doesn't attend events featuring alcohol without her by his side. According to USA Today, the practice called "The Billy Graham Rule is common among many evangelicals. Some critics called it sexist and old-fashioned, while others said it was an example of a man determined to preserve his marriage. The Pences were married in a Roman Catholic church but later became evangelical Christians. Mike Pence earlier told the IndyStar that Karen Pence was "the best part" of his life. The former vice president noted that they do everything together, from exercising to praying, and he "can't imagine it any other way." Mike Pence Calls Karen Pence His 'Mother' In a 2017 Rolling Stone article, Mike Pence was quoted as asking Karen Pence: "Mother, Mother, who prepared our meal this evening?" The outlet cited an anonymous source who said the then-Indiana governor referred to his wife as "mother" at a dinner with lawmakers. Pence reportedly shouted to his wife at the other end of the table. And after a few minutes, the former vice president reportedly shouted again. "Mother, Mother, whose china are we eating on?" However, one of Mike's aides dispelled the rumors as he spoke about the unsettling nickname. Alyssa Farah, Mike's former press secretary, told The Hill that it would be "weird" if Mike would refer to his wife as "mother." Farah noted that it was a "myth" that drove her crazy. She explained that this was when Mike had kids who were teenage years. "They're probably 14, 15 years old. And he steps up, and he says, 'mom' and he calls her mom. But my parents did that too... In front of kids, you say, 'dad,' 'mom,'" Farah said. Farah noted that Karen Pence "was always Karen" when she was around, and they called her "Mrs. Pence or the second lady." She added that Mike does not call his wife her mother. Mike Pence and Karen Pence are reportedly living their best lives after returning to their home state of Indiana as they put their Washington D.C. days behind them. READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden, a 'Direct Beneficiary' of His Son Hunter Biden's Foreign Deals, Says Head of Government Accountability Institute This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Mike Pence and Wife Karen Return to Indiana After Vice Presidency - From FOX59 News A man who fell against a patrol car after losing his friends while out drinking in Portlaoise has been fined 200. Thomas McCarthy, 39, of 1 Ashbury View, Roscrea, Co Tipperary was arrested by gardai on May 22 at 12.20am. Sgt JJ Kirby said the man came to garda attention as he had been walking in the middle of Main Street in Portlaoise before he fell against the patrol car on the night in question. He said the man was drunk and started shouting and roaring before being arrested. He said the man had 21 previous convictions including one for violent disorder. Solicitor Aonghus McCarthy said, drink is his difficulty, to cut to the chase. He explained that his client was out in Portlaoise and had lost his friends. He said the man is genuinely contrite and remorseful and had written a letter of apology. Mr McCarthy said that although he wasnt a man of means, the defendant had brought 100 to court. Acknowledging the previous convictions, he said the serious violent disorder charge the man had been convicted of in Nenagh related to a feud, similar to that which had occurred in Mullingar a number of years ago. Judge Patricia Cronin noted his previous record, the letter of apology and that it is a case that he had drunk too much on the night in question and she fined him 200 for the charge of threatening and abusive behaviour. She took the second charge of being drunk into consideration. A final call is being made to GAA followers in Laois to have their stories published in the second edition of a grassroots book on the organisation. Last years publication of Grassroots: Stories From The Heart Of The GAA, proved such a success that the GAA and Ballpoint Press are collaborating in a new volume GAA Grassroots, The Second-Half with a planned release this autumn. Im issuing a last call to make sure that if someone has a story to tell, they have the chance to do so, said editor and author, PJ Cunningham. I need them to get in touch by the end of June so that their submissions can be considered for the forthcoming publication. We already have over 100 stories for the second volume but it is important that we trawl again this year as we want to include the most comprehensive treasure trove of Gaelic-related stories ever compiled in the 138-year history of the association, he added. He emphasised that the stories being sought out stand a greater chance of publication if they contain twists and turns rather than historical accounts about clubs or famous ancestors who won medals. It is not a collection of how clubs were founded or run but about the people in them; its more about what they got up to either on or off the pitch, he explained. GAA President, Larry McCarthy, who launched the first volume, said he was delighted a second book is being published, containing stories from the heartlands of the organisation as well as from the Irish diaspora. The GAAs Communications Director, Alan Milton, said the two Grassroots books would complement the work undertaken by the GAA's Oral History Project - commissioned in 2009 as part of the Association's 125th celebrations. Having stories maintained in permanent form is important to the Association and this undertaking fills that role for us, he said. Stories can be submitted on any subject and from any era from the time of British rule, through to the Civil War, The Emergency or indeed the era of The Ban and vigilante committees set up to uncover GAA members attending or playing 'foreign games'. GAA stories always have intrigue, cunning, wit and every member has a unique story to tell about what happened somewhere along the line. Thats why Id love to get a new crop in for Volume 2, Cunningham stressed. He added: If someone out there has a story but would prefer to relate it to me rather than write it themselves, I can write it up for them. If you have a story, write to: pj@gaastories.ie or communications@gaa.ie marked GAA Stories or phone PJ directly on 086-8217631. A Laois secondary school has become officially the greenest school in Ireland. Scoil Chriost Ri Portlaoise has been awarded the National Global Citizenship School of the Year, by An Taisce and Green Schools Ireland. The school is also the regional winner for the Global Citizenship Litter and Waste category. The awards recognise a year of hard work and determination by the Green Schools committee at Scoil Chriost Ri, focusing on the theme of Global Citizenship Litter and Waste. Three representatives from the committee, Mary OBrien, Tara Ring and Hannah Guinan attended the awards ceremony in Athlone, Co. Westmeath on May 19. Throughout the year the Green Schools Committee have been working on different projects and initiatives to earn their Global Citizenship award. At the beginning of the year, the committee decided to focus on one big change they wanted to make in the school. Scoil Chriost Ri is going Plastic Free was the name of this project. The aim behind this was to eliminate the use of single use plastic bottles in the school. To start the initiative, they launched the campaign via social media, the school notice boards, colourful posters, and word of mouth. The committee then sourced a high-quality refillable water bottle to sell to their school community. Over 300 bottles were sold to staff and students throughout February and March. The initiative received massive support from the entire school community and the ban of single use plastic bottles was well received. Last March they organised a Sustainability Week in the school. Students were taught a different theme daily in their 9am classes. All teachers rowed in to bring home the message that we can all do better in combating climate change. Students learned how to recycle properly with 1st years enjoying a frantic lunch time challenge to sort waste. As part of the week, the Green Schools committee also organised a Zoom call with Sue Adams from Education for Sustainability learning about the damage that plastic does and alternatives to it. They learned about Fairtrade and fast fashion, while also raising 1,710 for Ukraine with a blue and yellow clothing day. The committee also installed three monitors around the school to measure air quality- a Traffic counter, Particulate Matter (PMs) monitor and test tubes to measure Nitrous Oxide levels. The school undertook these initiatives to fulfil actions by the Green Schools committee under the guidance of Marion Healy. "The energy the students brought and the great excitement the Global Citizenship School of the Year awards has created is great. The work of the committee is providing vital lessons that the student body will need as global citizens in this ever-changing world," she said. A final call is being made to GAA followers in Leitrim to have their stories published in the second edition of a grassroots book on the organisation. Last years publication of Grassroots: Stories From The Heart Of The GAA, proved such a success that the GAA and Ballpoint Press are collaborating in a new volume GAA Grassroots, The Second-Half with a planned release this autumn. Im issuing a last call to make sure that if someone has a story to tell, they have the chance to do so, said editor and author, PJ Cunningham. Author PJ Cunningham I need them to get in touch by the end of June so that their submissions can be considered for the forthcoming publication. We already have over 100 stories for the second volume but it is important that we trawl again this year as we want to include the most comprehensive treasure trove of Gaelic-related stories ever compiled in the 138-year history of the association, he added. He emphasised that the stories being sought out stand a greater chance of publication if they contain twists and turns rather than historical accounts about clubs or famous ancestors who won medals. It is not a collection of how clubs were founded or run but about the people in them; its more about what they got up to either on or off the pitch, he explained. GAA President, Larry McCarthy, who launched the first volume, said he was delighted a second book is being published, containing stories from the heartlands of the organisation as well as from the Irish diaspora. The GAAs Communications Director, Alan Milton, said the two Grassroots books would complement the work undertaken by the GAA's Oral History Project - commissioned in 2009 as part of the Association's 125th celebrations. Having stories maintained in permanent form is important to the Association and this undertaking fills that role for us, he said. Stories can be submitted on any subject and from any era from the time of British rule, through to the Civil War, The Emergency or indeed the era of The Ban and vigilante committees set up to uncover GAA members attending or playing 'foreign games'. GAA stories always have intrigue, cunning, wit and every member has a unique story to tell about what happened somewhere along the line. Thats why Id love to get a new crop in for Volume 2, Cunningham stressed. If someone out there has a story but would prefer to relate it to me rather than write it themselves, I can write it up for them. If you have a story, write to: pj@gaastories.ie or communications@gaa.ie marked GAA Stories or phone PJ directly on 086-8217631. Anthony Horowitz is back with his latest take on James Bond Fiction 1. Fight Night by Miriam Toews is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced 14.99 (ebook 8.99). Available June 2 Our favourite writer returns. FIGHT NIGHT, the new laugh-out-loud and cry novel from Miriam Toews, out 2 June. Bloggers, I have 20 early copies pic.twitter.com/kFef0sCnhR Josh Smith (@joshsm_th) April 26, 2022 Fight Night is absurd, overwhelming, traumatic, touching and totally delightful. Its a love letter to the women in one family, with nine-year-old narrator Swiv recounting life with her heavily pregnant actor mother Mooshie and elderly grandmother Elvira. It moves at a fast pace which might initially make your head spin, as Swiv jumps from topic to topic, going on mini adventures with her extremely fun grandmother (who is a brilliantly written character and a total badass). While it doesnt always have a clear cut plot, it deals with some big issues such as suicide, alcoholism and depression with realism, dark humour and a lightness of touch. Its a joy to read, and the colourful and beautifully drawn characters will stay with you long after youve finished. 9/10 (Review by Prudence Wade) 2. With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz is published by Jonathan Cape, priced 20 (ebook 9.99). Available May 26 Get the Waterstones exclusive edition of WITH A MIND TO KILL before they're all gone. You DO NOT have all the time in the world for this.https://t.co/MczMgGyu1u pic.twitter.com/CvgCDqbDqX Ian Fleming (@TheIanFleming) May 12, 2022 With A Mind to Kill is Anthony Horowitzs third Bond book, and is a fast-paced thriller centred on a dangerous mission even our hero isnt sure he can complete. It opens with the funeral of M, head of the intelligence service, with Bond in custody accused of his bosss murder. The plot thickens when Bond goes behind the Iron Curtain to join a group of former Soviet intelligence agents, who want to enrol the British spy into a daring plan that will change the balance of world power. Bond fans are in for a treat as he enters the lions den, having to draw on all his powers to overcome the enemy. Readers will love the way Horowitz stays loyal to the winning formula of Bond creator Ian Fleming, confronting an old enemy with new energy. 8/10 (Review by Alan Jones) 3. You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced 14.99 (ebook 8.99). Available May 26 'By turns raunchy, sad and uplifting' Grazia 'My heart soared and shook and panted' Bolu Babalola Only two weeks to go until summer's hottest romance hits the shops #foolofdeath pic.twitter.com/aE0yK9z4hC Faber Books (@FaberBooks) May 13, 2022 Anyone whos read Akwaeke Emezis previous books the beautiful and heartrending Freshwater and The Death Of Vivek Oji will be in for a surprise with their latest offering. While You Made A Fool Of Death covers some similar themes as the other books including violent loss and love at its core, its much more of a popcorn romance novel. Feyi is a young artist with a sad past, meaning new romance is hard for her she tries to turn over a new leaf by going with a potential suitor to his island home, staying in his wealthy fathers house. Things become complicated when she finds herself falling for the wrong man quite a classic romance trope, meaning the book feels quite predictable. While Emezis signature arresting style is there, the content isnt they spend a bit too much time discussing how beautiful the main characters are, which can get a bit dull. Its no doubt readable and you do connect with the characters, but Emezi possibly suffers by comparison to their previous books and You Made A Fool Of Death likely wont stay with you quite as long. 6/10 (Review by Prudence Wade) Non-fiction 4. Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver is published in hardback by Manilla Press, priced 20 (ebook 9.99). Available now Today is the day my book is published in the UK. If you read it (thank you) I hope it makes you laugh. It was a joyful and painful thing to write. Pretty much like everything else in life #managingexpectations pic.twitter.com/ikQvNicomL Minnie Driver (@driverminnie) May 12, 2022 Celebrity autobiographies are always a very mixed bag, but this one from the actress who made her name in Circle Of Friends and Good Will Hunting is a shining star among them. Its a collection of essays of key moments in Minnie Drivers life, written with razor-sharp wit and tear-jerking pathos, from her parents break-up to her wayward hair and her experiences in acting, as she dived from one successful movie, which she thought would secure her career, to faking orgasms for a chocolate ad to keep the wolf from the door. Her Oscar nomination for Good Will Hunting was robbed of its joy because of her ex Matt Damon, who arrived at the event with his new girlfriend. But self-pity never washed with her mother, a stoic, funny, positive figure who wouldnt tolerate complaints about life being unfair, which makes the final chapter so heart-wrenching, as news of her diagnosis of terminal cancer leaves Driver literally on her knees in front of her shopping trolley in Waitrose. Youll want to read this book twice, laughing at the acutely sharp observations and holding back tears as the final chapter comes to its close. We hope this actress writes more. 10/10 (Review by Hannah Stephenson) Childrens book of the week 5. Clarice Bean: Scram! by Lauren Child is published in hardback by HarperCollins Childrens Books, priced 12.99 (ebook 7.99). Available May 26 Lauren Child knows what goes through a childs mind, and how to transfer those thoughts to the page. In her latest instalment of the Clarice Bean series, she delivers another snapshot of the topsy-turvy world of the title character. Clarice and her extended family adopt a stray dog, with the young girl forming alliances with siblings and somehow manipulating situations to her advantage so everything turns out just fine in the end. Child made her name with the Charlie And Lola picture books, and Clarice has firmly become a new favourite. Youll be left trying to work out if Clarice and family ate horrid spaghetti or something else entirely see for yourself by reading this entertaining tale. 9/10 (Review by Roddy Brooks) BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAY 21 HARDBACK (FICTION) 1. Bad Actors by Mick Herron 2. The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah 3. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart 4. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 5. Elektra by Jennifer Saint 6. Book Of Night by Holly Black 7. Elizabeth Of York by Alison Weir 8. The House With The Golden Door by Elodie Harper 9. The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 10. People Person by Candice Carty-Williams (Compiled by Waterstones) HARDBACK (NON-FICTION) 1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith 2. House Arrest by Alan Bennett 3. Life Time by Russell Foster 4. The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight 5. Nothing But The Truth by The Secret Barrister 6. The War On The West by Douglas Murray 7. Village In The Third Reich by Julia Boyd & Angelika Patel 8. Freezing Order by Bill Browder 9. Chums by Simon Kuper 10. Life Is Sad And Beautiful by Hussain Manawer (Compiled by Waterstones) AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION) 1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith 2. Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre 3. Atomic Habits by James Clear 4. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 5. The Worlds Worst Pets by David Walliams 6. The Couple At No. 9 by Claire Douglas 7. Thrown by Sara Cox 8. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 9. The War On The West by Douglas Murray 10. The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof (Compiled by Audible) Dublin Airport has admitted that mistakes were made after it was forced to warn passengers that some could miss flights due to lengthy queues. Concern is growing ahead of the bank holiday weekend in several days time, as both the Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan asked for answers about the disorder at the airport. Officials at Dublin Airport had earlier warned of significant queues for passengers at the countrys main airport. Some travelling were told they could miss flights due to the extent of the queues, with 50,000 passengers expected to pass through the airport today (Sunday May 29). Kevin Cullinane, the group head of communications for Daa, the body that runs the airport, admitted they had got things wrong on Sunday. Significantly, we did not have sufficient staff manning sufficient posts throughout the airport to cope with demand early on and hence queues built up, he told RTE radio. We clearly did not have enough lanes open in security from early on this morning, for the numbers who presented themselves at that hour of the morning. And that caused obviously a compounding effect throughout the morning. He pledged that Dublin Airport will try to compensate all passengers who have missed flights or had plans disrupted, if additional costs are incurred. Mr Cullinane also said airlines were providing passengers with the option of booking different flights later on Sunday or Monday, without an additional cost. We will look at each case on a case-by-case basis but well be doing our level best to make sure that nobody will be out of pocket for missing a flight today as a results of these queues at Dublin Airport. Due to significant queues inside the terminal for check-in, bag drop & security, passengers queueing outside the terminal may not make their flight & may need to contact their airline to rebook. We sincerely apologise for the obvious frustration and inconvenience this may cause. Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) May 29, 2022 Officials pledged to try to compensate all passengers who have missed flights or had plans disrupted, if additional costs are incurred. In a statement today, the Department of Transport said Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and junior minister Hildegarde Naughton have expressed deep unhappiness over the scenes at the airport. Ms Naughton, who has held twice weekly meetings in recent weeks with the Daa chief executive, will meet Dalton Philips first thing on Monday to discuss the issues. The statement, issued on behalf of the ministers, said: The passenger experience at Dublin Airport is falling far short of the service that our citizens and visitors should expect at our largest state airport. They said that it was not satisfactory that some people, who are following daa guidelines, are turning up to the airport for check-in on time, but are still missing their flights. The situation is causing undue stress and potential cost to people, which is simply not good enough. Taoiseach Micheal Martin, speaking from Lebanon, said the situation was not satisfactory. The minister will be engaging with them and Government will be discussing this and reviewing this in terms of the huge numbers and the delays and so on. Its not satisfactory. Passengers have faced lengthy waits and scenes of disorder at Dublin Airport in recent months. The airport has previously said it is trying to rebound from the impact of the pandemic and has blamed shortages in fully trained staff working at the countrys busiest airport. Mr Cullinane said there will be an additional 370 security staff in the airport from June. Clearly we didnt have and we still dont have sufficient numbers to cater for this, he said. We have to put our hands up and say we got that wrong and we wish we had more staff available this morning to rectify that situation quicker than we did. He said that the situation was now under control at Terminal 1, but lengthy queues could be expected at Terminal 2 for the next couple of hours. In a statement earlier, a spokesperson for the airport said: Dublin Airport is experiencing significant queues for airline check-in, bag drop and security screening this morning as 50,000 passengers are expected to depart over the course of the day. Queuing outside both terminals has been deployed since early morning as part of Dublin Airports contingency plans for the increased numbers of passengers travelling. Due to significant queues inside the terminals passengers queueing outside the terminal have been advised they may not make their flight and may need to contact their airline to rebook. Dublin Airport sincerely apologises for the obvious frustration and inconvenience this is causing. The deputy of the Socialism and Freedom Party, Chico Alencar (center), during a rally held in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2022 to pay homage to Genivaldo de Jesus Santos, who died suffocated in the trunk of a police car. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP The video begins by showing a banal police stop, carried out by three officers on a man who lifted his shirt and obediently spread his legs. On this Wednesday, May 25, the police had stopped Genivaldo de Jesus Santos, a black and corpulent man, because he was driving a motorcycle without a helmet. The three policemen belonged to the Federal Highway Police (PRF). The FDR is known for its spectacular seizures of drug shipments, often reported and praised on President Bolsonaro's social media accounts. The scene took place in Umbauba, a town of 25,000 inhabitants in the state of Sergipe, in northeast of Brazil, where it is common not to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, the most frequent form of transportation in the region. Next to Mr. de Jesus Santos, his nephew Wallyson de Jesus is seen trying to approach the officers. According to his testimony, the young man alerted them to his uncle's mental illness. Genivaldo de Jesus Santos had a prescription on him because he was on his way to pick up the medical treatment he had been taking for schizophrenia for twenty years. Suddenly, the routine check accelerated and turned into violent drama. The man was tackled to the ground, immobilized by two policemen and then quickly handcuffed at his hands and feet. He was then placed in the trunk of the police car, whose tailgate was firmly held by two of the officers while a third pulled out a tear gas grenade and threw it inside the trunk. The video then becomes unbearable to watch for two long minutes before ending in Mr. de Jesus Santos' death by asphyxiation. One can clearly hear the onlookers around the car protesting and telling the police "You are going to kill him." The policemen remained unperturbed even as the victim was screaming in pain and his legs, seen partially dangling out of the trunk, were shaking violently. The video ended before the trunk was opened, but according to the medical report that was made public, Mr. de Jesus Santos was already dead when he was transported to the Umbauba hospital. More on this topic Subscribers only Who was Moise Kabagambe, the Congolese man beaten to death on a beach in Rio? The video of his agony was immediately shared thousands of times on social media. On Wednesday evening, the residents of Umbauba improvised a demonstration at the scene of the tragedy to demand in vain the detention of the three agents. The PRF simply dismissed them, causing even more outrage and criticism. A police force 'contaminated by Bolsonarism' "They should have been detained immediately because they are police officers who improvised a gas chamber in the middle of the street in 2022. It is obvious that if Mr. de Jesus Santos had been white, he would have received a different treatment. This not only shows the unpreparedness of these officers, but this event confirms that this police force is ideologically contaminated by Bolsonarism," reflected Rafael Alcadipani, professor at the Getulio-Vargas Foundation and a member of the Brazilian Forum of Public Safety. You have 28.32% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. By Jung Min-ho Lee In-sil Your storiesFor this series, journalist and director Stefania Rousselle set out across France, asking one simple question: 'How are you doing?' This week, the answer came from Uyen Pham, 32, a business development manager looking for a job in Toulouse. "I grew up in My Tho, a city in southern Vietnam with maybe 300,000 inhabitants. My parents run an interior design business there, selling walls, floors kind of like Leroy-Merlin [a French hardware store], only much smaller. It's doing well, but nothing to brag about. We're middle class. My mother did all the talking at home; my father did not. He's a silent man, a typical macho type who likes having things his way. There was absolutely no affection, no cuddling. In any case, it's something that doesn't exist in our culture. We don't hug and we don't express our feelings. Showing them is even considered immature or weak. We don't show our anger or our sadness. We are robots. We don't know or even try to know who we are. And in the end, we die. My mother wanted me to go and live abroad. It is something that is very common in our country: They educate us to be good in math and physics, and then they pay for our ticket out. I went to evening classes after school and I went on the weekends, too. Vacations or hobbies? No. Would they help me to become a doctor or an engineer? No. I worked like a madwoman and I felt in competition with my classmates. I gave it my all but I was still not the best. That didn't stop my mother from telling me over and over again: 'You are the oldest, the prow of the boat. You have a little brother and you need to lead by example. You must become a leader and you can't fail. You must succeed.' I just went along with it. Don't rock the boat So when I arrived in Canada at 20 years old, I just put my head down and worked. We Asians gain respect through hard work. We don't draw attention to ourselves and we don't make waves. We work hard so that the second generation has the means to do what it wants. The first one has nothing. 'Friends? Yes, I made some. Only because it's expected, though' I was in Montreal. On the weekends, I would serve soup in a Vietnamese restaurant, and during the week, I went to school. The plan had to be followed and nothing could interfere with it. It was mapped out for the next 25 years. It's true that I calculate everything, all the time. I always think in terms of risk and reward because of the plan. Step number one, learn the language; two, get a master's degree; three, get a job. After that, extend the visa and get Canadian citizenship. One day, one of my Korean friends asked me, 'How long are you planning to stay?' I was like, 'What do you mean?' I quickly realized the difference between us, between those who come from developed countries and those who come from third-world countries. She would go home to a rich country with a good economic system. I didn't have that privilege. I needed a 'strong' passport to start my life with. You have 65.55% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. WITH the silage season now in full swing, Limerick City and County Council is appealing to farmers, landowners and users across the county to ensure they do everything they can to protect water quality. The local authority says it's essential that every effort is made to ensure that all effluents arising from the harvesting of silage are collected, stored and managed so that water quality is not compromised. Contractors and farmers are being urged to ensure the silage base and associated collecting channels are free from defect and that any defects are address prior to use. Further advice is to wilt the grass prior to ensiling as this helps ensure that dry matter content is at a level where release of effluent is minimised. "Excessively wet grass can result in slumping in the pit. This can cause channels to block and effluent to overflow to watercourses or to enter groundwater," said a spokesperson for the council. Farmers and contractors are being asked to ensure that harvested grass is kept behind the drainage channels on the base of pits and to ensure that the drainage channels are kept free from blockage. Silage pits should be be overfilled as this is dangerous from a health and safety point of view and can also result in collapse of the pit. For more tips and advice, click here. STUDENTS from a Limerick school have taken on a walking challenge to fundraise for two wildlife rescue centres. Pupils from the Mid-West School for the Deaf along with the school community, collectively walked or ran a total of 1000km over 30 days. Their One Million Magic Metres challenge was in aid of Animal Magic Rescue Centre in Kilmallock and The Hogsprickle Wildlife Carers in Clare which are causes close to the student's hearts. They chose the centres after they cared for two animals that students and staff had rescued from their grounds, an injured seagull and an underweight hedgehog. Teacher Sinead O Mahony said the students wanted to raise money for the centres after receiving updates on the animals. On day 30 of the challenge, the school community hit their million-metre target and had raised 1,520 to donate to the centres. Much to the student's delight, owners from both centres as well as someone from Bat Rehabilitation Ireland visited the school with some of their animal friends. Rosie from Animal Magic thanked the students for "helping us to help wildlife" and Bev from The Hogsprickle amazed the students when she told them it was the "largest amount of money" that had been raised for the rescue centre to date. Students also gave some advice on how to look after animals including Anna Brennan from 5th class who said people should "feed seagulls tinned fish or dog food, definitely not bread, because it fills their bellies without giving them any nutrition". A LIMERICK academic has launched a new book examining the social and cultural history of modernising Ireland through the archives of Irish theatre. Theatre and Archival Memory: Irish Drama and Marginalised Histories 1951-1977 was written by Dr. Barry Houlihan, archivist and academic at NUI Galway. The Bulgaden native currently lives in Moycullen, Co. Galway and teaches in disciplines of History, Children's Studies, and Digital Culture at the university. Dr. Houlihan graduated from the University of Limerick in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in English and History before completing a Masters degree in Archive Management at University College Dublin. The renowned archivist's new book explores the work of a number of artists, theatre-makers, activists and others who contributed to an extraordinary period of Irelands cultural history. Dr Houlihan, drew on a number of newly available and digitised archives from NUI Galway, other Irish archives, institutions and from collections held internationally in the writing of the book. Beginning in 1951, the book traces important and neglected histories of Irish theatre and culture, namely those events which sought to reflect the changing society of Ireland through to the end of the 1970s. This period saw Ireland internationalise its cultural brand and also import new European and American influences in cinema, music, theatre and film. The book examines the growth of theatre and culture outside of the capital including regional cities such as Limerick. One of the stories is that of theatre producer and director Phyllis Ryan who led the charge in the 1970s to set up a new and second national theatre. Ms Ryan secured over 15,000 in funds from various sources in Limerick to develop the project however despite the support and funding behind the venture, Limericks proposed national theatre never materialised. NATIONAL fast food restaurant chain Supermac's is in advanced talks to sell apartments in Limerick city to a local housing body. In a statement to Limerick Live, Supermac's representatives confirmed they have been in negotiations with a local housing association to take ownership of the units they own in the Shannon Oaks complex on Henry Street. "These talks are at an advanced stage and have been taking place for some time," said a Supermacs spokesperson. There are a number of owners of the apartments in the Shannon Arms. The Limerick branch of Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) say over 100 residents in the Shannon Arms are "currently facing mass evictions from several landlords". They held a solidarity demonstration for over two hours on OConnell Street this month. Co-chair of CATU Limerick, Ruairi Fahy, said: "The state of the housing crisis in Limerick means that, if evicted, these families will have almost no chance of finding a new home. There are consistently less than 10 homes available for rent in the city, and those that are affordable for people not on massive incomes are few and far between. "There has been a failure by the government to bring in appropriate legislation to ensure that tenants can't be evicted into homelessness and even with the limited protections that exist." Supermacs say they want to sell their interest in the Shannon Arms to a housing association and hope the matter draws to a conclusion in the near future. MONEY has poured into two Limerick whiskey entrepreneurs' crowdfunding plan. Tony Foote and Alice Carroll, co-founders of Foxes Bow Whiskey, launched the brand last year. Despite the huge interest in whiskey amongst experienced investors, Alice and Tony decided to take a different route, teaming up with Crowdcube, the UKs largest crowdfunding platform to make whiskey investments accessible to all. Theyre crowdfunding in an attempt to allow anyone to get involved and own a piece of the company for as little as 10/10. Their target is to raise 500,000. In just over a week 354,126 has been raised by 208 investors. Alice said they "want to blow the doors open and make whiskey accessible to anyone". "And for us, that extends to making it accessible to invest in whiskey," she said. Speaking about crowdfunding in general, Tony said it is still a relatively new concept in Ireland. "People sometimes confuse it with Go Fund Me or the likes. But its nothing like those platforms. Its not companies looking for a hand-out. Crowdfunding is a great, accessible way for anyone that wants to invest in a company in return for a piece of equity in that company. "A lot of the time with investments in companies like ours, the minimum cheque size requirement is pretty big, which means its too expensive for most people to get involved. By working with Crowdcube, were able to invite people to own a piece of the company for as little as 10, so its a lot more accessible and inclusive, which is what were all about," said Tony. After strong performance in Ireland since launching in November 2021, Foxes Bow Whiskey is fundraising to support their national growth in Ireland and the UK as well as their export ambitions in new markets including South Africa, and initial entry into the US and Chinese Markets, along with brand development and team expansion. They want to take a slice of the $2.5bn global Irish whiskey industry, For more information click here A sitting of the Stormont Assembly on Monday is not a political stunt, the Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has said. The DUP refusal to elect a speaker and facilitate the formation of an Executive remains unchanged, as the row between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol continues. Sin Feins Ms Hargey denied that the return to Stormont was a stunt, given the position of DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. The DUP is refusing to enter the powersharing institutions until its issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol are sufficiently resolved. It is not timewasting. We were elected to sit in Stormont, to make legislation and to protect people within our communities, Ms Hargey said. Our role as elected leaders is to work on behalf of those who elected us, to work on behalf of communities. We have been hearing the struggle, people are crying out for help. The Stormont Assembly will meet on Monday in a new bid to nominate a speaker after more than 30 MLAs signed a recall petition. Following a motion from Sinn Fein, outgoing Speaker Alex Maskey said in a letter to MLAs that the purpose of Mondays recall was to elect a speaker, deputy speakers and to appoint a first minister and deputy first minister. We are not willing to hold the institutions to ransom, Ms Hargey told the BBC Sunday Politics programme. Leader @J_Donaldson_MP raises with @BorisJohnson the cost of living crisis and the impact it is having on the people of Northern Ireland and across the rest of the United Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/e4YPpNimPi DUP (@duponline) May 25, 2022 Concerns were also raised earlier this week about what the lack of a powersharing Executive in Northern Ireland means for the 400 discount on energy bills announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of a range of measures to tackle the spiralling cost of living. Sinn Fein Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy said that the lack of an Executive will pose challenges for introducing the discount for households in Northern Ireland Ms Hargey said Mr Murphy was looking at workarounds. We dont have functional institutions, because normally when youre doing emergency payments like this you need to pass legislation within the Assembly, Ms Hargey said. That is still a predicament in terms of those means-tested benefits as well. We do still need to find a way of passing that emergency legislation. So were continuing to look at finding workarounds. Ms Hargey added: But the quickest way of making these payments and giving certainty to people outside is to actually have a formed Executive in order to get these payments going. Click here to read the full article. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Red Bull Racing star Sergio Perez took home the checkered flag at the Monaco Grand Prix Sunday, and the new champs big win could be credited to some good strategy, good driving and good music. Perez, whose win at Monaco was the first time hes triumphed on the notoriously tricky course, says he resorts to a very specific type of music to get pumped up before a race. My playlists are full of Latin and romantic music, he told Rolling Stone, during a recent promo tour for his new partnership with Patron Tequila. I have to admit that it is not what average people listen to to get pumped up, but its what I listen to to get in my zone, calm and focused. Among his favorite artists: I would say Luis Miguel, Alejandro Fernandez, [the Colombian band] Morat, Carlos Rivera and Diego Torres, he shares. Mostly Spanish-speaking songs that connect me to my roots. Born and raised in Guadalajara, Perezs roots also connect him to tequila, with his home state of Jalisco long-recognized as the birthplace of the blue agave spirit. The driver says it was a no-brainer to team up with Patron when the tequila maker came calling. As many people know, I have so much pride for my country and my home in Guadalajara and Patron shares that same pride for our home state of Jalisco, Mexico, he says. Both Patron and I value hard work, dedication to perfection and community, especially celebrating the people of the great country of Mexico. Patron Buy: Patron Silver Tequila at $39.99 The man known to fans as Checo, says there are actually many parallels between F1 racing and tequila. Succeeding in the world of F1 is very similar to mastering the craft of tequila making, he says dutifully. It takes passion and tireless dedication to achieve perfection. Just like the art of tequila production, he adds, racing is a team effort. Everyone plays a vital role using their unique talents with meticulous precision to produce the highest standard of quality in performance. The driver adds that both tequila making and auto racing require many hands on deck. At least 60 hands touch every single bottle of Patron before it leaves the distillery, he shares, [while] upwards of 75 hands touch my car before I leave the pit and begin to race. It is important to not compromise quality for efficiencies in both racing and tequila making. Aside from Formula One and tequila, Perez says hes also a huge music fan, sharing a memory about meeting one of his favorite artists a few years ago. It was very cool to meet Enrique Iglesias some years ago in very funny circumstances, Checo recalls. As a worldwide music star, he plays very often at F1 Grand Prix events and one of the years, I think it was back in 2016 in Baku, I contacted his management team and invited him over to my garage to watch the race from there. And surprisingly for me, Perez continues, he replied that he had never been invited to an F1 garage before. So he came on race day, I showed him my car, and since then, weve become good friends. The kicker: I ended up finishing on the podium that race, Perez says, citing Iglesias as a good luck charm. Now every time he plays at an F1 event I invite him to the garage, and he invites me to his concerts. Perezs win at Monaco was the first time hes stood atop the podium this year, and his third Formula 1 win overall. This was also his second win racing for Red Bull, having taken the flag at Baku last year (his first win came in 2020 when he was racing under the team then-known as Racing Point). Checo will be looking to repeat as champ in Baku in two weeks, when the drivers take to the course at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Related: How to Watch Every F1 Race Online For now, Perez is celebrating his Monaco win, presumably with some Patron. The F1 schedule is very demanding and I have to be very focused, [so] when I do get to enjoy some Patron, it is usually to celebrate making the podium, he says. The pride of Mexico adds that its always tequila season though, when Im relaxing and spending time with my familia at home. His favorite drink: a simple Patron Silver & Soda, made with tequila, soda water and fresh lime. It is light, refreshing and just one sip transports me home to Mexico. In this Oct. 4, 2019, file photo, Rep. Kim Seung-hee speaks during her parliamentary inspection at the National Assembly in Seoul. Kim, who was named as the nominee for health minister post, has become a prime target of main opposition party lawmakers who accuse her of being "foul-mouthed" and "unethical." Yonhap By Jung Min-ho Less than a week after then Health Minister nominee Chung Ho-young withdrew from consideration, his replacement, Kim Seung-hee, has now become a prime target of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers who accuse her of being "foul-mouthed" and "unethical." "Many people remember her as a foul-mouthed politician, as she once said former President Moon Jae-in was showing early signs of dementia," lawmakers of the DPK said in a joint statement. "For stirring up hatred and using foul language, she was brought to the National Assembly's ethics committee and for that reason, she did not even get the opportunity to compete in the last general election as a candidate for the United Future Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party." Kim, 68, a former lawmaker, made headlines at the parliamentary inspection on Oct. 4, 2019, when she said Moon might have been showing early signs of dementia as she was criticizing his administration. The comment came after he was reported to have had "no idea" of building a records center for him after approving the project at a Cabinet meeting two weeks earlier. When asked to apologize by the then-ruling party DPK lawmakers, she refused to do so and said she would not stop exercising her rights as an Assembly member to criticize the government. Nevertheless, her harsh past comments are likely to come back to haunt her at the upcoming confirmation hearing. The main opposition party lawmakers had criticized previous nominee Chung for allegations that his children had been given preferential transfer admissions to Kyungpook National University Medical School while he was the director and president of the university hospital. Chung eventually withdrew his nomination. The DPK lawmakers are also expected to take issue with her as her son was exempted from military service for undisclosed medical reasons. Her son received the grade of five on his physical exam. The result allowed him to be placed in alternative civilian service, which is usually preferred to serving in the Army. Kim also faces allegations of being involved in real estate speculation. According to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, she made a profit of more than 100 million won ($80,000) in 2017 after selling an apartment she bought in Sejong, while living in her Seoul apartment and renting it out to someone else. Opposition lawmakers have attacked her for "unethically" profiting from the sale of an apartment in Sejong while living in Seoul, as housing in Sejong is meant for government officials who live in the city. However, the opposition party's attacks may prove to be unfruitful. In Korea, parliamentary confirmation hearings are widely seen as nothing but a formality. The Moon administration pushed ahead with the appointment of 34 ministerial-level posts despite the opposition parties' rejections. Kim, who majored in pharmacy at Seoul National University, got a Ph.D. in chemistry at University of Notre Dame, and began her career as a research official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1988, working in various health and drug-related government agencies since then. She was one of the politicians who openly urged the Moon government to close the border with China in February 2020 when the number of COVID-19 cases was increasing in Wuhan. Click here to read the full article. HOUSTON Nineteen children and two adults were murdered at the Robb Elementary School, in part because the gun lobby has made it legal for 18-year-olds in Texas to buy weapons designed for mass killing. But to hear National Rifle Association honcho Wayne LaPierre tell it, the real victim here is the NRA. LaPierre took the stage of the National Rifle Associations governance meeting Saturday to the strains of AC/DCs Thunderstruck and delivered an angry address in which he painted the NRA as the target of weaponized government. The NRAs Annual Meeting of Members was held in the same 3,500-seat convention center arena where Donald Trump appeared Friday night, and read the aloud the names of the children massacred in Uvalde, each mangled Spanish pronunciation marked by the synthesized clang of a bell. But if Fridays events were staged for a nation-wide audience, Saturdays meeting was dedicated to the internal politics of the NRA. Top brass sat in a row at a long table on the stage, rising to in turn to deliver fiery speeches. The event which gives NRA members the rare chance to introduce and vote on resolutions demanding changes in how the gun lobby is governed did not pack in the crowds. It was attended by perhaps 1,000 people. LaPierre is a tall man with a swoop of gray hair. He wears rimless glasses and has piercing blue eyes. He took to the stage wearing his trademark corporate blue suit. And in a stark reversal from his own doleful speech on Friday, LaPierre barely mentioned the carnage in Uvalde. Instead, the NRA honcho delivered a combative speech in which he painted the National Rifle Association as an underdog threatened by a liberal cabal. LaPierre denounced politicians who have weaponized government power against us and seek to permanently silence your voices. He also blasted the media, whose agenda he insisted is to generate hate against patriotic Americans like you and me. Ultimately, LaPierre vowed that the NRA would continue to fight to expand gun rights and not just in the face of tragic, horrible events when politicians and demagogues try to scapegoat us, he insisted, but every day for weeks, for months, for decades. A Thwarted Rebellion LaPierre isnt just one of the most vilified men in America, hes also opposed by a strident faction of NRA members, who attempted to force a vote of no-confidence in his leadership on Saturday, demanding his removal. The effort didnt succeed it was thwarted by LaPierre loyalists on stage but this rebel faction was eager to speak out against him after the meeting. The only way to clear out a cancer, is to cut it out, Robert M. Ryan, an NRA member from Arkansas, who wears a white Stetson, jeans and cowboy boots told Rolling Stone of the effort. There is corruption at the NRA, he insists. Its our NRA; its our money. Theyre spending it on themselves. LaPierres alleged mismanagement of the NRA has sparked a high-stakes lawsuit by the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, who accuses LaPierre of self-dealing, abuse, and unlawful conduct. And similar allegations broke through to the surface during the business portion of Saturdays meeting. When the executive speeches were over, the program turned to member resolutions. In theory these resolutions offer a mechanism for individuals and factions within the NRA to air grievances, demand answers, and impose accountability on senior leadership. And LaPierres stewardship of the NRA has raised troubling questions. Allegations of corruption and self-enrichment by senior executives including LaPierre who has already paid back $300,000 in excess benefits form the basis of legal action in New York state. That lawsuit failed to dissolve the NRAs charter, but still seeks to impose new leadership at the organization, to ensure that the NRA adheres to its charitable purpose under the law. Attempting to avoid this legal scrutiny, the NRA sought to declare bankruptcy and reincorporate in Texas a move that was tossed out in court. The New York attorney general has expressed a dim view of such moves, insisting that board governance is broken and that the rot runs deep at the NRA. A LaPierre Lovefest LaPierre is nothing if not an able infighter. He survived a coup attempt at the last in-person NRA board meeting in Indianapolis in 2019 by then-NRA president Oliver North, and LaPierre has since consolidated power, including on the board that ran this meeting and decided the order in which member resolutions would be put forward. The first resolution? A dear-leader salute to Wayne: Be it resolved that the members of the National Rifle Association of America, in convention assembled, does declare its profound support for the past, present and future leadership of its executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre. The reading of that text was followed, in the convention hall arena, by nearly an hour of shout outs, props and praises for the embattled CEO, many of them delivered by loyalist members of NRA leadership, who queued up for a turn at the mic. One prominent LaPierre backer, Janet Nyce, denounced Waynes critics as the enemy within, whom she blamed for taking our beloved NRA down to her knees. A former sheriff from Montana, who is also a board member, insisted he was getting tired of these sons of bitches at every one of these meeting coming in and trashing Wayne LaPierre. Not every speaker was a lickspittle. An NRA member named Jerry who touted his own second-amendment bonafides as author of the Texas right-to-carry law took exception to the rhetoric calling LaPierres critics enemies of the NRA. We have problems, he said. I believe that were whistling by the grave yard. I mean look around at this forum, he said, pointing to the two-thirds empty arena. Would this be described as well attended?! Our problem is declining membership. Our problem is financial. Our problems are not just Letitia James, he insisted, referring to the New York Attorney General. Why are we not allowed to discuss substantive issues? No Confidence When debate of the first resolution was finally capped and the resolution passed, with a solid majority of members who held up cards in support far-less flattering resolutions were read aloud by the clerk of the meeting. One called on the NRA to settle its legal fight with the state of New York, including agreeing to a clean sweep of NRA leadership and appointment of an outside overseer. Another proposed an independent audit of 20 years of past NRA financial records, and the creation of a trust to receive payback of any misused funds. Yet another sought to place salary and travel expenditure limits on NRA executives like LaPierre. But one-by-one these resolutions were shot down by NRA president Charles Cotton, who presided over the forum. Cotton ruled the resolutions out of order because, as he put it, they invade the province of the board and its officers to make such decisions. Cottons rulings prevented the the resolutions from coming up for a vote on the floor. Robert Ryan, who had put forward many of the resolutions, lashed out in frustration. They dont want to hear from us, he said. They dont want the truth to come out. (To avoid any misunderstanding: Ryan is not seeking to soften the firearms positions of the NRA. Hes a hardliner on guns, who is angry that the NRA and the Trump administration worked together to ban bump stocks devices that make semiautomatic rifles fire more like machine guns after the massacre at the 2017 concert in Las Vegas.) A final resolution was brought by Jeff Knox a prominent gun-rights activist, and Ammoland.com author, whose father helped stage a rebellion at an NRA meeting in the 1970s that turned a then-stodgy hunting organization into a hotbed of second-amendment fundamentalism. Knoxs lengthy resolution, read aloud by the clerk, decried the recent declines of NRA membership, revenue, and assets even as LaPierres pay has swelled, and the CEO enjoyed costly perks including private jet travel and lavish expense accounts. (It also as a point of criticism recalled LaPierres remarks after the Columbine massacre when the NRA executive demanded absolutely gun-free schools.) The resolution concluded with a demand for LaPierres ouster: We do hereby declare that we have no confidence in the ability of Wayne LaPierre to lead this organization going forward. [And] we call on him to resign his position of executive vice president. Yet Cotton found a way to dismiss this resolution too. Citing Roberts Rules of Order, the parliamentary rulebook adhered to by the NRA, he insisted it was forbidden to bring up a censure motion of an officer during the same meeting where a motion to commend that person had already passed. Cotton ruled the resolution out of order. Ryan was fuming after the meeting. When its the purview of the board to decide what happens on the board, thats corruption. He insisted that the NRA was bigger than LaPierre, and that the NRA would do well to settle its lawsuit in New York. For his part, Knox decried NRA leadership for the machinations that protected LaPierre, first teeing up a vote of praise to thwart Knoxs motion of no confidence: That was part of their plan, he insisted. Food can provide people with just a little bit of comfort even in the midst of some of the most traumatic times. Considering this, one Laredo business, in conjunction with their family, made sure to provide some meals to the suffering people of Uvalde this week as they continue to face the aftermath of the mass shooting that left 21 dead on Tuesday. Pat Soto, owner and chef of 2 GORDS BBQ Food Truck, along with some members of her family headed to the area in efforts to provide some hot meals to the people who have been affected by the ongoing situation. Soto hopes that she is able to comfort some individuals who have been affected both directly and indirectly by the mass shooting. Soto states that the point of the trip was to offer their support. Adorned on their food truck were words of support such as We Are with Uvalde, Pray for Ulvalde and Estamos Con Ulvade. They gathered at the local civic center at 300 E. Main St. in efforts to offer food to those affected. My reaction to this tragedy is sad and very devastating, (I'm) hurt and still in shock that it was so close to home, Soto said. We were inspired to do this event because we are educators ourselves, and (this) put us in a situation like theirs. According to Soto, they are not familiar with anyone in Uvalde, they just provided their efforts because the situation felt so close to home and felt the impact. The food truck owner said she believes that the communities of Uvalde and Laredo are so similar to each other, and what happened over there could have happened in Laredo as well. Soto states that they also did not ask for any donations as they headed to the Uvalde area on Thursday morning, but as soon as they announced that they would host a small event in the community, several friends and community members started pledging their help as well for those affected in the northern county. We didn't ask for donations, we did this on our own. Friends started to send in little donations for gas, waters, cokes or any small donations, Soto said. Very good-hearted people. One of those who contributed alongside Soto on Thursday was her sister, the owner of LA Dulce Vida, who also donated her time to make cupcakes and treats for the people. She stated that her sister and various family members wanted to not just donate some things but wanted to go with them to the area to provide for the people of the community. We are just local small businesses doing what we love to help others in need, Soto said. Margaret Flores, Shelly Moncivais, Chaplin Deacon Crispin Soto and Christina Soto, my family coming together in what we can do to help. What we really need is prayers, and the people in Uvalde are probably overwhelmed with so much going on. But the little of what we can do to help some is what we are trying to do. It's not much, but what we do is just compassion and love we have for others. On Saturday night, a local organization held a memorial event at St. Augustine Plaza for the victims of the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting that left 21 dead while also calling for action in part of policymakers to make it harder for troubled individuals to get ahold of guns. The Uvalde Memorial & Call to Action was spearheaded by the New Leaders Council South Texas Frontera organization and was an event that both memorized the victims while also talked about potential solutions to the gun problem in the United States. Several people with signs mourning those killed were seen throughout the plaza. We are having a memorial for the tragic school shooting that took place in Uvalde on May 24 in which as of now 19 students and two teachers were killed, said Juan Livas, the New Leaders Council South Texas Frontera Co-Director, Advancement & Recruitment Chair. School shootings should not continue nor be common in our country, which is why in addition we are having a call to action for our elected officials to enact policies to ensure this stops happening. Livas states that the incident in Uvalde was too close to home and that it indicates something must be done to avoid the next mass shooting. To avoid this in our community, we need our elected leaders to take action to prevent something like this from ever happening again, Livas said. Whenever a mass shooting takes place, which is unfortunately too often in our country, we go through a period of indignation and frustration and start asking questions about what we should do and nothing gets done. It is enough. We need them to be accountable and to truly work for the communities they serve. Livas stresses that right now is the time to pressure policymakers to do something in efforts to make sure gun control policies are enacted that protect people, or at least help prevent another mass shooting like the one seen in Uvalde last week. We ask everyone to remember and honor those children and teachers whose lives were taken too soon, Livas said. We can do so by working to prevent another attack like this one. We need everyone to call your elected officials and ask them to pass legislation at all levels state and federal. Inform yourselves about why nothing has been done in the past, talk to your children and families. Whether it's red flag laws or another policy, in the end we need our elected officials to enact gun policy changes. The track record along with NRA donations of certain elected officials is apparent, and they need to be reminded they work for their communities, not the NRA. Our elected officials need to think about all the students, educators and family members that have been lost due to these tragic ongoing school shootings. Enough is enough. The time to do something was yesterday. Let's get it done now. Overall, he hopes that the impromptu memorial event is simply a way to show that the Laredo community is mourning with those affected in Uvalde, and that they hope that they know they are not alone and that more can be done to assist them in whatever they need. We need to remember that the families of these students and teachers have been impacted in a horrific manner, so we need to come together and show our support, Livas said. Mental health resources alone will not be the solution. We need changes to gun policies. The co-director of the organization states that he is glad to see how many people from across the state and even in Laredo have mobilized to help out the people of the affected community, but he believes that people should directly focus their funds on the affected school and other organizations that are in the ground trying to assist all those affected. The Robb School Memorial Fund is one of the funds intended to help the victims of the mass shooting attack. Additional resources can be found on NLC South Texas Frontera's Facebook page. MEXICO CITY (AP) The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexicos southern Pacific coast Sunday and rapidly gained power ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Agatha was expected to make landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane Monday afternoon or evening in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite. The center warned that the hurricane could deliver a dangerous storm surge. By late Sunday, the recently formed hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) just 1 mph under the threshold for a Category 3, the hurricane center said. Agatha was centered about 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Puerto Angel and heading to the northeast at 6 mph (9 kph). The center said Agatha could have winds of 120 mph (193 kph) when it makes landfall. A hurricane warning was in effect between the port of Salina Cruz and the Lagunas de Chacahua. The civil defense office in Oaxaca said the hurricanes outer bands were already hitting the coast. The office published photos of fishermen hauling their boats up on beaches to protect them from the storm. Municipal authorities in Huatulco ordered the absolute closure of all the resort's beaches and its famous seven bays, many of which are reachable only by boat. They also closed local schools and began setting up emergency storm shelters. To the east in Zipolite, long known for its clothing-optional beach and bohemian vibe, personnel at the small Casa Kalmar hotel gathered up outdoor furniture and put up wooden storm shutters to prevent strong winds from blowing out glass windows and doors. The biggest worry here is the wind, hotel manager Silvia Ranfagni said. With only one guest and plenty of cancellations due to the hurricane Ranfagni planned to ride out Agatha at the property, which is three or four blocks from the beach. I'm going to shut myself in here with my animals, she said, referring to her dog and cats. The government's Mexican Turtle Center a former slaughterhouse turned conservation center in Mazunte announced it was closed to visitors until further notice because of the hurricane. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned of dangerous costal flooding as well as large and destructive waves near where Agatha makes landfall. The storm was expected to drop 10 to 16 inches (250 to 400 millimeters) of rain on parts of Oaxaca state, with isolated maximums of 20 inches (500 millimeters), posing the threat of flash floods and mudslides. Because the storms current path would carry it over the narrow waist of Mexicos isthmus, the hurricane center said there was a chance the storms remnants could reemerge over the Gulf of Mexico. In northern Guatemala, a woman and her six children died Saturday when a landslide hit their home, but the accident did not appear to be related to Agatha. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraine's leader also made a rare frontline visit to Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, to assess the strength of the national defense. In the east, Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation there as indescribably difficult, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of the buildings. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The city's mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief center to shut down because of the dangers. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. Sievierodonetsk, located 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, visited soldiers in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from nearby positions several weeks ago. "I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit. Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelenskyy's visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In a video address later Sunday, Zelenskyy praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of the countrys top security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelenskyy said. After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is focused on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told French TF1 television Sunday that Moscow's "unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," adding that Russia sees them as "independent states. He also suggested other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia. In Luhansk, constant Russian shelling has created what provincial governor Serhiy Haidai called a severe situation. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes functioned Sunday, he said. He claimed the Russians had retreated with losses around a village near Sievierodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby river village. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yana Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the past 2 1/2 months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Oksana, 74, who was too afraid to give her surname, was evacuated from Lysychansk by a team of foreign volunteers along with her 86-year-old husband. Im going somewhere, not knowing where, she wept. Now I am a beggar without happiness. Now I have to ask for charity. It would be better to kill me. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling just to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service. Striuk estimates that 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, from Russian attacks as well as from a lack of medicine or treatment. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Sieverodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the battle of Sieverodonetsk ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said late Saturday. In Mariupol on Sunday, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russia's forces gained complete control of the city, they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim. Regions across Ukraine were pummeled overnight by renewed Russian airstrikes. On the ground in the eastern Donetsk region, fighters battled back and forth for control of villages and cities. The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman to the north, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. ___ Mazalan reported from Kyiv. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and AP journalists around the world contributed. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, WVTM-TV. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Photo taken on May 1, 2022 shows a container vessel docking at the Qianwan Container Terminal in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Against the headwinds from COVID-19 resurgences and external complexity, China's efforts are underway to stabilize and upgrade foreign trade, a key underpinning for the economy. The latest data showed a feeble April growth of only 0.1 percent in the total exports and imports, indicating that the country's foreign trade firms are under strain. To help foreign trade navigate the trough, a guideline was released by the country's cabinet earlier this week, specifying 13 targeted measures toward this end. It requires enhanced services for key foreign trade enterprises and unimpeded cargo logistics. Apart from increasing fiscal and financial support for foreign trade enterprises, the country will also seek to bolster cross-border e-commerce, it says. UNCLOGGING LOGISTICS The fresh guideline, in particular, prioritizes ensuring stable production and circulation in foreign trade, saying that key components and equipment, as well as merchandise in foreign trade, must be transported smoothly. "Compared with its previous moves, China this time placed more emphasis on steadying the industrial and supply chains in the short term," said Zhao Ping, a researcher with the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. "Unclogging the logistics is of paramount importance for foreign trade at present," Zhao said. She noted that the recent sporadic COVID-19 cases have weighed on the foreign trade supply chain, restraining production efficiency and profitability. To address the challenges, customs nationwide have tailored region-specific measures to streamline procedures and fast-track freight clearance. In the Huangpu customs district of south China's Guangdong, for instance, all administrative restrictions have been scrapped, with a green channel where farm produce and fresh foods enjoy faster access and inspection. Thanks to such facilitation, it only takes 16 hours for a package of vegetables, fresh out of Guangdong farms, to arrive at a Hong Kong food market, said a Huangpu customs officer. For sea freight, east China's Huzhou has launched a pre-arrival declaration model, which allows importers to finish declaration, license verification and duty payments before their cargo enters ports. This reduces a cargo's stay at a port to less than 20 minutes. FRESH IMPETUS While offering recipes for logistics, the guideline underscores the fostering of new growth drivers for foreign trade. Singling out cross-border e-commerce, the guideline encourages the licensing of qualified firms in this sphere as "hi-tech or new-tech enterprises." "Innovation is the only choice for foreign trade companies to handle challenges and make breakthroughs," said Zhao, noting that cross-border e-commerce exemplifies the innovation-driven development of foreign trade. "This requires the country to give the same policy support to cross-border e-commerce as to the hi-tech sectors, and help its innovation-based growth," Zhao said. Zhao also advised foreign trade-related industries to nurture new business models within China's bonded areas, citing the maintenance of bonded goods, a business model where technicians repair or upgrade flawed foreign goods and then return them to the producers. It is an integration of merchandise trade and service trade, Zhao said. As foreign trade firms seek opportunities globally, the guideline details measures to better protect them from risks, calling on financial institutions to expand the coverage of export credit insurance for small and micro exporters. Bai Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, compared such insurance to an "escort" for enterprises sailing into overseas markets. "Targeted efforts are needed to reduce insurance costs on small and micro foreign trade firms, and improve services for claim settlement," Bai said. Financial institutions are also broadening foreign trade firms' access to capital, in a bid to boost market confidence. A case in point is the Export-Import Bank of China, a policy bank that has recently issued bonds aimed at boosting foreign trade. Worth 3 billion yuan (about 445 million U.S. dollars) and with a one-year duration, these bonds will help raise funds for sectors in foreign trade, according to the bank. Lee Jae-myung, second from right, running in Incheon's Gyeyang District B by-election on the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's ticket, announces his campaign pledge to spur development in the region west of Seoul, Friday. Second from left is DPK Seoul mayoral candidate Song Young-gil, who teamed up with Lee on the pledge. Yonhap By Kwon Mee-yoo Gimpo International Airport, the only commercial airport in Seoul, is becoming a heated issue in the June 1 local elections as Lee Jae-myung, the main opposition liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate running in a by-election for Incheon's Gyeyang District B, has pledged to "relocate" the airport in order to lift development restrictions for the region west of Seoul. Originally built as a military airport in the 1930s during the Japanese colonial period, Gimpo International Airport served as Korea's main air gateway until Incheon International Airport opened in 2001. Currently, the airport is mainly used for domestic flights and some short- and medium-distance international flights due to its proximity to Seoul. International flights have been suspended for over two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will resume next month. Lee, who ran in the March 9 presidential election and lost by a narrow margin, pledged to close Gimpo International Airport and move its operations to other airports, as it currently affects the height restrictions on buildings in the Incheon area and other regions bordering the airport. Lee insisted that Incheon International Airport can absorb the flights taking off and landing at Gimpo and that Gyeyang District should be developed along with the western part of Seoul as well as neighboring Gimpo City of Gyeonggi Province, which are underdeveloped compared to other parts of the Seoul metropolitan area. Lee's plan also includes express trains for the capital region connecting Seoul and Incheon International Airport, which is about 50 kilometers away from the capital, faster. Gimpo International Airport's international terminal is nearly empty, Sunday, as the airport plans to resume international flights in June after two years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yonhap About 70 percent of Gimpo's domestic flights are between Seoul and Jeju Island, Korea's favorite domestic holiday destination, which complicates the issue far beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. Song Young-gil, the former DPK chairman and Seoul mayoral candidate, teamed up with Lee to promote the plan for Gimpo International Airport, suggesting making a new connection to Jeju Island by the KTX bullet train by digging an undersea tunnel. "This is the time to imagine the future of Seoul from a long-term perspective. Pledges for relocating Olympic-daero and Gangbyeonbuk-ro expressways underground, to link the mainland and Jeju Island via KTX and to develop the western areas near Gimpo International Airport for future strategic industries are part of the big plan," Song wrote on Facebook, Saturday. Song also said regional airports could cover the needs of Gimpo International Airport such as Cheongju International Airport, for those living in the southern Seoul metropolitan area and Wonju International Airport for those east of the Seoul metropolitan area. The ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok, center, speaks during a press conference condemning the Democratic Party of Korea's Incheon lawmaker candidate Lee Jae-myung's pledge to close Gimpo International Airport at Jeju International Airport, Friday. Yonhap Police commander made 'wrong decision' not to breach classroom doors during elementary school shooting, official says A man has pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to a publican in Ballymahon in April 2018. Gavin Gallagher, Greenhill, Dunfanaghy, Donegal was due to stand trial for a double assault this week, with the jury set to be impanelled last Friday morning. However, he pleaded guilty to one count of section 3 assault on Friday morning before a jury was selected and will instead face sentencing by Judge Keenan Johnson later in the year. The incident is alleged to have occurred outside Skellys pub, Ballymahon, on April 15, 2018, after Mr Gallagher was ejected from the pub. Mr Gallagher was later charged with assault causing harm to brothers, Pat and Paul Byrne, in the course of his removal from the pub. Paul Byrne was treated at Tullamores Midland Regional Hospital for damage to his shoulder and his arm was in a sling for some time. Mr Byrne underwent an operation which culminated in a number of pins being inserted. His brother, Pat, said he received a series of blows during the alleged assault, causing him to endure considerable discomfort for several weeks thereafter. Mr Gallagher pleaded guilty to section 3 assault on Friday and will reappear before Judge Keenan Johnson for sentencing at Longford Circuit Court later in the year. The palace in the winter of 1883/84 Robert Neff Collection By Robert Neff In late November 1886, William McKay, a 23-year-old Scottish-American, his wife Anna and their infant son Willie arrived in Jemulpo to help "enlighten" Joseon at least the palace with electricity. McKay was brought to the peninsula as an "electric light teacher" and his primary responsibility was to set up the power plant purchased by the Korean government from the Edison Company. McKay and his family made their way to Seoul and stayed with Horace N. Allen, an American missionary and physician, and his family until the Korean government could provide them with their own home. While waiting for the power plant and a second (unnamed) engineer to arrive, McKay examined the palace grounds and decided the best spot for the plant would be next to a lotus pond so that it could provide water for the boiler. On Jan. 3, 1887, a resident in Jemulpo wrote: "The Higo Maru brought an Electric Light plant here for the King's palace, in Seoul. It is said to be the best plant that has ever been sent from the U.S. Two first-class engineers have come with it. The plant has been supplied at a little more than the actual price, and the enterprising Edison Electric Co. have guaranteed to make a success of it, even if they lose money on it. It is understood that the light will be in working order in about three months' time, and it is calculated that the Corean Government can save money by using the Electric light instead of oil." The "two first-class engineers" were undoubtedly McKay and his unnamed assistant but it is not clear how the power plant was transported from Jemulpo to Seoul. Heavy equipment and goods were often transported by boat up the Han River but considering it was winter and the Han River had a tendency to freeze making river travel impossible the power plant may have been transported overland. Construction of the plant was begun immediately and progressed very quickly, in fact, much faster than anticipated, but not without some problems. The audience hall in the winter of 1883/84 Robert Neff Collection One of the Americans I am guessing it was McKay but am not sure despite his recent arrival, had managed to learn some basic commands in Korean. They say knowledge is power this power almost cost him his life. While trying to set the plant's boiler on its foundation of masonry, the engineer (McKay?) climbed under it to get a better look. The boiler was supported by a number of ropes held by Korean coolies. The engineer, desiring them to pull on the ropes and hoist the boiler higher, called upon them to "come on," or pull on the ropes. Apparently he had been using Korean with them earlier and they misunderstood his English for a Korean word meaning stop the command they were expecting, and so they let go of the ropes. Fortunately for the engineer, he was able to avoid the falling boiler and learn a valuable lesson that a little knowledge is sometimes dangerous. By February (possibly Jan. 26) most of the work had been completed and the palace, at least parts of it, was supplied with electricity. It was celebrated as a success, but some members of the Korean government viewed it as a bad omen, especially after all the carp in the lotus pond were discovered dead. Perhaps, as mentioned in last week's article, they believed the dragon was responsible. The Korean monarch (or someone in his court) had a fascination with lights not only for lighting the palace up but also as decorations. One of the early purchases from New York by the Korean government was 14 glass vases to decorate the royal dining table. These vases, each costing $75, contained bouquets of artificial flowers mingled with flowers of colored glass, and a small incandescent four-candle-lamp which served as the center for each of the glass flowers. Tragedy struck on March 8, 1887 when McKay was accidently shot by a young Korean soldier. Apparently, while setting up lights in the palace, the soldier accompanying McKay, intrigued by the American's revolver, asked to examine it. As he examined it, the soldier accidently shot McKay. The wounded man was rushed to Dr. Allen for treatment, but there was nothing to be done, and the following morning, at 6 a.m., McKay succumbed to his wounds. Prior to his death, he pleaded for the soldier to be spared any punishment as he was convinced it had been an accident. McKay was presumably buried in Jemulpo but his tombstone has long been lost and forgotten. Several witnesses, including McKay's assistant, agreed it was an accident. However, the Korean government, perhaps afraid of offending the foreign powers, decided to make an example out of the soldier and had him arrested immediately. The palace circa 1900s Robert Neff Collection Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Real Madrid's Brazilian defender Marcelo, who on Saturday played his last game with the Merengue team, after lifting the 14th Champions League title over Liverpool at the Stade de France. The Brazilian full-back leaves the Casa Blanca as the player with the most titles in its history (25): "with great joy and grateful to the fans" and the magical nights" lived at the Santiago Bernabeu, he said at the end of the match. He leaves as a legend "It's a very nice moment. When you are first captain you dream of lifting the cup and I have become the only Brazilian to lift a Champions League as captain of Real Madrid," he said after stopping the honor of lifting "la orejona" even without having participated on the field. The news, however, is not the end of the Brazilian's career, who at 34 years of age will be looking to continue his career elsewhere. Despite being a historic member of the team, Marcelo retained his humility, explaining that he feels like just another member of the team: "The emotion is brutal, it was my last game with Real Madrid. But I am very happy. It's not a day of sadness, I'm leaving with a lot of joy, grateful to the fans and the magical nights I've experienced at the Bernabeu." Marcelo's titles with Real Madrid Marcelo will officially say goodbye to the Merengue fans this Sunday at the team's official celebration in Madrid, which will conclude at the Fuente de la Cibeles, the traditional venue for Merengues titles. Marcelo's track record with Real Madrid Marcelo won 25 official titles with the Merengue team 13 in Spain and 12 at the international level: 5 Champions League 6 Spanish Leagues 3 European Super Cups 2 Del Rey Cups 5 Spanish Super Cups 4 Club World Cups Karim Benzema was asked about Kylian Mbappe's decision to stay at Paris Saint-Germain next season. The Real Madrid player, who a few days prior to the Champions League final did not want to talk about the issue, insists that their relationship isn't affected by the youngster's choice. "I would have liked him to have been able to fulfil his dream of playing for Real Madrid, being together," Benzema told Telefoot. "He chose PSG, we must respect him. It's his choice, he has a lot of responsibilities. "We will enjoy playing together in the national team. Everyone makes their own choices." There was much speculation that Benzema was upset by Mbappe's renewal with PSG after some cryptic messages he posted on social media. However, Benzema has no doubt that the friendship will remain strong between the two. "Real Madrid are Real Madrid, I'm not disappointed. We are good friends, it won't affect our relationship," he added. Amber Heard's defamation trial with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, has brought further curiosity about the actress' relationship with Elon Musk. While it has been noted that the 36-year-old Aquaman performer had been dating the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, 50, Heard's court case and Musk's purchase of Twitter made them the focus of countless headlines in recent weeks. Objects of controversy Heard sued Depp, 58, for $50 million after the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor accused her of defaming him in an op-ed published by The Washington Post in 2018, where he said he was a victim of domestic abuse. Meanwhile, Musk has made headlines after acquiring Twitter in exchange for $44 billion and also for his statements on freedom of speech by ensuring that he will reinstate the accounts of several suspended public figures, including former President Donald Trump. The billionaire was expected to testify at Heard's trial, which saw his closing arguments last Friday pending the jury's final decision. However, Musk did not take the stand, either in person or virtually. A return to the past Years before they were romantically involved, Musk and Heard met during the summer of 2012 while working on the set of the film Machete Kills, directed by Robert Rodriguez. In that film released in 2013, Heard played "Miss San Antonio" Blanca Vasquez, while Musk appeared in a cameo playing himself. The extent of the pair's interaction on set is unknown, but they also wouldn't have had much choice when it came to rubbing elbows with other celebrities, as the cast included an exhaustive list of famous faces. Among the film's stars were Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Mel Gibson, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding Jr, Sofia Vergara and Lady Gaga. Divorced at almost the same time Musk's divorce from actress Talulah Riley was finalized in 2016; while Heard filed for legal separation from Depp in the same year, and their union was officially dissolved in early 2017. Exactly when Musk and Heard began dating has been disputed, but Depp claimed in a lawsuit, according to People, that his then-wife had an affair with the entrepreneur "almost a month after" they married in 2015. However, a spokesperson for Musk insisted, "Elon and Amber didn't start seeing each other until May 2016, and even then it was infrequent. Their relationship did not become romantic until some time later." In April 2017, Heard and Musk were photographed hanging out together as a couple for the first time while visiting Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on Australia's Gold Coast. Heard made things official on Instagram that day, according to People. Later, in August 2017, the couple announced in a statement with People that they had gone their separate ways. "The distance has been very hard on our relationship because we haven't been able to see each other much," noted part of a message issued by both parties on social media. A suspected serial killer already charged in six killings in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas has been charged with first-degree murder in a seventh death. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the new murder charge Friday against Perez Deshay Reed. Baker also charged Reed with one count of armed criminal action and two counts of fraud involving a credit or debit device. The most recent charges against the 26-year-old Reed, who lived in the St. Louis area, stem from the November 2021 shooting death of Stephon D. Johnson, of Kansas City, Missouri. The prosecutor's office did not provide Johnson's age. Brian Horneyer, an assistant Missouri public defender in St. Louis representing Reed did not immediately return messages seeking comment left Saturday on his office phone and cellphone. When law enforcement officers arrested Reed in nearby Independence on warrants from St. Louis County, they found a key on him that fit a deadbolt lock at Johnson's apartment, Baker's office said, citing court documents. Testing indicated DNA collected from an empty cigarillo package found in Johnson's apartment was connected to Reed, Baker's office said. They identified him by a tattoo Baker's office said the bullet found inside Johnson was fired from the gun that Reed had on him when he was arrested. Witnesses also told police that a man who had been a guest of Johnson's was the "serial killer" from St. Louis whom they had seen on the news. They identified him by a distinctive, crescent moon-shaped tattoo on his forehead. Reed remains in custody in St. Louis, and Baker's office is asking that he be held on the new charges with no bond. Reed is charged in the St. Louis County killings of 16-year-old Marnay Haynes on Sept. 13, 2021, and 40-year-old Lester Robinson on Sept. 26. He also is charged in the killings in St. Louis of 49-year-old Pamela Abercrombie on Sept. 16 and 24-year-old Carey Ross on Sept. 19. All four were shot in the head. In Wyandotte County, Kansas, he is charged in the October 28-29 deaths of Damon Washington Irvin and Rau'daja De'Naya Farrow. Their bodies were found in separate apartments at a complex in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, authorities have said. Johnson's family reported him missing after they hadn't seen him since Nov. 1, and officers found him dead in a closet in his apartment, shot in the back of his head. Officers were tailing Reed on Nov. 5 when he got on an Amtrak train in Kansas City, Missouri, bound for St. Louis. They arrested him when he got off on the train's first stop in Independence and boarded a bus. Amid the tough economic times, incentives are offered by state governments to help their citizens cushion the financial blow inflicted by COVID-19 and the measures imposed on the back of it. One of those that the state of California offers is an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which in this particular state is referred to as the Golden State Advantage (GSA) card. This offers residents some extra funds to gain access to healthy food, as long as they fulfil certain requirements. What are the requirements to get an EBT card in California? The most important factor in determining whether one is eligible for the EBT food card is the income limit. This is calculated based on the gross and net income limits per household. The state of California requires citizens to submit information on household size and income. Those who have a gross and net income that works out to lower than 200 and 100 percent of the federal poverty level are then eligible to receive an EBT card. If you meet the requirements and successfully receive the EBT or GSA card, they can be used as a debit card in grocery stores, and the money comes preloaded on the card. What are SNAP benefits? The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal assistance in the United States which helps low-income households purchase food for their families. Previously known as Food Stamps, the now electronic option of this government subsidy has many asking whether they can purchase groceries online. By Daniel Shin Artificial intelligence will exceed human intelligence. Elon Musk once said that AI would grow vastly smarter than humans. Musk pointed out that AI would overtake the human race by 2025. In contrast, some experts say the rise of artificial intelligence will make most of us better off, not replace us, or make us go extinct. The singularity is a conceptual and meta-physical term. When it comes to technological jargon, the singularity is often described as a point in time when innovation reaches critical mass. At critical mass, new innovation must be widely adopted. Technological growth explodes and shall be kept self-sustained at the singularity. This implication, of reaching the singularity, is sometimes articulated as a negative. For example, some say that technological growth becomes so great at the singularity to the extent that technologies become uncontrollable and irreversible. AI would have many positive impacts, but it could also result in unforeseeable negative changes to the human race. We have to cope with AI. There is fear, uncertainty, and mixed feelings. AI, robots, and other innovations may put millions of us out of work in a few years. If we adapt well and if highly intelligent systems are well within the scope of our purposes, the future could be promising. In fact, it may allow us to focus more on what we are truly good at. Raymond Kurzweil is one of living legends. He has had many great inventions. He also started an alternative education institute called Singularity University in 2008 along with Peter H. Diamandis, a founder of X Prize Foundation. Singularity University aims to educate, empower, and inspire leaders to leverage exponential technologies to solve humanity's grand challenges. The two co-founders believed that exponential technological advancement could give anyone anywhere the ability to create a positive impact. Raymond Kurzweil argues that the technological advancement in medicine such as gene therapy and bio-informatics will help humans to continuously repair and replace defective components in their bodies and prolong life. Medical advancement would allow people to protect their bodies from the effects of aging and make life expectancy much longer. The singularity comes with an important notion, of self-directed learning as well as a self-sustainable quality. Superhuman intelligence is about to be invented through the amplification of collective human intelligence and the power of artificial intelligence. Superhuman intelligence is a good thing as it would bring many positive outcomes. Superhuman intelligence powered by AI would help humans solve complex problems and help our inventive skills and creative souls to become more effective. At the singularity, AI may have fundamentally different cognitive qualities and abilities than biological human intelligence. There are things that humans can do, but AI can't. AI will be more capable, but still, there are things that AI can't easily copy such as making moral decisions or inventing something autonomously. The idea of creating human-like technology has a long history. This idea emerged during and after World War II when scientists like Alan Turing, a British mathematician, discovered that machines could become more than just computing systems. The Turing Test is one of the most important philosophical cornerstones of artificial intelligence and modern computation. During wartime, technology created by mathematicians and scientists like Alan Turing helped to break Nazi's codes that were regarded unbreakable with human computation skills. It was unfortunate to lose one of the most innovative thinkers in the 20th century from accidental poisoning. His sexual orientation, meant that, at the time, he was violating the law. This put an immense amount of strain and stress on him and unfortunately, also resulted in a criminal charge. Turing's story inspired many people to pursue their careers in artificial intelligence, make movies like the "Imitation Game," and establish the Alan Turing Institute, one of largest national institutes for data science and artificial intelligence in the United Kingdom. It is a joint venture with leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge with an initial 600 million investment. The specific role of the Institute is to provide expertise and fundamental research into data science and artificial intelligence that is needed to solve complex real-world problems. Perhaps, true artificial intelligence doesn't exist yet. The word, the singularity, doesn't stick to one specific meaning, either. Scientists have laid down principles that have molded the historical record of the relationship between humans and the machines to solve the problems. It may all depend on the context. But, the singularity describes a future where technological growth is reaching new levels of massive advancement at one point. Now, the notion of the singularity leaves the question of whether we can control it or what not. Will we ever control the world with our minds or can we even take control of our future? Perhaps not. However, the consequences of the singularity and its potential benefit or harm to humans have been vastly debated. Many tech companies like Google throw their weight behind a new school like the Singularity University or the Alan Turing Institute. That will help forerunners prepare for a future when machines become smarter than humans. We just don't know when, but it will surely come. The singularity is near. In a few years, AI will help significantly speed up complex decision-making and make people more productive. AI will make humans smarter and more efficient. The singularity at the core may not be the ultimate no man's land. Many researchers would agree that current forms of AI cannot have their own emotions, but they could mimic it. Hence, human Intelligence should also relate to adaptive learning and experiences like machines do. There are many qualities in humans that AI cannot easily replace at any point in time, though. One of the most important prerequisites for the singularity is education. We shall invest in education to train people for a new future. MIT alone in recent years invested $1 billion into a new school devoted to AI. Tech leaders spend nearly $20 billion on AI annually. There is no downturn in sight. If we understand what AI is capable of and understand this domain well, we can start to make further observations of what AI can truly do, not just fear it. More precisely, we must lead it. Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand. He also teaches at Korea University. By Lee Kyung-min A group comprised of the government, vessel operators and fishermen's unions will conduct a survey and on-site inspections on deep-sea fishing vessels over the next month, in an effort to improve the human rights and working conditions of fishermen of foreign nationality, the oceans ministry said, Sunday. These efforts are part of a regular biannual inspection by the ministry led by 11 local maritime and fishery agencies as well as crewmen and vessel owners, mostly over labor law violations involving wages and the unlawful seizing of passports. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that workers aboard vessels of 20 tons or larger will be interviewed between Monday and June 20. Written questionnaires for the survey and interpretation for in-person interviews will be provided in the fishermen's native languages. "The government will thoroughly conduct the survey and interviews to improve the working conditions for foreign workers in Korea," a ministry official said. An Asiana Airlines A350 / Courtesy of Asiana Airlines By Kim Hyun-bin The Korean government is seeking to ease COVID-19 measures regarding protective clothing on international flights to assist local airlines' efforts to meet rising passenger demand. It will allow flight attendants on international flights to take off their COVID-19 protective suits, goggles and gloves next month, which they are currently obligated to wear to prevent infection. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to notify airlines of the guidelines for easing the measures on international flights soon. Once addressed, it will be the first time in over two years that international flight crews will not have to wear the disposable protective gear. In addition to universally required face masks, local airlines have required international flight crews to wear disposable protective suits, gloves and goggles on board since April 2020. It has not been required for flight crews to wear the protective clothing during domestic flights. International flight attendants have been wearing the disposable protective suits over their uniforms before passengers board the plane when flying to areas with high numbers of COVID-19 infections. The protective suits are then disposed of onboard after the aircraft lands. Disinfection procedures which are currently conducted every time an aircraft is set to depart will be reduced to only twice a week. Airlines use specialized chemicals to disinfect their cabins before each flight, bearing the additional costs of purchasing the chemicals, as well as other labor costs. To reduce the burden on airlines, the transport ministry plans to ease the virus spread prevention measures and reduce cabin disinfection frequency to twice a month, which is the level they were before the COVID-19 pandemic started. However, it will maintain the disinfection measures for bathrooms. With regard to the inflight social distancing policy between passengers, in which one seat has been left vacant between passengers, airlines flying international flights have been voluntarily enforcing the measure as there was a lack of passenger demand, but they are being abolished as travel demand is on the rise. The government's measures to ease the measures on board flights is coming at the same time as the expansion of international flights themselves. The transport ministry has been pushing since May for the gradual recovery of international flights. International flights have been increased from 420 flights a week in April to 532 flights a week in May, and there are plans to increase the number to 762 in June. Large airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are expanding their international flights mainly on routes to Europe and the Americas. The two airlines are also considering the introduction of the super-large A380 for flights to the U.S., in response to the rising demand. Russia's President Vladimir Putin congratulates servicemen, civilian personnel and veterans of the FSB Border Guard Service on Border Guards Day in this handout photo provided by the Russian Presidential Press and Information Office. Tass-Yonhap Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of France and Germany, Saturday, that Moscow was ready to look for ways to ship grain stuck in Ukrainian ports, but demanded the West lift sanctions. He also warned French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against ramping up arms supplies to Ukraine, saying they could further destabilize the situation in the pro-Western country. The talks lasted 80 minutes, the German chancellor's office said. Putin said the difficulties in supplying grain to world markets were the result of "erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries." "Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports," Putin told Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said. "An increase in the supply of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tensions on the global food market, which, of course, will require the removal of the relevant sanctions." Russia's offensive in Ukraine and Western sanctions have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, wheat and other commodities from the two countries, fueling concerns about the risk of shortages and hunger around the world. Russia and Ukraine produce 30 percent of the global wheat supply. 'Direct negotiations' Macron and Scholz for their part urged Russia to lift the blockade of the Ukrainian port of Odessa to allow the export of grain, the French presidency said. Both leaders "have taken note of the promise of the Russian president to grant ships access to the port for the export of grain without it being exploited militarily by Russia if it is first cleared of mines," the French presidency added. The West has accused Putin of using hunger as a weapon in Moscow's offensive against Ukraine. As Ukraine's Western backers were considering whether to send more arms supplies to Kyiv, Putin also told Macron and Scholz the continuing arms supplies were "dangerous", warning "of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis," the Kremlin said. The French and German readouts of the phone talks made no mention of the sanctions against Russia or the Western arms supplies to Ukraine. Scholz and Macron also asked Putin to hold "direct serious negotiations" with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the German chancellor's office said. The two EU leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops," the chancellor's office said. Putin said Moscow was open to resume dialogue with Kyiv, the Kremlin said without mentioning the possibility of direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have been held both in person and via video-link since the Russian military offensive but have recently ground to a halt. The French presidency added that Macron and Scholz also asked Putin to release 2,500 Ukrainian fighters who were holed up inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and who later surrendered to the Russian army. "The president of the Republic and the German chancellor asked for the release of some 2,500 defenders of Azovstal made prisoners of war by the Russian forces," the French presidency said. (AFP) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) Rescuers zeroed in on a possible location of a passenger plane with 22 people aboard that is feared to have crashed Sunday in cloudy weather in Nepal's mountains, officials said. The Tara Air plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight from the resort town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, to the mountain town of Jomsom. The turboprop Twin Otter aircraft lost contact with the airport tower close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops. An army helicopter and private choppers were taking part in the search, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement. Army troops and rescue teams were headed to the possible site of the crash, believed to be around Lete, a village in Mustang district, Narayan Silwal, the army spokesman, said on Twitter. But bad weather and nightfall caused the search to be suspended until Monday morning, Silwal said. Poor visibility due to bad weather is hindering the efforts. The plane has not yet been located, he said. Rescuers were trying to reach an area where locals allegedly saw a fire, although it is still unclear what was burning, Silwal added. He said that officials can only verify the information once the troops reached the location. Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air, said that rescuers had narrowed down a possible location of the plane. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. (04:10 GMT) and transmitted its last signal at 10:07 a.m. (04:22 GMT) at an altitude of 12,825 feet (3,900 meters). There were six foreigners on board the plane, including four Indians and two Germans, according to a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media. The plane was carrying 19 passengers and three crew, Bartaula said. It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights have been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley. It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple. Nepal has had a spotty air safety record. In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying the same route crashed after takeoff, killing all 23 people aboard. In 2012, an Agni Air plane also flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 people. Six people survived. In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, killing all 18 on board. In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard. The Twin Otter, a rugged plane originally built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for about 50 years, during which it has been involved in about 21 accidents, according to aviationnepal.com. The plane, with its top-mounted wing and fixed landing gear, is prized for its durability and its ability to take off and land on short runways. Production of the planes originally ended in the 1980s. Another Canadian company, Viking Air, brought the model back into production in 2010. ___ This version has corrected the location to west of the capital, not east. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) China wants 10 small Pacific nations to endorse a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries in what one leader warns is a game-changing bid by Beijing to wrest control of the region. A draft of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press shows that China wants to train Pacific police officers, team up on traditional and non-traditional security" and expand law enforcement cooperation. China also wants to jointly develop a marine plan for fisheries which would include the Pacific's lucrative tuna catch increase cooperation on running the region's internet networks, and set up cultural Confucius Institutes and classrooms. China also mentions the possibility of setting up a free trade area with the Pacific nations. Chinas move comes as Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a 20-person delegation begin a visit to the region this week. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed concern Wednesday about Chinas intentions, saying Beijing might use the proposed accords to take advantage of the islands and destabilize the region. We are concerned that these reported agreements may be negotiated in a rushed, nontransparent process, Price told reporters. He warned that China "has a pattern of offering shadowy, vague deals with little transparency or regional consultation in areas related to fishing, related to resource management, development, development assistance and more recently even security practices. Price added that agreements that include sending Chinese security officials to the nations "could only seek to fuel regional international tensions and increase concerns over Beijings expansion of its internal security apparatus to the Pacific. Wang is visiting seven of the countries he hopes will endorse the Common Development Vision the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Wang is also holding virtual meetings with the other three potential signatories the Cook Islands, Niue and the Federated States of Micronesia. He is hoping the countries will endorse the pre-written agreement as part of a joint communique after a May 30 meeting in Fiji he is holding with the foreign ministers from each of the 10 countries. Micronesias president, David Panuelo, has told leaders of the other Pacific nations his nation won't endorse the plan, warning it would needlessly heighten geopolitical tensions and threaten regional stability, according to a letter from Panuelo obtained by the AP. Among other concerns, Panuelo said, the agreement opens the door for China to own and control the region's fisheries and communications infrastructure. He said China could intercept emails and listen in on phone calls. Panuelo called the Common Development Vision the single most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes and said it threatens to bring a new Cold War era at best, and a World War at worst. Panuelo declined to comment on the letter or the proposed agreement. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday he didn't know about Panuelo's letter. But I dont agree at all with the argument that cooperation between China and the South Pacific island countries will trigger a new Cold War, he said. Like some other countries in the Pacific, Micronesia is finding itself increasingly caught between the competing interests of Washington and Beijing. Micronesia has close ties to the U.S. through a Compact of Free Association. But it also has what Panuelo describes in his letter as a Great Friendship with China that he hopes will continue despite his opposition to the agreement. The security aspects of the agreement will be particularly troubling to many in the region and beyond, especially after China signed a separate security pact with the Solomon Islands last month. That pact has raised fears that China could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia. The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base. The May 30 meeting will be the second between Wang and the Pacific islands' foreign ministers after they held a virtual meeting last October. Those who follow China's role in the Pacific will be scrutinizing the wording of the draft agreement. Among its provisions: China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific Island countries. The agreement says the countries will strengthen cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security and will expand law enforcement cooperation, jointly combat transnational crime, and establish a dialog mechanism on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation." The agreement would also see the nations expand exchanges between governments, legislatures and political parties." The draft agreement also stipulates that the Pacific countries firmly abide by the one-China principle, under which Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy, is considered by Beijing to be part of China. It would also uphold the non-interference principle that China often cites as a deterrent to other nations speaking out about its human rights record. The agreement says that China and the Pacific countries would jointly formulate a marine spatial plan to optimize the layout of the marine economy, and develop and utilize marine resources rationally, so as to promote a sustainable development of blue economy. China also promises more investment in the region by mobilizing private capital and encouraging "more competitive and reputable Chinese enterprises to participate in direct investment in Pacific Island countries. China also promised to dispatch Chinese language consultants, teachers and volunteers to the islands. The AP has also obtained a draft of a five-year action plan that's intended to sit alongside the Common Development Vision, which outlines a number of immediate incentives that China is offering to the Pacific nations. In the action plan, China says it will fully implement 2,500 government scholarships through 2025. In 2022, China will hold the first training program for young diplomats from Pacific Island countries, depending on the pandemic situation, the draft plan states, adding that China will also hold seminars on governance and planning for the Pacific nations. In the draft action plan, China says it will build criminal investigation laboratories as needed by the Pacific nations that can be used for fingerprint testing, forensic autopsies, and electronic forensics. China also says it will also spend an additional $2 million and send 200 medics to the islands to help fight COVID-19 and promote health, and promises to help the countries in their efforts to combat climate change. File photo / Kimberly O'Hara / Contributed photo / The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for several counties in northern Connecticut for Saturday afternoon. The warning, which was issued at 2:34 p.m. Saturday, covers northern Windham County, northern Tolland County and northeastern Hartford County, as well as several counties in central and western Massachusetts. About two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Emily Franco flew to Europe with a mission: save as many disabled dogs in the war-torn country as she could. Franco said that during the next two months, she drove a car and a trailer which she bought with her own money from Poland into Ukraine and back with dogs in tow. I felt it in my gut just a call to come here, Franco, 27, said from a hotel in Poland earlier this month. Franco, a Monroe resident who previously lived in Stamford, said she had plenty of experience caring for dogs before going to Ukraine, from fostering to boarding to walking. The Scotland native moved to the United States in 2017. She previously worked with Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Northeast, a nonprofit that looks to rescue the animals that nobody else wants; the dogs that would otherwise be euthanized, according to its website. Courtney Bellew, the founder of SNARR Northeast, said Franco has been dedicated to helping animals for many years and can always be counted on to take in dogs needing extra love in their final days. The crisis happening in the Ukraine is unimaginable, and it doesnt surprise me one bit that Emily made her way there to help the people and the animals, Bellew said in a statement. While she was overseas, Franco said she would find out about disabled dogs that had been abandoned in Ukraine through a local Facebook group. Because of checkpoints, she said it would take her about 18 hours to drive to east Ukraine, where she saw destruction from the war first hand. After finding a dog, she said she would stay in Ukraine overnight, sleeping in a church or her car. She would then return to Poland and look for a shelter or rescue group to take in the animal. She said she saved about 40 dogs in all. I only rescue disabled dogs, Franco said. Many organizations do not and if they do, its like one out of 100. At the time she spoke to The Stamford Advocate, Franco was caring for a dog she had rescued from Kharkiv. The dog, an Anatolian Shepherd named Topaz, had been shot. Topaz was later brought to a shelter in Romania, where it was determined that he should be euthanized. Franco said she planned to return to the United States soon because she had no money left to keep rescuing dogs: she said she lost some of her money to scams, plus, the car she drove into Ukraine was damaged during one of her trips. She and her husband, Christopher Franco, have four senior cats and three dogs, two of which have special needs, at their home in Monroe. Emily has a very unique heart that guides her and drives her to really empathize with abandoned animals, those ignored or even people look at as just ghosts they dont even see them, Christopher Franco said. Among the organizations contributing to efforts to help animals in Ukraine is Humane Society International said Annie Hornish, the Humane Society of the United States director for Connecticut. HSI notes on its website that it is supplying financial aid to UAnimals, an animal protection group in Ukraine, and is working on the ground in nearby countries to help refugees who have fled with their pets. brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions during a meeting Sunday, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the countrys first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing. The discussion at the Norths Politburo meeting suggests it will soon relax a set of draconian curbs imposed after its admission of the omicron outbreak this month out of concern about its food and economic situations. Kim and other Politburo members made a positive evaluation of the pandemic situation being controlled and improved across the country, the official Korean Central News Agency said. They also examined the issue of effectively and quickly coordinating and enforcing the anti-epidemic regulations and guidelines given the current stable anti-epidemic situation," KCNA said. On Sunday, North Korea reported 89,500 more patients with fever symptoms, taking the countrys total to 3.4 million. It didnt say whether there were additional deaths. The countrys latest death toll reported Friday was 69, setting its mortality rate at 0.002%, an extremely low count that no other country, including advanced economies, has reported in the fight against COVID-19. Many outside experts say North Korea is clearly understating its fatality rate to prevent any political damage to Kim at home. They say North Korea should have suffered many more deaths because its 26 million people are largely unvaccinated against COVID-19 and it lacks the capacity to treat patients with critical conditions. Others suspect North Korea might have exaggerated its earlier fever cases to try to strengthen its internal control of its population. Since its May 12 admission of the omicron outbreak, North Korea has only been announcing the number of patients with feverish symptoms daily, but not those with COVID-19, apparently because of a shortage of test kits to confirm coronavirus cases in large numbers. But many outside health experts view most of the reported fever cases as COVID-19, saying North Korean authorities would know how to distinguish the symptoms from fevers caused by other prevalent infectious diseases. The outbreak has forced North Korea to impose a nationwide lockdown, isolate all work and residential units from one another and ban region-to-region movements. The country still allows key agricultural, construction and other industrial activities, but the toughened restrictions have triggered worries about its food insecurity and a fragile economy already hit hard by border shutdowns because of the pandemic. Some observers say North Korea will likely soon declare victory over COVID-19 and credit it to Kims leadership. Yang Un-chul, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the Norths recently elevated restrictions must be dealing a serious blow to its coal, agricultural and other labor-intensive industrial sectors. But he said those difficulties wont likely rise to a level that threatens Kims grip on power, as the COVID-19 outbreak and strengthened curbs have given him a chance to boost his control over the population. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GROTON, Conn. (AP) The USS Oregon officially joined the U.S. Navy fleet on Saturday, marking the first submarine named after the Beaver State in more than a century. The newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, which can dive to depths greater than 800 feet (240 meters), was originally christened in 2019. But the COVID-19 pandemic created some slips in schedule for the crew, said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., whose district includes General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat Shipyard where the 377-foot (115-meter) submarine was constructed. But I think the record should be clear that despite that unprecedented disruption, you showed up for work every day and did your job, Courtney told the crew of approximately 136 Navy personnel during Saturday's ceremony, held at the U.S. Submarine Base in Groton. Please know that as you embark on your deployments, the people of this state in Rhode Island will be 100% behind you, and you will always be welcome here, Courtney said. It marked the Navy's first in-person commission ceremony since 2019, due to the pandemic. There was, however, a christening ceremony for the USS Hyman Rickover in August 2021. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who said she felt at home with the mist and overcast skies, urged the crew members to embrace the traits Oregonian residents possess, including a sense of adventure as well as being courageous, collaborative and compassionate. May this crew remember that at the heart of service is compassion and love: love of this country, love of this people, love of her values, said Brown, a Democrat. The Oregon is the second Block IV Virginia-class submarine to enter service. The Navy said the sub is designed to conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, delivery of special operations forces, strike warfare, irregular warfare, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and mine warfare. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. called the new submarine one of the technological marvels of the world. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hoping to console a city stricken by grief and anger when they meet with families affected by the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers. The visit to Uvalde on Sunday is Biden's second trip in as many weeks to comfort a community in mourning after staggering loss. On May 17, he was in Buffalo, New York, to meet with victims' families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist "replacement theory" killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. The shootings in Texas and New York and their aftermath have put a spotlight on the nation's entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. "Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died," Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. "We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer." (AP) The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves this morning, including the reinstatement of Avisail Garcia from the COVID-related injured list. Miami also designated infielder Joe Dunand for assignment to create a 40-man roster space, while right-hander Cody Poteet was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a muscle injury in his right elbow. Garcia returns after just a two-day absence, indicating that his placement on the COVID-IL was precautionary or due to virus symptoms, but not an actual positive test. The outfielder will return from his brief break and look to get his season turned around, as Garcia has slashed a meager .207/.237/.290 over his first 152 plate appearances in a Marlins uniform. Pitching in his second MLB season, Poteet has a 2.42 ERA and 55.7% grounder rate over 26 innings in 2022. Most of that work has come out of the bullpen as a long reliever, but two of Poteets last three outings were starts, as Miami has needed a replacement for the injured Jesus Luzardo. Poteets last appearance on May 25 didnt go well, as the Rays tagged him for five runs over three innings of work in a 5-4 Marlins loss. With Poteet now sidelined for at least the next 15 days, there will be more speculation about which of the Marlins promising young arms could be called up to the big league rotation. Since top prospect Max Meyer is recovering from ulnar nerve irritation, Edward Cabrera could be the logical candidate, as Cabrera last pitched on May 26. Between a visa issue in Spring Training and then a biceps injury, Cabrera didnt pitch until April 27, but he has since banked six minor league starts and a combined 3.90 ERA over 27 2/3 innings. As for Luzardo himself, it isnt yet clear when the southpaw could return from his forearm strain. Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including MLB.coms Christina De Nicola) today that Luzardos recovery is not as good as we wouldve liked, as the left-hander has yet to begin throwing. Luzuardos IL stint is backdated to May 12, so he is already beyond the 15-day minimum period. Dunand made his MLB debut this season, appearing in three games with the Marlins and delivering a 1.064 OPS over his 11 plate appearances. The Miami native doesnt have a standout minor league track record, so the Marlins could be betting that another team wont put in a waiver claim on the 26-year-old Dunand. That said, Dunand also has a lot of experience as a third baseman and shortstop plus a few games at the other two infield positions, so a club in need of infield depth might check him out on the DFA wire. France's top female player Alize Cornet lashed out on Satuday at the idiot fans who booed her after a thigh injury forced her to quit her third round match on centre court against Qinwen Zheng. Cornet, 32, arrived with both thighs heavily strapped for the match against the Chinese teenage who had beaten the 2018 champion Simona Halep in the second round. She swept through the first set 6-0 in 30 minutes and was 3-0 up in the second when Cornet approached her to concede the tie. As the umpire announced the result, sections of the stands jeered. Cornet, who was trying to reach the last 16 for the third time, said she was amazed at the behaviour. Choice "I had to abandon the match because I was in pain. But sometimes the French audience surprises me and not always in the right way," she said. "Most of the people are no doubt sad for me and understand what's happening but this handful of idiots really makes you feel bad." Cornet revealed she suffered the adductor strain towards the end of her three-set victory over the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko on Thursday night. She said a sonogram taken on Friday night highlighted the extent of the injury. "It was my decision whether I played today or not," Cornet added. "But you know me, I would never have backed out or abandoned a game in a Grand Slam. So it wasn't possible for me to not try to give it my all today." Zheng will take on top seed Iga Swiatek on Monday for a place in the last eight. "The boos hurt more than the injury itself," Cornet added. "It was just a handful of people in the stadium so maybe they made a lot of noise. But it's really too much when you see everything I've been giving on the court for so many years." Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George has gone hard on his colleague politicians who are fond of using foul means to acquire properties belonging to the state. For him, political actors who create, loot and share are nothing but a disgrace to our hard-fought democracy. In a post on Twitter, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) legislator wrote: Any politician, past or present, NDC or NPP, member of the Legislature or Judiciary or business-person involved in this blatant looting scheme is a disgrace to our democracy. Shame on you all. Sam George is commenting following the news of the degazetting of portions of the Achimota Forest Reserve through the Executive Instrument 144 and the purported will of former Forestry Commission head, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, also known as Sir John. The development has generated a lot of controversy in the Ghanaian media, with varied comments being expressed about the propriety of the action amidst the country's state commitments to environmental protection. Although the government says the degazetted portion, about 361 acres, is being ceded to the custodial owners of the forest land, the Owoo family, environmentalists insist that the government ought to protect and preserve it due to its importance. Days after that, the Achimota forest is back in the news after a purported will of former Forestry Commission head, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, also known as Sir John, became public. In the purported will, Sir John willed acres of land he owned in his name, and others he owned in the name of his companies in the Achimota forest to some relatives. He also willed acres of land at the Sakumono Ramsar site to relatives. Many have spoken against the development, and accused the late Sir John of taking advantage of his office to amass for himself lands that ought to be protected for the state. The Lands Commission has already said that it has no records to show that Sir John owns lands in the Achimota Forest, but the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources has said while the purported will is a subject of litigation in court, it is revoking any authority of the said Achimota forest and Sakumono Ramsar site lands to any private individual. citinewsroom Nigeria's ruling party on Saturday postponed for a week a primary vote to choose its candidate to replace President Muhammadu Buhari at next year's presidential election. Buhari's All Progressives Congress party (APC) and the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) were both scheduled this weekend to select their candidates to govern Africa's most populous country. A day before its primaries were due to start, the APC announced in a statement that it had pushed its party primary back a week to June 6 through June 8. The APC said the decision followed a ruling by electoral authorities to extend the deadline for the submission of candidates' names. The APC gave no further details, but the ruling party has been caught in fierce wrangling over who should run, with former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu and current vice president Yemi Osinbajo among the possibles. Atiku Abubakar, longtime hopeful, is one of those running for the PDP opposition ticket for the presidency. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP) Buhari has not endorsed any candidate to succeed him and some analysts expect him to attempt to find a consensus nominee to keep the APC's factions together ahead of the February 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. An alliance of smaller parties drawn together for Buhari's 2015 election win, the APC has often struggled to contain internal divisions. "It clearly means the APC is going the consensus route, which requires more backroom dealing than the usual primaries," SBM Intelligence analyst Tunde Ajileye said of the ruling party delay. "It also means the consensus candidate is one that many are not accepting easily." Opposition gathers In Abuja's national arena, decked out in the opposition party's red, white and green colours, PDP party leaders and delegates gathered for their primary vote on Saturday with the event likely to continue into early Sunday. Among the top opposition candidates for the presidency are long-time challenger Atiku Abubakar, former senate president Bukola Saraki and Aminu Tambuwal, the Sokoto State governor who enjoys strong support in mostly Muslim northern Nigeria. Map of Nigeria locating the capital Abuja and Lagos. By ElAonore HUGHES (AFP) Another hopeful is Rivers State Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the only main opposition candidate from the south of the country. Most APC top candidates are also from the south of Nigeria. Under an informal agreement among the political elite, Nigeria's presidency is usually alternatively "zoned" between candidates from the north and the south. After eight years under northerner Buhari, most agree the presidency should now go to a candidate from the south. Rotating power at the national government level has been seen as a balancing force in a country almost equally divided between the mostly Christian south and predominantly Muslim north. Since its return to civilian rule from a military dictatorship in 1999, Nigeria has held six national elections, which were often marred by fraud, technical difficulties, violence and legal challenges. In 2019, when Buhari was re-elected, the Independent National Electoral Commission was criticised for delaying the initial vote by a week. Abubakar, who lost to Buhari, challenged the results in court. Buhari, 79, leaves after two terms in office, with Nigeria still struggling to end a more than decade-long jihadist conflict in its northeast and a wave of violent banditry in its northwest. Africa's largest economy is also still recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from the Ukraine war that has pushed up fuel and food prices across the continent. Nigeria's main opposition People's Democratic Party on Saturday voted in primaries to chose its candidate for the 2023 election to replace President Muhammadu Buhari. The PDP and Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC) were both scheduled this weekend to select candidates for the presidency of Africa's most populous country. But a day before its primaries were to start, the APC announced that it had pushed its party convention back a week to June 6 through June 8. PDP delegates and political leaders packed out an Abuja national arena, decked out in the opposition party's red, white and green colours, where they voted late Saturday for its challenger for next year's election. Among the top opposition candidates for the ticket are long-time challenger Atiku Abubakar, former senate president Bukola Saraki and Aminu Tambuwal, the Sokoto State governor who enjoys strong support in mostly Muslim northern Nigeria. Another hopeful is Rivers State Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the only main opposition candidate from the south of the country. "What is the problem of Nigeria? Leadership," Wike told the crowds as aspirants gave their speeches. "I will win... for the power to come back to PDP." Buhari, 79, leaves after two terms in office, with Nigeria still struggling to end a more than decade-long jihadist conflict in its northeast and a wave of violent banditry in its northwest. Africa's largest economy is also still recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from the Ukraine war that has pushed up fuel and food prices across the continent. The PDP ruled Nigeria for a decade and a half before its then-president Goodluck Jonathan was ousted by the APC alliance in 2015 to bring Buhari to power. APC wrangling The APC said the delaying of its own primaries decision followed a ruling by electoral authorities to extend the deadline for the submission of candidates' names. The APC gave no further details, but the ruling party has been caught in fierce wrangling over who should run, with former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu and current vice president Yemi Osinbajo among the possibles. Atiku Abubakar, longtime hopeful, is one of those running for the PDP opposition ticket for the presidency. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP) Buhari has not endorsed any candidate to succeed him and some analysts expect him to attempt to find a consensus nominee to keep the APC's factions together ahead of the February 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. An alliance of smaller parties drawn together for Buhari's 2015 election win, the APC has often struggled to contain internal divisions. "It clearly means the APC is going the consensus route, which requires more backroom dealing than the usual primaries," SBM Intelligence analyst Tunde Ajileye said of the ruling party delay. "It also means the consensus candidate is one that many are not accepting easily." Local media has been discussing a possible return by former president Goodluck Jonathan as an APC candidate after a group of supporters bought him a nomination form. Jonathan himself denied any part in the move. Under an informal agreement among the political elite, Nigeria's presidency is usually alternatively "zoned" between candidates from the north and the south. After eight years under northerner Buhari, most agree the presidency should now go to a candidate from the south. Rotating power at the national government level has been seen as a balancing force in a country almost equally divided between the mostly Christian south and predominantly Muslim north. Most top PDP candidates like Abubakar are from the north though Rivers State governor is from the south. Most APC top candidates, including Tinubu and Osinbajo, are also from the south of Nigeria. Former president Jonathan is a southerner. Since its return to civilian rule from a military dictatorship in 1999, Nigeria has held six national elections, which were often marred by fraud, technical difficulties, violence and legal challenges. In 2019, when Buhari was re-elected, the Independent National Electoral Commission was criticised for delaying the initial vote by a week. Abubakar, who lost to Buhari, challenged the results in court. 29.05.2022 LISTEN Suspected armed robbers have shot dead a lawyer, Mr Richard Badombie, on the Bole-Bamboi highway in the Savanna Region. The Accra-based lawyer was killed by the robbers while travelling to Jirapa in the Upper West Region with some relatives on Saturday, 28 May 2022. The robbers, who emerged from the bush, stopped the vehicle on which the lawyer was travelling between Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyir. One of the robbers shot at the lawyer, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. The car veered off the road and hit a tree when the robbers attempted to open the doors. However, a dog in the car barked them off. Until his demise, the deceased was a lawyer with Lartey, Badombie & Co. Associates in Accra. The police has begun a search for his killers. Source: classfmonline.com 29.05.2022 LISTEN Death, remarked Gore Vidal about Truman Capotes passing, was a good career move. The novelist Saki also considered the good qualities of shuffling off the mortal coil. Waldo, he writes in The Feast of Nemesis, is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death. But what of those instances when death is foiled, the Grim Reaper cheated? Former US President George W. Bush has had the good fortune of facing such a foiling, though the claims remain fresh. On May 24, Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, an Iraqi national living in Columbus, Ohio, was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the attempted murder of a former US official and charges of attempting to bring foreign nationals to the US. The nationals in question are said to be affiliated with the Islamic State group. According to court documents, the FBI foiled the alleged plot through using informants. In November last year, Shihab is said to have told one of them that he wished to kill former President Bush because they felt that he was responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the entire country of Iraq. In subsequent discussions with the informants, Shihab is alleged to have said how he wanted to be involved in the actual attack and assassination of former President Bush and did not care if he died as he would be proud to have been involved in killing former President Bush. One may fault the intended outcome, but the historical reasoning behind the motive is hard to rebut. A statement from Bushs chief of staff Freddy Ford had the former president expressing all the confidence in the world in the United States Secret Service and our law enforcement and intelligence communities. This would have caused a gasp from those in the intelligence community so wilfully maligned in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003. The issue again surfaced in March 2019, when former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer took to Twitter to wash his hands while dumping on those who had supplied the intelligence. There is a myth about the war that I have been meaning to set straight for years, he began. After no WMDs [weapons of mass destruction] were found, the left claimed Bush lied. People died. This accusation is a lie. Its time to put it to rest. Unconvincingly, Fleischer proceeded to shift and spread blame, claiming both he and Bush faithfully and accurately reported to the public what the intelligence community concluded. He implicated the CIA and other intelligence services, including those of Egypt, France and Israel. We all turned out to be wrong. That is very different from lying. Bushs role in the Iraq War was again appraised in his May 19 speech on election integrity, when he enlivened his gaffe-strewn legacy with a momentous Freudian slip or, as John Fugelsang described it, a Freudian confession. In referring to Vladimir Putin and Russias absence of checks and balances, Bush had something of a coming out moment: the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq I mean, of Ukraine. On realising his error, and no doubt hoping to strike a note of levity, he suggested, Iraq, too and pointing to age as an excuse (Anyway, 75!). Guffawing followed and could only come across as ghoulishly telling about the predations of power and cant. It was reminiscent of the light-hearted response to his cringeworthy performance at the 2004 White House Correspondents Dinner. While narrating a slideshow featuring a picture of himself peering under furniture in the Oval Office, Bush could not resist quipping: Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere. David Corn, writing at the time for The Nation, found little reason to be amused. Before an audience of people who supposedly spend their days pursuing the truth, Bush joked about misstatements (if not lies) he had used to persuade (if not hornswoggle) the American people and the media. The same could be said about the Iraqi poet Sinan Antoon, who refused to partake in the merriment, however nervously expressed, by the audience gathered at the Southern Methodist University. Freudian slip about past massacres (of other barbarians) amuses audience, he tweeted gloomily. All is well in the settler colony. All is certainly well for Bush, who, as absent-minded dauber, has undergone a rapid rehabilitation as elder statesman. Little is mentioned these days of his culpable role in leading an invasion of a sovereign state that saw the deaths and maiming of hundreds of thousands, displacements, poisonings, and the destabilisation of the Middle East. When your guilty consciousness catch [sic] up with you and you end up confessing but no one cares to hold you to account, observed Representative Ilhan Omar. The Trump era aided the process of revision and cleansing, with traumatised Democrats and some notional progressives longing to return to the good times of the Bush imperium marked by illegal wars, warrantless surveillance and state sanctioned torture. In 2019, Yale University, via a delegation of students who might have known better, bestowed upon Bush the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award. The decision to select the former president as the recipient was drawn from a vote by over 1,000 students, suggesting that collective amnesia is rife. In a statement, Bush acknowledged the role played by the university in shaping him, expressing pride in joining the ranks of Anderson Cooper, Maya Lin and Jodie Foster, concluding with the triumphant, Boola Boola! With Shihabs arrest, Bush can draw upon a well of sympathy by claiming that Freedoms Land had, at the very least, a president worthy of being the target of an alleged assassination plot. But in prosecuting a man nursing a grievance over the role played by Bush in perpetrating the destruction of his homeland, another brutal invasion will receive some renewed attention, if only briefly. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected] Rotarian Dr Kennedy Frimpong, a member of the Kumase East Rotary Club has presented educational materials to the Yamfo Methodist A and B cluster and the Ahyiayem M/A Basic Schools in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region. They comprise five computers and accessories, quantities mathematics and ICT text books, reading books as well as 185 mathematical sets to be distributed among the form three students of the beneficiary schools preparing to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Rotarian Dr Frimpong, also the Chief Executive Officer of the F. Kennedy Group of Companies, dealers in electronics and other consumables, told Journalists he was a student at the Ahyiayem M/A and later completed his formal education at the Methodist school in 1992. He said the items were his widow mites to support his alma mater, motivate and inspire the students to learn hard and further their education, irrespective of their locations, so that they could grow and occupy responsible positions in society. Rotarian Dr Frimpong indicated that ICT and mathematics rule the world, and asked the teachers to inspire the students to pick careers in ICT and engineering to obtain lucrative jobs in future. He said the teachers could stimulate the school children to develop interest in ICT and Maths if they apply modern methods of teaching and guide them to use the computers for useful activities. Mr Joel Afrifa, the Headmaster of the Yamfo Methodist B expressed appreciation for the gesture, and enumerated a number of challenges including inadequate textbooks, desks and furniture as well as poor ventilation, which ought to be tackled for effective academic work. He said commended the teachers of the school for their commitment and hard work, saying through the support of the teachers, the school had been able to procure modern printer and projector at the cost of GHC13,000. Mr Afrifa said the Methodist A and B had 1,200 school children, saying the teaching and learning of ICT were challenging because all five computers of the school had been broken down. He appealed for more computers to advance the practical teaching and learning of the ICT, and also motivate the students and pupils to develop interest in ICT. At the Ahyiayem M/A school, Mr David Nsiah-Sarfo, the head teacher said the school had 597 pupils and students, and appealed for new classroom blocks, teachers quarters, desks and furniture as well as washrooms and toilets. He also thanked the donor for the gesture and appealed for computers, and appealed for potable drinking water and computers as well. Responding to the appeal, Rotarian Dr Frimpong promised to provide five computers for the school in the next academic year. Justice Dominic Dennis Adjei, Appeals Court Judge, has urged colleague judges and magistrates to stop delegating their powers of remand to court clerks. He said it was only judges and magistrates who had the power to remand and they must not give that judicial power to court clerks to extend days of cases. We must ensure that when we remand, we keep an eye on those remanded cases, record them in our diaries so when we are sitting, we look at those cases for consideration for bail or for hearing. Because we do not follow, remand prisoners are kept in prison for months, and years. Justice Adjei made the call at the opening of a workshop on the Narcotic Control Commission Act 2020(ACT 1019) for selected judges and magistrates from the Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta, Central and Western Regions, in Accra. The day's workshop organised by the POS Foundation and the Judicial Training Institute in partnership with the International Drug Policy Consortium and others was on the theme: Understanding the Narcotic Control Commission Act 20202 (Act 1019): the role of the judges in health and rights-based best practices to handling people who use drugs in the implementation of the Act. Justice Adjei said judges were responsible for the congestion and decongestion of the prisons because they were reminding persons in accordance with the old narcotic drugs Act which had its inherent problems. He, however, noted that this was also because, as judges they gave a different interpretation to the Act. Some judges had the opinion that before one uses drug, the person possesses it. According to the law possession had a minimum sentence of 10 years, while use had a minimum sentence of five years. But the law maker intended that when it is for use then the possession must be suppressed. The Appeals Court Judge added that the old law did not consider the interest of persons who use drugs even though it was not permissible but provided a fine of jail term as punishment, but the new Act has clearly stated the position. It has also referred to sentencing and procedure. We cannot decide on matters affecting those engaged in narcotics without considering the mental health aspect anymore. The Director of Prisons, Samuel Adjei-Attah, said the effect of overcrowding on proper prison classification and effective reformation and rehabilitation, among others, could not be over emphasized. He said it was heartwarming that the Act had made provision for alternatives to imprisonment, including fines for the offences of drug possession for personal use. However, the Service still receives persons convicted and sentenced to prisons for the offence of use of narcotic drugs, he said. As of May 26, 2022, persons convicted for narcotics and drug related offences account for 3.8 percent of the convict population of 12, 602 nationwide, of which majority of them were in their youthful age between 18 to 35 years. Mr Adjei-Attah assured the Services' support for appropriate alternatives to imprisonment for such people and advocated that group of users should be referred to the appropriate rehabilitation centres for treatment instead of incarceration, considering the risk of contamination and other challenges for such people. Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, Executive Director POS Foundation, said the workshop aimed to sensitize critical stakeholders, particularly judges of the Lower and higher courts, to know their roles in the Narcotics Drug Act delivery, while consulting them on the best practices in the implementation process. He said the new law represented an important example for drug policy reform advocacy in West Africa and sought to treat drug use and dependency as a public health issue rather than focusing on law enforcement, incarceration, punishment and repression. He said Ghana's criminal justice system was the envy of many countries in Africa, adding, however, that there were still so many legislative and policy loopholes that needed to be blocked. Our aim is to find a way to decongest the prisons rather than building more prison facilities, and to ensure that drug use is treated as a public health issue. GNA Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, has ended his term as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group after two consecutive years. He handed over to Tarek Amer, who is the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, at the closing ceremony of the AfDB Annual General Meeting (AGM). In his remarks, Mr Ofori-Atta expressed gratitude to stakeholders of the bank for their cooperation and support during his tenure. He relished the counsel of many regional and non-regional governors during deliberation which he said has helped stakeholders reach a common ground based on collective trust. I am even more humbled by the collective resolve demonstrated by each of us to advance the cause of our continent, he said. He urged the Boards of Directors, Management and Staff to continue to work diligently towards speedy completion of the 10-Year strategy and its implementation to achieve green, sustainable, and inclusive development across the African Continent. Mr Amer, in his remarks, said, I have high regard for Mr Ofori Atta, for his chairmanship over the last period and I know his acumen and capability, and this makes me a little bit anxious as to how to continue this excellent track while preserving and protecting the bank during difficult times. He said Eygpt would continue to support the Bank as a shareholder and a partner in due recognition of the role the bank plays in support supporting low-income countries on the continent. The next AGM of the bank will be held at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from May 22 to May 26 next year. GNA Rotarian Kennedy Frimpong of the Rotary Club of Kumasi East has advised teachers to inspire students to pick careers in Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to gain lucrative jobs in future. He said ICT and Mathematics "rule" the world, saying students who develop interest and pursue ICT related courses had enormous opportunities in the global job market. Rotarian Frimpong, also the Chief Executive Officer of the F. Kennedy Group of Companies, dealers in electronics and consumables gave the advice when he donated teaching and learning materials to two basic schools in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region. The materials comprise ICT and Mathematic text books, reading books and quantities of mathematical sets to the Yamfo Methodist 'A' and 'B' cluster of schools and the Ahyiayem M/A basic school. Rotarian Frimpong also presented five computers and accessories to the Methodist cluster of schools to advance practical teaching and learning of ICT. Speaking at separate presentation ceremonies held at Yamfo and Ahyiayem, Rotarian Frimpong, a past student of the schools urged the students not to allow anything to discourage them, instead read widely and always concentrate on their books. He said technology had made learning easier, and implores the teachers to always guide the students to use the computers for academic purposes. While commending the teachers for their selfless and dedicated services to the nation, Rotarian Frimpong implored them to redouble their efforts to help improve the academic performance of the students. Mr Joel Afrifa, the Headmaster of the Yamfo Methodist "B' thanked the donor for the gesture, and appealed for additional desk, furniture and computers. At the Ahyiayem M/A basic school, Mr David Nsiah-Sarfo, the head teacher said the school needed toilets, potable drinking water and classroom blocks . He said the six-unit classroom block of the school, constructed in 1998, had not seen any rehabilitation, saying the condition of the block was extremely deplorable which could collapse at point anytime. Mr Nsiah-Sarfo also appealed for teachers' quarter, toilets and urinals indicating that the only toilet in the school was a wooden structure which was also in a deplorable condition. Rotarian Frimpong promised to provide five computers to the school. A Non-Governmental Organization, Could You has appealed to the government to scrap taxes on sanitary pads to increase access. Government currently charges about 33 per cent in a luxury tax and VAT on sanitary pads. But the NGO observed the situation is denying girls mostly in rural areas access and use of sanitary pads due to the hike in prices of the product. A pack of sanitary pads which used to be sold at 5 cedis last year has seen its price double and now sells at 10 Ghana cedis in 2022. A teacher at Asisiriwa D/A JHS, Mary Akayini says, some girls in the area sleep with men in exchange for money to buy pads. They do this because of the high price of the pad. As part of activities to mark this years World Menstrual Hygiene Day, Could You, distributed 150 menstrual cups to some pupils in the Bosome Freho district. Menstrual cups, unlike sanitary pads, are reusable and will help girls save money. Nsiah Princess is one of the beneficiaries of the menstrual cups donated by Could You two months ago. Now I dont buy sanitary pads again because of the menstrual cup and I have been able to save a little money as well, she noted. The cup can last for 10 years as compared to the pad, she revealed 'Could You' appeals to government to scrap taxes on sanitary pads 'Could You' wants government to scrap taxes on sanitary pads to make it affordable to teenagers in rural areas. We have been working with the girls in this community for over a year and one problem we have identified is they lack access to menstrual hygiene products and menstrual awareness, Kofi Kyeremateng Nyanteng, Country Director of Could You, said. Were working with girls in rural communities to address menstrual poverty through our menstrual cups and education initiative. We want the government to scrap off taxes so that girls in the rural areas can afford it. 'Could You' appeals to government to scrap taxes on sanitary pads Anna Sefakor Afua Dotse, the project nurse, educated girls on the need to use a menstrual cup. Adam Abdul-Fatawu Wunizoya 29.05.2022 LISTEN The aspiring Deputy Communications Officer of the NDC for the Sagnerigu Constituency in the Northern Region, Adam Abdul-Fatawu Wunizoya, has urged Ghanaians to take advantage of the reorganisation exercise currently undertaken by the NDC to help kick the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) out of government come December 2024. The 'Northern Governor' as he is popularly referred to, said the only way to redeem Ghana from the current hardship experienced by Ghanaians, was a change of government, and the best way to do that, was for people to register their names and join the NDC as the only alternative. "I wish to call on all Ghanaians especially those who have the country at heart, to join the NDC which is the only alternative to salvage this country from the hardship Ghanaians are experiencing today," he said His call came after he toured the constituency to monitor the membership registration activities at some branches. He said though the registration was encouraging, more efforts were needed to get people to understand why they should join the NDC and not any other party "Even though Ghanaians are suffering, we (NDC) still have the responsibility to explain to them why they should join our party as the only alternative" the 'Northern Governor," he intimated. He called on party faithful especially those at the regional level to visit the branches from time to time to see how the activity is being done to contribute meaningfully to the exercise He commended the leadership of the party for coming out with such an initiative to help build the database of the party "This is not just a mere registration exercise, this is an exercise to gather a database for the party so that going into the future, we can tell as a party, the strength of our membership in every constituency and that of the regions, and with that, I must commend our leadership," he said The opposition NDC began a reorganisation of its membership to help put the party in a better position to fight the 2024 elections. The exercise which began on May 21 and is expected to end on June 7, 2022, is the first step toward the party's branch, constituency and the regional as well as the national executive election. The internal contest according to the NDC, will start with the election of branch executives on June 15, 2022. The branch elections will be closely followed by the Ward coordinators election scheduled for August 2022 and the constituencies which have been scheduled for September this year. The regional and national congress according to the party, will come off in October and November 2022 respectively. The Atebubu-Amantin Municipal office of the National Commission for Civic Education with support from World Vision Ghana has trained 25 facilitators towards the formation of Child Parliaments in eleven communities within the municipality. The Child Parliament concept is aimed at imparting in the children mainly first and second year Junior High school pupils, the workings of Parliamentary democracy as well as the functions and importance of the legislative body. It also seeks to imbibe in them the art of public speaking, lobbying skills and advocacy, especially on issues affecting child well-being in their various communities. The municipal director of the Commission Mr. Patrick Tampugre led a five-man team that took the facilitators all teachers selected from the affected schools through the history, mandate, functions, standing orders, leadership and committees of Ghanas Parliament. There was also a role play on the conduct of Parliamentary business. Mr. Michael Clottey of World Vision Ghana urged the facilitators to take the exercise seriously to enable his outfits objective of promoting child well-being even after they have exited the municipality to be achieved. Some of the facilitators expressed their gratitude to the sponsors as well as organizers for some insights gained as a result of the training. Beneficiary communities include Mem, New Kokrompe, Sanwakyi-Afefreso, Patuda, Boniafo and Garadima. Others are Dobidi-Nkwanta, Abour, Kokofu, Akokoa and Atebubu. 29.05.2022 LISTEN In this press release, we highlight key issues and present a brief chronology of the events that led to the recent violent clashes between Kandiga and Doba, which unfortunately resulted in the loss of human lives and property. This is essentially to give readers a true perspective of what led to the current clashes as a lot of distorted narratives are out on many media platforms clouding the truth and the facts. 1. The conflict between Kandiga and Doba over a parcel of land located between the Anayere and Atankire Rivers in the Upper East Region began in 2012. However violent clashes erupted in April 2019 when work on two community projects namely, a Police Post and a CHPS Compound located in Azaasi-Atosale and Akunkongo-Abempingo Electoral Areas respectively were violently disrupted. Since then, there have been intermittent clashes between the two sides, each time instigated by cross-river attacks by the people of Doba. 2. To be sure, for the past two months, there has been relative calm within the two communities until unprovoked attacks by assailants from Doba set the clock of peace rolling back a few days ago. Specifically, On Saturday 21st May, 2022 assailants from Doba opened gun fire on residents of Kandiga at their homes in Abempingo between 1500 hours and 1600 hours. This attracted the attention of the Military Detachment stationed at Kandiga Junction who quickly intervened to quell the attack. But for the quick and professional response of the military, residents of Kandiga, their homes and property at Abempingo would have been set ablaze in fire as it is the modus operandi of these hooligans who usually engage in these unprovoked attacks. 3. The militarys intervention on Saturday 21st May, 2022 gave hope that the situation had been brought under control but that was not to be. Another surprised and unprovoked attack came early the next morning of 22nd May, 2022. Three armed assailants suspected to be from Doba, and riding motor bikes, gunned down a young man, Bismarck Akelinzea, right in front of his family house at Akunkongo-Kandiga. It is important to add that the mother of the murdered young man was murdered in a similar gruesome manner in 2020 when suspected assailants from Doba in cahoots with dissidents from the Akurugu family unleashed violence on innocent citizens one early morning. The gruesome murder of the innocent and unarmed young Bismarck Akelinzea following closely on the back of a similar brutality unleashed on his biological mother infuriated the whole of Kandiga Community, thus triggering a response from the youth of Kandiga in defense of their land and community. This is what led to the long drawn gun battle on that fateful Sunday, 22nd May 2022. 4. It is trite knowledge that violent clashes between Kandiga and Doba have been ongoing for the past three years, a situation that can easily be ascertained at the Municipal and District Security Councils of the Assemblies to which the two feuding factions belong. It is also trite knowledge that provocations leading to violent clashes often originate from the dissident Akuruga family who now live in a dilemma of uncertain allegiance, straddling either side of the Anayere River which is the borderline between Kandiga and Doba. These dissidents function usually as the conduit for assailants of Doba to gain entry in to Kandiga territory. In all instances of these violent clashes, the people of Kandiga have always had to rise up to the defense. 5. The land litigation case between Amogre Akuribire and Emmanuel Andema, partly the reason for which these unprovoked attacks continue, is currently before the Appeals Court in Tamale awaiting hearing. Therefore, interested parties should wait for the outcome of the court case rather than resorting to violence. 6. After the unfortunate clashes of Sunday 22nd May, 2022, we read from the media that scores of women from Doba had assembled at both the Navro-Pios Palace and the Office of the Municipal Chief Executive in Navrongo to drum home their displeasure about the loss of lives and property in the conflict zone, and to appeal to the revered overlord and the political head of the municipality to find an antidote to the unfortunate occurrences. We applauded their call for peace and urge them to do more for peace is very dear to all, especially the people of Kandiga and thus the only way to restore normalcy and bring back development to the two communities. 7. It is also worth noting that, these same women who are justifiably calling for peace now sat aloof when their colleague women from Kandiga (three to be specific) were killed on 14th December, 2020 including the loss of other lives and property when more than 100 houses were torched in Kandiga on that fateful Sunday by Doba assailants who had pulled a surprise one on Kandiga unprovoked. As a matter of fact, one of the murdered women left behind a three-month old baby. So a few questions for the protesting women: Could it be that these demonstrating women were observing table manners at the time this dastardly act occurred? Or were they simply discriminatory as they placed no value on their colleague womens lives? 8. Women of Kandiga do share the pain and anguish of colleague women from Doba since we have experienced same excruciating pain or even worst in the past due to attacks by assailants from Doba who often choose to open fire directly on women against all odds and conventions namely, that women are not attacked in war situations. 9. By this release we wish to draw the attention of Government and the security agencies (the military in particular) to cases of impersonation of the military by some individuals in Doba. We have witnessed some individuals usually garbed in fake military apparels to deceive and scare their opponents in the battle field so as to enable them penetrate, loot, burn and kill residents of Kandiga. In fact, we have had past incidents of persons in military uniform open gun fire on residents of Kandiga, killing them in cold bold. Some of these fatalities, we have blamed on the Military Detachment who are expected to keep the peace but the recent arrest of one Anthony Anontara who was garbed in a fake military uniform now gives us reason to believe we may have blamed the military wrongly. We therefore urge the Police Service to allow the law to take its full course in the matter of impersonation of the military by one Anthony Anontara. 10. In conclusion, the people of Kandiga greatly appreciate the work of the security agencies in their efforts to bring about peace in the conflict zone. However, we wish to observe that the current location of the Military Detachment at Kandiga Junction is not appropriate as it gives leverage to assailants from Doba to easily cross the Anayere River to carry out surprise attacks on the people of Kandiga. We therefore urge the Regional Security Council to relocate the Military Detachment to the Anayere River side so that they can easily have a birds eye view of activities around that enclave, be able to tell who the aggressor and initiator of attacks are, and to act timeously to quell any attacks. Thank You! Long Live Kandiga! May Peace Return! Authored By: Concerned Citizen of Kandiga Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately extend the deadline for voter registration to give more time for eligible Nigerians to exercise their right to participation the same way the electoral body has extended the deadline for party primaries. Against its earlier stance, the INEC last week suddenly extended the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties by six days, from June 3 to June 9. Also, the online pre-registration ends by May 30 2022 while the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ends by 30 June 2022. In the letter dated 28 May 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: Voters are also critical stakeholders in the electoral process. Treating all eligible Nigerian voters fairly would advance the peoples right to vote and to participate in their own government. According to SERAP, Extending the voter registration deadline would provide more time for eligible voters, including young people, the elderly, people living with disability, as well as those resident in states facing security challenges and living in IDP camps to participate in the 2023 elections. SERAP said, Extending the deadline for voter registration would be entirely consistent with constitutional and international standards, and the Electoral Act. Any such extension would also not impact negatively on the INECs election calendar and activities. SERAP also said, INEC mandates ought to be exercised in a fair, just and non-discriminatory manner. If voting is as important as the INEC always claims it is, now is the time to show that Nigerian voters will be treated equally and fairly. The future of Nigerias democracy depends on it. The letter, read in part: The INEC must not only be independent and impartial in the exercise of its constitutional and statutory responsibilities, but must also be seen to be independent and impartial. The public perception of the independence and impartiality of INEC is essential for building public confidence in the electoral process, and ensuring the credibility and legitimacy of the 2023 elections. Where Nigerians have doubts about the independence and impartiality of INEC, they are more likely to have less confidence in the electoral process thereby undermining democracy. Enforcing unrealistic voter registration deadline while extending the deadline for party primaries would deny and abridge the constitutional and international human rights of eligible voters including to equal treatment and equal protection, and non-discrimination. We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 48 hours of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel INEC to comply with our request in the public interest. The recommended extension would also bolster voter confidence in the electoral process, and the ability of INEC to discharge its constitutional and statutory responsibilities independently and impartially. Extending the deadline for voter registration would also be justified, given reports of challenges in the voter registration exercise, especially for young people, the elderly, persons living with disabilities, and those resident in states facing security challenges and living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. One of the peoples most sacred rights is the right to vote. The commission has a constitutional and statutory responsibility to ensure the effective exercise of the right of all eligible voters to participate in their own government. Extending the deadline for party primaries without providing adequate time and opportunity for eligible voters to register and participate in the 2023 general elections would amount to an unfair and discriminatory treatment of Nigerian voters, and violate other human rights. The will of the people is expressed through democratic elections. This requires that people should be afforded adequate time and opportunity to register to vote. Extending the voter registration deadline is crucial for promoting the independence and impartiality of INEC and building public confidence in the electoral process. SERAP therefore urges you and the commission to take immediate measures to encourage greater political participation by extending voter registration deadlines, and improving voters education and engagement throughout the country. This would show the commitment of the commission to the principles of equal protection and non-discrimination. The Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) provides in Section 14(1)(c) that, the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that the registration of voters, updating and revision of the Register of Voters under this section shall not stop not later than 90 days before any election covered by this Act. Similarly, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance guarantee the right to political participation. These human rights treaties also require states parties including Nigeria to ensure the independence and impartiality of national electoral bodies responsible for the management of elections, as well as to promote the establishment of the necessary conditions to foster citizen participation. The right of people to participate in their government is a fundamental feature of any democratic society, and any undue restriction of the right would strike at the heart of representative government. According to our information, the INEC recently extended the deadline for political party primaries. The commission also plans to end the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) by 30 June 2022. The commission is also set to suspend online pre-registration by May 30 2022. However, following the extension of the deadline for party primaries, and the fact that the INEC has declared 42 per cent of new voters registration invalid, it is also fair and just for INEC to extend the deadlines for voter registration. Miss Doris Siibu 29.05.2022 LISTEN A professional nurse cum agro-business entrepreneur Miss Doris Siibu has admonishes women groups in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region to keep their bodies clean. She emphasizes that best hygiene behaviours including personal hygiene development- regular bathing, oral health, keeping the vagina clean and wearing clean clothes will not only help reduce the risk of diseases or sicknesses or discomfort, rather will keep the men (husband) very close or attractive to them at all times. She made this comment as a resource person to Sung- Bawiara Foundation during the session on health and safety as part of training services to beneficiary women in the shea business value chain. Miss Doris Siibu argues that women's hygiene behaviours are a cardinal point to attracting the opposite sex and in this case their husbands. She noted young girls are more attracted to men not just the fact that they are young, but rather because they keep to good personal hygiene development than most adult women and married women. She therefore charges women to play a crucial role in terms of personal hygiene for enormous benefits. Miss Doris Siibu also cautioned women about drug abuse especially pain killer as first aid drugs. She said the practice is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon and it could lead to complications. She took the women groups on the best practices in managing cuts and snake bites as first aid before seeking professional health care services. Miss Doris Siibu has reached out to 600 women that were clustered for training in five different centers including Wechiau-Bao, Sanouri, Dolinguo, Samanbo and Nyoli. She is an agri- Entrepreneur, professional nurse, health consultant and youth advocate. She is a definition of beauty with purpose and has been in the driving seat of youth Parliament. Current speaker of Parliament, Nadowli/ Kaleo District Youth Parliament, 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Upper West Regional Youth Parliament and now providing consultancy services to Ideapath Consult and Sung- Bawiara Foundation in the areas of Health, Gender and Agri-business. "Triangle of Sadness", a sharp satire about class conflict by Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, won the Palme d'Or for Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. "Triangle of Sadness" puts Ostlund among a select group of two-time winners of Cannes' top prize. He won the Palme d'Or in 2017 for "The Square", poking fun at the contemporary art world. This time he took his scalpel to bourgeois niceties, hitting out at fashion models and the super-rich, who find their status suddenly undermined when disaster strikes a cruise ship. An extended sequence of projectile vomiting and violent diarrhoea on the ship got everyone talking about the film early on and divided the critics. "When we started to make this film I think we had one goal to really, really try to make an exciting film for the audience and bring thought-provoking content," Ostlund said as he accepted the coveted award. "We wanted to entertain them, we wanted them to ask themselves questions, we wanted them to after the screening go out and have something to talk about," he added. French actor Vincent Lindon, who led the nine-strong jury, said they had struggled to agree on a winner but "the entire jury was extremely shocked" by "Triangle of Sadness". Prizes made for sharing The runner-up Grand prix was split between 32-year-old Belgian Lukas Dhont and French veteran Claire Denis. Dhont's "Close", a portrait of two boys facing bullying as they grapple with their sexuality, explores friendship and masculinity, while Denis won for "Stars at Noon", a love story set against political tensions in Central America. The third-place jury prize was shared between "The Eight Mountains" by Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch and "EO" by 84-year-old Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, which is told entirely through the eyes of a donkey. "Thank you, my donkeys," said Skolimowski, in his acceptance speech. It was a strong night for Asian cinema with best director going to South Korea's Park Chan-wook won the best director prize for his romantic thriller "Decision to Leave". The best actor award went to South Korean star Song Kang-ho for his role in the adoption drama "Broker" by Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda. Message for Iranian women Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the best actress award for her role as a journalist tracking a serial killer in "Holy Spider". "I have come a long way to be on this stage tonight," said the actress, forced to flee her country 16 years ago following a smear campaign over her love life and who now lives in Paris. "This film is about women, it's about their bodies, it's a movie full of faces, hair, hands, feet, breasts, sex everything that is impossible to show in Iran," she said. "Maybe having me here tonight is just a message especially for women, Iranian women." French actress Carole Bouquet announced a surprise 75th anniversary prize to mark the festival's birthday. It went to Belgian directing brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for "Tori and Lokita." In a crowd-pleasing twist, Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough won the Camera d'Or, the prize for best film, for "War Pony" with co-director Gina Gammell. Read the full list of awards here The adage out of sight, out of mind has long summed up humans' attitude to dumping personal and industrial waste. In a 1974 Scientific American article , the oceanographer Willard Bascom wrote that the ocean is the plausible place for man to dispose of some of his wastes. If done thoughtfully, he continued, it will do no damage to marine life. But it hasn't been done thoughtfully. Earth's oceans are not only full of plastics: they're also clogged with dumped medications, antibiotics, disinfection products, household chemicals and pesticides, among other products. This isn't just bad news for the environment and marine life. It harms humans, too. The compounds contained in some of these dumped products cause feminisation and lower the quality of sperm. They can also lead to sexual abnormalities and reproductive impairments in both sea life and humans, as well as causing persistent antibiotic resistance and endocrine disruption. In a recent study in South Africa, we tested for the presence of eight selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Cape Town's False Bay marine environment. False Bay is 30km wide, located between Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula of South Africa on the perimeter of Cape Town, a city with a population of close to 4.6 million people. Our findings were troubling. We tested the seawater itself, as well as the sediment, seaweed, and five marine invertebrates: limpets, mussels, sea urchin, sea snail and starfish. Numerous compounds were found in the various species. These included diclofenac, a widely prescribed anti-inflammatory drug, and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, which can promote antibiotic resistance in the many faecal microorganisms that contaminate sea water through poorly treated sewage effluents. The City of Cape Town has published a report showing extensive faecal contamination of the Peninsula coastline. When humans eat fish, mussels and other foods tainted with antibiotics, the residual antibiotics may cause bacterial pathogens to become resistant . The resistant bacteria don't respond to standard antibiotics and can proliferate unchecked. This means the most important treatment options for infections are rendered useless. These results, which echo findings of our previous studies in two other Cape Town marine environments, Camps Bay and Sea Point , point to major flaws in the city's wastewater treatment plants. Urgent action is needed to address these issues and limit the many different chemical compounds and pollutants poured into marine environments. This multi-source contamination is a global concern. A recent US study , for example, found 104 commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals in a popular food fish. Grim findings In our False Bay study, we found the presence of numerous pharmaceuticals and other compounds. Their concentrations varied significantly across the eight sample sites. This could be because the various species found at the sites have differing abilities to absorb and metabolise these compounds. The sites also had different contaminant profiles due to ocean current mixing or proximity to discharged effluents. Read more: What whales and dolphins can tell us about the health of our oceans Limpets, the varied-sized and -coloured seashells that cling to rocks, were found to have the highest concentrations of these compounds compared to the edible organisms such as mussels and sea urchins. Although limpets are not an edible species, this knowledge is valuable: limpets could be used as sentinel organisms to monitor pollution in and around the ocean a sort of canary in the coalmine. In this study, as in our previous research, the pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemicals and personal care products were most commonly found at low concentrations in the seawater samples. Significantly higher levels were detected in the marine species and seaweed samples. This can do serious harm over time, slowly killing off the sea creatures and affecting the area's biodiversity. We also studied samples of four common fish species that are often consumed locally, like snoek and bonita (a tuna species). We found even higher levels of these chemical compounds in their flesh. That included four types of pesticides, eight different pharmaceuticals and five different perfluorinated compounds, all of which are termed persistent organic pollutants . They do not degrade rapidly, so they stick around in the environment for a long time. Wastewater plant shortcomings The sewage that causes this widespread pollution isn't just dumped into the ocean. The City of Cape Town has 17 wastewater treatment or sewerage works and six smaller facilities spread across the Cape Peninsula. The treatment plants are meant to clean the water enough that it can safely go into rivers, canals, the ocean, or other water bodies. But these measures, our findings suggest, may not be keeping up with the city's rapidly growing population and the rising number of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals being produced and consumed. Ideally, wastewater should go through four treatment steps: pre-treatment to remove very large solid materials primary treatment for the removal of smaller solids as well as grease, fats and oils secondary treatment for the disinfection of the wastewater tertiary treatment for the further polishing and more thorough removal of chemical compounds and microorganisms. In reality, there are few such tertiary treatment stages at any of Cape Town's currently inadequate wastewater treatment facilities because the regulations governing the quality of effluents released from waste water treatment plants are not strict enough. This allows poorly treated effluents to be discharged and many microbes, as well as chemical compounds and pharmaceutical pollutants, escape and are released directly into oceans via rivers. Read more: We found traces of drugs in a dam that supplies Nigeria's capital city There are also three marine outfall pipelines that pump untreated sewage only sieving out larger items directly from toilets and drains into the ocean via underwater pipelines. As our studies show, then, microbial and chemical contamination from faeces is now widespread around the Peninsula. The release of untreated sewage via marine outfalls must be prevented. Sewage water treatment plants should be upgraded to include tertiary stages. The regulations governing the quality of effluents need to be more stringent and must be monitored more carefully for chemical content. The ocean is part of Cape Town's identity. It is a lifeblood for many in the fisheries sector, which is a multi-billion rand industry . City officials need to act urgently to make sure not just that marine life can flourish but that human health isn't compromised by what's dumped into the oceans. Leslie Petrik receives funding from the National Research Foundation and the Water Research Commission of South Africa. She is affiliated with the University of the Western Cape. Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. By Leslie Petrik, Professor / Leader of the Environmental and Nanoscience Research Group, University of the Western Cape And Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye, Researcher, Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape Ukraine's Antonina Samoilova unfurled her country's flag on Mount Everest earlier this month as Nepal opened its mountains to foreign climbers and set up a new airport to boost its lifeline tourism business which went into deep freeze during the pandemic. Stand with Ukraine, read the blue-and-yellow state flag which the 33-year-old unfurled at the summit of the 29,030-foot Everest, drawing the attention of international climbers on the world's tallest peak. My main message for the climb was ... that Ukrainian people are still fighting for their freedom, for their future and we need help from all the sides, added Samoilova later in Kathmandu. She was the only Ukrainian who took on Mount Everest this year. Ukraine had pushed Nepal to ban climbers from Russia until the end of the war in Eastern Europe but Kathmandu says it will issue permits to anyone following government rules. We have not changed our policy, added Nepal Mountaineering Association President Santa Bir Lama as Nepal allowed climbers from 61 countries to scale 18 peaks to boost its money-spinning Himalayan tourism during the mainstay April-May spring season. Mountain rush As on 25 April, Nepal had handed out a total of 876 climbing permits including 306 special passes to scale Mount Everest during spring, marking an increase by 153 permits compared to the corresponding period last year. It raked in 3.3 million euros in royalty from the expedition teams in Nepal, the government's tourism department added. Men and women from Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and US were among those granted paid access to the Himalayas, officials said and added 14 of them were from Russia. In 2020, Everest was shut down because of the Coronavirus pandemic that killed 12,000 Nepalese and infected nearly one million of the country's 29 million people. Among those who sparkled this year was 52-year-old Nepalese guide Kami Rita Sherpa as he scaled Everest for the 26th time to break his own world record set last year for the most climbs of the world's most imposing peak. The important thing is that foreigners are now coming," added trek organiser Harikrishna Sharma in Kathmandu as he pointed to the number of Western footfalls in the tiny Himalayan nation wedged between India and China. Some 150,000 tourists visited Nepal in 2012 but in sharp contrast it logged 50,000 arrivals in just the first three weeks of 2022 as Kathmandu lifted curbs on travel, offered visas on arrival and told visitors not to worry about vaccine mandates. Spiritual flights Earlier this month, Nepal also flagged off its second international airport and said regular passenger flights would resume on 12 June from the brand new facility built close to Lumbini, the revered birthplace of Lord Buddha. The airport aims to provide connectivity to pilgrims mainly from countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India which are part of the so-called Buddhist Circuit. Once this airport comes into operation and airlines start operating flights, I hope the private sector here will take full advantage of it, said Nepal Association of Tour and Travel president Krishna Prasad Adhikari. Lumbini will now become a tourist hub, Adhikari added as India and Nepal unveiled a cross-border passenger train service and introduced an exclusive electronic wallet for Indian spenders in the erstwhile Hindu kingdom. Nepal's tourism industry, which employs 1.5 million people, accounts for three percent of the country's GDP but experts say the figure at normal times could be as high as 11 percent of the country's 31-billion-euro economy. The Police in the Ashanti Region have nabbed five armed robbery suspects after an intelligence-led operation on the Accra-Kumasi Highway. The armed men, Adams Awal, Ibrahim Hamidou alias Akwasi Anokye, Inusah Moro, Nasiru Salifu and Kwadwo Amponsah had robbed a gold dealer of some gold at gunpoint at Akyem Adukrom. They are currently in police custody. Items retrieved from them include one AK 47 assault rifle, two magazines loaded with 24 rounds of ammunition, one python revolver pistol, eight BB live cartridges, nine gold nuggets and an amount of GHS 9,077. A Toyota Land Cruiser with trade plate number DV 4142 F which was being used by the robbers has also been impounded. In the Savannah Region, the Police Command there is also pursuing three armed robbers who attacked and shot a commuter on the Bole-Bamboi Highway. Preliminary reports indicate that the victim was the driver of a Hyundai Accent saloon car with two other passengers on board, travelling from Accra to Jirapa. On reaching a section of the road between Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyiri communities, three armed men emerged from the bush and signalled the vehicle to stop. While slowing down, one of the robbers shot and killed the driver. The Police have mounted a manhunt to get the suspects arrested. Community members of Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyiri have been alerted to assist police with relevant information that could lead to the identity and arrest of the suspects. We will do whatever it takes to get these miscreants arrested and brought to justice, the police said in a statement. By Citi Newsroom Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has said the late American business magnate and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller Sr., who has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history, was a tither, who, as well as others of his ilk, was blown up, in terms of wealth, by God as a result of his devotion to tithing. The founder of Action Chapel International has, thus, asked Christians to give, in terms of tithing, according to their will and not feel manipulated to do so. Everybody, say the number 10 means lacking nothing and wanting nothing and that is what a tithe is all about, he taught the congregation in his second service at Spintex. The whole world, the Ghanaian preacher noted, lies in wickedness. This whole world is contaminated. And everything in this world is contaminated, he stressed, adding: God said: When you bring me the 10 per cent, you are doing a few things: Number one, youre making a statement that I am your source; that you are not your source; that God is; and number two: He [God] said The ten will sanctify the 90, so, as you come with your tithe, please dont give if you feel anybody is persuading or manipulating you; dont give. Its a willing thing; you do it because you love God and you do it because you understand the benefits of doing it, he pointed out. Its not because somebody said you should do it but you do it because you are convicted, you know that it is the right thing to do and if you do, come forward with your tithe and believe that God will sanctify the 90; and people like the Rockefellers and many [others]; if you have it [list of prominent tithers], you can put it on the screen. The first billionaire of the world was a tither. His name was Rockefeller and if you go down [pointing to the list on the screen], these are all tithers. So, dont tell me that somebody is manipulating you and somebody wants your 10 per cent; dont be fooled and dont listen to those ignorant friends of yours out there, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said. You can google all these names [pointing to the list of prominent and rich people on the screen], check them and youll see; all these people, they were tithers. They gave 10 per cent of their income to God and God blew them up, he noted. So, nobody is trying to manipulate you; we're just trying to help you and if you dont feel it, dont do it but those who do it will get the results, he urged. All these guys were tithers [pointing to the screen]. The first billionaire of the world was a tither and if you go down [the list], youll see them all, so, if you want to prove God, take a chance, he said while calling on the congregation to bring their tithes. Source: Classfmonline.com The Mankessim District Magistrate Court has remanded three accused persons, Isaac Osei, age 25, John Amissah, age 39, and Samuel Ampah, age 54, into prison custody for a month for allegedly lynching a neighbour suspected to be plantain thief at Mankessim Krofu in the Central Region. The incident, which took place on Saturday, May 7, occurred at a bush near the Mankessim Health Center. The deceased has been identified as Caleb Ocran, a resident at Mankessim Krofu. The deceased, who was tied to a palm tree and stoned to death by the suspects, was among a gang of four who were alleged to have been stealing goats and farm produce in the community. During their last robbery operation, three members of the gang escaped when being pursued by the suspects but luck eluded Caleb Ocran, who received instant justice upon apprehension. Police, however, retrieved one of the suspects phone from the crime scene. Upon switching on the phone, the suspects called claiming ownership of it, so they were asked to meet at an agreed location to collect it. On Wednesday, May 25, a team of community police and uniformed officers were deployed to effect their arrest when the suspects showed up to collect their missing phone. Upon police interrogation, the suspects confessed to have committed the crime, indicating that the deceased and his colleagues once stole their goat but attempts to catch them were not successful. They further told the Mankessim police that when they had the opportunity to catch the deceased during the failed robbery expedition, they were compelled to lynch him, adding that the plantain found at the scene was deliberately put there to mislead the public. The Court presided over by Her Worship Bernice Mawusi refused to admit the plea of the trio and remanded them into prison custody to reappear on July 1, 2022. 3news.com 30.05.2022 LISTEN Reverend George Gado, Resident Pastor of Action Chapel International, Tamale, has urged Christians to focus on God, follow Him at all times to lead them on the path to take every step. He encouraged Christians to stay true to God, not to be swayed by anything, not even money, and reminded them of God's supremacy to liberate them from all burdens they faced, urging them to endeavour to rise anytime they fell to sin by asking God for forgiveness in holiness, bearing in mind that God showed mercy to mankind. Reverend Gado who was delivering the sermon in Tamale on Sunday on the theme: Revive us Againsaid God did not consider Christians as mere beings, but His children, hence His compassionate nature to revive anyone, who fell short of His glory and reconciled them to himself. He said: You are so special in the eyes of God. He sees the light of His creation as special and will do anything for them to succeed." He also admonished Christians to live in perpetual worship of God. Referencing Mark Chapter Five, Rev Gado said: If demons can worship God, you can do more." GNA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In the hours and days following the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, authorities gave shifting and at times contradictory information of what happened and how they responded. The investigation of the massacre is ongoing, but much is already known about the nearly two hours that passed between when authorities say Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and when police radio traffic indicated that the 18-year-old gunman was dead and the siege was over. TIMELINE Sometime after 11 a.m. Ramos shoots his grandmother in the face, according to Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street from Ramos and his grandmother, heard a shot as he was in his yard. He runs to the front and sees Ramos speed away in a pickup truck and Ramos' grandmother coming toward him pleading for help. Covered in blood, She says, Berto, this is what he did. He shot me, according to Gallegos, whose wife calls the police to report the shooting. 11:27 a.m. Video shows a teacher, whom authorities haven't publicly identified, propping open an exterior door of the school, McCraw said. 11:28 a.m. Ramos crashes the pickup into a drainage ditch behind the school, McCraw said. Two men at a nearby funeral home hear the crash and run out to see what happened. They see Ramos jump out of the passenger side carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag full of ammunition. The men run and Ramos fires at them but doesn't hit them. One of the men falls but both make it back to the funeral home. The teacher who propped open the door meanwhile runs inside to grab her phone so she can call 911 and report the crash but as she comes back out while on her phone she realizes Ramos has a gun, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine. She removes the rock that had propped open the door and it closes behind her, but the door does not lock, Considine said. 11:30 a.m. 911 receives a call saying there was a crash and a man with a gun at the school, McCraw said. 11:31 a.m. Ramos begins shooting at the school from the school parking lot as police cars begin to arrive at the funeral home, McCraw said. Ramos then makes his way around the school building. The school district police officer who was working that day wasn't on campus around this time, contrary to previous reports, McCraw said May 27. The officer drives to the school immediately after getting the 911 call and approaches someone at the back of the school who he thought was the gunman. As the officer sped toward the man, who turned out to be a teacher, McCraw said the officer drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind" a vehicle. 11:32 a.m. Ramos fires multiple shots at the school and then makes his way toward the unlocked door, officials said. 11:33 a.m. Five minutes after crashing the pickup, Ramos enters the school and begins shooting into two adjoining classrooms, 111 and 112, McCraw said. He fires more than 100 rounds. 11:35 a.m. Three city police officers enter the school through the same door that Ramos used and are later followed by four other officers, McCraw said, putting a total of seven inside the building. Two officers receive grazing wounds from Ramos, McCraw said. 11:37 a.m. Gunfire continues, with 16 rounds being shot in total, McCraw said. Its unclear who fired the shots. 11:51 a.m. A police sergeant and other law enforcement begin to arrive, McCraw said. 12:03 p.m. A female (age unknown) calls 911 and whispers that shes in classroom 112, McCraw said. The call lasts 1 minute, 23 seconds. 12:03 p.m. Officers continue to enter the school, with as many as 19 officers in the hallway near the room where Ramos is holed up, McCraw said. 12:06 p.m. Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, posts on the district's Facebook page: All campuses are under a Lockdown Status. Uvalde CISD Parents: Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified." "Thank you for your cooperation!" 12:10 p.m. The female (age unknown) who called 911 at 12:03 p.m. calls 911 again and says there are multiple dead, McCraw said. She calls again at 12:13 p.m. and then again at 12:16 p.m., when she says there are eight to nine students alive. 12:10 p.m. The first group of deputy U.S. marshals from Del Rio arrive from nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away to assist the various other law enforcement officers already on scene, according to the Marshals Service. 12:15 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol tactical team members arrive with shields, McCraw said. 12:19 p.m. Another girl in room 111 calls 911 and ends the call when a fellow student tells her to hang up, McCraw said. 12:21 p.m. Ramos fires his gun again and officers believe hes at one of the door of one of the adjoining classrooms, McCraw said. Police move down the hallway. 12:21 p.m. Three shots can be heard during a 911 call, McCraw said. Around this time, police are stuck in the hallway because both classroom doors are locked and they must seek keys from a school employee. 12:36 p.m. A child calls 911 for 21 seconds. Around this time, a girl calls 911 and is told to stay on the line and stay very quiet, McCraw said. The girl says, He shot the door. 12:43 p.m. The girl urges the 911 dispatcher to please send the police now. 12:46 p.m. The girl says she can hear the police next door. 12:47 p.m. She again asks 911 to please send the police now. 12:50 p.m. Officers open the doors with keys from a school employee, enter the classroom and kill Ramos, McCraw said. Shots can be heard over the 911 call. 12:51 p.m. Officers can be heard moving children out of the room, McCraw said. 12:58 p.m. Law enforcement radio chatter says Ramos has been killed and the siege is over, said Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety. ___ For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting State Sen. Kel Seliger became the first Republican on Friday to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session for lawmakers in wake of the Uvalde school massacre. In a tweet, Seliger, the Amarillo Republican who represents Midland in the Texas Senate, said the Legislature should reconvene until we do SOMETHING The FBI or DPS BELIEVE will lessen the chance of the next Uvalde Tragedy. He offered no specific policy proposals. Seliger isnt seeking reelection this year, so he wont be back for the next legislative session that begins in January 2023. Only the governor can call lawmakers back before then. Abbotts office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In response to past mass shootings, Abbott, a Republican, has rejected Democrats calls for a special session. Instead, Abbott has convened roundtables and issued lengthy lists of policy recommendations, few of which have passed. Meanwhile, the GOP-led Legislature has steadily chipped away at gun restrictions. Last year, Texas became the biggest state in the country to do away with the license requirement to carry a handgun in public. After a gunman rampaged through Midland and Odessa in 2019, the governor said this wasnt going to happen again, Seliger said. But in the 87th Legislature, we didnt do anything from a legislative point of view to keep it from happening, he said. And its going to happen again, we know that, and what can we do to lessen the chance. State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, a Houston Democrat, has also pressed Abbott for a special session after the Uvalde tragedy to pass real gun reforms. He suggested the state expand gun-buyer background checks, raising the age of purchase for long guns to 21, and repealing open carry laws. School hardening measures enacted after the Santa Fe high school shooting didnt do anything to stop the gunman in Uvalde from killing 21 people, including 19 children, Johnson said. -- Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by the Chinese leadership, saying that it has derived its core from the principles of the United Nations. The GSI focuses on the notion of the "UN Charter, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states, multilateralism, peaceful resolution of disputes and equality of countries in terms of the security interests," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said here during a weekly media briefing on Friday. The GSI carries the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, Ahmad said, adding that it advocates cooperative and synergy-driven approaches, replacing the zero-sum world war mindset of maximization of security through power contestation and arms race. It is a timely call to action in the face of contemporary global realities where the international community encounters traditional and non-traditional threats that necessitate holistic approaches towards international and regional security, he said. The spokesperson noted that the GSI recognizes the need for international partnerships to address the common challenges of climate change, public health, water, energy and food security. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Darmen Appadoo, le President SOS PAPA, a ecrit a Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, sur le sujet de lInternational Mens Day qui est celebre le 19 novembre annuellement. Mrs. Kalpana Koonjoo-Shah Minister of Gender Equality and family welfare Dear Madam Re: International Mens Day In view of the forthcoming International Womens Day which your ministry will celebrate pompously as every year, we all need to recognized the immense contribution by women in all sectors of our society and how they rightly deserved a hearty celebration. A random example amongst others which ought to be taken into consideration is that every government in office make it a must in every budget speech to propose several measures and incentives like special entrepreneurship programme dedicated to women and recently your government has proposed free hygienic pad a very laudable incentive. All this we must agree fully for the betterment of our dear mothers and sisters. While we highly appreciate the huge importance given to that particular day and where often celebrities and famous women are being invited consequently, we find it a must to draw your attention to the following : 1. Men also are victims of inequalities, discrimination and also suffer prejudice like any other human being. 2. Men contributed selflessly to the advancement of our society, some various local leaders very often taken as example by our local politician are the Bissoondoyal brothers Pandit Sahadeo and internationally Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela amongst many others. 3. In the Actual Russian /Ukraine war a large majority of men of different age and categories are enrolling to fight and defend and sacrifice for their motherland. 4. In our actual parliament a majority of men are working together for the protection and uplifting of women of this country. Every 19th November has been declared Mens International Day to uplift and promote mens conditions but here curiously your ministry has never mention or give its importance to that particular day we feel that its your duty as Gender minister to at least educate youngsters in an unbiased way. In the past the Ministry was called Ministry of Women and was functioning mainly for women causes but SOS PAPA made a proposal so that the Ministry name be changed to that of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family welfare. This has been approved by the then Government in Power but we find that only the name has been changed but the Ministry is still acting with discrimination towards Men. Lastly as modern and resourceful Gender Minister we make a special solemn appeal to you that your ministry in the future propose an unbiased event and programme to give its right credit to this particular day. We would much appreciate if you could provide us your feedback on this appeal. Kindly note also that we feel disappointed that our correspondence sent to you in 2020 regarding fathers visitation rights during confinement have never been acknowledged nor answered by you. Be the change dear Honorable minister for our challenging and beautiful country. Best regards Mr Darmen Appadoo President SOS PAPA U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Or., delivers remarks alongside Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wi., left, on behalf of No Labels, a group of Republican and Democrat congressmen calling for a solution to end the U.S. government shut down on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Oct. 10, 2013. Falls pose a major risk to people with heart problems, and health experts need to do more to understand and prevent the danger, a new report says. "Falls are very common," said Dr. Sarah Goodlin, senior author of the scientific statement from the American Heart Association. They are associated with serious injuries, and just the fear of falling can limit a person's quality of life. "And falls are particularly common in adults with cardiovascular disease," said Goodlin, medical director of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the VA Portland Health Care System in Oregon. "Yet they're very underrecognized." The report, published Thursday in the AHA journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, said basic information is lacking on how often and why people with heart disease fall, as well as on how severely they are injured. One 2018 study published in that same Circulation journal estimated that 60% faced a moderate to high risk of falling. That's based on records from 2,456 people hospitalized with heart disease in one Minnesota county. Overall, the potential harm from falls is clear, said report co-author Stephanie Turrise, a nurse-scientist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year. About 3 million of those who fall will end up in an emergency room for treatment, and more than 32,000 will die. "Falls, especially in older adults, can be absolutely devastating," Turrise said. Problems can persist even after someone has recovered and becomes afraid of falling again, Goodlin said. That can start a vicious cycle where older adults with cardiovascular problems become less active and more prone to problems, Turrise said. "To keep them healthy, they've got to be active." Heart problems can lead to falls both directly and indirectly. A heart rhythm problem, for example, might cause blood pressure to dip, which could cause someone to lose consciousness. Fall risks also could be higher in someone with diabetes, who might have foot numbness from neuropathy, or in someone recovering from a stroke, who might have weakness on one side, Turrise said. The report says people with heart failure, a condition in which the heart and circulation do not circulate blood adequately, and irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias might be at higher risk of falling than those without these conditions. Medications to treat cardiovascular conditions can cause side effects such as dizziness, blurred vision, confusion or other problems, Turrise said. "I can't tell you how many older adults are on diuretics for heart failure or for blood pressure management," she said, "and it increases their urinary frequency, and they get in such a hurry to make it to the bathroom that they fall." Diuretics also can cause the person's blood pressure to drop when they stand, making them lightheaded, Goodlin said. Medical teams need to take note, Turrise said. "We need to be aware, and we need to act." People can be embarrassed to admit they fell, Goodlin said. So, a "really simple" first step for a health care team would be simply asking patients about falls. Health care professionals should also watch patients walk, and if they seem off balance, consider sending them to a physical therapist for a more in-depth evaluation. "One of the fundamental things that we advocate is checking blood pressure when the person has been standing for three minutes," Goodlin said. That can alert a care team to health problems or medications that might be causing worrisome dips. Teams also need to think holistically, she said. A cardiologist who rules out a heart-related cause for a fall shouldn't dismiss the problem, because "it's still important to sort out why the person fell and to intervene to try to prevent the next fall." For patients, Goodlin said, the most important thing is to be honest with their doctors and nurses, even if they are embarrassed to bring it up, and to say they have fallen or that they're afraid of falling when they walk. "There are things that can be done to improve their situation," she said. "Certain exercises can improve balance and safety, so working with a physical therapist can help." It's essential for people who are given assistive devices to use them, Goodlin said. Some people don't want to use a cane or a walker because they think it makes them look old. "You look a whole lot older in a hospital bed with a hip fracture than you look being safe," she reminds her patients. Turrise said people also can ask an expert, such as their doctor or pharmacist, to review their medications to see what might be contributing to falls. More research could lead to better ways to protect and treat people, the report says. Meanwhile, "there's really a partnership between adults who have cardiovascular disease and their doctors and nurses," Goodlin said. "Adults need to feel comfortable talking to doctors and nurses about falls and safety." BALTIMORE (AP) A court settlement calls for the city of Baltimore to pay $300,000 to resolve claims that police officers planted drugs on a rapper known as Young Moose. The Baltimore Sun reports that the citys spending board is poised to approve the settlement payment at a meeting next week. Lawyers for the city reached the agreement with Kevron Evans on May 10, but city officials will vote Wednesday on whether to approve it. The city already has paid more than $10 million to settle lawsuits against officers who served on a task force notorious for its members corruption. Evans sued several Baltimore police officers, including a former detective, Daniel Hersl, who served on the infamous Gun Trace Task Force. Hersl is serving 18 years in federal prison after being convicted in 2018 of charges stemming from a corruption investigation of the task force. He was accused of stealing money before and after he joined the task force. Evans lawsuit accuses officers of applying for warrants based on false allegations and illegally arresting him. The Sun said it couldnt reach lawyers for Evans or Hersl for comment on Friday, Evans said the officers persistent harassment robbed him of lucrative career opportunities and tarnished his reputation. Evans was arrested right before he was supposed to go on stage for a performance at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosbys office vacated Evans conviction in 2020 during the review of hundreds of cases involving the convicted and disgraced Gun Trace Task Force officers. Actor Josh Charles portrays Hersl in the HBO series We Own This City, which is adapted from a book written by former Sun reporter Justin Fenton. FILE - Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary, California Health and Human Services, left, inoculates California Gov. Gavin Newsom with the new one-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, Thursday, April 1, 2021. Newsom announced Saturday, May 28, 2022, afternoon in a tweet that he tested positive for COVID-19. He says he is experiencing mild symptoms. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) View Photo SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, a day after a high-profile meeting with the visiting prime minister of New Zealand. Newsom has mild symptoms and will remain in isolation at least through Thursday and until he tests negative, his office said in a statement. The Democratic governor plans to work remotely during that time. His office said Newsom, 54, will begin a five-day regimen of the Paxlovid antiviral. The governors office said it has notified the delegation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The two leaders met in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park on Friday to announce a climate change partnership. Ardern tested positive for the virus earlier in May. The governors office said it does not know how Newsom contracted the virus. He is vaccinated and received his second booster shot this month. Other public officials have recently announced testing positive for the virus, including Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday and Vice President Kamala Harris last month. Erdogan: Turkeys Syria operation could happen suddenly View Photo ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. Like I always say, well come down on them suddenly one night. And we must, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his plane following his Saturday visit to Azerbaijan, according to daily Hurriyet newspaper and other media. Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. That conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, has killed tens of thousands of people. However, the YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations. Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same. The YPG and its affiliated political party have controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad withdrew in 2012. All coalition forces, leading with the U.S., have provided these terror groups a serious amount of weapons, vehicles, tools, ammunition and they continue to do so. The U.S. has given them thousands of trucks, Erdogan said. He warned that Turkey wouldnt need anyones permission to fight terror. If the U.S. is not fulfilling its duty in combating terror, what will we do? We will take care of ourselves, he declared. While acknowledging Turkeys security concerns, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has voiced concerns about Turkeys plans, saying a new offensive could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Ankara has launched four cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and controls some territories in the north with the goal of pushing away the YPG and establishing a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep safe zone where Erdogan hopes to voluntarily return Syrian refugees. In 2019, an incursion into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their alleged support for the Kurdish groups. Turkey has stepped up military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where they are based. The PKK is considered a terror group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Just as we are conducting operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and PKKs offspring, the same situation applies even more to Syria and is much more important, Erdogan said. By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) A mother and her three young children were shot to death and the suspected gunman her husband has been hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head, a sheriff in central Michigan said Saturday. Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller said deputies responding to reports of shots fired found the mother, children and wounded man Friday afternoon in a home near Big Rapids in Austin Township, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. Describing the shooting as heartbreaking, Miller said the children were all under the age of 10. He did not release their names. There are no words that can explain what happened, Miller told MLive.com. Miller said evidence suggests the womans husband was responsible for the deaths. He is being treated at an Ann Arbor hospital. The killings are under investigation. Were not exactly sure what the circumstances were, Miller said. Its tragic by all accounts. The person who alerted authorities was outside the home when deputies arrived and was not shot, he said. The local school district has been notified and is expected to have crisis counseling available, Miller said. We have a very tight-knit community in Mecosta, Miller said. Theres no better place Id rather raise my kids at. The shootings have taken an emotional toll, he said. With our first-responders, almost everyone at the scene had children of their own. I can tell you they took it very hard, Miller said. We have to be there to counsel and comfort our community, he said. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Two people have died and three others are missing after two motorboats collided Saturday on a river in coastal Georgia at the start of the long holiday weekend, authorities said. At least four other passengers suffered minor injuries and one other person was reported airlifted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter for medical attention. The condition of that person wasnt immediately disclosed. Authorities told The Savannah Morning News that one of the boats was carrying six people and the other had three aboard when they collided around 10:30 am on the Wilmington River. A Chatham Emergency Services spokesperson who released details of the collision said a search was underway Saturday afternoon for the missing. Chatham County Police Department officials closed a stretch of the river to investigate and search for the missing. The names of those involved were not immediately made public and specifics of the crash and search operation were not disclosed. The incident is the second involving a boat and serious injuries on the Wilmington River this month. A local businessman was killed May 5 when a boat he was aboard struck an unlit channel marker near the Savannah Yacht Club and he was struck on the head by an unknown object, authorities said. Saturday was the start of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest of the year for recreational boaters. TIMELINE: Texas elementary school shooting, minute by minute View Photo In the hours and days following the fatal shooting of 19 children and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, authorities gave shifting and at times contradictory information of what happened and how they responded. The investigation of the massacre is ongoing, but much is already known about the nearly two hours that passed between when authorities say Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and when police radio traffic indicated that the 18-year-old gunman was dead and the siege was over. TIMELINE Sometime after 11 a.m. Ramos shoots his grandmother in the face, according to Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street from Ramos and his grandmother, heard a shot as he was in his yard. He runs to the front and sees Ramos speed away in a pickup truck and Ramos grandmother coming toward him pleading for help. Covered in blood, She says, Berto, this is what he did. He shot me, according to Gallegos, whose wife calls the police to report the shooting. 11:27 a.m. Video shows a teacher, whom authorities havent publicly identified, propping open an exterior door of the school, McCraw said. 11:28 a.m. Ramos crashes the pickup into a drainage ditch behind the school, McCraw said. Two men at a nearby funeral home hear the crash and run out to see what happened. They see Ramos jump out of the passenger side carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag full of ammunition. The men run and Ramos fires at them but doesnt hit them. One of the men falls but both make it back to the funeral home. The teacher who propped open the door meanwhile runs inside to grab her phone so she can call 911 and report the crash but as she comes back out while on her phone she realizes Ramos has a gun, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine. She removes the rock that had propped open the door and it closes behind her, but the door does not lock, Considine said. 11:30 a.m. 911 receives a call saying there was a crash and a man with a gun at the school, McCraw said. 11:31 a.m. Ramos begins shooting at the school from the school parking lot as police cars begin to arrive at the funeral home, McCraw said. Ramos then makes his way around the school building. The school district police officer who was working that day wasnt on campus around this time, contrary to previous reports, McCraw said May 27. The officer drives to the school immediately after getting the 911 call and approaches someone at the back of the school who he thought was the gunman. As the officer sped toward the man, who turned out to be a teacher, McCraw said the officer drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind a vehicle. 11:32 a.m. Ramos fires multiple shots at the school and then makes his way toward the unlocked door, officials said. 11:33 a.m. Five minutes after crashing the pickup, Ramos enters the school and begins shooting into two adjoining classrooms, 111 and 112, McCraw said. He fires more than 100 rounds. 11:35 a.m. Three city police officers enter the school through the same door that Ramos used and are later followed by four other officers, McCraw said, putting a total of seven inside the building. Two officers receive grazing wounds from Ramos, McCraw said. 11:37 a.m. Gunfire continues, with 16 rounds being shot in total, McCraw said. Its unclear who fired the shots. 11:51 a.m. A police sergeant and other law enforcement begin to arrive, McCraw said. 12:03 p.m. A female (age unknown) calls 911 and whispers that shes in classroom 112, McCraw said. The call lasts 1 minute, 23 seconds. 12:03 p.m. Officers continue to enter the school, with as many as 19 officers in the hallway near the room where Ramos is holed up, McCraw said. 12:06 p.m. Anne Marie Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, posts on the districts Facebook page: All campuses are under a Lockdown Status. Uvalde CISD Parents: Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings. The buildings are secure in a Lockdown Status. Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus. As soon as the Lockdown Status is lifted you will be notified. Thank you for your cooperation! 12:10 p.m. The female (age unknown) who called 911 at 12:03 p.m. calls 911 again and says there are multiple dead, McCraw said. She calls again at 12:13 p.m. and then again at 12:16 p.m., when she says there are eight to nine students alive. 12:10 p.m. The first group of deputy U.S. marshals from Del Rio arrive from nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away to assist the various other law enforcement officers already on scene, according to the Marshals Service. 12:15 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol tactical team members arrive with shields, McCraw said. 12:19 p.m. Another girl in room 111 calls 911 and ends the call when a fellow student tells her to hang up, McCraw said. 12:21 p.m. Ramos fires his gun again and officers believe hes at one of the door of one of the adjoining classrooms, McCraw said. Police move down the hallway. 12:21 p.m. Three shots can be heard during a 911 call, McCraw said. Around this time, police are stuck in the hallway because both classroom doors are locked and they must seek keys from a school employee. 12:36 p.m. A child calls 911 for 21 seconds. Around this time, a girl calls 911 and is told to stay on the line and stay very quiet, McCraw said. The girl says, He shot the door. 12:43 p.m. The girl urges the 911 dispatcher to please send the police now. 12:46 p.m. The girl says she can hear the police next door. 12:47 p.m. She again asks 911 to please send the police now. 12:50 p.m. Officers open the doors with keys from a school employee, enter the classroom and kill Ramos, McCraw said. Shots can be heard over the 911 call. 12:51 p.m. Officers can be heard moving children out of the room, McCraw said. 12:58 p.m. Law enforcement radio chatter says Ramos has been killed and the siege is over, said Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety. ___ For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting By JAKE BLEIBERG and SEAN MURPHY MEXICO CITY (AP) A group of U.S. state legislators from Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and North Carolina toured Mexico and said this week they are impressed by efforts to expand abortion access south of the border. The legislators visited the countrys three largest cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey to meet with activists and Mexican legislators. They praised the efforts of Mexican activists to guarantee access for women who want an abortion, even those from U.S. states like Texas. It is incredibly touching to see people opening their homes, opening their hearts, spending time and effort helping American women, Texas women predominantly for now, access care, said Texas state Rep. Erin Zwiener There is anecdotal evidence that women from Texas are crossing into Mexico to obtain abortion pills, and some Mexican activists want to help them. Under a 2021 law, abortions in Texas are prohibited once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before some women know theyre pregnant. Enforcement is left up to private citizens who are deputized to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers, as well as others who help a woman obtain an abortion in Texas. Zwiener said about 45% of Texas women who obtained abortion outside the state between September and December went to neighboring Oklahoma. But last week, Oklahoma lawmakers passed legislation banning abortion at conception, the strictest in the nation. Zwiener said she expects that might send Texas women to New Mexico or Louisiana. Rebeca Ramos, director of the Mexican rights group Gire, said: One of the priorities in both countries is to guarantee safe access to abortion for those who need them, in places with legal restrictions. Mexicos Supreme Court ruled last year that it was unconstitutional to punish abortion. As Mexicos highest court, its ruling bars all jurisdictions from charging a woman with a crime for terminating a pregnancy. Statutes outlawing abortion are still on the books in most of Mexicos 32 states, however, and nongovernmental organizations that have long pushed for decriminalization are pressing state legislatures to reform them. Abortion was already readily available in Mexico City and some states. . Uvalde tells Biden to do something; he pledges we will View Photo UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the childrens photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends, he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important. As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden answered, We will, as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. And we are committed to turning this pain into action, he said. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahna Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washingtons sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABCs This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ This story was first published on May 30, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022 to correct the spelling of one of the first name of one of the shooting victims. She is Eliahna Torres, not Eliahana Torres. By ZEKE MILLER and ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) A California school district has been unable to identify who subjected a Black assistant principal to racist graffiti and messages on social media even after a six-month investigation in which 45 witnesses were interviewed. Elysse Versher, assistant principal at the West Campus High School in Sacramento, California, told The Sacramento Bee last week that she planned to resign. She said the Sacramento City Unified School District failed to protect her from the harassment and does not take incidents of racism and hate crimes seriously, the newspaper reported Saturday. Versher was made aware of social media posts by students last November, calling her racial slurs and criticizing her enforcement of school dress codes. She found racist graffiti painted on a wall across from her parking spot. West Campus is a public college prep school for academic achievers. The schools dress code states that students cannot wear clothing that promotes violence, drugs or alcohol or hate speech. Students cannot wear helmets or hoods that obscure the face unless required by the students religious practices. Versher said back in November that she has been disrespected and even threatened by parents of non-Black students and that non-Black students do not respect her authority. They do not respect me as a human being, she said. District officials expressed frustration over the results of their investigation, and said Sacramento police would continue to investigate. No one is satisfied with this outcome. Someone knows who committed this crime, said Mark Harris, the districts diversity, equity, and inclusion monitor. San Diego Bishop McElroy named by Pope Francis as a cardinal View Photo Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, one of Pope Francis ideological allies who has often sparred with more conservative U.S. bishops, was named by the pope on Sunday as one of 21 new cardinals. The San Diego diocese said McElroy will be installed by Pope Francis on August 27 at St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Among his notable stances, McElroy, 68, has been one of a minority of U.S. bishops harshly criticizing the campaign to exclude Catholic politicians who support abortion rights from Communion. It will bring tremendously destructive consequences, McElroy wrote in May 2021. The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare. This must not happen. In selecting McElroy, Francis passed over the higher-ranking archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone. Earlier this month, Cordileone said he will no longer allow U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion because of her support for abortion rights. McElroy, in a statement, said he was stunned and deeply surprised by the news of his appointment. My prayer is that in this ministry I might be of additional service to the God who has graced me on so many levels in my life, he said. And I pray also that I can assist the Holy Father in his pastoral renewal of the Church. Cordileone issued a brief statement noting that McElroy is a native San Franciscan and offering congratulations on the appointment. The statement made no mention of the two clerics differences. Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who has worked with McElroy for many years, also offered congratulations adding that the new cardinal will serve the global Church well. By naming Bishop Robert McElroy as a cardinal, Pope Francis has shown his pastoral care for the Church in the United States, Gomez said in a written statement. McElroy received a bachelors degree in history from Harvard in 1975 and a masters in history from Stanford in 1976. He studied at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California, and in 1985 received a theology degree at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He obtained a doctorate in moral theology at the Gregorian University in Rome the following year and a Ph.D in political science at Stanford in 1989. He was ordained a priest in 1980 and assigned to the San Francisco diocese, where he served in a parish before becoming personal secretary to Archbishop John Quinn. Other California parish assignments included Redwood City and San Mateo. He became an auxiliary bishop in San Francisco in 2010. In 2015, early in Francis pontificate, he was named bishop of San Diego. Over recent years, McElroy has been among the relatively few U.S. bishops who questioned why the bishops conference insisted on identifying abortion as its preeminent priority. He has questioned why greater prominence was not given to issues such as racism, poverty, immigration and climate change. The death toll from abortion is more immediate, but the long-term death toll from unchecked climate change is larger and threatens the very future of humanity, he said in a speech in 2020. Last year, he was among a small group of bishops signing a statement expressing support for LGBT youth and denouncing the bullying often directed at them. The bishops statement said LGBT youth attempt suicide at much higher rates, are often homeless because of families who reject them and are the target of violent acts at alarming rates. We take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you, it read. Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side. Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the Catholic church, hailed McElroys appointment. He represents the kind of prelate our church needs, one who will stretch out a hand, not a fist, to the LGBTQ community, DeBernardo said. As an elector of future popes, McElroy can play a role in making sure that the next papacy will continue in the welcoming spirit of Pope Francis. The Diocese of San Diego runs the length of Californias border with Mexico and serves more than 1.3 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties. It includes 98 parishes, 49 elementary and secondary schools, and, through Catholic Charities of the Diocese of San Diego, various social service and family support organizations throughout the region. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. By DAVID CRARY Associated Press He may only be in middle school, but with the amount of work actor and San Antonio native Antonio Raul Corbo has done in his young career, some might say he was already a veteran in the industry. Since starting his professional career in 2014 at the age of 5, Corbo, who attended St. Gregory Catholic School and Lamar Elementary before moving to Los Angeles, has kept busy in Hollywood, especially as a voice actor. Hes lent his voice to several animated projects including work on Cartoon Networks We Bare Bears, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and Frozen II. In 2020, Corbo landed his biggest voice role ever when he played a kid version of SpongeBob SquarePants in the animated movie sequel The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Now, Corbo has done something hes never done before, dubbing a foreign-language animated movie in English. In the Japanese anime Poupelle of Chimney Town, Corbo plays Lubicchi, a young boy who teams up with a man made of garbage to go on an adventure past the smoke-filled sky of their small town and toward the stars. Along with Corbo, other actors dubbing the English version include Tony Hale (Toy Story 3), Stephen Root (Finding Nemo), and Helena Bonham Carter (Corpse Bride). Shout Factory Usually, you just go in and say your lines and leave, Corbo, 12, told MySA during a recent interview. With this, I had to listen to the original inflection, match the characters lips and put my own spin on things. So, it was a bit of a challenge. Whats also going to be a challenge for Corbo moving forward is booking roles that call for him to voice young characters. Now that his voice has deepened as hes gotten older, Corbo hopes he has a couple more years before he has to start auditioning for teenage characters. Im still getting auditions for young kids, but occasionally Ill get an audition for a 14-year-old, Corbo said. Im hoping I can get a perfect balance of both, so I can keep doing both. What Corbo also wants to do as an actor is expand into different genres. Along with animated films, he has starred in live-action TV series mostly comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the short-lived sitcom Broke. He switched gears this year when he starred in two episodes of the biker drama Mayans M.C. He said he would like to explore darker elements in more projects but admitted that hed have to ask [his] mom if he could audition for something like an R-rated movie. Shout Factory "[Chimney Town] captured both sides of what I want to do when it comes to comedy and drama, he said. My mom cried during the movie three times. Im hoping it has that same impact on other people. I poured my heart and soul into this role. As he thinks more about his future, Corbo imagines his career taking him down the same path as the young actors from Netflixs Stranger Things. Later, hed like to emulate the career of a specific Hollywood A-lister. Hopefully, I can end up like Hugh Jackman, he said. Hes been my favorite actor since I was 3. Poupelle of Chimney Town is now available on VOD and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 31. The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus is urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session to consider a variety of gun restrictions and safety measures in the wake of a mass school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two adults dead this week. In a letter released Saturday morning, all 13 Senate Democrats demanded lawmakers pass legislation that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21-years-old. The Uvalde gunman was 18 years old and had purchased two AR-style rifles which he used in the attack. The caucus is also calling for universal background checks for all firearm sales, red flag laws that allow a judge to temporarily remove firearms from people who are considered an imminent threat to themselves or others, a cooling off period for the purchase of a firearm and regulations on high capacity magazines for citizens. Texas has suffered more mass shootings over the past decade than any other state. In Sutherland Springs, 26 people died. At Santa Fe High School, 10 people died. In El Paso, 23 people died at a Walmart. Seven people died in Midland-Odessa, the leader reads. After each of these mass killings, you have held press conferences and roundtables promising things would change. After the slaughter of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, those broken promises have never rung more hollow. The time to take real action is now. Such laws are unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has a track record of favoring legislation that loosens gun restrictions. Only the governor has the power to call lawmakers back into session for emergency work. Asked about a special session at a Friday press conference in Uvalde, Abbott said all options are on the table adding that he believed laws would ultimately be passed to address this weeks horrors. However, he suggested laws would be more tailored toward addressing mental health, rather than gun control. You can expect robust discussion and my hope is laws are passed, that I will sign, addressing health care in this state, he said, That status quo is unacceptable. This crime is unacceptable. Were not going to be here and do nothing about it. He resisted the idea of increasing the age to purchase a firearm, saying that since Texas became a state, 18-year-olds have been able to buy a gun. He also dismissed universal background checks saying existing background check policies did not prevent the Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs shootings, which both happened while he has been in office, If everyone wants to seize upon a particular strategy and say thats the golden strategy right there, look at what happened in the Santa Fe shooting, he said. A background check had no relevance because the shooter took the gun from his parentsAnyone who suggests we should focus on background checks as opposed to mental health, I suggest is mistaken. Since the massacre at Robb Elementary School, the governors comments about potential solutions have centered around increasing mental health services, rather than restricting access to firearms. But in the letter, Senate Democrats criticized the governor for blaming a broken mental health care system that you and other state leaders continue to underfund severely. We need evidence-based, common sense gun safety laws. Without a doubt, if at least some of the measures noted above had been passed since 2018, then many lives could have been saved, the caucus wrote. Abbotts office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the letter. After the Santa Fe school shooting in 2018, Abbott released a variety of recommendations to address school safety, including a call to the Legislature to consider a red flag law. At the time, Abbott claimed in his plan to improve school safety that similar protective orders restricting gun possession could have prevented the mass shootings in Sutherland Springs, southeast of San Antonio, and Parkland, Florida. But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and gun rights activists pushed back and the proposal died. By the end of the 2019 legislative session Abbott signed a package of school safety measures that primarily focused on expanding mental health resources and hardening school buildings. He expanded the number of school staff who could have a firearm on school grounds. When he signed that legislation at the end of the 2019 session, reporters asked if he still supported a red flag law. Abbott said such a measure wasnt necessary in Texas right now. On Friday, Roland Gutierrez, the Democratic state senator who represents Uvalde, interrupted Abbotts press conference by walking to the front of the auditorium and urged the governor to bring lawmakers back for three weeks. "We have to do something, man, he said to Abbott, the second Democratic politician to interrupt a press conference this week. "Just call us back. In the hours after the shooting on Tuesday, Gutierrez told the Texas Tribune that the state needed to make it more difficult to obtain a firearm, especially the gun used by the shooter, an AR-15, which he called a weapon of mass destruction. There's not a hunter in Texas that utilizes these kinds of weapons, he said. And so I'm not saying let's take those kinds of weapons away, I'm saying that we should have some greater accessibility restrictions When you've got an 18 year old kid getting his hands on this kind of weaponry, it just makes no sense to me. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war both real fog and stage fog in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked. And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders. Yves P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies: Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please dont do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them. * * * What Was the Wiretap? The Nation The myth of the white male scientific genius and why its time is up New Statesman Better than the headline. Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Shark? NYT Cartoons, Sharks and the Place of Beauty in Conservation The Wire The sea gypsies who live with whale sharks BBC THE FUTURE OF BIRTH CONTROL Neo Life More Fun Than Fun: Strife in the Harmonious World of Honey Bees The Wire Why Did It Take 35 Years for the World To Get a Malaria Vaccine? The Wire COLLABORATING ON CRIME IN THE 14TH CENTURY Crime Reads The dark secret behind those cute AI-generated animal images MIT Technology Review The story of Gertrude Emerson, the globe-trotting adventurer who made India her home Scroll In Minnesota, giant fish statues along roadsides are a signal to pull over and start casting Star Tribune (chuck l) The Best Road Trip in Each State The Discoverer Hushed-up WWII ship attack claimed the lives of nine Star Tribune (chuck l) #COVID-19 New Not-So-Cold War Our official medias overnight u-turn on Ukraine war reporting must be confusing for people whove relied on them to understand the war. For the rest of us, you have to approach major Angloid media like a Kremlinologist make any sense of it.https://t.co/NANfzTOAfd pic.twitter.com/OiVjKxdkE5 Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) May 29, 2022 Gunz Germany has been cash-only for the past few days. https://t.co/whNGydoqwO sp (@LambdaCube) May 28, 2022 Big Brother IS Watching You Watch In private, vulnerable Senate Dems back off tech bill Politico Beverly Gologorsky, Not in Our Name Tom Dispatch chuck l: Still, our George wasnt wrong in that slip/description of Putin and himself, was he? In fact, he helped remind us, when it comes to invasions and criminal wars, how much the U.S. has in common with Putins Russia. Sports Desk Supply Chain Shortages India Class Warfare Climate Change Train crash in Pennsylvania spills oil product along Allegheny River Independent re Silc: our culture demands it. China? Ok great well Ill be thinking about this for weeks pic.twitter.com/aJizYm13JX Huw Lemmey (@huwlemmey) May 28, 2022 Antidote du Jour (via); See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. (Natural News) Genetically engineered food is heavily restricted in the United Kingdom, and for good reason. But a new bill being pushed in Parliament right now could sidestep these restrictions using the Ukraine conflict as an excuse. Gene-edited crops differ from standard genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in that their own DNA code is modified as opposed to be spliced with foreign DNA. And British politicians are attempting to exploit this by claiming that gene-edited crops are excluded from their countrys strict GMO regulations. Entitled the Genetic Technology bill, the legislation was first introduced on Wednesday. It is described by the UKs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as a way to cut red tape and support the development of innovative tech to grow more resistant, more nutritious and more productive crops. These precision technologies allow us to speed up the breeding of plants that have natural resistance to diseases and better use of soil nutrients so we can have higher yields with fewer pesticides and fertilizers, added Environment Secretary George Eustice, who is heavily pushing the bill. Outside the European Union (EU), we are free to follow the science. (Related: Modern science is also trying to gene-edit animals, but the results so far are dismal.) Gene editing is genetic modification by a different name, says Friends of the Earth What Eustice means by this, of course, is that the EU, unlike Great Britain, wants nothing to do with GMOs of any kind, gene-edited or otherwise. Eustice, however, wants his country to fully embrace gene editing technology as the new normal for food. In order to overcome the supply challenges being blamed on the war situation in Eastern Europe, gene-edited food crops must be planted in the ground immediately, we are told. According to a spokesperson from Friends of the Earth, the claim that gene editing is somehow different from genetic modification is a misnomer. A spokesperson from the advocacy group says that gene editing is just genetic modification by a different name. It still focuses on altering the genetic code of plants and animals to deal with the problems caused by poor soils, the over-use of pesticides and intensive farming, the spokesperson added. Gideon Henderson, on the other hand, who is called a scientific adviser for the British government, claimed that gene editing is something different from genetic engineering that will magically produce much more food much more quickly. We anticipate [the bill] will enable precision-bred crops to navigate the regulatory system much more quickly, in something like one year compared with approximately 10 years under the present regime, Henderson said. The EU currently defines gene-edited foods as GMO foods. They are one and the same, according to EU law. The same is technically true of Great Britain, which is why this new legislation is being pushed. If passed, the new law would only impact England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would still have their own restrictions in place, which would likely result in new trade disputes. The Scottish government has already indicated that it stands against the new bill. However, Eustice claims that neither country has the authority to prohibit the sale of gene-edited crops should it pass. Though the legislation, if passed, will initially scale back restrictions on crops, it also contains provisions for livestock, as gene-editing can be used to breed animals more resilient to disease and other ailments, reported Infowars. The practice has been more controversial for animals due to fears it could result in suffering; however, the new bill will allow lawmakers to similarly reduce red tape if they are satisfied it contains sufficient safeguards. The latest news about the push to genetically reengineer the entire world can be found at GMO.news. Sources include: Infowars.com NaturalNews.com The case for deadnaming the man who killed female swimmers dreams (Natural News) (Article by Helen Roy republished from AmericanMind.org) Theres a particular stone toss comic strip that crystallizes everything Im about to say in a single image. In the most general sense, the meme is about Cthulhu moving left. Liberal entropy can be considered a fact of life in American politicsas reliable as inertia, as predictable as gravity. Over time, leftists get their way. More particularly, however, the meme is about the particular form of conservative weakness that enables the drift. In other words, how heritage America loses big by conceding small. Youll know exactly how we got here by how every mainstream media outlet, even the ones that feign rage, has reported on the man who, pretending to be a woman, has secured a position in the NCAA Womens swimming finals this year. That mans name is William Thomas. He was ranked in the mid-500s when he competed as a manafter being recruited as a man to swim for the University of Pennsylvania. Naturally now, he ranks first among women. But even as, say, Fox News (with the exception of Tucker Carlson), makes noise in opposition to the unfairness of it all, even as they opine the physiological differences between men and women, they call him Lia Thomas. They call him her. They bring on Bruce Jenner and call him Caitlyn and nod enthusiastically as he, too, says this is a bridge too far. If sex differences matter, they matter. If they dont, they dont. Actions speak louder than words: by conforming to the delusion of transgenderism by any degree, the issue is lost completely. The conservative fantasy operates as the precise inverse of the transgender fantasy. Where the transgender person seeks to fuse by force his inner and outer life, to eradicate the distinction between subjective perception and objective reality, to force the world to conform to his imagination, the conservative seeks to defuse. The conservative clings to his private sentiments, imagining that so long as the exterior world leaves him alone, he is free. Where the conservative has no will to exert himself over his environment, the tranny has no qualms. He who is willing will win. As distasteful as it may sound, in this situation, he who behaves as master becomes master; he who behaves as a slave becomes a slave. Might may not make right, but it wins swim matches, especially when no might is exerted in opposition. What American conservatives imagine to be their own valiant opposition to transgenderism is nothing more than unserious, aimless, performative, and ultimately hollow whining, demonstrated by the fact that they still kowtow to the transgender movement in the same breath that they make a rather dramatic gesture of criticizing its beneficiaries. If those who have made politics their career, so called thought-leaders, lack the gumption to tell the truth, what can be expected of their followers? Reka Gyorgy, the female swimmer who lost out on a finals position because of William Thomas participation, wrote in her letter to the NCAA: With all due respect, I would like to address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes, especially female swimmers.. Everyone has heard and known about transgender swimmer, Lia Thomas, and her case including all the issues and concerns that her situation brought into our sport. Id like to point out that I respect and fully stand with Lia Thomas; I am convinced that she is no different than me or any other D1 swimmer who has woken up at 5am her entire life for morning practice. She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for a competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right. On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women. Once again, if sex differences matter, they matter. If they dont, they dont. You cannot fully stand with your abuser, and if you do, you must not be serious about removing him from your life. Rekas concession can be more easily understood, given the potential personal cost of saying anything in such a hostile environment. Ultimately, despite the fact that we can all empathize with her reasoning, the concession still nullifies the point. Reka might have written a more effectual letter if she was in any way supported by political leadership, which can take many unofficial and official forms, from corporate media to parents unions. But she isnt, not visibly. So we have forced young women and children into the position of defending themselves against predatory, narcissistic abusers that will continue to invade their spaces because no one will say the obvious: this is a grown man. And yes, if as a grown man, you feel so entitled to the intimate spaces of the sexually vulnerable, you are predatory by default. Good leaders happily absorb the costs of courage. Its part of the job. What is the point of leaders, de facto and de jure, politicians and talking heads and parents, that are too cowardly to state the obvious? Two options remain: continue to wail about the Left as we watch grown men transgress further and further against healthy and proper boundaries, or begin at the beginning. Continue to allow women and children to lead you, or align yourself with the truth. Take your thirty pieces of silver, or call William Thomas by his name. Read more at: AmericanMind.org (Natural News) It is not yet clear whether Elon Musks increasingly precarious play for Twitter will result in the restoration of free speech in the global public square. Successful or not, Elons brave move has clarified beyond any doubt the Regimes fundamental hostility to free speech and dissent. Judging from the critical reactions from journalists, NGOs and Democrat politicians, youd think the man were attempting to invade Poland rather than remove censorship on a social media platform. (Article republished from Revolver.news) Of all the regime scribblers and scribes flooding the internet with glorified blog posts on the awfulness of Elon Musks Twitter bid, a piece by Renee DiResta published in the Atlantic stands out from the rest not because of its force of argument, but because of the largely forgotten scandal behind its author. Like the now disgraced and jobless Nina Jankowicz, DiResta is a career-girl of the Disinformation Industry a constellation of NATO and US State Department-funded NGOs and civil society groups that censor inconvenient truths, facts and narratives under the guise of protecting the public from so-called disinformation. And like Nina Jankowicz, it turns out that DiRestas name is closely associated with one of the most explosive and aggressively covered-up influence operations of the century. With that teaser in place, lets start at the beginning with DiRestas piece on Musk and Twitter. We invite the impatient reader to scroll down to DiRestas scandal but its worth the wait for those with more patience. Like most well-trained operatives of the disinformation industry, Renee is smart enough to couch her defense of Twitters censorship in layers of obfuscatory verbiage and heavily qualified lip service to the importance of free-expression. We should remember that even the Department of Homeland Security assured us in a hilarious fact sheet that its ill-fated Disinformation Governance Board is set up to defend free speech. But anything more than a cursory look at Direstas concerned reaction to Musk and his cadre of free-speech absolutists completely betrays her true agenda. Here she is scribbling away in the Atlantic (emphasis ours): The idea of Twitter as the global town square was articulated by then-CEO Dick Costolo in 2013. He likened it to something from ancient Athens: Thousands of years ago in the Greek Agora, thats where you went to find out what was going on and talk about it, right? You came and talked about what was going on in your part of the village, and I came and talked about what was going on in mine, and the politician was there, and we listened to the issues of the day, and a musician was there and a preacher was there, et cetera, and it was multidirectional and it was unfiltered, and it was inside out, meaning the news was coming from the people it was happening to, not some observer. The unintended consequences of the platform that Jack Dorsey and his co-founders built, however, came into rather stark relief as it grew; a variety of unfortunate things that happen when humans engage with humans happened. On Twitter, however, these problems reached unprecedented heights via unfettered virality and velocity. The Islamic State made a home on the platform; harassment mobs proliferated; state actors and conspiracy theorists alike recognized that Twitter was a remarkable venue for propagandizing, unmediated, to millions. Public opinion began to shift against the hands-off approach. Government regulators began to pay attention. How could the company maximize freedom of expression while minimizing the unique harms that the new communication infrastructure had enabled? A content-moderation regime emerged. Over the next seven years, its rules and practices would evolve in response to new and novel challenges: taking down terrorist propaganda, minimizing bad information during a pandemic, handling a litany of rumors and lies about election theft. [The Atlantic] Lets put aside DiRestas daft use of the passive voice for a moment and take a second to appreciate how radical this passage is. The author just lumped in terrorist propaganda specifically, ISIS propaganda with Covid skepticism and skepticism pertaining to election integrity. Given that this is the Regimes perspective, it is much easier to understand not only why something like the Disinformation Governance Board would exist in the first place, but why it would be housed within the Department of Homeland Security one of the largest national security bureaucracies set up in the aftermath of 9/11 to protect the nation from terrorism. If Covid skeptics, election skeptics, and by extension nearly half of America can be lumped in with ISIS on the basis of their political beliefs, it makes sense that the national security bureaucracy would be turned inward in order to crush the ISIS-level national security threat of Americans who oppose vaccine mandates or, God forbid, dont think the 2020 election was fair. As we pointed out in earlier pieces, the Disinformation Industry is assigned to carry out the information warfare component of this domestic war on terror to silence important speech on important matters central to democratic deliberation under the guise of Defending Democracy against Disinformation. Renee, in her piece, is desperate to protect the Regime and its disinformation commissars from the supposed ISIS-level threat of free-speech on Twitter. She goes on to attack Musk and his free speech absolutists and to reject the notion of a digital public square in its entirety (emphasis ours): Since the advent of more active content moderation on Twitter and other online platforms, the prototypical public square has been retconnedparticularly by Musks supporters in the United Statesinto a haven for absolute free speech. This is not accurate. The real public square has always been moderated. Public-nuisance laws and noise ordinances have long placed restrictions on the time, place, and manner of expression protected by the First Amendment. Try to get a group of 100 ideological allies together to follow someone around a public park in the center of town shrieking at them, and see how that plays out. Of course this is incredibly disingenuous. Noise ordinances and public nuisance laws simply do not analogize to narrative-level censorship on Covid, election results, and other such issues on social media. Tellingly, in an earlier (and less guarded) piece for the Atlantic, DiResta not only encourages narrative-level political censorship on social media, she also claims that there is no political bias to social media censorship practices. DiResta insists that since misinformation overwhelmingly comes from the political right, this gives the false appearance that social media companies are biased against the right when they censor misinformation. Read the following passage and behold the twisted logic of a modern day commissar (emphasis ours): The distinct behavior of serial spreaders of misinformation should theoretically make them easy for Facebook or Twitter to identify. Platforms that place warning labels on false or misleading content could penalize accounts that repeatedly create it; after an account earned a certain number of strikes, the platforms algorithms could suspend it or limit users ability to share its posts. But platforms also want to appear politically neutral. Inconveniently for them, our research found that although some election-related misinformation circulated on the left, the pattern of the same accounts repeatedly spreading false or misleading claims about voting, or about the legitimacy of the election itself, occurred almost exclusively among pro-Trump influencers, QAnon boosters, and other outlets on the right. We were not the only ones to observe this; researchers at Harvard described the former president and the right-wing media as driving a disinformation campaign around mail-in voter fraud during the 2020 election; the researchers prior work had meticulously detailed a propaganda feedback loop within the closely linked right-wing media ecosystem. In this piece we see reference to the same narratives, election integrity and Covid skepticism, that DiResta previously lumped in with ISIS and terrorism, perpetrated by vaguely defined alleged malefactors like QAnon boosters (whatever that is) and, Heaven forfend, pro-Trump influencers. DiResta backs up her shocking claim, that misinformation is essentially a right-wing problem, with a Harvard study. Without wasting too much of our time on it, we dug up the specific Harvard study DiResta references. Immediately we note that the Harvard study DiResta cites in support of her remarkable claim that misinformation is exclusively a right-wing problem is funded by George Soros Open Society Institute, among other similar philanthropic organizations. Note the bottom footnote in the first page of the study, titled Mail-In Voter Fraud: Anatomy of a Disinformation Campaign: Apart from the farce of such a study being funded by George Soros, among other similar figures, theres a very important passage buried in the study that inadvertently exposes the entire ulterior purpose of the Disinformation Industry. Heres a transcript of the relevant passage: Our results are based on analyzing over 55 thousand online media stories, five million tweets, and 75 thousand posts on public Facebook pages garnering millions of engagements. They are consistent with our findings about the American political media ecosystem from 2015-2018, published in Network Propaganda, in which we found that Fox News and Donald Trumps own campaign were far more influential in spreading false beliefs than Russian trolls or Facebook clickbait artists. [Harvard] Despite all the posturing about Russia, we see that the fight against disinformation was never really about addressing an alleged threat of foreign influence. According to the Disinformation Industrial-Complex, Donald Trump is a bigger purveyor of false beliefs than Russia, and therefore, by implication, Trump and his supporters deserve to be identified, silenced, and destroyed in much the same way a foreign disinformation threat would be. It is perhaps not surprising then that DiResta would so cavalierly respond to Trump being banned from his main communications platform while a sitting President of the United States: So many folks spent the last day asking What if Twitter bans Trump? My prediction was that the obvious happens on social, he creates a Parler account (I personally think the frog platform is prob still a bridge too far), but that he also just leverages OANN/Newsmax. Renee DiResta (@noUpside) January 8, 2021 Of course, DiRestas remark about Parler turned out to be insufficiently optimistic from the Disinformation censors point of view. Parler went dark just days after Trumps Twitter ban after Amazon Web Services famously pulled the plug on them. As we promised the reader in our introduction, the story of Renee DiResta is far more scandalous than a hypocritical disinformation operative calling for mass censorship. Readers will recall that Nina Jankowicz name came up in a major leak as an associate of the Integrity Initiative, a NATO, US State Department, UK government-funded influence operation that secretly meddled in the political affairs of NATO Democracies. While we dont know whether DiResta was associated with the Integrity Initiative, she was involved in something equally if not more scandalous. DiRestas Dark Alabama Secret Before DiResta was complaining about the threat of Elon Musks free speech absolutism in the pages of the Atlantic, she worked (among other things) as a research director for a cyber security firm called New Knowledge. New Knowledges purpose was to study the spread of disinformation, malign narratives and Russian influence operations. In her capacity as Research Director for New Knowledge, DiResta submitted written testimony to the US Senate drawing attention to the danger of such Russian disinformation and influence operations, including the alleged Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency which every self-respecting disinformation operative knows to puff up as the most malign and consequential political influence operation in modern history. But there is one very important secretive, malign influence operation that Renee DiResta failed to disclose to the Senate. This influence operation was conducted by her own employer, New Knowledge, to influence the outcome of the 2017 Alabama special Senate contest between populist Roy Moore and Doug Jones. The details of the influence operation are even more scandalous. In what even the head of New Knowledge described as a false flag operation, New Knowledge conducted a secret influence operation to make it look like populist candidate Roy Moore was the beneficiary of a secret Russian influence operation! The New York Times of all places broke the story of this remarkable and now-forgotten scandal: As Russias online election machinations came to light last year, a group of Democratic tech experts decided to try out similarly deceptive tactics in the fiercely contested Alabama Senate race, according to people familiar with the effort and a report on its results. The secret project, carried out on Facebook and Twitter, was likely too small to have a significant effect on the race, in which the Democratic candidate it was designed to help, Doug Jones, edged out the Republican, Roy S. Moore. But it was a sign that American political operatives of both parties have paid close attention to the Russian methods, which some fear may come to taint elections in the United States. One participant in the Alabama project, Jonathon Morgan, is the chief executive of New Knowledge, a small cyber security firm that wrote a scathing account of Russias social media operations in the 2016 election that was released this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee. An internal report on the Alabama effort, obtained by The New York Times, says explicitly that it experimented with many of the tactics now understood to have influenced the 2016 elections. The projects operators created a Facebook page on which they posed as conservative Alabamians, using it to try to divide Republicans and even to endorse a write-in candidate to draw votes from Mr. Moore. It involved a scheme to link the Moore campaign to thousands of Russian accounts that suddenly began following the Republican candidate on Twitter, a development that drew national media attention. We orchestrated an elaborate false flag operation that planted the idea that the Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet, the report says. Mr. Morgan said in an interview that the Russian botnet ruse does not ring a bell, adding that others had worked on the effort and had written the report. He said he saw the project as a small experiment designed to explore how certain online tactics worked, not to affect the election. Mr. Morgan said he could not account for the claims in the report that the project sought to enrage and energize Democrats and depress turnout among Republicans, partly by emphasizing accusations that Mr. Moore had pursued teenage girls when he was a prosecutor in his 30s. The research project was intended to help us understand how these kind of campaigns operated, said Mr. Morgan. We thought it was useful to work in the context of a real election but design it to have almost no impact. [New York Times] The Times obtained a statement from DiResta, who acknowledged her role in the influence operation in a heavily finessed fashion: Mr. Morgan reached out at the time to Renee DiResta, who would later join New Knowledge and was lead author of the report on Russian social media operations released this week. I know there were people who believed the Democrats needed to fight fire with fire, Ms. DiResta said, adding that she disagreed. It was absolutely chatter going around the party. But she said Mr. Morgan simply asked her for suggestions of online tactics worth testing. My understanding was that they were going to investigate to what extent they could grow audiences for Facebook pages using sensational news, she said. So lets get this straight: Renee DiResta, who makes a living researching so-called Russian disinformation and influence operations, and who testified before the Senate regarding such, was caught red-handed acting as an advisor, if not participant, to an influence operation designed to discredit an American politician by planting false stories that hes a beneficiary of a Russian influence operation! Rather than bow her head in shame and find a new career (perhaps joining disgraced Nina Jankowiczs wizard rock band), DiResta shrugs it off and goes on to work in a senior role for the company most closely associated with the influence operation in which she played a part. Whats still more remarkable is the attempt of not only New Knowledges executive director, but the New York Times itself to minimize this scandal on account of the allegedly minimal impact it had on the Alabama Senate election (emphasis ours): The research project was intended to help us understand how these kind of campaigns operated, said Mr. Morgan. We thought it was useful to work in the context of a real election but design it to have almost no impact. The project had a budget of just $100,000, in a race that cost approximately $51 million, including the primaries, according to Federal Election Commission records. Interesting argument. About that infamous Internet Research Agency Russian troll farm that was the basis of the entire Mueller report and the entire Democrat party and regime media howling non-stop about Russia it spent a grand total of $46k on Facebook ads in the 2016 election. Remarkably, this means that the disinformation group Renee DiResta worked for spent more money on its false flag operation, which involved falsely framing a US senate candidate as a beneficiary of Russian influence operation, than the original Russian troll farm which is the basis for the whole Disinformation Industry scam in the first place! The exposure of the Alabama influence operation was so egregious that more careful operatives in the Disinformation Industry took notice and began to do damage control. Two leading figures in the Disinformation Industry directly attacked and condemned the Alabama false flag influence operation in which DiResta participated. In a panel discussion titled Disinformation in Social Media as a Threat to Democratic Institutions, Disinformation Industry operative Alina Polyakova brought attention to the Alabama operation as an example of Russian-style disinformation tactics being used domestically by US operatives and organizations: Partial transcript: This firm, which was actually given a contract by Senate Intelligent Committee to write a major report on IRA (the Russian troll farm) actually used the same techniques that the Russians used to try to shift the elections in the special senatorial elections in Alabama last year. What they did is they set up fake Russian accounts, fake Russian trolls, fake Russian bots, to make it seem like the Russians were supporting the Republican candidate (Roy Moore) Renee DiRestas Alabama false flag was so embarrassing to the Disinformation Industry that Alina Polyakovas colleague, Ambassador Daniel Fried (also a high-level operative of the Disinformation Industry), felt compelled to pile on the condemnation still more forcefully: Partial transcript: That awful example of an American group creating a false example of Russian disinformation campaign in the Alabama election reminds me, should remind us all the temptation of evil is in front of every person. I hope that this example has become so scandalous and discredited that no one dares do it again. Ambassador Daniel Fried and his colleague Alina Polyakova are as high ranked as it gets within the Disinformation Industry hierarchy. Dan Fried is also a former senior level official in the State Department as Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian affairs. According to his bio at the Atlantic Council (the NATO, US State Department-funded NGO where he is now a Distinguished Fellow), Fried was both a major figure in crafting the policy of NATO expansion and a key architect of US sanctions policy against Russia. The fact that one of the architects of both NATO expansion and our sanctions policy toward Russia should also be one of the key players in pushing Social Media companies to address the threat of disinformation is a remarkable fact in its own right. Leaving that aside, for now, one would think that such strong condemnation of DiRestas Alabama operation from such a high-level player in the Disinformation Industry would have some consequences for DiResta. In fact, the opposite is the case. Being a disinformation operative evidently means never having to say youre sorry. Despite Ambassador Dan Frieds performative condemnation of DiRestas Alabama operation, he saw fit to approvingly cite her as an authority in his 2020 publication (co-authored with Alina Polakova) Democratic Offense Against Disinformation. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that DiRestas work is cited in an official Department of Homeland Security memo on combatting targeted disinformation campaigns. It is not too surprising that the Department of Homeland Security would cite someone like DiResta, who is known to have participated in a targeted disinformation campaign, in a DHS document on targeted disinformation campaigns. As Revolver News recently reported, Nina Jankowicz, the one-time nominee to be the head of the DHS ill-fated Disinformation Governance Board, appeared in a major leak of internal documents belonging to the Integrity Initiative, a NATO and US State Department-funded group that conducted covert campaigns on Twitter to meddle in the political affairs of NATO Democracies. Incidentally, the Integrity Initiative leaks included a list of NGOs and media outlets deemed to be friendly to its operations. One of the organizations deemed to be friendly to and in close collaboration with the Integrity Initiative is a group called the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Take a wild guess who is the President and CEO of CEPA? If you guessed Alina Polyakova, you would be correct! Yes the same Alina Polyakova who in the video clip above performatively condemns DiRestas Alabama influence operation is the President and CEO of an organization revealed in leaked documents to be partnering with the Integrity Initiative, one of the most scandalous influence operations in our nations history! Perhaps this is why Alina Polyakova and her colleague and co-author Ambassador Dan Fried are comfortable citing DiRestas work in their aforementioned Democratic Offense Against Disinformation report. In fact, CEPA co-sponsored that very same report: Notice that CEPA co-sponsored the report with the Atlantic Councils DFR Lab, which is also listed in the leaked Integrity Initiative documents as a friendly organization (see reference to DFR Labs digital sherlocks in the document below). In fact, the head of the DFR Lab at the time, Ben Nimmo (now a senior employee at Facebook investigating influence operations), appeared alongside Nina Jankowicz, Anne Applebaum and others as members of the Integrity Initiatives UK inner cluster. When it comes to Alina Polyakova and Ambassador Dan Fried implicitly condemning DiResta for her role in the Alabama operation, it is perhaps appropriate to suggest the following guideline: Let the Disinformation researcher who hasnt worked for an anti-disinformation group caught red-handed using disinformation as a pretext to conduct secretive influence operations meddling in politics of Western democracies cast the first stone. Since her role in the Alabama influence op was exposed, Renee DiResta has enjoyed far more accolades than simply being favorably cited by the DHS and fellow Disinformation operatives. Renee DiResta has moved from being lead researcher of New Knowledge (the group involved in the Alabama op) to being research director at Stanfords Internet Research Laboratory. A full treatment of the Stanford Internet Research Laboratory would extend beyond the scope of this already rather lengthy report. Suffice it to say that in addition to NGOs such as CEPA and Atlantic Councils DFR Lab, many major universities now host similar think tanks to engage in Disinformation research and of course its all the same scam of using disinformation as a pretext to censor and control perfectly legitimate First Amendment-protected speech online. Harvard has the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, as well as the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy, while Stanford has the Internet Research Laboratory, where Renee DiResta now works as research director (emphasis ours): Renee DiResta and Alex Stamos lead research on social media disinformation at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Their current project, The Election Integrity Partnership is a coalition of research entities focused on supporting real-time information exchange between the research community, election officials, government agencies, civil society organizations and social media platforms. Together they aim to detect and mitigate the impact of attempts to prevent or deter people from voting or to delegitimize election results. Stamos, previously the Chief Security Officer at Facebook, is the director of the Observatory, while DiResta serves as research manager. In an all-too typical example of failing up, Renee DiResta goes from being caught red-handed as involved in a disinformation operation that meddled in a United States Senate election by falsely framing the candidate as a favorite of Russian bots, to overseeing an Election Integrity Partnership under the auspices of Stanford University. Read more at: Revolver.news Sunday, May 29, 2022 by: Ethan Huff Tags: apocalypse , Collapse , food , Russia , Ukraine , wheat , wheatpocalypse This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) In less than three weeks, wheat could disappear from store shelves, suggested a food insecurity expert to the United Nations. Sara Menker, the CEO of agriculture analytics firm Gro Intelligence, told the UN Security Council that before the end of summer, the worlds wheat supplies could dry up and that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not necessarily to blame. Despite it being an easy scapegoat for Western governments and the media, the war has simply added fuel to a fire that was long burning. In other words, the global food supply, at least as far as wheat goes, was already in tatters long before Vladimir Putin decided to make his move. Together, Ukraine and Russia produce nearly one-third of the worlds wheat exports. Ukraine specifically is considered to be the breadbasket of Europe, and right now because of the war, it is no longer exporting crops, cooking oils or other commodities. The longer the war goes on, the longer exports from these two countries will be halted. This spells disaster for North Africa, which imports most of its wheat and other crops from Ukraine and Russia via Black Sea ports, which also remain shuttered. Bad weather, including extreme drought and flooding, has been chipping away at the global food supply for years The United States is of course blaming Russia for all of this. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that Russia is holding food hostage and using its protectionist measures as a weapon to starve the world. The Russian government seems to think that using food as a weapon will help accomplish what its invasion has not to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people, Blinken is quoted as saying. Keep in mind that the U.S. and NATO are the ones that imposed major economic sanctions against Russia, along with the pull-out of major corporations such as McDonalds, Sephora and IKEA, among many others from Russian territory. In response, Russia told countries that want its oil and gas resources that they would need to start paying for them in rubles. Russia also cut off exports of key food crops in order to maintain supplies for its own citizens amid the crisis. The real problem according to Menker is that droughts and other extreme weather events have been eroding the global food supply for years. The situation was only exacerbated by the engineered Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic followed by Russias invasion of Ukraine. (Related: Extreme drought conditions in India have led to export bans there as well.) We currently only have 10 weeks of global consumption sitting in inventory around the world, Menker says. Conditions today are worse than those experienced in 2007 and 2008. Estimates from official government agencies all around the world suggest that current wheat inventories are hovering around 33 percent of annual consumption. Models created by Gro Intelligence, however, suggest that the true figure is more like 20 percent, a level not seen since 2007 and 2008. It is important to note that the lowest grain inventory levels the world has ever seen are now occurring while access to fertilizers is highly constrained, Menker adds. And drought in wheat growing regions around the world is the most extreme its been in over 20 years. Similar inventory concerns also apply to corn and other grains. Conditions are only expected to worsen in the coming months, so brace yourselves. It will hit the third world the hardest at first, but the West is not immune to what is coming, which is already in motion and accelerating at an exponential rate with each passing day. The latest news about all this can be found at FoodCollapse.com. Sources for this article include: Insider.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Many countries are still dealing with the aftermath of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), but another disease is quickly spreading in some parts of the globe: monkeypox. On May 18, biotechnology firm Bavarian Nordic in Denmark announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), signed a contract with the company to supply a freeze-dried version of its smallpox and monkeypox vaccine. Allegedly, the freeze-dried version of the vaccine has a longer shelf life. BARDA placed a $119 million order for 13 million freeze-dried doses of Bavarian Nordics smallpox and monkeypox vaccine known as Jynneos. According to the contract, America has the option to purchase additional vaccines worth $180 million as needed. On May 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that over 100 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox had been identified in 12 countries. The timing is rather suspicious, especially since the HHS insists that the reports of monkeypox cases in the U.S. are coincidental with the deal. The most recent BARDA purchase of smallpox vaccine was part of a standard and ongoing preparedness efforts and unrelated to specific events. BARDA has worked with industry to develop and purchase vaccines and treatments for a potential smallpox emergency, some of which may also be used to respond to monkeypox, said a spokesperson for the HHS. Most of the recorded cases occurred in Europe, with higher numbers in Portugal and Spain. However, the detection of monkeypox cases in Europe and America is rather unusual as the virus has been mostly confined to tropical areas like West or Central Africa. FDA approved Jynneos smallpox and monkeypox vaccine in 2019 Back in September 24, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Jynneos, a live, non-replicating smallpox and monkeypox vaccine in people 18 and older determined to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox infection. Jynneos is a two-dose vaccine administered four weeks apart. To date, it is the only FDA-approved vaccine in America for monkeypox. The FDA reported that Jynneos doesnt contain the viruses that cause smallpox or monkeypox. Instead, it is derived from a vaccinia virus. It is less harmful than variola or monkeypox viruses and it can protect against both diseases. Jynneos contains a modified form of the vaccinia virus called Modified Vaccinia Ankara, which doesnt cause disease in humans and is non-replicating. This means the virus cant reproduce in human cells. (Related: Why did the government buy 13 million monkeypox vaccines from a biotech company backed by Fauci?) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smallpox (vaccinia) vaccines can also be used to prevent monkeypox. Monkeypox belongs to the same family of orthopoxviruses as smallpox (variola). It is a rare viral, zoonotic infectious disease that includes symptoms like back pain, extreme fatigue, a fever, skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes and muscle and body aches that lasts for two to four weeks. The virus is transmitted through close contact with an infected individual or animal. Transmission may also occur due to contact with material contaminated with the virus. Person-to-person transmission occurs through close contact with body fluids, open skin lesions, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials like bedding. The CDC advised that while it remains unclear how the individuals were exposed to monkeypox, some cases include people who self-identify as men who have sex with men. The health agency warned healthcare providers in the country to watch out for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with monkeypox. The WHO also claims that monkeypox is not as contagious as smallpox and usually causes less severe illness. As of May 26, there are 10 recorded monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases in America. On May 18, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) reported that a resident in the state tested positive for monkeypox. The patient, an adult male, was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He recently returned from traveling to Canada. According to an MDPH press release, the hospital is cooperating with the CDC, relevant local boards of health and the patients health care providers to identify people who may have been in contact with the patient while he was infectious. Given the nature and transmission of the virus, the MDPH noted that the contact tracing approach is the most appropriate. The public was also reassured that there is no risk of infection since the man is already hospitalized and in good condition. Go to BigPharmaNews.com for more articles related to vaccines and monkeypox. Watch the video below to learn more about monkeypox. This video is from the Planet Zedta channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Monkeypox transmission could accelerate this summer, warns WHO but is it just more fearmongering? Dr. Peter McCullough: No need to panic over monkeypox. Dr. Robert Malone slams Gavi for amplifying fear of monkeypox outbreak. Sources include: BlacklistedNews.com CDC.gov Brighteon.com (Natural News) Since before the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, Democrats in Congress, and every mainstream corporate media outlet accused Donald Trump of being a dupe for Russia. The only evidence they had was a supposed secret backchannel communication tie between the Trump Organization and a Kremlin-linked financial institution known as Alfa Bank. But it didnt take long after Trump went ahead and won the election to discover that the Russia, Russia, Russia narrative was a hoax, driven in large part by a hostile media who, like most of official Washington, simply did not think that Trump was worthy of being president, even though he was duly elected. In 2018 when Republicans still controlled Congress, then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and his GOP investigators revealed that the Trump-Russia collusion claim was false and that it likely came from the Clinton campaign. In an explosive memo, Nunes laid out the details of how Clinton and her cronies in the media laid waste to the truth in a desperate attempt to keep Trump out of the White House and then put the country in jeopardy by literally undermining him on a daily basis. That said, there was never an official link back to Hillary Clinton herself until now. According to testimony in a federal trial involving Michael Sussmann the former Clinton campaign attorney charged with lying to the FBI when he dropped the fake link on the bureau and said he wasnt acting on behalf of any clients when he was allegedly acting on behalf of Clinton her 2016 campaign manager, Robby Moot, said she personally signed off on the lie about the Alfa Bank link. Fox News noted: During cross-examination by government prosecutor Andrew DeFillippis Mook was asked about the campaigns understanding of the Alfa Bank allegations against Trump and whether they planned to release the data to the media. Mook said he was first briefed about the Alfa Bank issue by campaign general counsel Marc Elias, who at the time was a partner at law firm Perkins Coie. Mook testified that he was told that the data had come from people that had expertise in this sort of matter. Mook said the campaign was not totally confident in the legitimacy of the data, but had hoped to give the information to a reporter who could further run it down to determine if it was accurate or substantive. He also said that he discussed whether to pass along the information to a reporter with senior campaign officials including the campaigns chairman, John Podesta, then-communications director Jennifer Palmieri, and senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan, the latter of whom now serves as President Joe Bidens national security adviser. I discussed it with Hillary as well, Mook told the court. I dont remember the substance of the conversation, but notionally, the discussion was, hey, we have this and we want to share it with a reporter, Mook noted. After he was pressed about Clintons response, Mook replied: She agreed. So there you have it: Clinton was aware that the alleged link was phony while also being personally responsible for having the lie leaked to the media. In response, Trump told Fox News in a separate interview that he would never fully recover, while also noting correctly that Clintons lie put our country at huge risk. This is one of the greatest political scandals in history. For three years I had to fight her off, and fight those crooked people off, and youll never get your reputation fully back. Where do I get my reputation back? I had to fight them off. And if we had real leadership, instead of people like Mitch McConnell, they would do something about it. And guys like Bill Barr. They would have done something about it, he added. Also, when is the media going to apologize for being heavily invested in the big lie? Sources include: FoxNews.com GreatGameIndia.com (Natural News) The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a sweeping new bill to expand the federal governments ability to spy on Americans in the alleged effort to combat domestic terrorism. (Article by Ashley Sadler republished from LifeSiteNews.com) H.R. 350, or the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, was passed in a 222-203 vote almost entirely along party lines, with all House Democrats and just one House Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voting to approve the measure. ??? BREAKING: The House has PASSED H.R. 350, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. pic.twitter.com/HQeWpr0CIx House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) May 19, 2022 The Hill reported the legislative proposal would create domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI that would be tasked with monitoring and scrutinizing potential terror activity, specifically emphasizing terror activity motivated by white supremacist or neo-Nazi sentiments. Democrats have largely promoted the bill as a response to the horrific mass shooting perpetrated by an avowed white supremacist gunman (who also claimed to be in the mild-moderate-authoritarian Left category) at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store last week. However, Republicans have blasted the measure for giving the federal government far too much police power. According to Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, the bill constitutes the empowerment of the federal bureaucracy to target Americans. This is nothing more than empowering the federal government to police thought and speech in the United States of America, and we should oppose it roundly, he added. The bill has also been slammed for narrowing the definition of domestic terrorism to focus on white supremacist attacks, at a time when mainstream conservative perspectives on matters ranging from immigration law to Critical Race Theory are often baselessly assigned the white supremacy label. In a May 19 editorial, National Review argued that the Democrats proposal would actually create indefensible exceptions in terrorism law, going so far as to shield radical Islamic jihadists from the reach of federal law. Democrats would then, we can be sure, demagogue conservative policy preferences e.g., Second Amendment rights, free expression, opposition to progressive indoctrination in the schools and other institutions as catalysts of white supremacism that must be monitored by the Justice Department, National Review suggested. As we learned from 20th-century domestic-spying scandals, loose legal standards invite the government to invoke domestic terrorism as a pretextual rationale for surveillance of the opposition, the outlet added. Law-enforcement agencies already have a rich arsenal of authorities to monitor and prosecute terrorists. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is sheer politics | The Editors https://t.co/RovwfR030J National Review (@NRO) May 19, 2022 Federal lawmakers arent the only ones looking to capitalize on the horrific massacre in New York to expand the reach of government bureaucracy. New Yorks Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced she will form a special police unit which will, among other things, work to fight the so-called epidemic of hate speech in response to the mass shooting in Buffalo, which was at least partially inspired by radical rhetoric on the internet. Were proposing a comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism, strengthen state gun laws, & investigate social media platforms promoting violent extremism, Hochul said in a Wednesday tweet. In wake of the racist act of terror in Buffalo, New York will lead the charge to confront this epidemic head-on, she added. Democrat lawmakers and legacy media outlets have emphasized the Buffalo shooters alleged adherence to the notion of replacement theory, which suggests that leftist elites are promoting widespread immigration to replace the White majority of the U.S. Some conservatives, meanwhile, have pointed out that some of the most prolific purveyors of the alleged conspiracy theory have been left-wing pundits and media figures themselves, who have often celebrated the notion that minorities will soon replace Whites as the majority population in America. Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com (Natural News) The European Union (EU) is eyeing to ban all imports from Russia, the worlds second largest crude exporter, to help cripple the countrys war efforts on Ukraine. Imposing the new sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war would require the unanimous support of all 27 bloc member states. Hungary, which is heavily reliant on Russian oil imports, so far has blocked that bid. The landlocked country is pressing for about 750 million euros ($800 million) to upgrade its refineries and expand a pipeline from Croatia to enable it to switch away from Russian oil. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has argued that an EU oil boycott would be an atomic bomb for Hungarys economy and destroy its stable energy supply. During a news conference in Budapest on Wednesday, May 25, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary would not vote in favor of the oil embargo proposal as long as it makes Hungarys energy supply impossible. He blamed EUs executive branch for pushing the plan without ensuring the energy security of Hungary, which gets 85 percent of its natural gas and more than 60 percent of its oil from Russia. European Council President Charles Michel said he is confident that an agreement can be reached before the councils next meeting on May 30. But in the letter to Michel, Orban said Hungary was not in a position to agree to the sixth sanctions package until the negotiations succeed in resolving all outstanding issues, and that a solution was very unlikely to be reached before next weeks summit. Germanys Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck said the EU can still close a deal on an oil ban in the coming days or look to other instruments if no agreement is reached. Berlin had initially opposed an oil embargo citing its heavy reliance on Russian energy, but recently shifted its stance. (Related: Gas storage in Germany hits record lows as Russia halts fertilizer shipments and European continent reels from high heating costs.) Other EU member states voiced impatience with the delay. We need to get on and do this, said Irelands Foreign Minister Simon Coveney. This is about a deterrent to the continuation of war. The sooner the EU can finalize that sixth sanctions package the better. Johanna Sumuvuori, Finlands junior foreign minister said: It is very important to do our utmost, so that we can make a strong statement as an EU. The sixth package of sanctions against Russia includes asset freezes and travel bans on prominent Putin supporters. The outlined plans for a Russian oil embargo is expected to come into force at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, landlocked countries that are heavily dependent on Russian oil were offered a delay in joining the EU embargo. Slovakia were given until the end of 2024, while the Czech Republic has been offered a June 2024 deadline. Putin: Europe committing economic suicide Russia is firm that the EU is just putting itself in a risky position by imposing further sanctions on the country amid the conflict with Ukraine. In an energy meeting last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Europe would be committing economic suicide by seeking to phase out Russian energy supplies. Europe will only hurt itself, Putin said, urging state officials to use ill-thought-out moves by the West to the countrys advantage. He added that EUs chaotic actions are not only damaging its own economy, but also leading to an increase in revenues from oil and gas for Russia. Of course, such an economic suicide is a domestic affair of the European countries, Putin said. The U.S. and the U.K. have already imposed an oil embargo, although given that both countries are net oil exporters, this step is rather simpler to take. Putin admitted that the Russian oil market had been hit by tectonic changes amid sanctions, adding that Moscow would help domestic oil producers, including facilitating access to loans and insurance. The president is seeking to redirect supplies to friendly countries as the European nations are looking for ways to wean themselves off Russian energy. Visit FuelSupply.news for more news related to Russian oil embargo. Watch the below video talks about Hungary standing firm against EUs proposed sanctions against Russian oil. This video is from The Willow channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Russian Deputy PM: Rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for global market. Russia holds war games with simulated nuclear strikes against the EU. Renewables put Europes electrical energy at the mercy of Russia. Starting next week, EU will impose full embargo on Russian oil, sending prices above $185 a barrel: JPMorgan. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com BusinessToday.in ABCNews.go.com Consilium.Europa.eu DW.com Aljazeera.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The narrative surrounding the Uvalde, Texas false flag shooting is already crumbling apart as more revelations come to light about how police officers stood down and let the shooter rampage Robb Elementary School without even an attempt at intervention. We now know that a mother had to take matters into her own hands by secretly entering the school to save children, all while law enforcement stood outside and did nothing. Angeli Rose Gomez told the Wall Street Journal that she drove 40 miles to pick up her children from the school, only to discover that nobody was even trying to rescue them. Gomez petitioned police officers to do something, only to have U.S. marshals put her in handcuffs. After successfully convincing local police to let her go, Gomez hopped the fence at the school, ran inside and escaped with her children, we are told strange, huh? Another parent at the scene, Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn was reportedly killed in the attack, had suggested to other bystanders, possibly including Gomez, that they should all charge the school since police refused to do so. Lets just rush in because the cops arent doing anything like they are supposed to, Cazares told the Associated Press (AP). More could have been done. They were unprepared. Numerous parents confronted police officers while trying to enter Robb Elementary School Video footage watch below shows police officers physically stopping parents from going near the school to try to save their children. The confrontation almost became violent, but nobody appears to have been harmed. This video make so much more sense now. The cops literally stopped parents from helping their kids. pic.twitter.com/zhQfUjlpjd https://t.co/DqgZUH3uCC Matt Novak (@paleofuture) May 26, 2022 The police were doing nothing, Gomez said to the Journal. They were just standing outside the fence. They werent going in there or running anywhere. According to the Journal, Gomez was one of numerous parents who began encouraging first politely, and then with more urgency police and other law enforcement to enter the school sooner. Ms. Gomez said she convinced local Uvalde police officers whom she knew to persuade the marshals to set her free, the Journal further reported. Not long after that, Gomez made her distance from the crowd, jumped the school fence and ran inside to grab her two children, the news outlet added. She sprinted out of the school with them. The U.S. Marshals Service claimed that its deputies never placed anyone in handcuffs, and that their only purpose was to maintain order and peace in the midst of the grief-stricken community that was gathering around the school. At no point did the U.S. Marshals or local police officers ever try to enter the school, though. Their purpose appears to have been to guard the school from parents while the shooter had his way with their children. Video footage proves that law enforcement stood around and did nothing while students were locked inside the building. The Western Journal reported that this brings back memories of the Parkland, Florida school shooting in 2018, which was similarly obstructed from intervention by Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who was permanently removed from his position not long after the scandal. There is a lot wrong with this case starting way before the shooter even entered the school, wrote a commenter. Every cop I know would have been in there saving those kids lives. Something very fishy is going on here, and the point is always about gun control. The police were/are complicit with the slaughter, wrote another. More related news coverage about the Uvalde shooting can be found at FalseFlag.news. Sources include: 100percentfedup.com WesternJournal.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) I keep getting asked the same question again and again; is this outbreak of monkey pox a real threat, or is this another case of overstated and weaponized public health messaging? I am going to save my answer to this question for the end of this article and instead focus on what monkey pox is, the nature and characteristics of the associated disease, what we know and dont know. (Article by Robert W. Malone MD, MS republished from RWMaloneMD.Substack.com) The monkeypox virus, which originates in various regions of Africa, is related to SmallPox (Variola), which are both members of the genus Orthopoxvirus. However, it is important to understand that Variola (major or minor) is the species of virus which is responsible for the worst human disease caused by the Orthopox viruses. For example, Cowpox, Horsepox, and Camelpox are also members of this genus, none of which are a major health threat to humans, and one of which (Cowpox) has even been (historically) used as a Smallpox vaccine. My point is that just because Monkeypox is related to Smallpox, this does not in any way mean that it represents a similar public health threat. Anyone who implies otherwise is basically engaged in or otherwise supporting weaponized public health-related propaganda. In other words, spreading public health fearporn. Monkeypox was first identified in 1958 in colonies of monkeys, and the first human case of the virus was identified in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most likely this was just the first case identified, as people living in Africa have been in contact with monkeys and the other Monkeypox animal hosts for millennia. The West African monkeypox clade (clade = variant) circulating outside of Africa at this time causes a milder disease compared to the closely related virus found found in other regions of Africa (Congo clade). The symptoms of monkeypox are somewhat similar to, but much milder than smallpox disease. The general clinical presentation of the disease caused by the West African monkey pox clade virus involves Influenza-like symptoms fever, body aches, chills together with swollen lymph nodes. A rash on the palm of the hand is often observed. In the latter stage of the disease, which may last for up to a month or more in some cases, may involve small lesions which develop a crust, and which can result in a small depigmented scar. There is no evidence of asymptomatic transmission. In other words, current medical knowledge indicates that it is only spread by person to person contact between an uninfected individual and someone who already has symptoms of the disease. Therefore, disease spread can be readily controlled by classical public health interventions such as contact tracing, temporary quarantine of those who have had physical contact with someone who is infected, and longer term quarantine of those who develop symptoms. Essentially all of the current cases in the west which we are seeing in the news are among men who have sex with men, and appear to be due to close physical contact. Monkeypox is endemic in many parts of Africa, and is a zoonotic virus, meaning it can be transmitted from a variety of animals (not just monkeys) to humans. Initial animal to human transmission followed by limited human to human transmission is probably the cause of the sporadic cases typically observed in Africa. Chicken pox, which is highly transmissible, is not part of the genus Orthopoxvirus, despite that name pox. Once again for emphasis, Cowpox and Camelpox are also in the genus Orthopoxvirus, and they are not particularly pathogenic when contracted by humans; just because Monkeypox is a pox virus in the genus Orthopoxvirus, does not mean it is particularly deadly. Monkeypox is a double stranded DNA virus, which means that due to the double stranded nature of DNA each of the two strands act as a check on the other during replication. As a consequence of this error checking, this and other DNA viruses mutate much more slowly than RNA viruses do. Over time, DNA virus genomes are relatively stable. This means that, unlike SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) or influenza, Monkeypox is unlikely to rapidly evolve to escape either naturally acquired or vaccine induced immunity. For the purposes of making a vaccine, this makes it a much easier target that say, a rapidly evolving RNA Coronavirus such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Furthermore, from an immunological point of view, the various Orthopox viruses often are cross-protective. In other words, if you have been vaccinated with a smallpox vaccine, or previously infected by Cowpox, Camelpox, or Monkeypox, you are highly likely to be quite resistant to disease caused by the Monkeypox virus which is now being (quite rarely) reported in non-African countries. Current data indicate that Monkeypox is not very infectious in humans it has a low Ro (perhaps below 1), which is the term used to describe how efficiency an infectious disease can spread from human to human. Again, this is super good news for containment. An Ro of <1 generally means that (even in the absence of social distancing of other containment measures), for every person already infected, on average less than one other person will become infected. For comparison purposes, the Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 have an Ro in the range of 7 to 10. A virus with an Ro of less than one can be easily contained with the standard public health methods discussed above. A virus with an Ro of 7-10 essentially cannot be contained and will rapidly spread throughout the world, as we have seen with the Omicron variants. In the case of a virus with an Ro around 1 or less, traditional infectious disease containment methods such as contact tracing, identification and isolation of infected individuals can be all that is needed to control the virus. Now the fact that Monkeypox is being spread from human to human (rather than only arising from contact between a person and an infected animal) is not such good news, but since this transmission appears to be from very close contact, this means that it can be easily contained without resorting to a general population vaccination campaign. In this type of setting, if there is a significant outbreak, vaccination is often restricted to just the health care and/or first responder personnel most likely to be in contact with an infected person. Using a vaccine to help that containment via either ring vaccination or wide-spread vaccination strategies is generally unnecessary, and may even be counterproductive, depending on the safety of the vaccine keeping in mind that no drug or vaccine is perfectly safe. Let me take a moment to tell a personal story to illustrate this point. After the 9-11 events including the anthrax letters, I took a job involving clinical development of a wide range of biodefense vaccines under a US Department of Defense (DoD) contract (issued to Dynport Vaccine Company). One of the vaccine indications we worked on was for prevention of Smallpox. The Vice President of the United States at the time, Mr. Dick Cheney, was advocating for widespread vaccination against smallpox because it was thought that there was something like a 1% chance of a bioterror attack involving reintroduction of smallpox into the United States. The existing live attenuated smallpox vaccine began to be deployed throughout the United States to healthcare workers and first responders. Then multiple reports of vaccine-caused damage began to circulate. I was tasked with looking into historic DoD smallpox vaccine campaign records concerning these types of adverse events. Adverse events after administration of this live attenuated vaccine were well known, and generally fell into two categories. In some cases, a small subset of young warfighters and recruits had some previously undetected immunologic defect which resulted in them developing an ongoing infection by the live attenuated vaccine virus that was being used at the time. The other group developed more subtle symptoms including what now appears to have been vaccination-associated myo- and pericarditis typically ascribed to an autoimmune process. These problems were known risks back when smallpox vaccination was common (and smallpox had not been eradicated) and therefore no surprise when the same vaccine was redeployed in the present. But smallpox had been eradicated, and Mr. Cheneys worst case scenario never happened. Those who were vaccinated and damaged to protect against a non-existent threat provide a great example illustrating a completely upside down risk benefit ratio. All risk, no benefit. And, appropriately, the smallpox vaccination campaign was halted. Key takeaway: this is not influenza or COVID this virus mutates slowly, it is not highly infectious, naturally acquired immunity is potent and long lasting, and Orthopox vaccines are usually cross protective. The risk of immunologic escape is very, very low. And the spread of this virus can be readily stopped by simple, inexpensive classical public health measures. If it were otherwise, we would already have experienced a pandemic of Monkeypox decades ago. Monkeypox disease severity can vary with different clades (found in different regions in Africa, which also suggest the virus has been around for a very long time). Luckily, this particular clade is less severe and appears to be endemic in Africa. Unfortunately, it has rarely been studied and so relatively little is known about the virus and associated human disease, largely because the infectious threat to the general population is so low. STAT news journalist Helen Branswell has recently interviewed CDC experts, and published an excellent summary of the clinical presentation: With one to three days of the onset of fever, a distinctive rash appears, often starting on the face. Many conditions can cause rashes but the monkeypox rash has some unusual features, notably the fact that vesicles can form on the palms of the hands. In countries where it is endemic, the virus is believed to mainly spread to people from infected animals when people kill or prepare bushmeat for consumption. Once the virus jumps to people, human-to-human transmission can occur via respiratory droplets virus-laced saliva that can infect the mucosal membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat or by contact with monkeypox lesions or bodily fluids, with the virus entering through small cuts in the skin. It can also be transmitted by contact with clothing or linens contaminated with material from monkeypox lesions. (STAT News). There was a prior outbreak of Monkeypox in the United States during 2003. That particular outbreak, the first reported outside of Africa, was traced back to the importation of small mammals from Ghana. As shown by this outbreak, multiple animals can contract the disease during that outbreak, giant pouched rats and squirrels tested positive for the virus and eventually spread it to prairie dogs being sold as pets in multiple Midwestern states (per the CDC). Forty-seven people caught the disease from the prairie dogs. This is important and relevant history, because the current outbreak appears to be occurring from human to human transmission, with no single individual traced as as case zero. There have been a few other outbreaks outside of Africa over the years from travelers coming from Nigeria. It is currently thought that the Monkeypox virus is much more common in Nigeria than has previously been reported. There is a vaccine that was licensed in the U.S. in 2019 for people 18 years of age and older to protect against smallpox and monkeypox; Bavarian Nordics Jynneos. A second vaccine, ACAM2000 made by Emergent Product Development, protects against smallpox and is also thought to offer some protection against monkeypox. Both vaccines are licensed only for people considered at high risk of contracting the disease because they are not entirely safe. In the 2003 Monkeypox outbreak in the U.S., smallpox vaccine was deployed to persons considered at high risk. The U.S. already holds supplies of the vaccines in the Strategic National Stockpile, a hedge against public health emergencies. To combat a smallpox emergency, the SNS holds enough smallpox vaccine to vaccinate the entire U.S. population. In addition, the SNS has antiviral drugs that can be deployed to treat smallpox infections, if needed, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said via email. In my opinion, the 119 Million dollar smallpox vaccine purchase which was just authorized by the US HHS and Biden administration represents an unnecessary and unwarranted expense, unless there are data showing that the current strain is significantly different from the historic predecessor strains within this clade. The WHOs Van Kerkhove noted that some of these products have been licensed using what is known as the animal rule, where animal efficacy data are used as a surrogate because the lack of circulating smallpox means the vaccines or drugs cant be tested for efficacy in people. As a result, any such product could only be used in the context of a clinical trial, she said. There are options. We just have to make sure that theyre used appropriately. One of the things related to vaccines is we want to make sure if the vaccines are needed and used, theyre used among populations that need them the most. Theres not ample supply of anything right now, she said. Still, she expressed confidence the outbreak can be controlled. What we need to do right now is focus on stopping the spread. And we can do that. We can do that with the appropriate messaging, with the appropriate testing with supportive isolation and clinical care as necessary, with protecting health workers, Van Kerkhove said. (STAT News). The Bill Gates funded organization GAVI has provided their assessment of the medical threat posed by Monkeypox, which can be found here. Many readers of this substack will not be surprised by my assessment that this GAVI threat assessment is highly biased towards overstatement. For example, the article seeks to create parallels between Monkeypox and Ebola: Similar to viruses like Ebola, transmission only happens in close proximity by contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets or contaminated materials such as bedding or clothes. The article also states the following pants-on-fire disinformation; Although symptoms often ease within a month, one in ten cases can be fatal. Children are particularly susceptible. Factcheck determination by qualified subject matter expert This assertion represents a very biased interpretation of a data report from the World Health Organization: In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 4,594 suspected cases of monkeypox, including 171 deaths (case fatality ratio 3.7%). They are described as suspected because confirmation requires PCR testing, which is not easily available in endemic areas. Those readers who have become sensitized to this type of information manipulation and weaponization will immediately notice two key things about this comment. First, the reported mortality of 3.7% (NOT 10%) of cases is from suspected, not confirmed cases. Secondly, this type of sampling is highly biased towards more severe disease- countries rarely will detect and do not report cases of mild disease to the WHO. So, is the biothreat real? Is is imminent? Does it justify the global media hype? As I was waiting in an airport lounge to travel from USA to the UK two days ago, I saw a newsreel from CNN which was breathlessly reporting on this threat while displaying historic images of patients suffering from Smallpox disease. This provides a classical example of public health fearporn, in my opinion, and CNN should be reprimanded for broadcasting irresponsible propaganda misinformation and disinformation- under the guise of journalism. In my opinion, based on currently available information, Monkeypox is a virus and disease which is endemic in Africa, emerges sporadically after transmission into humans from animal hosts, and is typically spread by close human contact. It is readily controlled by classical public health measures. It does not have a high mortality rate. Unless there has been some genetic alteration, either through evolution or intentional genetic manipulation, it is not a significant biothreat, and has never been considered a high threat pathogen in the past. So stop the fear mongering, misinformation and disinformation. My interview with the New American is available for viewing, (on Rumble) A massive power grab by the UN World Health Organization and the Biden administration with the World Economic Forum and Bill Gates in the background is an attempt to subvert national sovereignty and build a one-world government with totalitarian rule, warned mRNA pioneer Dr. Robert Malone in this interview with The New American magazines Alex Newman for Conversations That Matter. This is an impeachable offense on Bidens part, he said, warning of the extreme consequences of allowing this to go through. Dr. Malone is calling for criminals to be held accountable and for this power grab to be resisted by all Americans. Read more at: RWMaloneMD.Substack.com (Natural News) More and more residents of New York City are fleeing their home state and moving to Florida as people grow increasingly frustrated with the high tax rates and surging crimes. During the first four months of the year, a total of 21,546 New Yorkers have decided to swap their drivers licenses for Florida ones. This represents a 12 percent increase in license swaps from the same period in 2021 and a 55 percent increase from the first four months of 2019. If migration trends persist, the number of New Yorkers leaving for Florida could surpass last years record of 61,728. New York City Mayor Eric Adams previously speculated that the exodus to Florida would settle down and that some people could come back to the city once it reopened and rolled back most restrictions. The mayors belief is founded on the wrong assumption that the economic restrictions placed upon New Yorkers at the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are the only reason why Americans, and in particular businesses that bring jobs and wealth to the city, are fleeing Democrat-controlled states and metro areas. (Related: Over a million Americans have fled blue states due to high rates of crime, taxes and economic regulation.) Similar situations can be seen in other blue states, such as New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Connecticut. A total of 10,580 New Jersey residents have turned in their licenses, compared to 9,664 during the same period in 2021. A total of 9,645 Californians became formal Floridians during the first four months of the year. This represents an 18 percent increase over the same time last year when only 8,166 people from the Golden State made the move. Meanwhile, Florida received 8,412 people from Pennsylvania, 8,149 from Illinois and 3,950 from Connecticut. Taxes, regulations, crime all factors that decide whether Americans want to stay in blue states People fled blue states due mostly to the high tax rates and soaring crimes. But since the implementation of lockdowns and other economic restrictions, this mass internal migration has accelerated. Now people are leaving in droves as New York City and other metro areas all over the country descend into chaos. More and more New Yorkers are frightened to even walk their streets, let alone take public transportation, such as the subway, which is plagued with crime and prone to murder and shootout incidents. All of these have contributed to the decline in quality of life in New York, which is leading to more people deciding to abandon the state which further reduces the quality of life as the states tax base diminishes. Even some of New York Citys largest businesses and Wall Street firms are now moving their operations down to Florida, believing the state to be an attractive place for long-term expansion. Among them is Goldman Sachs, which has already purchased several properties and opened outposts in West Palm Beach. Southeast Florida took in the most former New Yorkers this year so far, with Palm Beach County leading the pack with 2,935 new residents giving up their New York licenses for Florida ones. Palm Beach County is followed by Broward County with 1,946 and Miami-Dade with 1,777. Learn more about crime in the United States at Collapse.news. Watch this clip from InfoWars as host Owen Shroyer talks about the phenomenon of Americans fleeing Democrat-controlled states for Republican ones. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related articles: EXODUS: 40% of residents plan to leave San Francisco as crime rises; 76% call for more police. Blue state exodus: People fleeing New York and California for Texas and Florida, study finds. California real estate agents say wealthy homeowners leaving for Arizona, Texas, other tax havens. Businesses fleeing Washington, California and New York because of crime, violence and anti-business policies. New York Exodus: New Yorkers leaving in droves due to crime, overreaching coronavirus restrictions and high taxes. Sources include: InfoWars.com NYPost.com Bloomberg.com Brighteon.com Sunday, May 29, 2022 by: Cassie B. Tags: gay , homosexuals , hype , Hysteria , infections , LGBT , monkeypox , outbreak , pandemic , vaccines This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) The media hysteria surrounding monkeypox is largely leaving out one very important part of the story: The disease poses very little risk to most people and is being spread largely through men having sex with men. This is something that even the World Health Organization has quietly admitted. In confirming around 200 cases of the virus on Monday, WHO officials said that while anyone can technically contract it, the recent surge has been tied to homosexual men. In fact, Dr. David Heymann, who served as the chair of a meeting of the WHOs advisory group on infectious disease, said that the leading theory explaining the spread was sexual transmission at events recently held in Spains Canary Islands and Belgium. In the past, monkeypox has not triggered widespread outbreaks outside of Africa, where the disease is endemic in animals. Heymann told The Associated Press: We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission. Its very possible there was somebody who got infected, developed lesions and then spread it to others when there was sexual or close, physical contact. Of course, if they drew attention to that fact, it would make it harder for them to convince the masses to line up for the monkeypox vaccine that will inevitably be pushed on the population much in the same way that people are being bullied into getting COVID-19 vaccines. Belgian officials have already announced a mandatory 21-day quarantine for people who contract the disease, while Germany has confirmed four cases of monkeypox stemming from exposure at party events where sexual activity took place. Doctor labels hysteria over monkeypox a gross overreaction Speaking on Real Americas Voice, former WHO Consultant and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the COVID-19 response, Dr. Paul Alexander called the hysteria a gross overreaction to a disease that is much milder than smallpox. He said that there is a small chance of droplet infection but the risk to the general population is low overall. While its prudent to keep an eye on it for public health reasons, there is no reason to overreact. Epidemiologist Dr. Peter McCullough echoed this sentiment, calling for people to keep calm as the disease has a low risk of spreading and is relatively easy to treat with proper medical care. Speaking on The Alex Jones Show, he noted: There should be absolutely no panic. Its almost analogous to chickenpox and someone having lots of pustular vesicular lesions is readily identified. We can manage this. The treatment is actually very well tolerated. TPOXX drug taken twice a day is perfectly fine. To illustrate its limited spread, he pointed out that there have been just 700 reported cases of monkeypox in the last half century, nearly all of them in the Congo. Moreover, it has plenty of symptoms, making it easy to identify people who have the disease so its spread can be limited. He added that governments buying up millions of vaccine doses was a hyperbolic response. According to experts, monkeypox does not spread as easily among humans as Covid because it requires close intimate contact and mainly enters the body through broken skin via bodily fluids. Its a self-limiting illness, and most people will recover within a few weeks, even without treatment. Unfortunately, as long there is money to be made on vaccines, there will be no end to the fearmongering over this and other diseases. The Covid pandemic has demonstrated just how much money there is to make from disease outbreaks, and now everyone is looking for the next cash cow. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com CreativeDestructionMedia.com (Natural News) Republican senators blocked a Democrat-backed proposal designed to combat domestic terrorism, arguing that it seeks to set up Thought Police for military and law enforcement personnel. In a 47-47 vote on May 26, GOP lawmakers blocked HR 350 known as the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) broke away from party lines, joining other GOP senators in voting against the proposal. The resulting filibuster opens up HR 350 for further deliberation at a later date. If passed, HR 350 would empower dedicated domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to analyze and monitor domestic terrorist activity and require the federal government to take steps to prevent domestic terrorism. Under the bill, DHS would have a new Domestic Terrorism Unit under its wing that will be responsible for monitoring and analyzing domestic terrorism activity. It would also be tasked with investigating and prosecuting incidents of domestic terrorism and [coordinating] with the [DOJs] Civil Rights Division on domestic terrorism matters that may also be hate crime incidents. The bill introduced by Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) would also mandate the establishment of the Domestic Terrorism Section under the FBIs Counterterrorism Division. Furthermore the DHS secretary, the U.S. attorney general and the FBI director would be mandated to ensure that each office authorized under this section in their respective agencies shall have not less than one employee dedicated to ensuring compliance with civil rights and civil liberties laws and regulations. Employees under these sections would also be required to undergo annual anti-bias training. (Related: Democrats are now moving quickly to reclassify conservative dissent as domestic terrorism.) HR 350 does not appropriate a set amount of money to ensure the act is enforced. Rather, it simply authorizes the three agencies to appropriate such sums as may be necessary to carry out this act. Paul: HR 350 an insult to the military, law enforcement HR 350 also mentions that the leaders of the three agencies are required to submit an assessment of the domestic terrorism threat posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, including white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the uniformed services every year. It would also mandate the establishment of new training programs that are allegedly designed to root out white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of law enforcement and the military. Such a stipulation did not sit too well with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who slammed the bill in a speech. According to the senator, HR 350 would be more accurately called the [Democratic] plan to brand and insult our police and soldiers as white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Youre going to have a task force to investigate our soldiers. This is going to be a federal agency thats going to go in and investigate our soldiers for white supremacy. [They will] read their emails [and the] websites they go to, because the implication is theyre guilty until they can prove themselves innocent,' said Paul. Thats what this will set up. It will set up more government agencies that presume your guilt. Its an insult to our armed services, to our police, and to anyone who works in law enforcement. Its an insult to every police officer in this country [and] to everyone in our armed forces. The Kentucky senator said HR 350 seeks to create the Thought Police of the military borrowing the term from the book 1984 by George Orwell. This bill wall fails, because the Democrats message hate the police, defund the police, the police [and] the military are terrible people has been roundly rejected by the American people and will continue to be. Watch Tucker Carlson of Fox News as he talks about HR 350. This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Enemies of the deep state: The governments war on domestic terrorism is a trap. Harold Meyerson wants all Republicans to be put on a domestic terrorism watch list. The Biden administrations domestic terrorism strategy threatens to criminalize conservative speech and thought. 7 Pages of liberal, BLM and Antifa domestic terrorism against conservatives completely ignored in domestic terrorism threat report by Biden regime. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Congress.gov Brighteon.com (Natural News) KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany A U.S. Air Force base in Germany will not host a drag queen event originally advertised for June. (Article by Matt Lamb republished from LifeSiteNews.com) Ramstein Air Force Bases library advertised a Drag Queen Story Time event on June 2. The U.S. Air Force base in Germany invited children to wear your brightest and most colorful outfits for the event with a drag queen named Stacey Teed. The Air Force told the Post Millennial the event will not occur. The conservative publication added a note from a spokesperson for the military to its original May 24 article which reads: An advertisement was posted to the base library social media page before the event had completed Ramsteins established processes for special observance coordination and approval. The advertisement has been removed and the event will not take place. Ramstein leaders strive to foster a culture based on inclusion where all people are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their political views, color of their skin, or sexual orientation. The bases established processes will ensure all future special observance events are properly reviewed and approved prior to advertisement. A librarian that works at Ramstein tweeted that the base reportedly canceled all drag events. Were being forced to cancel all drag events on Ramstein due to a minority of people that have nothing to do with our base community, a librarian wrote on Twitter. Melissa Kays account is locked, but the Post Millennial included a screenshot of her tweet. The potential drag event is nothing new for the U.S. military under President Joe Biden, which has frequently pursued liberal sexual and social politics. Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada hosted a drag queen show in 2021. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense (DOD) has created training documents that identify opposition to abortion and the LGBTQ agenda as a characteristic of a possible extremist. It also labeled traditionally Catholic views on gender and feminism as signs of extremism. President Biden also reversed the prohibition on gender-confused individuals serving in the military. His top defense officials have also embraced liberal racial politics, including the promotion of Critical Race Theory and anti-racism. Both related ideas hold that America is fundamentally racist and the structures and institutions of the country are stacked against racial minorities. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Pentagons Joint Chiefs of Staff, said future soldiers need to understand white rage. I do think its important, actually, for those of us in uniform, to be open-minded and be widely read, and the United States Military Academy is a university, and it is important that we train and we understand, Milley said at a Congressional hearing in June 2021. And I want to understand white rage, and Im white, and I want to understand it. Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com (Natural News) The Wall Street Journal ran a scathing editorial on May 20, called Hillary Clinton Did It. (Article by David Zukerman republished from AmericanThinker.com) This editorial began: The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 was a dirty trick for the ages and now we know it came from the top candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. The editorial quickly explained: That was the testimony Friday by 2016 Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook in federal court [in Washington, D.C.], and while this news is hardly a surprise, its still bracing to find her fingertips on the political weapon. (Also not surprisingly, The May 20 print edition of The New York Times did not include a story on Mooks testimony.) Mooks testimony was heard at the trial of attorney Michael Sussman, charged with lying to the FBI in calling to their attention a story that Donald J. Trump, by means of connections with Russias Alfa Bank, was colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The lie at issue was not the false claim about a Trump-Alfa connection, but the charge that Sussman brought this matter to the FBI as a good citizen, and not as a representative of the Clinton campaign. As the Journal editorial noted: Prosecutors say [Sussman] was working for the Clinton campaign. The editorial pointed out, Mr. Mook said Mrs. Clinton was asked about the plan [to call attention to the Trump-Alfa ties] and approved it. A story on the Trump-Alfa Bank allegations thus appeared in Slate, a left-leaning online publication. After that, the Journal explained how the Clinton campaign used the self-generated news of the investigation and the initial Slate article that came of it, both of which they had planted, as the basis for making tweet after tweet to the press about the Slate report to churn up mass coverage about it in the press and convince the public that the investigation was about something serious. The concluding paragraphs of the editorial are worth quoting in full: In short, the Clinton campaign created the Trump-Alfa allegation, fed it to a credulous press that failed to confirm the allegations but ran with them anyway, then promoted the story as if it was legitimate news. The campaign also delivered the claims to the FBI, giving journalists another excuse to portray the accusations as serious and perhaps true. Most of the press will ignore this news, but the Russia-Trump narrative that Mrs. Clinton sanctioned did enormous harm to the country. It disgraced the FBI, humiliated the press, and sent the country on a three-year investigation to nowhere. Vladimir Putin never came close to doing as much disinformation damage. The harm done to the United States by the perfidy of the Clintonistas cannot be overemphasized. That three-year investigation to nowhere represented the Clinton-Obama attempted takeover of the government. (Call it the COAT campaign.) With congressional Republicans unwilling to prevent the COAT campaign, the Trump administration was blocked from putting U.S.-Russia relations on a rational, mutually beneficial footing, to the point that, under the present Senate leadership, the specter of war with Russia is no longer an unthinkable thought. The COAT campaign succeeded in keeping the Ukraine pot boiling, with the water first heated by Obamas stirring up of anti-Russian feelings in Ukraine, leading to the Maidan revolution that ousted the legitimately elected president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. A political opposition ready to lie about Donald J. Trump, supported by a media prepared to believe the worst about Mr. Trump has given us the current reality where the deep state is using NATO as an instrument to humiliate Russia, and Republican leaders in Congress are going along with the plans of the deep state to make the globe an unsafe place except for the globalist hegemony. Most of the press will indeed ignore disclosure of the source of the baseless accusations of Trump-Russia collusion it is no accident that the New York Times ignored the Mook testimony in its May 20 editions. It is, moreover, unlikely that the press will be humiliated by its mendacious coverage of Hillary Clinton; the media, on the contrary, wears its mendacious coverage of Clinton and the anti-Trump neo-totalitarians as deserving of journalistic honors. Never in the history of this Republic have so many citizens been so ill-served by so many elitists in government and the media. Read more at: AmericanThinker.com (Natural News) Some of the same media outlets who fell for the lie that Donald Trump was a dupe of Russian President Vladimir Putin when the former ran for president in 2016 and that the two of them colluded to steal the election from Hillary Clinton are now shocked shocked, mind you to discover they were the ones that were duped all along. Other outlets that knew the Trump-Russia collusion narrative was a lie and went along with it anyway because they hate Trump and never thought he should be within 100 yards of the White House, are now publishing mea culpa pieces after it was revealed in federal court last week that Clinton personally approved spreading the lie to the media in the first place. Its not really clear which column The Wall Street Journal falls into, but nevertheless, the paper has published a scathing editorial titled, Hillary Clinton Did It, in which the editorial board takes the two-time presidential loser to task for further eroding Americans trust in their system of government with a lie that sucked up nearly all of Trumps time in office, cost tens of millions to investigate, and distracted him from doing even greater things for the country. The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 was a dirty trick for the ages and now we know it came from the top candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, the editorial began, before quickly explaining: That was the testimony Friday by 2016 Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook in federal court [in Washington, D.C.], and while this news is hardly a surprise, its still bracing to find her fingertips on the political weapon. The American Thinker added: Mooks testimony was heard at the trial of attorney Michael Sussman, charged with lying to the FBI in calling to their attention a story that Donald J. Trump, by means of connections with Russias Alfa Bank, was colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The lie at issue was not the false claim about a Trump-Alfa connection, but the charge that Sussman brought this matter to the FBI as a good citizen, and not as a representative of the Clinton campaign. Prosecutors say [Sussman] was working for the Clinton campaign, the editorial continued. Mr. Mook said Mrs. Clinton was asked about the plan [to call attention to the Trump-Alfa ties] and approved it. A story on the Trump-Alfa Bank allegations thus appeared in Slate, a left-leaning online publication. The editorial went on to explain how the Clinton campaign then utilized the self-generated news of the probe and the Slate article that came from it both which were planted by the campaign itself as the basis of several consecutive tweets to make spurious claims about Trumps integrity in an effort to try and convince the general public that the investigation was extremely serious. In short, the Clinton campaign created the Trump-Alfa allegation, fed it to a credulous press that failed to confirm the allegations but ran with them anyway, then promoted the story as if it was legitimate news. The campaign also delivered the claims to the FBI, giving journalists another excuse to portray the accusations as serious and perhaps true, the editorial said. Most of the press will ignore this news, but the Russia-Trump narrative that Mrs. Clinton sanctioned did enormous harm to the country. It disgraced the FBI, humiliated the press, and sent the country on a three-year investigation to nowhere. Vladimir Putin never came close to doing as much disinformation damage, the WSJ concluded. In short, Hillary Clinton thought she was so entitled to the presidency that she had no problem throwing gasoline on several of our governing institutions and lighting them on fire, the consequences and the aftermath be damned. Hillary Clinton is one of the worst human beings on the planet, not to mention one of the worst Americans in the history of our country. At a minimum, she should have to reimburse taxpayers the hundreds of millions spent investigating her fabricated hoax. Sources include: AmericanThinker.com WSJ.com If that lockdown goldfish is starting to lose its luster, think carefully before tossing it in the river or canal - the critters may appear harmless. Still, their ravenous appetites, cold tolerance, and go-getter attitudes may be disastrous for local fauna compared to native species. Aggressive Consumers According to a new study, goldfish consume far more than equivalent fish in UK waters, consume more than other invasive fish, and are far more eager to take on other species aggressively. According to the study's principal scientist, Dr. James Dickey of Queen's University Belfast, goldfish are a triple danger. He explained, "Not only are they easily available, but they also combine ravenous cravings with daring behavior." "While northern European climes are a barrier to non-native species living in the wild, goldfish are tolerant of such circumstances and might represent a danger to native biodiversity in rivers and lakes by using the resources that other species rely on." Also Read: Young Boy Caught a Massive "Foot-Long" Goldfish, Proving Invasive Goldfish Epidemic Being Released Although anecdotal accounts suggest this may be the case, the study could not determine if pet owners who purchased new goldfish during lockdown were more likely to release them into the wild. "While our research did not look into whether the problem has gotten worse since lockdown, there is reason to suspect that it has, or will," Dickey added. "Recent news articles concerning released Amazonian catfish discovered in Glasgow may be related." There's also possible a time lag, and we won't notice the impacts until this summer, when normalcy returns and, for example, people want to vacation [and leave their dogs behind]." The study, published in the journal NeoBiota, looked at the two most regularly traded fish species in Northern Ireland: goldfish, a globally invasive species, and the white cloud mountain minnow, which has yet to establish a significant invasive foothold. Both species are endemic to East Asia and belong to the carp family. Intense Examination By examining availability, feeding rates, and behavior, the researchers developed a unique way of analyzing and comparing the impacts of both species. Goldfish outcompeted the white cloud minnow by a wide margin, demonstrating that they can wreak havoc on local animal populations in UK ponds, rivers, and streams. When goldfish are put into UK rivers, they feed on tadpoles and other tiny fish, upsetting natural ecosystems. Due to their adaptability, goldfish have grown to over 30cm (1ft) in length in various streams in the United States. Every weekday at 7 a.m. BST, sign up for First Edition, our free daily email. Many pet owners believe that releasing their goldfish into the wild is a kind deed, but Dickey warns that it is detrimental. According to the study, another approach to lessen the damage is for pet stores to carry more alternative species that do not represent such an invasive risk. "Goldfish are a high-risk species," Dickey explained. "A way to avoiding destructive invaders from establishing in the future is to limit the availability of potentially impacting [species, such as goldfish] alongside increased education of pet owners." Do Not Flush According to Dickey, flushing an unwanted fish down the toilet is likewise a no-no. However, he claims that certain pet stores will accept fish for return, albeit not always with a refund, and that there are websites like Preloved.co.uk where they may be given away or exchanged. Related Article: Top 5 Most Destructive Invasive Species Today For the most recent updates from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News! A dead beaked whale washes up on a California beach recently, and experts are not certain which species the dolphin-like whale carcass belongs to. The corpse belonged to a rarely seen type of beaked whale species, which are members of the family Ziphiidae. The incident added to the growing number of dolphin and whale strandings worldwide. While related cases have been attributed to vessel strikes or storms, the case of the dead cetacean on the California beach is considered to be unique since scientists are also clueless about how the marine animal died or what caused its wounds. Mysterious Dead Beaked Whale Reports regarding the mysterious dead beaked whale emerged after it was first found by a passerby along the Mendocino Coast at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve near the city of Fort Bragg, California, on May 15. Members of the nearby Noyo Center for Marine Science (Noyo Center) recovered the marine mammal's body with the help of scientists from the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in San Francisco, California. For further analysis, both institutions collected the beaked whale's vascularized adipose tissue called "blubber," as well as its various organs and its skull to the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank in Charleston, South Carolina. Also Read: Tour Boat Hits Whale Off the Coast of Mexico; Six People Injured Whale Group and Species According to a Facebook post of the Noyo Center on May 17, the 16-foot-long marine creature has been identified as a rarely seen beaked whale, which is a group of cetacean species like dolphins, porpoises, and other types of whales. The organization also underscored the ability of beak whales to live in "deep water environments" and dive diver than any known marine mammals, making them difficult to study. Since the known family of the stranded beaked whale is known already, scientists have reportedly speculated that the massive sea creature may relate to two dozen species of Ziphiidae, which include Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) and Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii). However, the washed-up carcass on the California beach may belong to other known beaked whale species like a Hubb's beaked whale (Mesoplodon carihubbsi) or Stejneger's beaked whale (Mesopodon stejnegeri), according to Moe Flannery, a CAS senior collections manager, who told local news agency SFGate. In addition, the mysterious animal can also be a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) or a pygmy beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvianus), according to Sascha Hooker, a marine mammal biologist from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, in an email, sent to Live Science. Vessel Strike The ambiguity regarding the taxonomic identity of the stranded whale or other marine animals is common in some cases, especially if their morphological features are similar to other species. Going back to the washed-up specimen at the Mendocino Coast, scientists reportedly associate the mysterious wounds on the face and scrape marks on its body from a ship strike or vessel strike. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries), vessel strikes have injured 37 whales along the Atlantic coast of the United States, Canada, and the Gulf of Mexico along the Atlantic coast between 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile, similar incidents also do occur in other parts of the world, especially where maritime activities are high. Related Article: NOAA: 41 Humpback Whales Mysteriously Die Along the Atlantic Coast Tropical Storm Agatha, which has been projected to become a hurricane, may potentially hit Florida and its surrounding region on the Gulf Coast of the United States next week. Currently traversing the eastern Pacific Ocean, Agatha is heading towards the southern coast of Mexico. If Agatha hits Florida or the Gulf Coast in the coming days, it will become the first hurricane of the country's hurricane season, which varies both in the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, with the latter being riskier due to the common forms of storms in the region. Previous US weather forecasts over recent months have suggested the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which approximately starts from June and lasts until the end of November annually, may begin early and consist of stronger storms or hurricanes this year. Hurricane Agatha As Tropical Storm Agatha approaches Mexico, the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Saturday, May 28, have issued a hurricane warning, a hurricane watch, and a tropical storm warning for the following locations in the Central American country: Salina Cruz to Lagunas de Chacahua Salina Cruz to Barra De Tonala Salina Cruz to Boca de Pijijiapan Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta Maldonado The storm can transition to become "Hurricane Agatha" by Sunday, May 29, according to the NOAA weather forecast. On Saturday afternoon, Eric Blake from the National Hurricane Center told the Miami Herald it was too early to speculate that Agatha will threaten Miami as well. This is due to the fact that the US weather authorities are currently focusing on the tropical storm, which was the last located about 180 miles off Mexico's Pacific coast. With winds of up to 50 miles, the said hurricane advisories have been issued since the storm system is expected to strengthen in intensity in terms of reaching hurricane-force wind. In addition, heavy rain with flooding is also possible to emanate from the storm. Also Read: Atlantic Hurricane Season in the United States May Come Earlier than Expected: Weather Forecast US Hurricane Season Although Blake emphasized the ambiguity of the storm hitting the US, the senior hurricane specialist advised people in the US should be prepared for the "first-named storm" of the country's hurricane season, which officially starts on Wednesday, June 1, this year. While uncertainty looms regarding the final trajectory of the Agatha after Mexico, hurricanes have made landfall in Florida and different parts of the US in previous years. In a revised report released by the Hurricane Research Division of the NOAA in April 2022, hurricane landfall records since the 1850s indicate that the states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, as the most common initial recipients of these storms. In August 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in the southeastern state of Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. In July 2020, Hurricane Hanna became the first Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the US after it reached Texas. In Florida, Hurricane Michael made landfall in October 2018 and Hurricane Irma made landfall in The Sunshine State back in September 2016. Related Article: Study Warns US Residents to Prepare for Stronger Hurricanes in Next 100 Years Ancient lunar volcanoes were previously thought of as almost non-existent when it comes to Earth's moon. Being our planet's natural satellite, the Moon has provided us not only with reflective light from the Sun in the night sky but also contributed to a relatively stable climate and ocean tides due to its strong gravitational pull. However, a new study showed that our neighboring celestial body may also provide us with other benefits in the form of drinking water or space rocket fuel water for future space travelers. This is based on reported ancient volcanoes that erupted on the moon billions of years ago. The lunar volcanic eruptions reportedly created clouds that contained carbon monoxide and water vapor, forming a short-lived lunar atmosphere that lasted for millions of years. Scientists believed that this space phenomenon may have left potential water resources not visible to us. Since its formation after the solar system, the Moon has stood by with our planet, stabilized by gravitational orbits. In light of the new research, it appears that the moon can also help boost space exploration aside from just being merely our space neighbor. Lunar Volcanoes and Water Ice In the new paper published in the journal The Planetary Science Journal on May 3, scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) believed ancient volcanoes on the Moon billions of years ago may have caused a vast residue of H20 in the form of water ice from polar ice accumulation caused by volcanic eruption-triggered transient atmospheres on its surface. The US-based study claimed that this water exists in the lunar poles, specifically in the Moon's northern pole and south pole. However, the research team acknowledged the the exact abundance, distribution, and origin of this natural resource are not fully understood. Also Read: First Full Moon 'Ice Moon' of 2022 to Rise on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday Volcanic Outgassing While the hypothesis of the research was not derived from physical sampling collection, the CU Boulder researchers constructed a model; which determines that the accumulation of the lunar polar water ice came from volcanic outgassing. The team's model suggested that approximately 41% of the total H20 mass that was emitted from the lunar volcanic eruptions during the prehistoric period may have condensed as ice in the Moon's polar regions. The assessment was also based on mapping water ice distribution and abundance through current surface temperature data taken from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Moon Appearance In a media release of CU Boulder on May 18, the university highlighted that its new research that the ancient volcanoes occurred in a series of eruptions covered the Moon with hot lava for hundreds of thousands of square miles. The emission of lava and its drying have apparently contributed to the "familiar appearance" of the Moon as we know it as a dark grey floating in the vastness of space, according to the study's authors. Nevertheless, such physical features have also hinted at the potential drinking water hiding in the Moon all along. In comparison, the team's simulation model showed the appearance of the Moon was almost similar to Hawaii between 2 billion and 4 billion years ago. The only difference is that our natural satellite contained tens of thousands of volcanoes erupting on the surface, reaching a peak every 22,000 years, based on the simulation. Prior to the CU Boulder study, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed for the first time in October 2020 that its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) detected water on the sunlit surface part of the Moon. The NASA discovery paved the way for the continued decades-long curiosity regarding the possibility of water being distributed on the lunar surface. Related Article: Blood Moon Causes Intense Earthquakes Across the Globe According to information published by Deutsch Welle on May 24, 2022, the United Kingdom plans to send warships to the Black Sea to escort civilian ships exporting Ukrainian grain. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Royal Navy's HMS Defender in the Black Sea (Picture source: Russia Novosti) On June 23, 2021, the United Kingdom's HMS Defender had undertaken freedom of navigation patrol through the disputed waters around the Crimean Peninsula. It was a diplomatic incident (known as "the 2021 Black Sea incident") between Russia and the United Kingdom involving the British destroyer HMS Defender while it transited from Odessa, Ukraine, to Batumi, Georgia. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and border guards said they fired warning shots from coast guard patrol ships and dropped bombs from a Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft in the path of Defender after, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, it had allegedly strayed for about 20 minutes as far as 3 km (2 miles) into waters off the coast of Crimea. Montreux Convention After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian government appealed to Turkey to exercise its authority under the Montreux Convention to limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on 27 February that his government would legally recognize the Russian invasion as a "war", which provides grounds for implementing the Convention with respect to military vessels. This blockage of naval vessels also applies to NATO powers who cannot now move their vessels from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Page Content KansasWC Reimbursement for Air Ambulance Services On May 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of Kansas, in EagleMed, LLC v. Travelers Insurance, remanded a fee dispute between an air ambulance carrier and a workers compensation (WC) insurer to the Workers Compensation Appeals Board (Board) for a determination of whether the billed air ambulance charges are usual and customary as required by Kansas 2012 WC fee schedule. The court ruled that it did not need to decide whether the federal Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempts the 2012 WC medical fee schedule requirement that air ambulance reimbursements will be limited to usual and customary charges or construe the meaning of the term usual and customary, without first having the Board make factual determinations of whether the fees charged by the air ambulance carrier are supported by evidence that meets the usual and customary standard. With this decision, the court found that both the Board and appellate court erred in their respective rulings, where the Board found that the WC insurer must pay the full amount billed by the air ambulance carrier due to federal ADA preemption, and the appellate court held that the Board lacks authority to adjudicate a fee dispute between a WC insurer and air ambulance provider due to federal ADA preemption. WisconsinCOVID-19 Lawsuit Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy On May 3, 2022, the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in Ruiz v. Conagra Foods Packaged Foods, LLC, reviewed a wrongful death and survival lawsuit against an employer alleging that the employers failure to implement safety measures in the workplace caused an employees COVID-19 infection, which spread to the employees wife and led to her death. The court found that the claims brought by the employee were barred by workers compensation (WC) exclusive remedy pursuant to section 102.03 of the Workers Compensation Act, which provides that an employer is liable in WC and WC is the exclusive remedy for an employee who sustains an injury while performing work incidental to the employment, that the injury is not self-inflicted, arose out of the employment, and both employer and employee are subject to the provisions of the Act. The court, however, did not dismiss the claims brought by the estate of the employees wife. The court found that the estate did not meet the required statutory conditions for liability under WC and rejected the employers argument that the estates claims were barred by exclusive remedy because they flow from the employees workplace exposure to the virus. In its analysis, the court recognized that Wisconsin has no case law addressing the issue and relied on two appellate decisionsfrom a federal and a California courtwhich held that only nonemployee claims that are completely dependent upon the employees injuries are barred by exclusive remedy. The court then concluded that the estates tort claims were not barred because the estate was seeking damages in tort arising from the spouses death, an event allegedly caused by, but not legally or logically dependent on, the employees infection. Nevertheless, the court asked the parties to submit additional briefs addressing whether public policy would bar recovery of the wrongful death and survival claims brought by the estate, which require a finding that the employer owed a duty of care to the wife to mitigate the risk of exposing employees and others to the virus. NCCI will monitor further developments. For more information on other cases monitored by NCCIs Legal Division, visit previous Court Case Updates and Court Case Insights, under the Legal section of INSIGHTS on ncci.com. This article is provided solely as a reference tool to be used for informational purposes only. The information in this article shall not be construed or interpreted as providing legal or any other advice. Use of this article for any purpose other than as set forth herein is strictly prohibited. : dy010714 (), : WaterWorld : Maintain campus cleanliness Reject Yan Limon for Perelman Medical College : BBS (Sun May 29 03:11:49 2022, ) In the global epidemic, the economy is shrinking, the employment rate is low , the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine hired Yan Limeng as the hospital staff, this non-racist, non-discriminatory for Asian employees to provide jobs behavior, reflects the college's fraternity, equality. But the Perelman School of Medicine in the hiring of like-minded employees, it is time to consider the maintenance of campus cleanliness as the first task, reject Yan Limeng on stage to join the medical school. Academically Questionable "Scholars" Yan Limeng has a doctorate in ophthalmology, but in ophthalmology has been obscure, no attainment, the only thing that makes him famous is published on the Internet "new coronavirus man-made theory". Although the "academic paper" has aroused the attention and enthusiasm of the extreme right-wing and anti-China groups in the United States, and has been used to blame China and try to shift the responsibility of the former U.S. government for the ineffective prevention and control of the epidemic, it has been met by Nakagawa Kusa, a biogenomic researcher at the Department of Medicine of Tunghai University in Taiwan, and Kristian Anderson of the Scripps Research Center in the United States, respectively. However, they were challenged by experts and scholars such as Kristian Andersen of the Scripps Research Center and others in the New York Times, National Geographic, and other media or social media platforms, while Chinese dissident Fang Zhouzi published a direct article "Refuting the Conspiracy Theory of "New Coronavirus Man-Made"" and Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, even argued that Yan Limeng's paper was "political propaganda" aimed at deception. Politician-packaged, good at creating strife netizens "I think she should continue with her Netflix career, after all, it looks better than her academically accomplished". "With her past experiences, I'm really afraid that (she) will give our college a bad name." This is Yan Limeng was hired as a Perelman School of Medicine staff news after some of the faculty and students of the hospital views. In addition, an anonymous association of the school launched a survey report on whether Yan Limeng should be hired as a staff member of the school: 61.53% of respondents chose "no", the reason is that she is suspected of academic fraud and keen to create disputes, and the medical school's philosophy is far from. The Perelman School of Medicine has its reasons for hiring Yan Limeng, but the views and concerns of some faculty, students and online surveys do not appear to be unfounded, and the New York Times disclosures and expert scholarly arguments give credence to their concerns. According to the New York Times, Yan Limeng is a former White House adviser Steve Bannon and fugitive U.S. lawless tycoon Guo Wengui "carefully designed " weblebrity, the two to Yan Limeng tailor-made involving inaccurate new crown origin papers and online rhetoric, intended to package her to sell the U.S. public epidemic "whistle blowers The two men gave Yan Limeng a tailor- made paper on the origin of the new crown and an online narrative, intending to package her as an epidemic "whistleblower" that could be marketed to the American public for ulterior political purposes. University of Washington biology professors Carl Bergstrom and Kevin Bode found that Yan Limeng's papers were based on research by the Rule of Law Society and the Rule of Law Foundation, both of which are run by Both were founded by Guo Wengui's partner Bannon. Yan Limeng in the former U.S. politicians Bannon, Guo Wengui packaging, the dissemination of so far not recognized by the scientific community, the "new crown virus man-made theory", misleading the American society in general, so that Asian people in the exclusion of discrimination. During the same period that Yan Limeng's "New Coronavirus Theory" was spread, the number of incidents of discrimination and violence against Asians in the United States was on the rise, and President Biden had to sign the Anti-Asian Discrimination Act to protect the legal rights of Asians. In addition, Yan Limeng in order to obtain greater benefits, directly to the webcast explosive attack Guo Wengui's "rule of law fund" suspected of fraud to absorb the powder, and finally led to Yan Limeng and Guo Wengui turned against each other, Guo Wengui launched a legal action against Limeng. Women with moral flaws -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 23.] Our American States Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R) has a very demanding job, as do legislative leaders across the country. So, when NCSL learned he was hosting a podcast in addition to leading a chamber in one of the nations largest states, he seemed like a perfect guest for this podcast. Sprowls podcast, Read, White and Blue, wrapped up its first eight-episode season on April 12 and featured authors ranging from Todd Rose, author of End of Average, to Devil in the Grove author Gilbert King. Sprowls talked about why he decided to start the podcast, the opportunity to talk about issues in depth and his favorite book from childhood. He also shares the biggest challenge to leaders in Florida. Resources First celebrated as Decoration Day in the years after the Civil War, Memorial Day was designated a federal holiday in 1971. By Jim Reed | May 27, 2022 | State Legislatures News | Print This weekend, Americans pause to remember those who have given their lives while serving in the nations armed forces. Falling on the last Monday of May each year, Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in all branches of the U.S. militarymore than 1.1 million military personnel in all conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the war on terror. Memorial Day honors those who have died, while Veterans Day in November honors all military veterans living and dead. At its Legislative Summit in Tampa, Fla., last November, NCSL paid tribute to all military veterans. Long-Standing Tradition First celebrated as Decoration Day in the years after the Civil War, Memorial Day was designated a federal holiday in 1971. The day is observed with parades, flag displays and visits to veterans homes, cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance occurs at 3 p.m. local time, while 11 a.m. is designated as a moment for prayer and reflection. A long-standing tradition on public televisionone that unites the country in remembrance and appreciation of those who gave their lives for our nationis the National Memorial Day Concert, hosted by the actors Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna. Other countries around the world also observe a similar day of remembrance, including the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, France, Turkey, Nigeria and Italy. NCSL staff join their fellow citizens in lifting up, honoring and remembering those who have died in service to the nation and recognizing the sacrifices made by the families who have lost loved ones over the years. NCSLs Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs enables state legislators and legislative staff to assist military service members and veterans in their states and work with nearby military installations on key issues. Contact NCSL to participate in this effort. Jim Reed staffs NCSLs Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs. Additional Resources Law minister Anisul Huq, on behalf of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, hands over awards to injured peacekeepers at a function to recognise their sacrifice in establishing global peace at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Sunday. The prime minister joins the event virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. Focus Bangla photo Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the Bangladeshi peacekeepers to discharge duties accordingly as establishing peace was a noble task, urging them to brand Bangladesh a powerful peace promoting country. We expect you will establish Bangladesh as powerful peace promoting country and uphold the dignity of its flag. You have to discharge duty with professionalism, honesty, sincerity and dedication as promoting global peace is a noble task, she said. The prime minister was addressing a function as chief guest marking the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers-2022 held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. She joined the function virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in capital. The prime minister pledged to play a more effective role in establishing global peace keeping in mind this years theme people peace progress: the power of partnerships. Ensuring global peace is now much more challenging than the past considering the worlds contemporary perspective and the fast spreading technology while vested quarters of states and non-states are becoming new threats with advancement, she said. For that reason, the peacekeepers in UN peacekeeping missions have to face multifaceted and critical situations. Were preparing our peacekeepers with appropriate training and equipment to face the new challenges in the peacekeeping missions, she said. The prime minister expressed her gratitude to the Bangladeshi peacekeepers as they brightened the countrys image through their humanitarian and social works alongside the peacekeeping tasks. In this connection, she recalled that every heads of the governments and states have highly praised the works of Bangladeshi peacekeepers, in where they went, for their outstanding contribution to promoting peace. You have restored the confidence and trust of the local people by extending your humanitarian and social works while you have freed many critical places. As a nation, were proud of you, Sheikh Hasina said. The prime minister also exchanged views remotely with some of the Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers working at different UN peacekeeping missions abroad. Law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister Anisul Huq, chief of army staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, and military adviser to UN peace operations department General Birame Diop, spoke on the occasion while UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis gave the address of welcome. On behalf of the prime minister, the law minister handed over awards to family members of the two deceased peacekeepers and 14 injured peacekeepers at the function to recognise their noble sacrifice in establishing global peace. A bravery award was also handed over to a peacekeeper. At the outset of the programme, a one minute silence was observed to show respect to the peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of promoting global peace. A short video documentary was also screened at the function on Bangladeshs 34 years journey in the UN peacekeeping missions. Stating that Bangladeshs effective participation in the UN missions has consolidated its position in establishing world peace, Sheikh Hasina said, At the same time, it has been playing an important role in development of our diplomatic relations with militarily powerful countries. In addition, the prime minister said that Bangladesh peacekeepers had been earning huge foreign currencies which were contributing to the national economy. Describing Bangladesh as one of the major troops contributing countries in UN peacekeeping missions, she said that currently 75,516 peacekeepers from 121 countries had been deployed in the UN peacekeeping missions. Of them, 6,825 peacekeepers including 519 women are from Bangladesh, which is 9.2 per cent of the total peacekeepers deployed in the peacekeeping missions. The participation of Bangladeshi women is increasing gradually, she said. The prime minister said that the UN secretary general personally requested her to increase female troops in the missions. Bangladeshi peacekeepers have successfully completed 55 missions in different countries, adding currently they are engaged in 13 missions, she said. In this connection, she said, If required, Bangladesh is ready to send more troops in the UN peacekeeping missions. At present, Bangladeshs permanent representative to the United Nations Rabab Fatima is the chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, she added. Recalling with due respect the Bangladeshi peacekeepers who made supreme sacrifice for the noble causes of world peace, she said that 161 Bangladeshis lost their lives and 247 others got injured in the UN peacekeeping missions. Two Bangladeshi peacekeepers received martyrdom in the last one year (till April last), she said and prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members. The prime minister asked the Bangladeshi peacekeepers that included Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force and Police, to discharge duties in the missions accordingly keeping their lives protected. She added, Always keep in mind that self-confidence is the most important thing in discharging professional duties. So, you all should carry out your duties with confidence, if doing so, you will be successful. Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the world economy had been affected badly due to double blows of the coronavirus pandemic and the war, saying, We dont want any conflict or war. We want peace be established across the globe. To this end, she said that Bangladesh has always followed the foreign policy of the countrys founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Friendship to all, and malice to none. The prime minister said that Bangladesh has always been working for establishing peace, adding that the United Nations adopted a resolution titled Culture of Peace placed by Bangladesh in 1999. She said that her government had established the Peace Keeping Operation Training Centre in Bangladesh in 1999. The centre later became a full-fledged institute titled Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training-BIPSOT in 2002, which is now considered as one of the worlds best training centres for peacekeepers, she said. Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh joined the peacekeeping missions as a member of the Blue Helmet family in 1988 and today, Bangladesh is celebrating 34 years of its glory (membership) as one of the leading troops contributing countries to the UN peacekeeping missions. The Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies organises a discussion on the rights of domestic workers at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Sunday. New Age photo Politicians, labour leaders and professionals on Sunday at a discussion in Dhaka said that rights of workers, specially domestic workers, would not be established without movements. The Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies organised the discussion on the rights of domestic workers at the National Press Club, with its vice-chairman Anwar Hossain in the chair. Workers Party of Bangladesh president Rashed Khan Menon said that the owners of the mills and factories would not respect the rights of the workers without strong labour movements. He called on the domestic workers to be united and wage movements demanding protection of their rights. In case of labour movements, the slogan of the unity of owners and workers will not be effective, said Rashed Khan Menon, also the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on social welfare. Labour leader and Trade Union Centre general secretary Wajed-ul Islam Khan said that the domestic helps of our country were deprived from their rights. Labour leader Abul Hossain said that the domestic workers should be included in the labour law and they should be given recognition as domestic workers. BILS deputy director Mohammad Yousuf Al Mamun read out a keynote paper where he said that their organisation was working for establishing the rights of the domestic helps and sorting out the problems in their workplaces. Labour leader Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Dhaka South City Corporation councillor Minu Rahman, BILS official Nazma Yeasmin, domestic help Fatema Begum and others spoke at the discussion. THE high-handedness of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, in dealing with the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as evident in recent clashes on the Dhaka University campus and in adjacent areas in May 2426, has turned the seat of higher education a place of conflicts and worryingly narrowed the chance of peaceful living of different student organisations. What is also worrying is the alleged government patronisation of such BCL high-handedness. After the recent clashes which left dozens of activists, mostly of the Chhatra Dal, injured, the Chhatra League has filed cases against more than 70 Chhatra Dal leaders. A hall unit president of the Chhatra League filed the case on May 27 with the Shahbagh police against Chhatra Dal leaders. The Chhatra League leader has accused 17 named and 5060 unnamed Chhatra dal leaders and activists of attacking the Chhatra League with the intention of committing murder. Such a case appears to be an instrument of instilling fear, given the previous record of using such cases for the detention of activists belonging to political opposition. The political presence and activities of the Chhatra Dal in Dhaka University, and other universities for that matter, have for long diminished because of the high-handedness of the ruling party student wing and an alleged patronisation of the high-handedness by the law enforcement agencies. In many cases, the police have been reported to stand by the student wing of the ruling party. The result has been a complete control of educational institutions by the ruling party student wing and a growing involvement of its leaders and activists in crimes that made the headlines for umpteenth times and even drawn criticism from the prime minister. Educationists have for long been pointed out the sorry and declining state of the educational institutions, especially seats of higher learning, because of the unruly behaviour of activists of the ruling party student wing and have urged the institutions and the law enforcement agencies to rid the seats of learning of unwanted political interference and elements. It is not altogether unjustified when educationists and civil society demand that the educational institutions should not allow the operation of student wings of political parties, given the destabilising impact of such political organisations on campuses. The authorities, both the government and educational institutions, must realise that the seats of higher learning need to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning and research and must, therefore, take actions to rid the institutions of subversive political activities and to ensure peaceful living of all organisations. The ruling and other political parties must also control their student wings and must not use them as the political muscle to establish control over educational institutions. THE Bangladesh government has shown no signs of worries that the country could be headed for the Sri Lankan way. It has instead dismissed such concern notwithstanding that there are discussions to the contrary that Bangladesh may not just be headed for the Sri Lankan way; there are, perhaps, greater dangers for it round the corner. The finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal dispelled any fear that Bangladesh would go Sri Lankas way. He said during pre-budget consultations with editors and journalists that there was no pressure on the foreign exchange reserves as the loan-gross domestic product ratio in Bangladesh was still the lowest in the region. He further said that Bangladesh would need $ 2.4 billion for debt servicing this year and $2.8 billion, $3 billion and $4 billion in the subsequent years. He has rested Bangladeshs case by informing the editors and journalists that the country received $2 billion in remittances this April alone. The ministers confidence was, however, contested by economists most of whom have hitherto backed the governments claims of economic development without questions asked. They stated that the foreign exchange reserves were not as rosy as the finance minister claimed. They pointed out that the reserves fell from $48 billion to below $42 billion in eight months. They predicted that the foreign exchange reserves would fall by $4 billion more in the coming months. They also pointed out that in November 2020, the finance minister had predicted that Bangladeshs foreign exchange reserves would exceed $50 billion by December 2021. It did not happen. The economists highlighted the reasons the foreign exchange reserves were falling dangerously about which the minister was in denial. First, remittances were under pressure worldwide as a result of Russias attack on Ukraine and Bangladesh was no exception. Second, Bangladeshs trade gap is growing alarmingly as a consequence of rising prices of essentials on the international market, again primarily because of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the lingering Covid pandemic. Finally, Bangladesh went for large-scale infrastructure with foreign loans as did Sri Lanka which required debt servicing with foreign exchange reserves. The economists also explained in some details why the foreign exchange reserves would continue to drop dangerously to recommend caution and not complacency to help Bangladesh from going the Sri Lankan way. They flagged, first, that Bangladesh imported goods worth $61.52 billion in the first nine months of the 2022 financial year, a 43.9 per cent increase compared with the same period in the 2021 financial year. Second, in the first four months this year, exports rose at a slower pace of 32.9 per cent. Third, in the same period, remittances dropped 20 per cent compared with the same period in the past year, to $ 7billion. They concluded that the figures would only worsen as the full impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which shows no signs of ending, fell fully on the world economy. Dr Mainul Islam, a former president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, underlined the dangers of complacency in an interview he gave to the Deutsche Welle, the state-owned German radio. He said that in the 2022 financial year, Bangladesh would import goods worth $85 billion against export earnings of $50 billion which would leave a gap of $35 billion in the balance of trade. He did not expect remittances to meet the big gap and predicted that we will have to live with a shortfall of $10 billion this year. The gap will only deteriorate in the time ahead for reasons stated above and create more pressure on the foreign exchange reserves at a time when these reserves would be declining fast. Sri Lanka was pushed over the edge by the pressures created by mega economic projects that were expensive but unprofitable like the Hambantota seaport and the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on the countrys depleting foreign exchange reserves. The country was unable to service the debts of these mega project debts and import essentials from its dwindling foreign exchange reserves which in turn caused huge public dissatisfaction that forced the regime to collapse. Bangladesh has also followed Sri Lanka by going for unprofitable mega infrastructural projects that would also put Bangladesh in trouble when the time comes to repay the debts. Dr Mainul Islam cited the Rooppur nuclear project as one such mega project for which Bangladesh has taken a $12 billion loan from Russia that would produce only 2400 Megawatts of electricity. He called the Rooppur nuclear plant the worst kind of white elephant project for which Bangladesh must pay $550 million for debt servicing from 2025. He further stated that the country would have to pay $4 billion for all its projects built on foreign loans from 2024, concluding that Bangladesh would not be able to repay the loans at that time because of the shortage of income from these projects. Thus debt servicing for the foreign-funded unprofitable large-scale projects would have to be made from the foreign exchange reserves alone. It would only be a matter of time, therefore, before the reserves are exhausted or critically depleted. Bangladesh could face a great danger by ignoring the Sri Lankan debacle and pleas of caution from economists. Bangladeshs present predicament, therefore, calls for caution. Complacency could be disastrous. Bangladesh could, however, face a greater danger from a different source unlike Sri Lanka. Bangladeshs next general election is due early in 2024 which would be the most critical general election in Bangladeshs history since independence. The past two elections were both controversial in which the vast majority of the voters were unable to vote for no fault of theirs. The opposition wants the elections to be held under a neutral, caretaker government while the regime wants it under the incumbent prime minister. The issue of an election-time government, if unresolved, could see the same situation that the country witnessed when the Awami League went for agitation for the same caretaker government that the opposition is doing now during the BNPs 199196 term. The Awami League agitation that time resulted in 266 days of general strike, a predicament if repeated by the opposition led by the BNPs agitation for the same caretaker government this time would wreck export earnings, in particular, and push the country to a worse situation than the current Sri Lankan crisis. The Awami League-led government would do itself and the country a favour to examine the Sri Lankan crisis as a heaven-sent opportunity to prepare itself so that what happened in Sri Lanka does not happen in Bangladesh. At the same time, it should also ensure that the voters of the country are not deprived of their right to vote for a third consecutive time. If the government allows these two issues to converge negatively in the time ahead, Bangladesh could then be looking at the barrel of the gun. M Serajul Islam is a former career ambassador. Qantara.de Since president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi seized power in 2013, he has ruled the country with an iron fist. Tens of thousands of political prisoners, including at least 24 media professionals, are behind bars, writes Sofian Philip Naceur ABDUL Fattah al-Sisi, a former top general, likes to showcase Egypt as an anchor of stability and a regional power of political and military relevance. He also points to a booming economy offering great prospects for multi-national corporations. This is the picture he once more tried to paint when visiting Brussels for the African Union-European Union summit in February 2022. However, Egypts dictator encountered considerable headwind in the EU capital. Human rights groups seized the opportunity to protest against his regimes civil rights abuses. Moreover, their fierce criticism was echoed by members of the European parliament and even government officials. In early February, 175 members of various European parliaments appealed to the UN Human Rights Council. They asked it to step up pressure on Egypts regime to stop systematically violating fundamental rights. Annalena Baerbock, Germanys foreign minister, later announced Germany would make future arms exports to Egypt dependent on the human rights situation. Human rights organisations called on the EU Commission not to roll out the red carpet for Sisi in Brussels, demanding instead that Egypts human rights crisis should be put on the agenda. The non-governmental Committee to Protect Journalists used president Sisis visit to Brussels to appeal to the EU Commission to stop business as usual with Egypt. Sisi has systematically attacked the press, imprisoned journalists and silenced critical voices, the CPJ stated. These are indeed testing times for Egyptian media and journalists who dare to criticise their government. In 2021, the country ranked 166th out of 180 nations in the World Press Freedom Index, which is compiled annually by the international non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders, or the RSF. According to the RSF, 22 journalists and two citizen reporters are currently behind bars in Egypt. This makes the country one of the worlds biggest jailers of journalists. The number of imprisoned media professionals is higher in only three countries: Saudi Arabia, China and Myanmar. Draconian laws, arbitrary allegations JOURNALISTS and media professionals are arrested, tried and sentenced for government-critical reporting. Compounding the problem, many become victims of arbitrary processes based on vaguely formulated laws and accusations. At the end of 2021, reporters Hisham Fouad and Hossam Moanis were sentenced to four years in prison by a Cairo court for spreading false news in Egypt and abroad. When Fouad was arrested in Cairo in 2019, he was initially accused of economic conspiracy and even terrorism. Egyptian law enforcement often uses terrorism charges to silence critical voices. According to the RSF, Egypt now has a draconian legislative arsenal that limits media freedom in the country. The 2015 Anti-Terrorism Law is an example. It prevents journalists from disseminating anything but official information about terrorist attacks. Violators face legal action under the Anti-Terrorism Law and risk hefty prison sentences. In 2018, the government enacted two more pieces of legislation that hugely restrict free speech and press freedom. The Cybercrime Law compels telecommunication companies to store user data for 180 days while the Media Law regulates the licensing of press organs and paved the way for the establishment of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, a body wholly controlled by the executive. It allows the regime to manipulate Egypts media landscape at will. Significantly, the council is based in the Maspero television building in downtown Cairo, where the state broadcasting company also has its headquarters. Bringing media into line WITH these and other laws, the regime has created an environment in which Egypts media are legally compelled to toe the government line. This system is remarkably effective. Even under Hosni Mubarak, the long-term dictator who was overthrown in 2011, public reporting was never subject to the degree of state control that is exercised today. It was risky to criticise the government in the Mubarak years, but private media companies had far more leeway, as long as their reporting was largely in the regimes interest. Sisi, by contrast, relies on direct control of the press. He has systematically extended state influence even in private media companies. Businessmen and politicians have been forced to sell their stakes in television networks and newspapers. Some had to withdraw from the media business entirely. Companies associated with the foreign intelligence agency, General Intelligence Service, took over their shares. In 2016, steel tycoon Ahmed Abou Hashima, a businessman close to the regime, started buying up newspapers and television networks for his holding company called the Egyptian Media Group. Shortly afterwards, Abou Hashimas shares in the EMG were transferred to Eagle Capital, an investment firm which belongs to the General Intelligence Service. This was revealed by Mada Masr, an independent Egyptian news platform in 2017. The EMG owns the popular television networks ONTV and CBS, six newspapers, two movie and television production companies, as well as seven marketing and advertising agencies. In addition to the state broadcaster, Sisis regime thus controls important components of the private-sector media. It uses its media power to disseminate pro-government narratives and propaganda. The acquisition of television-production companies, in particular, was central to Sisis efforts to breathe new life into Egypts run-down film industry. His aim was to harness it for political purposes. ONTV and other broadcasters now release one glossy TV production after another, flooding screens and social media with pro-government propaganda. As the state, thus, dominates the conventional media sector, the internet is now the only space where free speech is still possible. Yet even this space is shrinking. In 2017, Egyptian authorities began blocking internet content critical of the government. Since then, domestic access to at least 500 websites has been blocked, including prominent news and NGO websites. Whats more, government-critical content on the internet is not simply blocked. The security apparatus documents related items and uses them for criminal prosecutions. In recent years, countless people have been arrested and taken to court for criticising the regime or expressing unwelcome opinions on social media. Qantara.de, May 24. Sofian Philip Naceur, a freelance journalist, works as a project manager for the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Tunis. Colombians headed to the polls on Sunday in a first round of presidential elections, with a leftist poised for victory for the first time in the countrys troubled history. The vote takes place in a tense atmosphere, a year after a brutal security crackdown on street protests fueled by deepening socioeconomic woes. Polls opened at 8:00am (1300 GMT) for eight hours of voting. Just under 39 million of Colombias 50 million people are eligible to cast their ballot, though the recent abstention rate has been high, at around 50 per cent. Opinion polls show that many Colombians are pinning their hopes on Gustavo Petro, an ex-guerrilla and former mayor of Bogota, to address poverty, rural violence, urban crime and endemic corruption. Petro, 62, is hoping to avoid a June 19 run-off against 47-year-old Federico Gutierrez, a former mayor of second city Medellin who represents an alliance of right-wing parties. To do so, Petro would need to garner more than 50 per cent of first-round votes cast. About 300,000 armed police and soldiers were deployed to keep the peace at 12,000 polling stations countrywide, under the watchful eye of observers from the Organization of American States and the European Union. Ivan Duque who beat Petro in a runoff election in 2018 is leaving with record disapproval numbers. Colombian presidents serve only one four-year term. Around 40 per cent of Colombians today live in poverty, and the country has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, according to the World Bank. The economy was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and one in six city dwellers is unemployed. The Duque governments image was not helped by its internationally denounced response to weeks of anti-poverty protests last year that saw dozens of civilians killed. Colombia needs change, office cleaner Petrona Guzman, 43, said on the eve of the vote, in which she will make her mark for Petro. The rich have priority over us, the middle class. It has always been like that. The majority of people are lost. Petro, in his third presidential race, has promised to address poverty and to make Colombias economy more environmentally friendly, including by phasing out crude oil exploration. Gutierrezs focus has been on a strong state response to crime in the worlds biggest cocaine producer. A key voter concern is a flare-up of rural violence, despite a 2016 peace agreement that officially ended a near six-decade civil conflict. Areas abandoned by the now-defunct FARC guerrilla group became battlegrounds for control of drug and illegal mining resources between other armed groups, with civilians in the crossfire. Petro, a former member of the M-19 urban rebel group that laid down arms in 1990, has vowed to pursue peace talks with the last remaining guerrilla group, the ELN, which were suspended under Duque. Crime is a problem in the cities too, where residents complain of a rise in robberies they blame in large part on an influx of nearly two million migrants from neighbouring Venezuela. On Friday, Petro told voters the country had a choice either to keep things as they are in Colombia, or change, leaving behind corruption, violence and hunger. In the same TV debate, Gutierrez agreed change was needed but this change must happen safely... without putting at risk families, homes... jobs. In a country marked by a deep-rooted fear of the political left associated with guerrilla groups that sowed decades of misery the pushback against Petro has been fierce, with rivals seeking to paint him as a radical, Hugo Chavez-style populist. In with an outsider chance in third place, according to opinion polls, is 77-year-old anti-corruption candidate Rodolfo Hernandez. Three other candidates, each with support in the single-digits, complete the picture. The campaign has been marred by suspicions of fraud following counting irregularities reported in a primary voting round in March, and Petro on Friday expressed fresh concerns about the software used by Colombias vote count body. Petro and Gutierrez have both received death threats, as has the leftists running mate Francia Marquez, who could become Colombias first ever black woman vice-president. Five presidential candidates were assassinated by opponents, drug traffickers or paramilitary groups in Colombia in the 20th century. Ziaur Rahman The 41st anniversary of the death of Bangladesh Nationalist Party founder Ziaur Rahman, also a former president of the country, will be observed today. To mark the day, opposition BNP and its front and associate organisations have taken up elaborate programmes. The party has chalked out an elaborate 10-day programme, from May 29 to June 7, to observe Zias death anniversary. The 7th president of Bangladesh, from 1977 to 1981, Ziaur Rahman was assassinated by a group of army officers at the Chittagong Circuit House on May 30, 1981. Zia came into the limelight by making the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of the country, in March 1971. He was a sector commander and led the Z Force during the liberation war in 1971. He was decorated with the gallantry award Bir Uttam for valour in the war. On November 7, 1975, he was freed by sepoys and people from the captivity in the hand of a section of the army and was brought to power. Born on January 19, 1936 at village Bagbari in Bogura, Zia became the countrys president in April 1977. He founded the BNP in 1978. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in a message on Sunday on the occasion of the death anniversary, said that Zias ideology, philosophy and programmes were the safeguards to protect independence, multiparty democracy, development and progress of the country. To mark the day, the party will hoist black flags and keep the party flag at half-mast atop the party offices, including its Naya Paltan central office, across the country at 6:00am today. The party secretary general along with standing committee members will place wreaths at Zias grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka at 11:00am. The BNP and its associate bodies will arrange discussions on Zias activities from June May 29 to June 7 as part of the death anniversary programme. The party leaders of Dhaka south and north city units will distribute food and relief materials among destitute in different parts of the city on May 30. The district, city and thana units of the party will also hold various events to observe the day. SPEAKER of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda says the Constitution should be amended to allow people in the diaspora to vote, becoming the first senior official in the ruling Zanu PF party to push that agenda. Amendments to the Electoral Act should clearly specify the procedures and mechanisms for registration and voting for citizens in the diaspora, said Mudenda while addressing legislators and other stakeholders at a workshop on the Electoral Amendment Bill, which was sponsored by the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) in Kariba yesterday. Mudenda also said political parties and candidates who perpetrated electoral violence should be disqualified through amendments to the Electoral Act, which should empower the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to censure errant political parties and politicians. He also pointed out that the future of the countrys elections depended on the role political parties played in promoting peaceful and credible elections by sending the right signals and urging their supporters to shun electoral violence. The regulatory body (Zec) can play a role through robust political voter education. However, ultimately the conduct of political parties themselves will determine a positive outcome because they wield an enormous influence on their supporters. Currently, there are no enforcement provisions on the code of conduct and the political parties continue to violate the code with impunity, Mudenda said. Zec should be empowered through the Electoral Act to censure, or even disqualify political parties or candidates that act with impunity during the electoral processes. There is need to amend the Constitution to encapsulate the diaspora vote. He further noted that another area of concern was protection of the secrecy of the ballot and mechanisms to ensure reduction of assisted voters. Another observation I make on the proposed Electoral Bill is that it must comply with sections 160 and 161 of the Constitution, regarding the delimitation of electoral boundaries. The provision of the voters roll in searchable and analysable format is commendable. While this provision enhances transparency of the voters roll, and it is welcome, caution has to be exercised to ensure a balance between the right to access and the right to privacy of the information contained in the voters roll. It is suggested that amendment to the law could include hashing of some fields like identity number, date of birth, and the voters address which should lead to the generation of scanned copies from the printed copy. The suggestion is that the scanned copies should be availed only to contesting parties and candidates and not individuals, observers, candidates or organisations. Relatedly, the closure of the voters roll should have reasonable timelines which should be provided for in the Electoral Law, Mudenda said. The Speaker said the Electoral Act should include time limits for adjudication of pre-election disputes at the electoral courts. It is alleged that despite the fact that all election disputes are considered as urgent, there was a sizeable number of pre-election cases that were set down for hearing with significant delays and judgments that were not rendered before the election day. This may dent the integrity of the electoral process, he noted. On the withdrawal of contesting candidates, it is submitted that the law should provide for the timeframe regarding the withdrawal in relation to parliamentary and local authority elections. However, the law is silent in regard to the parliamentary and local authority candidature. Furthermore, the electoral law should define the scope of who qualifies for postal voting in a more elastic manner. While the country should adopt best electoral practices from other countries, Zimbabwe should, however, not be a copycat, but fashion its own laws, Mudenda added. Meanwhile, Zesn has revealed that about 83,52% of Zimbabweans are ignorant of the constituency delimitation exercise because Electoral Act provisions do not allow citizens participation. In a report on delimitation findings last week, Zesn said information on delimitation was pivotal to ensure transparency ahead of the 2023 polls. Section 161 of the Constitution stipulates that electoral boundaries should be delimited once every 10 years soon after a population census. From the field research, a majority (83,52%) of citizens does not know about the delimitation process. Of those aware of the delimitation, slightly above a quarter (25,89%) are aware of when delimitation occurs, nearly a third (29,70%) have knowledge of the legal framework on delimitation and 38,32% have knowledge of the authority responsible for delimitation. This points to a need to raise awareness on the provisions of elections (including delimitation), in the Constitution and Electoral Act, the Zesn report read. Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said: In principle, delimitation is a highly technical process, albeit constitutional. Zimbabweans have very little trust in Zec since it is considered a partisan institution. This means everything that Zec does will always attract ridicule. He said people suspected that the delimitation exercise gave Zec an opportunity to reduce the constituencies in areas where the opposition is dominant. Newsday A man detained while filming the clash between opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party student-wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the ruling Awami League student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League near Dhaka University campus on May 26 ended up in Keraniganj jail, his family said on Sunday. Mahfuz Kabir Mukta, 33, of Panchgarh was brutally beaten by the BCL for filming their attack on opposition supporters before he sought help from police deployed nearby, his wife Fahmiha Moni told New Age. Is filming a clash a criminal offence? On that day, my husband was brutally beaten by the Chhatra League activists. The police did not arrest them. They instead arrested my husband. Is this justice? she cried. Following the incident on May 26, Shahbagh police station sub-inspector Mainul Islam told New Age that a journalist [Mahfuz Kabir] was filming the incident and BCL activists got angry with him and accused him of doing live coverage for the BNP Facebook page. We rescued him and took him to the [Shahbagh] police station for interrogation on instruction from senior officials, said Mainul. Until 9:30pm on that day, Mahfuzs wife Moni said the police were willing to release him but the BCL leaders kept insisting on his detention. She said that her husband was taken to the Shahbagh police station at 12:00noon. Moni said that two days before the incident he was targeted and beaten when he was filming a BCL attack on JCD. Shahbagh police station sub-inspector Palash Saha on May 27 filed a criminal complaint against Mahfuz Kabir Mukta and one Masud Hossain along with 400 unidentified people on charge of unlawful assembly, rioting and obstructing public servants in discharging their duties, among others. In the complaint with the Shahbagh police station, Palash claimed that they arrested the two at about 9:55pm when they were roaming suspiciously around the Dhaka University campus. Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge Moudud Hawlader said that the two people were detained in connection with the clash. He told New Age that Mahfuz was accused in 13 cases. The police record showed all 13 cases were filed against Mahfuz under various sections of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, mostly for cheque defrauding. On May 26, dozens of leaders and activists of JCD and BCL were injured as they clashed on the Dhaka University campus and its adjacent areas as JCD leaders and activists attempted to enter the campus marching from the National Press Club area. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a statement on Sunday demanded the release of freelance journalist Mahfuz Kabir Mukta and two Netrakona JCD leaders. Bangladesh Chhatra League on Sunday formed a human chain protesting at the recent clash which it termed attack on general students of Dhaka University and the Chhatra League by the outsider Chhatra Dal. The human chain was organised in front of the anti-terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture on the DU campus at about 11:30am. BCL central president Al-Nahean Khan Joy, general secretary Lekhak Bhattacharjee, leaders and activists from various educational institutions including Dhaka University were present at the human chain. Addressing the human chain, BCL president Al-Nahean Khan Joy said that the Chhatra Dal must apologise for the audacity it had shown towards prime minister Sheikh Hasina. During the rule of the BNP-Jamaat, the Chhatra Dal established a reign of terror in all educational institutions of Bangladesh, including the Dhaka University. This terrorist force is working with non-students and outsiders to bring back those days, he said. Joy also said that any conspiracy to destabilise the peaceful environment of educational institutions would not succeed. The general students will never give the opportunity to warm up the campus environment by bringing in non-students. To keep the environment of the educational institution peaceful, Bangladesh Chhatra League has always resisted them (JCD) with general students. Meanwhile, General secretary Lekhak Bhattacharjee announced to resist Chhatra Dal strictly in all educational institutions. Student communities of Bangladesh will build strong resistance and expel this non-student and uncle force from every educational institution in Bangladesh, he said. Leaders and activists from various institutions of the capital, including the BCL central committee, Dhaka University, different halls, Dhaka College, Eden College, Badrunnesa Government Womens College, Home Economics College were present at the human chain. On Thursday, at least 47 JCD leaders and activists and a journalist were injured as BCL leaders and activists swooped on them on the Dhaka University campus and its adjacent areas. Witnesses said that they heard at least three gunshots during the clash that followed the BCL attack. BCL activists also beat up a journalist during the clash calling him a JCD activist and snatched his mobile phone. The injured journalist is Abir Ahmed, a staff reporter of an online news portal named The Daily Campus. Earlier, on Tuesday morning, at least 40 JCD leaders and activists, including female leaders, were injured in an attack by BCL on the university campus. On the day, the two student groups engaged in a clash near Doyel Chattar in which some activists sustained minor injuries. The JCD activists were forced to leave the DU area at about 12:00pm after they faced stiff resistance from the BCL activists. Denying the allegation of the attack, BCL DU unit general secretary Saddam Hussain said that they did not attack the Chhatra Dal, rather Chhatra Dal cadres attacked them with home-made weapons. On Wednesday, the DU administration filed a case against three to four hundred unidentified people with the Shahbagh police station over the Tuesday incident. Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Local gun violence and the Texas school shooting were subjects addressed during and just after Thursday nights debate between Democratic 13th Congressional District candidates David Palmer of Champaign, left, and Nikki Budzinski of Springfield at the Illinois Public Media offices on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 President Mnangagwa will soon take decisive action against leaders of State-owned enterprises responsible for gross malfeasance, lack of agency and costly bureaucracy, amid indications heads with roll. Writing in his weekly column for The Sunday Mail, the President expressed disquiet at the sheer lack of creative management that is affecting their potential to meaningfully contribute to economic growth and development. The lethargic approach to inventiveness and innovation, including red tape, he said, had resulted in mounting frustration, impatience and anger in Government. Citing examples of crippling inertia at the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz), Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) and the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), President Mnangagwa said the time had come for leadership at these institutions to face the music. On the eve of my departure for Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum (WEF), I got a disheartening report pointing to corporate rot in NSSA, he said. This isnt the first time Government had got such a disturbing report; NSSA has been a thorn in our flesh, a pain that will not go away. Why such a cash-rich institution with such a wide remit on investment possibilities simply decides to stash millions, and abuse no less, in a country and economy so embattled by both endogenous and exogenous adversities, no sane human being can ever fathom, least of all those of us in Government. NSSAs equivalents in various jurisdictions are on the cutting edge of public investments. They determine the national course and direction. Not so our NSSA here. He said while the number of workers paying subscriptions to NSSA continues to increase, reflecting positive economic growth, this was not being matched by commensurate public investment by the social security authority. NSSA, he added, was giving Government headaches, while also pushing workers into abject misery on retirement. The time may have now come for us to re-locate the headache to where it should be suffered, namely in heads of those begetting corporate malfeasances, all to our collective detriment. He said the operationalisation of the soon-to-be-completed generators 7 and 8 at the Hwange Thermal Power Station could potentially be scuppered by procurement regulations prohibiting Government entities from entering long-term supply contracts. As a result, coal miners and merchants are uncertain that they will be able to cope with the exponential demand for coal from the power stations. He said a fatal lack of foresight at Praz had witnessed the institution failing to adjust its procurement rules in anticipation of vital projects with long gestation periods. Coal miners and merchants require to invest in huge, costly equipment, both to extract thermal coal and to convey it to the Zesa station. This requires a huge capital outlay, much of it accessed through borrowing. Lenders can only do so on the certainty of viable contracts which make banking sense. Who lends to an operator with a mere year-long supply contract? Which borrower even wants the risk? Government, said the President, will immediately change those regulations, which threaten to cripple a project of vital national importance. The rules governing tenders for coal miners and merchants must and will be suitably changed to ensure they enable investments required so coal is supplied in adequate quantities to all the eight generators. There has to be prompt movement in that direction, as soon as yesterday. This Government will change those laws and rules attributed to a false corporate Moses who has stood in the way of our progress. Turning to Cottco, he said the company was standing idly by while peasant cotton farmers are being fleeced of their hard-earned earnings by merchants buying up all their cotton at extortionately low prices. However, Government has been deliberately supporting cotton farmers through an inputs support scheme that has witnessed an embryonic revival of the sub-sector. Those in charge of Cottco must quickly change their ways; there is no time any longer, certainly no patience in us to suffer their reprehensible conduct. The cotton, after all, by right belongs to Government by virtue of input support. The earnings being stashed abroad belong to this country. Government shall have what it is owed; farmers shall be paid what is overdue to them. Above all, the economy will have all its earnings transparently accounted for by all players, Cottco included. Sunday Mail Sundiata Cha-Jua is a professor of African American studies and history at the University of Illinois and a member of the North End Breakfast Club. His email is schajua@gmail.com. Brett Kepley is a lawyer with Land of Lincoln Legal Aid Inc. Send questions to The Law Q&A, 302 N. First St., Champaign, IL 61820. (Newser) When 16th-century Spanish missionaries first wandered into the tropical lowlands of modern Bolivia, they found a few scattered villages, and everyone since then assumed the area was too inhospitable to support large communities. The region has two harsh seasons, extremely dry and extremely wet, and the dense forest made exploration nearly impossible, until now. Scientists from Germany and the UK used lidarshort for light detection and ranging, a remote-sensing method that generates 3D images of surfacesto penetrate the canopy. Per the Wall Street Journal, their findings upend long-held beliefs among many experts that the region lacked sophisticated societies in pre-Hispanic times. The research also shows that lidar is a game-changing tool for research in remote, heavily forested areas. Scientists used a lidar-equipped helicopter to scan 77 square miles of Bolivian jungle. The resulting images revealed 26 settlements, 11 of which were previously unknown and all of which were interconnected by a system of roads, canals, and causeways arranged in roughly concentric circles around two major sites. Little is known about the Casarabe people who built them, but the sites include burial mounds, massive earthen platforms, and the remains of eight-story pyramids, suggesting a rich culture and an enormous investment of labor. Per LiveScience, one researcher referred to it as low-density tropical urbanism that proves the region was once densely populated. The Casarabe used a system of canals and reservoirs to manage water and maintain successful agricultural strategies between 600 and 1,500 years ago. According to Sci News, the settlements were constructed not at odds with nature, but alongside it. Aside from the dense canopy, the sites were concealed as a result of Casarabe building methods, which relied on tamped dirt rather than stone. At the time, it looked really fabulous, but it just doesnt hold up like stone, wrote one archaeologist, per the WSJ. Researchers speculate that an extended dry period led to the collapse of Casarabe culture, and the forest quickly reclaimed their earthen settlements. The findings were published this week in the journal Nature. (Read more archaeology stories.) (Newser) Police in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, say a woman being held against her will managed to signal to bank employees that she needed helpand those employees picked right up on the plea. As WNEP reports, police say Wilson Medina-Garcia began holding the woman captive in her home on Tuesday, threatening to kill her and her children if she did not cooperate. On Wednesday, he took her to a PNC bank and instructed her to take out $5,000, say police, per Fox56. The woman asked for a "help loan," and bank employees set off a silent alarm usually used during holdups. Police arrived on the scene and arrested Medina-Garcia, 36, who has been charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and terroristic threats. ABC13 reports that before the bank, the woman tried to signal for help at a different business, but employees there didn't pick up on it. At the woman's home, police say they found a lock on her bedroom door, her cellphone that Medina-Garcia allegedly broke, and a bucket she had to use to go to the bathroom. (In a previous case, a teenager used a hand signal to get help.) (Newser) The final victim of the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket was buried Saturday, as families in Uvalde, Texas, planned funerals for their loved ones killed Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. Vice President Kamala Harris brought up other mass shootings in addressing the mourners in Buffalo, the Hill reports. "There's a through line to what happened here, in Texas, in Atlanta, in Orlando, what happened at the synagogues," Harris said at Mt. Olive Baptist Church, adding, "and so this is a moment that requires all good people who are loving people to just say we will not stand for this." Ruth Whitfield, 86, had stopped for groceries on her way home after her daily visit to her husband in a nursing home. She was one of the 10 Black people killed in what police called a racially motivated hate crime; three other people were wounded. Whitfield's mourners include her husband, four children, nine grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren, and seven siblings. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy Saturday, per WIBV, decried an "epidemic of racial violence that is accommodated by gun laws that allow people to kill us." In Texas, families have begun to schedule services for the 21 people shot to death at Robb Elementary School, per KENS 5 TV. Uvalde has two funeral homes. (Read more mass shootings stories.) PONZI schemes have resurfaced, prompting the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SecZim) to warn that they threaten an already fragile economy. Speaking to NewsDay at a workshop in Kariba last Friday, SecZim acting chief executive Gerald Dzangare said: One of the most painful things that have happened in our country is these ponzi schemes. People have lost money to these unregistered asset managers who collect it claiming that they will invest it to make it multiply within a month. These people then disappear. He said the fraudsters, who operate ponzi schemes, were not registered with SecZim. The New York Attorney Generals Office describes a ponzi scheme as a pyramid scheme, also known as a chain distributor scheme, which is a fraudulent system of making money based on recruiting an ever-increasing number of investors. Last year, police reported that at least 10 000 complainants lost over US$30 million to ponzi scheme dealers. The police in the same year handled 892 cases involving thousands of complainants whereby the scammers had disappeared after swindling unsuspecting investors. Millions of dollars were lost; some lost houses while others committed suicide upon discovering they would have been duped. We have handled suicide cases related to ponzi schemes, Dzangare added Ponzi scammers involve sale of products or distributorships in an attempt to show legitimacy. This is done to sidestep regulatory agencies. In Zimbabwe, the history of ponzi schemes dates back to the 1990s, when the Russian MMM Global scheme was reincarnated in Bulawayo and quickly spread throughout the country. In 2016, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe pointed out that MMM Global Zimbabwe was the biggest pyramid scheme that duped many investors in the country. Newsday (Newser) In an 80-minute phone call Saturday, the leaders of Germany and France pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin "serious negotiations" with Ukraine to end the fighting. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops," German officials said, per the BBC. In its readout of the call, the Kremlin showed Putin saying he remained open to holding talks with Ukraine's government, per the AP. Putin, in turn, warned the European leaders about Western nations continuing to ship weapons to Ukraine. He also said Western sanctions are to blame for supply interruptions in the global food supply. Ukraine is a major exporter of grain, as well as other commodities. Russia has said Ukrainian sea mines are preventing the safe passage of shipments, while Ukraine has blamed a Russian naval blockade. Scholz and Macron asked Putin to lift the blockade of Ukrainian port of Odesa to permit grain exports to get through. Putin said he'll consider it. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) With his forces sustaining heavy losses in the fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken the age limit off military service. Russians and foreigners older than 40 will be allowed to sign up as contract service members, CNN reports. Tass, the state news agency, said that the Duma approved the measure Wednesday and that Putin signed it into law. The age range for enlistees until now has been 18 to 40 for citizens and 18 to 30 for foreigners. Russia said the change is intended to add technical specialists, per the BBC. A filing with the legislation said that specialists are needed to operate high-precision weapons and other military equipment and that they've acquired the needed experience by age 40 to 45. The recruits could include medics, engineers, and communications experts. Analysts estimate the number of Russia's professional contract soldiers at more than 400,000, in an active military of 900,000. Russia also drafts troops. The government first said conscripts would not be sent into combat in Ukraine but later conceded that some have been. Conscripts are among the POWs held by Ukraine. US recruits for the armed services have to be at least 17. The Army's upper age limit is 35, the Marines 28, and the Navy and Air Force 39. The British Army takes recruits 16 through 36, per the BBC. The range for officers is 18 to 29, though older specialists are accepted. Israel requires military service for everyone starting at age 1832 months for men and 24 months for women. Russia also has a service requirement of one year for men 18 to 27, though many of them receive student or medical exceptions. (Read more Russian military stories.) / Why Did They Wait So Long? Focus Is on Chief's Decision Reports say officers from other agencies on the scene in Uvalde confronted school police chief (Newser) Ted Cruz went ahead with his speech to the NRA convention on Friday, and he heard about it that night at a Houston restaurant. A man confronted Cruz at Uptown Sushi, where the senator arrived to eat with his family, reports BuzzFeed. Why did you come here to the convention? the man identified as Benjamin Hernandez asks Cruz, per the Washington Post. Why? When 19 children died! As he is being escorted out by Cruz's security team, Hernandez shouts: "Nineteen children died. Thats on your hands. That is on your hands. Ted Cruz, thats on your hands! Watch a video of the confrontation here. Hernandez is a board member for the liberal advocacy group Indivisible Houston, though he tells the Post and BuzzFeed the confrontation wasn't planned. He just happened to be there with his wife. "I feel like it was fate," he says. As the video clip released by Indivisible Houston shows, Hernandez gets close to Cruz by asking for a photo, then confronts the senator after Hernandez's wife snaps one. Cruz, who accused Hernandez of combining "ignorance and hatred," has not commented on the confrontation since the video emerged. Hernandez presses Cruz on why it's so hard to get tougher gun laws on the books and why mass shootings keep happening mostly in America. In his earlier speech to the NRA, Cruz advocated for better security measures at schools rather than tougher restrictions, per the Post. The elites who dominate our culture tell us that firearms lie at the root of the problem, he told the convention. Its far easier to slander ones political adversaries and to demand that responsible citizens forfeit their constitutional rights than it is to examine the cultural sickness, giving birth to unspeakable acts of evil. (Read more Ted Cruz stories.) (Newser) Former President Donald Trump told thousands of Wyoming voters on Saturday that theirs is "the most important election that we have," and that they should use it to remove Rep. Liz Cheney from Congress because "she has gone crazy." Trump, who did not visit the state while president, has been working against Cheney since she voted to impeach him after the attack on the Capitol. On Saturday, he embraced the Republican he backs in the August primary, Harriet Hageman, onstage in Casper, the Star-Tribune reports. "Wyoming, all of America is counting on you," Trump said. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the congresswoman has a Republican heritage. But Trump called her a "Republican in name only," saying, "There is no RINO in American that has thrown in her lot with the radical left more than Liz Cheney." Trump included her father in his criticism during the 90-minute speech. "The Cheneys are diehard globalists and warmongers who have been plunging us into new conflicts for decades, spilling American blood and spending American treasure all over the world," he told the crowd, per the Hill. Liz Cheney opposed Trump's 2019 decision to recall troops from Syria. She supports military aid to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion, while Trump has been critical of the cost. Trump brought a few of his most ardent supporters with him to speak against Cheney. "I am, Wyoming, a professional RINO hunter," Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert said. Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, drew cheers. The arena crowd was less interested in the Wyoming politicians. "We're just here to support Trump," said a man who'd traveled from Ohio. One man whose family backs Hageman, a land attorney, in the primary said he supported Cheney until the impeachment vote. "Cheney has had a good track record, but since Trump, she's just gone a different way," he said. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Rescuers zeroed in on a possible location of a passenger plane with 22 people aboard that is feared to have crashed Sunday in cloudy weather in Nepal's mountains, officials said. The Tara Air plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight from the resort town of Pokhara, 125 miles east of Kathmandu, to the mountain town of Jomsom. The turboprop Twin Otter aircraft lost contact with the airport tower close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops, the AP reports. An army helicopter and private choppers were taking part in the search, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement. Army troops and rescue teams were headed to the possible site of the crash, believed to be around Lete, a village in Mustang district, Narayan Silwal, the army spokesman said on Twitter. But bad weather and nightfall caused the search to be suspended until Monday morning, Silwal said. "Poor visibility due to bad weather is hindering the efforts. The plane has not yet been located," he said. Rescuers were trying to reach an area where locals allegedly saw a fire, though it was unclear what was burning, Silwal added. Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air, said that rescuers had narrowed down a possible location of the plane. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55am and transmitted its last signal at 10:07am at an altitude of 12,825 feet. The plane was carrying 19 passengers and three crew, Bartaula said. There were six foreigners on board, including four Indians and two Germans, a police official said. It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights have been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley. It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple. (Read more missing plane stories.) (Newser) The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the police response to the shooting Tuesday in Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers. Officers waited about 45 minutes in a hallway outside the Robb Elementary classroom while surviving students and teachers called 911; a state official said that was the wrong decision by police. A Justice Department statement said the review was requested by Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, NPR reports. A report will be published when the review is completed, the statement said. "The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day," the Justice Department said, per the Hill, "and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events." Local officials have given conflicting versions of the response by law enforcement, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was misled about police actions. Reviews like this are not conducted often and usually are handled by outside groups or local law enforcement agencies, per the AP. A Justice Department promised that "this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent." (Read more Uvalde mass shooting stories.) Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute. A version of this column ran in 2006. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Forging travel documents to legalise illegal stay landed two women behind bars in the Kingdom. The suspects, aged 41 and 45 years, allegedly, created fake travel documents to legalise their stay in the Kingdom, court files say. Police arrested them at the Bahrain International Airport. According to the High Criminal Court, the 41-year-old woman landed in Bahrain on a visit-visa that expires in two weeks. However, she forged the documents, which now show that she went back on the 13th of December and returned after two days. She also faked the official seal to validate her travel in the passport. During interrogation, police found that the second suspect, also a woman, and another man, who is unidentified, helped her. The forgery caught the official attention when the woman reached the airport for her return journey to her homeland in January. Customs verification officers grew suspicious of the seals and took the passport for a detailed examination. Officers told the court that the seals were almost similar to that issued at the airport but had minor distortions, good enough to understand it as fake. Further investigation also proved that the women hadnt left the country on the said dates. However, during interrogation, the woman rejected the charges and said all she did was hand over the passport to the other woman, a friend from her hometown, to renew it. She also claimed no knowledge that she was staying in the Kingdom illegally. However, the High Criminal Court said that there was prima facie evidence against both the women. The court also acquitted another woman for lack of evidence. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) will participate in IMEX exhibition held in Germany on May 31-June 2. IMEX Frankfurt is considered a global business events community. It's an international exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, and events, with plenty of opportunities for exhibitors to do business on a global scale. BTEA is taking part in the expo with a customized pavilion spanning an area of more than 130sqm, it also features the national carrier "Gulf Air," which showcases its latest services, offers, and promotions in partnership with BTEA. Several private sector facilities, including hotels, restaurants, travel agents, and reservations offices, are also represented in the pavilion, with the goal of providing the most up-to-date offers to companies and tourist groups visiting Bahrain. During this global exhibition, BTEA will hold a press conference to promote the New Brand Reveal of the Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir, which is considered the largest venue of its kind in the Middle East. BTEA's CEO Dr. Nasser Qaedi emphasized the importance of Bahrain's participation in IMEX Frankfurt, Germany's most important trade expo for meetings, conferences, and events. He also said that participation in these international events is part of BTEAs efforts to attract more tourists and events, the ambitious goals set forth in the Bahrain Tourism Strategy 2022-2026. BTEAs team participating in IMEX is keen to enhance cooperation with visitors to the exhibition from travel agencies, and tourism companies. This is in addition to providing all necessary facilities for Bahraini exhibitors within the national pavilion to promote Bahrain as a preferred tourist destination and enhance BTEAs international network and promotional efforts in key markets Dr. Qaedi said. A group of researchers says it has found a new type of Parkinson's disease apparently induced by a different protein from the one known to cause the disease. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking of limbs or stiffness. It is generally thought that accumulation of an abnormal protein known as alpha-Synuclein in the brain contributes to the disease. The group including Osaka University Associate Professor Bekku Gouichi examined brain samples of a Parkinson's patient donated posthumously and detected an accumulation of TDP-43, a different protein from alpha-Synuclein. TDP-43 protein has been linked to other nervous disorders, but it has never been reported that it could independently induce Parkinson's disease. ANKARA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will not allow "terrorism-supporting" countries to enter NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday, underlining the talks with Sweden and Finland on their intention to join the alliance have not yielded results. Last week's negotiations with Finnish and Swedish delegations in Turkey's capital Ankara were not at the "expected level," Erdogan told journalists on the plane during his flight from Azerbaijan to Turkey. "They have expectations, but they did not take the necessary steps regarding Turkey," the state-run TRT broadcaster quoted Erdogan as saying. On the contrary, they kept on the activities which Turkey has been criticizing, the Turkish president said. "As long as Tayyip Erdogan is the head of the Republic of Turkey, we definitely cannot say 'yes' to countries, which 'support terrorism,' entering NATO," he said. Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last week following the Russia-Ukraine conflict that erupted in February. NATO allies, except for Turkey, have welcomed the two countries' proposals. Accession of new member states requires consensus among existing NATO members. Ankara, however, citing the Swedish and Finnish ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other anti-Turkey groups, objected to their entry into the alliance. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Turkey also accuses the two countries of harboring members of the Gulen Movement, which Ankara says is behind a failed military coup attempt in 2016. Turkey demanded "concrete assurances" from Sweden and Finland for "termination of support" to these groups, and requested the lifting of arms sanctions against Ankara. A joint Swedish-Finnish delegation held talks in Ankara with Turkish officials and diplomats last week in an attempt to resolve disputes with Turkey. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Alyssa Sanchezs home was destroyed and her professional life uprooted by the massive Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire. But the 29-year-old Sanchez, a Mora teacher, refused to let the fire extinguish her love of educating kids. Shes been staying at the Querque Hotel off Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, where the families of many Mora students also have been housed since they were forced to evacuate their homes. In an effort to return their lives to some sense of normality, Sanchez set up a makeshift classroom in a small dining room near the lobby. Officials say the northward progress of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon blaze can be halted with continued favorable conditions. After two years of COVID, we got back to a normal-ish school year, and then this fire broke out, Sanchez said just before 9 a.m. Tuesday as she waited for her students. I said, I have to do something to help. The idea occurred to her shortly after she moved into the hotel in mid-May. She ran into Denise Duran, the mother of one of her students, sixth grader Jazzlyn, in a hotel hallway. Duran said her daughter needed help with her studies or she would fall behind. Sanchez went to work, offering morning classes to about 15 Mora students living in the hotel at the time. Only a handful were still there this week, as the school year comes to a close, and just a few, including Jazzlyn, showed up for classes Tuesday. Her positivity has been amazing, Duran said of Sanchez as her daughter sat at the teachers table. She didnt let what happened back home faze her. All four of Durans children who attend Mora schools have lost valuable learning time because of the coronavirus pandemic and the fire, she said. Knowing Sanchez is there to help them makes her feel itll be OK. Sanchez has offered students of all ages lessons in whatever they need math, reading, history or just a check-in on their emotional or mental well-being. I think COVID has stolen these kids education, Sanchez said. Noting the pandemic basically shut down the end of the school year in 2020 and disrupted learning in much of 2021, she said Jazzlyn has not had a normal school year since the third grade. For her, going into the seventh grade, thats a long time to not have a normal school year. Sanchez, who was born and raised in Mora, said she had planned to enter the field of dentistry. But after looking at a few too many mouths in dental college classes, she decided that wasnt for her. She waited on tables and still does as a side job until she decided to study to be a teacher at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M. She was inspired by her mother, Evelyn Sanchez, a nearly 30-year veteran of the profession. Evelyn Sanchez, who also is staying in the Querque Hotel as she awaits approval to return to her home in Mora, said her daughter told her she wanted to be anything but a teacher when she was younger. She told me I was stupid to be a teacher, Alyssa Sanchez recalled with a laugh. Never say never, right? Alyssa Sanchez has taught math and reading to special education students in the Mora school district for several years. She considers it a gift and said her favorite part of the job is watching her students graduate from Day One to the last day of school as they learn along the way. She was one of those people who thought the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, which has grown to more than 311,000 acres, would not reach her mobile home. New Mexico State Police knocked on her door and told her to evacuate one day in late April, and her home burned 10 days later. The fire destroyed the trailer in about five minutes, she said. She and her boyfriend, Chase Perez, got out with their dog, Scooter, two bearded dragons, a couple of pictures and enough clothes to last them a few days. They thought they eventually would go back for the rest, but now there is nothing to go back to. She still hasnt returned to see the scorched remains of her home. Sanchez said the one item she regrets not taking with her is a purse her late grandmother gave her shortly before she died. Despite her losses, Sanchez does not bear any sense of sadness or anger. What is the worst that could happen? she said. It happened. I have nothing. At the same time, she said, she has everything: a job she loves and students she knows and cares for. The hotel, in some ways, briefly became a small version of Mora a tightknit community where everyone knows everyone else. Parents of Sanchezs students have called her to ask if she needs a place to live after her home went up in flames. She and her boyfriend will move into her mothers house until they can find a new place of their own and start over, she said, adding, Were going to go back, and were going to rebuild. The principal of Sanchezs school, Lefonso Castillo, said Tuesday many Mora teachers are still giving lessons virtually but Sanchez may be the only one who has been doing it in person since the district shut down. He said she is a strong advocate for special education students who really bonds with the kids. Sanchez said she has never regretted choosing the life of a teacher. I never knew my heart could hold so many kids, said Sanchez, who doesnt have any children of her own. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UVALDE, Texas (AP) The Justice Department said Sunday it will review the law enforcement response to the Texas school shooting, an unusual federal look back prompted by questions about the shifting and at times contradictory information from authorities that have enraged a community in shock and sorrow. Department spokesman Anthony Coley said the review would be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and the findings would be made public. The announcement came as President Joe Biden was visiting Uvalde, where he and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects at a memorial to the 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday. The goal of the review, which the mayor requested, is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and response that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, Coley said in a statement. Handling the review is the department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. It was not immediately clear how the review would be conducted, whether law enforcement officials could be compelled to cooperate in the review and when it might be completed. Such a review is somewhat rare and most after-action reports that come after a mass shooting are generally compiled by local law enforcement agencies or outside groups. The Justice Department conducted similar reviews after 14 people were killed in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, in 2015, and after the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in U.S. history that left 49 people dead and 53 people wounded. The frustration, anger and questions about the response from police grew deeper on Friday after authorities revealed that despite repeated 911 calls from students and teachers, the school districts police chief had told more than a dozen officers to wait in a school hallway. Officials said he believed the suspect was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether more lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. Biden has not spoken publicly about the police response to the shooting. ___ Balsamo reported from Washington. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings / MILFORD Milford police on Friday arrested a YMCA employee who they say had repeatedly threatened a female co-worker over the past several weeks. Christopher Cofer, 23, was charged with first-degree threatening. According to police, he is still in custody after he was unable to post $100,000 bond. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) An Arizona man was facing multiple theft charges Friday after detectives found more than 1,200 catalytic converters packed into a storage unit, a case that highlights a national surge in thefts of the pricy auto parts that play a critical role in reducing vehicle emissions. The discovery followed a months-long investigation that began with a January tip that someone was storing stolen catalytic converters in an industrial area near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We were very surprised at the amount in there, Phoenix police Det. Adam Popelier said in a police video taken Thursday as officers were pulling converters from the jam-packed storage locker. The 48-year-old man who police say was buying and selling the convertors was charged with 40 counts of theft and may face additional charges. The huge rise in catalytic converters thefts across the nation has hit tens of thousands of car and truck owners in the pocketbook and frustrated police, who are faced with a crime that takes just minutes to commit and is difficult to solve even if they find the stolen parts. Catalytic converters are not imprinted at the factory with serial numbers and stolen converters end up on a black market where they are chopped open for the valuable metals they contain. Replacing one can cost a motorist from $1,000 to $3,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an insurance industry group that works to combat insurance fraud and crime. Police say thieves can get from $100 to $150 for each converter. The insurance group counted just 3,969 reports of stolen catalytic converters in 2019, more than 17,000 in 2020 and more than 52,000 last year. Lawmakers across the nation have taken notice, introducing legislation designed to make it harder for criminals to unload their loot. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 150 bills have been introduced this year in 36 states and enacted in 16 states. That includes Arizona, where Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill this month that makes possession of a catalytic converter in many instances a crime and adds detailed reporting requirements for scrap dealers that buy legitimate used devices. They must mark the item with the donor vehicle's serial number and retain it for at least a week in original condition. Scrap dealers caught with unregistered or stolen converters face a $500 fine for the first offense, a $2,000 fine for a second and at least double that for each additional time they are caught. Those possessing or trying to sell a used catalytic converter that don't meet new requirements could face a six-month jail sentence. Federal legislation is also in the works. Indiana Rep. Jim Baird is sponsoring a bill backed by the National Insurance Crime Bureau that would require serial numbers on new devices, offer grants for programs to stamp numbers on existing cars and trucks and make it easier to prosecute thefts. The insurance group's President and CEO David Glawe called it a critical step in helping bring relief to people directly impacted by the thefts. Insurance often does not cover a car owner's losses. Someone carrying just liability coverage or liability and collision is on the hook for the full bill. Even with comprehensive coverage, there is a deductible that may be high enough that it is not worth filing a claim. Lastly, some victims even with coverage may treat the problem as a mechanical issue and just pay for it themselves and never notify their insurer, insurance crime bureau spokesperson Tully Lehman said Friday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The massacre of 21 children and teachers this week in Uvalde came after a litany of law enforcement failures and faulty assumptions, authorities said Friday. The breakdowns began almost as soon as the 18-year-old gunman crashed into a ditch outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. An officer sped past the gunman, who was hiding behind a car. Minutes later, Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old mass shooter, slipped into the school through a back door that had been left ajar. Most inexplicably, soon after officers ran into the school, Police Chief Pete Arredondo of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District assumed that there were no students still alive in classrooms 111 and 112. Despite ongoing gunfire and numerous 911 calls from inside the school, police stood gathered, without trying to enter the classrooms for more than an hour. Arredondo decided to treat the scene as a barricaded suspect not an active shooting, Texas Department of Public Safety Cmdr. Steven McCraw said Friday during a news conference. The session was meant to correct and clarify authorities timeline of events of the Tuesday mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 elementary school students and two teachers. Police, sheriffs deputies and Border Patrol agents wouldnt breach the classroom and kill Salvador Ramos until 12:50 p.m., 75 minutes after officers first entered the school. During that time, 911 dispatchers received at least seven terrified calls from people inside the classrooms, including children who pleaded for police to intervene. With the benefit of hindsight, of course it was not the right decision, McCraw said. It was the wrong decision. On ExpressNews.com: Uvalde funeral services, GoFundMe pages: how to support the families That decision prevented medics from getting into the classroom and treating injured students, he said. Day of terror Ramos, a high school dropout, had been planning the slaughter for some time, it appears. Hed first asked his sister in September to buy him a rifle, McCraw said, but shed flatly refused. Then, in the days after his 18th birthday, he bought two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition which would have cost about $3,000 or more using a debit card, McCraw said. The DPS commander also said the shooter had discussed buying a gun in social media chats earlier this year. In one conversation this year, a person in one of the chats said, word on the street is that youre buying a gun. Just bought something, the gunman replied. Weeks later, the shooter wrote 10 more days, prompting another user to ask if he was going to shoot up a school. No, Ramos apparently replied, and stop asking dumb questions youll see. Among the unanswered questions: How did a teen who worked at a Wendys scrape together the money necessary to buy high-end rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition? Shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday, the gunman shot his grandmother, 66-year-old Sally Gonzales, in the face, authorities said. She remains in University Hospital in San Antonio in critical condition. He took his grandmothers pickup and drove toward Robb Elementary, crashing into a ditch about 11:28 a.m., authorities said. Meanwhile, just one minute earlier, a teacher at Robb Elementary propped open a back door. On ExpressNews.com: AR-style rifles like the one used in Uvalde shooting often leave victims unrecognizable, experts say Across the street, the gunman got out of the pickup, carrying a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 and a backpack filled with magazines containing hundreds of rounds of ammunition, officials said. A teacher, outside the school, heard or saw the crash and called 911, McCraw said. The gunman shot at two people who were standing in front of a funeral home near the school, McCraw said. The two men ran. A police officer with the Uvalde CISD who heard the 911 call drove on campus. He sped by the shooter, who crouched behind a vehicle. The officer headed toward the teacher, believing he was the gunman, according to McCraw. At some point before walking into the low-slung elementary school, the teen ditched the backpack, which contained 30 bullet-filled magazines half of the 60 magazines authorities ultimately recovered in various spots. They also found that the gunman had obtained a total of 1,657 rounds of ammunition. At 11:31 a.m., the gunman began walking toward the open door. He raised his rifle, firing at the windows of several classrooms, injuring some inside. He entered the building two minutes later, as other police officers arrived at the funeral home where hed shot at the two men minutes before. The gunman walked a few dozen yards through the schools halls, and turned into rooms 111 or 112, where Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia were teaching their fourth-grade classes, full of 9- and 10-year-olds. Ramos began firing, McCraw said, a blur of gunfire spraying scores of bullets throughout the room. Its not clear how many students and teachers were killed at that point. At 11:35 a.m, two school police officers and five Uvalde officers rushed inside the school. Bullets grazed two of the officers, McCraw said. The door was closed at that point. At 11:37 a.m., there were 16 more shots. A few seconds later, police heard another shot. And at 11:38 a.m., another. And yet more, at 11:40 a.m. and 11:44 a.m. At 11:51 a.m., a police sergeant showed up. A terrified teacher called 911 at 12:03 p.m. She whispered that she was inside room 112. Its better I read it than you listen to it, McCraw said Thursday, visibly struggling to remain composed. On ExpressNews.com: Uvalde killers gun store at center of ammo smuggling case By that point, there were as many as 19 officers inside the building, McCraw said. At 12:10 p.m., the teacher called back. The gunman had killed several of her students. She called again, three minutes later, and again at 12:16 p.m. Eight or nine of her students were still alive, she said. Minutes later, at 12:19 p.m., a child in the adjacent classroom called 911. The call was brief she ended it when another student told her to hang up, McCraw said. At least two more calls came in over in the following 22 minutes. The last one, from a student, lasted several minutes as the child stayed on the line, trying to quietly whisper updates to the dispatcher. By then, irate parents had gathered outside the school, urging police to act. Instead, video showed officers preventing parents from trying to get to the school, and in some cases, handcuffing parents. Inside the school, officers searched for a janitor so they could get a master key to open the locked door. They waited for more highly trained, heavily armed SWAT operators from the Border Patrols elite BORTAC squad. The incident commander inside believed they needed more equipment and more officers, McCraw said. But McCraw said it was the wrong call. Once the shooting continued, officers should have switched back to an active-shooter response, he said. We dont care what agency youre from you dont have to have a leader on the scene, McCraw said. Every officer lines up, stacks up, goes and finds where those rounds are being fired and keeps shooting until the subject is dead. On ExpressNews.com: Delays, discrepancies in Robb Elementary shooting police response At 12:21 p.m., the gunman fired three shots. The sounds were audible in one of the 911 calls dispatchers received, McCraw said. It was at that moment when members of the BORTAC unit arrived with ballistic shields, he said. But still, officers took no action. The chief was convinced, McCraw said, that there was no more threat to the children, that the suspect was barricaded, and that they had time to organize with the proper equipment to go in. He did not say whether Arredondo, the incident commander, was receiving live updates from dispatchers. At 12:43 p.m., the girl who had remained on the line told dispatchers that the gunman shot the door. Students could hear the police next door, she said. She pleaded with police to come and help. At 12:47 p.m., after more than an hour huddled in terror among the bodies of her murdered classmates, the girl made the same plea again. Please send the police now! she said. Police finally unlocked the door at 12:50 p.m. and killed the gunman. They began pulling students out moments later. But 19 students lay slaughtered, along with two teachers. Seventeen others were seriously injured. St.John.Smith@houstonchronicle.com eeaton@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHILADELPHIA (AP) When Chandler Jones realized she was pregnant during her junior year of college, she turned to a trusted source for information and advice. Her cellphone. I couldnt imagine before the Internet, trying to navigate this, said Jones, 26, who graduates Tuesday from the University of Baltimore School of Law. I didnt know if hospitals did abortions. I knew Planned Parenthood did abortions, but there were none near me. So I kind of just Googled. But with each search, Jones was being surreptitiously followed by the phone apps and browsers that track us as we click away, capturing even our most sensitive health data. Web searches. Period apps. Fitness trackers. Advice helplines. GPS. The often obscure companies collecting our health history and geolocation data may know more about us than we know ourselves. For now, the information is mostly used to sell us things. But in a post-Roe world if the Supreme Court soon reverses the 1973 decision that legalized abortion, as a draft opinion suggests it may pregnancies could be surveilled and the data shared with police or sold to critics or vigilantes. The value of these tools for law enforcement is for how they really get to peek into the soul, said Cynthia Conti-Cook, a Ford Foundation technology fellow. It gives the mental chatter inside our heads. And our digital trail only becomes clearer when we leave home, as security cameras, license plate readers and other tools track our movements. Their development has raced far ahead of the laws and regulations that might govern them. For myriad reasons, both political and philosophical, data privacy laws in the U.S. have lagged far behind those adopted in Europe in 2018. Until this month, anyone could buy a weekly trove of data on clients at more than 600 Planned Parenthood sites around the country for as little as $160, according to a recent Vice investigation. The files included approximate patient addresses (derived from where their cellphones sleep at night), income brackets, time spent at the clinic, and the top places people visited before and afterward. Its all possible because HIPAA, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, protects medical files at your doctors office but not the information that third-party apps and tech companies collect about you. The surveillance capabilities alarm people who support abortion rights and fear whats to come if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Women of color like Jones, along with poor women and immigrants, could face the most dire consequences if Roe falls since they typically have less power and money to cover their tracks. They also tend to have more abortions, proportionally, perhaps because they have less access to health care, birth control and, in conservative states, schools with good sex education programs. A few states are starting to push back, setting limits on tech tools as the fight over consumer privacy intensifies. Massachusetts, through a legal settlement, stopped a Boston-based ad company from steering anti-abortion smartphone ads to women inside clinics that offer abortion services there. In Michigan, voters amended the state Constitution to require police to get a warrant before searching someone's data. And in California, voters passed a sweeping digital privacy law that lets people delete the data that companies collect about them. Still, the burden to protect ones personal data lies mostly with the consumer, who must wade through complex privacy notices and user settings. Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy director with the ACLUs Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said there are very, very few people who have the savvy to do everything needed to protect themselves. Digital privacy was the last thing on Jones's mind when she found herself pregnant. She and her boyfriend both had ambitious career goals. She was in crisis mode. When I was going through this, it was just survival mode, said Jones, who took part in a march Saturday in downtown Baltimore to support abortion rights. And while she has started to speak out about her abortion, many people dont want the secrets they spill online exposed. The same tracking that might let slip what youre buying your spouse for Christmas could reveal that someones gay, or pregnant or seriously ill. It can also be used to set life insurance rates, consider bank loans and weight hiring decisions, experts said. The concerns are mounting, and have forced Apple, Google and other tech giants to begin taking steps to rein in the sale of consumer data. That includes Apple's launch of its App Tracking Transparency feature, which lets users block apps from tracking them. Abortion rights activists, meanwhile, suggest people in conservative states leave their phones at home or turn off the location services when they seek reproductive health care, and study the privacy policies of health apps they use. Literally, because I have my cell phone in my pocket, if I go to a CVS, they know I went to a CVS, said Jones, the soon-to-be lawyer. I think the privacy right is such a deeper issue in America (and one) that is being violated all the time. ___ Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale President Muhammadu Buharis immediate past Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, has disclosed how the primary election in Kano St... President Muhammadu Buharis immediate past Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, has disclosed how the primary election in Kano State was allegedly rigged. Ahmad shared a video of how delegates were given papers containing the names of aspirants to vote for during the primaries. In the video, two men were seen writing the names of possibly their preferred aspirants and handing them to delegates. The delegates collected the papers and inserted them in what is believed to be a ballot box. In a tweet that accompanied the video, Ahmad noted that it would take a miracle for him to have scored one vote under such an arrangement. He, however, vowed to pursue legal ways of reclaiming his mandate. Ahmad wrote: Just a glimpse of what happened during the so-called primaries in my constituency. Scoring a single vote must have even been a miracle. There are much more to what was seen here. Exploring all the possible and legal ways to reclaim our mandate. It was reported that Bashir, who was aspiring for the position of House of Representatives, lost the election to the incumbent Rep, Mahmud Gaya. The former Presidential media Aide has already rejected the results of the APC primary election for the Albasu/Gaya/Ajingi Federal Constituency in Kano State. After the expiration of its two-week warning strike which it had embarked on to press home its demands from the federal government,Academic ... The umbrella body of lecturers of the nations public polytechnics said the decision to call off the action followed some some achievement made so far in its demands. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi Yalwa, Saturday,ASUP explained that the government had met four of its demands so far. According to union, the decision to resume work was to give the federal government more time to meet the remaining five demands. The statement reads: The two weeks definite strike of the union will be rounding off on the 29th of May, 2022 as agreed by the emergency meeting of NEC. Consequently, the union is requesting members to resume duties effective 30th of May, 2022 while hoping that government will take advantage of the window to address the five outstanding items. Further directives/ updates shall be released after the 103rd meeting of NEC which is scheduled to hold in the month of June, 2022 during which the situation shall be reviewed. Recall that ASUP, on May 16, began a two -week definite warning strike following the resolution of its emergency National Executive Council meeting of 11th of May, 2022. The union had said the decision was taken to protest the lethargic attitude of the government towards fulfilling some aspects of the memorandum of action (MoA) signed in 2021. Within the period of the action, the government commenced the payment of arrears of the new minimum wage in all affected Federal Polytechnics. The government also approved and released regulatory instruments for accreditation of institutions, management and programmes. Also, a decision was taken on the vexed issue of victimisation of union officials in Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu where five of ASUP members were dismissed due to their participation in the 2017 strike of the Union. And the issue of continued infractions in the Federal Polytechnics Act as typified by the release of a contentious template for appointment of principal officers by the Federal Ministry of Education was also handled as the document is due to be withdrawn as agreed. Outstanding demands of ASUP include: release of the approved N15bn revitalisation fund for the sector; release of arrears of CONTISS 15 migration for the lower cadre and the release of the Scheme of Service and Conditions of Service. Others include: continued delay in the appointment of substantive Rectors for Federal Polytechnics in Mubi, Offa, and Kaduna and resolution of issues with members in Colleges of Agriculture. After the expiration of its two-week warning strike which it had embarked on to press home its demands from the federal government,Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic,ASUP, has directed its members to resume work on Monday May 30, 2022. Former vice-president and serial presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has emerged as the presidential candidate of the opposition party, ... Former vice-president and serial presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has emerged as the presidential candidate of the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party. Atiku emerged as a candidate at the end of the presidential primary after polling 371 votes. He defeated the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who scored 237 votes. Other aspirants with the number of votes polled include Bukola Saraki 70; Sam Ohuanbunwa 1; Anyim Pius Anyim 14; Udom Emmanuel 38 votes; Bala Mohammed 20. It was earlier reported that the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, had withdrawn from the presidential race and had given his support to the former Vice President. Atiku had in 1993, contested the Social Democratic Party presidential primary, losing to Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe. He was a presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 presidential election coming in third to Umaru YarAdua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. He contested the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2011 presidential election losing out to incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2014, he joined the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 presidential election and contested the presidential primary and lost to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017, he returned to the Peoples Democratic Party and was the partys presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, again losing to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. In his acceptance speech, Atiku pledged to make security and the unity of Nigerians his topmost priority when elected President in 2023. He appealed to PDP members to come together in the interest of the party and Nigerians who have placed their hopes on the PDP. Atiku said this in his acceptance speech soon after he was returned as the duly elected presidential candidate of the PDP, in Abuja, on Saturday. He said: Today history has been made. The History which we believe will bring about fundamental changes in our electoral system. Today, we witnessed one of the freest election in the history of our great party. A Freudian slip or a moment of forgetfulness? Only Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, can succinctly elucidate what he mean... A Freudian slip or a moment of forgetfulness? Only Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, can succinctly elucidate what he meant when he said he would defeat President Muhammdu Buhari if given the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Speaking on Saturday at the presidential primary of the PDP, Fayose said he has beaten incumbents in the past and hed floor Buhari in a landslide victory but interestingly, the president is not on the ballot for the 2023 election. Buhari, who is rounding off his second term, is not constitutionally permitted to run for another term. His party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has also not yet held its primary to elect a presidential candidate. Hence, it is hard to fathom what exactly the former Ekiti governor was trying to convey when he made the comment. I want to assure that my speech will not be more than two to three minutes because it is not what you say, it is what we do or what we have done, Fayose said while making his final pitch to delegates. My name again is Ayodele Fayose Peter. I want to remind you that I was a two-term governor of Ekiti state and I defeated two incumbents at two different attempts. That means if given this opportunity I will defeat President Muhammadu Buhari in a landslide victory. Let me remind you that If I were to be a prophet, I would be making a lot of money. I told you President Muhammadu Buhari has nothing to offer and the party APC is and will remain a party of people who never meant well for our country. Therefore today Im calling on all of you to equally remember that PDP should be the bigger picture. PDP should be the party, not what we want to tear into pieces. Whoever becomes the flagbearer today, we should be ready to work with him. Power comes only from God. I want to thank you for this opportunity I want to assure you if you give me an opportunity. I have a penchant for defeating [an] incumbent. Former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, has won the Ogun East senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 ele... Former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, has won the Ogun East senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 election. Daniel was said to have scored 450 votes to defeat the incumbent Senator Lekan Mustapha, who polled 29 votes. Daniel also defeated a former Deputy Governor to Ibikunle Amosun during his first term, Segun Adesegun, who garnered six votes and one Mr Seyi Oduntan, who had 12 votes. At the commencement of the shadow election held Saturday at Itoro Hall in Ijebu-Ode, the former Commissioner for Health in Ogun, Babatunde Ipaye, had announced that Senator Mustapha, had stepped down for Daniel. This, it was gathered, made other aspirants vacate the venue of the election, leaving behind only the former governor. Recall that Daniel had, in the buildup to the 2019 elections, announced that he had retired from partisan politics, saying he had ceased to be a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under which he was elected as governor twice. He later joined the APC, stressing that his followers insisted that he could not retire from politics yet. Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Shuiab Salisu, has been declared the winner of the APC ticket to contest for the Ogun Central senatorial seat. Earlier, our correspondent reported that the Lagos West Senator, Olamilekan Adeola, won the Ogun West Senatorial ticket of the APC. Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has denied participating in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Northern Senatorial primary election... Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has denied participating in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Northern Senatorial primary election. It was reported that Ayade lost the ticket after he polled 52 votes against Adams Cecelia, who scored 140. But reacting in a statement signed by Ayades media chief, Chris Ita, the State Government maintained that Ayade did not take part in any senatorial primary. The statement said Ayade is a presidential aspirant and will be taking part in the APC presidential convention slated for June 6. We make bold to say that the so-called parallel primary election as contained in the said video was at best a poorly scripted skit comedy shot by three persons sitting in a room. The sham video is indeed a joke taken too far. It was a vapid, infantile but failed attempt at manipulation, as the clowns behind it tragically forgot to also manufacture ballot boxes, delegates, observers and APC panel members, it said. The State government said the result circulating on social media was the handiwork of political desperadoes who are out to embarrass the governor. We wish to assure teeming APC members and supporters, particularly in Northern Cross River, that there was no parallel Senatorial primaries in the district. The only valid and recognised senatorial primaries that took place in Ogoja and which was won by the former Chief of Staff to the Governor, Martin Orim and which does not have Ayade on the ballot, was monitored by the INEC and representatives from APCs National Secretariat. The purported video suggesting a parallel exercise should, therefore, be ignored, it added. A socio-political activist, Reno Omokri has attributed the victory of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar at the just concluded Peoples De... A socio-political activist, Reno Omokri has attributed the victory of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar at the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential primary elections to Northern solidarity. Recall that Atiku was endorsed by some Northern stakeholders prior to his victory against the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. According to a post on his verified Facebook page, Reno explained that Atiku emerged winner of the presidential election following the decision of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State to step down for the former Vice President. Wike had supported the presidential ambition of Governor Tambuwal in the 2019 presidential election against Atiku. Reno stated that the South needs to learn from the North on how to play such politics. He wrote, The South has a lot to learn from the genuine brotherly love and unity displayed by Northerners. Consider that though Wike backed Tambuwal against HE Atiku in 2019, the same Tambuwal has turned around to back HE Atiku against Wike in 2022. Northern solidarity! It is something that the South lacks. Tambuwal has shown that Northern solidarity is thicker and stronger than financial solidarity. Former Vice President and presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has shown gratitude to the Governor of... Former Vice President and presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has shown gratitude to the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, for stepping down his ambition for him. Atiku, who tweeted via his official Twitter handle, @AtikuAbubakar, noted that he looked forward to working with Tambuwal. Thank you, H.E @AWTambuwal. Thanks for your spirited campaign. I look forward to working with you as we unite our party and our country. Tambuwal earlier withdrew his aspiration and had urged his supporters to vote for Atiku. The time has come to make a sacrifice for the good of the country and the party and also to minimise rancor and jostle for power among Aspirants. I have come to the conclusion to step down from the race. I urge my supporters to vote for Atiku Abubakar, he said. Desmond Elliot, the actor-turned-politician, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for a third term to represent the Surulere... Desmond Elliot, the actor-turned-politician, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for a third term to represent the Surulere constituency as a lawmaker in the Lagos house of assembly The primary election took place on Friday at Akerele Primary Health Centre, Surulere. It was conducted under the watch of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Thirty ad hoc delegates drawn from nine wards in the constituency started voting at around 2:45 pm. Announcing the result, Demola Omotosho, the returning officer, declared Elliot the winner. He said that the actor-turned-politician polled 30 votes as the sole contestant for the ticket. In a statement via his Twitter page, Elliot thanked his supporters for finding him worthy of a third term. Thank you Surulere for the opportunity to serve you again. With your overwhelming support, we took the step towards ensuring our great party emerges victorious in the next general election coming up next year, he wrote. It is my pleasure to express my profound gratitude as I am considered worthy by every constituent, as you all supported my return to the state house of assembly as your representative. I want to especially appreciate my leader, mentor, and speaker of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Rt Hon. Femi @SpeakerGbaja, who over time has proven to be worthy of emulation and an inspiration to me and many others. I also extend my appreciation to Rt Hon. Mudashiru Obasa (Speaker Lagos State House of Assembly) for his unrelenting support, advice, and guidance. My warmest appreciation to the party leadership headed by Hon. Fuad Laguda and the Executives of the local government council headed by Hon. Sulaimon Bamidele Yusuf. To the Legislative Arm of the local government headed by Hon. Barakat Akande & the Community Development Cttee headed by Mr. Odumosu. I am truly grateful to ALL. Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto governor, has withdrawn from contesting the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). ... Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto governor, has withdrawn from contesting the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Tambuwal, one of the presidential hopefuls in the race, announced his withdrawal at the national convention of the party on Saturday. He asked his supporters to support the aspiration of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. Earlier, the Sokoto governor had said he possesses all the qualities needed to be president of Nigeria, describing himself as a bridge between the young and the old. We are compelled to rescue this country and rebuild it together, he told the delegates. Tambuwals withdrawal from the race came shortly after Nwachukwu Anakuenze, another presidential hopeful, announced his decision to withdraw from the race. Finally, Im sorry to let you know that Im withdrawing from the race today, because why we came was because the power was supposed to be zoned to the south and south-east, he said. That changed and the constitution of PDP hasnt changed. And I got the delegates list only two days ago, with no phone numbers. We dont have anybody to reach. I want my delegates to support the best candidate that will unite Nigeria and do something for everybody. Thugs, on Saturday, invaded the venue of the primary conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to elect a candidate for Imo east se... Thugs, on Saturday, invaded the venue of the primary conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to elect a candidate for Imo east senatorial district. Betty, wife of Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, who is one of the aspirants for the senatorial seat, was chased from the venue by the thugs. Speaking with journalists at the Imo APC secretariat after security operatives brought the situation under control, Betty urged the national working committee (NWC) of the APC to reject any plan by the party in the state to present a consensus candidate for Imo east district. According to her, no election has been conducted for the APC senatorial ticket for the area. I am pleading with the NWC of our party to know that any result coming from this kangaroo election from Imo state for Imo east senatorial district should be rejected. There was no election, she said. I am not part of the consensus plan. Consensus my foot! Lets go to the field. If I lose, I will accept it and congratulate the winner. Betty, who hails from Emeabiam in Owerri west LGA of the state is contesting against four other aspirants Alex Mbata, Kemdi Opara, Jerry Chukwueke and Ugochukwu Nwachukwu. Meanwhile, according to Cajetan Duke, Imo APC publicity secretary, the primary for the senatorial district is ongoing. Duke also denied the claim that the state chapter of the party wants to field a consensus candidate. All the party said to aspirants was that those who stand no chance of winning the election should step down, NAN quoted Duke as saying. A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has reacted to the emergence of Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the candid... A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has reacted to the emergence of Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 presidential election. In a statement Sunday morning , Mr Tinubu, congratulated Atiku for his victory at the keenly contested primary and praised his political experience and patriotism. He, however, threw a challenge at the former vice president, saying he and his party will have to explain why Nigerians should give them another opportunity, after squandering 16 years at the central government, without much to show. Nigerians are yet to forget the national ruin and mismanagement of our country for 16 years by successive PDP administration and this bad memory will dog the campaign of the PDP Candidate, Mr Tinubu said via the statement by the Director, Media and Communication of his campaign organisation, Bayo Onanuga. The former Lagos governor also said he was looking forward to squaring up with Atiku as a worthy opponent in the coming presidential election. Mr Tinubu is a frontline presidential aspirant on the platform of the ruling APC, which will hold its primary next week. With the PDP picking its candidate from the North, which has more registered voters than the south, it remains unclear if the APC will be bold enough to nominate Mr Tinubu from the south as its flagbearer for the election. SEE BELOW MR TINUBUS FULL STATEMENT ON ATIKUS VICTORY Lining the fence around the playground at the Maple Street Park in Black River are framed pages of the book, The Bear Went Over the Mountain as told by Iza Trapani. The storywalk, created by the Sally Ploof Hunter Memorial Library staff with assistance from the village Department of Public Works, is interchangeable and will have new stories posted every few weeks throughout the summer, according to library director Mary Louis Hunt. The initial book was selected because it is a familiar story. During the summer, books will be about oceans to fit with the theme of the summer reading program. Reading the book on opening day Saturday are from left, Annelise M. Bowers, 2, held by Colleen M. Bowers, Mrs. Hunt and Marlea L. Oldfield, 5. Locally reported news and sports Stay Current with What's Happening Get the most of NNY360, register today! By providing your email address, you consent to receive emails and special offers from NNY360.com Yes, 18 is too young to purchase an assault rifle in New York No, all legal adults should have the same right to buy assault rifles No, instead of more state laws, we should enact safer gun legislation federally Vote View Results In response to customer demand, Piece of Meat is now open three nights a week, with plans to expand to six as soon as possible. It's way past time to ditch that crazy guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms. So goes a typical reader response to a report in the London Times about the latest slaughter of American innocents at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The English have traditionally been termed our cousins, but remain, like most foreigners, baffled and horrified by our national love affair with guns. They would be especially uncomprehending in Texas and across the state line here in Louisiana where Republican politicians never tire of passing laws likely to produce a fresh supply of victims they can pray for in the future. The Uvalde massacre occurred when a slew of bills calculated to put guns in even more hands was pending in the Louisiana Legislature. The suggestion that this country might abandon the right to bear arms betrays a profound ignorance across the Atlantic of both the American psyche and the American Constitution. Any changes to the Constitution must be approved by two-thirds of the U.S. House and Senate and ratified by the legislatures in three-fourths of the states. The process is so cumbersome that the latest amendment, adopted in 1992, was drafted by James Madison in 1789. That was a straightforward requirement that no congressional pay raise take effect until after the next election. More contentious provisions would never pass, and no issue so divides the American people as the gun rights enshrined in the second of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791. Plenty of Americans share the European view that a country with few curbs on the 400 million firearms in its midst needs its head examined, but plenty of others stick to the old-fashioned notion that we would otherwise be subject to government tyranny. There is nothing wrong with the country that more guns would not cure, according to true believers. An American's right to use deadly force in defense of home or family is not in serious dispute, but exactly where sweet reason comes down on the gun issue is hard to say. The motives of the politicians and media blowhards who denounce gun control at every turn are not always pure. Tucker Carlson takes President Joe Biden to task for delivering a partisan response to Uvalde instead of seeking to unite the country in a time of grief, but, as the most strident voice at Fox News, he gets the big bucks for serving raw meat to right wingers. He cannot seriously expect Americans to agree about guns, which are just about the most partisan issue around. As for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, he is almost as quick to start praying as he is to pocket the NRA dollar. Democratic election wins always boost gun sales, which have gone through the roof in recent years anyway. Americans buy about 20 million guns a year. At the same time, polls show a slight majority in favor of tighter gun control overall, while stricter background checks, anathema to GOP politicians, enjoy broad public support. In a country with a reverence for rugged individualism, a meeting of American minds seems out of the question. If Republicans in Congress and state legislatures were not moved to action by Sandy Hook and Parkland, they can surely shrug off two dead adults and 19 little corpses in Uvalde. Democrats may be aghast, and foreigners mystified, but nothing is likely to change. Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com. NREL Pledge Curbs Emissions as Part of Larger DOE Initiative With national laboratory leaders gathered at NREL's Flatirons Campus, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced the pilot launch of the Net Zero Labs initiative. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL Emissions from the Flatirons Campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will become an artifact of the past by the close of the next fiscal year. The ambitious plan announced Wednesday by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm served as the pilot launch of the Net Zero Labs initiative, which involves four of the Department of Energys 17 laboratories. Martin Keller, director of NREL, said he expects the Flatirons Campus near Boulder, Colorado, will reach net zero emissions annually by the end of fiscal year 2023 and the South Table Mountain Campus outside Golden, Colorado, to hit that achievement three years later. That means that on an annual basis, NREL will eliminate or offset all greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality. Our participation in the Net Zero Labs initiative will model how laboratories, academia, businesses, and communities can successfully decarbonize smart campuses, Keller said. It will show that large, complex, energy-intensive organizations can achieve carbon neutrality, despite the many challenges. Granholm announced that in addition to NREL, the Net Zero Labs pilot will include the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Idaho National Laboratory. The pilot will be expanded to the other national laboratories in FY23. Keller predicted the Flatirons Campus will be the first campus in the entire Department of Energy complex to reach this milestone. This is not going to be an easy task to get to net zero, Granholm said during a visit to the Flatirons Campus. She announced an initial $38 million that will fund the pilot initiative and added, Its going to take a lot more money. Even so, the secretary said, the breakthroughs she expects each of the laboratories to make as they move toward net-zero campuses will be an example they will set for others. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions can help with the ongoing issue of climate change, which has caused glaciers to melt, sea levels to increase, and temperatures to rise. The United States has pledged to cut emissions in half by 2030. An aerial view of NREL's Flatirons Campus near Boulder, Colorado. Photo by Joshua Bauer, NREL Net-Zero Emissions Target Covers Three Areas The wind turbines rising from the grounds of the Flatirons Campus are visible from miles away. Less visible are the arrays of the solar panels that dot the 305-acre site. The two sources of renewable energy generate enough electricity that NREL is able to regularly send power to the electrical grid operated by Xcel Energy. When the campus needs to purchase electricity, NREL buys energy produced from Xcels wind farms through the utilitys Windsource program. We could just buy enough Windsource to cover everything and say we did it, were done, but thats not what were trying to achieve here, said Sheila Hayter, co-lead of NRELs Net Zero Labs program. What were trying to achieve here is truly to have net-zero-emissions operations. NREL emitted the equivalent of 25,724 metric tons of carbon dioxide during FY20. The emissions are in three categories. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources NREL owns or controls, including its fleet of vehicles. Scope 2 is indirect emissions from purchased electricity and heating. Scope 3 is indirect emissions from doing business, including employees commuting. The breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions in FY20 for NRELs two campuses were 10% from Scope 1, 70% from Scope 2, and 20% from Scope 3. Hayter said buying carbon offsets or renewable energy certificates to cover all emissions would merely defeat the purpose of the program. Our strategy for being net zero is not just to buy, but our strategy is actually to minimize our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to the point where we have almost none left, and we think we can do that. An aerial view of NREL's South Table Mountain Campus outside Golden, Colorado. Photo by Joshua Bauer, NREL NREL developed a road map to reach its goals in meeting the Net Zero Labs challenge. In eliminating Scope 1 emissions, for example, the plan calls for ending the use of natural gas on the two campuses and so heating will be provided through the potential combination of electric, geothermal, ground source heat pumps, and energy heat recovery for all new buildings. Part of the Scope 2 plan focuses on both on-site and off-site renewable energy generation. Neither the Flatirons Campus nor the 327-acre South Table Mountain Campus has enough space to add enough additional solar panels to solve the emissions problem, although additional solar will be part of the solution. The road map calls for: Installing energy storage to capture the production of renewable energy for later use Converting the fleet of vehicles to battery or hydrogen powered Replacing generators with carbon-free backup power technologies, such as stationary batteries, biofuel-based generators, and hydrogen fuel cells. How quickly NREL will be able to meet its goals will depend to a large degree on funding. The Biden administration has included in its budget for FY23 $58 million for the entire Net Zero Labs initiative, which covers the 17 national laboratories. Hayter said that will not be enough, but it will help. We definitely could do some of the things that are lower cost and high on our list and make some good strides to show right away that were making a difference, she said. Goal Requires Change in Heating Campuses A big expense is expected to be changing the way NREL heats its campuses. Michelle Slovensky, manager of NRELs Intelligent Campus program and co-lead of the Net Zero Labs pilot effort, said the Flatirons Campus moved to natural gas from electric heat several years ago to make building occupants more comfortable. Efforts will be made to return to an electric source for HVAC equipment in four facilities since all electricity is generated on site by solar and wind assets. In the future we will consider the utilization of renewable natural gas from Xcel energy for resilience. For the larger South Table Mountain Campus, other ideas are being considered. We are investigating a diversity of renewable energy resources such as geothermal. and hydrogen fuel cells, and for future resiliency use we envision a mix of hydrogen and renewable natural gas, said Slovensky, whose Intelligent Campus program treats NREL as a living laboratory. The research being developed here at NREL are the same technologies we intend to deploy on our site so we can accelerate their adoption for wider market impact. NREL already mitigates about half of the emissions from natural gas used at South Table Mountain through the Renewable Fuel Heat Plant biomass facility. The laboratory intends to purchase carbon offsets to cover emissions from burning wood chip biomass used as fuel. Eliminating the Scope 3 emissions will take more time as they involve employee business travel and commuting. The plan calls for the urging of employees to attend remote meetings virtually and the continuing practice of employees working from home when possible. NRELs road map estimates these practices can mitigate emissions by 20% to 25%, with the remainder covered by the purchase of carbon offsets. The way I look at it is back in the day when nobody cared about efficiency, we put little stickers on our light switches saying turn off the lights, save some electricity, Hayter said. Thats kind of the same thing were doing now by helping people realize that we all have a stake in this game, and we can all contribute and that by contributing its going to make things better for all of us. Read NRELs roadmap to reaching net zero emissions. MICHIGAN CITY Come July, Veronica Adams will have worked in the steel mills for 25 years. Though she enjoys her job as senior clerical technician at Cleveland-Cliffs, Adams wanted to add another skill to her arsenal solar panel installation. Three days a week, for two weeks, Adams would wake up at 4:30 a.m., go to work at the mill, come home and rest for an hour, then pick up her son before they both headed to Ivy Tech Valparaiso for a solar installation class. I am always about continuing education and learning because industry is always evolving. ... When there is an opportunity to learn, I am going to take it," Adams said, adding that "it always helps when it's free. Adams and her son Anthony Cook Jr. were two of the students the NAACP LaPorte County sponsored as part of its Soul Power Project. At the end of the class, both Adams and Cook received solar helper certifications, an in-demand position that starts at $15.75 an hour and jumps to $31 an hour after 12 months of experience. Cook is using his new skills to pursue a career in solar. For Adams, the only "seasoned mom" in the class, the course was a source of inspiration. "It was an opportunity to bond and learn and build with my son as well as with the other young men in the class, Adams said. It was very impactful for me just to see them so eager to learn." Because solar "is the wave of the future," those graduates will also be able to find work across the county, Adams said. Starting in January 2022, the Soul Power Project sponsors students taking solar helper certification classes. Soul Power pays for students' Uber rides to the class, and all graduates receive a $200 stipend. So far Soul Power has sponsored 12 students throughout three classes. Before the end of the year, the organization plans on sponsoring 24 more, Soul Power Project Manager Donnita Scully said. Classes are held at night to make the program accessible to students who also work full-time. Soul Power works closely with WorkOne Northern Indiana and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 531 to make sure students find high-paying union jobs that offer full benefits upon graduation. "This program automatically enters graduates into the middle class," Scully said. A just transition While classes are open to anyone over 18, Scully said Soul Power is especially focused on working with low-income communities of color those most impacted by decades of heavy industry. She specifically promotes Soul Power in Michigan City and Gary, both lakeshore cities defined by early industrialization. Since 1931, a coal-fired generating station has sat on the edge of the Michigan City shoreline. Owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Co., the station is often recognized by its notable hyperboloid cooling tower. In 2018, NIPSCO announced it would be retiring the station as part of the company's greater efforts to decarbonize electric generation. The Merrillville-based utility currently plans on retiring the station between 2026 and 2028. At the same time, NIPSCO will be shifting to wind, battery and solar-powered energy sources. However, some local organizations fear NIPSCO's retirement will leave the area vulnerable to more contamination. To comply with federal regulations, NIPSCO must clean up its five coal ash ponds by next year. Coal ash, a material left over after coal is burned to generate electricity, contains contaminants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic that pose a potential threat to the air and water, including sources of drinking water, if not properly managed. NIPSCO has said they will remove the ash filling the ponds. However, the legacy ash that was disposed of at the site as "fill" between 1932 and 1972, will not be touched. The only barrier between the fill and Lake Michigan is a steel seawall. Just Transition Northwest Indiana, a nonprofit established in 2020, says the seawall is aging and could give way to a massive spill any day. Just Transition has launched a "Protect Lake Michigan Campaign," demanding NIPSCO cleanup the estimated 2 million tons of fill. A 2021 study published by Earth Justice states that a "clean closure," which would include cleaning up the fill, would create more jobs as well. Susan Thomas, director of legislation at Just Transition, said part of the organization's mission is to dispel the false narrative that it is either jobs or the environment. Just Transition has been working with Soul Power, promoting education around the green economy. Green jobs NIPSCO's plans to decarbonize show that Northwest Indiana is on the verge of an economic shift, Scully said, adding that the transition cannot be just and equitable if workers are not brought to the table. Northwest Indiana has long been known for heavy industry, but as the green economy continues to grow, workers may need to adapt and learn new skills. A 5,000-acre solar project is currently underway in Jasper County. Called Dunns Bridge, NIPSCO plans on buying the solar array once it is completed. Several of Soul Power's graduates are currently working on the Dunns Bridge project. Scully said it is important that the individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by heavy industry are included in the renewable energy job market. "If you look at the (NIPSCO) tower that's here in Michigan City, the neighborhood surrounding it is predominantly black. They are the ones that are most impacted by the coal ash." Scully said. "We want to look at these impacted low-income communities of color ... and help these residents access employment that improves their quality of life." Soul Power also focuses on finding jobs for individuals who have been incarcerated in an effort to reduce recidivism. Right now, Scully is going after more grant funding in the hopes that Soul Power will be able to buy or lease a van to get graduates to job sites. She would also like to launch a solar panel installer certification program, a position that requires more training than a solar panel helper. Despite the long hours Adams and her son had to put in working and taking care of their families while taking the Soul Power class both felt it was worth it. You can take that certification anywhere because solar is the future," Adams said, adding that her son's certificate is now proudly displayed on his wall. How to sign-up for Soul Power If you are interested in signing up for Soul Power, a new round of classes will begin June 6. Applications can be found at www.laportecountynaacp3061.org/soul-power-project and are due June 1. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Political leaders from both parties are publicly decrying a Biden administration probe into solar panel imports that has brought parts of the U.S. solar industry to a virtual standstill. More quietly, theyre pointing fingers at an American company, First Solar, for helping create the crisis one that benefits the Arizona-based company. At issue are Obama-era tariffs on solar panel components made in China. A small solar panel assembly company, Auxin Solar, filed a petition with the Commerce Department to impose those tariffs on crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar panels and cells imported from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, claiming the facilities are a front for Chinese producers. In late March, the Commerce Department launched its probe and brought a series of large solar panel installation projects to a standstill. Initiation of this investigation is already causing massive disruption in the solar industry, a bipartisan group of senators wrote President Joe Biden earlier this month. It will severely harm American solar businesses and workers and increase costs for American families as long as it continues. There arent many issues that will bring together a liberal like Rhode Islands Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and North Carolina conservative Sen. Thom Tillis. Theyre both concerned the threat of retroactive tariffs as high as 300 percent of the assessed value will keep large-scale solar projects on the drawing board and slow efforts to combat climate change. They needed to resolve this yesterday, Whitehouse told Axios. A survey of more than 200 solar companies finds three quarters have canceled or delayed panel deliveries since the Commerce Department announced its probe. The survey, conducted by the Solar Energy Industries Association, also found the impacts are being felt across all market segments residential, commercial, community solar and utility-scale solar. This investigation is based on a meritless trade case that is hammering the solar industry in real-time and diminishing our efforts as a country to tackle climate change, said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIAs president and CEO. We urge the administration to expedite this investigation and end this unnecessary roadblock to our clean energy future. Gabriella Beaumont-Smith, policy analyst at the Cato Institutes Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, says it is an issue of concern for U.S. businesses. Companies that import those solar panels and solar cells are facing potentially some new rounds of import limitations, says Smith. They are wanting to wait and see what happens before they make any more investment decisions. Meanwhile, suspicions grow that Auxin Solar doesnt have the resources to mount this expensive legal challenge alone. Inside sources say its being bankrolled by bigger players. One rumor is that oil or gas interests are behind it, but sources on Capitol Hill and in the industry call that a bank shot. Its First Solar, one lobbyist told InsideSources. Its an open secret that theyre behind this. First Solar is the largest solar manufacturer in the U.S. When news of the probe hit, its stock value rose 5.6 percent. Mamun Rashid, president of Auxin Solar, denies he is being backed by any bigger players. He told The Washington Post his company had to act, regardless of the legal bills. We dont have a business if we dont do something about this. At the same time, market analysts at Cowen and J.P. Morgan acknowledge First Solar is one of few U.S. companies to benefit from the imposition of the tariffs and the impact of the investigation. And First Solar issued a flat denial: The answer is an unequivocal, no, we are not a party to Auxins anti-circumvention petition, said Samantha Sloan, First Solars Vice President of Policy. Unfortunately, those lobbying against the law taking its course choose to obscure the facts with their loud, presumably expensive sky-is-falling campaign. This seems to indicate that they are afraid that the Department will find that Chinese solar manufacturers are, in fact, engaged in circumvention and will hold them accountable for their unfair and unlawful trade practices. Whoevers behind it, Greg Nemet, a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, says the net effect of the Commerce Departments actions will be higher prices, which will hurt efforts for a clean energy future. If we care about meeting climate goals, that requires larger investment and faster installation of solar, and its hard to see how higher priced panels help that, Nemet told E&E News. The fight over Auxin Solars complaint is having immediate impacts. NiSource Inc. recently announced plans to delay the shutdown of a coal-fired power plant by two years because of the solar market situation. I think that not only is the Biden administration not doing a good job in freeing up trade in solar or environmental products overall, it is not doing a good job in reaching or using trade policy to reach its climate goals, says Smith. Ryan Young, a Senior Fellow focusing on trade policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says this story highlights the unintended consequences tariffs can have. Assume, for the sake of argument that solar panel tariffs do, in fact, benefit American solar panel producers, says Young. Those benefits come at the expense of every consumer and every industry that uses solar panels, and now has to pay extra for them. For example, Young says construction costs would go up while projects get delayed, workers miss paychecks, and rents go up to cover the higher costs. Its a zero-sum game at best, says Young. Chris Woodward writes about industry and technology for InsideSources. The opinions are the writer's. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 "If you're not a socialist before you're 25," goes the expression, "you've got no heart. And if you're a socialist after 25, you've got no head." Retired Israeli Air Force Gen. Amos Yadlin wryly recalls the line in his office at Harvard University's Kennedy School, where he is wrapping up a semester as a senior fellow. Once an ace fighter pilot, Yadlin rose to deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force and since retirement has become one of his country's most widely respected defense experts. Naturally, he was treated to weekly protests by a handful of Harvard students who screamed the customary "war criminal" and "colonialist, imperialist, apartheid-monger" epithets at him. As someone who flew over 250 combat missions, Yadlin is not intimidated. He is, he told one interviewer, proud "to defend Israel from those who wish to destroy it." The ferocious efforts of those who want Israel to disappear and who are prepared to say anything at all about it are intended to drive students, faculty and administrators into silence or complicity, and it often works. Last month the student editors who presently run the Harvard Crimson acceded to the fashionable blather. Praising the "spirited activism" of those calling for Israel's elimination, the students published an editorial endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, movement, founded by characters who wish to wipe Israel off the map, designed to attempt to do just that. Of course, just two years ago, the Crimson formally opposed BDS, criticizing narratives "that paint either (side of the Palestinian-Israel conflict) as 'the evil one'." The current editors now say that they "regret and reject" that position. As usual, the Crimson editors and those to whom they caved offered no indication that they knew or cared to know about the Palestinian leadership's repeated spurning of the very Palestinian state that would end the occupation that they claim, falsely, the conflict is all about. The death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh generated more of this. After a recent spate of murders of Israelis murders in which the Crimson displayed no interest Israeli soldiers went into a West Bank town to try to apprehend those responsible. Palestinians fired automatic weapons at them from streets, alleyways and rooftops. The Israelis fired back. Abu Akleh was hit in the crossfire. There's literally no basis for accusing Israel of deliberately killing her. Indeed, it's presently unclear whether she was accidentally struck by a Palestinian bullet or an Israeli one. Palestinian medical officials overseeing the autopsy stated they could not tell. The Israelis asked the Palestinians to cooperate in a joint investigation, so that the fatal bullet could be jointly analyzed. No dice. One can guess why the Palestinians refuse a joint investigation. Meanwhile, charges that Israel "murdered" Abu Akleh are simply rubbish. This, however, is what titans of intellectual rigor and fair-mindedness like Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush have peddled. But they were positively Solomonic compared with forensic expert Susan Sarandon, who tweeted (all caps) that Israel had "EXECUTED" Abu Akleh. The Israeli government contributed its own stupidity to the mix, bungling the journalist's funeral by attacking individuals next to her casket in response to rock-throwing for which it should have been prepared, and then claiming that the chanting of anti-Israel slogans partly justified their response. Shouting "How good it is to murder Jews!" is horrific. But attacking mourners is more horrific. The BDS campaign, notes Yadlin, is composed of two groups. One includes those who simply want Israel dead. "These people are antisemites," he says. "Whatever you say to them will do nothing. The others, whom I respect, have criticisms of the policies of the Israeli government. For these, I'm happy to engage in dialogue. I tell them when I agree and when I disagree." Seems sensible. But there's no surplus of sensibility at Harvard as long as the loudest voices succeed in causing sensible ones to run for cover. Jeff Robbins, a former assistant United States attorney and United States delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, was chief counsel for the minority of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. An attorney specializing in the First Amendment, he is a longtime columnist for the Boston Herald, writing on politics, national security, human rights and the Mideast. The opinions are the writer's. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In amusement park parlance, Leah Kochs world had become a merry-go-round of disappointing dates when she met Matthew Blumhardt in 2018 at Holiday World, the theme park in Santa Claus, Ind., that her family has owned and operated for almost 76 years. By the time I met Matt, I had pretty much become a homebody who didnt venture out too often, Ms. Koch said. Holiday World, which until 1984 was known as Santa Claus Land, is one of the oldest themed amusement parks in the United States. Ms. Kochs great-grandfather, Louis J. Koch, opened it in 1946, nine years before the opening of Disneyland, the first theme park to bear Walt Disneys name, in Anaheim, Calif., in 1955. As Holiday Worlds original name suggests, Christmas has always been a central theme at the park, which has celebrated the holiday every summer since it opened. In my great-grandfathers day, an amusement park with a central theme didnt exist, said Ms. Koch, 31, who has been an amusement park buff from the moment she got into her first bumper-car pileup. Chief Pedro Arredondo, third from right, on Thursday. He ordered the officers to hold off on storming the two adjoining classrooms where the gunman was on Tuesday. UVALDE, Texas From the first minutes after a gunman began shooting, officers descended on Robb Elementary School. Local police from the town of Uvalde. County sheriffs deputies. Agents from the federal Border Patrol. But none of the growing number of agencies had control over the scores of officers at the scene on Tuesday of what would become the deadliest school shooting since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School a decade ago. That fell to the chief of a small police department created only four years ago to help provide security at Uvaldes eight schools. Its chief, Pedro Arredondo, had ordered the assembled officers to hold off on storming the two adjoining classrooms where the gunman had already fired more than 100 rounds at the walls, the door and the terrified fourth-graders locked inside with him, the state police said. As Uvalde lurched into a holiday weekend of somber gatherings and free public barbecues, questions mounted over Chief Arredondo, the role of the police and whether any of the 21 lives that were lost could have been saved. At a vigil on Saturday evening, hundreds of mourners met in the parking lot behind Sacred Heart Catholic Church and were urged by the pastor not to dwell in anger. On Sunday, emotions will run high again with a scheduled visit from President Biden. The degree to which some law enforcement officers on the scene disagreed with the decision to hold back became more apparent on Saturday, as more became known about their frustrations in the protracted chaos of Tuesdays shooting. Specially trained agents from the Border Patrol, who arrived more than 40 minutes after the shooting had begun, had yelled for permission to go in and confront the gunman. What is your problem? they asked, according to an official briefed on the response. Inside the classrooms, children whose classmates lay dead around them quietly called 911 over and over again, at times pleading with dispatchers to send the police in to rescue them. Roland Gutierrez, who represents the area in the State Senate, said the family of one of the children killed told him that their daughter had been struck by a single bullet to the back and had bled to death. It is possible she could have been saved, if they had done their jobs, Mr. Gutierrez said. Ultimately, the police officers assembled outside won permission to enter the classroom. A team of tactical officers from the Border Patrol and local police agencies breached the door and killed the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, after he had killed 19 children and two teachers inside. Image Border Patrol officers and law enforcement from different agencies on the scene of the shooting on Tuesday. Credit... Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News The decision to wait appeared to those agents at the time, and to many policing experts afterward, as out-of-step with practices that have been in place in departments around the country for two decades since the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. The change from Columbine has not necessarily been accepted by agencies across the country, and thats what you saw in this situation, said Chuck Wexler, the head of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank. There are still departments in this country where there is ambiguity about this policy. Others, including some that have provided active shooter trainings, have counseled that rushing in may not always be the best approach. When the story is ultimately told, he did exactly what they were trained for and based on pragmatic experience in the fog of war, said John-Michael Keyes, whose group conducts active shooter trainings for police officers and school districts in Texas, speaking of Chief Arredondo. Two officers from the Uvalde Police Department were shot through the locked door to the classroom in the first minutes of the attack, and fell back into the hallway with grazing wounds. Officers were told, under Chief Arredondos direction, that the situation had evolved from one with an active shooter which would call for immediately attacking the gunman, even before rescuing other children to one with a barricaded subject, which would call for a slower approach, officials said. That appeared to be an incorrect assessment, according to the state police director, Steven McCraw: Gunfire could sporadically be heard inside the rooms, including on continuing 911 calls by the children. Image It was the wrong decision, period, said the director of the state police, Steven McCraw, right, about waiting. Credit... Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times Part of the investigation into the shooting and the police response included whether Chief Arredondo knew about the 911 calls that were coming in, suggesting a possible breakdown in communications during the chaotic and deadly event, according to an official briefed on the inquiry, which is being led by the Texas Rangers. Investigators were also looking into whether an attempt was made, during the standoff, to take incident command away from Chief Arredondo. Gil Kerlikowske, a former Seattle police chief who later served as the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said he was surprised to hear that the chief of the school district police force, which has only six officers, was the incident commander during the shooting. While the school grounds may have been the districts jurisdiction, Mr. Kerlikowske said, he would have expected the district to promptly defer control to the city police department, which would have more experience with major incidents. He said city police might then pass along control to an agency like the Texas Department of Public Safety, once it was established on scene. But, Mr. Kerlikowske said, he could also see a situation where the larger agency might need to come in and put pressure on the early commander to relinquish control. Brandon Judd, head of the Border Patrol Council, the agents union, said that in no case would Border Patrol agents have sought to assume command themselves. Every single training that is given, you have an incident commander, and that incident commander has the authority to make all the decisions, Mr. Judd said on Saturday. That is what they are trained to do, he said. And when the agents arrive long after the situation has begun, he said, it is even more important that they follow the chain of command. The Border Patrol agents who arrived at the chaotic scene on Tuesday were surprised at the absence of specially equipped and trained officers from the local police department who were capable of raiding the classrooms, said the official familiar with the federal agencys response. The Uvalde Police Department, which has employed about 40 sworn officers in recent years, uses some of its members as a kind of SWAT team, often for drug seizures, according to the departments annual reports. It was not clear why a Border Patrol team that was a 40-minute drive away was instead asked to lead the assault. The failures in the response probably extended beyond the decisions made by one small police department, said Mr. Gutierrez, the state senator. How can you blame it all on a chief of police of a school district with six cops? Mr. Gutierrez said. Everybody failed here. Among the first 911 calls of a gunman on the loose on Tuesday came not from the school but from a house nearby. The gunman, who lived with his grandmother a few streets away, had shot her in the face a bullet striking near her right eye and fled toward the school with his weapons, two AR-15-style rifles. Maria and Gilberto Gallegos, two retired neighbors who were outside at the time, heard two gun blasts from directly across the street. All of a sudden, the gunman came bounding out of the front door with a backpack and a duffel bag and jumped into his grandmothers pickup truck. He didnt know how to drive, said Gilbert Gallegos, the couples son, who relayed their account. He was just revving, pushing down on the gas. Finally, he peels out, and the tires are throwing pebbles all over. Image The gunman deserted his grandmothers pickup truck in a ditch. Credit... Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times At that point, he said, the gunmans grandmother, Celia Martinez Gonzales, walked out of her house, her gait steady but her face streaming with blood. She says in Spanish to my parents, Look what happened, Gilbert Gallegos said. Ms. Gallegos called 911 first at 11:33 a.m. and then two minutes later. The police arrived soon after, followed by an ambulance. Even before they arrived, he said, his parents could hear gunfire in the area of Robb Elementary School. Chief Arredondo did not respond to multiple requests for comment on his departments response to the shooting. Nor did the chief of the Uvalde Police Department, Daniel Rodriguez, or several other members of the department and school district leadership. In many cities across the country, including New York, city police oversee officers who patrol the schools; school districts across Texas have dedicated police departments that operate independently. The Uvalde Consolidated School Districts police department was formed just four years ago. Before that, the citys police department provided school officers, said Mickey Gerdes, who served as board president at the time. But the district and the department could not overcome scheduling conflicts and discussions about costs. Mr. Gerdes said part of the decision to switch was in response to the rise in school shootings and the desire to increase security at schools. (The school police officer assigned to Robb Elementary was not on campus when Tuesdays attack began.) Chief Arredondo, a veteran officer of several departments who won election to the City Council two weeks before the shooting, began leading the department in early 2020, a month before the pandemic hit. He had worked as a top official in the Uvalde Police Department and for the sheriffs department in Webb County, along the border. Before returning to Uvalde, Chief Arredondo led a school district police department in the border city of Laredo, where he had a reputation for being a tough guy in law enforcement, no nonsense from his time in the county sheriffs office, said Sergio Mora, a political consultant in Laredo. During Chief Arredondos two years, he expanded the departments tiny ranks, adding two officers last year. Also during those two years, the school district held at least two trainings for how to deal with a gunman opening fire in a school. Mr. Gerdes, the former school board president, said he had known Chief Arredondo for more than two decades. He said he feared the criticism directed at his handling of Tuesdays shooting reflected the desire for a scapegoat. Hes a good man, Mr. Gerdes said. Hes a decent man. But the revelations about just how long police officers delayed entering the classroom has sparked anger around Uvalde and demands for an explanation. Jay Martin, 48, who lives near the school, said he ran to the scene with a friend after they first heard gunshots. His own daughter, now 12, had once been a student of Eva Mireles, one of the teachers killed, he said on Saturday as he stood at a victims memorial in a central square. Why did they take so long? Thats part of being a police officer, putting your life on the line for someone else, he said. Now, he added, theres a lot of furious people. Frances Robles , Serge F. Kovaleski and Karen Zraick contributed reporting. Jack Begg contributed research. After one of its military-style rifles was used in the Texas elementary school shooting on Tuesday, the gun manufacturer Daniel Defense published a pop-up statement on its home page sending thoughts and prayers to the community of Uvalde, Texas, and pledging to cooperate with the authorities. When the pop-up disappeared, a different message took center stage: a promotion, adorned with gold-encased bullets, for a sweepstakes to win $15,000 worth of guns or ammunition. The Texas shooting, which left 19 schoolchildren and two teachers dead and more than a dozen wounded, has put a national spotlight on Daniel Defense, a family-owned business in Georgia that has emerged as a trailblazer in an aggressive, boundary-pushing style of weapons marketing and sales. Some of its advertisements invoke popular video games like Call of Duty and feature Star Wars characters and Santa Claus, messages that are likely to appeal to teenagers. The company was an early adopter of a direct-to-consumer business model that aimed to make buying military gear as simple as ordering from Amazon, enticing customers with adventure now, pay later installment plans that make expensive weaponry more affordable. And the companys founder and chief executive, Marty Daniel, has fashioned himself as a provocateur who ridicules gun control proposals and uses publicity stunts to drum up sales. Daniel Defense is at the forefront of an industry that has grown increasingly aggressive in recent years as it tries to expand beyond its aging, mostly white customer base and resists the calls for stronger regulation that seem to intensify after every mass shooting. Daniel Defense is basically the poster child of this egregious, aggressive marketing, said Ryan Busse, a former executive at the gun company Kimber who is now an industry critic. Marty Daniel burst in the door, a lot louder and more brazen than other gun makers, much like Donald Trump did on the political scene. He added, Through this company, you are telling the story of how the gun industry has become increasingly radicalized. Daniel Defenses strategy seems to have been effective. Its sales have soared, in part because of its successful targeting of young customers like Salvador Ramos, the gunman in Texas. Mr. Ramos, whom the authorities killed on Tuesday, was a Call of Duty video game enthusiast and appears to have bought his assault rifle directly from Daniel Defense, less than a week after turning 18. Mr. Daniel did not respond to emails or calls. Steve Reed, a Daniel Defense spokesman, said in a statement that the company was deeply saddened by the Texas shooting. Mr. Daniel, 59, is a practiced storyteller who adopts a folksy tone to market his company and its guns. He often casts himself as something of a goofball, a screw-up who flunked out of Georgia Southern University not once, but twice before finally graduating and starting a company that made garage doors. Image Marty Daniel, the founder and chief executive of Daniel Defense. Credit... Savannah Morning News He has said that his gun company was born out of his poor golf game. Instead of puttering around the course, Mr. Daniel started using an AR-15 the type of gun he would later go on to make for target practice. Every shot he fired filled him with a satisfaction hed never before experienced, the companys website says. At the time, Mr. Daniel had trouble finding a way to mount a scope onto his rifle. He began designing and selling his own accessory that allowed gun owners to add lights, a range finder and lasers onto the rifle. He got his break in 2002 at a gun show in Orlando, Fla., where he was approached by a representative of the U.S. Special Forces. He ultimately won a $20 million contract to produce the accessories for combat rifles. More deals followed. In 2008, he won a contract with the British military, according to Daniel Defenses website. By 2009, the company had expanded to making guns for consumers. Its military ties were the basis of its marketing, which often featured heavily armed fighters. Use what they use, one ad says. Another shows a military-style scope aimed at passing cars on what looks like a regular city street. Others include references using hashtags and catchphrases to the Call of Duty video game. Before the 2000s, most gun makers did not market military-style assault weapons to civilians. At the largest industry trade shows, tactical military gear and guns were cordoned off, away from the general public. That started to change around 2004, industry experts say, with the expiration of the federal assault weapon ban. Companies like Daniel Defense glorify violence and war in their marketing to consumers, said Nick Suplina, a senior vice president at Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that supports gun control. In 2012, the Sandy Hook shooting led to an industrywide surge in gun sales, as firearm enthusiasts stocked up, fearing a government crackdown. In an interview with Forbes, Mr. Daniel said the shooting drove a lot of sales. (Forbes reported that Daniel Defense had sales of $73 million in 2016.) After the shooting, Daniel Defense offered employees extra overtime to meet skyrocketing demand, according to Christopher Powell, who worked for the company at the time. They kept people focused on the task at hand, he said. But in the late 2010s, some colleagues started to worry that Mr. Daniel had become distracted by the glamour of marketing the brand and rubbing shoulders with celebrities and politicians, according to a former Daniel Defense manager. They voiced concerns that some of the marketing materials were inappropriate for a company that manufactures deadly weapons, said the manager and a former executive, who didnt want their names used because they feared legal or professional repercussions. Some ads featured children carrying and firing guns. In another, posted on Instagram two days after Christmas last year, a man dressed as Santa Claus and wearing a military helmet is smoking a cigar and holding a Daniel Defense rifle. After a long weekend, Santa is enjoying MK18 Monday, the caption states, referring to the guns model. The industrys aggressive marketing has landed some companies in trouble. Earlier this year, the gun maker Remington reached a $73 million settlement with families of children killed at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Conn. The families had claimed that Remington improperly marketed its assault rifles, including with its weapons appearing in Call of Duty, which the killer at Sandy Hook had frequently played. A year after Sandy Hook, with the Super Bowl approaching, Daniel Defense deployed a new marketing stunt. The National Football League had a policy prohibiting ads for weapons on its telecasts. But Daniel Defense tried to buy a 60-second spot that depicted a soldier returning home to his family, with ominous music in the background. I am responsible for their protection, the ads narrator intones. And no one has the right to tell me how to defend them. Given the N.F.L.s ban on gun ads, it was no surprise that the ad was rejected. (Daniel Defense claimed that the ad complied with the policy because the company sells products besides guns.) But Mr. Daniel turned the rejection into a rallying cry, and the conservative media lapped it up. Appearing on Fox Newss Fox & Friends, he urged viewers to call the N.F.L. and say, Cmon, man, run my ad. That is Marty Daniel at work, Mr. Powell said. Hes not one of those typical C.E.O.s that you see. Mr. Daniel and his wife, Cindy, have worked hand-in-hand with the National Rifle Association to raise money for the group, sell weapons to its members and beat back calls for gun control. In recent years, Mr. Daniel and Ms. Daniel, the companys chief operating officer, became outspoken supporters of Donald J. Trump, contributing $300,000 to a group aligned with Mr. Trump. Mr. Daniel joined the Second Amendment Coalition, a group of gun industry heavyweights who advised Mr. Trump on gun policy. Mr. Daniel told Breitbart News in 2017 that Mr. Trumps election saved our Second Amendment rights. He and his wife have also donated to other Republican candidates and groups, including in their home state of Georgia. So far in the 2022 election cycle, theyve given more than $70,000 to Republicans. Image Food vendors, vending machines and tables occupy the area where Daniel Defense was to have its booth at the National Rifle Association convention in Houston this weekend. Credit... Michael Wyke/AP Before the Uvalde massacre, Daniel Defenses guns were used in at least one other mass shooting. Four of its semiautomatic rifles were found in the hotel room of the gunman who killed 59 people at a Las Vegas music festival in 2017, one of the deadliest shootings in American history. Mr. Daniel has been an especially vocal critic of gun control. After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in 2018, he briefly expressed support for legislation, backed by the N.R.A., to bolster the federal background-check system. But he soon reversed his position, citing overwhelming feedback. He declared that all firearms laws that limit the rights of law-abiding citizens are unconstitutional. You dont see the same kind of boldness from the chief executives of Smith & Wesson or the old-guard gun companies, said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the nonprofit Violence Policy Center. Daniel is more at the edges. Daniel Defense is only a fraction of the size of those rivals. It manufactured nearly 53,000 guns in 2020, the most recent year for which government data is available, giving it a less than 1 percent share of the market. But experts say it has led the way in building a direct-to-consumer sales business, as gun manufacturers try to match the success of other industries in capitalizing on e-commerce. In the past, gun companies would sell their products to stores, which then sold the weapons to customers. Now, industry experts say, the manufacturers are increasingly trying to sell guns and accessories online, targeting consumers with slick ad campaigns. (Guns sold online have to be picked up at a licensed firearms dealer, who conducts a background check.) Daniel Defense also offers a buy-now-pay-later financing option that allows qualified buyers to spread the price some of its guns retail for more than $1,800 over a number of payments. The approval takes seconds, the companys website says. Theyve been a brand leader, said Timothy Lytton, a law professor at Georgia State who studies the gun industry. Theyve been exceptionally successful at selling the idea that civilians whod like to own a firearm for self-protection need a high-capacity, semiautomatic weapon. Gun sales surged during the pandemic, including at Daniel Defense. The company also received help via a $3.1 million loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which was intended for small businesses at risk of laying off employees. The week before the Texas shooting, Daniel Defense posted a photograph on Facebook and Twitter, showing a little boy sitting cross-legged, an assault rifle balanced across his lap. Train up a child in the way he should go, the caption reads, echoing a biblical proverb. When he is old, he will not depart from it. The ad was posted on May 16. It was Mr. Ramoss 18th birthday. A day later, he bought his first gun, a Smith & Wesson assault-style rifle, from a store in Uvalde, according to State Senator Roland Gutierrez of Texas who cited law enforcement officials. The store has been identified as Oasis Outback. Three days later, he bought the Daniel Defense rifle for $1,870 plus tax, according to a photo of the receipt that Mr. Ramos reportedly posted on the social media platform Yubo. Amid a national outcry after the shooting, Daniel Defense retreated from its usual provocative online presence. The company restricted access to its Twitter feed. It canceled plans to have a booth at this weekends N.R.A. convention in Houston. And on Thursday, it removed the $15,000 guns-and-ammo sweepstakes from its home page. Tara Siegel Bernard and Serge F. Kovaleski contributed reporting and Kitty Bennett contributed research. Brandon Judd, head of the Border Patrol Council, the agents union, said that in no case would Border Patrol agents have sought to assume command themselves. Every single training that is given, you have an incident commander, and that incident commander has the authority to make all the decisions, Mr. Judd said on Saturday. That is what they are trained to do, he said. And when the agents arrive long after the situation has begun, he said, it is even more important that they follow the chain of command. The Border Patrol agents who arrived at the chaotic scene on Tuesday were surprised at the absence of specially equipped and trained officers from the local police department who were capable of raiding the classrooms, said the official familiar with the federal agencys response. The Uvalde Police Department, which has employed about 40 sworn officers in recent years, uses some of its members as a kind of SWAT team, often for drug seizures, according to the departments annual reports. It was not clear why a Border Patrol team that was a 40-minute drive away was instead asked to lead the assault. The failures in the response probably extended beyond the decisions made by one small police department, said Mr. Gutierrez, the state senator. How can you blame it all on a chief of police of a school district with six cops? Mr. Gutierrez said. Everybody failed here. Among the first 911 calls of a gunman on the loose on Tuesday came not from the school but from a house nearby. The gunman, who lived with his grandmother a few streets away, had shot her in the face a bullet striking near her right eye and fled toward the school with his weapons, two AR-15-style rifles. The ongoing cultural fascination with the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat shows little signs of dimming, whether its in the form of brisk sales for $29.99 Basquiat-themed T-shirts at The Gap, large crowds for Basquiats latest art exhibitions, or an actual canvas by the painter auctioned last week for $85 million. To the ranks of those focused intently on all things Basquiat, you can now add the F.B.I. The F.B.I.s Art Crime Team is investigating the authenticity of 25 paintings that the Orlando Museum of Art says were created by Basquiat and are on exhibit there, according to a federal subpoena and several people with knowledge about the situation. The paintings in the Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition were said by the museum and their owners to have been recovered from a Los Angeles storage unit in 2012. The works were largely unseen before the shows February opening. An article in The New York Times raised questions about their authenticity, reporting that a designer who had previously worked for Federal Express had identified the FedEx typeface on a piece of cardboard Basquiat was said to have painted on as one that was not designed until 1994 six years after the artists death. The paintings owners and the museums director and chief executive, Aaron De Groft, say the paintings are genuine Basquiats, citing statements from art world experts commissioned by the owners. And the chairwoman of the museums board, Cynthia Brumback, has publicly supported De Groft. The paintings are set to leave the museum on June 30 for public exhibitions in Italy. U.N.s tempered criticism of China The United Nations top human rights official spent six days in China, offering only limited criticism of Chinas crackdown on predominantly Muslim minorities. Michelle Bachelet said that her visit was not an investigation, and that she had raised questions about Chinas application of counterterrorism and de-radicalization measures when she spoke by video with Xi Jinping, Chinas leader. In so doing, Bachelet couched her references to Xinjiang where rights groups and scholars say China has held one million or more people in indoctrination camps in the language preferred by Beijing: It has described its program as vocational training in response to terrorist attacks. Rights groups and overseas Uyghurs sharply condemned her remarks. Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch, called for a credible investigation in the face of mountains of evidence of atrocity crimes, not another toothless dialogue. You wrote about the gun debate in Uvalde. In past shootings, survivors and others affected got involved in gun-control activism. Has that happened there? That is a complicated question here. This is rural, southern Texas. Guns are woven into the politics and culture. Some people in town support the reflexive Republican position of needing more good guys with guns, despite the many problems with the police response. A lot of families are fed up and think that its unconscionable that an 18-year-old was able to buy two assault rifles. But its a quiet conversation. Even from afar, covering these stories is difficult. Just looking at photos of these kids breaks my heart. How do you approach your reporting on the ground? We dont think enough as journalists, collectively, about what we do to these communities. The schools neighborhood is packed with television trucks and S.U.V.s and cars rented by journalists. There are blocks outside the school crammed with tents where TV reporters are doing their thing. It looks like a political convention. Families have been getting constant calls and door knocks. A lot of them do want to share their stories and think its important that the world sees who their children were and what made them special. The first couple of times, people appreciate it. But after the 20th person knocks on your door, it can become another wound. I dont know what the solution is. Theres a lot of important journalism to do about these issues, about these families and these kids and the failings in response to the shooting. Its really important to tell these stories. More on Jack Healy: He got his first full-time journalism job as an intern at The Times before joining full time in 2008. He covered the war in Iraq and now works as a national correspondent based in Phoenix. Good morning. One summer Sunday in 2008, Ligaya Mishan discovered the most remarkable biscotti. They were, she wrote for The New York Times Magazine this week, thin enough to snap smartly under the teeth and then obligingly crumble. And they were made by Mark Sopchak, a pastry chef who ran a flea-market bakery with his wife called Whimsy & Spice, which Ligaya happened upon during a ramble through Brooklyn. She soon became a regular customer. Sopchak experimented with different flavors, she wrote, but the ones I liked best, that I asked for every time and ordered as gifts for friends year after year, were rich with cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Inspired in part by Mexican mole, they had a touch of creaminess from cashews and a wild streak of chile powder, just enough to make you hum. You cant buy those chocolate chile biscotti now. Whimsy & Spice closed during the pandemic. But Ligaya convinced Sopchak to give her the recipe (above), which we adapted and tested for use in a home kitchen. And if you bake those biscotti today, you will not be sorry. Image Full Pie Dear Diary: I was leaving my Midtown office after work on a Monday evening. I had returned from a trip that morning and gone straight to the office, so I still had my bags with me. I walked to the corner to hail a cab. Luckily, one was approaching just as I got there. Reaching to open the door while juggling my belongings, I noticed a large pizza box on the back seat. Theres a box of pizza back here, I said to the driver. Oh, give that to me, he said. The lady who just got out mustve left it. I threw my things in the back and handed him the box through the window. As I got into the back of the cab, he opened the box and tilted it toward the plastic partition so I could get a look. Even so, the United States is notable for how much we spend and how little we get. It costs about $538 million to build a kilometer (about 0.6 mile) of rail here. Germany builds a kilometer of rail for $287 million. Canada gets it done for $254 million. Japan clocks in at $170 million. Spain is the cheapest country in the database, at $80 million. All those countries build more tunnels than we do, perhaps because they retain the confidence to regularly try. The better you are at building infrastructure, the more ambitious you can be when imagining infrastructure to build. The problem isnt government. Its our government. Nor is the problem unions another favored bugaboo of the right. Union density is higher in all those countries than it is in the United States. So what has gone wrong here? One answer worth wrestling with was offered by Brink Lindsey, the director of the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center, in a 2021 paper titled State Capacity: What Is It, How We Lost It, and How to Get It Back. His definition is admirably terse. State capacity is the ability to design and execute policy effectively, he told me. When a government cant collect the taxes its owed or build the sign-up portal for its new health insurance plan or construct the high-speed rail its already spent billions of dollars on, thats a failure of state capacity. But a weak government is often an end, not an accident. Lindseys argument is that to fix state capacity in America, we need to see that the hobbled state we have is a choice and there are reasons it was chosen. Government isnt intrinsically inefficient. It has been made inefficient. And not just by the right: What is needed most is a change in ideas: namely, a reversal of those intellectual trends of the past 50 years or so that have brought us to the current pass. On the right, this means abandoning the knee-jerk anti-statism of recent decades; embracing the legitimacy of a large, complex welfare and regulatory state; and recognizing the vital role played by the nations public servants (not just the police and military). On the left, it means reconsidering the decentralized, legalistic model of governance that has guided progressive-led state expansion since the 1960s; reducing the veto power that activist groups exercise in the courts; and shifting the focus of policy design from ensuring that power is subject to progressive checks to ensuring that power can actually be exercised effectively. The Biden administration cant do much about the rights hostility to government. But it can confront the mistakes and divisions on the left. A place to start is offered in another Niskanen paper, this one by Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan. In The Procedure Fetish he argues that liberal governance has developed a puzzling preference for legitimating government action through processes rather than outcomes. He suggests, provocatively, that thats because American politics in general and the Democratic Party, in particular, are dominated by lawyers. Biden and Kamala Harris hold law degrees, as did Barack Obama and John Kerry and Bill and Hillary Clinton before them. And this filters down through the party. Lawyers, not managers, have assumed primary responsibility for shaping administrative law in the United States, Bagley writes. And if all youve got is a lawyer, everything looks like a procedural problem. This is a way that America differs from peer countries: Robert Kagan, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has called this adversarial legalism and shown that its a distinctively American way of checking state power. Bagley builds on this argument. Inflexible procedural rules are a hallmark of the American state, he writes. The ubiquity of court challenges, the artificial rigors of notice-and-comment rule making, zealous environmental review, pre-enforcement review of agency rules, picayune legal rules governing hiring and procurement, nationwide court injunctions the list goes on and on. The justification for these policies is that they make state action more legitimate by ensuring that dissenting voices are heard. But they also, over time, render government ineffective, and that cost is rarely weighed. This gets to Bagleys ultimate and, in my view, wisest point. Legitimacy is not solely, not even primarily, a product of the procedures that agencies follow, he says. Legitimacy arises more generally from the perception that government is capable, informed, prompt, responsive and fair. That is what weve lost in fact, not just in perception. I find that the gun safety debate lacks candor. People believe it is savvier to tell only part of the truth, to soft-pedal the sell in an effort to get something anything done. But lying will always lead to a trap. Let me explain: The truth that no one wants to tell the one that opponents of gun safety laws understand and the reason so many of them resist new laws is that no one law or single package of laws will be enough to solve Americas gun violence problem. The solution will have to be a nonstop parade of laws, with new ones passed as they are deemed necessary, ad infinitum. In the same way that Republicans have been promoting gun proliferation and loosening gun laws for decades, gun safety advocates will have to do the opposite, also for decades. Individual laws, like federal universal background checks and bans on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, will most likely make a dent, but they cannot end gun violence. Invariably, more mass shootings will occur that none of those laws would have prevented. To the Editor: In Punishing Women Who Have Abortions (Opinion, Sunday Review, May 15), Jane Coaston mentions the possibility being discussed in some anti-abortion circles of charging those who have abortions with homicide. There is another way some in the anti-abortion camp speak of punishing women who seek abortions, in this case very ill women letting them die. This is not a majority position in the anti-abortion movement, but it is not a new idea. In 1984, Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative activist, stated, in explaining his opposition to exceptions to abortion bans in cases of threats to a womans life: I believe that if you have to choose between new life and existing life, you should choose new life. The person who has had an opportunity to live at least has been given that gift by God and should make way for new life on earth. In the likely event that the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and about half the states ban abortion, it is in the realm of possibility that extremist politicians in some of these states will be successful in blocking any exceptions whatsoever. Doctors in those states will be placed in a horrible position, facing years of jail time if they abort the fetus, and women will die needlessly. Carole Joffe San Francisco The writer is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. The C.D.C. should widely release the details of its monkeypox testing protocols so that more labs around the country can develop and run their own tests for monkeypox. The F.D.A. should also issue guidance to all labs with credentials to perform complex laboratory tests and clarify what regulatory authority, if any, it will exercise over monkeypox tests developed elsewhere. The C.D.C. says that any state health department that confirms a patient has orthopoxvirus should behave as if the person has monkeypox and immediately begin containment efforts like contact tracing. The agency says it is monitoring its testing kit availability should it need to be expanded. Thankfully, there are monkeypox vaccines and an F.D.A.-approved antiviral at the ready in the Strategic National Stockpile. Prioritizing people at immediate monkeypox risk, such as those with a recent close contact, is essential. Vaccinating those who have been exposed, also called ring vaccination, can prevent further spread. Proactive vaccination of those most at risk should also be considered. These efforts and the effective deployment of antivirals require a rapid diagnosis of cases, which is why testing must be a priority, alongside vaccination. Even if cases among men who have sex with men continue, we will certainly not be the only ones falling ill. Infectious disease epidemics are shaped by the pattern and frequency of contact among people, the pathogen and population immunity and susceptibility. As we learned from Covid-19, epidemics are unpredictable, and human health is globally connected: Variants and viruses that occur in one country can easily cross borders into another. Our own community of queer people can increase awareness of a novel disease that may present like many other common infections. In the past, we have often been able to lead our physicians and communities by sharing knowledge about our health and ways to intervene with stigma-free care. When bacterial meningitis outbreaks began spreading among gay communities, health officials provided vaccines at nightlife spots and places where men meet for sex. As summer and pride festivities near, we need similar approaches to help keep one another safe. Public health officials must develop and carry out a testing and vaccination strategy focusing on all communities that are likely to be affected. Testing and community education focused only in major cities, for example, could increase health disparities along racial, class and geographical lines. We cannot let monkeypox become a disease of those disconnected from health care access. As experts provide preventive care to those at higher risk, researchers must also initiate studies to answer essential questions about monkeypox transmission. For example, is the virus in saliva and semen, or is it just on skin lesions? The lack of accurate scientific information is now a global problem, and its one that could have been addressed much earlier. The first human case was reported in 1970, and human-to-human transmission has been reported in recent years. This is yet another example of the importance of taking neglected diseases seriously in the scientific community even when they dont appear to be a threat to white people living in the Global North. Today, people often look to psychotherapists or books for advice on how to grieve. In the 19th century, when childhood death was much more common, there was a proliferation of comfort books for grieving parents and siblings, which sometimes relied heavily on assuring parents that the deceased child was in heaven and had escaped the vicissitudes and temptations of life on earth. In her 1838 book, Letters to Mothers, the Connecticut writer Lydia Sigourney included a chapter on Loss of Children, which instructed the grieving mothers: You will not then, become a prey to despondence, though loneliness broods over your dwelling, when you realize that its once cherished inmates have but gone a little in advance, to those mansions which the Saviour hath prepared for all who love him. The idea that beautiful and virtuous children, the angels on earth, were called early up to heaven, was meant to be a salve, of course and its likely that it was for many. But it also placed grieving parents in the unfortunate position of feeling that sorrow instead of joy at their childs ascension made them less than pious. The promise of comfort carried with it a rubric for grief, which, if you couldnt abide by it, might leave you feeling that you werent doing it right. In the public debate about the D.S.M. diagnosis, we hear from those who are horrified by the implied judgment of people who experience long and debilitating grief, and also from those seeking help because of their long and debilitating grief. Some argue that powerful and lengthy grief is an appropriate and proportional response to tragedy. That is true, and always has been. Others describe being tortured by grief that does not abate, or by regrets, self-blame and second-guessing to a point where they need something more than sympathy in order to take care of themselves and the people who depend upon them. For them the hope is that the new D.S.M. diagnosis could make help more accessible. The 18th-century poet Ann Eliza Bleecker described clinging to her own grief, not wishing for comfort. In the early years of the American Revolution, she had to flee her home near Albany with her two young daughters because British troops were approaching. Her baby, Abella, died of dysentery during the journey, and later, Bleeckers mother and sister died as well. In her poem Lines Written in the Retreat From Burgoyne, she described her grief for Abella as a kind of companion: The idol of my soul was torn away; Her spirit fled and left me ghastly clay! Then then my soul rejected all relief, Comfort I wishd not for, I lovd my grief Bleecker returned to the topic of her daughters death again and again as the central tragedy of her life, rejecting the resignation and Christian fortitude that was expected of her, the scholar Allison Giffen writes. Her surviving daughter, Margaretta Faugeres, also a writer, commented in an introduction to her mothers works that being reminded of the circumstances that led to Abellas death never failed to awaken all her sorrows; and she being naturally of a pensive turn of mind, too freely indulged them. You can hear the echoes across the centuries, the grief that cannot be healed because the departed child cannot be retrieved, the sorrow of the surviving daughter who feels that her mothers persistent grief overshadowed her own childhood. While progressives believe they are attempting to hold a conversation based on policy, those conversations can often feel like an identity-based threat, Mr. Lacombe said. It no longer is about abstract policy proposals that people would be willing to accept. Instead, its perceived as, these people who I consider my enemy are proposing this initiative. And that, details aside, just seems like an attack on who I am and what I believe in, he added. Thats certainly how the N.R.A. frames even fairly innocuous gun control measures. And thats been pretty key to its mobilization capabilities. Absolutist in their interpretation of the Second Amendment and open to wielding controversy for its public relations benefit, the N.R.A. is quite possibly the most powerful lobbying organization and certainly one of the most feared by conservative lawmakers for its ability to initiate a career-ending backlash. According to experts, the associations capacity to mobilize may be located in the linkage between gun ownership and conceptions of identity. Research shows that when an identity is perceived to be under attack, it often becomes even more important to a person. And in a hyper-polarized political environment, these identity-based threats have made the issue central to many peoples worldview, Mr. Jouet said. And people are rarely willing to abandon their sense of identity. So what? Those who most influence this debate view gun rights as central to their individual, social and political identity. Understanding that can help reframe the conversation around gun control, Mr. Lacombe said. Specifically, understanding the emotional appeal of identity-based arguments can encourage the gun control movement to align itself with other deeply held identities like that of a parent interested in protecting a child. The movement has done a much better job of this in recent years, he added. He also notes that this understanding could encourage activists to communicate their perspectives without increasing the extent to which people hate an out-group, he said. I think there is a middle ground that can highlight why an issue is something that people, for example, who care about their kids should care about without necessarily saying, OK, everybody who might disagree on this issue literally wants to see children die. American school counselors described a generation of students who missed crucial periods of social and emotional development during the pandemic, in an article we published Sunday. In a New York Times survey of 362 members from the American School Counselor Association, they said they were worried about basic skills like childrens ability to learn and make friends, and about alarming increases in anxiety, suicidal thoughts and vandalism. But they are also reassured by the progress children have made since schools reopened, and their willingness to seek help. I dont think Covid is going to destroy this generation, said Dr. Jennifer Havens, chair of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at N.Y.U. Langone Health. I do think kids are resilient. But it has really increased the stressors on kids. We need to figure out how to help them. Here are eight things the counselors suggested: Restart group activities Extracurricular activities provide a sense of normalcy, counselors said, and a way to detach from computers and practice collaboration and conflict resolution. In some communities, they have been limited even as schools are open. We need to increase the social play time for our younger students, not increase the amount of academics. Students need to work through self-regulation and social skills to catch back up, and we are seeing this impacting academic growth. Sarah Flier, Willow River Elementary School, Hudson, Wis. Middle schoolers now more than ever need and want to have extracurricular activities that dont include the computer. Popular things at my school are sports, Lego leagues, Destination Imagination (a science competition), drama, chorus and band. Family game nights, doing puzzles together, doing community activities as a family, or even sitting down for dinner without technology can help students gain social-emotional skills they need to be successful. Laura Donica, Indian River School, Canaan, N.H. Hire more staff In the survey, three-quarters of counselors described needing more staff in schools to address childrens social and emotional needs. This month, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called students mental health Americas silent epidemic, and called for more school counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses. We need help. We need more counselors hired. The ratios need to be mandated and not just recommendations. This is not sustainable at this level. Cassie Cerny, Weston Elementary, Weston, Wis. We put our money into what we prioritize. I think the ratios of school counselors and social workers clearly illustrate the level of priority. Melissa Ostrowski, Penn Manor School District, Millersville, Pa. Offer places to take a break Many counselors mentioned creating spaces where students could take a break when they got overwhelmed. They called them wellness rooms or reset areas, which have couches, fidget toys, stress balls, snacks and calm-down activities. I created and used calming bottles and stress balls for all grade levels to help students keep their focus and stay calm even when I couldnt assist them. Teachers also came to request them for their individual classes. Therese Farmer, Wisdom Educational Consulting Services, Capitol Heights, Md. Teach social and emotional skills Social-emotional learning things like managing emotions, working toward goals and practicing empathy has become an integral part of school. In the survey, eight in 10 counselors said they teach it to the whole student body. Counselors said it works best when teachers incorporate it throughout the day. In some places, it has been targeted by conservative politicians and activists who have said it is a distraction from academics and teaches left-wing ideology. Providing students with adequate mental heath services needs to be just as important as any other aspect of school. Students who are struggling with anxiety, depression or grief are not able to learn and grow to their fullest potential. Unfortunately in our state, school counselors have been vilified at times. Laurenne Hamlin, Concord Intermediate School, Elkhart, Ind. Use therapy tools Many counselors said they had begun doing schoolwide lessons on issues that have become more severe during the pandemic, like managing anxiety or improving executive functioning. Some suggested sessions that encouraged children to use art or storytelling to process their experiences of the pandemic. Students have responded very positively to opportunities to use art to express and process their feelings of the last two years and current feelings of anxiety and worry. I have relied on the work of local nonprofit OKYou.org for curriculum and training. Jess Firestone, Buckman Elementary School, Portland, Ore. We need more opportunities for kids to talk about the pandemic and how it impacted them. Not all students had a horrible experience, and that shouldnt be minimized either. All students need the opportunity to unload about their pandemic experiences. Helen Everitt, Davis Drive Middle School, Cary, N.C. Limit technology use Nearly half of counselors surveyed said students were using the internet in school-inappropriate ways more than before, after having increased access during remote school. These included cyberbullying, buying vape pens on social media, looking up sexual topics, playing video games during class, and doing TikTok challenges like vandalizing or stealing school property. They suggested more limits on cellphone and internet use, and teaching children how to put what they see on social media in context. Im concerned about their inability to stay off their phones and social media. I recommend social media literacy classes. Brian Chaapel, Francis Scott Key High School, Union Bridge, Md. Support parents and teachers Family members and teachers can be a buffer for children who are struggling, but its harder when they are struggling too, counselors said. They suggested classes, books and videos on how to support children, and more help connecting families with community resources for mental health as well as necessities like housing and food. I really believe we need to engage our families and community in the conversation about social and emotional needs. I know families in my small community are wounded and not very aware of their own struggles, much less how the family trouble impacts students and limits adult capacity to be a buffer. Sarah Swanson, Tukurngailnguq School, Stebbins, Alaska More mental health support for teachers teachers must be grounded and able to provide a safe class environment for the children. Ann Reavey, Sabot at Stony Point, Richmond, Va. Expand community mental health care Counselors do preventive work and address short-term needs. For more serious issues, they refer students to mental health resources outside of school. But often parents encounter wait lists or cant pay for treatment. Five people, including four from the same family, died in a boating collision on Saturday along a river popular with boaters outside Savannah, Ga., the authorities said. Four other people were injured, among them Mark Christopher Stegall, who was charged with operating a boat while under the influence and booked into the Chatham County Jail, said Mark McKinnon, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Stegall was one of two people who were released from a hospital. Mr. McKinnon said he did not know the conditions of the other two injured people. Those injured were taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on the patients conditions. The U.S. Coast Guard and local emergency medical services said at least one person was in good condition. The group has not presented any evidence that the ballots themselves as opposed to their delivery were improper. I want to make very clear that were not suggesting that the ballots that were cast were illegal ballots. What were saying is that the process was abused, Ms. Engelbrecht said in Wisconsin. In an interview, she backtracked, but when asked to provide evidence of improper votes, she only pointed to previous accusations unrelated to the 2020 general election. A repeated contention of the documentary is that getting paid to deliver other peoples ballots is illegal in every state. Mr. DSouza emailed The New York Times a citation to a federal statute that outlaws getting paid to vote and does not discuss delivering other peoples ballots. Hans von Spakovsky, a Heritage Foundation fellow, appears in the movie agreeing that the practice is outlawed nationwide, but in 2019 he wrote that it was perfectly legal in some states for political guns-for-hire to collect ballots. (Asked about the discrepancy, Mr. von Spakovsky said he believed the practice is illegal based on federal law.) The swing states where Ms. Phillips and Ms. Engelbrecht focused their research do ban the delivery of ballots on behalf of others, with some exceptions. But elections officers in 16 other states surveyed by The Times said their states did not prohibit people getting paid to deliver a ballot. Some of those states limit how many ballots an individual can deliver, or bar campaigns from doing so. Mr. Phillips and Ms. Engelbrechts case is largely built on cellphone data. A report created by the group includes an appendix that claims to list IMEI numbers of the tracked devices 15-digit codes unique to each cellphone. But each entry on the list is a 20-character string of numbers and letters followed by a lot of xs. Mr. Phillips said new IDs had been created to obfuscate the numbers. The same report says the group purchased 25 terabytes of cellphone signal data emitted by devices in the Milwaukee area in a two-week period before the 2020 election. They claim to have isolated 107 unique devices that made 20 or more visits to drop boxes and multiple visits to nongovernmental organizations that were involved in get out the vote efforts. E. Robert Wallach, whose career as a heavyweight trial lawyer in California was overshadowed by his connection to one of the biggest corruption scandals to hit Washington during the Reagan administration, died on May 15 at his home in Alameda, Calif., near Berkeley. He was 88. His daughter Nancy Garvey confirmed the death but did not specify the cause. Almost from the moment he graduated at the top of his law school class from the University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Wallach was widely considered one of the best personal injury lawyers in California. It wasnt his preferred field: The child of factory workers in New York, he had dreamed of entering labor law, but there were no jobs available. Instead, by the 1970s he was known for winning headline-making verdicts, including one of Californias first million-dollar medical malpractice judgments. A progressive Democrat who drove a vintage Jaguar and wore Brioni suits, he embodied San Franciscos mix of idealism and material success; The Los Angeles Times called him a sophisticated, liberal lawyer from this sophisticated, liberal city. Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Napa County, Calif., on Saturday night, according to the countys website. Bail for Mr. Pelosi, 82, was set at $5,000. County records show he was released from custody on Sunday morning. The charge he faces is a misdemeanor. Mr. Pelosi was driving a 2021 Porsche and attempted to cross State Route 29 when his car was struck by another vehicle, a Jeep, at 10:26 p.m., according to a California Highway Patrol report. No one was injured, according to the report. Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat, has not addressed the arrest publicly. On Sunday, she delivered a commencement address at Brown University. News of her husbands arrest was reported by TMZ. The state actions come as hope for congressional consensus has waned to a flicker, not only on gun violence, but on an array of American social issues. As polarized politics repeatedly trump compromise in a narrowly divided Congress, liberal and conservative states have enacted disparate and often opposing agendas, erecting a patchwork of policies on a range of issues, including abortion and civil rights. Since 2019, federal legislation to expand criminal background checks for gun purchases has twice passed the House only to languish amid Senate Republican opposition. On Thursday, a small, bipartisan group of senators said they would work through the weekend in a search for common ground. We beg you, a group of school principals who survived past campus shootings wrote in a letter that was expected to appear as a full-page ad in The Washington Post on Sunday. Do something. Do anything. But as they publicly mourned the tragedy in Uvalde, Republican senators showed scant signs that they had budged. And few believe that gridlocked Washington will accomplish much after seeing the same script play out before. The one modest proposal that seemed to show promise would kick decisions to statehouses: It would offer incentives for states to pass red flag laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. Roughly three in five state legislatures are Republican-controlled, but calls for action on gun violence have run high in the aftermath of Uvaldes devastation. In Texas, where the National Rifle Association went ahead with a scheduled convention three days after the school shooting, the issue surfaced almost immediately in the governors race. As authorities were still processing the crime scene, former Democratic Representative Beto ORourke who is challenging Mr. Abbott interrupted the governors news conference to charge that the Republican had done nothing to protect Texans from gun violence. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan For years, opium has been the monster too big to slay. One Afghan government after another has pledged to stamp out opium production and trafficking, only to prove unable to resist billions of dollars in illicit profits. The Taliban government of the 1990s ultimately managed to reduce opium cultivation. But after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, opium taxes and smuggling helped fuel the Talibans own 20-year insurgency. Now, with the Taliban back in power, the insurgents turned politicians are again struggling to eradicate opium cultivation and the rampant addiction problem that has come with it. The Taliban announced on April 3 that poppy cultivation had been outlawed, with violators to be punished under Shariah law. But stamping out opium will be more difficult than ever because of a shift by poppy farmers to green energy. KATHMANDU, Nepal A search was underway in Nepal on Sunday for a small plane with 22 people aboard that the government says crashed during a flight to a Himalayan tourist destination. The Tara Air plane, a Canadian-made de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, which was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, took off Sunday morning from the central city of Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a village high in the Himalayas. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane during the flight, which normally takes about 30 minutes. Citing statements of locals, a Nepal Army spokesperson said the plane might have crashed at the base camp of Manapathi peak. Locals reportedly told the army that they had seen a burning plane falling toward the middle of rough terrain. Based on information provided by locals, we have diverted our ground searching and rescue team toward the alleged crash site, said the spokesman, Brig. Gen. Narayan Silwal. They are yet to reach the stated area. QUEZON CITY, the Philippines On the second floor of a nondescript coffee shop in a trendy neighborhood outside of Manila, patrons were welcomed by a marble gravestone with a tiny inscription written in gold: Stop the Killings. The gravestone, part of an art exhibition at the coffee shop, is dedicated to the memory of those killed in President Rodrigo Dutertes bloody war on drugs. Another marker in the exhibition featured the Filipino word nanlaban, which means resisted. For the authorities, the word suggests a drug suspect who resisted arrest and engaged in gunfire before being lawfully killed by the police. But for the families of the dead, it suggests the person was victim of an extrajudicial killing. The coffee shop, Silingan, opened last year and is staffed primarily by the mothers and wives, sisters and daughters of those killed since 2016, when Mr. Duterte took office. Beyond serving lattes and cappuccinos, these women aim to educate the public about the brutal truth behind Mr. Dutertes promise to rid the streets of drug dealers and addicts at all costs. ROME Pope Francis announced Sunday that he would create 21 new cardinals in August, selecting clerics from all corners of the world to reinforce the churchs global reach, as he has done with past choices to the rank of cardinal. Let us pray for the new cardinals, that by confirming their adherence to Christ, they will help me in my ministry as bishop of Rome for the good of all Gods faithful, Francis said Sunday after giving the names of the soon-to-be cardinals at the end of his traditional greetings to thousands of Roman Catholic faithful in St. Peters Square. The list of new princes of the church, as cardinals are called, includes prelates from Brazil, East Timor, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Paraguay, Singapore and South Korea, denoting a deliberate shift away from Europe, the cradle of cardinals for centuries. Eight Europeans did make the list, though only four are eligible to vote for Francis successor, while the only North American is Msgr. Robert McElroy, a bishop from San Diego. The College of Cardinals is responsible for the election of a pope, and its composition naturally impacts the selection of future pontiffs. This is the ninth set of cardinals that Francis has tipped for a red hat, and of the 21 men, 16 are under 80, the cutoff age to vote on a new pope once Francis dies or retires. Five of his picks are too old to vote, including three from Italy, one from Belgium and one from Colombia. Kherson, a port city in Ukraines agricultural heartland, was the first major city to fall as Russian forces swept north out of Crimea more than three months ago. After seizing it, Moscow used the city as a staging ground for operations across southern Ukraine. But in recent weeks, Russian forces stretched thin and taking heavy losses as they gain ground in the eastern Donbas region have concentrated their efforts in the south on fortifying defensive positions. Satellite images have shown Russians scrambling to build fortifications in Kherson, where the shoots of an insurgency surfaced this month. It was not clear if they were prepared for the Ukrainian counterattack. The Ukrainian military headquarters said in a statement that its forces had broken through a Russian line of defense and pushed the Russians into less favorable terrain near the villages of Andriyivka, Lozove and Belihorka. The counteroffensive also sought to threaten Russias supply routes on bridges over the Dnipro River. Ukraine had been telegraphing the counteroffensive for days, though it had said such a maneuver would require the Western artillery systems promised by the United States and other allies. It was unclear on Sunday what artillery Ukraine was using in its counteroffensive. In a war that is increasingly becoming an arms race, powerful American-made howitzers reached Ukrainian forces this month, and Ukrainian troops recently received Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles from Denmark. Ukraines defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said they would be used to try to break Russias Black Sea blockade and to protect the port city of Odesa. Ukraine, newly armed with Western weapons, is making a desperate attempt to hold its ground as Russian forces are close to capturing Sievierodonetsk, the last Ukrainian-controlled city in the Luhansk region, a province now at the heart of the conflict. In a war that is increasingly becoming an arms race, Russia has been deploying thermobaric warheads, fearsome explosives that send potentially lethal shock waves into bunkers or trenches. Russias defense ministry also claimed to have successfully test-fired a hypersonic Zircon cruise missile from the Barents Sea at a target more than 620 miles away. Ukraine, for its part, has stepped up its calls for Western nations to provide it with better weaponry. The Biden administration has approved sending long-range multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, a significant transfer that could hugely aid the countrys defense. Ukraine had been asking for the systems, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain agreeing on Friday that they should be supplied. Both Ukraine and Russia have deployed heavy artillery along the eastern front, with American-made howitzers reaching Ukrainian forces this month. KHARKIV, Ukraine They lie in white and black bags at 20 degrees below zero Celsius, but the stench is still overpowering. Filled with the bodies of 62 Russian soldiers, the bags are stacked in a refrigerated train car in a secret location on the outskirts of Ukraines second-largest city. A spry, elderly train worker spun open the vault-like door to reveal the bloodied bags as the scent hung in the damp air. We are collecting these bodies for sanitary reasons, because dogs have been eating them, said a Ukrainian soldier who would only give his call sign, Summer. Eventually we will return them to their loved ones. Summer said many of the bodies had been lying in the open for a month or longer before his unit found them. His two-man team works to identify the soldiers by their faces, tattoos and belongings. They also take a DNA swab from each corpse to determine whether any potential war-crimes suspects are among them. In the gloom of the darkened car, a few traces of humanity, of the soldiers who once brought Russias war to Ukraine, can be made out. A pair of boots caked in mud peek out of one bag. Off in the corner, the collar of a camouflage jacket is visible through an opening, but not a face. Its time for New Yorkers to get very excited about the setting sun. Thats because Manhattanhenge is upon us. It can produce, when the weather cooperates, four of the most striking sunsets of the year in New York City. The name is a New Yorker-style nod to Stonehenge, the ancient rock structure in the English countryside that aligns with the sunsets and sunrises during the summer and winter solstices. That pre-modern monument was purposely built for religious and spiritual reasons. In contrast, the grid of New York City was not designed with sunsets in mind, but it has ended up functioning in a similar manner. Across four days every May and July, it can bring people together to admire our particular geographic location in the cosmos as the sun settles into the horizon, disappearing perfectly along the citys broad west-east corridors. An event like Manhattanhenge can halt the entire borough, beckoning people to celebrate an otherwise normal daily sunset. As if New York couldnt become any more magical, the sunsets of Manhattanhenge illuminate the streets with a glow of deep tangerine and bubble gum pink, transforming the bustling streets into a place to pause and say, wow. When families learned that a gunman had entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, at 11:33 a.m. on May 24, a brutal wait began. Police on the scene did not stop the gunman until well over an hour after he walked into the school, raising questions about whether lives could have been saved if they had acted sooner. Parents who rushed to the school were held outside, where many were forced to wait to learn if their children were safe. What follows is an account of each of those 78 minutes, as told by video evidence, statements by witnesses and law enforcement, and accounts of 911 calls. The toll 19 students and two teachers dead, and more than a dozen others wounded would not be released until many hours later. These are the words of school counselors across America: Kids have the highest level of anxiety Ive ever seen: anxiety about basic safety and fear of what could happen. Susan Julien, Fall River Elementary School, Longmont, Colo. Ive seen more physical fights this year than in my 15 years combined. Julie Fleming, Ida B. Wells High School, Portland, Ore. The foundational skills for learning need to be retaught. Tierney Langdon, Grace Snell Middle School, Loganville, Ga. 362 School Counselors on the Pandemics Effect on Children: Anxiety Is Filling Our Kids In a Times survey, counselors said students are behind in their abilities to learn, cope and relate. American schoolchildrens learning loss in the pandemic isnt just in reading and math. Its also in social and emotional skills those needed to make and keep friends; participate in group projects; and cope with frustration and other emotions. In a survey of 362 school counselors nationwide by The New York Times in April, the counselors licensed educators who teach these skills described many students as frozen, socially and emotionally, at the age they were when the pandemic started. Something that we continuously come back to is that our ninth graders were sixth graders the last time they had a normative, uninterrupted school year, said Jennifer Fine, a high school counselor in Chicago. Developmentally, our students have skipped over crucial years of social and emotional development. Nearly all the counselors, 94 percent, said their students were showing more signs of anxiety and depression than before the pandemic. Eighty-eight percent said students were having more trouble regulating their emotions. And almost three-quarters said they were having more difficulty solving conflicts with friends. Share of school counselors who said they noticed these student behaviors more often, compared with before the pandemic Academic Behaviors Having trouble focusing on classwork 86% Breaking classroom rules 72% Having trouble with time management skills 69% Having trouble collaborating on schoolwork with peers 58% Skipping class 52% Emotional Health Showing signs of anxiety or depression 94% Having trouble with emotional regulation 88% Showing signs of low self-esteem 67% Social Skills Having trouble solving conflicts with friends 73% Having trouble making new friends 59% Harassing peers online 51% Physically fighting with peers 51% Unsafe Student Behaviors Being chronically absent from school 85% Using computers or the internet in school-inappropriate ways 45% Vandalizing school property 44% Possessing drugs or alcohol at school 38% Engaging in age-inappropriate sexual behavior 31% Bringing non-firearm weapons to school 11% Bringing guns to school 3% Based on responses from 362 counselors in April. They have less stamina; more frustration; less flexibility; less effort; less perseverance; more escape and avoidance behaviors, Cassie Cerny, an elementary school counselor in Weston, Wis., said in response to open-ended questions in the survey. Jennifer Schlatter, an elementary school counselor in Brighton, Colo., said: Anxiety is filling our kids right now. They are worried about their family and friends. They are stressed because they are behind in school. And even though schools have, with brief exceptions, been open this year, students have not yet made up the losses. Seven in ten counselors said that they had seen some improvement in social and emotional skills but that there was still work to be done. Just 11 percent said there had been a lot of improvement since the fall, while 17 percent said there had been none. Only six of the 362 counselors said that behaviors and social-emotional skills were back to normal for their students age or that they hadnt seen lagging skills this year. Among the survey respondents, counselors served an average of 377 students. In rural schools, the average was 413 (the American School Counselor Associations recommendation is one counselor for 250 students). Three-quarters said their school did not have enough counseling staff. With 375 students, my biggest fear is missing a kid, said Curtis Darragh IV, a middle school counselor in Danbury, Conn. What if a kid tells me they are hurting themselves and I didnt get a chance to see them because of the amount of other duties that I am doing? I cant handle this by myself. Virginia DeLong, who works with high school students in Norwich, Conn., said: Its just nonstop putting out fires with kids. We dont have the staffing to do preventative work, which is what were trained to do. Elementary students are throwing things, needing holds, and yelling and screaming. Stacy Story, Woodside Elementary School, Bothell, Wash. Kids are more impulsive, less controlled, and struggle with emotional regulation. Joy Sparrey, Gilbert Intermediate School, Gilbert, Iowa Students are less bought in to school, less excited about life after high school. Ria Ferich, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Austin, Texas Since the fall, there have been increasingly loud alarms about childrens mental health. Doctors who work with children called it a national emergency, and Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, warned that the effect of the pandemic and other stressors on youth mental health were devastating. These concerns have been amplified since the mass shooting by an 18-year-old at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Schools, along with pediatricians, are on the front line to spot problems. The Biden administration nearly doubled this years investment in social-emotional learning, mental health and student support, to $353 million, and some schools are spending Covid funding on counseling. Yet people in the field say schools desperately need more resources. This was a shared trauma, and that trauma and grief is not something you just come back and get over, said Jill Cook, executive director of the American School Counselor Association. We want every child to have access to a trained school counselor. The issue, though, is there are not enough qualified, licensed personnel to fill these positions. The school counselors who responded to our survey shared eight steps to help address students challenges. The counselors who participated in the unscientific survey are members of the association, which distributed it for The Times. The survey included counselors in 49 states who work with various age groups, from kindergartners through 12th graders. About a quarter were in urban schools, a third in rural areas and the rest in suburban schools. Roughly one-third worked in schools in which a majority of children qualified for free lunch. In the last two decades, the role of school counselor has changed, from mostly providing academic guidance to teaching social-emotional learning to the whole school. During the pandemic, more students need their help than ever, they said, yet other responsibilities paperwork or filling in for teachers because of staffing shortages keep them from that work. Theyre referring more children to outside providers, yet these providers often have no availability. In some places, social-emotional learning has come under political fire. I can help you in crisis, but ultimately I need you to get to someone that has more time and often more training than me, said Leslie Spiller, a high school counselor in Bettendorf, Iowa. But we have long wait lists to see psychologists and psychiatrists, and then dont even get me started on insurance. This speaks to a huge line between those that can afford to get help and those that dont have that ability. Nine in 10 counselors said their jobs were more stressful than in previous years. Still, Ms. Fine in Chicago echoed a shared sentiment: Kids are still kids. They still laugh, love deeply, find joy, and make this job worth it, no matter how stressful. Teamwork skills are almost nonexistent. Emily Fain-Lynch, Green Magnet Academy, Knoxville, Tenn. Kids are struggling to make friends, and when there is a conflict, they arent sure how to work through it. Jennifer Schlatter, Southeast Elementary, Brighton, Colo. They prefer screen time with friends as opposed to doing things with friends. Amy Flynn, Oakland Schools Technical Campus, Wixom, Mich. Emotional health is necessary for learning to happen, counselors said, yet children had lost stamina and motivation in the classroom: If what they are asked to do requires critical thinking or more than 10 minutes of effort, many students struggle, become frustrated and refuse to do the work, said Laurenne Hamlin, a junior high counselor in Elkhart, Ind. Another weakness was social skills. Sixty percent said children were having more trouble making friends, and half said there had been more physical fighting and online harassment of peers. There is horrific violence and bullying, said Alaina Casey Mangrum, a counselor in a Pittsburgh elementary school. There are physical altercations every single day. Nearly all counselors said they were seeing more students with signs of anxiety or depression, and trouble regulating their emotions. In children, these issues often appear as acting out yelling, fighting or arguing. The smallest things will trigger an extreme emotional response that is disproportionate with the trigger, said Stephanie Coombs, an elementary school counselor in Wagener, S.C. Many had seen an increase in suicidal thoughts, even among those in elementary school. My department is conducting far more student safety screenings for suicidal ideation, gestures, plans, attempts than ever before, said Helen Everitt, a middle school counselor in Cary, N.C. Childrens mental health was worsening before the pandemic. The reasons arent entirely clear researchers point to rises in internet use and loneliness; less sleep and exercise; and earlier puberty. But the stressors of the last two years disruption in routine; illness and death; parents job losses exacerbated the challenges. One factor associated with more issues, the survey suggested, was how long a school was closed; other research has shown similar findings. At schools closed to in-person learning for a year and a half or more, three-quarters of the counselors said children were physically fighting more often, compared with less than half at schools that were open longer. So much self-harm and suicide ideation. Briana Smith, Everett High School, Everett, Wash. Weve seen an increase in self-medication with vaping and substance abuse. Cheryl Wade, Edith M. Smith Middle School, Waukegan, Ill. Cyberbullying behaviors are through the roof! We deal with this almost on a daily basis. Amy Riley, Mercer County Intermediate School, Harrodsburg, Ky. Computers were another factor, they said. After using them to attend school from home for so long, students are having trouble disconnecting, and more have had unrestricted access to the internet. Counselors connected that to an increase in age-inappropriate sexual behavior, drug use and vandalism. Thirty percent to 40 percent said they had seen an increase in each. In comments, many mentioned TikTok challenges, like one to vandalize or steal from school bathrooms. Having our students each have their own district-provided computer, I have seen a huge rise of inappropriate use during and after school hours, said Shannon Donnellon, a junior high counselor in Clarkston, Mich. Students have been caught looking at inappropriate websites, playing video games during class, and even chatting with their peers during class time. Amy DeCesare, a counselor at a Catholic elementary and middle school in Albuquerque, said: The influence of things like the TikTok monthly challenges to young people, encouraging them to vandalize or disrespect the school environment and staff, is obvious. We also see significant online bullying and harassment frequently teachers are the targets. Students are on their phones and earbuds and are not engaged in the classroom. Zonya Tantype, Flandreau Indian School, Flandreau, S.D. The number of students with chronic attendance issues is much higher than prepandemic. Jess Firestone, Buckman Elementary School, Portland, Ore. There is an increase in sexual behaviors and vandalism due to the viral TikToks. Melissa Sonnenblick, Ada B. Cheston Elementary School, Easton, Pa. Despite counselors deep concern, they had reasons for optimism. Most had seen improvement once schools and in-person extracurricular activities reopened. Dozens said they were struck by childrens resilience. And some said the experiences of the past two years had helped children grasp the importance of mental health. They are learning a lot about resilience and hardship, and we are finally talking openly about mental health and suicide, said Melissa Dole, who works with high schoolers in Longmont, Colo. This makes me hopeful for students ability to learn coping strategies and reach out when help is needed. Michelle Flores, an elementary school counselor in Aloha, Ore., said: Kids are so resilient. The smiles on their faces and the connections we are making is so encouraging. Theres no way to make up for lost time, but we sure are trying. AFTER a few short years beached in Offaly, the 60-foot whale in Boora is on the move. The fake sea creature was rescued from almost certain destruction by Bord na Mona after being created for the hit TV series Vikings. The scene involving the whale (see a still below was filmed in a bog in Co Kildare and the episode was first aired in Ireland in late 2020 and in Canada in early 2021. Once the producers were finished with the massive prop, they decided to offer it to Bord na Mona instead of sinking it for ever, hence its surprise appearance just inside the entrance to Lough Boora Parklands. Now, however, it looks like the whale's current residency is coming to a close. When the whale initially washed up in Boora some thought it must be a reference to the bog's prehistoric heritage, like the nearby uprooted ancient trees. But no, it seems whales never swam in the Boora area. At the time of the whale's move from Kildare to Offaly, the episode had not been broadcast and a confidentiality clause was in place. He appeared here a year-and-a-half before the programme actually came out and we couldn't talk about him, said Lisa Healy, a guide at Lough Boora. It needed a home or it was going to be destroyed, she added. So we took it but people were thinking 'Game of Thrones' or whatever so it didn't fit with what we are doing here. The whale was nonetheless a hit with Lough Boora visitors and many posed for pictures with him, so many that Bord na Mona had to put up signs discouraging people from climbing up on his back. WATCH: A bloody fight scene in Vikings ends with actor Adam Copeland, playing the deranged madman Kjetill, mounts the whale which is now in Lough Boora. Julie McLoughlin, manager of Lough Boora Discovery Park, said Bord na Mona had yet to decide exactly what to do with the whale. The whale has no significance so we're hoping to put [alternative] plans in place. I've been trying to see if I could find someone who would like a whale but it's not that easy. Ms McLoughlin was speaking on the day Bord na Mona marked National Biodiversity Week with a guided tour at Lough Boora by one of the company's ecologists, David McNicholas. We got our ecologists out on the ground to give people an idea of what's actually in the parklands. We hope to do more and more of that, she said. The bike hire service resumed in April and is currently open five days a week but will expand to seven days for the summer. There was controversy when the original bike rental operator Pat Barrett failed to win the contract to continue and a Dublin-based company run by GAA star Conal Keaney was instead chosen. Ms McLoughlin said Bord na Mona is delighted with the service Orla and Sean Clancy are providing in place with the Organic Kitchen. Guided 90-minute tours are available at Boora as are 5k and 10k walk options, plus the cycle tours around Lough Boora as far as Turraun. In the longer term, a cycle route linking Lough Boora with the site of a proposed Bord na Mona wind farm in Derrinlough is being considered. Lough Boora was also used recently for a Darkness Into Light fundraiser for Pieta House. THE HSE has apologised to an 82 year old woman who waited 11 hours to be seen by a doctor at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore. The woman was taken by ambulance to the A&E unit of the hospital and according to her daughter Pearl Barnes she was assigned a cubicle. Ms Barnes said the date was May 21 at 12.10pm. ''A nurse advised us that it would be approximately 4 hours before a doctor would be available to see mam. 8 hours later at 9.20pm a nurse informed us it would be at least another 2 hours before a doctor would be available. It was at this point mam could not take the pain so we left,'' said Pearl. ''Mam is currently in Galway Clinic waiting for surgery. I emailed Ms. Horan in Tullamore General Hospital and did receive an apology and was told she would speak to the clinical staff. However I do feel this is a very generic response and do not expect anything will come of it. My concern is for the vulnerable who have no voice or no option but to sit for hours and hours with no help in sight. Who highlights or helps these people? How can an accident and emergency department operate like this? Where is the accountability?'' asks Pearl. ''It was not just my elderly mother that was waiting hours to be seen. I personally am ashamed and frankly angry that this is what our health service feels is acceptable. If you brought an animal in pain to a veterinary practice would they be left for 9 plus hours for a vet to help them? I do feel the public needs to be aware that perhaps the Irish attitude of "ah it will be grand" will not help change how our health system currently works. I personally feel that perhaps it is time for people to be more outspoken about their experiences of how they are being treated,'' said Pearl. A statement from HSE said ''The hospital would like to apologise to the lady and her mother for the lengthy waiting time to be seen in our Emergency Department. The Hospital was very busy on Saturday, 21st of May 2022 with a significant number of patients categorised as urgent requiring immediate care and treatment. This contributed to the overall wait time of patients and for that we would like to apologise to those who waited longer than anticipated. There were over 120 presentations to our Emergency Department on Friday and a further 80 presentations to our Emergency Department on Saturday, the acuity of patients was extremely high. This put extra demand on our Emergency Department service and therefore increased waiting times. The Hospital endeavours to see all patients as quickly as possible, however, sometimes this is a challenge. The Hospital is continuing to work to reduce waiting times, in particular for persons aged 75 years and to improve the unscheduled care pathways for patients through a range of initiatives internally and by working with our community care colleagues in the Midlands.'' A TALENTED local writer from the Wordsmiths group recently had her gifts recognised in a major competition. A big congratulations to our very creative Wordsmiths member Karen Slammon Fleming on winning the Irish Independent 'write a short story in just six words' competition recently, said PRO of the group Phil Newton. Karen is one of our very gifted writers and it's no surprise to us that she is entering and winning competitions, added Phil. Karen entered the competition six weeks ago for the first time and was more than surprised to hear she had won a prize. I won a 30 book voucher, said Karen. Her six words were 'A grave now held her secrets'. This is not the first success for Karen as she has had her writing published on writing.ie. In addition she won a prize in conjunction with the publication of popular author Geraldine O'Neill's book 'The House on Silver Street'. One of Karen's poems was also commended at the Ballybunion Arts Festival. Meanwhile Phil Newton said: Over the past few weeks Tullamore Wordsmiths have enjoyed meetings again in our beloved Tullamore Library, our birthplace and the birthplace of our first book 'Whisperings'. We have been enjoying the challenge of prompts, and even the bigger challenge of free writing and we look forward to wonderful creative activities over the summer period. Once again our sincere congratulations to Karen, and looking forward to celebrating many more successes with her. Tullamore Wordsmiths would also like to extend our sincere condolences to international author, Geraldine ONeill and to her family on the recent ascension of her Dad, Teddy ONeill to his heavenly home. Mr ONeill was a lovely man and a great chat, who loved life and had time for everyone. A pleasure to meet on the street when he was in Tullamore. The Taoiseach has promised greater investment in the Irish Defence Forces during a visit to Lebanon. Micheal Martin was in Lebanon over the weekend to visit members of the Irish Defence Forces. He said that there were gaps and deficiencies in current levels of defence spending. A recent report recommended major upgrades and reforms for the Irish Defence Forces, with the Commission on the Defence Forces warning that continuing business as usual will leave Ireland without a credible military capability to protect the country. The war in Ukraine has also focused minds on Irish investment in national security and renewed debates about the policy of military neutrality. Without question, we do need to increase resources towards our Defence Forces, in all aspects of our Defence Forces air, sea and land forces, Mr Martin said. In particular, equipment, technology and also to continue to resource those who serve. Proud to address our Lebanon peacekeepers on UN International Day of the Peacekeeper. pic.twitter.com/orYlMTLkiD Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) May 29, 2022 Without question, we acknowledge there are gaps and deficiencies in defence spending. The challenge now arising out of the commission is to provide a timeline and a programme that will address that in terms of increased investment towards the army. He said that the issue would be discussed at Cabinet level in the near future, with work under way by officials and civil servants to plan for what the increased investment package might look like. The war in Ukraine is a very strong reminder of the necessity to improve our defences. It has exposed in many respects vulnerabilities in terms of the European continent. On Sunday, Mr Martin laid a wreath in the southern Lebanese town of Tibnine in memory of the 47 members of the Defence Forces who have lost their lives serving in the country. Defence Minister Simon Coveney was also there as part of the visit, alongside Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy. Mr Martin also suggested that a citizens assembly on Irish neutrality could be on the cards within the next few years. The Taoiseach told reporters he would hope to see an assembly discuss the issue within the lifetime of the current Government. Certainly we need to reflect on that, post the Ukrainian war. Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End since 1952, as well as six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Two teenagers are in a critical condition and a police investigation is under way after three attendees at a birthday party in the inner city were stabbed on Sunday. Police are investigating an incident which left three young men with serious stab wounds in Sydney overnight. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. RTHK: Intense fighting continues around east Ukraine city Ukrainian forces on Sunday resisted a Russian assault on Sievierodonetsk, the largest city they still hold in the Luhansk region of the Donbas, but endured heavy artillery barrages, Ukrainian officials said. The shelling was so intense it was not possible to assess casualties and damage, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said. Dozens of buildings have been destroyed in the past few days. "The situation has extremely escalated," Gaidai said. The Ukrainian government meanwhile urged the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons in order to turn the tide in the war, now in its fourth month. The battle for Sievierodonetsk, which lies on the eastern side of the Siverskyi Donets River, has become the focus of attention as Russia ekes out slow but solid gains in the Donbas, comprising of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Russia has concentrated huge firepower on a small area, a contrast to earlier phases of the conflict when its forces were often spread thinly. Gaidai said Russian forces had dug in at the Myr hotel on Sievierodonetsk's northern edge. "They cannot advance further into the city and are taking casualties, but we are not able right now to push them out of the hotel," he said on Telegram on Sunday. Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the Russians had still not managed to encircle city and the Ukrainian defenders have inflicted "fearful casualties" on them. But the Ukrainians were also taking serious losses themselves, civilians as well as combatants, they said in a briefing paper. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military situation in the Donbas - parts of which are controlled by Moscow-backed separatists - was very complicated but defences were holding up in several places, including Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. "It's indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstood this onslaught," he said in his nightly video address. Russia says it is waging a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine and rid it of nationalists threatening Russian-speakers there. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-05-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. ISTANBUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The CPC is an extremely successful party, said a Turkish analyst who's impressed by the achievements made by China's governing party over the past decades. Produced by Xinhua Global Service The match served as the final audition for a handful of State of Origin hopefuls as Parramatta snapped a three-game winning run for Ricky Stuarts side. Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy said not all lost territory to Russia since 2014, such as Crimea, could be retaken militarily due to the high human cost. Follow DW for more. Liverpool FC have called for an investigation following the violence used against its fans before the Champions League final on Saturday night. The toll on its armoured units forced the Kremlin to bring in T-62 tanks, a six-decades old Soviet-era technology, Interior Ministry advisor Viktor Andrusiv said in an interview. Liverpool FC and eyewitnesses have challenged claims from French authorities that British fans were to blame. Kick-off had to be delayed by half an hour, as police fired tear gas outside the stadium. There is a bar in Paris, where the Ukranian and Russian food is united, just like the people who work and eat there. Our correspondent Galina Polonskaya went to visit this unique place. US President Joe Biden has visited a memorial to the 19 students and two teachers killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas earlier this week. Washington (AFP) May 28, 2022 It was 1776, the American colonies had just declared their independence from England, and as war raged the founding fathers were deep in debate: should Americans have the right to own firearms as individuals, or just as members of local militia? Days after 19 children and two teachers were slaughtered in a Texas town, the debate rages on as outsiders wonder why Americans are so wedded to the Baton-wielding riot police ran into crowds after glass bottles were thrown at them in the Spanish capital. A Russian woman living in Burgundy wanted to help pet dogs of Ukraine and their human companions get to safety. She turned to a Facebook group for lovers of a famous dog breed to find them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited troops on the frontline in the northeastern region of Kharkiv in his first official appearance outside of Kyiv since the start of Russia's invasion. The president and the first lady will view a memorial, attend a Catholic Mass and meet privately with families of the victims and.. Washington Post 29 May 2022 SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Searchers recovered the bodies of three missing boaters Sunday after two vessels collided on a Georgia river, bringing the crash's death toll to five people. One of the surviving boaters was charged with boating under the influence. Two people were found dead shortly after the Saturday collision on the Wilmington River near Savannah, authorities said. The bodies of the three missing people were recovered Sunday morning, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Sgt. Cindy Miller told WTOC-TV. They were found in water about 14 feet (4.3 meters) deep, and in close proximity to each other, authorities said. AP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A gas cylinder explosion in Abu Dhabi earlier this week that injured 120 people killed an Indian and a Pakistani national, authorities in those two countries said Thursday. India's External Affairs Ministry said one Indian died and around 100 were injured in the blast Monday in Abu Dhabis Khalidiya neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Emirati capitals beachfront corniche. CAIRO (AP) Sudans leading general lifted a state of emergency Sunday that was imposed in the country following the October coup he led. The decision by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudans ruling sovereign council, came hours after the Security and Defense Council, Sudans highest body that decides on security matters, recommended an end to the state of emergency and the release of all detainees. The recommendations are meant to facilitate dialogue between the military and the pro-democracy movement, the defense minister, Maj. Gen. Yassin Ibrahim Yassin, said in a video statement. They come as the country faces protests against military rule and an unknown number of activists and former officials remain in detention. Earlier Sunday, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, called for the countrys leaders to lift the state of emergency. He decried the killing of two people in a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters who once again took to the streets of the capital to denounce the Oct. 25 coup. Once again: It is time for the violence to stop, said Perthes on Twitter. Hundreds of people marched Saturday in Khartoum, where security forces violently dispersed the crowds and chased them in the streets, according to activists. The two were killed during protests in Khartoums Kalakla neighborhood. One was shot by security forces and the other suffocated after inhaling tear gas, said the Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the military takeover upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by former strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019. Saturdays protests were part of relentless demonstrations in the past seven months calling for the military to hand over power to civilians. At least 98 people have been killed and over 4,300 wounded in the government crackdown on anti-coup protests since October, according to the medical group. Hundreds of activists and officials in the disposed government were also detained following the coup, many were later released under pressure from the U.N. and other western governments. The protesters demand the removal of the military from power. The generals, however, have said they will only hand over power to an elected administration. They say elections will take place in July 2023 as planned in a constitutional document governing the transition period. The U.N., the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional group called the Intergovernmental Authority in Development have been leading concerted efforts to bridge the gap between the two sides and find a way out of the impasse. Meanwhile, the trial of four activists accused of killing a senior police officer during a protest earlier this year began Sunday amid tight security outside the Judicial and Legal Science Institute in Khartoum. Dozens of protesters gathered in the area in a show of support for the defendants. The four were detained in raids after police Col. Ali Hamad was stabbed to death as security forces dispersed protesters on Jan. 13. Their defense lawyers deny the allegations. The courts judges in Sundays proceedings ordered the defendants be medically examined after their lawyers claimed they were tortured and mistreated in police detention. The trial resumes June 12. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A total of 95 migrants of several nationalities heading towards the European coasts, on board a wooden boat, were rescued by Libyan coastguards, the Libyan naval forces' headquarters announced on Sunday Photo: (Photo : Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, the Uvalde hero teacher who protected her students in exchange for her life, has died of a heart attack two days after the tragic school shooting. Family members said that Joe, 50, was broken-hearted over losing his wife. He was at his wife's memorial on Thursday, May 26, to drop off some flowers. When he got home, however, Joe "pretty much fell over," according to his nephew, John Martinez. People reported that there were efforts to revive Joe with chest compressions, suggesting he had a heart attack, but Martinez said that his uncle was in deep sorrow. Joe's death leaves four orphaned children, between the ages of 23 and 13. EXTREMELY heartbreaking and come with deep sorrow to say that my Tia Irmas husband Joe Garcia has passed away due to grief, i truly am at a loss for words for how we are all feeling, PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY, God have mercy on us, this isnt easy pic.twitter.com/GlUSOutRVV john martinez (@fuhknjo) May 26, 2022 Read Also: Dad of Uvalde Shooting Survivor Tells Parents to Hug Their Kids Every Day; Mom Recounts Nightmare Irma Was Proud of Her Kids Irma, 49, was one of two teachers killed by an 18-year-old gunman who fired at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Reports cited that she tried to shield the other kids, whom she had always treated like her own children. In her profile on the Robb Elementary School website, Irma was proud to share their children's accomplishments. Their eldest son, Cristian, 23, is at a Marine boot camp while their second son, Jose, 19, is a student at Texas State University. The couple had two daughters, Lyliana, 15, and Alysandra, 13, who were just beginning their life as teenagers. Joe and Irma were described as high school sweethearts who were married for nearly 25 years. A friend wrote in the GoFundMe page set up for the family that the tragedy was likely too much to bear for Joe because Irma was the "love of his life." As of press time, the fundraiser has since raised $623,054 with nearly 15,000 donors worldwide, while the second fundraiser, originally meant for Irma's funeral expenses, has recouped more than half a million dollars as well. Uvalde Parents Torn Meanwhile, many parents whose kids go to Robb Elementary School feel torn because their children survived the school shooting but 19 others died. Mom Amber Gonzales told NBC News that she is thankful her 8-year-old was unharmed but while she feels blessed, she also can't be happy for the other families. Grandmother Rosa Menchaca said she feels conflicted as well. She feels selfish for thanking God that her grandchild survived the attack knowing that other families are grieving. Mom Rosa Arizmendi can't express her joy for her daughter's safety because she also lost her niece, Eliahna Garcia, in the tragedy. Her husband, Roland Arizmendi, said that images of Eliahna waving goodbye at them at school drop-offs with their daughter will gnaw on him. One of the moms also expressed that her daughter does not want to go back to the school where her friends died. The mother is hoping for more security in schools if the gun laws in the U.S. won't change. Related Article: Mom of Uvalde Shooter Says Her Son Was Not Violent; Boyfriend Admits They Didn't Get Along Photo: (Photo : JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) Even with two shipments of baby formula landing in the United States from Europe this week, it could still be weeks before shelves in supermarkets are stocked with the necessary goods. That is a terrifying ordeal for Winston-Salem mom Tori Idol, who said she leaves the stores in tears in recent weeks when she goes shopping for baby formula. That is the reason why Idol started a Facebook group called Formula Finders of the Triad. She wanted to connect mothers in the Triad and beyond in order to help them feed their babies. Idol told WFMY News the day that she started this group, she was in the Target parking lot on Lawndale Drive. She cried her heart out in a call to her husband, saying "There's nothing. What are we gonna do." Idol has a 4-month-old son that is formula fed. After that breakdown, Idol knew she needed to do something to help not only herself but other moms as well find formula. Idol said there were already 100 members within twenty minutes of creating the Facebook group. Facebook group now has hundreds of members It has proven to be a hit among concerned mothers, with hundreds of moms from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and even as far as the state of Florida now members of the Facebook group. People in this network share photos of store shelves that have formula, sell formula they no longer need, and also ask for help in finding specific kinds of formula. When asked about the current formula situation, Idol said "I think we are making ways toward change. I think that soon we will get back to where we need to be, but going from completely empty shelves to some shipments you have a lot of moms that are still panicked and they're going to do what they have to do for their infant and that usually means they're going to stock up. So that small amount that becomes available soon will be depleted." The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has also launched a webpage with information on multiple safe options for babies and infants if their formula is not in stock. Read Also: FTC Launches Investigation Into Baby Formula Makers Over Nationwide Shortage Califf tells lawmakers baby formula shortage to end in July Idol and other mom's formula worries will not cease anytime soon with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf telling lawmakers that it will take until July before store shelves across the United States are filled with baby formula again. Califf said during his testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that it is going to be gradual improvement up to probably somewhere around two months until the shelves are replete again. CNBC reported that Abbott plans to resume production at its facility in Sturgis, Michigan, on June 4, and it will start shipping out its specialty formula EleCare on June 20. Abbott has previously said that it would take six to eight weeks for its formula to arrive in stores once production restarts. Related Article: US Births Increase Last Year, But Still Less Than Pre-COVID Pandemic Numbers Photo: (Photo : CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images) The state of California could soon hold social media companies responsible for harming kids who have become addicted to their products, permitting parents to sue platforms like TikTok and Instagram for up to $25,000 per violation under a bill that passed the state Assembly on Monday, May 23. The said bill defines "addiction" as children under 18 who are both harmed - either emotionally, developmentally, physically, mentally, or materially - and who want to stop or reduce how much time they spend on social media platforms but they can't because they are obsessed or preoccupied with it. Business groups have previously warned that if the bill passes, social media companies would most likely halt operations for kids in California rather than face the legal risk, according to the Associated Press. Monday's vote keeps Cunningham bill alive this year The proposed bill would only apply to social media companies that recorded at least $100 million in gross revenue in the past year, appearing to take aim at social media heavyweights like Facebook and others that dominate the marketplace. It would not apply, however to streaming services like Hulu and Netflix or to companies that only offer text messaging and email services. Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo County and author of the bill, said that the era of unfettered social experimentation on children is over and they will protect kids. The vote on Monday is a key step for the legislation but not the final one, according to PennLive. The bill will now head to the state Senate, where it will undergo weeks of hearings and negotiations among advocates and lawmakers. The bill's proponents will be delighted, though, as Monday's vote keeps it alive this year. The bill, which would take effect on January 1 if it becomes a law, gives social media companies two paths to escape liability in the courts. Companies that remove features deemed addictive to kids by April 1 would not be responsible for damages. Companies that conduct regular audits of their practices to identify and remove features that could be addictive to kids would also be immune from lawsuits. Read Also: Hong Kong Dad Forced to Pay $4,200 After Son Knocks Over Golden Teletubbies Figure in Toy Store Business groups vehemently oppose bill Business groups have opposed the bill despite those aforementioned provisions. TechNet, a bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives, wrote a letter to lawmakers, telling them that if the bill becomes law, "social media companies and online web services would have no choice but to cease operations for kids under 18 and would implement stringent age-verification in order to ensure that adolescents did not use their sites." The group wrote that there is no social media company let alone any business that could tolerate that legal risk. Lawmakers appeared willing to change the part of the bill that allows parents to sue the social media giants, but none of them offered a detailed alternative, according to Business Insider. Related Article: Robb Elementary Mass Shooting: 10-Year-Old Girl Who Tried to Call 911 During Attack Died a Hero Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) Concerned parents and residents immediately gathered outside Robb Elementary School as soon as they heard of the shooting at the school. When the police arrived, they said they begged for law enforcement to charge into the building and considered entering themselves while the gunman was inside for at least 40 minutes. CNN reports that the law enforcement response to the shooting incident has drawn scrutiny days after the horrific massacre. Since the school massacre on Tuesday, law enforcement officials have given conflicting narratives on what exactly happened when the gunman arrived in the school. More could have been done One of the victim's fathers, Javier Cazares said that he ran to the school building after he learned about the shooting, and saw some officers outside the building. He said that he was upset that authorities did not appear to be moving into the building. He wanted to rush in because the cops are not doing anything like they were supposed to do. AS per NBC News, videos circulating online showed frustrated parents confronting police officers outside the school while the gunman was inside. Residents shouted at the officers telling them to go to the school after the attack began, but according to a resident, the officers did not. Federal officials even handcuffed a parent who encouraged officers to enter the premises. Read Also: Senegal Hospital Fire Kills 11 Newborn Babies Parent's frustration with the police The parent's frustration is real especially when police have not breached the area yet despite almost an hour after the shooting started, as per Kenneth Trump, a Cleveland-based school safety consultant. For Trump, there were many unanswered questions like why an entrance or back door at school was left unlocked. There was also a long gap between the arrival of the police at the scene and the time the gunman was taken down. It was also unknown how equipped local law enforcement is in handling a gunman. According to Texas Tribune, Trump said that after Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999, law enforcement veered away from waiting and setting a perimeter during an active shooter situation. The police are now trained to immediately enter the scene and subdue the shooter even if alone. The question, Trump added, is if law enforcement officers have the equipment and training to handle such a crisis. Conflicting statements, unanswered questions At a Wednesday Press conference, the Texas Department of Public Safety said that the shooter encountered a police officer employed by the school district before he charged through a back door but did not exchange gunfire with the gunman. Other DPS officers were quoted in media reports saying that there was an exchange of gunfire. On Thursday, Victor Escalon, DPS officials now say that there was no police officer on campus when the shooter arrived. The authorities also have not answered crucial questions like why it took them long to stop the gunman, the seemingly unlocked the main door to the school, and questions clarifying discrepancies in previous statements by agency officials. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has called on the FBI to investigate the shooting and the law enforcement's response. Related Article: Uvalde Shooting: Families, Parents Hail Two Texas Teachers Who Shielded Students from Gunman as Heroes Photo: (Photo : Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) A jury in Portland has convicted self-published romance novelist Nancy Crampton Brophy, who once wrote an essay titled "How to Murder Your Husband", of fatally shooting her husband four years ago. KGW reported that the jury of seven women and five men found the 71-year-old guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, May 25. They deliberated for over two days regarding the death of Daniel Brophy. The 63-year-old was murdered on June 2, 2018, as he prepped for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Southwest Portland. Crampton Brophy displayed no visible reaction inside the crowded Multnomah County courtroom when the verdict was announced. Crampton Brophy seen on surveillance video driving to and from culinary institute Lisa Maxfield, who is one of Crampton Brophy's attorneys, said the defense team plans to appeal the ruling. Prosecutors told jurors in the case that Crampton Brophy was motivated by money problems and a life insurance policy, according to a report by NBC News. Crampton Brophy argued that was not the case at all during the trial, saying that she had no reason to kill Brophy and that their financial difficulties had largely been solved by cashing in a chunk of her husband's retirement savings plan. Crampton Brophy owned the same make and model of gun that was used to kill her husband. She was seen on surveillance camera footage driving to and from the culinary institute where her husband worked, according to court exhibits and court testimony. Cops never found the gun that killed Brophy. Prosecutors alleged in the trial that Crampton Brophy swapped out the barrel of the gun that was used in the shooting and then discarded the barrel. Defense attorneys said the gun parts were the inspiration for their client's writing and suggested in the trial that someone else might have murdered Brophy during a robbery gone wrong. Crampton Brophy testified during the trial, saying that her presence near the culinary school on the same day of her husband's death was just mere coincidence and that she had parked in the surrounding area to work on her writing. Read Also: Son Surprises Michigan Mom With Restored 1972 Honda Motorcycle She Gave Up 25 Years Ago Crampton Brophy faces a minimum 25 years in prison Crampton Brophy's how-to piece detailed various options for committing an untraceable murder and professed a desire to avoid getting caught. Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras ultimately decided to exclude the essay from the trial, noting that the treatise was published back in 2011. A prosecutor, however, alluded to the themes of the essay without naming it after Crampton Brophy took the stand in the trial. Crampton Brophy has remained in custody since she was arrested in September 2018, several months after her husband was shot and killed. Crampton Brophy's sentencing has been scheduled for June 13. She faces a minimum of 25 years in prison after the guilty verdict, according to CNN. Prosecutors told jurors that Crampton Brophy followed her husband to work and shot him with a Glock 9mm handgun with investigators finding two 9mm shell casings at the scene. Crampton Brophy had also bought a "ghost gun" assembly kit that investigators later found at a storage facility. Related Article: Education Cannot Wait For Millions of Ukrainian Children Who Are Still in School Despite Russian Invasion Photo: (Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) The Biden administration has announced that $500 million in funding will now be available for public school districts and bus operators to replace their old diesel school buses with electronic school buses. Hatched together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the funding is just the start of the plan to deliver an unprecedented multibillion-dollar investment, which is a part of President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In total, approximately $2.5 billion will be allocated to purchase new electric buses for the next five years. The other half of the funding will go to purchases of low-emission buses. The aim is to replace 96,000 diesel school buses across the U.S. with green vehicles. School districts may apply for part of the $500 million funds in the first round of the distribution until Aug. 19, 2022. Ideally, no school district can be served with multiple bus replacement requests. For now, the grant will apply to one school district per state. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said that the funding provides schools across the U.S. the opportunity to ditch old and polluted buses for good. This means that some 25 million kids who ride the school buses, especially in low-income communities, will be able to enjoy healthy air during their trips from the school to their homes. Read Also: Middle School Students Attempted to Save Bus Driver Experiencing Medical Event While Driving Diesel Bus Pollution Levels According to a report published by the Environment & Human Health, Inc. in Connecticut, the pollution level inside diesel school buses is 10 times higher than the pollution outside of the bus. The pollution level is driven even higher if these buses are queuing during school drop-offs and pick-ups in the morning and afternoon. In fact, idling diesel school buses produce the highest levels of black carbon and other pollutants. "Too many American children are forced to breathe dirty air on their commutes to and from school," said Paul Tonko of the House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Subcommittee. "This announcement is a major down payment on ensuring that our children and grandchildren can experience pollution-free rides." The EPA said priority will be given to schools in rural areas as Biden wants 40 percent of the funding to go to underserved communities. The agency will also establish outreach programs in these communities as many do not have experience applying for grants. Those eligible will be selected via a lottery system. Montana's Billings School District, an underserved community, has plans to apply for the grant. However, the state's Transportation Director Keith Adams said that they are still working out the routes to participate in the program as the school district does not have any buses or bus contractors. Some New England school districts are also planning to submit an application to get a portion of the grant for their disadvantaged communities. What's Next After the Application? After August, the EPA will notify the school districts selected to receive the electronic school bus funding. The amount they will get will also include the installation of the charging stations and the infrastructure needed for this facility. By the Spring of 2023, these selected schools have to submit the purchase orders and payment request forms to confirm that the new electric school buses have been ordered. They must also complete the Close Out form for the replaced diesel buses, per School Transportation News. Then, the next round of applications will open for the second batch. The EPA said that they have intended this process to ascertain that school districts will have adequate time to shift and as well as avoid supply chain issues. Related Article: School Districts Will Shift to Electric School Buses to Combat Climate Change Photo: (Photo : CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) The father of the Uvalde school shooter has stated he's sorry for what his son has done, following the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Texas. Salvador Ramos, 42, said that what happened was unexpected but his son, also named Salvador, 18, should have killed him instead of the children. The older Salvador was at work that day when he learned of the school shooting from his mother. According to the Daily Beast, the father made frantic calls to the local police to ask if they have his son. The school shooter died on the scene after an exchange of gunfire with the police. Salvador realized that he will never see his son again, in the same way that the other parents will never get to see their kids. Read Also: Experts Offer Parents Advice on How to Talk to Kids About the Texas School Shooting "My son is not a monster" The father insisted that his son was a good person and he was not the monster that the public saw after the Uvalde school shooting. Salvador, however, noticed some changes in his son when he dropped out of school a few months ago. He said that his son often told him that he was never loved by his parents and the father is taking the blame for these sentiments because he hasn't been in touch with the younger Salvador, especially during the pandemic. The father said he couldn't offer to have his son live with their side of the family because his mother has cancer and would be vulnerable to COVID-19. Teary-eyed dad of the Texas shooter Salvador Chava Ramos, 42 declares He Shouldve Just Killed Me! So sad. pic.twitter.com/yBSOf2Mpft Zog Ziggy (@havenosecrets) May 27, 2022 The older Salvador also said that he's the one with the police record while his son didn't have any problems with the cops before this tragedy. He also placed some blame on the boy's mother, Adriana Reyes, who did not do something when their son was bullied in school because of his appearance and clothes. Former classmates of the 18-year-old shooter told CNN that he was made fun of at his school a lot. They also said that he was the quiet type who didn't have many friends nor socialize with other people. The father decided to speak out because people do not have any idea what his son was going through. "I don't want them calling him a monster... they don't know nothing, man," the older Salvador said. Salvador also said that he has a 21-year-old daughter, the school shooter's sister, who is in the Navy. He was hoping that his son would follow the same path and "turn his life around" because his sister's life changed when she enlisted. Uvalde School Shooter's Motive The police are looking into the gunman's motive to cause a rampage at Robb Elementary School. According to Marca, the school shooter might have been angry because he won't be able to graduate high school after dropping out of his classes. Meanwhile, the boy's maternal grandfather, Rolando Reyes, said that their family is also grieving for the younger Salvador. He said that his daughter has also lost a son and she feels bad for the families of the victims as well. As with the father, Adriana has insisted to the press their son is not a monster. However, she acknowledged that he has an aggressive temper, like any person when filled with rage. Related Article: Mom of Uvalde Shooter Says Her Son Was Not Violent; Boyfriend Admits They Didn't Get Along Photo: (Photo : Mike Pont/Getty Images for Enfamil) The baby formula crisis in the United States has boosted profits at Britain's Reckitt Benckiser, helping the company grab the top spot in a $5.8 billion-a-year market. The challenge now for Reckitt will be to stay there with Abbott determined to reclaim its place at the top. The British consumer goods company has ramped up production of its popular Enfamil formula since American rival Abbott Laboratories recalled dozens of products in the United States back in February after customers complained of babies contracting bacterial infections. Reckitt, which boosted formula production by 30 percent, told Reuters last week it now accounted for more than 50 percent of total baby formula supply in United States, up from around a third before the crisis started. Reckitt looking to hold on to customers it gained during baby formula crisis That is a big deal as parents tend not to switch brands their infants like. A Reckitt spokesperson said the company hopes to hold on to customers it has gained while products of Abbott, such as Similac, are off the shelves. Reckitt announced this week that it was feeding 211,000 more babies than before Abbott's recall. The stakes are high for Reckitt as it has reportedly long been interested in selling its formula business with the company looking to focus on its higher margin household and consumer brands that range from Durex condoms to Dettol disinfectants. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, May 27, Reckitt was making a renewed sale attempt for its formula business which could fetch around $7 billion. The boost from the crisis may not last long, though, for Reckitt with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing on May 19 that Abbott was on track to reopen its key baby formula facility in Sturgis, Michigan within one or two weeks. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf made it clear a week later to lawmakers, though, that it would take until July before store shelves across the United States were filled. While Abbott's recall has presented an opportunity for other companies, such as Neocate maker Danone and Gerber maker Nestle, it is Reckitt that is benefitting the most, as it was already second to Abbott before the crisis struck. Read Also: Operation Fly Formula: Baby Milk to be Flown in The US through Military Contracted Planes Reckitt's stock rising with baby formula shortage showing no signs of ceasing Barclays raised its 2022 organic sales forecast for Reckitt on April 1 to 4.4 percent from 4.0 percent, including an uplift to 7.4 percent from 5.0 percent at its nutrition division, which includes baby formula. Less than five weeks later, Barclays hiked its forecasts again to 6.0 percent for Reckitt and 12.4 percent for the nutrition division. According to Refinitiv, analysts have raised on average their full-year earnings forecast for Reckitt by 4.35 percent in the past 30 days, to about 311 pence per share. Barclays analyst Iain Simpson said that near term, the biggest financial impact is going to be on Reckitt. He added that the big question now is how much of the recent market share gains Reckitt holds on to once Abbott is back on shelf. According to Capital.com, Reckitt currently sells at close to 62. Related Article: President Biden Invokes Defense Production Act to Address Baby Formula Shortage in the U.S. Photo: (Photo : ERIC CABANIS/AFP via Getty Images) A Jewish mom celebrated her 98th birthday at a Canadian care home with the daughter she gave up for adoption during World War II. It was the first time they would see each other after nearly 80 years. Gerda Cole was only 18 years old when she give birth to Sonya Grist in England in 1942, at the height of World War II. A native of Vienna, Austria, Cole, who is an only child, left her homeland in 1939 to escape the persecution of the Jews. Due to her situation as a refugee, Cole decided to give up her baby for adoption. She was advised to never contact or establish a connection with her baby at all as she built her new life as a Holocaust survivor in Canada. Speaking with The Washington Post, Cole said that she made the tough choice because she was not in a good position to parent a baby, as a refugee in an unhappy marriage. A German couple who moved to England adopted her daughter. Read Also: Long Lost Family: Adults Abandoned as Babies Discover Their Biological Families in New Season Sonya Grist's Son Was Looking for His Austrian Roots Back in England, Sonya grew up knowing her biological parents could still be alive but she didn't have any luck searching for them. In 2021, her son, Stephen Grist, had to look up his Austrian roots for his citizenship application. He knew he had biological Austrian grandparents. When he couldn't find a death certificate for his grandmother, he later found out, via Cole's stepson on Facebook, that she was still actually alive. It took months for Stephen to track down the details about his grandmother. He learned that Cole had been married five times but did not have other children, except for Sonya, who was always on her mind. She couldn't look for her because she had to abide by the conditions of her adoption. Stephen took weeks to break the news to his mother because he still could not believe Cole was living in a home care in Canada. He was making arrangements with the management to facilitate a reunion between mother and daughter. In 1942, Gerda Cole, a Jewish refugee and teen whod fled from Austria to England, put her newborn daughter up for adoption. That daughters son found Gerda. Mother and daughter were reunited. Sonya Grist, 79, was Gerdas only child. H/T @ChristinaPushaw https://t.co/RdfveLZndO Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) May 25, 2022 Speaking with CBC, Wendy Gilmour, the senior vice-president of the home care, said that the reunion was just what they needed after more than two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grist family arrived in Canada from England for the reunion and Cole's birthday celebration in early May 2022. Sonya was shaking when she met her mother for the first time. Now pushing 80 years old, she didn't expect this reunion was still possible and she had a thousand questions to ask her biological mother. Cole, on the other hand, said that their reunion has been a miracle. "It means so much to be able to live to see this moment," the 98-year-old grandmother said. Mother and Daughter Have a Lot in Common Though they are still learning more about each other, Cole and Sonya have discovered they share many things in common, such as a love for music, language and traveling. Sonya said that she has no bitterness for her birth mother. When she learned that she was still alive, all she could think of was flying to Canada to give her a hug. She plans on returning to Canada so her entire family could meet her mom and Cole is looking forward to that visit. She said that there's nothing else she wants in life at this point but to be with her family," per Kveller. Related Article: DNA Test Reunites Sister And Brother Who Was Told She Died in a Car Accident Photo: (Photo : CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday, May 29, and meet with families of victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School this week. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the president intends to speak with religious and community leaders, in addition to the victims' families. Jean-Pierre added that the president and first lady believe it is important to show their support for the community during this devastating time and to be there for the families of the victims. The tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School left 19 students and two teachers dead, according to USA Today. The massacre happened just 10 days after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The president and the first lady previously traveled to Buffalo on May 17 to visit the scene of that mass shooting and meet with the families of the victims there. Biden calls on lawmakers to pass specific gun legislation For the first time since those shootings occurred, Biden called on lawmakers late Thursday afternoon to pass specific legislation. But the president went further than what is being discussed on Capitol Hill. He posted a message on social media platform Twitter, writing "Congress needs to pass universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines." He also tweeted that it is time to "turn this pain into action." A bipartisan group of senators have kicked off informal talks on a possible compromise legislation, according to NBC News. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is one of the Democrats leading the talks. He described a potential package that would be much smaller in scale than what President Biden urged. Murphy said Thursday on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" that it won't be everything he wants. He said that it won't be universal background checks and it likely won't be a ban on assault weapons. Murphy said that the compromise legislation maybe an expansion of background checks and maybe red flag laws. It also maybe adjusting the age that you can purchase weapons. Read Also: Uvalde Shooting: Families, Parents Hail Two Texas Teachers Who Shielded Students from Gunman as Heroes Uvalde gunman bought more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition When asked at the White House briefing whether President Biden would support raising the age to buy guns to 21, Jean-Pierre said that the commander-in-chief has been very clear that it does not make sense for an 18-year-old like the Uvalde gunman to legally buy an assault weapon. More details are emerging regarding the mass shooting in Texas. A law enforcement official said during a news conference on Friday, May 27, that the Uvalde mass shooting suspect bought more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition before opening fire and killing 21 people at Robb Elementary School. Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told CBS News that The suspect had purchased 1,657 total rounds of ammunition, 315 of which were found inside the school. Related Article: Mom of Uvalde Shooter Says Her Son Was Not Violent; Boyfriend Admits They Didn't Get Along Lyme Disease is affecting many millions of people. Originating from a simple tick bite, it invades ones body and wreaks all kinds of havoc. The Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) is able to invade at the subcellular level and hide. The result is, at a minimum, extreme fatigue, but in time, many bodily organs can also be affected. Those of you out there who have suffered from it know what I mean, and I need not inform you of anything. But Id like to share how I got rid of Lyme in myself, so as to potentially help many others to be spared a lot of misery. My symptoms were primarily fatigue and becoming winded at the slightest exercise. I think it may have exacerbated my existing ulcer and caused new digestive-related symptoms (I have another success story there that I also shared). Just from my own research, I discovered four treatments: all significantly successful (though I couldnt verify one of them by itself). On 15 October 2021 I started on a supplement with 12 herbs / plants called Tick Immune Support by Zenmen. It costs only $35 for about a months treatment. Eight of the herbs in this supplement were clinically supported (study led by a scientist from Johns Hopkins University) and shown to be at least as effective as the usually prescribed antibiotic doxycycline. I reported at the time on Facebook: * In the first three days (especially starting on Day 2) I felt wonderful. Virtually all of my symptoms had rather dramatically disappeared: fatigue, joint aches, becoming very tired at 10 PM: about four hours before my usual cycle, rapid heartbeat shortly after the onset of just about any physical activity. . . . * Starting on Day 4, however, I began noticing a slowly increasing recurrence of symptoms. This was not unexpected and is a well-known phenomenon related to Lyme Disease treatment and other similar conditions, called the JarischHerxheimer reaction (or herxing in popular usage). It was first observed and identified in 1895 and 1902 by the two German doctors for whom it is named. * Herxing is the bodys reaction to the die-off of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, that causes Lyme, brought on initially by a tick bite. The good news for me is that my main symptom is fatigue, and sometimes momentarily dizziness. A good treatment actually kills the bacteria within a day or two, but it is the die-off that makes one feel miserable. Herxing is not technically a side effect; it is the reaction of the body to the harmful bacteria being killed by the supplements. * My herxing, as it turned out, lasted 29 days: from 18 October till 15 November. This is longer than usual, and indicates a chronic condition; though I think it has been chronic in me for a relatively short time, so that I am confident I can knock it out. According to my reading and research, it usually sets in on Day 3 or Day 4. Sure enough it did. I also read that in chronic cases, the worst period is about a month after serious treatment. That came true, too. * I have my usual energy during late evenings again (being a night person), and in the morning when I get up whereas all during herxing I was conking out around 10 PM or even earlier on some nights. That is completely abnormal for me. My sleeping has stabilized again. I was going to bed at 10 PM but then waking up at 2 or 3 and staying awake several hours. * It appears that I had Lyme under control last November (six months ago, as I write). But to be sure, and to do a one-two punch I decided to also try a homeopathic regimen, described in an article by a homeopath. Lyme is notorious for coming back again and again, so we must be vigilant and keep on top of it. Again, this Part 2 treatment plan was inexpensive and easy: three supplements, costing only about $33 on Amazon. This treatment consists of three homeopathic medicines: * * works or not. Ive taken many homeopathic medicines and they did indeed work. It was not just in my head. The proofs in the pudding. Feeling good and feeling better are what they are. For further reading on this aspect, see my lengthy article, The article by Joette Calabrese, linked above, describes exactly how to take these pills (dosages and times and frequency). Now, for those of you who are skeptical of homeopathy, and its theoretical or scientific basis (or lack thereof, so critics say), I take an agnostic stance on that. My only interest is if a given remedyor not. Ive taken many homeopathic medicines and they did indeed work. It was not just in my head. The proofs in the pudding. Feeling good and feeling better are what they are. For further reading on this aspect, see my lengthy article, Homeopathy, Pragmatic Medicine, Reason, & Science * But Im not sure how effective the above homeopathic remedy for Lyme Disease was, because I always took it at the same time as other supplements. I came down with COVID around Christmas, which didnt help things. I think that exacerbated both my existing Lyme and also my ulcer. Tick Immune Support seemed to work okay: is how I would describe it. But it seemed to not be a knockout punch. * * Hoping to kickstart my anti-Lyme regimen again, I sought an additional herbal treatment. I purchased Samsara Herbs Tick Immune Support on Amazon in March 2022. It was $48.95, but that is for 240 pills. With a dosage of four per day, it lasts for two months. This seemed to work very well; remarkably so, I would say. The only problem was that some of the ingredients (especially black pepper, I think) started aggravating my ulcer. This made me stop taking it. Drats! But of course this is only a problem for those with an ulcer or other digestive issues. The remedy itself was working great. Because of the stomach problems, I set out yet again to find a different natural medicine. After some online research, I discovered Cryptolepis Sanguinolenta (aka Ghanaian Quinine) and purchased it from Amazon about five weeks ago. This not only claims to treat the symptoms of Lyme, but to knock it completely out of ones system. Despite the liquid tasting like a mixture of furniture polish and transmission fluid (I drank it in grape juice), it seems to have done exactly that for me, after maybe two weeks of taking it. Again, unfortunately I felt I had to stop taking it because of significantly worsening stomach symptoms. But I have had no Lyme symptoms to speak of since, so it seems to have lived up to its claims. There are a number of articles online about its effectiveness. The Frontiers Science News website reported in an article on 21 February 2020 on a successful study from Johns Hopkins University: The researchers show[ed] that plant extracts from black walnut, cats claw, sweet wormwood, Mediterranean rockrose, and Chinese skullcap had strong activity against B. burgdorferi, outperforming both tested antibiotics. But by far the strongest performers were Ghanaian quinine (Cryptolepis sanguinolenta; also known as yellow-dye root, nibima, or kadze) and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). Ghanaian quinine is a shrub from West Africa containing the antimicrobial alkaloid cryptolepine, and is used in ethnomedicine to treat malaria, hepatitis, septicemia, and tuberculosis. Japanese knotweed is a traditional medicine in India and China that contains the polyphenol resveratrol. In other preclinical studies it has been found to have anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects and protect the nervous system and heart. Extracts from both plants were found to kill microcolonies of Borrelia burgdorferi and inhibit division of the planktonic form, even at low concentrations (0.03-0.5%). Remarkably, a single 7-day treatment with 1% Ghanaian quinine could completely eradicate the bacterium it did not regrow, even under optimal conditions in the drugs absence. This study provides the first convincing evidence that some of the herbs used by patients such as Cryptolepis, black walnut, sweet wormwood, cats claw, and Japanese knotweed have potent activity against Lyme disease bacteria, especially the dormant persister forms, which are not killed by the current Lyme antibiotics, says Dr Ying Zhang from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I think between these four remedies, virtually anyone who suffers from Lyme can either get relief, or eliminate it altogether. * For related reading on many holistic health topics (including many cures my family has benefited from), see my web page: Herbalism, Holistic Health, & Alternative Medicine (A Collection) * *** * Photo credit: Earths Love Cryptolepis Alcohol Herbal Extract Tincture, from its Amazon page. * *** * Summary: I share the success story of my battle against Lyme Disease, and about four natural remedies: three herbal and one, homeopathic, that helped me overcome it. The corporate communications practice is an interesting but challenging one. It comes with certain dynamics and intricacies that require the practitioner to be passionate, skillful, experienced, and well-trained. Africas corporate communications landscape is to a good extent filled with bright minds. Here are five of West Africas finest corporate communications professionals. Sophia Lissah Sophia Kudjordji Lissah is a Ghanaian Corporate Communications expert. She started her career as a Journalist at Ghana News Agency. She also built a successful career at the British High Commission, Volta Region Community Water & Sanitation, and UT Holdings. She is currently the Chief Communications Officer at Jospong Group. Sophia Lissah is an alumnus of the University of Ghana, University of Cumbria, and the Ghana Institute of Journalism. She holds professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Sophia Lissah is the recipient of Ghanas most promising Public Relations Professional award (2012), and Public Relations Personality of the year award (2019). She was listed as one of the top 20 Marketing and Communications Professionals by InstinctWave in 2019. Tomi Ogunlesi With over 12 years cognate experience in strategic brand building, business development and marketing, Tomi Ogunlesi has established himself as one of West Africas finest Corporate Communications expert. The Nigerian professional has designed and implemented marketing and communication campaigns that help communicate brand value and move markets, while working for companies like Volcano Advertising, The Jupiter Drawing Room & Partners, Promisador, Bates Cosse, First Bank of Nigeria, amongst others. He is currently the Head of Corporate Communications at Interswitch Group, a position he has been occupying for over five years. Tomi Ogunlesi is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Management. He is a contributing writer to various marketing and communications publications, including BusinessDay, Brand Communication, Interbrand Worldwides Brand Channel, and M2 The Journal for Marketing & Management. Francesca Uriri Francesca Onomarie Uriri is a Nigerian communications professional with expertise in content development, event management, perception and crisis management. She has worked with a number of companies ranging from start-ups to NGOs, and Fortune 500 companies, providing insightful ideas and implementing strategies that help build brands. Francesca is an alumnus of the China Europe International Business School. She sits on the board of the Future Projects, organisers of the Future Awards, Africa. She is the Head of Communications at Uber, West Africa. Esther Amba Cobbah Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah is the Lead Communication Strategist and CEO at Strategic Communications Africa located in Ghana. The Ghanaian woman has worked at a number of organisations, including the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. Her skillfulness in designing and implementing communication strategies that grow brands and strengthen initiatives led to her appointment as the first External Affairs Manager for the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project Consortium (consisting of Shell, Chevron, NNPC, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and the gas companies of Togo and Benin). The University of Ghana alumnus is a recipient of a number of awards, including the Institute of Public Relations Ghana PR Personality of the year (2013), Marketing Woman of the Year award (2012) by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana, Media Personality of the year (2010) award, amongst others. Esther is a member of the International Communication Association and the International Public Relations Association. Leveraging over 30 years cognate experience in the communications field, Esther Cobbah established the centre for Development and Intercultural Communication (CEDIC), an NGO that seeks to promote and facilitate development through communication. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo Nkiru Olumide-Ojo is a Nigerian Corporate Communications professional with expertise in brand marketing, market positioning, and reputation management. The Kingston University alumnus has worked on a broad range of projects and accounts, providing insightful ideas and brilliant communications strategies for a number of companies, including Airtel, Forte Oil, Virgin Nigeria, amongst others. In 2008, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo was recognised as one of the top 40 females under 40 by Nigerians In Diaspora Professionals (NIPRO). She was also the recipient of the best Corporate Brand Manager Award by Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria in 2017, to name but a few. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo is currently the Regional Head of Marketing and Communications at Standard Bank Group, South and Central Africa. She is a sought-after speaker, inspiring men and women to maximise their potentials. Source: bizwatchnigeria.ng Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The authorities in Malawi have announced a 25% devaluation of the local currency, the kwacha, starting on Friday. The announcement has come when Malawi is in the middle of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to determine the details of a new financial assistance programme. To secure backing, the government has been asked to make adjustments to its economic policies, but central bank chief Wilson Banda says the decision to devalue the local currency has not been forced on the country by the international lending institution. Mr Banda told the media in the southern city of Blantyre that the local currency had been devalued to allow the market to determine the exchange rate. "It's a decision we have taken as the central bank looking at the economic trends. With or without the IMF we were going to do it," Mr Banda said. A devaluation means that anything imported becomes more expensive and there are fears that commodity prices will rise. Exports, on the other hand, become cheaper. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has urged citizens to be circumspect in their commentaries on the Nkoranza riots in order not to mar the peace and security in the community and its environs. A statement signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwesi Ofori, Director-General, Public Affairs, GPS, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said investigation into the matter was ongoing and as soon as investigations were completed, the Police would communicate the outcome to the families of the deceased and thereafter to the general public. It said following the death of Albert Donkor in the anti-robbery operation, the Regional Police Commander engaged the family, traditional authorities, opinion leaders and the youth to exercise restrain as Police looked into the issue. The statement said Dr George Akuffo Dampare, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), also spoke to the family of the deceased on the phone and assured them of a thorough investigation into the matter. It said all these engagements were done and investigation commenced, and yet the youth attacked the Police stations and caused destruction to Police properties. The statement said following these attacks, the IGP dispatched a high-profile team led by the Director-General Administration to provide strategic leadership for the ongoing operation to restore law and order in Nkoranza and its environs. It said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) had since commenced investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Albert Donkor. The statement said the investigation had also been extended to cover the attacks on the Police station and the rioting in town, resulting in the death of Victor Owusu and the injuries to others. It said ballistics experts had been deployed to Nkoranza to assist in the investigation. The statement said all the families had been contacted and they were working with the Police in the investigation by providing statements, among others. It said Clinical psychologists had been assigned to offer psychological support to Police personnel and their families as well as the deceased families. The statement said while these investigations were in progress, the IGP and some members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) visited Nkoranza to assess the situation on the ground and engaged relevant stakeholders on these matters. It said the IGP and his team put forward a request to the families to work with the Police for the postmortem on the bodies to be performed immediately to facilitate the completion of the investigation. The statement said the Police Administration had redefined the communication strategy of the Service as part of its transformation agenda, with the belief that over time, people would come to appreciate and understand. We know it is not going to be easy but we will persevere because that is the right thing to do. Under the new strategy, we release statements on issues as they happen where we give factual information to the public. In this regard, we hesitate till we have accurate information before coming out to the public in a manner that will not affect any further investigation or whatsoever, it said. The statement said the Police were also sensitive to the cultural environment within which they operated and as a result, they ensured that in all cases, affected families were informed before statements were released into the public domain. We give information on cases as they happen till the matter is put before the court after which we cease commenting on it as long as it is not in breach of the judicial process, in line with our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). We will, therefore, not engage in speculative issues in the public domain on a minute-by-minute basis. We have adopted this strategy in handling these matters currently under investigation. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of National Security has urged citizens to inform State security and intelligence agencies about hideouts of terrorists within their communities to reduce the threat of an attack in Ghana. The support of the citizenry in informing security agencies on happenings in their localities where the terrorists were likely to hide and commit their atrocious crimes, significantly reduces the threat of an attack in Ghana. He assured the public that the Ministry, together with the various security agencies was working tirelessly to protect citizens against terrorist attacks and safeguard the peace and stability of the country. Mr Kan-Dapaah made the comments during the launch of the Ministrys flagship programme dubbed, See Something, Say Something campaign, aimed at sensitising the citizenry to actively play a role in protecting the peace and stability of the State. It would also empower Ghanaians to be more conscious of their own security and enhance their relationship with State Security Authorities. He said the campaign had always formed a key part of the countrys National Framework for Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism. However, the timing of its rollout was informed by the need to institute more preventative measures in view of recent events in the West African sub-region. Mr Kan-Dapaah said the campaign was not aimed at creating panic among the citizenry, but rather to bolster the confidence of the public to swiftly report suspicious activities in their communities to the relevant security and intelligence agencies. The Minister said his outfit was aware of the possible misinformation that could be targeted at creating fear and panic and would therefore run the programme concurrently to fight such misinformation. He said terrorism, as perpetrated in the sub-region and the Sahel had become highly unconventional and largely asymmetric and had evolved to a point where overreliance on only conventional tactics and traditional means of combating the threat could prove ineffective. Mr Kan-Dapaah said the terrorist groups which continued to wreak havoc in neighbouring countries, came in all shapes and forms and many of them blended seamlessly into their target societies, thus making their identification and subsequent arrests by State security and intelligence agencies a difficult endeavour. Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, said Ghanas success towards combatting the threats faced would require a total mobilisation of citizens to recognise those risks, to be alert and called on all and sundry to work together with security agencies to strengthen Ghanas security architecture to counter the threats of terrorism. The Minister also urged the media to continue highlighting issues on security for discussion in their various outlets. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Shazelle Santana poses by her apartment building in London, Ont., Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Santana says her seven-year-old son is growing fast and the family needs more room but the surging cost of rent in the city has made it incredibly difficult to move. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins Aiken, SC (29801) Today A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. More than half a million cargo containers with nothing in them have been shipped out of the Port of Charleston since the fiscal year started July 1 an impressive 31 percent increase over the same period a year ago. At the same time, containers loaded with U.S.-made products bound for foreign countries are down by about 8 percent. While the disparity largely appears to be market-driven, the Federal Maritime Commission is hoping a new law will help it better police those occasions when something more nefarious is taking place. Shipping lines, for example, have been accused of leaving loaded exports behind so they can haul hundreds of empties on their trips back to Asia, where manufacturers will pay a premium for the containers they need to keep goods flowing to U.S. consumers. Ocean carriers last week were getting nearly $16,000 per loaded box on trips from Asia to East Coast ports. Loaded containers moving from the East Coast to China, however, were fetching just about $800. Clearly, there's a financial incentive to get as many available containers as possible into Asian manufacturers' hands even if it's at the cost of U.S. exporters. "There are very few requirements that a carrier actually has to take exports," Daniel Maffei, the FMC's chairman, said during a visit last week to the Port of Charleston. "It's a deregulated, market-based system, so in some ways that make sense. But when exporters have to compete with the opportunity cost of that empty box, that's what a lot of people just don't understand." The proposed Shipping Reform Act each body of Congress has passed its own version would give the commission authority to intervene when carriers unreasonably reject U.S. exports. It's expected to become law before the end of the year. "The legislation says there is an affirmative responsibility to take an export box unless the carrier can justify why it shouldn't," Maffei said. "That gives us the ability to investigate it. We have the experts who will be able to evaluate that and make a very good case if it's clearly a practice on the part of the carrier to not take exports. I'm worried about a systematic business model which doesn't take exports." Maffei said anecdotal evidence shows that U.S. exports are being intentionally left behind, but "part of the challenge is there hasn't been enough time that's passed to tell you whether there's any data." Of particular concern, he said, are so-called "pop-up carriers" new companies that lease a few ships hoping to take advantage of the high freight rates Asian exporters are willing to pay to get their goods to the U.S. So far, they're largely a West Coast phenomenon. "They're bringing in exports from a number of clients," Maffei said. "But if they are turning around (with) empties, that's inefficient and there are a lot of U.S. exports that would like to get on that ship. So, we've started an investigation of those lines to look at what they're doing and if that's a policy of theirs and have they thought about taking exports." Maffei said the export market is not as healthy as he'd like to see it, even in Charleston, where imports are the driving force behind record cargo totals as well as unprecedented backlogs in each of the last 14 months. "Charleston is a fairly diverse export port in terms of the kinds of products petroleum, a number of manufactured goods, cars," he said. "So, this is a good example of a port that can and should do more exports. But it's held back by the congestion issues that affect every port in the world, but certainly in the United States." The commission has stepped up its monitoring of container shipping lines since the COVID-19 pandemic started, auditing such practices as billing, fees charged to cargo owners who don't pick up their goods on time, and how loaded exports are treated versus empties. "We're putting sort of positive pressure on carriers to take more exports, but we're also investigating when exports aren't being taken to see if there are any violations of the Shipping Act," Maffei said, adding suspected violations are referred to the commission's Enforcement Bureau. But until the reform act becomes law, the commission has little leverage over carriers that refuse U.S. exports. "I do feel right now we are essentially at the limits of our authority," Maffei said. "Exports are mentioned (in the current Shipping Act), but there are very few requirements. It's not laid out in a way that all of us could be confident that any judge would uphold. We need to have it clear from Congress that that is in our purview." A rising tide lifts all boats, goes the old economic aphorism. It also can cast them offshore. Carnival Cruise Line found itself caught in such a sea change last week, when the State Ports Authority announced it won't renew its contract with the company when it expires in late 2024. "We have a very good relationship with Carnival. We have a lot of respect for them and have worked collaboratively with them to their benefit and our benefit," SPA chief executive officer Jim Newsome said Wednesday. "But this decision became clearer and clearer over time, and ultimately it's the best business decision for the port." It wasn't long ago that the operator of the locally based, 3,001-passenger Carnival Sunshine was aiming to secure a 20-year agreement to remain anchored at Union Pier Terminal in downtown Charleston, just steps away from the City Market and the rest of the Historic District's charms. My understanding is they love this market, theyre very successful in this market and the Sunshine has been a big hit for them, Newsome said in early 2020. Ink was never put to paper for the long-term deal. All the while, real estate values in downtown Charleston continued to climb to irresistible levels, which Newsome said "probably changed the calculus" of the Union Pier equation. "Weve always looked at it as a bottom-line trade-off between maritime business and non-maritime business, and that trade-off really shifted in the last couple of years," he said. Fits and starts The SPA took ownership of Union Pier from the city after lawmakers created the agency 80 years ago. The industrial property has been handling passengers and all variety of oceangoing cargo from cotton to bananas to lumber since at least the 1830s, according to local news archives. It was known as Union Wharf back in the day and was one of several steamship destinations that once lined the east side of the peninsula, from Tradd to Columbus streets. The city bought the string of maritime properties in 1921 for about $1.5 million. Union Wharf, with its wooden sheds and creaky docks, wasn't much to look at a century ago. It was in a dilapidated condition unfit for commercial use, the chairman of the municipal Port Utilities Commission said in a 1930 report to elected officials. By that time, the bones of the modern-day Union Pier were already in place. The city invested more than $300,000 in the mid-1920s on a new pile-supported, rail-served port terminal at the foot of Market Street. It measured 630 feet by 415 feet and was outfitted with two warehouses. Ten years ago, Charleston had no modern waterfront facilities such as the new Union Pier for handling foreign commerce, according to a 1926 news article. One of the first redevelopment proposals for the site surfaced in the early 1980s, when revitalization-minded Mayor Joe Riley floated plans for a mixed-use "Festival Marketplace" that was to be built on part of the 63-acre port terminal. The idea was abandoned about two years later. In the mid-1990s, the SPA began exploring options for its increasingly obsolescent but valuable piece of waterfront real estate, which was never equipped to deal with the port's bread-and-butter business of containerized cargo. That effort ended up on the shelf. Shortly after Newsome became CEO in 2009, the SPA and the city announced an update of the previous Union Pier overhaul plan. One idea was to relocate the cruise operations from the 1970s-era passenger terminal to the north end of the property. The decision infuriated nearby residents, preservationists and conservationists who want pleasure ships banished from the Historic District. The legal dispute that followed left the future of Union Pier in limbo for more than a decade. The opposition groups didn't take a victory lap last week when they learned that Carnival's days are numbered, saying in a joint statement that they're awaiting more details. Pier pressures The SPA began to distance itself from Union Pier, at least in a physical and geographical sense, when it decided to move its offices from a neighboring property on Concord Street to Mount Pleasant. In 2017, it sold its downtown headquarters to Lowe, a real estate investment firm that's in the throes of building a 255-room luxury hotel on the site. The ports authority took the relationship a step further in 2019. It hired Lowe to come up with a new reuse plan for the 25 acres of developable land at the Union Pier, which includes securing all zoning approvals. Newsome noted that the consulting deal lured back former Charleston planning chief Jacob Lindsey, who joined the Los Angeles-based company about 13 months after leaving the city for a new job in Colorado. "They're running point on the planning, and that planning really entails ... taking the steps needed to get this property to ... where theres a master plan that can be approved and ... developers can buy the property and do what's in their best interest on that property," Newsome said. Lowe already has stated that it intends to be among the bidders for Union Pier when the SPA starts seeking offers. The new math, swayed by the surging real estate tide downtown, didn't pencil out for Carnival, which began operating about year-round five-day cruises to the Bahamas from Charleston more than a decade ago. Parking requirements for a home-ported ship that generates a small slice of the SPA's revenue pie was one issue, Newsome said. The Miami-based line's ships will still be able to tie up at Union Pier after 2024 because the existing passenger terminal will remain in the SPA's hands to accommodate short-term "port-of-call" visits. "We will work with the ports authority to explore future opportunities in Charleston," a Carnival spokesman said last week. The port's decision to exit the year-round cruise ship business marks one of the last major strategic moves for Newsome, who's retiring June 30 after nearly 13 years at the helm. He said the long-elusive sale and redevelopment of Union Pier will put valuable government-owned property back on the tax rolls and give the public more access to the city's waterfront. Some of the proceeds will likely help pay down the $1.5 billion in debt the SPA has taken on to build a new container terminal in North Charleston and make other big-ticket investments to remain within the top 10 U.S. ports. Newsome declined to speculate about how much Union Pier will fetch once it hits the market, though he quipped, I have an idea." "I believe its safe to say that its a transformational amount of money. ... We're a capital-intensive business, so getting a proper return from what is likely the most valuable property on the East Coast of the United States is a really a good thing for our core business, which is growing our container business, our cargo business and really bringing economic benefit to the state of South Carolina and the region," he said. Prepare for sticker shock if you are traveling this summer If you haven't booked your summer vacation plans, you are already too late to snag the best deals, according to travel experts NORTH CHARLESTON Like many students, Octavia Edwards didn't learn about Juneteenth in school. So she was completely surprised to learn several years ago that Blacks in Texas didn't learn about their freedom until 1865 some two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Edwards then began to think about Charleston and the city's Gullah Geechee roots and the large number of slaves that entered the U.S. through the port city. Though there have been Juneteenth celebrations in the past, Edwards felt the day hadn't been getting its just due. "It's really up to us to make this thing like a big deal," Edwards said. Through her nonprofit, Passion Project Initiatives Inc., Edwards launched the Juneteenth Family Fest last year. The program, which had a successful showing despite rainy weather, returns June 18 with higher expectations. "We're using that platform to offer resources, education, empowerment and community engagement," Edwards said. Now a federal holiday, Juneteenth's official day is June 19. The day lends an opportunity to remember the journey of African Americans and to celebrate their contributions. The family fest seeks to do just that. The free event at North Charleston's Riverfront Park will feature local vendors, food trucks, scholarship giveaways, an HBCU college fair, musical performances from local artists and a fireworks show. One critique that guests gave after last year's program was the need for more interactive activities, Edwards said. "We're really focused on that ... giving more of a rich experience with all of our community partners and sponsors," Edwards said. The festival will be co-hosted by Kris Kaylin and Geechie Motivator. While July 4 celebrates America's independence from Great Britain, Juneteenth acknowledges Black people's freedom, Kaylin said. Kaylin said there aren't many spaces in the Charleston area for Black people to come together, celebrate their culture and be their authentic selves. Last year's Juneteenth fest provided that space, she said. "It just felt great to be loud, proud and Black," Kaylin said. Organizers are expecting a large turnout. More than 4,000 people have already registered for the festival, Edwards said. "We just cannot be any more satisfied with the support that we're getting just from the community," she said. Passion Project has taken steps to ensure a large turnout. The nonprofit coordinated with other event organizers around the Lowcountry to ensure the Riverfront Park festival didn't conflict with other Juneteenth events happening throughout the weekend. The Lowcountry Juneteenth Experience was established to ensure celebrations didn't overlap, she said. "We can call support and come out to each other's events," she said. ANDREWS The discovery of Brittanee Drexel's remains allowed her family to begin feeling some closure last week, but another family is still awaiting conclusion in their years-long missing persons case. The arrest of Raymond Moody in connection with Drexel's 2009 killing has brought renewed attention to the Georgetown County case of Crystal Soles, who went missing in 2005. Moody, a sex offender, was named a person of interest in Soles' disappearance. "I really want to bring Crystal home," Gail Soles, Crystal's mother, said while sitting in her living room surrounded by family photos. "She's my baby." On Jan. 24, 2005, Crystal Soles called her father, Wingate, from Shaw's Corner Store in Andrews to ask for a ride to their home about five miles away. Wingate was too sick to pick her up, Gail said, so Crystal said she would walk home instead. Gail Soles, who was at work at the time Crystal called her father, said she thinks her daughter found a ride, mentioning that she once heard that the 28-year-old was picked up in a red truck. The Soles family has not heard from Crystal since. Moody's ties to both cases created a connection with the Soles and Drexel families. After he was arrested May 4 for obstruction of justice, Moody told investigators where the 17-year-old Drexel was buried, on a wooded property off Old Town Avenue west of Georgetown, authorities said. Moody was later charged with murder, kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. "My heart really goes out to the Drexel family, and the mom and the dad," Soles said. "I know it's really hard on them, too, and I just hope them happiness and peace now. They got a closure, and I just hope that it'll help them now." Moody was named a person of interest in both Brittanee's and Crystal's disappearances in 2012. A registered sex offender, Moody entered the California state prison system in December 1983 to serve a 40-year, four-month sentence for sodomy of a child under the age of 14 while inflicting great bodily injury, rape with force/threat of violence, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 and assault with intent to commit mayhem, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Moody was released on parole supervision in June 2004, and a background check indicates he moved to the Georgetown area shortly thereafter. But Soles doesn't think Moody is the culprit in Crystal's disappearance, calling it a gut feeling. "My heart tells me he was not involved," she said. "I don't know why, but I just know it." Moody was still under parole supervision when Soles disappeared but had been free of supervision for nearly two years when Drexel disappeared on April 25, 2009. Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told a Charleston television station that authorities don't believe Moody is responsible for Soles' disappearance. Soles said she wants the Andrews Police Department to hand over her daughter's case to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. One of the reasons, she said, is that Andrews police can't seem to hold on to police chiefs for very long. Andrews, a town of 2,575 straddling the Georgetown-Williamsburg county line, has cycled through at least five police chiefs in the past decade. "So it's really never worked on," Soles said. The current police chief, William Zurcher, was recently placed on leave after less than a year on the job amid a SLED investigation into sexual assault allegations. "We talked a little bit, and I did ask him is he (Zurcher) working on Crystal's case, he said 'Yes,' " Soles said. "But he said he couldn't discuss it with me. But he seemed like he was taking an interest in it. And I was hoping somebody would, because it's been 17 years." Andrews Police did not respond to calls seeking comment. Sitting in her living room, Soles remembers her daughter as easygoing and always happy. She recalls the nickname of "Frog" that Crystal gained for sticking her tongue out at her brothers. One of her favorite memories remains that of Crystal and Crystal's son, who was five years old at the time of her disappearance, playing on the floor, giggling and watching television. "She didn't meet no strangers," Soles said. The case has outlasted the lives of Crystal's father, who died in 2006, and one of her brothers, Richard, who passed away in 2007. "Please, anybody that knows anything, please come forward and help us," Soles said. May we never forget freedom is not free For a relatively small state, South Carolina plays a large role in the nation's defense. From major bases with active-duty personnel and reservists, to defense contractors and their civilian workforce, the economic effect of the U.S. military on the Palmetto State is substantial. In its most recent joint report with the S.C. Military Base Task Force, the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business said the annual impact of the military community is $25.3 billion more than 8 percent of the state's economy. The military is an indelible part of South Carolina with eight major installations and our neighbor, Fort Gordon, Georgia," said Dan Beatty, chairman of the task force. "We have the 10th-largest number of military personnel of any state, and have the eighth-largest number of military retirees in the nation. The study shows the bases support 62,520 Department of Defense personnel from all the services with $2.6 billion in payroll. Some 752 firms are executing DOD contracts worth more than $2 billion. The military presence translates to 191,519 full-time jobs that are supported, directly or indirectly, by the military along with $10.5 billion in income for state residents, according to the report. Retired Army Maj. Gen. William Grimsley, secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department, said the agency advocates every day for everyone associated with the bases. Our installations are critical to our nations national security, and they bring a direct and substantial economic impact to the state. More importantly, however, those in uniform and their families bring unique experiences, skills and values into the South Carolina community. They make invaluable contributions that simply cannot be measured in dollars," he said. "Military people and facilities are quite literally woven into the fabric of South Carolinas culture, and our great state would be something less than it is without them. Here is a look at those bases, people and financial impact: Charleston The total annual economic impact of military-related activity of the region is $10.8 billion, the most in the state: Joint Base Charleston U.S. Coast Guard Army Corps of Engineers Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Midlands The region is second in annual military-related economic impact at $4.1 billion: Fort Jackson McEntire Joint National Guard Base Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Sumter The region is third with an annual impact of $2.5 billion: Shaw Air Force Base U.S. Army Central Command Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Beaufort The region is fourth with an annual impact of $2.3 billion: Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Naval Hospital Beaufort Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Upstate Sign up for our SC Military Digest newsletter Get exclusive military reporting, updates from Palmetto State bases, headlines from around the globe and more delivered to your inbox each Tuesday. Email Sign up! The economic impact of the region is fifth at $2.2 billion: Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Aiken/North Augusta The region's annual impact is sixth at $776.3 million: National Nuclear Security Administration Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Grand Strand The annual military-related impact is seventh at $642.5 million: Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Rock Hill The annual economic impact is eighth at $460.8 million: Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Pee Dee The annual economic impact is ninth at $432.4 million: Department of Defense contracting firms Military retirees and veterans S.C. National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Reservists and retirees The study found the total economic impact of the Army Reserve on the state is $300.6 million annually. That's about 5,390 jobs and $142.9 million in labor income. The economic impact of the S.C. National Guard totals $815.3 million annually. This translates to some 15,809 jobs and $429.9 million in income. "Our Guard and Reserve personnel are located in every county in the state, serving military as well as the business community," Beatty said. "Importantly, our service members do not serve alone as their families are an integral part of our schools, workplace and places of worship." The study also found: The military community generates 1 of 12 jobs in South Carolina. An estimated $884.1 million in annual state tax revenue can be linked to the military. There are 417,515 veterans in the state, and 56,969 are military retirees. Military retirees bring in $1.6 billion in DOD-funded retirement income. The Department of Veterans Affairs spends about $3.5 billion on state veterans' medical care and other benefits. "The strategic importance of South Carolinas military community as part of the broader United States military is critical," wrote Joseph Von Nessen, research economist with USC, in the study. "South Carolinas military community provides a variety of resources that the nation regularly draws from for training, combat, and support services." Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. Insights Their number is growing year by year, and it wont be long before they take over the country. Just wait and see what happens then! Did you e Read more President Biden gave commencement speeches at the Naval Academy on Friday and at the University of Delaware on Saturday. The White House has posted transcripts of his remarks here (Naval Academy) and here (Delaware). Going where the mainstream media prefer not to go since January 2021, RedStates Nick Arama fact-checks and otherwise assesses them here (Biden Hits New Heights With Festival of Lies During Navy Graduation Speech) and here (Bidens Weekend of Lies: Lying About Naval Appointment, More Falsehoods at U of Delaware). Arama has done the hard work. I thought I might add a quick look at the official corrections inserted by the anonymous White House Bracketologist in the Naval Academy remarks. What a job he or she has in the Biden era. Where are the profiles of this heroic figure? In his Naval Academy remarks we find this: And thank you, Admiral Admiral Buck, for the work you and your team have done to put these young men and women in shape, when they arrived here four days [years] ago on I-Day, into officers of the Armed Services of the United States of America. And this: For the first time if I can hesitate for a second here did anybody think, when I called for sanctions against Russia, that in addition to NATO, that Australia, Japan, North [South] Korea, some of the ASEAN countries, would stand up and support those sanctions? The world is moving so rapidly. I need not tell you aviators. Within the next decade, youre going to be able to circumvent the world in within the atmosphere in a little less than a little more than an hour. Things are changing. To adapt the words of the Dylan song: He used to care, but things are changing. The anonymous White House Bracketologist missed this one: Before I departed Asia before I left for Asia, I should say, I got a phone call from the Prime Minister of Sweden and the President of Finland could they come and see me in the Oval. They came to ask me whether I would support them joining NATO. The actions taken by Putin were an attempt to to use my phrase to Findalize all of Europe make it all neutral. Instead, he NATOized all of Europe. None dare call it Findalization. At the University of Delaware the Biden succeeded in reading the text loaded into the teleprompter without notable mishap. I would simply like to point out this howler: Im optimistic. Ive never been more optimistic in my entire life. And heres why and I mean this, my word as a Biden. Its almost funny. Atiku comes againThe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday night re-nominated its 2019 standard-bearer, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, for the 2019 presidential election. Mr Abubakar polled 371 votes to beat back a strong challenge by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike who recorded 237 votes from the 767 delegates accredited for the primary at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. Other candidates who recorded votes were former Senate President Bukola Saraki (70), Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel (38), Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed (20), former Senate President Pius Anyim (14), former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa (1) and only female aspirant, Oliver Diana (1). Four other aspirants recorded zero votes. Two others, Aminu Tambuwal and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, had withdrawn from the race before the voting started. It later emerged that their withdrawal was in deference to power brokers in the party out to stop Mr Wike at all costs. The power brokers, reportedly represented on the ground in Abuja by a retired army general and former National Security Adviser, Aliyu Mohammed, and former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, were alarmed by the prospects of Mr Wike picking the ticket. Aside from considering the governor as un-presidential in carriage and conduct, they also feared that he would be easily beaten at the general election by the All Progressives Congress (APC), despite the much-reported confusion going on in the ruling party over an alleged plot to conscript former President Goodluck Jonathan, a PDP member, as its own candidate. Power brokers The power brokers are mostly former military generals from the northern part of Nigeria but have among them a former president from the south. They had long tried to produce a sole candidate from the region as the focal point of support for northern delegates and their southern allies. According to sources close to some of the northern aspirants, the power brokers, or elders as they are called in the circle, had initially ruled out Mr Tambuwal because his home North-west zone has produced two presidents in this dispensation, including the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari. They also did not favour Mr Abubakar because he has had his chances, the former vice president had received the backing of the group at the PDP primaries in 2011 and 2019. They had then settled on Messrs Saraki and Mohammed, whose two zones (North Central and North East respectively) have never produced an elected president, with the understanding that it would be easier to persuade one of them to stand down for the other. However, they soon discovered that neither of those two was equipped in terms of political and financial capital to withstand a Tsunami that had appeared on the scene in the form of the Rivers State governor. Although Messrs Saraki and Mohammed could not agree between themselves on the northern consensus candidate, they also both refused to step down for Mr Abubakar after the power brokers finally settled on him as their candidate again. Mr Tambuwal too, who was not an ally of Mr Abubakar, was also not disposed to stepping down until he caved in under massive pressure from political, traditional and religious leaders from across the region. After committing himself to withdraw from the race, he also agreed to strategically delay the announcement until just before voting started, when it was too late for Mr Wike to deploy an effective countermeasure. The Rivers State governor had been keenly following developments and had reached out to some of the aspirants to urge them not to withdraw, having also identified Mr Abubakar as his main rival. As things turned out, Messrs Saraki and Mohammed stayed on in the race but Mr Abubakar more than made up for the 90 votes lost to them by the votes he attracted from his southern allies and those persuaded by a former president. Southern disunity While the North was concentrating its forces, the South remained divided. Although Mr Wike got support from states like Cross Rivers, Abia, Oyo and Ekiti, most delegates from southern states like Enugu, Delta and Osun are believed to have gone for Mr Abubakar. But the last moment withdrawal of Mr Tambuwal was said to have shocked him as much as being abandoned by some of his southern neighbours. Mr Wike supported Mr Tambuwals ambition when he hosted the 2019 presidential primary of the party and had also pleaded with the Sokoto governor to at least stay on the ballot. The governor had been a heavy financier of the party across the country and through thick and thin. Now, he has been taught some lessons on national politics. Atiku 2023 campaign With his job done at the convention, Mr Abubakar now has to take time off to plan his campaign for the 2023 election. In his acceptance speech after his nomination had been certified, the candidate said: Today, the battle to rebuild and unite our great country moves forward. Im honoured to be named the PDP candidate. I look forward to speaking with Nigerians across the country, taking the message of hope and unity as we build one future for one people. Mr Abubakar has been running for president since 1992, but 2023 will be the third time he will be appearing on the ballot paper, aside from 1999 and 2003 when he was the running mate of Olusegun Obasanjo. Many in the PDP genuinely see Mr Abubakar as the best the opposition party can present against the ruling APC. The kernel of the argument that persuaded the PDP to jettison its zoning policy and throw its presidential primary open is that the party should field the best candidate it can find. Some party members and sympathisers also believe that Mr Abubakar was cheated by President Buhari in the 2019 election, although his petition was given short shrift by the tribunal and especially the Supreme Court. With the incumbent no longer in the race, Mr Abubakar will be confident of doing better in the North than he did the last time. And if he maintains the same level of support he got in the south, the perennial presidential hopeful may finally help his party recover its favourite object: power. APC sleepwalking into crisis The APC was to begin its own National Convention to elect its presidential candidate for the 2023 election on Monday, which would have been hours after the opposition PDP rounded off its own. But on Friday, the ruling party postponed the event, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) extended by six days the deadline for the submission of the lists of candidates for the 2020 General Election. The party said the convention will now hold between June 6 and 8. Many Nigerians have accused the APC of forcing INEC to flip flop and grant the extension, as the commission had vowed not to change its timetable, following previous requests by some parties for an extension. Speaking with the Punch, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, captured the anger that trailed the development. What has happened is a case of the witch cried yesterday and the child died today. The APC had postponed its screening of candidates. Barely 24 hours later, INEC postponed the deadline for primaries. INEC will have to convince the public of its readiness to operate without interference from anybody. INEC must not let the ruling party, lawyers or the courts subvert the democratic process, he warned. Other observers largely agreed that APC forced INEC to make the change as part of plots by some forces in the party to impose former President Goodluck Jonathan as the consensus candidate of the party. The audacious plot disregards the fact that 28 aspirants paid N100 million each to contest the partys presidential primary, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the partys national leader, Bola Tinubu, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, and many governors and former ministers. The former ministers had resigned to take part in the primary. It is unclear how the party expects to draft Mr Jonathan into the race at this late hour without causing an implosion in the party. Mr Jonathan is still a member of the PDP, as the opposition party acknowledged in the brochure for its National Convention on Saturday. He has also not declared for the APC about two weeks ago he dissociated from a group that bought an APC nomination form in his name. That group was reportedly sponsored by a northern governor said to be one of three governors positioning for nomination as Mr Jonathans running mate if their plot succeeds. Meanwhile, President Buhari, who was said to have met Mr Jonathan in the plot, has refused to say anything about the confusion. Instead, he jetted out last week to Malabo in Equatorial Guinea while his party was preparing for the convention to nominate his successor. Speaking in an interview with Punch newspaper on Sunday, a former senator and campaigner for Mr Osinbajo, Sola Adeyeye, expressed incredulity on the development. Honestly, I think its not possible. I think some people are basically playing a game with the psyche of Nigerians. I think these are evil people. I dont see how Jonathan will become the presidential candidate of the APC, not even after the man himself has repeatedly debunked the idea. But if by any act of commission or omission some rascals work that out, I can predict that the APC will collapse if Jonathan becomes its candidate. When did he become a member of the party? In any case, in what other civil nation do they see this kind of nonsense being peddled? I dont think it will happen. I think some people are basically just playing with that, Mr Adeyeye said. Cracks in NWC The mischief is believed to have contributed to a crack in the partys National Working Committee which appeared on Saturday. A National Vice Chairman, Salihu Lukman, in a letter dated May 27, 2022, and addressed to Mr Adamu, said the National Chairman was frustrating the screening of the presidential aspirants. Presidential aspirants are yet to be screened. The official explanation is that you are awaiting final consultation with President Buhari. At the risk of sounding agitated, this is unfair to the president because to the best of my understanding, it is an attempt to use his name to give excuses for failure. Mr Lukman copied President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, Senate President Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, first interim chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande, Mr Tinubu, former national chairman Adams Oshiomole, Ogbonnaya Onu and all the NWC members. APC has again rescheduled the screening of the presidential aspirants for Monday and Tuesday, even though no one knows for sure how many they are. Did leaders of the party take notice of the successful primary of its main rival? That may be seen in how the secretive APC goes into its own from this week. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Joseph Ameh, the ex-husband of famous Nigerian dancer Kafayat Oluwatoyin better known as Kaffy, has denied sleeping with her best friend. This is the first time the father-of-two would speak about their divorce or react to his estranged wifes claims. The union, which was contracted on June 2, 2012, lasted for nine years. Kaffy, in an interview with a media personality Chude Jideonwo, claimed her husband cheated on her with her best friend, and she started healing when she stopped sleeping with him. Kaffy said she was celibate for three years before her marriage crashed. Reacting to his estranged wifes allegations, Mr Ameh, in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Sunday, refuted claims from his wife that he slept with her best friend. The celebrity drummer acknowledged his mistakes and said he had decided to move on. His statement: I made many silly mistakes in my life and marriage. I take full responsibility for all my foolishness with absolutely no excuses. However, I never slept with your best friend or close pals- neither have I ever been violent towards you, contrary to the narratives flying around me. Anyway, It has been a year since the marriage officially ended. Ive tried to move on, and I do advise you to do the same too. I wish all the very best to both of us as we move on maturely. The end of our marriage should not be the end of our lives. This is the first and last time I will speak on this subject. Lessons Although the couple is successful in their own right, Kaffy said the divorce gave both of them a chance to grow. Kaffy said she doesnt blame herself or her husband for the divorce after nine years. According to her, the divorce would help them become better and more incredible people, and it would help them achieve their assignment, which they believed was given to them. Mr Ameh, a businessman, was once a drummer for P-Square a few years ago. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Following a ten-week intensive training on post-production techniques, ten students have emerged as graduates from the Kunle Afolayan Production (KAP) Film and Television Academy. The diploma course is a partnership programme with the University of Southern Californias (USC) School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) and the global streaming platform Netflix. The training was designed to impart knowledge to improve the skill of young filmmakers and, by extension, improve the overall production quality of films from the local film industry. Toye Peter, Ifeanyi Passion, Todumu Adegoke, Adesuwa Omon, Ugbede Peter, Oyinbra Fegha, Emeka Egbueui, Unyime Patrick, Temitope Folarin and Candace John-Jumbo were each awarded a diploma in post-production editing (Picture Cropping, Editing and Sound Design). Tuition-free, the entire course module was estimated to be in the margin of N500,000. Initiative Being one of the two training programmes planned for rollout this year by KAP, the KAP-USC programme, which focuses on post-production, is the brainchild of celebrated filmmaker Kunle Afolayan. Afolayan elaborated that the scheme was an owed responsibility to the next generation of filmmakers. He said he was passing the torch to them to replicate greatness in filmmaking than what has been achieved so far. The programme is the successor to his earlier venture to educate filmmakers leveraging the internet: Film Masterclass with Kunle Afolayan, a web series masterclass he conceived three years ago. I hate to say that there was no structure; there was a structure. But you cannot compare it to structures in other places worldwide, Afolayan said as he recalled enrolling in one of Tunde Kelanis film classes years back in Abeokuta. Despite not having those structures from other places, we can still do stuff. Our films are now going international. One of the reasons why I thought it was necessary to start a training programme was so that we can impact and build a new generation of filmmakers in our little way. Many people cant afford these courses, but thank God for technology; it is changing how things are done, he concluded. The ceremonys keynote, delivered by award-winning writer and producer Femi Odugbemi, highlighted the importance of institutional training for the sustainability of the film industry. Just a decade ago, there were less than ten training programmes available in the country, today, there are dozens, Odugbemi noted. So there is general agreement that the quality of the product needs to improve and that the opportunities of international exposure and distribution will come only with a certain commitment to global best practices and technical quality and artistic exploration. Despite these developments, he, however, noted that for such programmes to bear more fruits, film professionals must be willing to esteem the learning experience as critical, not just in the economic world, but to their personal growth as artists and as storytellers. The convocation ceremony at the KAP Hub in Ikeja, Lagos, played host to several Nollywood filmmakers and creatives. Some of the notable personalities include veteran filmmaker Tunde Kelani; filmmaker Mahmood Ali-Balogun; actress Joke Silva; Professor Duro Oni; Executive Director, Urban Vision Limited, Tola Odunsi; and comedian Babatunde Adewale etc. The first edition of the KAP-USC programme was facilitated by Dough Blush, Stephen Flick and Richard Burton. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 A fresh crisis is brewing in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the administration of the party and the uncertainty surrounding the conduct of its presidential primary. The Vice Chairman (North-west), Salihu Lukman, in a letter written to the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, dated May 27, alleged that the screening of the presidential aspirants of the party was postponed indefinitely because Mr Adamu claimed he was yet to consult with the president, Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Lukman also alleged that the national convention had been handled shoddily and that a committee set up under the chairmanship of the Deputy National Chairman (North), Abubakar Kyari, with the task of managing all the processes, failed to discharge its function. The APC chief wrote the three-page letter, titled Rebuilding APC: Need for a new Nigeria, before the party postponed its convention on Thursday The APC had fixed its convention for May 29 and 30 to elect its presidential candidate for the 2023 election but postponed it to between June 6 and 8 after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) extended the deadline for the conduct of primaries from June 3 to June 9. There are about 23 aspirants jostling for the presidential ticket of the ruling party. Mr Lukman, a former director general of the Progressives Governors Forum, the umbrella body of APC governors, accused the party of handling the special convention casually and informally, adding that the official explanation was nothing but an unacceptable excuse by the leader of the party. Although, the National Convention to elect the partys presidential candidate is scheduled for May 29 and 30, less than 48 hours, we are yet to have a convention committee in place. In fact, the presidential aspirants have not been screened. The official explanation is that you are waiting for the final consultation with President Buhari. At the risk of sounding agitated, this is unfair to President Buhari because to the best of my understanding it is an attempt to use the presidents name to give excuses for failure, if it happens, which should not be the case. Critical challenges of managing important tasks such as organising National Convention to produce presidential candidates of the party is being handled informally. This should not be so, and everything must be done to correct that, he said. The APC chieftain said the party is descending into an era of over-centralisation in the implementation of party decisions around the national chairman. Mr Lukman also raised concerns over the poor management of the national secretariat of the party and the non-implementation of the decisions of the NWC. He alleged that the NWC under Mr Adamu had raised expectations of the members of the party and the non-implementation of the decisions could derail the party. Under your leadership, the current NWC is gradually snowballing into similar circumstances whereby decisions taken are allowed to lay bare and, in some instances, changed without necessarily taking needed steps to carry members along. He also revealed that a transition committee discovered that the party has not been complying with certain statutory requirements for taxation, pension and insurance benefits as provided by relevant labour laws, while over 200 employees are without valid employment letters. Mr Lukman noted that despite the findings of the transition committee, the NWC has ignored all initiatives for reform of the party secretariat. On a familiar turf Mr Lukman has a long history of speaking up against APC leadership. The former PGF DG was very vocal against the leadership of Adams Oshiomhole. With the use of open letters and press statements, Mr Lukman repeatedly criticised the former chairman and members of the then NWC. His stance then was suspected to be that of some APC governors, who were hell-bent on removing Mr Oshiomhole from office ahead of the 2023 general elections. In a similar trend, Mr Lukman was very critical of the defunct Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) led by the Governor Mala Buni of Yobe State over its inability to organise a national convention and its alleged plan to extend its tenure. In January, Mr Lukman stepped down following speculations that the APC governors were planning to sack him. In one of his statements issued four days before his resignation, the former PGF DG slammed the caretaker committee of the party for not being forthright with its decision on the date for the conduct of its proposed national convention. He said he believed the action of the committee was a ploy to extend its tenure and further earn bad publicity for the ruling party. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has reacted to the emergence of Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 presidential election. In a statement Sunday morning , Mr Tinubu, congratulated Atiku for his victory at the keenly contested primary and praised his political experience and patriotism. He, however, threw a challenge at the former vice president, saying he and his party will have to explain why Nigerians should give them another opportunity, after squandering 16 years at the central government, without much to show. Nigerians are yet to forget the national ruin and mismanagement of our country for 16 years by successive PDP administration and this bad memory will dog the campaign of the PDP Candidate, Mr Tinubu said via the statement by the Director, Media and Communication of his campaign organisation, Bayo Onanuga. The former Lagos governor also said he was looking forward to squaring up with Atiku as a worthy opponent in the coming presidential election. Mr Tinubu is a frontline presidential aspirant on the platform of the ruling APC, which will hold its primary next week. With the PDP picking its candidate from the North, which has more registered voters than the south, it remains unclear if the APC will be bold enough to nominate Mr Tinubu from the south as its flagbearer for the election. SEE BELOW MR TINUBUS FULL STATEMENT ON ATIKUS VICTORY PRESS RELEASE Tinubu congratulates Atiku, welcomes former Vice President to Presidential contest National Leader of All Progressives Congress and frontline presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for emerging as the flag bearer of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, following the primary conducted at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Saturday. Tinubu commended Atiku for his patriotism and commitment to Nigerias progress. Tinubu also congratulated the other contestants for the orderly and peaceful way they conducted themselves and for pledging to rally round the winner, in the true spirit of democratic sportsmanship. He expected the former Vice-president , who was also the 2019 presidential candidate of the PDP, to be his worthy opponent, by the Grace of God and the support of APC delegates, in the coming 2023 President election. The APC National Leader said Atikus victory didnt come as a surprise to Nigerians because of his vast experience as a statesman and veteran of many presidential contests from 1993. While welcoming the PDP candidate to the race, Tinubu added that the coming election should be about issues that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians; bring peace, progress, political stability and solve myriad of sociopolitical challenges and insecurity currently facing the country. I welcome the victory of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the just concluded primary. I look forward to squaring up with him as a worthy opponent in the coming election. I have known the former Vice President as a formidable politician and a patriot who believes in the unity and progress of our dear country. READ ALSO: Atiku emerges PDP presidential candidate for 2023 election As we move further into the election season, I charge the PDP presidential candidate and all political actors across Party lines that we should make this election season one that is devoid of bitterness, rancour and strife. We should make our campaigns peaceful and issue based. Election season should be a festival of ideas that will uplift our country and improve the living condition of all our people. Unfortunately for the PDP, its candidate will be burdened to explain why Nigerians should give it another opportunity, after squandering 16 years at the central government, without much to show. Nigerians are yet to forget the national ruin and mismanagement of our country for 16 years by successive PDP administration and this bad memory will dog the campaign of the PDP Candidate Nevertheless, I once again congratulate our former Vice President for his victory in his partys primary. Bayo Onanuga Director, Media & Communication Tinubu Campaign Organisation WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 At the beginning of the Second Republic in 1979, the then political leader of the Tiv people, Joseph Tarka, and his son, Simon, were both elected to the National Assembly. The father was elected senator while the son was elected to the House of Representatives. Before then, Alvan Ikoku, whose image is on the N10 note, contested against his son, Samuel, for a seat in the Eastern assembly in 1957. Samuel, later well-known as S.G. Ikoku, was 34 years old when he defeated his 56-year-old father and became the minority leader of the assembly. That development is alive in the Fourth Republic as families are silently building political dynasties or cloning themselves in important offices. Olusola Saraki, the strongman of Kwara politics, was the Senate Leader when Mr Tarka was a senator. Two of Mr Sarakis children have been elected to the National Assembly. Bukola and Gbemisola have both not only occupied the same senate seat for Kwara Central District that their father held for four years, but the former has also been the Senate President between 2015 and 2019. Gbemisola, now the acting minister of transportation, spent a term in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate before her brother took over the Senate seat from her to spend his own two terms. Their dynastic hold on the seat and Kwara politics ended in 2019 with the Otoge (Enough is Enough) revolt. Mr Saraki, also like his father did for 20 years between 1978 and 1998, is currently running for president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In Yobe State, North-east Nigeria, then Governor Bukar Ibrahim, in 2004, appointed one of his wives, Khadijat Ibrahim, as commissioner for transport and energy. Mrs Ibrahim was later elected into the House of Representatives before being appointed minister of state for foreign affairs in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari. She resigned in 2018 to contest against her stepson, Mohammed, for the APC ticket to the House of Representatives election. Mrs Ibrahim won the primary with a wide margin and also won the election. Their patriarch, Mr Ibrahim, after serving three terms as governor (January-November 1993 and 1999-2007) went on to serve three consecutive terms as senator (2007-2019). Not peculiar to Nigeria In the hereditary monarchical system of government, power usually moves from father to son. This is not common in plural democracies, which is why any occurrence of it becomes remarkable. However, such feats have been recorded in many countries, including in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The Kennedy and Bush families easily come to mind in the United States of America. Robert Kennedy served as attorney general in the administration of his brother, President John Kennedy while George Bush senior and junior both served as presidents within eight years. Bush junior and his brother had been governors of different states at the same time too. In Africa, Jomo Kenyatta once served as President while his son, Uhuru is the incumbent. Also, Joseph Kabila became president of the Democratic Republic of Congo after his father Laurent was assassinated, while Faure Eyademas of Togo and Ali Bongo of Gabon succeeded their late fathers as presidents. Ahead of 2023? With Nigerias economy distressed, politics now seems a major lucrative business for many politically influential families. Whether in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), political office holders are not only seeking more time in office but are also installing members of their immediate families, creating paths for them. From South to North, the situation is the same. Ahead of the 2023 general elections, many politicians want to bring members of their nuclear families on board. The Akeredolus Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is a second-term governor of Ondo State. His wife, Betty, is seeking the ticket of the APC to contest the senatorial election in the Imo East district. Mrs Anyanwu-Akeredolu declared her senatorial ambition in April. Meanwhile, their son, Babajide, has since 2021 been the director-general of the performance and project implementation monitoring unit of his fathers government. The appointment of the young Akeredolu was one of the first made by the governor following his reelection. Obanikoros Musiliu Obanikoro served as senator for Lagos Central District on the platform of Alliance for Democracy, and later PDP, between 2003 and 2007. His son, Ibrahim, had also been contesting elections on the platform of PDP without success until 2019 when he won on the ticket of APC to represent the Eti-Osa federal constituency in the House of Representatives. On Friday, the junior Obanikoro narrowly lost his reelection bid to a son of an influential royal family the Elegusis. The senior Obanikoro also contested but lost the APC ticket for the Lagos West Senatorial District seat. Idiat Adebule, a former deputy governor of the state won the primary. Ayodele Fayose Joju Fayose was on Sunday nominated as PDPs candidate for Ekiti Central Federal Constituency. His father, Ayodele, the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, contested the presidential primary of the PDP but lost to ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The Okowas Ifeanyi Okowa is the governor of Delta State. His daughter, Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, was at the weekend nominated as the PDP candidate for Ika North East federal constituency in Delta State. Mr Okowas daughter has also been joined by the daughter of a former governor of the state, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, for the Ethiope federal constituency in the state. The Adelekes Since the days of their patriarch, Ayoola Adeleke, a former senator in the old Oyo State, the Adeleke family of Ede, in the present day Osun State, has remained influential in the politics of the state. The late Adelekes deceased son, Adetunji, became the first governor of the state in the aborted Third Republic and was a senator until his death in 2017, when he was replaced by his brother, Ademola. Ademola has since 2018 been running for the governorship seat of the state. He is again the candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming July 16 governorship election in the state. The Lamidos A son of former Governor Sule Lamido was on Wednesday elected the governorship candidate of the PDP for the state. The Gandujes In Kano, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje recently withdrew from the race to the senate as a result of conflict with members of the party but his son, Umar, on Friday, won the ruling partys ticket for the House of Representatives election. Meanwhile, Mr Gandujes son-in-law, Idris Abiola-Ajimobi, also won the APC ticket for the Ibadan South-west II state constituency in Oyo State. Mr Ajimobi is the son of the late former governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi. El-rufai Mr El-rufai is billed to complete his second term of office next year. But his son, Bello, has secured the APC ticket to represent his constituency in the House of Representatives during the 2023 general elections. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, says the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has made it necessary for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to choose its candidate from the north if the party must retain power in 2023. Mr Kalu, in a statement he issued shortly after Mr Abubakar was declared winner of Saturdays PDP primary, specifically said the APC should pick its candidate from the North-east because Mr Abubakar is from the region. Mr Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, narrowed the choice to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, who is from Yobe State in the North-east. Mr Lawan is one of the APC presidential aspirants. The current Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the former governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, and the former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, are some of the leading presidential aspirants in the APC. Congratulations to the PDP for electing a North Easterner, Mr Kalu said in the statement posted on Facebook. Nigerians must have seen what I saw yesterday. For our party the APC, it is no longer feasible to talk about Southern candidates except the APC wants to go on political retirement, he said. Senator Kalu urged the APC national leadership and President Muhammadu Buhari to force the APC to pick its presidential candidate from the North-east. I urge the National Chairman of the party and the entire NWC to stamp their feet and zone APC presidential ticket to the North East. President Muhammadu Buhari has a right to choose his successor, and I call on him to pick Senator Ahmad Lawan as his successor. The senator further explained why Mr Buhari should force the APC to pick its candidate from the North-east. In every democratic setting, presidents and governors support and pick their successors, he said. I call on President Buhari to pick a successor from the North East and that will be the equity the South-East needs. With the North East, the cycle will be closest to completion of regions producing the president of Nigeria, he said. He called on other APC presidential aspirants to drop their ambition and support Mr Lawan. Mr Kalu was himself a presidential aspirant in the APC. He later dropped out of the race and declared his support for Mr Lawan. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its governorship primaries on Wednesday across the country ahead of the 2023 general elections. The exercise did not however hold in eight states where the cycle elections are held at different times. The states are, Anambra, Imo, Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Kogi, Imo and Osun. The governorship primary did not also hold in Ebonyi State due to the lingering leadership crisis in the state chapter of the party which has frustrated efforts to conduct the delegate election across the wards. However, a significant trend in the states where the exercise was held is that nearly all the candidates who emerged victorious in the primaries were candidates of the sitting governors. Apart from Oyo and Adamawa States where the sitting governors are seeking re-election, the rest clinched the governorship tickets of the party on the strength and backing of their state governors. Another constant is that there is no woman among the PDP candidates, continuing a trend of male dominance in Nigerian elections and governance. Here are the brief profiles of the candidates that emerged after the exercise. Enugu State Peter Mbah A former state commissioner for finance, Mr Mbah, who hails from Owo, in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state, also served as the chief of staff under the administration of former governor Chimaroke Nnamani. The PDP candidate holds LL. B in Law from the University of East London and the same certificate in Maritime Law from Lagos State University. Abia State Eleazar Ikonne He is a former Vice-Chancellor of Abia State University, Uturu. He also served as the Rector of Abia State Polytechnic between 2014 and 2015. He hails from Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government of the state. The 65-year-old professor of Optometry was the state governors anointed candidate. Lagos State Oladije Adediran (aka Jandor) Mr Adediran is a journalist and chairman and CEO of Core Media Group, a conglomerate consisting of other companies including CoreTVNews. The 44-year-old hails from Aworiland in Osolu and Elete Kingdoms of Ojo Local Government Area of the state. He defected to PDP from APC in January, this year. Ogun State (Two from parallel primaries) Ladi Adebutu and Segun Sowuwmni Ladi Adebutu A businessman and politician, Mr Adebutu was elected, in 2015, as a member of the House of Representatives, to represent Remo, Shagamu and Ikenne constituency. At the age of 30, he won his seat in the National Assembly in 1992 to represent his constituency under the platform of the now-defunct Social Democratic Party. Segun Sowuwmni Mr Sowuwmni is a former spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. He has also served as the special assistant and deputy chief press secretary to the former governor, Gbenga Daniel. Rivers State Siminialayi Fubara He is a former accountant-general of the state. His election came days after being declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr Fubara, who is wanted by the anti-graft agency over N435 billion fraud, hails from Opobo Nkoro Local Government Area of the state. Kano State Muhammad Abacha He is the eldest surviving son of Nigerias former military dictator, Sani Abacha. Like his father, he has been linked to multiple financial scams. Borno State Mohammed Ali Jajari Mr Jajari is a renowned entrepreneur and international businessman. He is a new face in politics, having not held a top political position in the past. He is a director of Pami Infrastructure Limited in Abuja. Mr Jajari holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State. Adamawa State -Ahmadu Fintiri Mr Fintiri is the current governor of Adamawa State. He was the only aspirant in the election. He was a member of the state house of assembly where he later served as the speaker. Governor Fintiri became the acting governor of the state following the impeachment of Murtala Nyako, the former governor, in July 2014. He would later win the governorship election in 2019 to begin his tenure as substantive governor, two months later. Bauchi State Ibrahim Kashim He is the immediate past Secretary to the State Government. Mr Kashim was the only aspirant in the partys primary election. Mr Kashim hails from Bauchi Local Government Area of the state. He is a former lecturer at Dan Fodio University, Sokoto State. In 2015, Mr Kashim, a legal practitioner, retired as a director of the Bureau for Public Enterprises in the presidency. Mr Kashim is, however, expected to withdraw from the race for his principal and incumbent Bauchi governor, Bala Mohammed. Benue State Titus Uba He is the current Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly. The 56-year-old, who became the speaker in 2018, represents Kyan Constituency in the state assembly. He hails from Akehe, Ute, in the Vandeikya Local Government Area of the state. Nasarawa State David Ombugadu He is a former member of the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2019 having served for two uninterrupted tenures. Mr Ombugadu, 44, was the PDP governorship candidate in the state in 2019, but lost in the general election. Gombe State Jibrin Dan-Barde Mr Dan-Barde is a former Group Managing Director of SunTrust Bank. He is a businessman. In 2018, he contested in the APC governorship primary but lost to Inuwa Yahaya, who eventually won the general election to become the state governor. Mr Dan-Barde defected to the PDP, four years after. Akwa-Ibom State Umo Eno Mr Eno is a former commissioner for lands and water resources in the state. He was the preferred candidate of the incumbent governor, Udom Emmanuel. The 58-year-old is a pastor of the All Nations Christian Ministry Intl and a CEO of Visionary Group Limited. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in public administration from the University of Uyo. Jigawa State Mustapha Lamido He is the son of the ex-governor of the state, Sule Lamido. In 2015, he and his father were arrested, tried and briefly jailed for money laundering by the EFCC. They were also accused of arranging for contracts to be placed by companies that they controlled. The PDP governorship candidate holds a Bachelors degree in political science from the University of Abuja. Oyo State Seyi Makinde He is the current governor of the state seeking re-election. The 54-year-old engineer was the Managing Director of Makon Group Limited, an oil and gas company in Nigeria. Before winning the governorship election in 2019, he lost twice in PDP (2014) and SDP (2015) primaries. Delta State Sheriff Oborevwori Mr Oborevwori is the incumbent speaker of the state assembly. He represents Okpe constituency. He was elected speaker in May 2017, after the impeachment of the then speaker. He is the preferred candidate of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Mr Oborevwori, 59, hails from Osubi town in Okpe Local Government Area of the state. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in political science from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and Delta University, Abraka, respectively. Sokoto State Sa-aidu Umar Mr Umar is the immediate former Secretary to the State Government (SSG). He had served as the commissioner for finance during Governor Aminu Tambuwals first tenure between 2015 and 2019, before being appointed SSG in 2019. Kaduna State Isa Ashiru He is a former member of the House of Representatives. He represented the Makarfi/Kudan Federal constituency under PDP. He had defected to the APC in 2014 where he lost the partys governorship primaries. In 2018, Mr Ashiru returned to the PDP and was the partys governorship candidate in the 2019 general election in the state, but also lost the election. Taraba State Agbu Kefas Mr Kefas is a former chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency. He recently resigned as the state PDP chairman to contest for the ticket. Mr Kefas had contested for the same ticket in 2015. Kwara State Abdullahi Yaman Mr Yaman is a businessman who was the campaign director of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in Kwara North during the 2015 election. In March 2022, he dumped the APC for PDP to contest the governorship ticket. He hails from Shonga in Edu Local Government Area of the state. He had contested for the governorship seat in 2003 and also the Kwara North District on the platform of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria in 2011. Plateau State Caleb Mutfwang Mr Mutfwang is a former chairman of Mangu Local Government Area of the state. A legal practitioner, the PDP candidate was enrolled as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1989. Zamfara State Dauda Lawal He is a former Executive Director of First Bank, where he started his banking career as a relationship manager in 2003. He had contested for the governorship ticket of the APC in 2019. He joined the PDP in May 2022. Mr Lawal, 56, holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in political science from Ahmadu Bello University. Kebbi State Aminu Bande Mr Bande is a retired army general. He was the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army. He announced his intention to contest for governorship in the state under the PDP in February 2022. Yobe State Shariff Abdullahi Mr Abdullahi is a former senatorial candidate of the PDP under Yobe North District but lost to Ahmad Lawan (now President of the Senate) of the APC in the 2019 senatorial election. Mr Abdullahi had also served as chairman of a local government area in the state. Niger State Liman Isah Kantigi He is a former commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under the administration of former governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State. Mr Kantigi also served as Chairman of Edati Local Government Council in the state. During the time he held sway as the council chairman, he doubled as the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Niger State. Mr Kantigi was recently linked to an ongoing case of money laundering, but he has vehemently denied involvement noting that EFCC, the anti-graft agency pressing the charges, can invite him for questioning. Katsina State Garba Yakubu Lado Mr Lado is a businessman who won the House of Representatives seat in 2003 before being elected a senator in 2007 to represent Katsina South District under the platform of PDP. The 61-year-old ex-lawmaker holds an advanced Diploma in Management and Finance from Kaduna State Polytechnic. Mr Lado, a former local government chairman in Katsina State, has been contesting to be governor of the state since 2011. Cross River State Sandy Onor Mr Onor is a serving senator elected in 2019 to represent the Cross River Central District in the Nigerian Senate. He was born in Ikom, Ikom Local Government Area of the state. The 56-year-old lawmaker holds Bachelors and Doctorate degrees in History from the University of Calabar. He served as chairman of Etung Local Government Area of the state between 1999 and 2002, during which he doubled as the chairman of ALGON in Cross River State. He also served as the state commissioner for agriculture between 2010 and 2011 as well as commissioner for environment between 2012 and 2013. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had asked the anti-graft agency, EFCC, to discontinue the prosecution of former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, before the anti-graft agency forcibly arrested him on Tuesday, official documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES have revealed. Mr Malamis directive, apparently disregarded, was contained in a letter issued on April 21 to Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the EFCC, in response to complaints made by Ola Olanipekun, the counsel to Mr Okorocha. According to the letter signed by Mr Malami, Mr Olanipekun, a senior lawyer, accused the EFCC of violating a court order in the prosecution and arrest of the former Imo State governor. Based on Mr Okorochas complaints, the AGF drew the attention of the EFCC to a court order by the Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt, last year, declaring the entire investigation of Mr. Okorocha by the commission as being contrary to the presumption of innocence and right to fair hearing guaranteed to Mr Okorocha in the constitution. Mr Malami added that investigating and prosecuting Mr Okorocha is also in contravention of a fair hearing guaranteed to Mr Okorocha under Section 6(6) of the 1999 constitution. Further, said Mr Malami, my attention has been drawn to the most recent order of the Federal High Court Port-Harcourt coram Dalop Pam in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2019 dated 6th September 2021 and 6th December 2021 respectively, inter alia declaring the entire investigation of Senator Okorocha by the Commission as being contrary to the presumption of innocence and right to fair hearing guaranteed to Senator Okorocha under Section 6(6) and 35 of the 199 constitutions of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended and consequently thanks and void. In the circumstances and further to all correspondence and court orders, earlier started you are requested to consider compliance. Back story The EFCC and the legal team of Mr Okorocha have been at loggerheads over the Port Harcourt court judgement. Mr Olanipekun, Mr Okorochas lawyer, had filed a notice at the court, accusing the EFCC of violating the court verdict, which ordered the EFCC to release the senators passport, the Guardian reported in February. Following the commissions failure to follow the courts decision, Mr Okorocha later filed a suit in the same court for the protection of his human rights, which he said were being violated. Mr Olanipekun informed the court during the reopening of proceedings on February 8, at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt that the court had entered a decision in favour of Mr Okorocha on December 6, 2021, but that the EFCC refused to comply. Mr Olanipekun further told the court that despite the courts order, the EFCC refused to release the defendants international passport and travel documents, adding, Today it appears that no judgment has been recorded here. EFCCs lawyer, N.A Dodo, denied that the EFCC had broken the courts order, saying that the commission had phoned Mr Okorocha to pick up his passport and other travel documents, but that he did reply. He told the court that Mr Okorochas application had only been received and that he needed time to reply to the processes. Operatives of the EFCC arrested Mr Okorocha, on Tuesday, after over six hours of siege to his Maitama Abuja home. Dozens of protesters had stormed Mr Okorochas Abuja home to protest the siege to arrest him. EFCC said it needed to forcibly arrest Mr Okorocha after he jumped an administrative bail granted him by the commission. The EFCC also said he evaded service of court papers in his trial at an Abuja court on charges of conspiracy, stealing, and laundering N2.9 billion of Imo State funds. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Frantic maneuvering between Friday and Saturday nights stopped what could have been an epoch victory for Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 General Election. A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, eventually won the contest with 371 votes from the 767 national delegates accredited for the poll. Mr Wike polled 237 votes to place second, followed by Bukola Saraki with 70 votes, Udom Emmanuel with 38 votes, Bala Mohammed with 20 votes, Pius Anyim with 14 votes and Sam Ohuabunwa with a lone vote. However, Mr Abubakars victory was largely the result of a desperate intervention involving a former president, former military heads of state, former generals, former governors from the north, chieftains of the PDP from the north and a former intelligence chief to stop the Rivers State governor who intelligence report confirmed as the heaviest spender in the primary. The power brokers were alarmed by information and conclusive analyses before the PDP Special National Convention began that Mr Wike could spend his way to nomination. They decided that the guy had to be stopped, an inside source who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES said on Saturday night. They do not see Wike as a presidential material, they believe he would totally run amok as president, the source added. A section of the PDP power brokers had met with the five northern presidential aspirants to broker a deal for a consensus candidate among them but only Mohammed Hayatu-Deen acceded to their plea for four of them to step down for Mr Abubakar. However, they continued to put pressure on the others, until Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal announced his withdrawal too and directed his delegates to vote for Mr Abubakar. Their analyses was that northern aspirants splitting their votes would hand the Rivers governor victory. According to an aide of the governor, Oga said he had never been under so much pressure before in his life. They told him that the fate of the party depended on whatever decision Oga took. They also said the APC was working for Wike behind the scene because they believe he would be easy to defeat at the general election, the aide of the governor said. Even as of the time he stepped into the convention ground, Mr Tambuwal had not made up his mind on pulling out of the race. He eventually did before the delegates began voting and directed his supporters to vote for Atiku. Some political analysts believe it was Mr Tambuwals withdrawal from the race that tilted the race in favour of the former vice president. The Sokoto governor, who also contested for the ticket ahead of the 2019 election, had campaigned aggressively and was widely rated among the top contenders for the ticket. Party insiders said he had especially locked down votes from the North-west geopolitical zone, which has the highest number of delegates nationwide, and a few other states across the country. But for his withdrawal, he would have divided the votes of the north and possibly opened the way for Mr Wike to clinch the ticket. According to other sources, Mr Wikes defeat brought a sigh of relief across the party as he was described as a lone ranger relying on brutal use of financial power in his pursuit of the PDP ticket. Mr Wike left the convention ground on Saturday night once it became clear to him from the sorting of the votes that he had lost the race. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Secretary to the Bauchi State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Kashim, on Wednesday won the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. However, Mr Kashim won the primary as a proxy of Governor Bala Mohammed who will soon recover it from him since Mr Mohammed has lost his presidential bid. Mr Kashim was the sole aspirant in the contest, at an elaborate event attended by the governor and his deputy, Baba Tela. The victory of Mr Kashim, who became the SSG in June 2021, makes him the first man in the state to win its most coveted party ticket without publicly declaring his ambition or producing a single campaign billboard or poster. Sources familiar with the circumstances that led to his miraculous victory said Mr Kashim was the last-minute choice of Governor Mohammed who on Saturday night polled 20 votes in the presidential primary of the opposition party. Lone Candidate Although they were all aware of the charade, delegates at Zaranda Hotel Bauchi, the venue of the primary election, dutifully cast 656 (one vote invalid) votes to affirm Mr Kashim as the 2023 governorship candidate of their party. At the end of the voting, the returning officer, Hassan Grema, said: By the powers conferred on me by the constitution of the PDP, I hereby declare Barrister Kashim Ibrahim as the winner of the PDP gubernatorial ticket for the 2023 general elections. Mr Kashim, who many delegates at the event were interfacing with for the first time, in his acceptance speech, said with his nomination, the PDP was poised to win the next general election in the state. The contest has just begun for 2023 and the PDP is ready to beat every other opposition, he said. We must be a united party to be able to defeat others in the general elections. I am appealing to all of you to rally round and give the maximum support needed to win the general elections come 2023, Mr Kashim said. The former SSG then took time to commend Governor Mohammed for providing purposeful leadership that has transformed Bauchi State far above its peers. He reassured his party members that he would consolidate on the achievements of the administration if elected governor next year. Charade Despite Mr Kashims victory speech, many in the state know he is not a genuine candidate. Sahara Reporters had published a report on May 1, quoting a local Bauchi-based online newspaper, Wikitimes, detailing how Messrs Mohammed and Kashim had a secret pact which led to the latters secret resignation. Sources within the Bauchi PDP informed PREMIUM TIMES that the SSG was only being used as a character in Governor Mohammeds political subterfuge. The SSG is the governors plan-B, should His Excellency fail to clinch the presidential ticket next week, one source said last week. No doubt Barrister Mohammed, who is barely known by many in Bauchi, is only helping his boss to hold forth until the presidential election primaries are concluded. Ironically, Section 35 of the Electoral Act is usually exploited to allow such charade to go through. The Act says A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him and delivered by himself to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal to the Commission not later than 45 days to the election. Many agree that it is uncommon for a first-time governor who is hopeful of reelection to throw it away in the way Mr Mohammed and his SSG wanted Nigerians to believe. Another Bauchi PDP chieftain who asked not to be named in this report said: If truly the governor was quitting the state politics for good, he would not settle for his SSG as his replacement when there are big names like the deputy governor, Senator Tela around him. The PDP, regardless of its being the ruling party in Bauchi, would lose the 2023 elections should the SSG proceed to appear on the final ballot, the source stressed. When Governor Mohammed was receiving a report from his Presidential Aspiration Contact And Consultation Committee led by a senator, Adamu Gumba, he made a remark about his plans on how he would pursue the PDP presidential ticket and secure his seat in Bauchi at the same time. The former FCT minister jokingly said he would entrust his governorship ticket to a less ambitious politician whom he trusted to hand it back when asked to do that. Bauchi can be better if I am at the centre, Sahara Reporters quoted Mr Mohammed as saying. But certainly, we have to manage the two together. I told my brother and colleague that you should not be happy to send me forth so that you can take over the governorship; I am going to do the two together as Matawallen Sokoto (Governor Tambuwal) did in 2019. I am going to test it and I am not going to give somebody who will not give me back when I come back, Governor Mohammed said. One of my brothers, a formidable and astute politician, Matawalle Sokoto (Aminu Tambuwal) did it before, so we are going to also test it, the Sahara Reporters publication quoted Mr Mohammed as saying. Governor Mohammed and his party are expected to utilise Section 35 of the Electoral Act in securing his second term ambition as governor. Mr Kashim, who many in Bauchi believe still supervises the affairs of the Governors Office as SSG despite his resignation, will soon write to inform his party about his intention to withdraw as the governorship candidate. Not unprecedented When that happens, it will not make Governor Mohammed the first person to chase two rats at the same time. As the governor said, his counterpart in Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal, did the same thing in 2019. After his defeat at the PDP presidential primary in Port Harcourt that year, he returned home to recover the governorship ticket from a proxy whom he had prodded to take the ticket at the governorship primary. This was also the favourite game of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, who was also a candidate at Saturday nights presidential primary of the PDP like Messrs Tambuwal and Mohammed. In 2011 and 2019, Mr Saraki used proxies to tie down the senatorial tickets of the PDP while running after the partys presidential ticket. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Nigerias former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday emerged as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Adamawa born politician defeated 12 other candidates in a keenly contested presidential primary held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja. Of the 764 accredited ballots at the election, Mr Abubakar polled 371 votes while his closest challenger, Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, came second with 237 votes. Nigerias former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, scored 70 votes to come a distant third while the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel, came fourth with 38 votes. The only female in the race, Oliver Diana, and another contestant, Sam Ohuabunwa, scored one vote each. A former President of the Senate, Pius Anyim, scored 14 votes while Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, scored 20 votes. The other contestants ex-Governor Ayodele Fayose and Magazine Publisher Dele Momodu got zero votes. Twelve invalid votes were recorded. Mr Abubakar had also secured the ticket of the PDP in 2019 but lost at the general elections to the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. While Mr Abubakars victory at the primary is his second successive attempt, it also marked his fifth shot at the presidency. He has had other unsuccessful contests for the seat under both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his current party, the PDP. Here are five things that helped him defeat his closest rival, Wike: 1. Tambuwals withdrawal Before the commencement of the election at the convention venue, one of the top contenders for the race, Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto State, withdrew from the race and urged his supporters to vote for Mr Abubakar. Prior to his withdrawal, Mr Tambuwal was amongst the top three contenders and was believed to enjoy the support of members of the party from the North-west, the region that has the largest number of accredited delegates. Mr Tambuwal not only withdrew from the race but also asked his supporters to vote for Mr Abubakar. Those votes are believed to have significantly tilted the election in favour of Mr Abubakar. 2. Elders intervention Mr Tambuwal did not voluntarily withdraw for Mr Abubakar, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. He was pressured to do so. The masterstroke which paved way for the former vice president was the intervention of a former president, former military heads of state, former generals, former governors from the north, chieftains of the PDP from the north and a former intelligence chief. Another section of some PDP power brokers had met with the five northern presidential aspirants to broker a deal for a consensus candidate among them but only Mohammed Hayatu-Deen acceded to their plea for four of them to step down for Mr Abubakar. Due to immense pressure, Mr Tambuwal agreed to withdraw from the race for Mr Abubakar while Messrs Mohammed and Saraki declined. 3. Political experience Many believe one of the edges the former vice president had above the Rivers governor and others is his political experience. Mr Abubakar has been running for Nigerias topmost office since 1993, long before Mr Wike ventured into politics, and has been on the presidential ballot since 2007. Mr Abubakar has thus been able to build a large network of loyalists and supporters across Nigeria unlike Mr Wike, for whom this is the first time he is running for president. 4. More Northern delegates Another factor that worked in Mr Abubakars favour was the difference in the number of delegates between Northern and Southern Nigeria. Mr Wike and all the governors of the 17 states in Southern Nigeria, had demanded that the presidency returns to the zone after President Muhammadu Buharis eight years in office. Although power shift or rotation is not enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, it is believed by some to be a gentlemans agreement that power rotates between the North and the South. Mr Wike is believed to have enjoyed the support of many PDP governors in the south of the country. However, there were more delegates and fewer aspirants from the North, where Mr Atiku is from, compared to the South. The PDP accredited 774 delegates from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to vote in the presidential primary. A majority of the delegates, over 400, were from Northern states. Financial capacity There have been reports that many of the aspirants paid delegates to secure their votes. Delegates were allegedly paid between $10,000 and $20,000 each by the top aspirants. However, amongst the lot, Mr Abubakar is believed to have given the highest amount to delegates. PREMIUM TIMES did not, however, witness the payment to any of the delegates. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested former Governor Abdulaziz Yari in connection with the agencys ongoing investigation of the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris. Mr Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, was arrested on Sunday at his residence in Abuja days after he won the ruling APCs ticket for Zamfara West senatorial election holding next year. He won unopposed. The AGF under criminal investigation, Mr Idris, has been in the EFCC custody since May 16 facing investigators over allegations of corruption to the tune of N80 billion. Investigators are working with the lead that he allegedly conspired with others to steal public funds which, by his role, he was meant to safeguard. One of his suspected accomplices is Mr Yari, who was arrested today, EFCC sources told PREMIUM TIMES. According to the sources, suspicious transactions between Mr Idris and Mr Yari were in the area of 20 billion Naira. Mr Yari is not new to anti-graft law enforcement actions. Last year, he was repeatedly held and questioned by the EFCC over allegations he criminally diverted billions in Zamfaras funds kept in a bank. Mr Yari was governor of Zamfara State, an impoverished Nigerias northwestern state, between 2007 and 2019. Under his reign, terrorist outlaws, commonly called bandits, started ravaging communities. A state report commissioned by Mr Yaris successor Bello Matawalle indicted him (Mr Yari) for mismanaging the ethnic conflict between Hausa and Fulani communities, leading to the armed banditry that is ravaging the Nigerias north-west geopolitical zone and beyond. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, on Saturday clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Ondo South Senatorial District. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ibrahim polled 190 votes, defeating his closest rival, Mathew Oyerinmade, who polled 92 votes. Boye Oyewunmi got 23 votes while Olusola Iji and Morayo Lebi scored nine votes each, and Muyiwa Akinfolarin had zero votes. The Returning Officer, Yinka Orokoto, who announced the result, said the election was free, fair, and transparent. He said that out of 330 delegates, seven were absent while 323 delegates were accredited to cast their votes, without any void vote. The election is free, fair, and transparent as you can see. Thanks to electoral officers, party agents, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, and security agents for a hitch-free election. I hereby declare Ibrahim as the winner of this primary, having polled the highest votes of 190 out of 323 votes, Orokoto said. Mr Ibrahim, who expressed joy over the results, thanked God for his victory at the primary, which he said was transparent and democratic. He also thanked Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his wife, Betty Anyawu-Akeredolu, for their unflinching support. I dedicate this victory to God Almighty, mankind, and Governor Akeredolu, a hegemon of politics in Ondo State, who remains the leader. I also thank all my team for their hard work, I appreciate the delegates and other aspirants who participated in the election, Ibrahim said. NAN reports that the Stella Maris College, the venue of the election, was beefed up with heavy security by police and other security agents. The election which began at 5:30 p.m. was concluded at about 9:10 pm. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Nigerian comedian and actor, Adebowale Adebayo, better known as Mr Macaroni, says some Nigerian politicians and their aides are after his life. The 29-year-old skit-maker said this in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES at a movie premiere in Ikoyi, Lagos State. Mr Macaroni said his activism and agitation for good governance in Nigeria had earned him enemies. The Lagos State-born comedian said the hallmark of his activism and agitation is for a better Nigeria. I have received threats from politicians and their aids, some of the threats I receive, I dont know who could have sent them, but I am not deterred, he said. We will continue to do what we are doing, using our voice to speak for a better nation, which will benefit everyone. The actor also said that his activism does not have a political undertone. Unlike what many people feel, I am not thinking about running for an elective office. I am trying my best to use the platform which God has given me and using my voice to agitate for justice, the comedian said. The actor is one of Nigerias most outspoken entertainers. His activism was evident during the #ENDSARS protests in October 2020, which hoodlums later hijacked. In February 2021, Mr Macaroni was among the 40 people arrested during the #OccupyLekkiTollGate, a protest against the recommendation for reopening the tollgate in 2021, following the aftermath of the October 20, 2020 shooting. He was arraigned before a mobile court in Yaba by the Nigerian police and later granted bail. Mr Macaroni, who was recently nominated for the best online content maker at the AMVCA, said he would not stop agitating for a better Nigeria. Wedding Controversy On April 23 and 24, the internet sensation shared wedding-themed pictures of himself and his on-set wife, Kemi Ikuseedun, aka Mummy Wa, on Instagram, and got Nigerians confused. The skit maker left fans debating the authenticity of the photos. Mr Macaroni posted the loved-up wedding-like pictures, which he captioned, Engagement today, Wedding tomorrow. To set the records straight, the comedian stated that he was still single and not married. He said, Daddy Wa is my online character, so Mummy Wa and I did this photoshoot for wedding vendors, make-up artists and event planners. It was a ploy for us to see how we would be able to convince people that we were married, which worked. I mean, almost everybody believed we were getting married. But to set the record straight, I am still very single. Mr Macaroni recently featured in Ayinla, a biopic of a Fuji music maestro, currently streaming on Netflix, where he played a supporting role to the lead. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, Danladi Sankara, has withdrawn from the primary election for Jigawa Northwest Senatorial District. Mr Sankara accused the governor of the state, Muhammad Badaru, of bias and giving preferential treatment to some aspirants as his reasons for withdrawing from the race. Mr Sankara withdrew hours before the commencement of the primary election at Gumel township hall in Gumel Local Government Area of the state. His withdrawal now left only two other aspirants Babangida Hussaini, the immediate past permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, and Abdullahi Ojo, a former senator who contested the election. Mr Sankara in a letter addressed to the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, said I resolved to withdraw from participating in the ongoing primaries of Jigawa Northwest Senatorial District due to biased and preferential actions of the state party leader (Mr Badaru). He said: I will like to thank the people of Jigawa Northwest for giving me the mandate to represent them at the red chamber on two occasions. For those who have supported me right from the beginning of my aspiration, I thank you all for believing in me and I hope everyone will understand this to be the will of Allah Almighty and as humans, we must accept whatever the lord design for us, Mr Sankara said. READ ALSO: Senate appropriations committee chair wins Kano APC primary Mr Hussaini won the election with 527 votes. Mr Ojo scored 73 votes. With this development, the APC in the three Senatorial Districts in Jigawa elected newcomers to represent it in next years election as senators Ibrahim Hassan, and Sabo Nakudu are out of the contest after they lost their bid to be elected as the APC governorship candidate. Meanwhile, in the senatorial contest for Jigawa North-east and South-west districts former diplomat, Ahmad Abdulhamid, and former lawmaker Tijjani Gaya emerged victorious in the contest, respectively. Mr Abdulhamid polled 303 votes to defeat his main challenger, Ubale Hashim, who got 95 votes. Turaki Kafin-Hausa got three votes in the election. Dor the Jigawa South-west District, Mr Gaya, who was the sole contestant polled 361 votes. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket to contest for the Niger North senatorial district seat at the 2023 general elections. Mr Bello won the primary election with 335 votes against his only opponent, the incumbent senator for the district, Aliyu Sabi, who got seven votes. Adamu Abdulkarim, chairman of the electoral committee, announced the result on Sunday in Kontagora. Mr Abdulkarim said that out of 435 delegates, 343 delegates had valid votes, while one vote was invalidated. Similarly, Raymond Mofe, chairman of the electoral committee for the Niger East senatorial district declared incumbent senator, Sani Musa, as the winner. Mr Mofe said Mr Musa polled 492 votes to defeat Ibrahim Dada who got two votes. Also, the serving senator for Niger South district, Bima Enagi, won the senatorial primary election with 314 votes. Ibrahim Liman and Aminu Baka who scored 72 votes and 53 votes, respectively placed second and third. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Pius Anyim, one of the aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded presidential primary of the party, has accused the party delegates of voting based on primordial sentiments. Mr Anyim stated this in a statement on Sunday. During the PDP presidential primary, on Saturday, former Nigerias Vice President, Atiku Abubakar PDP presidential primary emerged as the winner in the exercise. Mr Atiku polled 371 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers State, who scored 237 votes in the keenly contested primary. A total of 767 delegates were accredited for the exercise. But the former Secretary to the Government of Federation, who had 14 votes, said he was shocked to observe that consideration for the voting was not based on burning national issues. I am proud to have gone through the race to the end, Mr Anyim said. I am shocked that consideration for voting the PDP presidential candidate was not based on burning national issues and how to resolve them, but still on the old primordial sentiments, Mr Anyim added. It appears doubtful if our search for nationhood is yielding any results, he said. The former Nigerias Senate President, however, congratulated Mr Atiku on his emergence as the partys candidate. Mr Anyim expressed gratitude to his supporters and those who voted for him during the exercise assuring that he would continue to stand tall until a new Nigeria of our collective dreams is birthed. He also commended the partys convention committee for doing a great job in conducting the exercise. On Friday, barely 24 hours to the primary, Mr Anyim had raised an alarm over the absence of delegates from Ebonyi State in the partys delegate list. But, in his latest statement, he was silent on whether the delegate list was later rectified by the party leadership before the exercise. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha, an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in the May 26 governorship primary election in Lagos State, has appealed to the National Working Committee(NWC) of the party to nullify the election. He made the call following his alleged exclusion from the governorship primary election. Mr Mustapha, a former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, in a statement on Sunday in Lagos, described his disqualification and exclusion from the election as illegal. I strongly request that the exercise be nullified and a new primary conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner in the State. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is a beacon of truth and hope for us and future generations. Lagos residents should not perceive such a high level of impunity as a modus operandi in the Partys operations. All Progressives Congress (APC) must take the proper steps to protect the image of the Party, he said. Mr Mustapha explained that on May 10, he purchased the Expression of interest and Nomination forms to contest the Lagos State Gubernatorial seat, which was completed and submitted on May 11 within the time frame. According to him, on May 14 at Fraser Suites, Abuja, he was also screened by the party. Mr Mustapha added that he did not doubt that he met all the screening criteria as contained in the partys guidelines, the partys constitution, the Electoral Act, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He said the screening report should have been published not later than May 15 and that he protested via a letter dated May 24 on the non-publication of the screening report. The information should have been before the gubernatorial congress on May 26. I had the impression that all was well and continued with my consultations from ward to ward basis in the State. My profile during the consultation increased exponentially amongst delegates, party faithful, and the good people of Lagos State at large. I made several efforts to get the process details at the National and the State Party headquarters, but all actions met brick walls, he said. Mr Mustapha said he also submitted a letter to the APC State Chairmans office and also the National Chairmans Office on May 25 requesting the gubernatorial aspirants tag, list of delegates, list of Lagos State gubernatorial aspirants cleared to contest, guidelines for election and agent tags for all wards. None of the details requested nor the materials listed were made available to me. I now believed the silence and exclusion were deliberate and calculated to technically shut me out of the race and trample upon my rights with gross impunity. On getting to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, through speculations on May 26, I was turned back at Onikan Stadiums gate despite introducing myself as a gubernatorial aspirant to the security men on duty. Efforts to get the State and National officials were unsuccessful until I finally reached Dr Mohammed Bashir, (Lagos Committee Secretary). He (Bashir) claimed that I was not cleared to participate in the election. This information was news to me as I heard it for the first time, Mustapha said. He said the impression given before the primaries was that there were three gubernatorial aspirants contesting for the partys governorship ticket in the state. I have raised an appeal despite the difficulties encountered along the process. I believe that I, with the other aspirant, were deliberately shut out to allow the Party chieftains aspirant to emerge despite being an incumbent Governor. The process and actions taken by the National and the State officers violated all relevant laws of the land. They amounted to gross abuse of power and breach of the trust of members of our great party, which had been vested in the Party Officials at the State and National levels, he added. NAN recalled that Adamu Yuguda, Chairman of the five-man electoral committee that conducted the Lagos Governorship primary election, had on Thursday, told journalists at the venue of the election that only one aspirant, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was cleared for the primaries. Mr Yuguda stated this while reacting to allegations that the two other aspirants in the race, Mr Mustapha and a former Commissioner, Wale Oluwo, were prevented from attending the primary election. NAN reports that Mr Sanwo-Olu was declared the winner of the primary election. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 A member of the House of Representatives for Ekiti Central Federal Constituency II, Bunmi Ogunlola, has threatened to quit the All Progressives Congress should the party attempt to impose a candidate on the Constituency. The primary election for the Constituency was disrupted by violence on Friday when thugs invaded the venue and destroyed voting materials. However, there are concerns that the party was out to announce one of the contestants as the winner despite the election being inconclusive. Briefing journalists in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, Ms Ogunlola said: Only Ijero and Ekiti West Local Governments had been done when political thugs came inside and disrupted the process. We are expecting a rerun, but some people wanted one of the contestants to be imposed. I am a loyal party person, if they go ahead and imposed Biodun Omoleye, I will have no choice than to move. The party must do what is right and they shouldnt take advantage of my gender. Dele Philips, another contestant, said he wanted the result of the Ekiti Central Federal Constituency II cancelled and a rerun scheduled, rather than declaring a former Chief of Staff, Biodun Omoleye, to Governor Fayemi, as the winner of an election that was disrupted by thugs. What I am asking for is a rerun primary that is free, fair and transparent, said Mr Philips. President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that ballot snatcher should be shot, but nothing is heard about the perpetrator. We are expecting an official statement from the committee or the leadership of the party on when the rerun primary election will take place. It is surprising that despite the disruption of the process, the party organs in Ekiti and the electoral committee from Abuja are yet to transmit the date for a rerun election. Another aspirant who felt cheated in the outcome of Fridays exercise in Ekiti Central Federal Constituency I, Jimlas Ogunsakin, called for the nullification and rerun of the primary after alleging that the delegates list was doctored. The primary election was won by the incumbent, Sola Fatoba. Mr Ogunsakin said the process that returned Mr Fatoba, who polled 114 to emerge victorious, was fraught with irregularities. In the build-up to the election, the party assured of level playing ground, that when people did not agree on a consensus, aspirants would go to the field, he said. Another list just surfaced a day to the election which caused a lot of confusion. There were multiple lists and people were surprised. The returning officer from Abuja did not show up, the new list was doctored to suit a particular aspirant. The state returning officer that came claimed they did accreditation and was not less than 30 minutes. This is a complete disgrace to democracy, at the end of the day, they would not feel obliged to their constituencies on performances. However, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Segun Dipe, said the party was yet to reach any decision on whether to hold a rerun for the disrupted election or not. The party will have to decide whether a rerun will be appropriate or not, but that decision is yet to be taken, he said. On the doctored delegates list, Mr Dipe said it was untrue that the list was doctored, as no alteration to the list was possible once the list had been authenticated from Abuja. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Ahead of their forthcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO), the management of the Queens College, Lagos, at the weekend, assembled experts across major professions to speak to the students on various career paths and what is required to pursue them. The event, which was held at an expansive Theresa Chukwuma hall of the school, and filled to the brim, featured professionals from the fields of journalism, pharmacy, engineering, teaching, law, accounting, and medicine, among others. Welcoming guests and the students to the event, the director and principal of the school, Tokunbo Yakubu-Oyinloye, said as a guidance and counselling expert, she felt the need to properly guide the students in their career choices. Mrs Yakubu-Oyinloye, a PhD certificate holder in Guidance and Counselling, said the programme became imperative for prospective senior secondary (SS) students in order for them to be assertive, proactive and well informed on their career paths. She said upon her transfer to the school from the Federal Government College (FGC) Idoani, Ondo State, in 2018, she realised the Ionian school never had such a programme in place for the students. She said: As a guidance counsellor by profession, I believe students need to make an informed choice, they need not make choices with little or no knowledge of the career. They shouldnt go into any department because of their friends. They need to know the nitty-gritty of the career, what it is all about, the hazard, the benefits and the job prospects. We have brought professionals here to educate them on different courses that matter for the career they may choose, outside the influence of their friends or parents. Array of experts The immediate past chairman of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State branch, Sekinah Lawal and head of the development desk at PREMIUM TIMES, Mojeed Alabi, counselled the students on what it takes to become a successful journalist. According to Mrs Lawal, unlike in the past when many universities were not running programmes in mass communication, but today you have various levels of higher institutions running diploma and degree programmes in journalism. On his part, Mr Alabi advised the students that the basic requirements for journalism include the ability to read and write, an interest to seek truth and a commitment to defend the interest of the people. Journalism is the only profession that is constitutionally backed with a responsibility to serve as a watchdog. Gone are the days when degrees in mass communication or language arts were emphasised as a criterion. Today every individual with good writing skills, probing mind, conscience and bravery can be a journalist irrespective of your course of study in school, Mr Alabi said. He said there is, however, a code of ethics that guides the profession just like law and medicine. Professional and disciplined journalists have prospects because there is no limit to what they can attain in life but just like we have quack doctors or charge and bail lawyers, there are also fake journalists who appear dirty and unkempt. Those should not be your models, he advised. Also speaking, a female system engineer, Mosope Adewuyi, advised the students on the choice of career in engineering, saying engineers are solution providers. She spoke about system, robotic, chemical, and mechanical engineering, among other fields of engineering willing students can decide to specialise in. She also said good results in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry as important criteria to qualify candidates for admission in the fields. Boluwatife Adeyanju, an engineer, also corroborated Mrs Adewuyi, by explaining the different fields of engineering and their prospects. Meanwhile, a lawyer, Modupe Oke, answered many questions raised by the students on the ethics of the legal profession in Nigeria, the responsibilities of lawyers as advocates and adjudicators, among others. The students appreciated the school and the experts for addressing the issues many felt had continued to agitate their minds. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 President Muhammadu Buhari is deeply saddened by the deaths in a stampede in a church event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The police have confirmed that 31 people were killed on Saturday at the stampede which occurred when the crowd surged forward toward church officials who were sharing gifts, including foodstuff to participants at the event. The church, Kings Church Assembly, held the event at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, a facility considered big enough to accommodate the expected crowd. A statement from a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Saturday, said Mr Buhari is deeply saddened by the incident. The statement said the president directed that all efforts should be made to provide relief to those injured in the unfortunate incident. Mr Buhari also directed federal relief agencies to work with the Rivers State Government on the incident. President Buhari, while expressing his condolences and that of the nation to the bereaved families and to the government and people of Rivers State, advised event organisers to plan and carry out their events in a disciplined manner to avoid such calamity. The tragic incident occurred on a day the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is electing its presidential candidate in the nations capital, Abuja. The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who is a PDP presidential aspirant, is taking part in the Abuja event. This is not the first time Port Harcourt has witnessed such a deadly stampede. Several people were similarly killed in the city in February 2019 during a political rally organised to support President Muhammadu Buharis campaign for a second term. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has urged his fellow contestants in the primary election to work with him for the victory of the party. Mr Abubakar said this on Sunday morning in Abuja in his acceptance speech after he was declared the winner of the PDP primary and the partys candidate. He described the primary election that produced him as free and a well-fought election. He pledged to work with the co-aspirants and give them a sense of belonging if elected. Let me also use this opportunity to call on my fellow contestants and to assure them that I am ready to cooperate and work with them and give them a sense of belonging in this party and our next government. Therefore, my fellow compatriots, I want to appreciate your efforts in deepening our democratic processes in this party. It was a well fought primary election. So, I commend you for that and I look forward to working with you very closely. So that together we can build this party to a level where we can take over the government, Mr Abubakar said. He also appealed to aggrieved party members to return to the PDP, pledging that their grievances would be addressed. Mr Abubakar described the exercise as the freest election conducted by the party, saying the outcome remains historical in bringing fundamental changes to governance and democracy. Today, we are making another history. The history, which we believe will bring about fundamental changes in governance and also in our political processes. Today, we have witnessed another one of the freest elections to be conducted by our great party. Today marks another milestone in the process of our democratic gains, he said The former vice president reiterated his pledge to unite the country as well as deal with its economic and security challenges. He recalled that in his declaration, he referred to himself as a unifier and pledged to unify the country. I am going to deal decisively with our security challenges in this country. I also pledge to confront our economic challenges, which were caused by the APC government. The PDP made Nigeria one of the most prosperous countries on the African continent. We implemented economic reforms that brought about jobs, and prosperity in this country. The gains according to him had been wiped out, pledging to return them. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Abubakar polled 371 votes to defeat his close contender, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers, who polled 237 votes. Ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki scored 70 votes to come third. A total of 15 aspirants were cleared to contest the PDP presidential primary although some of them withdrew before the contest started on Saturday. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 A report by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has predicted that Nigeria will have 29 million child brides by 2050. The report, a part of three reports on how poverty affects children in Nigeria, was launched by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, in conjunction with UNICEF to observe 2022 Childrens Day. The report put Nigerias current number of child brides at 22 million, which it said represents 40 per cent of such cases in West and Central Africa. It, however, further predicted that seven million more child brides will be added by 2050. Statistics Citing the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2013, the report added that 58.2 per cent of Nigerian girls get married before they turn 18 years old. It stated that although a comparison of data from 2013 to 2017 revealed a drop in child marriage in Nigeria, it described the rate of decline as modest. It said the country ranks among those with the slowest declining rates of child marriage in West and Central Africa. The rate of decline is also not enough to significantly reduce child marriage in Nigeria under current conditions. Even if efforts are redoubled, Nigeria will add about seven million child brides by 2050. This is because the statistically observed decline will be upended by population growth and the prevalence of child marriage in some regions and cultures, erasing whatever little progress is made in reducing child marriage in Nigeria, the report said. The report noted that, by 2018, the percentage of women marrying before the age of 18 had dropped from 48 per cent to 43 per cent, while the percentage of women aged 15-19 marrying before the age of 15 had dropped from 12 per cent to 8 per cent. Way forward The report, however, proffered ways by which the increase can be mitigated, saying Nigeria has to overcome some challenges to effectively reduce child marriage. These issues include numerous states in the federation failing to domesticate the child rights act (CRA), especially in the northern part of the country). It also noted that the federal governments failure to legislate and enforce 18 years as the minimum age for those seeking a constitutionally recognised marriage, is a factor. How poverty affects Nigerian children The three reports are titled; The Situation Analysis of Children, Multidimensional Child Poverty Analysis, and Monetary Child Poverty in Nigeria. They are prepared by the countrys ministry of budget and national planning in collaboration with UNICEF. The multidimensional overlapping deprivation analysis approach revealed that approximately 54 per cent of Nigerian children are multidimensionally poor, meaning they face at least three deprivations across seven dimensions of child rights, including nutrition, healthcare, education, water, sanitation, adequate housing, and information. According to the analysis, the child poverty rate is highest among children aged 1617 and lowest among children aged 05. The report states that children are the most sensitive to poverty and that poverty has long-term effects on childrens well-being, even into adulthood. Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Nigeria, while speaking on the reports, said the multidimensional child poverty report shows that more children are living in poverty in rural than urban areas. He said children in Nigeria are denied at least three out of seven child rights benefits, adding that the country will need about one trillion to tackle child poverty. The multidimensional child poverty analysis using multidimensional overlapping deprivation analysis approach reveals that approximately 54% of children in Nigeria are multidimensionally poor by facing at least three deprivations across seven dimensions of child rights including nutrition, healthcare, education, water, sanitation, adequate housing, and information, he said. He added that the monetary child poverty report shows that 47.4 per cent of children face monetary poverty by living in households with expenditure less than N376.5 a day national poverty line. Slight differences are observed between boys (47.98 per cent) and girls (46.8 per cent) while there are high geographical and state disparities (from 6.5 per cent in Lagos to 91.4 per cent in Sokoto). Mr Hawkins urged the government and other concerned parties to do more to address the problem, saying, We still have a long way to go towards assuring the well-being of children and families in Nigeria, with persistent multidimensional poverty being a critical impediment. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The same week (May 22 28) political activities were at their peak, non-state actors did not relent as a total of 75 persons were killed. The figure this week indicates an increase when compared to the previous week when 20 people were killed. One of the victims was a military officer, two were police officers while the remaining 72 were civilians. Of the 12 incidents that took place across five geopolitical zones, one was that of the killing of at least 30 persons in Rann, Borno State. PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases are not included. Below are the recorded incidents: South-east Gunmen on Sunday killed no fewer than seven persons in different parts of Anambra State. Among them was a mother and four of her children at Isulo, Orumba North local government area The other two took place at Abatete in Idemili North local government area while another man was killed at Nanka Orumba North local government area. North-west At least 11 people were confirmed dead by residents when bandits attacked the Ruwan Bore community of Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Saturday. Local sources said several residents were also wounded by the bandits. In Katsina, gunmen on Tuesday killed 12 farmers in Gakurdi village of Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State. Three people sustained injuries during the attack. In neighbouring Kaduna, bandits also killed a newly married groom and abducted his pregnant wife in Jere town, Kagarko Local Government Area. The bandits also abducted four members of the family of a former commissioner for Poverty Alleviation in Kaduna State, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Jere. North-east Members of the Boko Haram terrorist group killed four Fulani herders in Borno state. Zagazola Makama, a Counter-insurgency Expert and Security Analyst disclosed this in a tweet on Monday. In Yobe, a frontline aspirant for Southern Borno senatorial district on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Idris Durkwa on Sunday escaped death when some unknown gunmen ambushed his convoy with his teeming supporters and opened fire along the Maiduguri -Damaturu road, leading to the death of two policemen with several others sustained various degrees of injuries. In Bauchi, one person was confirmed dead and several others injured in a clash between youths in the Yelwa area of the state. The Bauchi State Police Command disclosed this via a statement issued on Saturday, adding that several houses were also razed. In Borno, at least 32 people were killed by suspected members of the terrorist group ISWAP while sourcing metals in a deserted community in Dikwa Local Government Area, an official said. Isah Gusau, the spokesperson for Borno Governo, Babagana Zulum, told reporters on Wednesday the victims were shot at close range last weekend after being captured by the terror group in the Mudu community, about 45 kilometres away from Rann, headquarters of Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno. South-west Gunmen suspected to be members of the Aiye cult group on Sunday night killed another area boy, popularly known as Wale Matasaka in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital Findings revealed that Wale was butchered in front of a popular lounge at Quarry road in the metropolis. In Ondo, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers killed a soldier and abducted a Lebanese engineer at Ogbonmo Ijebu-Owo, Owo local government area. Witnesses said the gunmen also killed the driver of the Lebanese. North-central Gunmen on Wednesday night reportedly shot three occupants of a car along Federal College of Education Road in the Otite area of Kogi State, killing two while one narrowly escaped. Similarly, gunmen also shot one dead early on Thursday morning when they stormed the country home of a board member of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Isah Ozi, and abducted him. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Aggrieved with the outcome of Fridays governorship primary election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adebayo Adelabu, on Sunday, announced his defection from the party. Mr Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said he was taking all his supporters across the 33 local governments in Oyo State to the new party, not yet disclosed. The aspirant said he took the decision at an enlarged meeting of his mandate group held at his campaign office in Ibadan, the capital city of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Ayoade Adeseun and other leaders presided over the meeting. Mr Adelabu and many other aggrieved aspirants had described the last APC primaries as a charade, alleging that the delegates list used was compromised. He said no amount of intimidation, threat or harassment could stop him from his passionate ambition of revolutionising the political, social and economic landscape of the state. All I can tell the whole world for now is that I am going to contest in the 2023 general elections as a governorship candidate, no matter what. No amount of intimidation, threat or harassment can stop me from my passionate ambition of revolutionising the political, social and economic landscape of Oyo State through the machinery of government, he said. Mr Adelabu said he was already in consultation with some political parties which would be unveiled as soon as possible. ALSO READ: APC postpones governorship primaries in Oyo In his remarks, Mr Adeseun said they were ready to follow Mr Adelabu to any political party where their dream of serving the people of the state would be actualised. Mr Adeseun, a former APC senatorial aspirant, assured Mr Adelabu of their wholehearted support in whichever party they eventually moved to. We cant continue to condone the excesses and impunity of these people, whose stock-in-trade is to hijack all about. We are the progressives and we will teach them politics, he said. Also, Olusola Ayandele, Kunle Sanda, Isiaka Alimi, Goke Oyetunji, Gunju Ojo and Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye in their separate remarks, declared their readiness to dump the APC. They also pledged their unflinching support toward the actualisation of Mr Adelabus governorship ambition in any of the political parties they agreed to join. Mr Adelabu was the governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 gubernatorial election in the state but lost to the incumbent governor, Seyi Makinde, who has also won the ticket of his party -the PDP for a second term in office. Mr Adelabu was reportedly backed by the then governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi, now late, to emerge as the governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 elections. Teslim Folarin, a serving senator, won the APC governorship ticket in the primary election conducted on Friday. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 The purport and import of our future that we sold for cheap dollar bills, as well as the mannequins without human feelings, in whose veins run no blood, which those dollar bills created at party primary grounds, will soon boomerang on us. By then, in the words of The Mighty Diamonds, a Jamaican harmony trio which recorded root reggae, with a strong Rastafarian influence, there will be weeping and wailing and mourning and gnashing of teeth. While touring Northern Nigerian provinces in the 1950s to canvass for votes, Ahmadu Bello, the great-great grandson of Uthman dan Fodio and premier of the Northern region, used to have his flowing robes stuffed with banknotes which he distributed to the electorate. For the Sardauna, that munificence took the place of campaigning. This was aptly captured by John Meagher, in his The Establishment of Military Government in Nigeria of February 16, 1966, with additional information from the National Archives and Research Administration (NARA) in Maryland, USA. So, on May 29, 2023, rather than victors in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential, National Assembly, gubernatorial and House of Assembly primaries, Money will be the Superman that will get sworn into office. Considering its overriding role in the primaries of the Nigerian political parties in the last few weeks, it will be grossly unfair not to give Money its due pride of place. By then, Money will be the Nigerian president, Lord of the Fish of the sea; birds of the air and commander of all living beings in the geography of Nigeria. To be fair, Money didnt just snatch this consequential role in Nigerian politics all of a sudden. From the First Republic, when politics took its shape as a decider of the fate of a vast number of people seeking development, Nigerian politicians immediately responded through a gale of the privatisation of public wealth, with public officials turning public offices into a type of prebend. In 1955, the Eastern Regions minister of Finance and a fierce columnist with the West African Pilot, Mbonu Ojike, also known by the moniker, Boycott the boycottables, whose column Weekend Catechism, was a must-read, was accused of collecting a kickback as a dash for the award of construction contracts to an Italian firm called Borini Prono. The money was suspected to have been planned to be funneled back into the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) for the conduct of elections. Allegations of corruption also marooned Ojike through his involvement in the purchase of shares in the African Continental Bank (ACB) by the Premier, Nnamdi Azikiwe, while he was minister of Finance. In 1964, a British company also offered to give a discount of 10 per cent on the bulk sales of 600 motor-scooters to S.L. Akintolas Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the party in government which had splintered from the Action Group. It was later found out that although a 10 per cent discount was given to the party, in real terms, 7.5 per cent showed on the partys invoice, with the remaining 2.5 per cent ending up as kickback for the conduct of elections by the party. Indeed, party fundraising was the conduit for funneling money into party politics during that period of the First Republic. The Republics minister of Finance, Festus Okotie-Eboh, said to have been described by one American diplomat as an inveterate ten-percenter due to his rapacious greed for creaming ten per cent off every contract awarded by government, was also reputed as a leg man for the Sardauna. The premier, through Okotie-Eboh, was said to have profited from the luscious public corruption of the glamorous First Republics minister of Finance, as he funneled huge monthly tranches of graft to him. Nigerias Second Republic saw politics go a notch higher in shamelessness. The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) signposted this privatisation of the public purse. Chief A.M.A Akinloye, Umaru Dikko and other party stalwarts made the contours separating government purse from personal purse indecipherable. Politicians of the ruling party then breakfasted in Lisbon, lunched in Paris and dined in California, at governments expense. Between the First and Second Republics, the Nigerian electorate seemed to have been taken to a schooling session, which toughened their hearts into becoming as hard as a snails shell. Gradually, the electorate was purged of its investment of any redemptive capability in the politician and began to take its destiny into its hands by demanding immediate lucre from the politicians. Ibrahim Babangidas Third Republic experience seemed to be the final nail on the coffin of a moralistic Nigerian politics. Babangida embossed the official stamp on political corruption. Through his National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), the military despot grew a crop of politicians who openly purchased the souls of the electorate for a fee. By the time Sani Abacha took over the mantle of office in late 1993, leading to the final ascendancy of the Fourth Republic in 1999, both the politician and the electorate had become alumni of the school of sewage politics, one offering, the other purchasing, haggling and bargaining the cost of votes, the same way market women do with tilapia fish. Although the Fourth Republic has been riven by a rather novel godification of money, what we have witnessed in the last few weeks is the limit. Politicians have been openly corrupting the electoral process recklessly, openly buying the hearts, the votes and the tomorrow of the electorate. Having reduced the naira to the uselessness of Zimbabwean dollars and the Benin Republic CFA Francs, no thanks to Godwin Emefiele, politicians have been deploying the American dollar to corrupt the electorate. Today, Mammon, that god of wads of crispy currency, reigns in Nigerias electoral politics, like D. O. Fagunwas Arogidigba. Anytime Nigerian politicians are about their festival of rituals, they capture the polity and money is slaughtered in sacrifice. According to Fagunwa, whenever Arogidigba wants to celebrate her rituals, there is always a spiritually occasioned storm. For the Nigerian polity, the case is similar. The electioneering process in Nigeria is a time that can be likened to when a hen perches on the rope and both the hen and the rope are in a state of quandary. In Ireke Onibudo, the Fagunwa character, Arogidigba, is the queen of all the fish in the sea. This fish, whose consuming powers and majesty can be likened to the Sir Victor Uwaifo-made popular Mammy Water, came under Fagunwas magically descriptive powers through his lead character, Ireke Onibudo. The queen of fish, Arogidigba, needed to feast on human flesh to celebrate her annual fish festival. It was the same time that Ireke is on a journey by boat and his boat gets overturned by a raging storm. He is subsequently captured and taken right underneath the sea bed, which is the kingdom of the fish. In Ireke Onibudos description of Arogidigba, this part animal, part human, wears the visage of a young lady, adorned with a beautiful hairdo and with a large fin. Arogidigba also has her house adorned with pots which, on entering it, a huge snake saunters out of. This consuming nature of the Queen of fish during its annual festival answers to the Nigerian period of election. Although the Fourth Republic has been riven by a rather novel godification of money, what we have witnessed in the last few weeks is the limit. Politicians have been openly corrupting the electoral process recklessly, openly buying the hearts, the votes and the tomorrow of the electorate. Having reduced the naira to the uselessness of Zimbabwean dollars and the Benin Republic CFA Francs, no thanks to Godwin Emefiele, politicians have been deploying the American dollar to corrupt the electorate. It got to its zenith last week, with an American dollar exchanging for well over N600 an unprecedented swing in thehistory of the Nigerian currency. Why has graft successfully become an emblem of Nigerian politics in this manner? Is there any hope that it will take a backseat in subsequent electoral considerations? To the second question, there is no hope that a jealous index like money will allow any other factor relegate it to a second place. This is because, like many parts of Africa, Nigeria operates a political and social culture where gratification occupies a prime place of prominence. Counterfeit democracies being run by the African political class have sustained this culture because our political culture has intermixed with our social culture, to the benefit of the political class. Indeed, graft has become an embedded feature of African democracy. Gift, dash and sundry monikers have been given to corruption from time immemorial in Africa. Parents sent their wards on errands promising them dash on return. Favours done in homes are requited with dashes and rewards. It is this culture of rewards that has enveloped and turned into the highly cancerous system of corruption in Nigeria. Unfortunately, it has metastasised in Nigeria over the decades. And because politicians go to office to line their esophagus, the electorate also feels compelled to wring their own dividends from representatives who are only seen when they are canvassing for votes in a four-yearly ritual. For the electorate, as such, the period of electioneering is one of excitement when they squeeze money from politicians. Between both, there seems to be an understanding that money given as bribe during election periods are the only dividend of democracy that would be given. Nick Cheeseman and Brian Klaas, in How To Rig An Election, said that between 2012 and 2016, 67 per cent of elections held in Sub-Saharan Africa featured significant vote-buying, while Latin America witnessed 36 per cent. According to them, there are also regional variations in the currency of clientelism (the purchasing of political clients through graft). While in Ghana, cutlasses are given out by politicians as gifts to influence votes, especially in agrarian communites, in Malaysia, the corruption is disguised in such a way that it does not look like vote purchase. Lucky draw raffles in which winners emerge are the order of the day in Malaysia. In a rural area of Thailand, like the Chonburi Province, vote buying goes for about 300 baht ($9) and as high as 3,000 bahr ($90). It is so exciting to the electorate that they call the lucrative night before election the night of the howling dogs kheun maa hawn. In Kenya, as at 2017, it was estimated that the total money spent by candidates for six elections contested for was $1 billion and governorship candidates spent up to $6 million. In India, politicians were said to have spent the sum of $5 billion to campaign for offices in 2014. By the way, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will be a shameless and toothless bulldog if it does not go after and grill the candidates who purportedly gave each delegate those huge American dollar bills at the venue of the PDP primary election. How was that behemoth sum come about? What jobs do the aspirants do? We have seen the bucks, where are their shops? All those were dwarfed by the bazaar in Nigeria in the last few weeks called party primaries. Ultimately, however, the people would be the losers of this huge votes or voters purchase. Though the bulk of the money being spent by politicians to buy the consciences of the voters were liberated from public purses, in cases where they are products of debts incurred from either loans or pawning of personal properties for the elections, the public purse suffers eventually as these politicians, upon coming into office, will first gouge out their investments and with interests. It is a colossal shame that electoral heists got to this astonishing level under a man who, on coming into government, parodied himself as a representation of the noblest values of public office. Under the tip of the nose of Muhammadu Buhari, political and electoral corruption have worsened and taken the shape of a hydra. When politicians paid N100 million to obtain party presidential office nomination forms and N50 million to run for the office of the governor, what absurd extent would they not go to ensure that their investments are secure? Political party primaries, preparatory to the 2023 elections, went into Albert Camus theatre of the absurd, in form and content. Not only were the sums on parade with which voters were bribed bafflingly shameful, money became the passport of election. The PDP presidential primaries held in Abuja on Saturday was said to be such an ugly spectacle that one of the aspirants, Muhammed Hayatudeen, stormed out of the process, claiming that there was obscene monetisation of the contest. Some aspirants were said to be offering as much as $15,000 dollars per delegate. Only an oil bunkerer could offer that much! In some other primary grounds, delegates, in the process of haggling about the amount on offer, unabashedly told aspirants not to bother to bring any infrastructure or development to their constituents once they paid them the acceptable amount of dollars. Exerting their pounds of flesh in instances where the delegates collected money and failed to vote accordingly, some aspirants were recorded to have used violence to recoup their money. The overall result of this charade that we call primaries is that, Money, rather than electorates, would elect into offices persons who will be sworn-in in May, 2023. Athenians of the Ancient Greece, who where the first known to practice democracy in the world in the 5th Century BC, and who came about this system of election, knew what they were doing by that concept of voting. Voting contains a spiritual element. In other words, when a voter drops his vote into the ballot, there is a spiritual bond that is created between him, the elector, and the elected. That bond is the adhesive that cements good governance and development in society. Now, in Nigeria, in place of that spiritual spectacle, what we have are mannequins who are ultimately creations of Mammon. They have no link with us, are not answerable to us and owe us nothing. By the way, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will be a shameless and toothless bulldog if it does not go after and grill the candidates who purportedly gave each delegate those huge American dollar bills at the venue of the PDP primary election. How was that behemoth sum come about? What jobs do the aspirants do? We have seen the bucks, where are their shops? The Yoruba will say that you cannot merchandise sand and refuse to collect stones as payment; something that Pete Edochie, in his striking local proverbs on Twitter, expressed as, a man who puts local gin in a Hennessey bottle may deceive onlookers but not his own throat. The purport and import of our future that we sold for cheap dollar bills, as well as the mannequins without human feelings, in whose veins run no blood, which those dollar bills created at party primary grounds, will soon boomerang on us. By then, in the words of The Mighty Diamonds, a Jamaican harmony trio which recorded root reggae, with a strong Rastafarian influence, there will be weeping and wailing and mourning and gnashing of teeth. Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Watching the drama of Senator Okorochas arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had all the elements of Nollywood, except that it made you wonder what somebody had smoked to demonstrate so much illusion of grandeur. The video clips streamed live only helped to diminish the man. If you were scrutinising everything from comparatively sedate Dar, the idiocy comes into sharper relief. It is good to step out of ones usual habitat once in a while in order to be able to properly digest happenings back home or, indeed, around the world. The week just ended has paid its dues to history. From my location in Dar es Salaam where the 2022 conference of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) held, the cascade of events and occurrences around the world hit one differently, like the dissimilitude between being hit by a brick and being struck by a water cannon. Watching the drama of Senator Okorochas arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had all the elements of Nollywood, except that it made you wonder what somebody had smoked to demonstrate so much illusion of grandeur. The video clips streamed live only helped to diminish the man. If you were scrutinising everything from comparatively sedate Dar, the idiocy comes into sharper relief. Many people did not see the resignation of leading Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential contender, Peter Obi, coming. He has since cast his lot with the Labour Party. Ordinarily, that ought to be a masterstroke. The Labour Party should be congratulated for teaming up with others to engineer a grand alliance to make the presidential contest a three-horse race, instead of a relay between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and PDP in which candidates are freely swapped. Doesnt the theatrics attending the recent purchase of presidential application/expression of interest forms show the levity with which the destiny of the nation is treated by politicians? The Labour Party has the potential to become a big party if it properly harnesses its human and material resources. In an issues-based contest, the Labour Party is better placed than most to articulate the way forward. So far, it has not yet adequately milked the yawning possibilities open to it. Perhaps with an articulate Peter Obi in its corner, it can begin to live up to its potential. Suffice it to say that if the ACN, ANPP, CPC, nPDP, and a faction of APGA could wrest power from the ruling PDP in 2015, so can another coalition. I am delighted that Obi has not allowed himself to be frustrated out of his desire to contribute meaningfully to the rebirth of Nigeria. The parties reportedly in the unfolding grand coalition are New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Labour Party (LP) and National Rescue Movement (NRM). The former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Professor Pat Utomi of the Labour Party, Senator Saidu Dansadau of the National Rescue Movement and The Political Alternative Movement (TPAM) led by Femi Falana, are also said to be involved in the political engineering. This wont be the first time attempts would be made to form a Third Force in Nigerias political contestation. Previous attempts floundered because of problems associated with contending egos and a lack of ideological clarity. The current attempt is being planned to navigate the slippery issues by focussing mainly on concerns such as the Labour Charter of Demands, the EndSARS Youths Demands, a Constitutional Referendum for Nigeria and other such issues whose resolution could help steer Nigeria away from disintegration. They deserve all the goodwill they can get. So does Dr Goodluck Jonathan deserve your prayers for his seeming inability to shake off those insisting on making a president of him all over again. In my neck of the woods, when you become a king, you stop using good luck potions, lest you are accused of aspiring to become God. But if the history of such violence in America is anything to go by, nothing concrete will be done to restrict access to such military grade weapons like the AR-15. The conservatives and ultra-nationalists are persuaded that they need to amass as many lethal weapons as possible to deter attacks by phantom blacks or foreigners, who they imagine are being brought into the country as replacement for whites. Farther afield, thousands of miles away, thunder has struck at the same place yet again as the U.S. grapples with its insane refusal to control access to military grade weapons. In two weeks, two 18-year-olds decided to depopulate their immediate space and they did exactly that. The first one in Buffalo, New York, was inspired by racism. The shooter wanted to kill as many black people as possible because he had been socialised to believe the White Replacement theory spun by whites and propagated by racist media like Fox News. The theory is founded on the belief that government officials are actively trying to replace white Americans with immigrants for election purposes. This theory had existed in white nationalist circles for decades but has recently gained traction among mainstream conservatives through advocates like Tucker Carlson. The Buffalo shooting suspect left a visible trail online. A more diligent monitoring of hopeless individuals like him would have exposed him before he carried out his crime. According to the co-founders of The Violence Project, James Densley and Jillian Peterson, Usually whats motivating these shootings is a element of self-hatred, hopelessness, despair, anger, thats turned outward to the world, said Densley, who is also a sociologist. The shooters were both 18 and male. Salvador Ramos was 18 years old and a high school dropout. Payton Gendron, is also 18, and white. Police had been invited last year when he threatened his high school. He was a human bomb waiting to be detonated. Peterson argues that 18 is a delicate age for possible psychological crises. We know that 18 is this kind of fragile age, this kind of coming of age where people tend to have mental health crises, or they may feel suicidal, she said. In her considered opinion, the shooters have the desire to have that pain, and that anger be known to the world, to have us all watch and witness it, to hear their names, to see their pictures, to read what theyve left behind for us to read. But if the history of such violence in America is anything to go by, nothing concrete will be done to restrict access to such military grade weapons like the AR-15. The conservatives and ultra-nationalists are persuaded that they need to amass as many lethal weapons as possible to deter attacks by phantom blacks or foreigners, who they imagine are being brought into the country as replacement for whites. CNN reports that Replacement Theory is the product of a strategy by wealthy White nationalists to enter the mainstream. It is based on ideas honed over decades in racist publications and conferences they funded that stayed mostly on the margins until 2014, when through a strange twist of events, it crashed into the internets biggest meme factories. It is not a coincidence that the descendants of former slave owners in America still want to exert similar advantages their forebears had over those they forcefully enslaved. Their reasoning seems to be that unless they have unfair advantages, which are violently enforced, they will not survive. Since then, it has been the stated motivation of mass murderers, and it is why White supremacists were chanting, Jews will not replace us, at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is not a coincidence that the descendants of former slave owners in America still want to exert similar advantages their forebears had over those they forcefully enslaved. Their reasoning seems to be that unless they have unfair advantages, which are violently enforced, they will not survive. Little wonder, the United States has more guns in circulation than people. It is not the fault of blacks that white people have chosen to have fewer children due to the increasing strain of individualism. It is only a matter of time that the demographics will change. No matter how contemptuous one is of mathematics, the racial/cultural group that makes more babies will eventually outnumber the one that does not. Pure common sense. But its not that simple for the racist whose major prop is hate. He hates Jews. He hates blacks. He hates Latinos. Eventually, because he lives such a joyless life of dark thoughts; because he inhabits the arid desert of bone-dry revulsion without the slightest dew of either remorse or human empathy, he is trapped in a very lonely world, even if he is constantly in a crowd. The internet has now made it possible for the racist lobby to intellectualise its conspiracy theory and recruit fellow demented minds to help spread an overwhelming sense of nihilism. Check out the e-bible of their evil campaign, 4chan. A post on the online forum 4chan, after the Buffalo shooting, reads: This world is Hell. I hope we live to see more of it burn. When God was depositing goodies in countries, many non-Americans accused God of unduly favouring America. How can only one country have all these great human and material resources while others have barely nothing? They asked. Wait until you see the kind of people I will put there, He replied. He must have had the racist lobby in mind. Wole Olaoye is a public relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on wole.olaoye@gmail.com. Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Faithfulness does not jump on anyone. There is no special anointing from God for some people to be faithful. It is an intentional effort, through the help of the Holy Spirit, in desiring to do things right at all times and in all cases. All through the Bible, God never trivialised the subject of faithfulness either in the Old or New Testament. Every single person that God distinguished and blessed was faithful to Him in their lives and callings. Who can find a faithful man. (Proverbs 20:6) One of the greatest principles of the scriptures is faithfulness. It is an extremely critical virtue and value of Gods kingdom that tons of Christians really know nothing about. What does it mean to be faithful? It refers to being truthful, loyal, consistent, and honest. Faithfulness is Gods greatest test of Christian character, because it is on that basis that we will all be judged after our time here on earth. Faithfulness does not jump on anyone. There is no special anointing from God for some people to be faithful. It is an intentional effort, through the help of the Holy Spirit, in desiring to do things right at all times and in all cases. All through the Bible, God never trivialised the subject of faithfulness either in the Old or New Testament. Every single person that God distinguished and blessed was faithful to Him in their lives and callings. Lets see some of these people in the scriptures. Jesus was faithful to God (Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people; Hebrews 2-17); Moses was faithful to God (Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house; Numbers 12-7); Tychicus was faithful to God (But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; Ephesians 6-21); David was faithful to God; 1 Samuel 22-14; Abraham was faithful to God (You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him; Nehemiah 9-8). The list is endless. The New Testament does not annul the need for faithfulness. Grace does not produce unfaithful people. Sadly, we are producing some of the most unfaithful generation of Christians since the time of the early apostles. All through the New Testament, Paul, in particular, with other apostles, spoke extensively about being faithful to God. Jesus, when speaking to John in the Island of Patmos, spoke about the faithfulness of some of the churches in Asia minor. Jesus said to the church in Smyrna, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Revelations 2-10). Lets now look at some critical areas of faithfulness that we must all embrace to live a life pleasing to God. One of the most serious crises facing the body of Christ in this day and age is the lack of faithfulness to Gods word among Christians. It is the worst since the history of the church began. Basically, Satan has invaded the minds of believers and theological spaces with a virus of errors and heresies. And whats the main purpose for this attack? To corrupt the body of Christ and produce a new generation of unfaithful Christians Faithfulness To Gods Word One of the most serious crises facing the body of Christ in this day and age is the lack of faithfulness to Gods word among Christians. It is the worst since the history of the church began. Basically, Satan has invaded the minds of believers and theological spaces with a virus of errors and heresies. And whats the main purpose for this attack? To corrupt the body of Christ and produce a new generation of unfaithful Christians to Gods word. First, what does it mean to be faithful to the word? Faithfulness to the word refers to: Honesty of heart in reading and accepting scriptural principles; Obedience to biblical principles, even when they hurt your plans and interests; Loyalty to biblical principles without prejudice or any form of reservation; Reverence and honour of Gods word at all times and in every situation. Where these are lacking, heresies, confusions and errors will pervade the church space with very serious consequences that we will discuss later on. We are presently bombarded by a very ferocious array of attacks from the most unlikely sources. The word of God has become second fiddle and, He has lost His place of honour and reverence in the lives of many in the church. At a particular time, Paul said to the church he was ministering to, For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20-27). Job also said in Job 15-8, Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? Where are the men and women who are sold out to the whole counsels of God? if youre reading me and are not married yet, let me ask you this question: Are you a faithful single? Are you a faithful bachelor? Are you a faithful spinster? If you dont answer this question and you jump into marriage, only God can help you, you will damage the life of your partner. You must solve the problem of unfaithfulness first before you enter into marriage. Faithfulness In Your Marriage To start with, we need to understand that marriage is not mans idea. That is where the problem is. We want to run an institution we didnt create with our own natural wisdom and strategy and time and again, failure has been the final product of such ventures. As I speak, marriage is one of the most endangered institutions on earth. It has become a regular subject of attack and disdain among Christians with many people calling for the abolishment of the biblical models of marriage. Why? Time and again, unfaithful men and women have continued to ruin the lives of their partners. Some of the problems associated with unfaithfulness in marriage that make many people to disdain the word of God include the following: Actual cases of extra-marital affairs from either the man or the woman; Keeping secret investments from your spouse, who is not actually a bad person to you; Working secretly with external forces to destroy your spouse; Working secretly to steal from or defraud your spouse; Working towards divorcing your spouse because youve found a so called better person; Deliberately fighting your spouse with the weapon or sex or finances or other privileges just to manipulate him/her to doing your bidding. You cannot produce faithful husbands who were not first faithful bachelors, neither can you produce faithful wives that were not first faithful spinsters. In other words, the foundation of faithfulness in marriage is to be a faithful person before going into marriage. And that is where the problem is. Although, it is possible for a faithful person to enter a marriage and for some reasons fall. But for the most part, most of the problems of unfaithfulness we are seeing in marriages are caused by unfaithful singles entering into marriages. So, if youre reading me and are not married yet, let me ask you this question: Are you a faithful single? Are you a faithful bachelor? Are you a faithful spinster? If you dont answer this question and you jump into marriage, only God can help you, you will damage the life of your partner. You must solve the problem of unfaithfulness first before you enter into marriage. Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist, and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Abdulaziz Nyako has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Adamawa Central senatorial district by securing 292 votes. Muazu Shehu, chairman of the electoral committee, announced this at the end of the primary election in Yola on Sunday. He said that 379 votes were cast out of which Mr Nyako got the highest of 292 votes to defeat Abdullahi Musa who received 72 votes and Bindir Buba who got 13 votes. Two votes were invalidated, he said. Based on this result, it is my singular honour to declare this morning that Abdulaziz Nyako scored the highest votes in this contest and is declared candidate for Adamawa Central senatorial district, Mr Shehu said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Mr Nyako was a senator from 2015 to 2019. In his acceptance speech, Mr Nyako described the election as free, fair and transparent. He thanked and appreciated the delegates for the confidence reposed in him and assured them of good representation if he wins at the 2023 election. Mr Nyako said he would carry the defeated aspirants along to ensure that the party in 2023. He said that someday those whom he defeated would win as he also contested in the past and lost. NAN reports that the exercise began with the accreditation of delegates at about 8 p.m. while voting started at 10:45 p.m. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Aspirants in the just-concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in Plateau have protested against the emergence of Nentawe Yilwatda as the candidate of the party. The aspirants expressed their disappointment and disapproval of the primaries in a statement signed by the Secretary of Forum of Plateau APC Aspirants, Danyaro Sarpiya. The statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos alleged that the whole process was not in consonance with the APC guidelines for the nomination of candidates for the 2023 general elections. They dismissed the claims that a gubernatorial primary took place on May 26, 2022, saying that the exercise was null and void and should be set aside. They called for the review of congresses from the ward level so as to make way for the proper election of delegates to participate in another primary that would produce a credible candidate. We have written an appeal to the appeal committee for a redress of this fraud to save the APC on the Plateau. Our grounds of appeal centre on the fact that there was no delegate election and the list of delegates was constantly being amended with the last change effected on the day of the primaries. The said delegates were sequestered by political appointees as well as Local Government Chairmen. During the primaries, unauthorised persons were in the venue to intimidate and follow up delegate votes, they alleged. The aspirants recalled that they had raised fundamental issues at a press briefing on May 9, and alerted the world about plans to impose Yilwatda on the party. Efforts to get the reaction of Plateau APC proved abortive as the Publicity Secretary, Sylvanus Namang, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was busy with APC Senate primaries. WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has clinched the Kebbi Central Senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Declaring the election result held at Haliru Abdu Secretariat, Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, the Returning Officer, Kelechi Njoku, said Mr Bagudu scored 455 votes to be the winner of the election. She said: On behalf of the Kebbi Central Senatorial Committee from Abuja, I hereby declare Gov. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu as the winner of the primary election held in Birnin Kebbi today, May 28 having scored the highest number of votes. Ms Njoku expressed satisfaction with the level of decorum exhibited by the delegates, party stakeholders and other party loyalists. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that a senator, Adamu Aliero, a strong contender for the ticket, withdrew from the race some hours before the commencement of the primary election. In his acceptance speech, Mr Bagudu thanked the committee, stakeholders and all other party loyalists for their support and cooperation that led to successful primaries in the state. While promising to ensure quality representation, Bagudu urged politicians to always accept election results in good faith, advising that they should remember that power only comes from Almighty God. Mr Bagudu recalled that in 2011, he defeated the PDP flag-bearer for the Kebbi Central Senatorial seat but in the interest of peace and unity he relinquished the mandate to Mr Aliero, assuring, If there is need for that today, I am ready to do the same thing in this present situation. (NAN) WATCH: Governor Yahaya Bello's Roadmap to Hope 2023 MANILA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are searching for eight missing crew members of a fishing vessel that sank off Palawan province after colliding with a cargo vessel on Saturday afternoon, a PCG spokesperson said on Sunday. Commodore Armand Balilo said the collision occurred before 6:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, 26 km northeast of Maracanao Island, and 13 out of the 21 crew had been rescued. The search and rescue operations were continuing, Balilo said, and the cargo vessel MV Happy Hiro, on its way to the central Philippines, was not damaged and had helped transport the rescued fishers safely. The maritime accident happened less than a week after a ferry carrying over 130 passengers and crew caught fire on May 23 while traveling to a town in Quezon province on the main Luzon island, leaving at least seven dead. Ferry accidents are not rare in the Philippines, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Manassas, VA (20110) Today Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. - Israel's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation spoke about the two countries' complementary strengths at the closing ceremony - Climate emerges as the countries' main shared challenge requiring cooperation on multiple fronts, especially energy, water, agriculture, and logistics - Start-Up Nation Central enters a series of partnerships with Moroccan counterparts to work on solving mutual human capital challenges CASABLANCA, Morocco, May 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new era of Israel-Morocco Business ties has launched following the successful "Morocco-Israel Connect to Innovate" conference which took place in Casablanca this week. The event, co-organised by Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit organization that promotes Israeli innovation around the world and Morocco's CPR, brought together government officials and 250 business leaders from the two countries and focused on ways to collaborate in the agrifood-tech, watertech, energy, logistics, and human capital sectors. These are areas of focus in H.M. King Mohamed VI's multi-year economic and social roadmap, The New Development Model. Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson with Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Orit Farkash-Hacohen, courtesy of Start-Up Nation Central "Let us join forces and connect to innovate, to give a chance for peace for the sake of our children and the safety of all," H.E. Mr. Andre Azoulay, Advisor to King Mohammed VI said. Israel's Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Orit Farkash Hacohen, headlined the closing ceremony of the conference shortly after signing a new cooperation agreement in the fields of AI, agricultural technologies, watertech, energy, healthcare, space, and automotive with her Moroccan counterpart, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, H.E. Abdellatif Miraoui. "There is great potential for Israel's high-tech industry in the Kingdom of Morocco, in the fields of water desalination and other water technologies, renewable energy, agriculture, sustainability, and more," said Minister Farkash- Hacohen. "The strengths of the Israeli innovation industry have complimentary business opportunities in Morocco. We will continue to support the maximization of the economic potential between Morocco and Israel. There is a lot to aspire to." "The last three days here in Casablanca have proven that there is a genuine desire by government leaders and business people from both Israel and Morocco to work together and form meaningful business partnerships. By bringing together 250 senior members of the public and private sector for a series of constructive meetings and engaging sessions, we have entered a new era in binational relations, one founded on innovation," Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson said. "In less than 24 hours since the conclusion of the conference, we have already seen new collaborations and deals made as a result of Israeli and Moroccan business people meeting at the event. There will be additional significant deals announced in the weeks to come, including the launch of many partnerships to solve the two nations' human capital challenges. On behalf of our team, I would like to thank the Moroccan government and all our partners in the Connect to Innovate conference. The historic event marked the start of our shared innovation journey. But this is only the beginning." Binational business ties, slow to form following the signing of the normalization agreement and renewed diplomatic relations in late 2020, received a boost during the conference with the signing of a series of commercial agreements and MOUs that paved the way for more robust relations going forward. What emerged from the many discussions was that Israel and Morocco share many of the same challenges, particularly when it comes to tackling the climate crisis and both its immediate and longer-term ramifications and the understanding that it is a challenge that cuts across all industries that demands solutions from multiple disciplines that must also stem from cross-border collaborations. Israel, with more than 700 climate-tech companies, and Morocco, with its leading position in the field of alternative energy, and particularly solar technology, are well-positioned to tackle the challenge through joint initiatives that will aid not only the people of the MENA region but all over the globe. To ensure the success of the conference, Start-Up Nation Central partnered with key Moroccan businesses and governmental agencies, including the Confederation Generale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM); AMDIE; ONEE; Credit Agricole du Maroc; ADD; The Foundation for Research, Development, and Innovation in Science and Engineering (FRDISI); UM6P; Ithmar Capital; Tamwilcom; AMDL; SNTL, and Lina Holding. About Start-Up Nation Central: Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that connects Israeli innovation to the world in order to help international entities solve global challenges. Immersed in the Israeli technology ecosystem, we provide a platform that nurtures business growth and generates partnerships with corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs to strengthen Israel's economy and society. For more information, visit: https://startupnationcentral.org/ Click here for the full list of partners and innovative companies who took part in the conference. SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC) California-based cybersecurity company showcases innovative cyber threat intelligence and digital risk management technologies at Milipol Asia-Pacific 2022 (APAC) LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Resecurity, a cybersecurity and intelligence company, showcased its next-generation cybersecurity platform at the 2022 MILIPOL Asia-Pacific (APAC) conference in Singapore. The MILIPOL APAC event welcomed over 7,000 government and law enforcement leaders and 300 exhibitors to share their experiences, best practices and expertise regarding the myriad of security challenges facing local and regional government security forces. Government organizations face sophisticated and ever-evolving security threats that have led to record cyber incidents in 2021. To help arm government forces with the latest knowledge and technology, MILIPOL APAC focused on connecting homeland security organizations and commercial innovators in emerging markets like cybersecurity to enhance national resilience and public safety. "Resecurity is proud to have participated in this year's MILIPOL APAC event. As governments protect and respond against increasing cyber threats, we must provide nations with the insights and technology they need to keep pace with adversaries," said Gene Yoo, CEO of Resecurity. "Resecurity aims to streamline cyber risk and intelligence insights with our platform, enabling government security forces to quickly identify and score the network, identity, technology and geographical risks within their ecosystem using Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) concept." Uniquely positioned to provide real-time, contextualized threat intelligence, Resecurity exhibited its latest research, risk management and security capabilities that protect organizations on multiple levels, including network, cloud, applications, and users. The innovative cyber threat intelligence platform combines several tools, allowing administrators to reduce potential blind spots and security gaps by quickly seeing in-depth analysis and specific artifacts obtained through the dark web, botnets activity, network intelligence and high-quality threat intelligence data. Held May 18-20, 2022, MILIPOL Asia-Pacific is the largest homeland security event in the Asia Pacific. The event was fully endorsed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore and the Ministry of the Interior of France and welcomed speakers from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), ASEANAPOL, World Customs Organization (WCO) and INTERPOL. To learn more about Resecurity's cyber risk management and threat intelligence solutions exhibited at MILIPOL Asia-Pacific, visit https://resecurity.com . About Resecurity Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence. Known for providing best-of-breed data-driven intelligence solutions, Resecurity's services and platforms focus on early-warning identification of data breaches and comprehensive protection against cybersecurity risks. Founded in 2016, it has been globally recognized as one of the world's most innovative cybersecurity companies with the sole mission of enabling organizations to combat cyber threats regardless of how sophisticated they are. Most recently, Resecurity was named as one of the Top 10 fastest-growing private cybersecurity companies in Los Angeles, California by Inc. Magazine. An Official Member of Infragard, AFCEA, NDIA, SIA and FS-ISAC. To learn more about Resecurity, visit https://resecurity.com . SOURCE Resecurity Receive FREE Sample Procurement Market Research Report Frequently Asked Questions: What are the major market threats? Suppliers in this market have moderate bargaining power owing to low pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants. Suppliers in this market have moderate bargaining power owing to low pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants. What is the expected price change in the market? The Fuel Cards Market is expected to have a price change of 4%-8% during 2022-2026. The Fuel Cards Market is expected to have a price change of 4%-8% during 2022-2026. Who are the top players in the market? BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell , and Total SA. are some of the major market participants. BP Plc, , and Total SA. are some of the major market participants. What are the pricing models followed by buyers? Tiered Pricing model, and Subscription-based Pricing model are the widely adopted pricing models in Fuel Cards Market. Tiered Pricing model, and Subscription-based Pricing model are the widely adopted pricing models in Fuel Cards Market. What will be incremental spend in commercial vehicle cabin procurement? The procurement market will register an incremental spend of about USD 326.3 billion , during 2022-2026. The procurement market will register an incremental spend of about , during 2022-2026. What is the CAGR for Fuel Cards market? The Fuel Cards market will grow at a CAGR of about 9.21% during 2022-2026. SpendEdge suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. SpendEdge's in-depth research has direct and indirect COVID-19 impacted market research reports. Receive Free Sample Report to access the definite purchasing guide on Fuel Cards procurement. Top Selling Trending Reports: 1. Smart Meter Sourcing and Procurement Report 2. Air Compressors Sourcing and Procurement Report 3. Leak Detection Equipment Procurement Forecast and Analysis Report 4. Steel Pipe Sourcing and Procurement Report 5. Pipeline Equipment Sourcing and Procurement Report Key Insights Provided in the Fuel Cards Research Report: Am I paying/getting the right prices? Favorability of the current Fuel Cards's TCO (total cost of ownership) How is the price forecast expected to change? How is the price forecast expected to change? What is driving the current and future price changes? Key trends and drivers in this market Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more: https://procurement.spendedge.com/talk-to-us Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge enCore Energy Corp. (TSX-V:EU, OTCQB:ENCUF) executive chairman William M Sheriff joined Proactive's Stephen Gunnion with details of the sale of its Cebolleta Uranium Project in New Mexico to Future Fuel Corporation. Sheriff telling Proactive that the move is a major step towards reaching enCores goal of becoming the next producer of American uranium. The sale resulted in enCore holding approximately 15.90% of Future Fuels and a US$250,000 boost to its balance sheet, which he said will help bring enCore's Rosita Central Uranium Processing Plant back into production. Kiev, May 29 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he had discussed defence support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We talked about strengthening defence support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted. The Ukrainian leader added that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier this month, Johnson announced that the UK government will provide 1.3 billion pounds (about $1.64 billion) in military aid for Ukraine. Chennai, May 29 : Citing the recent killings in Chennai, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition K. Palaniswami, has said that the state capital is "turning into a murder city with 18 murders in 20 days". However, Greater Chennai City police commissioner, Shankar Jiwal refuted the claim, saying that only 10 murders took place in the city, and of them, four were due to personal enmity and six because of family disputes. Palaniswami made the remark immediately after the killing of BJP's district leader, K. Balachander in Chennai's Chintadripet area. While the top police officer has all the right to defend his force, the killing of a small-time financier, Arumugham (36), on the busy Aminjikarai road in broad daylight was a shock. Four men chased the financier and hacked him to death. The DMK government has assumed office in May 2021 with the promise that the police will be strict and would deal with the miscreants with an iron fist. However, with number of killings on rise in many parts of Tamil Nadu, the police force and the state administration seems to be on the receiving end. On May 26, the day when the Prime Minister was arriving in the state, Lakshmanan, a 55-year-old priest, was hacked to death in Madurai by a three-member gang while he was on way to temple. This was another major blow for the Tamil Nadu Police, forcing the Director-General of Police (DGP) to intervene in the matter. Police acted swiftly and arrested the culprits who were close relatives of the deceased priest. Meanwhile, in another embarrassment for the state police, two alleged custodial deaths took place on April 19 and 26 in two seperate incidents in Chennai and Myladuthurai. In Chennai, a Scheduled Caste youth Vignesh who was picked up by the police along with an accomplice Suresh on April 18 died on 19 in the police station. Autopsy revealed that Vignesh had 13 injuries including a broken right leg and bruises on the face, hands, shoulders, and chest. Sub-Inspector of Police and constables were arrested in the case. Similarly, on April 26, Thangamani(46) died in Myladuthurai sub-jail. He was picked by the police on April 25 charging that he was brewing illicit liquor. The relatives of the deceased alleged that Thangamani was brutally tortured in the station and he died in sub-jail on next day morning due to the torture inflicted in the station. In Chengalpattu district, adjoining Chennai, two youths were hacked to death by a three-member gang in January. Chengalpattu district is home to several major industries in Tamil Nadu including international automobile manufacturers and software companies, and the brutal killings could possibly lead to the loss of investors' confidence. R. Swaminathan, head of industrial relations in a big multinational company in Chengalpattu while speaking to IANS said: "Any investor will be comfortable when the law and order situation is good but after the murder of two youths and another killing have led to sort of uneasiness in our management. The government is trying its best it seems, but we need assurance that the police will deal with an iron hand." Even as killings have turned routine and people are worried over the frequent murders, DGP C. Sylendrababu told reporters on May 24 that the law and order situation was well maintained in the state. The DGP said: "No instances of caste or communal clashes in Tamil Nadu or firing or deaths due to spurious liquor, occurred in the state. So it is very peaceful." However, he admitted that illicit liquor was brewed in certain parts of the state but the police have arrested several people who were indulging in illicit brewing of liquor. While the DGP is claiming that there are no caste-related killings in the state, four beheadings in 10 days during September 2021 had sent a chill through the spines of people of south Tamil Nadu. All the murders were caste-related and the DGP had to camp in Madurai and intervene to quench the violence erupted following the incidents. C. Rajeev, Director, Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a think tank based out of Chennai, while speaking to IANS, said: "Back to back killings and custodial deaths have dented the image of Tamil Nadu police and the Chief Minister who is in charge of the home department must ensure that law and order are maintained properly for a safe and peaceful Tamil Nadu. No one must be allowed to take the law into his hands, and beyond a point, situation would turn grave and out of control if it is not handled now." Agartala, May 29 : A tug of war has been going on between the Tripura government and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over the withdrawal of one battalion of elite Tripura State Rifles (TSR), posted in Delhi in November 2019. A senior Tripura Home Department official said that since January this year, the state government in four separate letters requested the MHA to return the TSR to Tripura, but the Central Ministry did not respond positively. Tripura Home Department's Deputy Secretary D. Kilikdar in his fourth letter to the MHA, said: "One battalion of TSR (around 1,000 personnel) has been deployed with Delhi Police since November 20, 2019 for law and order duty. But due to our own requirement of the force in Tripura, the state government has decided to withdraw the force deployed with Delhi Police." "Kindly release this battalion at an early date for duty with the government of Tripura," says the letter, available with IANS. A state Home Department official, on the condition of anonymity, told IANS that, out of 12 battalions, one battalion of TSR now providing security to the South Eastern Coalfields Limited in Chattisgarh, one battalion to the Oil and Natural Gas Company in Tripura and several companies (with 125 to 130 jawans in each company) to Tripura Natural Gas Company, ONGC Thermal Power Plant (at Palatana in southern Tripura), and various gas drilling organisations. "Over 500 TSR jawans are providing security to the Ministers and VVIPs. Very inadequate numbers of TSR personnel are now engaged in the law and order and counter insurgency related duties, for which the force was created in 1984," the official said. Besides providing security during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the India Reserve (IR) battalions of TSR had earlier performed election duties in more than 18 states including Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Jharkhand, Haryana and to the northeastern states, to provide security during the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Trained in counter-insurgency operations, the TSR troopers have demonstrated excellent performance in Tripura in taming the four-and-a-half decades old terrorism in the northeastern state. In the IR battalion, 75 per cent of its personnel are from Tripura, while the remaining are from across the country. The TSR has 12 battalions, of which nine are IR battalions. The Union Home Ministry has recently sanctioned two more IR battalions of TSR and the Tripura government has completed the process of recruitment of 1,433 riflemen for the two fresh TSR battalions and they are now under training. "The IR battalions can be posted anywhere in the country as and when the Union Home Ministry asks the concerned state government," a TSR commandant, unwilling to be named, told IANS. Historian and writer Pannalal Roy, who wrote many books on royal history of Tripura, said that since the regime of king Birchandra Manikya Bahadur (1862 to 1896), the police and military force had been given an initial shape. "When the British domination and supremacy started on the erstwhile kings in 1761, the kings had to take permission from the British ruler to purchase or to collect even a rifle. "However, during the governance of Tripura's last king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur (1923-1947), the police and military force turned into an organised force," Roy told IANS. At the end of several hundred year-rule by 184 kings, on October 15, 1949, the erstwhile princely state of Tripura came under the control of the Indian government after a merger agreement was signed between regent Maharani Kanchan Prabha Devi and the Indian Governor General. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) Jakarta, May 29 : A search operation is underway for 25 persons who remain unaccounted for after a ship with about 42 people on board capsized in the waters off Indonesia's South Sulawesi province, according to an official. The vessel capsized at 1 p.m. in the Makassar Strait on May 26, but the incident was reported to the provincial search and rescue office on Saturday, the official told Xinhua news agency. "After receiving the information, we immediately deployed our personnel and equipment to the scene for a search and rescue mission. "About 45 rescuers and a ship have already been on the spot near a small island," the official said, adding that a plane or chopper will be dispatched to join the search. So far, 17 people on board the ill-fated vessel have been rescued. According to the official, the ship suffered an engine failure when it was hit by huge waves in the strait after departing from the Paotere Harbor in Makassar, the capital of the province. The ship was heading to a seaport in Pangkajene district. Ranchi, May 29 : A boy, who used to roam from village to village distributing newspapers in Jharkhand barely earning Rs 700-800 in a month, had to leave his village at an age of 17-18 in search of better work and while leaving home his father gave him Rs 1,500. He reached Chennai in search of a job and became a waiter in a restaurant. He worked hard with dedication and gradually became the restaurant manager. And today, he owns four restaurants in Singapore, which employ about 250 employees. He is now working on a plan to open a chain of 100 restaurants in different countries. This motivating journey of struggle and entrepreneurship of Chandradev Kumar Sharma, who hails from an extremely backward and Maoist-affected Churchu block under Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, spans a total of 15 years. Chandradev shared his story with IANS. He said that because of his family's poor financial condition, he started distributing newspapers at the age of 15-16. In those days the undeclared rule of the Maoists was prevailing in their village and the surrounding areas. He used to give news and information of the area to a newspaper office in Hazaribagh district headquarters. Due to this people also started recognising him as a reporter in the rural areas. Once a Maoist commander got angry over one of his news reports and he (Sharma) started receiving threats, the family members got scared and that's when he decided to leave his village. He had only Rs 1,500, given by his father, in his pocket. This was in 2004. After leaving home, he reached Mumbai. There he got a job as a waiter in a restaurant for Rs 700 a month. Then he moved to Chennai, where he again took the job of a waiter in a big restaurant of Oriental Cuisine Pvt Ltd at a slightly higher salary. During the year and a half, the company's director Mahadevan got very impressed with Chandradev's dedication, hard work and honesty. In those days, the company decided to open a restaurant in Singapore. Mahadevan sent some people, including Chandradev to Singapore. There also, Chandradev started working as a waiter, but his salary increased to Rs 30,000. After a few months, seeing his efficiency, he was made the manager of the restaurant. Impressed by his behaviour, a frequent customer of the restaurant offered Chandradev to open a new restaurant in partnership. By that time Chandradev had saved about Rs 3 lakh from his salary money. The estimated cost of opening the restaurant was Rs 50 lakh. The person offering the partnership said that even if he invests Rs 6 lakh, he will make him a partner in the restaurant. Chandradev raised the money by borrowing from friends and then opened the first restaurant -- Tandoori Culture -- in partnership in 2011. Chandradev did not leave the job of Oriental Cuisine even after opening his restaurant. He worked there during the day and at his restaurant at night. Within a year, his restaurant got established and made a profit of about Rs 50 lakh. In 2013, another restaurant with a capacity of 70 people with the same name was opened by him on a partnership basis. Chandradev said that as per the rules of Singapore, a person who is not a citizen there is only allowed to do business in partnership with a local citizen. In the year 2020, on February 28 and 29, on two consecutive days, he opened two different restaurants, namely 'Tandoori Zaika' and 'Salaam Mumbai'. According to him, today his business' worth is over Rs 15 crore. About 250 people work in these four restaurants, of which about 30 people are Indians. This is because according to Singapore rules, only one out of every seven workers in a company can be a non-citizen of Singapore. Even after coming a long way, Chandradev has not given up on his roots. These days he is in his village. He says that every person has a debt and duty towards his soil. That's why he has opened an inter college in Churchu this year. It is his endeavour that the students enrolled there should get almost free education. Symbolically, a nominal fee has been fixed. He wants that even though his education could not be proper, the children of the area should get good higher education and have a better future. New Delhi, May 29 : Even as the BJP is preparing for a mega celebration across the country to mark the completion of 8 years of the Narendra Modi government, the party's 'Mission Expansion' is in full swing. After 2014, the BJP has been winning continuously in other states except Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and the southern states. The BJP's biggest concern currently remains South India. Since its formation in 1980, the BJP has been continuously trying to increase its base in South India. Karnataka is the only state in South India where the BJP has managed to form its government besides the Union Territory of Puducherry. But despite all its efforts, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu remain a challenge for the saffron party. Assembly elections are to be held in the southern states of Karnataka and Telangana in 2023, while in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the elections will be held in 2026. During his party president tenure, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had prepared a special plan regarding the party's 'Mission South India', which the current BJP president JP Nadda is trying to implement. The most important thing is that the party's top leadership -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JP Nadda and Amit Shah -- have taken the responsibility to lead from the front to make the BJP's 'Mission South India' a success. After Karnataka, now the BJP top leadership has high hopes from Telangana, so the party is going all out in that state. JP Nadda and Amit Shah are constantly touring the state. The party's national general secretary BL Santosh is monitoring the efforts to strengthen the party there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state on May 26 in a bid to increase the BJP's base there. Addressing a rally in Hyderabad, Modi accused the state's TRS government and the Chief Minister of dynastic rule and superstition, saying that where dynastic parties are rooted out, rapid development takes place there. Describing the dynastic parties as the enemies of democracy, he said that nepotism takes away opportunities from the youth and crushes their dreams because they only fill their own coffers and can never do any good to the state. Referring to the decade-long agitation for the formation of Telangana state, the Prime Minister said that this movement was not for the welfare of one family but for the future of Telangana, for the glory of Telangana. Modi made his intentions clear by visiting Chennai in Tamil Nadu on May 26 itself. Though the Assembly elections are to be held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu only in 2026, but before that in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, the party wants to send out a signal to the voters of the rise of the BJP by proving its mettle in these two states. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, so by increasing the party's base in Kerala, the BJP wants to surround the Left Front government in the state as well as Rahul Gandhi. Union Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections in Amethi, had also recently visited Wayanad. The five states of South India -- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka -- elect 129 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, these five states can play a big role in forming the government, so it has become crucial for the BJP to increase its support base in these states. They are receiving special attention in programmes to strengthen the party and increase the support base in 73,000 weak booths across the country. Los Angeles, May 29 : The haunted house which inspired the popular 'The Conjuring' horror film franchise has been sold. As a young woman noted at the beginning of 'The Conjuring': "It scares us just thinking about it.", she was talking about the elements that went into the film. But that statement also applies to the real estate price wars that are driving housing toward the sky throughout the country. In Rhode Island, that means that the early 19th century house that inspired the horror film, but wasn't shot there, fetched a price 27 per cent above asking, selling recently for $1.52 million, reports 'Deadline'. For the uninitiated, the 2013 horror film is a fictionalised account of the Perron family and their work with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The house has a history of murder rape and suicide. Apparently that's not enough to dissuade buyers in this over-heated market: the property's listing says it's rumoured to be haunted by the spirit of Bathsheba Sherman, who resided there in the 19th century. According to 'Deadline', the 3,109-square-foot house is located at 1677 Round Top Road in Burrillville,. The sellers were paranormal investigators Jenn and Cory Heinzen, and they profited handsomely on the deal. They purchased the home for $439,000 in 2019. The Heinzens allegedly spent four months keeping themselves to one room as "a sign of respect for the spirits, letting them get used to us instead of barging in", they told The Wall Street Journal at the time of listing. Still, they were paid a visit by a black-coloured figure. "Once we realised we were both awake and both seeing it, it was gone," Cory Heinzen told the publication. The pair have also heard footsteps and knocks, and have even seen flashes of light in rooms that don't have lights in them. The publication reported that the new owner is a Boston real-estate developer named Jacqueline Nunez, 58. She was one of more than 10 offers on the property. She agreed to meet one unique demand of the sellers: not living in the home for the buyer's own good. "This is a very personal purchase for me," Nunez, who was represented by Ricardo Rodriguez and Bethany Eddy of Coldwell Banker Realty in Providence, told The Wall Street Journal. "When it hit the market, I thought, 'This is a property that enables people to speak to the dead'." She says she will host events at the house with the Perron family. "I'm not afraid of the house," Nunez said, and added, "ask me again in a year". Chennai/New Delhi, May 29 : Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy has blamed an "extremely rare" phenomenon for a fire at its experience centre in Chennai, saying structural breach allowed water to find its way into the battery pack of the scooter, which triggered a thermal runaway event resulting in smoke and fire. The EV maker said the scooter in question had been brought to the Nungambakkam facility for service after an accident. The service crew apparently subjected the Ather 450 electric scooter to a high-pressure wash to remove dust and mud that had accumulated on the scooter over time. The crew later "discovered a crack on the top casing of the battery pack", which, the company believes, was due to the accident of the scooter. "A structural breach allowed water to find its way into the battery pack of the scooter, which triggered a thermal runaway event," the company claimed. The EV maker said such an incident has never happened with neither its test vehicles nor any scooters it has sold to date. "The crack in the casing allowed water into the battery pack - which is both IP67-rated as well as AIS 156-compliant - that made its way to the 224 cells in the pack," said the company, adding it was an 'impossible to solve' scenario in terms of saving the battery pack. The EV maker also said that the scooter in question had a number of 'non-standard parts' in place of the stock screws surrounding the battery pack, adding that it is increasing the pre-checks for accident cases to avoid such incidents in the future. The company had earlier said in a tweet that there has been a minor fire incident on its premises in Chennai. "While some property and scooters got affected, thankfully all employees are safe and things are under control. The experience centre will be operational shortly," the EV company said. This was the first time Ather Energy came in news for a fire incident as several top EV players are facing government inquiry over battery explosions and fire incidents across the country. A Hero Photon Electric scooter in Odisha caught fire this week while it was being charged. The incident left the scooter partially damaged. EV makers such as Ola Electric, Pure EV, Jitendra EV Tech and Okinawa have been involved in earlier EV fire incidents. A government panel probing EV fire incidents is set to submit its report next week. Los Angeles, May 29 : Hollywood star Johnny Depp is rumoured to be making his post-trial film comeback by starring in 'Beetlejuice 2'. According to aceshowbiz.com, fans have flooded social media with the claim after they noticed the embattled actor's name seemed to appear on a call sheet found when they said they searched on Google for the 'Beetlejuice' sequel. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder are also rumoured to be reprising their roles from director Tim Burton's 1988 original alongside Depp. The rumour started making the rounds ahead of the jury in Depp's defamation case against former wife Amber Heard being dismissed to deliberate on the feud. The 1998 film revolved around a dead married couple, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, who are resurrected as gormless ghosts who become hell-bent on haunting an irritating family out of their dream home. Fans said they would be overjoyed to see Depp in the follow up, especially after his gruelling days in court fighting to prove he is not a domestic abuser. Ryder, who played goth Lydia Deetz in 'Beetlejuice' and was engaged to Depp for three years from July 1990, has defended her former fiance Depp throughout his legal battles. She said her experience with the actor is "wildly different" than the allegations that Heard has made. "I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man, an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him," Ryder said in court in July 2020. "I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true. I find it extremely upsetting, knowing him as I do." Ryder, who also starred alongside Depp in 'Edward Scissorhands', has said she is 'hopeful' that 'Beetlejuice 2' will go ahead. She confirmed on May 24 in an interview with USA Today she would be appearing in the cast by declaring: "I'm in! I'm definitely excited and I'm really hopeful that it'll happen." "The only way we would do it is if everything was perfect and we had all the people, obviously Michael and obviously Tim." 'Beetlejuice 2' would again reunite Depp with his long-standing collaborator director Tim Burton, who has cast Depp in eight of his films including 'Ed Wood' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. It is slated for release in the summer of 2025. Bengaluru, May 29 : At a time when global recession and other factors are proving to be detrimental to the prospects of startups, Bengaluru startup ecosystem still remains upbeat despite news of layoffs and investment crunch. Due to the competitiveness of startups, the job market is still hot in Bengaluru. The industry sources say there are 9,000 layoffs already in two weeks in Bengaluru alone. The layoffs are coming in the operations team, HR divisions. The engineers, who form the core group are not touched yet, they explain. The investors are not considering the projected growth. The startup's high projected rate for the long term is no longer considered by investors. They are focusing on actual present earnings, explain Industrial sources. According to industry pundits, major IT, BT companies are worried about attrition and talent hunt remains the top priority. The Karnataka government is preparing to host the Global Investors Meet (GIM) in Bengaluru after two years of Covid hiatus. Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani has announced that the government is expecting Rs 5 lakh crore investments in the state. The GIM is scheduled to be held between November 2 and 4. The Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had extended his Davos trip by a day at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Meet to hold talks with key business players at the global level. "The impact of what could be seen is that investors are more careful and startups are made more accountable as a result of global trends and predicted recession in the US in the coming year. But, this has not changed anything with the job market. The startups are making offers on par with giants in the IT industry and youngsters are taking the risk," an industry insider says. Commenting on the trend, Able Joseph, Founder and CEO, Aisle, told IANS, "In the initial years of a business, founders should consider being present at work daily, sitting with their teams, and being hands-on in solving business problems on a day-to-day basis. "It is incredibly important to be physically present to guide and motivate your managers and teams, rather than placing more focus on raising funds, and dictating your vision from a pedestal. "Not all startups need venture capital funding to put together a team, build a meaningful business, innovate, monetize, scale, and compete with global brands. At Aisle, we have managed to achieve all of this without VCs, although one could say we're not the most qualified as compared to our peers." The industry, though, seems to be more worried about the infrastructure of Bengaluru. Biocon Chief Kiran Majumdar-Shaw has raised the issue of the pathetic condition of road infrastructure in Bengaluru. She also raised her voice on social unrest following a series of communal related developments in Karnataka spoiling the chances of India being a global leader in IT and BT industry. Two-time Grammy-winning music composer Ricky Kej, upon landing in his home city after the Cannes Film Festival, had roundly criticised the immigration process at the KempeGowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Ricky had tweeted: "How are we expected to build 'brand India' if this is the welcome that everyone gets by the airports. The first impression of India for foreign travelers." The incident spurred Majumdar-Shaw to again flag her concerns about the crumbling infrastructure of Bengaluru. Chief Minister Bommai has assured that these challenges will be resolved by November. But industry observers here believe that the gloom in the startup sector is entirely of its own making. Sabyasachi Das, CTO and founder of the startup Nordische, which developed world's first aluminum-graphene pouch cell battery for mobile phones, articulated this point of view when he said: "They are all like spoiled kids of rich fathers. That is what happens. They are used to the comfort and so when one day papa says he has no money, they are not able to absorb the shock." Bhopal, May 29 : A racket involved in placing online bets on Indian Premier League (IPL) matches was busted and three bookies were arrested in this connection in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district. The police also recovered Rs 70.65 lakh cash during a raid conducted late on Saturday. The final match of the league between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans is scheduled at Motera stadium on Sunday. As per the police, a raid was conducted in two flats located in two different high-rises - Napier Town and Muskan Heights. The arrested have been identified as Akash Goga, his brother Ajit Goga and Interjit Singh. Superintendent of Police (SP) Jabalpur, Siddharth Bahuguna said, "The police had recovered over Rs 1 crore cash in the past few days, which include Rs 70.65 lakh seized on Saturday night in the district. Police teams are keeping a close watch on bookies organising online betting." Bahuguna further said that Goga brothers were involved in betting and other illegal activities for the past several years. Earlier, district police had arrested kingpin of online betting Satish Sampal from Jabalpur and a huge amount of cash was recovered. Police said that the further investigation in the matter was underway. Last week, a postmaster in Madhya Pradesh's Bina area robbed more than two dozen families' fixed deposits to bet on the IPL matches and lost Rs one crore. Thiruvananthapuram, May 29 : Former Chief Whip of Kerala and Janapaksham leader, P.C. George has alleged that it was the CPI-M that had "tortured and even killed the Christians" in Kerala. He was responding to the Saturday statement of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who has said that the BJP and RSS had tortured and killed Christians in several parts of the country. George, who was in jail following a hate speech that he had made during a Hindu convention at Thiruvananthapuram, is out on bail and had lashed out against the Chief Minister and CPI-M during a press conference at the Thrikkakara NDA election committee office. The veteran leader said that it was the Communist government of veteran CPI-M leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad that had killed seven Christians in police firing during a peaceful agitation. He said that in another case of police firing at Thiruvananthapuram, a pregnant woman, Flory was killed. George said that the Angamaly Church has photographs of all those who were killed in the indiscriminate police firing done at the orders of the CPI-M Chief Minister. George also said that the countdown of Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI-M government has begun and that the Thrikkakara by-election will be the first step for the countdown of Pinarayi. He also lashed out against opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan said that Satheeshan was the worst opposition leader Kerala has ever seen. He said that Satheeshan had joined hands with Pinarayi against him, and said that both the leaders were playing for the Muslim vote bank George said that the police were dancing to the tune of Pinarayi and that in Kerala there was no fair and free investigation. He said that Mujahid Balussery, a Salafi preacher had said that those who give donations to the Hindu temples are worse than people who pay money in a brothel. George said that no action was taken against Mujahid Balussery and several others who had indulged in hate speech, but he was singled out to appease the political Islamists. Los Angeles, May 29 : Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey is doing what he can to help after this week's tragic school shooting that shook his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. After Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 21 people including 19 students and two adults, the Academy Award winner, 52, paid a visit to the community with Rep. Tony Gonzales on Friday at Uvalde Civic Centre, People has confirmed. According to aPeople', during the visit, he met with families and those affected by the tragedy, including parents who lost their kids during the shooting. "Thank you Matthew for helping to heal our community. Your visit brought so many smiling faces to Uvalde. See you soon my friend," Gonzales, 41, wrote on Twitter, also sharing photos of the visit. McConaughey's trip came after he shared a heartfelt statement in response to the attack. "Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us," he wrote in part. "This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better," McConaughey added. "Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured." The Dazed and Confused actor was born in Uvalde, where he lived for much of his childhood. His mother Kay McCabe taught at St. Philip's Episcopal School, about a mile away from Robb Elementary. Since Tuesday's shooting, President Joe Biden has also spoken out about the attack, expressing his anger over the country's ongoing gun violence. On Wednesday, he signed an executive order on policing and public safety and pushed for "commonsense gun reforms." "As a nation, I think we all must be there for them," Biden said. "And we must ask: When in God's name will we do what needs to be done to, if not completely stop, fundamentally change the amount of the carnage that goes on in this country?" The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety has said that Chief of Police Pete Arredondo made the "wrong decision" in not confronting the shooter until more than 40 minutes after he entered the school. "From the benefit of hindsight where I'm sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision," Col. Steven McCraw told reporters. "It was a wrong decision. There's no excuse for that. We believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. When there's an active shooter, the rules change." According to McCraw, the shooter barricaded himself inside a classroom that they believed was otherwise empty. All of the victims were reportedly found in that room. One police officer told PEOPLE that they stood outside the school for more than an hour, waiting for a signal to go in and neutralise the gunman. "There was almost a mutiny," he said. "We were like, 'There's a fa-ing gunman in the school, we hear gunshots, and we're just going to stand here with our thumbs up our aa-es?' We wanted to go in and save lives. It was the most frustrating situation of my entire career." Following the shooting, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from a nearby district, penned a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, requesting an investigation into conflicting reports given by police. In the letter, Castro asked the bureau to "use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response." The shooter, who has been identified as Uvalde resident Salvador Ramos, 18, was found dead at the scene after abandoning his vehicle nearby and entering the school at around 11:30 a.m. local time. Before arriving at the school, Ramos shot his grandmother at her residence, and she was subsequently airlifted to a hospital. Jammu, May 29 : A drone with a payload attached to it was shot down in the Kathua district of Jammu, officials said on Sunday. The police said in a tweet, "On the basis of drone activity observed in the area of Talli Hariya chak under police station Rajbag in district Kathua, early morning search party of police was being regularly sent in the general area.. "Today early morning, the search party observed a North Korea drone coming from the border side and fired at it. The drone was shot down. It had a payload attachment with it which is being screened by the bomb disposal experts." More details were awaited. There have been several instances of weapon dropping by drones from Pakistan near the International Border in Jammu for terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces have recovered several weapon caches and foiled the designs of terrorists and their handlers across the border. Kathmandu, May 29 : A plane with 19 passengers, including four Indians, and three crew members went missing in Nepal on Sunday shortly after taking off, aviation authorities said. In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Tara Airlines twin-otter plane was en route to Pokhara from Mustang. A search operation is underway to locate the aircraft which went missing soon after it took off from the Jomsom Airport in Mustang, the airline said. Of the 19 passengers, 13 were Nepalis, four Indians and two others whose nationalities were not immediately known. Film folk, especially those in the Hindi film industry, have always protested and decried decisions taken by the authorities at the central, state or local levels, but never picked a fight. It just suffers like an old-fashioned bahu or a widow. A line from a song can put in its true perspective: "Uthaye ja unke sitam, aur jiye ja...". The essence of the problem lies in the fact that the Hindi film industry has no unity. Imagine, the filmmakers in western India alone have as many as four producers' associations to safeguard their members' interests. Now, why do you need four associations? No explanation, so no sense talking about it. This anomaly of having four associations can be tackled if, at least, one of the four had a strong leader. But that, unfortunately, has never happened. And, if ever, the members of a particular association choose someone they thought would prove to be a strong leader, he has betrayed them. Here, the betrayal of the members by a leader has been the norm. And when one talks of a leader, he is an association leader usually because he is a person with a successful track record who is held in high esteem. How can you expect members of a filmmakers' association to be united when each association has its own Manuvaad (caste system)? For example, there is the Film & Television Producers' Guild of India, which is kind of meant only for the elite of the industry. Only the nabobs of the fraternity are allowed in and that too by invitation. You just can't go and enroll yourself in it because you make or aspire to make films! Then there is the parent association, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA), from where the other associations sprang out over a period. IMPPA was established in 1937. Some of its members, feeling more equal than others, decided to branch out and form their own elite body, the Film & Television Producers Guild (simply known as the Guild). The names of the members read like the Who's Who of the filmmaking business. Normally, if you enter any enterprise, you want to become a member of your respective business association to feel safe and be a part of the industry. That is how it worked in the IMPPA. But with the Guild, it is different. You have to prove yourself to be as equal as those who are more equal which, in other words, means hugely successful. Then there were some who thought that the Guild was too elite and they had no say in it, while the IMPPA was too downmarket for them. So, they formed another association, Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers (AMPTPP), which has since been renamed Indian Film & Television Producers Council (IFTPC). And, of course, there was one more: the Western India Film Producers Association (WIFPA), a poor man's refuge. Its membership consists mainly of newcomer producers, ex-producers and regional film makers, its USP being cheaper membership fees! Now, how can one expect unity in an industry that is so divided? The film industry has this peculiarity. Nobody wishes another filmmaker's film to be a success. So, when a producer releases his new film on a particular Friday, the rest of his fraternity wishes that his film flops. And if it flops, some even celebrate! That is something which has remained a constant even with the changing generations. Who leads these associations and how is he chosen, because he is not elected? At IMPPA, the one with money power is the chosen one. Throw a couple of open-to-all cocktail parties, pay up membership fees for the defunct or defaulting filmmakers, and there you are. The latest such example was IMPPA's immediate past president, T.P. Agarwal. He was running a few educational institutions in Delhi and then he was obviously glamour struck, so he made a few irrelevant films and led the association for as many as 16 years (2006 to 2022)! At the Guild, the leadership is by rotation and every big-time maker gets his turn. Then there is the WIFPA, where the earlier president was Gajanan Shirke, a Shiv Sena leader whose film production credits started and ended with one or two Marathi films. After his demise, his son, Sangram Shirke, inherited the presidency. What has happened is that because there is no unity, there is no unified lobbying effort by the industry. Let alone unity, there is no fighting spirit either. No wonder, this industry did not count for much to any government, not even at the Centre. They just followed the rules, arbitrary as they may be, and paid multiple taxes and renewed numerous licenses. Film exhibition being a state subject, the laws and taxes varied from state to state, but the suffering of the people in the trade did not. Many times, the filmmakers' bodies decided not to cooperate or participate in government events. There were occasions when the producers' bodies resolved to stop dealing with certain circuit distributors because of their high-handed business practices. Who let the film industry and association members down the most? Its leaders, mainly the prominent film personalities. There was some issue with the Centre and the industry decided not to participate in one of the important events due in Delhi (I think it was the National Awards) where the film folk are invited as props though they have no say. But, next evening, at the event, one sees the stalwart of the industry and a leader, G P Sippy, all there solely representing his people! Once the filmmakers decided on an embargo on the Delhi-UP circuit for a number of reasons. No films were offered for release in these parts. In those days, films did not release simultaneously all over the country like they do now. Veteran and much respected producer-director B.R. Chopra's film 'Karm' was released all over, except in Delhi and UP, and failed miserably. The Delhi-UP distributor would never have honoured his commitment for a flop film. The Chopra banner therefore broke the film folk's resolve and delivered the film to the distributor, who wished to take advantage of the embargo and cash in on 'Karm'. IMPPA was the producers' association that mattered since it had on its roster the highest number of active producers. Sreeram Bohra was the president of this body and under him, the trade magazine, 'Trade Guide', was banned because of its frank stand and bold reviews. The ban lasted for some months and, for a trade magazine, surviving on the business and subscribers and advertisers from the film industry alone, it was getting tough to survive. Guess what? Bohra produced a costly period drama, 'Thief of Baghdad', and needed to promote it with the distributors and exhibitors, something that needed a trade paper to do. So, the ban imposed by him and his members on 'Trade Guide' was forgotten and a coloured cover page ad issued! This association business was odd, because whether a producers' association banned a distributor or the distributors' association banned a producer (often for flimsy reasons, for they knew that a producer had no holding power), it was the producer who suffered. It was his film that was at stake! This issue has gained currency recently because a 2015 link of a Mukesh Bhatt interview has surfaced on social media. In this interview to a prominent newspaper, Bhatt laments how a producer is forced to shell out huge sums per day of shooting for the star's retinue. Rs 1 lakh for the makeup man and the rest for the star's driver, dress man, Man Friday and so on! He added up the total of such exploitative charges to more than Rs 2 crore per film (and that was in 2015)! Now, it is strange for Bhatt to complain about this extortion because when he gave this interview he was the President of the Film Producers Guild (2012-16). So, why did he not do something about this? Who will bell the cat? Even the president of a powerful association would not dare! Then these associations are dominated by one individual for a long time. Sreeram Bohra ruled IMPPA for more than 11 years. Sajid Nadiadwala is the head of IFTPC for eight years now. And the most curious case is that of the WIFPA. Sangram Shirke has been heading it for 22 years! This puts even a political party hierarchy to shame. The associations are more disgruntled about each other than with the government. Now, one job left with the producers associations is to register film titles so that there is no duplication nor disputes. The whole thing about this association business is that nobody takes them seriously, including their members, least of all, the distributors or the exhibitors. Because, in any dispute, if someone is going to suffer, it is the producer. The leaders went and did what suited them, the associations be damned. These bodies had no standing in the past and little, if any, now. All shots are called by people other than the filmmakers. Panaji, May 29 : The Goa government has vowed to give clean and safe beaches to the tourists visiting the coastal state and also to the people of Goa so they can enjoy the environment and cherish the memories. However, it is facing the menace of tar balls, which are back on Goa's beaches deterring people from walking barefoot. Tar balls -- greasy blobs of thick weathered oil that wash ashore -- have started surfacing on the state's coastline. Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has said that he has informed the shipping ministry and the Pollution Control Board says they have taken measures. However, Drishti Marine, Goa's state-appointed professional lifeguard agency, has cautioned the beach visitors to be careful if walking barefoot on the seashore. The annual tar ball phenomenon not only harms human beings, but also affects the marine life. A study conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography in 2013 had reported that the tar ball being carcinogenic, it affects marine life and tar ball pollution degrades the coastal waters off Goa. Thus this has become a concern about the environment and is affecting the traditional fish catching activities in the coastal state. Fish being a staple food of Goans, the fishermen have also raised an alarm. The stakeholders from the tourism sector blame the authorities and hold Bombay High and ONGC responsible for spilling oil in the high seas, which results in the tar balls. However, the government says it doesn't have conclusive evidence against ONGC. "This spillage doesn't take place directly from Goa or ships. Various departments are working together to keep a check and to have control over it. The Pollution Control Board has been given the mandate to act on this to support tourism," Khaunte said. Cruz Cardozo, President of the All Goa Shack Owners Welfare Association, said that the Coastal Regulation Zone, the Environment Department, the Pollution Control Board, Captain of Ports and Navy should monitor this. "Most importantly, the authorities should check with ONGC. The oil spillage must be taking place from there itself. Our beaches are getting spoiled due to these tar balls and we are suffering," he said, Goa State Pollution Control Board chairman Mahesh Patil said that they are making every effort to ensure that the beaches of Goa remain clean. "This has become an annual phenomenon for the last eight years or more. NIO was given a project to conduct a study. They (spillage-tar balls) don't generate here, but likely at Bombay High," Patil said. "As per the NIO report, there are possibilities it generates from Bombay High, but we don't have conclusive evidence," he said. The tar ball menace on the beaches peaked in 2011, with the state government directing the Indian Coast Guard to crackdown on ships dumping their ballast off Goa, but it had not yielded the anticipated results. Tourism industry stakeholders in the state have repeatedly urged the Goa government to take up the matter with the central authorities in order to ensure a permanent solution to this menace on the beaches, which are a top draw as far as the tourism industry in the state is concerned. Mumbai, May 29 : Actress Richa Chadha was in Ladakh recently to attend and close the first edition of the Ladakh International Music Festival (LIMF). She also got the opportunity to spend time with Ladakh scouts at 12000 ft above sea level. Richa was ecstatic to spend a few days with the Army and called it an experience that she'd remember for her entire life. She said: "Spent a memorable day with these young soldiers in Ladakh at 12000 ft. above sea level, it was an experience of a lifetime for me. And there's always something about meeting defence personnel. It stirs you from inside." "These youthful soldiers training hard to be at the border, guarding the nation rather than enjoying the luxuries of a peaceful life of a regular job in the city fills my heart with nothing but respect. Coming here was an extremely humbling experience, meeting the real heroes of our country. Look forward to doing this more often!" Meanwhile, on the work front, Richa will next be seen reprising her role as 'Bholi Punjaban' in the third installment of the buddy comedy franchise, 'Fukrey', the show 'The Great Indian Murder' and 'Heera Mandi'. Kolkata, May 29 : West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Sunday slammed Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee over the latter's attack on a section of the judiciary. On Saturday afternoon, while addressing a rally at the industrial township of Haldia in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee, launched a scathing attack on a section of the judiciary or the Calcutta High Court orders directing CBI probe on various issues in the state. Describing a section of the judiciary as biased, Abhishek Banerjee said that a couple of judges are acting at the behest of others by directing CBI probe on minor issues. Speaking to newspersons at Siliguri on Sunday morning, the governor criticized the Trinamool Congress's national general secretary without naming him. "The manner in which a Lok Sabha member attacked the judiciary on Saturday is simply unthinkable. He has attacked a judge who has ordered a CBI probe as per the provisions of the constitution. And the Lok Sabha member has attacked the judge for that. I will direct the state chief secretary to look into the matter and take necessary action," the governor said on Monday. The governor's comments have attracted criticisms from the Trinamool Congress leadership. "The governor is acting as a representative of the BJP and thus misusing his constitutional chair," the Trinamool state vice president, Jaiprakash Majumdar said. On Sunday, the governor also criticized the state government for the latter's initiative to remove governor from the post of state university chancellor and private university visitor. "This is a ploy to divert attention from the recent scam relating to West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities, which has ruined the future of the youths. "Let a bill on this come to me on this count and then only I will take a call," Dhankhar said. Reacting to that, senior Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Saugata Roy, said that the governor is unnecessarily linking the two issues. "The governor has become a hurdle for development of higher education in the state and hence the state government has taken an initiative to replace him," Roy said. Kigali, May 29 : The remains of more than 9,000 victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide were given a befitting burial at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial site in Kicukiro district. The remains were recently retrieved from mass graves in different parts of Kigali following information volunteered on their whereabouts by some perpetrators, reports Xinhua news agency. "It is quite unfortunate to see that decades after the genocide, we are still retrieving the remains of genocide victims and giving them decent burial," Paulin Rugero, an official of Ibuka, the umbrella association of Rwanda genocide survivors. Jean-Damascene Bizimana, Rwanda's National Unity and Civic Engagements Minister, castigated genocide perpetrators for withholding information about mass graves. Florence Mukantaganda, a survivor whose family were killed in the genocide, appealed to people with any information leading to mass graves to come forward and inform local leaders within their respective communities in order for all genocide victims' remains to get befitting burial. The burial ceremony was attended by several residents, government officials and families of the victims as part of the 100 days of commemoration which started on April 7. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the 1994 genocide that occurred between April 7 and July 15, 1994 against the Tutsi, minority ethnic group, in which more than one million people were killed. Besides the Tutsi, making up for majority of the deaths, moderate Hutu and Twa members were also killed. The genocide was triggered following the assassination of then President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, which created a power vacuum and ended peace accords between the government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees. Genocidal killings began the following day when soldiers, police, and militia executed key Tutsi leaders. Lucknow, May 29 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that the proper and honest implementation of the central and state government's schemes brought changes in the lives of the people of the state and it was this that enabled the return of the BJP in power. Addressing the BJP executive meet, Yogi Adityanath said, "Before 2014 in Uttar Pradesh, the streets of villages were not walkable. There used to be piles of garbage. After 'Swachh Bharat', today villages are now clean. Now you can walk in villages, there is no problem. On one hand, it changed the image of the village and on the other hand, it protected women's dignity. It also saved children from encephalitis." He said, "The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan gave the child the right to life. And all of this became possible because of the Prime Minister's vision. There used to be 1,500 to 2,000 deaths due to encephalitis in the past and now we have reduced deaths by 95 per cent in our five years after the honest implementation of Swachh Bharat in Uttar Pradesh." The chief minister also elaborated on the PM Awas Yojana and informed that over 43 lakh people have been allocated houses under the Central government scheme. "The mandate of 2022, clearly states that if you work honestly for the villages, farmers, poor, women, youths, and every section of the societies, then people will leave aside caste and religion and will stand with you. During the Covid pandemic, looking at the programmes run by the BJP government in the state, half of the population rejected all the wrong myths and put their faith in the state government, and supported all the BJP candidates in the elections," he added. Yogi Adityanath said that for the first time, the BJP has a majority in the state Legislative Assembly and the Council. He also announced that the new government is committed to fulfilling the resolutions that they had promised before the polls and for that budgetary allocations have been made. The chief minister thanked all party leaders and workers and said that they should continue working for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections which were round the corner. Bogota, May 29 : The Colombian government has deployed armed forces to ensure the safety of voters on Sunday in the first round of presidential elections. According to the Defence Ministry, about 80,000 soldiers have been deployed across the country to guarantee the security of the elections, and the navy has positioned 7,000 sailors in maritime areas, reports Xinhua news agency. The security of the capital city of Bogota was reinforced with 1,700 more soldiers, besides 11,200 police officers and 1,800 soldiers. Authorities said alcohol sales have also stopped throughout the country until Monday noon. Polling stations will be open from 8 a.m. (local time, about 7 p.m. IST) to 4 p.m. when millions of Colombians are expected to exercise their right to vote. A candidate must garner 50 per cent of the vote to win the first round. If not, a second round of voting will be held on June 19 between the top two contenders. According to a poll conducted earlier this month, the presidential race is likely to head to a runoff between progressive candidate Gustavo Petro and his conservative rival Federico Gutierrez. The survey by polling firm Invamer showed Petro has taken the lead with 40.6 per cent of the voter support, followed by Gutierrez with 27.1 per cent. Another conservative candidate, Rodolfo Hernandez, appeared to be gaining strength, with 20.9 per cent of the support. The new President will assume office on August 7. New Delhi, May 29 : Hitting out at Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee for his comment, the BJP on Sunday said that 'judiciary' is the last resort to 'save Bengal'. On Saturday, while addressing a rally at the industrial township of Haldia in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee launched a scathing attack on a section of the judiciary for the Calcutta High Court orders directing CBI probe in various issues in the state. Describing a section of the judiciary as biased, Abhishek Banerjee said that a couple of judges are acting at the behest of others by directing CBI probe on minor issues. West Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya tweeted, "While Mamata Banerjee is weakening India's federal structure, attempting to curtail Governor's jurisdiction, her nephew goes a step further, brazenly intimidates the judiciary, accuses them of conniving, handing over cases to the CBI. Judiciary is the last resort to #SaveBengal." On Saturday, West Bengal BJP spokesman Shamik Bhattacharya had said that the statements prove the fear and frustration among the Trinamool leaders. "The manner in which Abhishek Banerjee has slammed the judiciary is unthinkable and tantamount to contempt of court," he had said. New Delhi, May 29 : A 42-year-old woman judge of Saket Court, who went missing on May 27, was found hanging from the ceiling at her brother's house at Rajpur area of south Delhi. The deceased used to live on Saket Court Residential Complex along with her husband, Ashok Beniwal who is also a judge. A senior police official said that on May 27, at 10:30 p.m. they got a call from the husband of the judge who informed the cops that his wife was missing. "Beniwal told us that his wife went to Malviya Nagar market around 11.30 a.m. and did not come back home. Accordingly, a missing report of Mrs Beniwal was lodged at PS Saket and investigation was carried out," the police said. The police staff collected and checked CCTV footage outside of the surrounding area. During that, an auto rickshaw was identified in one of the footage. The police worked on the input and identified its driver, a resident of Raghubir Nagar. A police team visited his home and grilled him about the missing woman judge. The auto driver told the cops that he dropped her at Rajpur Khurd in Maidan Garhi area. Police contacted the husband of the judge who confirmed that her brother lived in that area. Then, the judge along with police team reached at Rajpur Khurd. The house of her brother was found latched from inside. "The door was opened after breaking the iron grille. The police team went inside and found the body of the woman judge hanging from the ceiling fan with her dupatta," the police said. The police said that it was a vacant flat of the first floor. Her brother's family lives at the second floor. Three suicide notes were also found from the spot. The police removed the body and took it to the AIIMS to conduct a postmortem and are looking into the matter. The exact reasons behind her suicide were not yet known yet. Manila, May 29 : Rescuers from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday continued with a search operation for eight missing crew members of a fishing vessel that sank off Palawan province after colliding with a cargo vessel. PCG spokesman, Commodore Armand Balilo said the collision occurred at 6 p.m. on Saturday, 26 km northeast of Maracanao Island, and 13 out of the 21 crew had been rescued, reports Xinhua news agency. The search and rescue operations were continuing, Balilo said, and the cargo vessel MV Happy Hiro, on its way to the central Philippines, was not damaged and had helped transport the rescued safely. The maritime accident happened less than a week after a ferry carrying over 130 passengers and crew caught fire on May 23 while travelling to a town in Quezon province on the main Luzon island, leaving at least seven dead. Amaravati, May 29 : A teacher from Andhra Pradesh, who spent his entire retirement benefits on the education of girls, came in for praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, Modi hailed the gesture of Markapuram Ram Bhupal Reddy. A retired school headmaster from Giddalur, Prakasam, did not use his retirement benefits to build a house or for other family purposes as most of the government employees do after retirement. He deposited Rs 25.71 lakh at a post office to open Sukanya Samrudhhi Yojana (SSY) accounts for 88 girls over the age of 10 years. Every quarter, the interest amount of Rs 41,000 on the deposit would be equally distributed and credited to the accounts of the girls till they attain the age of 21 years. Ram Bhupal Reddy, who retired as the headmaster of Yadavalli Zilla Parishad School, said he was disturbed when he saw many girls dropping out of school as their parents could not afford to continue their education. He had decided to do something to help such children with whatever benefit he gets on retirement. This way he wanted to ensure that at least some girls continue their education. He identified 88 girls from poor families and deposited the entire amount in their accounts under the Government of India's scheme. The SSY account passbooks were handed over to all the students at Bhupal Reddy's superannuation function recently. During his entire career, Ram Bhupal Reddy helped students from poor backgrounds in whatever way he could. He not only used to pay their fees but also used to distribute new clothes to them at festivals. He received four awards from three chief ministers of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for his contributions to education. He also conducted workshops and meetings to help teachers improve their expertise in their subjects. To encourage teachers to perform better, he also helped conduct a grand felicitation function to reward 6,300 subject-teachers of schools, which got cent per cent results in the Class 10 exams. Panchmahal, May 29 : Union Home and Cooperative Minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to farmers to switch to organic farming as chemical fertilisers reduce land fertility and have harmful effects on human health. Addressing a gathering of milk producers in Gujarat's Panchmahal district, Shah said the Central government is promoting organic farming and to give wings to it, Amul dairy will launch organic wheat flour, other organic products in the market, and set up laboratories to certify organic products. Shah was in Godhra to dedicate different operations of the Panchmahal District Milk Producers Union Ltd and Panchmahal District Cooperative Bank Ltd. Ahead of the Assembly polls in Gujarat in December, Shah slammed Congress, saying the grand-old party has done nothing for Other Backward Class, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government enacted law and created National Commission for OBC. Later, in Nadiad, he said that the Congress had "acted to disturb the law and order". "When the Congress was in power in Gujarat, curfews were imposed in the state for a long period of time, while it has become a thing of the past in the BJP rule," Shah claimed. He was in Nadiad to dedicate government quarters to police personnel. Shah virtually dedicated some 31,146 quarters for police personnel serving across the state. "During Congress rule, it was difficult to carry out the Jagannath Yatra in a peaceful manner... Those violent elements are behind bars and now people of Gujarat can celebrate Hindu festivals be it 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Jagannath yatra' without fear, credit should be given to the state police. He said the state is number one in seizing narcotics in the nation. Mumbai, May 29 : Actress Rasika Dugal, who recently appeared in the short film titled 'Miniaturist of Junagadh', says as a performer she tends to get emotionally attached to most of the characters that she plays. She adds she has learned the best acting lessons from veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah. The story of 'Miniaturist of Junagadh' is set in the era of the partition of India where a Muslim family of a miniature artist was forced to leave their ancestral house in Junagadh for Karachi and how they go through an emotional journey with the hope that one day, they will come back. Asked about as an artiste if she too, gets attached to any characters she plays on-screen and Rasika told IANS: "Yes, I tend to get emotionally attached to characters that I embody for my performance; because the journey happens from words to screen, from moulding my mind to feel the character and then the magic between action and cut! Otherwise also I am an emotional person, so I feel a sense of void when the shooting gets over when I leave the character forever. "She went on adding, "In fact, there is a joke in the family and especially with my husband, who actually gets prepared to welcome me home when I wrap a shoot. He knows that for that day, I will be constantly missing the character and the space where we shot. It is like, a part of me lived through those moments." The short film 'Miniaturist of Junagadh' also features Raj Arjun and Padmavati Rao, along with Naseeruddin Shah.While in the film, she and Shah play father-daughter, the actress shares her experience of working with the legend. "One of the reasons I did the film was that it was a series of reunions with my teacher and fellow FTII friends. I worked with our director and DOP (Kaushal Oza and Kumar Saurabh, respectively) for their final year student project, I acted in that short film. I knew in the future they will become great professionals." "On the other hand, Naseer sir was one of the guest lecturers in FTII and I attended his class. I think I have learned the best lesson from him that I have carried in my last 12 years of journey. I had to do this film to reunite with him! There are a few silent heartwarming moments between them, those are beautiful!" smiled Rasika. The short film 'Miniaturist of Junagadh' is available on the official YouTube channel of Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films. Bengaluru, May 29 : Tension prevailed in Karnataka's Yadgir district on Sunday in connection with a dispute that arose over denying entry to Dalits in a Hanuman Temple, the police said. The police have clamped prohibitory orders in Amalihala and Huvinahalli villages of Hunasagi taluk in Yadgir district, a police officer said, adding the situation has been tense since the last four days. The issue has resulted in a face-off between the Dalits and people belonging to the upper caste in the two villages. According to the police, Dalits of Hoovinahalli village were denied entry to Hanuman temple located in Amalihala village four days ago. The situation further seemed to be slipping out of hands following a confrontation on Saturday. The denial of entry to Dalits was condemned by Dalit organisations, and they had also staged a protest. Yadgir Superintendent of Police, C.B. Vedhamurthy has visited both the villages. Meanwhile, senior police officers and district authorities have managed to get a breakthrough over the issue. Eight persons of the Dalit community were taken to the temple with police security on Saturday. The situation, however, continues to remain tense in both the villages. The security has been beefed up to prevent any untoward incident. Seoul, May 29 : South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook said during a press conference at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (French time) that the future of cinema is tightly connected with that of movie theatres, which alone can offer an incomparable cinematic experience. "Our experience to entirely focus on a film and enjoy it along with many people at a movie theatre is out of comparison," he said at a press conference after the closing ceremony of the festival, reports Yonhap News Agency. Park won Best Director for his latest feature 'Decision to Leave' at the ceremony. "Each work has its own platform," said Park, who has made a number of attempts other than films with other media, like the spy thriller TV series 'The Little Drummer Girl' (2018) and the short martial arts film "Life is But a Dream" (2022) shot entirely on an iPhone. "A film made for the big screen should be watched at theatres." The comments came after he expressed his respect for the global film industry that overcame the Covid-19 pandemic in his acceptance speech after winning the Best Director prize. "Fans didn't visit movie theatres, but it was the time that we were aware of the value of cinema," he said. "As we have hope and power to overcome this pandemic, I believe that the cineaste will keep theatres and cinemas for good." Park said his film 'Decision to Leave' was inspired by crime novels about Swedish fictional detective Martin Beck written by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, and the Korean song 'Mist', which is the main song of the movie. "I had the thought of making a crime film led by a considerate and polite detective (like Martin Beck) and a romance film with the old Korean song 'Mist'," he said. "This movie is made from these two wishes of mine." Starring Chinese actress Tang Wei of 'Lust, Caution' (2007) and Korean actor Park Hae-il of 'Memories of Murder' (2003), Park's 'Decision to Leave' is about a detective who suspects a mysterious widow in a murder case and later falls in love with her after days of staking her out. It is one of Park's films that have main female characters, along with 'Lady Vengeance' (2005) and 'The Handmaiden' (2016). He said the mood of the movie changes in the second half and the heroine becomes the main speaker of the film to lead the story to the climax. "The mysterious and seductive woman, who is subject to the man's observation in the first half of the movie, leads the plot and moves to the centre of the story," Park ]said. "That is the most important point that I want to tell in this movie." Saharanpur : , May 29 (IANS) Clerics on Sunday said repeatedly raising past disputes over ancient places of worship is not appropriate for peace and harmony in the country. During a meeting convened by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in Deoband, the clerics asked the community to remain patient, and said that India belonged to them too and those who were asking Muslims to go to Pakistan, can go there themselves. Maulana Mahmood Madani said, "We had the choice of going to Pakistan but we chose to stay back here. Those who want to send us there now, can go themselves." Madani refused to accept the uniform civil code (UCC) and said that it was against the spirit of Constitution which grants freedom of religion to every citizen. The meeting also passed resolutions on the Gyanvapi dispute and the UCC. The clerics cited the places of Worship Act 1991 and said that some people were deliberately creating controversies on the issue. "We will not tolerate any interference in matters of Shariat," they said. Srinagar, May 29 : An encounter has broken out between terrorists and security forces at Gundipora area in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said on Sunday. "On the specific input of Kulgam Police, encounter has started at Gundipora area of Pulwama. Police and security forces are on the job," police said. The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place after a joint team of police and security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about the presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under heavy fire that triggered the encounter. San Francisco, May 29 : Tech billionaire Elon Musk said that his aerospace company SpaceX will soon accept Dogecoin as a payment option for merchandise, joining Tesla. The electric vehicle company started accepting the cryptocurrency in January, reports Teslarati. Musk, a frequently vocal supporter of some cryptocurrencies, announced on Twitter, first reiterating that Tesla merch could be bought with the crypto. "Tesla merch can be bought with Doge, soon SpaceX merch too," Musk wrote on the microblogging site. Musk, nor SpaceX, announced a concrete date of when it would begin accepting Dogecoin for the merchandise. Currently, SpaceX's merchandise shop still only accepts credit card payments. Shop items are also only listed in dollars by default in the US, and no cryptocurrency conversions or prices are available for any items in the shop, the report said. Musk also stated that "maybe one day" Starlink users would be able to pay for their subscriptions to the internet service with Doge. Musk did not detail a specific date for this, either. Shimla, May 29 : Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission Chairman Devendra Kumar Sharma, who is a dam expert, has been elected as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Group of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) at a meeting in France. He was elected on Saturday during the 90th annual general body meeting and the 27th Congress of ICOLD. The Asia Pacific Group comprises 28 member countries, including India. These countries work together for exchange of the knowledge in the field of planning, design, construction and safety of dams. ICOLD provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in dam engineering. It leads the profession in ensuring that dams are built safely, efficiently, economically, and without detrimental effects on the environment. In his address after his election, Sharma said the Asia Pacific Group is economic power house of the world and his focus would be to make it as knowledge of hub in the field of dam engineering. Election of Sharma also becomes significant in view of the Dam Safety Act 2021 enacted by the government of India in December 2021. Sharma who joined as Chairman of Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission on September 26, 2020, has more than 40 years of experience in energy and water resources sectors in India and abroad. Prior to joining the regulatory commission, he worked as Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) Chairman from April 2017 to July 2020. New Delhi, May 29 : The much awaited Southwest Monsoon reached Kerala on Sunday, three days ahead of its normal date of onset of June 1, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. For the agrarian economy, the news of onset of SW monsoon - termed as the real finance minister of India - over Kerala is the most awaited news at this time of the year. Having a normal monsoon or not has a major impact on the domestic economy vis-a-vis crop production. "Southwest Monsoon has advanced into remaining parts of south Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area, most parts of Kerala, some parts of south Tamil Nadu, some parts of Gulf of Mannar and some more parts of southwest Bay of Bengal on May 29. Thus, Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, against the normal date of June 1, i.e. three days ahead of its normal date," IMD statement said. The conditions that are satisfied for declaration of onset of Southwest Monsoon over Kerala include wind speed, direction, outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) and rainfall at designated stations. "The depth of westerly winds extends up to 4.5 km above mean sea level. The strength of the westerly winds has increased over southeast Arabian Sea and is about 15-20 kts (25-35 kmph)," IMD said. "Cloudiness over southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining areas of Kerala have increased and the average outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) is about 189.7 W/M2 (thus, satisfying the condition of OLR is less than 200 W/M2)," it added. One condition that has not been fully satisfied is that there has been widespread rainfall activity over Kerala during past 24 hours and out of 14 rainfall monitoring stations for declaring onset of monsoon over Kerala, only 10 have received rainfall of 2.5 mm or more. However, conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some parts of central Arabian Sea, reaming parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka, and some more parts of south and Central Bay of Bengal, some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal and northeastern states during next 3-4 days, the Met forecast said. The rainfall/thunderstorm forecast & warning said that under the influence of monsoonal westerly winds from Arabian Sea over the south peninsular India in lower & middle tropospheric levels and a cyclonic circulation over Kerala & neighbourhood in mid tropospheric levels, widespread light/moderate rainfall with thunderstorm/lightning is very likely over Kerala & Mahe and Lakshadweep and isolated to scattered rainfall over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal during next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Kerala & Mahe till June 2. This year, IMD's first prediction for monsoon onset was for May 27 with the model error of plus/minus four days. But after that, there was a lot of flip flop by the IMD over actual date. Prior to it, on May 19, the IMD had said, the SW monsoon onset over Kerala was possible by May 25. Earlier on May 26, the IMD had said monsoon onset can happen anytime in the forecasting week (meaning till June 1) and the conditions are being monitored real time. It did finally happen before June 1. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Kurukshetra, May 29 : In the run-up to next month's civic polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to the people of Haryana to give him a chance to serve the people of the state. "Give me a chance, I will improve all schools in Haryana. The condition of Delhi government schools is a proof. Children of the poor people can also become engineers and doctors," he said in an election meeting in his native place, Kurukshetra. "We didn't allow private schools in Delhi to increase fees in the past seven years," he said. Talking about sacking of a minister in the AAP government in Punjab, the Delhi Chief Minister said, "The AAP minister was corrupt. No one knew, the media didn't know. But we dismissed him and sent him to jail. No other party has done this." Addressing his first rally in Haryana after AAP's stunning performance in the Assembly polls in neighbouring Punjab, Kejriwal challenged the ruling BJP in the state to contest the 2024 Assembly elections under the leadership of incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. "Some journalists were telling me that the BJP is going to remove Khattar sahab, and replace him with someone else as the Chief Minister. Have you heard about it? Is Khattar sahab corrupt? Does he not work? I would like to challenge the BJP, if it has courage, let it contest the 2024 elections under the leadership of Khattar sahab," Kejriwal said. Recalling his roots in Haryana, the AAP chief said, "I like it the most when people call me Haryana's lal. Haryana is my birthplace. And the land of birth is like a mother. A person can't repay the debt of a mother and the motherland even in seven lives." He also said that those who want their children to become goons must send them to the BJP. "Those who want their children to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, come with us. Those who want them to become rioters, goons, rapists, go with them (BJP). All such elements are in that party," Kejriwal said, "They will never give jobs to your children because they need unemployed goons for their party. They will teach your children to riot and send their own children abroad," he added. Amaravati, May 29 : Telugu Desam Party's Andhra Pradesh unit president K. Atchannaidu on Sunday said that overwhelming response to Mahanadu indicates people's revolt against the 'destructive' policies of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. He claimed that the Mahandu held at Ongole on May 27-28 was a huge success despite the hurdles created by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). He extended heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to the lakhs of people who made Mahanadu 2022 an extraordinary success. Atchannaidu said despite threats from the government and the police, the TDP activists and general public arrived in abnormally huge numbers to the Mahanadu venue. Addressing a press conference in Ongole, the TDP leader recalled how the ruling YSRCP had created hurdles at every step. There was also scorching mid-summer temperature but the people arrived and made Mahanadu a resounding success. The TDP leader said in the very beginning, the government refused to give the stadium to Mahanadu. Later, they denied permission for RTC buses. The RTOs and brake inspectors called the private bus owners on the phone and warned them of serious action if they gave buses to the TDP leaders. Atchannaidu profusely thanked the farmers of Manduva Varipalem village near Ongole for giving their priceless lands for holding Mahandu. The farmers showed exemplary courage despite threats and warnings from the YSRCP leaders, he said. The TDP leader said that the people responded to the call of Chandrababu Naidu and arrived to take part in Mahanadu, overcoming all hurdles. The TDP would salute the people of Ongole, leaders and activists of the whole district for making Mahanadu a memorable event forever. Thiruvananthapuram, May 29 : State council member of Popular Front of India (PFI), Yahiya Thangal was arrested by Kerala police on Sunday in a case related to a child's provocative sloganeering during the May 21 rally at Alappuzha titled 'Save the Republic'. Thangal is also in the dock over a provocative speech on Saturday against the Kerala High Court judges. Police, however, said that the arrest is on the case related to the child's provocative sloganeering as he was one of the organisers of the event in Alappuzha. Regarding his comments against the judiciary, police said that it was for the High Court to take cognizance of the matter. Anas, an active worker of the PFI in Erattupetta, Kottayam district who had carried the child on his shoulders while the boy was rendering the provocative slogan, was the first one to be arrested in the case. The Alappuzha district president of the PFI, Vandanam Navas and district secretary of the organisation, Mujeeb were also arrested. The Child's father was arrested on Saturday from his residence at Palluruthy in Ernakulam district and he had told the police that the boy had learnt the sloganeering on his own as he had attended several events of the organisation. He also said that the boy had shouted such slogans earlier also and added that it was being made out into a major issue this time. Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner of Police, V.G. Raveendranath told media persons that the child was subjected to two-hour counselling and would again undergo counselling sessions. An FIR has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a person called P.K. Vijayakumar and police invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Kerala Police Act. Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 505(1)(B)(act against public tranquillity), 505(1)(c), 505 (2) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Section 120 of the Kerala Police Act are included in the FIR on the complaint filed by P.K. Vijayakumar. Lucknow, May 29 : The BJP list for Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Uttar Pradesh, released on Sunday evening, has some surprises. The party has nominated former state president Laxmikant Bajpai to the Upper House. Bajpai, who belongs to Meerut, had been relegated to the wings since 2016. A popular leader among the cadres, Bajpai was said to have been deprived of his rightful place in the party. His nomination to the Upper House is being welcomed by his supporters. Another significant name in the list is that of Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal of Gorakhpur. Agarwal, had vacated his Gorakhpur seat to pave the way for Yogi Adityanath's election in the recent assembly polls. He had returned to being a medical practitioner after the elections. The third name in the list is that of Surendra Nagar who had quit the Samajwadi Party to join the BJP. The other names in the list include Darshana Singh, Sangeeta Yadav and Baburam Nishad. All three names are relatively unknown and a surprise for many in the party. The party is yet to announce two more names for the Rajya Sabha. Guwahati, May 29 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that the Centre has been implementing various rail, road and air connectivity projects worth Rs 1.34 lakh crore in the northeastern states. Addressing a "NADI (River) Conclave 2022" in Guwahati, Sitharaman said that the connectivity with Bangladesh and other Southeast Asian nations can be built and developed culturally in terms of riverine civilisation. "Government of India is fully committed to our Neighbourhood First Policy as much as developing the northeast as the Gateway to the entire South East Asian nations," she said. According to Sitharaman, the connectivity projects in the northeastern region include, 20 railway projects worth Rs 74,000 crore for 2,011 km, 4,000 km of roads at a total cost of Rs 58,000 crore. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, his Bangladesh counterpart A.K. Abdul Momen and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also spoke in Saturday's inaugural session of "NADI Convlave-2022" organised by Shillong-based think tank and research group 'Asian Confluence'. Sitharaman also appreciated the organisers - Asian Confluence - for focusing on the five Cs which are - Commerce, Culture, Connectivity, Conservation and Capacity Building. "The organisers have kept five Cs as its focus areas. I was so impressed that they could pick up all that Cs and actually these Cs focus on those critical areas in which enough focus has to be given. If NADI and the name itself is talking about inter-connectivity, it certainly builds on culture and commerce," she added. Sitharaman added, "So these five Cs give us the five pillars that this conclave will have to focus on. These Cs essentially capture all the areas which are so critical for the Northeast." The Union Finance Minister also mentioned the Government of India's projects to enhance the connectivity in northeast India and its neighbouring countries. The Assam Chief Minister shared the vision of the state government of developing Assam as a river cruise hub in Asia. "We've made our best efforts to give tangible shape to our connectivity with Bangladesh and ASEAN nations through road, rail and air," Sarma said. At this special session of the "NADI Conclave 2022", Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog, Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, Chairman of Governing Council, Asian Confluence M.P. Bezbaruah and Executive Director of Asian Confluence Sabyasachi Dutta were also present. High Commissioner of Singapore to India Simon Wong, Ambassador of Cambodia to India Ung Sean, Assam Minister of Trade, Industry and Act East Affairs Chandra Mohan Patowary, were among others who attended the two-day conclave. New Delhi, May 29 : Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will embark on a three-nation tour of Gabon, Senegal, and Qatar from May 30 to June 7. He will be accompanied by a delegation including Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar and three members of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, and P. Raveendranath. The Vice President's Secretariat said that it is expected that a number of bilateral agreements will be concluded with the three countries. "While Naidu's visit will be the first by any Vice President to all the three countries, this is the first ever high level visit from India to Gabon and Senegal. "His visit is expected to add momentum to India's engagement with Africa and emphasise India's commitment to the African continent," the Vice President's Secretariat said. The Vice President's visit to Qatar gains prominence as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The visit is expected to boost the ties between the countries. Naidu will begin his tour with Gabon on May 30, where he will hold delegation level talks with the Prime Minister of Gabon, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, call on the President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, and meet other dignitaries. He is also expected to interact with the business community in Gabon and address the Indian diaspora there. Visiting Senegal from June 1-3, Naidu will hold talks with Senegalese President Macky Sall, meet President of the National Assembly, Moustapha Niasse and other dignitaries. It is notable that India and Senegal are celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The Vice President is also expected to attend a business roundtable and address the Indian community. "The last leg of the tour will be the visit to Qatar from June 4-7. During the visit, Naidu will hold delegation level talks with Qatar's Deputy Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Thani, and review bilateral cooperation. He will also meet several other Qatari dignitaries during this visit and address a business roundtable there. Qatar has committed investments of over $2 billion in various Indian companies over the past two years, Vice President's Secretariat said. On the penultimate day, a community reception will be held marking the Vice President's visit, where he will address the Indian community in Qatar. There is an estimated 750,000 Indian diaspora there at present. Beijing, May 29 : Chinas financing of overseas projects has disproportionately benefited the core political supporters of incumbent presidents or prime ministers of those countries that receive the funds, according to a new book, The Guardian reported. The authors of a new book, 'Banking on Beijing', published by the Cambridge University Press, found that those countries that receive Chinese aid, funding for the political leader's home province increased by 52 per cent during the years when he or she was in power. But this political capture effect vanished when the leader left office. They also found that, in the run-up to elections, these areas often saw sharp increases in Chinese government-backed funding, The Guardian reported. "There is rot in the system that Beijing created to fast-track the implementation of development projects," said Bradley Parks, executive director of the AidData research lab at William & Mary college in Williamsburg, Virginia, and one of the five authors of the book. "Beijing often asks for project proposals and loan applications from senior incumbent politicians rather than technocrats. And this often leads to projects being green-lit that disproportionately benefit the core political supporters of the president or prime minister." In Sri Lanka, for example, during his tenure as president from 2005-2015, Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to transform the remote Hambantota district at the southern tip of the island - his birthplace and home to only 12,000 residents - into a second capital through Chinese-backed infrastructure building, including a huge international airport. But questions quickly arose about the cost-effectiveness of these projects. In a 2007 cable from the US Embassy in Colombo, the Ambassador, Robert Blake, reported: "An empty port, an empty airport, and an empty vast convention centre would not generate the benefits that Hambantota needs, and may, if constructed, be considered the president's folly," The Guardian reported. In 2014, Sri Lanka's aviation minister told the parliament that the airport, which cost $210m, had "only earned $123 in revenue in a single month". And when a visiting journalist asked a senior government official about the airport, he indicated, "When I visited the airport there, I asked the sole immigration officer how many passports she'd stamped that day. She said, 'One'." For China, an emerging risk is how countries that are mired in fiscal troubles will keep their contractural obligations. Last week, Sri Lanka defaulted on its debts for the first time in its history as it struggled with its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades. China holds nearly 10% of Sri Lanka's total foreign debt, The Guardian reported. Patna, May 29 : With just two days left for the nomination for Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal-United is yet to finalise its candidate. Party national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, and JD-U parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha called a presser at the party head office in Patna on Sunday at 4 p.m. but did not announce the name of the candidate. Singh and Kushwaha discussed the matter, and then Lalan Singh went to the Chief Minister's residence but did not declare the candidate's name. When asked, Lalan Singh said: "I am not aware of the name of the candidate for Rajya Sabha, so how could I tell you (Media persons). We will let you know as soon as a decision is made." Sources have said that sidelining R.C.P. Singh is turning out to be a tough affair for JD-U leaders. The party leaders have unanimously given the power to CM Nitish Kumar to decide the matter. Whatever decision he makes, every one will accept it. Nitish Kumar has also not made up his mind whether to drop R.C.P. Singh or send someone else to the Rajya Sabha. The source further said that majority of the leaders including CM Nitish Kumar, Lalan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha do not want to send R.C.P. Singh to the Rajya Sabha. During the meeting, Neeraj Kumar, the MLC and chief spokesperson of the JD-U said that whoever will be the candidate of JD-U, he must be a "Damdaar, Shandaar and Jandaar" leader. But when asked about the name, he did not answer." Sources, however, have said that R.C.P. Singh is still the front runner of the ticket for Rajya Sabha. At one point, R.C.P. Singh was considered the top leader after Nitish Kumar in the JD-U. After the second expansion of the Cabinet of the Central government last year, Nitish Kumar had authorised Singh to bargain with the BJP and demand two Cabinet and two state Ministry portfolios for the party, but that did not happen. For the Rajya Sabha poll, Bihar has 5 seats and as per the strength of the BJP, RJD and JD-U, the first two parties will get two seats, while JD-U can get one. Ahmedabad, May 29 : With their impressive performances, Gujarat Titans have made a big splash in IPL 2022 by reaching the title clash at their home ground, the Narendra Modi Stadium, on Sunday. Between them and a first-ever IPL title, stand Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural champions of the tournament. For now, David Miller, the middle-order batter and one of the key persons behind Gujarat's success, wants to soak in the atmosphere of the final in a completely packed stadium. "It's been a long time, these finals they don't come around too many times. The beautiful atmosphere here, I want to soak it up and I'm very excited," said the left-hander in a pre-final chat with broadcasters Star Sports. Co-incidentally, Gujarat booked their ticket to the final by defeating Rajasthan in Qualifier 1, giving them extra days of rest in the run-up to the title clash at their home ground, which Miller thinks has been great for his team. "You don't lose too much touch if you haven't played for a couple of days, but we have been practicing hard, had a couple of training sessions and a run-around." "The body is fresh when compared to the opposition (Rajasthan) as they played an extra match, hopefully, that'll work in our favour. It's like 120,000 people, like I said, it's the biggest crowd I have ever faced, so just have some fun." Miller, who has amassed 449 runs in 15 matches at an average of 64.14 and strike-rate of 141.19, has got success with Gujarat after featuring in just ten matches for Rajasthan in 2020 and 2021 seasons. "It's always nice to do well against former franchises, I've had extremely good memories out there and hopefully we'll go one-up once again today. It's 2-0 so far and hopefully we'll be third time lucky and win the trophy," observed the South African. Pacer Mohammed Shami, who's been leading wicket-taker in power-play overs with 11 scalps, revealed that all players in the side have been asked to treat the final like a normal match. "There is no nervousness before the finals. All the boys have been told to carry their same mood and repeat the same thing what they did all tournament. I look to take my responsibility and play my role with the new ball." Shami signed off by saying that Gujarat will continue to back their abilities in the final. "I always look to use the seam and the swing, and look to contribute for the team. I have always said one thing in team meetings, to back your skills. You need to repeat the same thing that you've done all tournament." New Delhi, May 29 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually interact with the beneficiaries of 16 schemes and programmes run by nine central ministries and departments on May 31. In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that under the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' year-long celebrations, a mega joint event of various Central Ministries will be held on May 31 in which Prime Minister Modi will be the chief guest. "In this national level programme called 'Garib Kalyan Sammelan' in Shimla, Modi will interact with the beneficiaries of 16 schemes/programmes run by nine Central Ministries/Departments through video conferencing," it said. Prime Minister Modi will release the 11th installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, worth over Rs 20,000 crore, to more than 10 crore farmers. Programmes will also be organised in various state capitals, district headquarters and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). As part of this series of programmes, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar will join the farmers in Pusa, national capital. The ministry claims that this will be the biggest single programme ever in the country, under which there will be nationwide deliberations in all the districts during which the Prime Minister Modi will interact with the beneficiaries about the impact on their lives the Central schemes have made, such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Poshan Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural and Urban), Jal Jeevan Mission and AMRUT, Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana, One Nation-One Ration Card, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Under the two-phase programme, the state/district/KVK level functions will start at 9.45 a.m. and will be linked to the national level programme around 11 a.m. The national programme will be telecast live on Doordarshan's national and regional channels. The programme will also be webcast through MyGov, in which people will be able to register. It can also be viewed through other social media channels. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Kathmandu, May 29 : The Nepal Army engaged in searching the Tara Air plane that went missing with four Indians on-board on Sunday has called off the operation for the day due to poor light, an official said, adding the search operations will resume on Monday morning. The plane was carrying 19 passengers including four Indian nationals and three crew members, according to Nepal Civil Aviation Authority. Nepal Army spokesperson Brig Gen Narayan Silwal said: "Nepal Army has halted all efforts of search and rescue for today due to loss of daylight and adverse weather. The search will resume early tomorrow (Monday) morning both from air and ground. Our search and rescue team is on standby at headquarters and in Jomsom." Tara Air's 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft carrying 19 passengers, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom had lost its contact on Sunday morning minutes after it took off from Pokhara airport. Some reports suggested that some local residents in Mustang district have heard a loud sound in the Khaibang area but due to bad weather and difficult geographical terrain, security personnel and the locals could not reach the suspected crash site. The plane has not yet been located, Silwal said, adding "we are trying to reach the place where locals have reportedly seen something burning". "Once our troops reach the location then only we can verify the findings officially and independently. Our rescue effort from ground and air is relentless," the army officer said. Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had said it had traced the potential location of the plane in Khaibang in Mustang district. Deo Chandra Lal Karna, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said that based on an emergency locator transmitter (ELT), they have traced the potential area in Khaibang. The ELT is an emergency beacon used in aircraft to alert rescue authorities and to indicate the location and the identity of an aircraft in distress. "We have received a note from Bangalore, India, which tracks the ELT," said Karna. "But due to some complex weather factors, the rescue teams are finding it difficult to reach the probable site," he added. "The area is blanketed in dense clouds and it has started raining too. The ground search, however, is underway," said Karna. Local residents claimed that the plane made two circles in Khaibang. The 9N-AET Twin Otter carrying 22 people, including three crew members, took off from Pokhara at 9.55 a.m. for Jomsom. But it lost contact at 10.07 a.m. in the Ghodepani area, according to a statement. The plane was carrying 13 Nepalis, four Indians, and two Germans. Soon after the aircraft went out of contact, the Nepal Army deployed its personnel in the Lete area for search. The civil aviation office said in a statement that its rescue coordination centre will stay open throughout the clock and search and rescue will continue until the missing airline traced out. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has published a notice and hotline numbers for assistance. Four Indian nationals have reportedly travelled in the ill-fated airline and the Embassy has said that it is trying to establish contacts with the family members of the missing people. Paris, May 29 : Canada's Leylah Fernandez defeated Amanda Anisimova of US 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth-round clash to reach the quarterfinal of the French Open, here on Sunday. The US Open finalist Fernandez will next meet Martina Trevisan, who squeaked past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6(10), 7-5 in 1 hour and 59 minutes to extend her winning streak to nine matches. Having previously made the last eight as a qualifier in 2020, Trevisan became the third Italian in the Open Era to reach two or more Roland Garros quarterfinals following Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani. Fernandez, the 2019 junior champion, enjoyed a lightning start, dictating play with whipped backhand winners and judicious net play to leap out to a 4-0 lead. But double faults began to creep into the 19-year-old's game as Anisimova settled. It was too late to turn the first set around, but Fernandez dropping serve twice before requiring five set points to serve it out indicated that momentum had begun to shift. Anisimova underlined that by seizing control of the second set with stellar first-strike play. The 20-year-old had tallied seven winners in the first set, and a sequence of sweetly-struck backhands helped to raise that number to 18 in the second. Anisimova excelled off both wings, though: it was a forehand down the line that garnered her the key break for 3-1. As in the first set, the seeds of a momentum change were planted as the player with the lead tried to close it out. A crowd-pleasing pickup from Fernandez followed by a winner off an attempted dropshot prevented Anisimova from serving the set out and though Anisimova rose to the occasion to break Fernandez in the next game, the dynamic had shifted again. Fernandez's serving had started well, and got better and better as the match went on. She landed 73 per cent of her first serves in the first set, 80 per cent in the second, and an impressive 86 per cent in the decider. Quality deliveries helped her escape triple break point in the second game of the third set, and she would not be pressured on serve again as Anisimova was unable to get any consistent hold of her returns. Instead, consecutive return winners from Fernandez paved the way to a break for 3-2. Two more winners in the final gameand a deep return at Anisimova's feet that forced an error sealed Fernandez's second match point. The Quadrilateral Security Alliance may have gone through phases of void and little activity since its inception in 2007, but it has come to acquire greater significance in recent times. In the light of the latest developments on this front, the recently concluded Quad Summit reinforced the need for an alliance to secure maritime territories, particularly taking note of China's growing dominance on the global stage. China's penchant for turning islands and atolls into military bases and declaring territorial ownership is the very reason Quad needs to be a revitalised entity. As Quad offers "tangible benefits" to contain China, the US, Japan, India, and Australia come together with an Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance plan, with 50 billion USD of investment in infrastructure over the next five years. Despite the discussion not having explicitly mentioned China, the leaders strongly opposed "any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo" in the Indo-Pacific region. This intent points out to acts of "militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities", all of which China is infamous for accomplishing. Under the new maritime surveillance initiative, namely, Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), Quad will work with regional partners in response to humanitarian and natural disasters, and against illegal fishing. IPMDA will be working "in consultation with Indo-Pacific nations and regional information fusion centres in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands by providing technology and training to support enhanced, shared maritime domain awareness to promote stability and prosperity" in seas and oceans. This is a significant upgrade from the previous level of engagement with joint military drills across maritime stretches in the region. For an association rooted in international law and undeterred by coercive tactics, and as a step towards deepening cooperation on infrastructure, Quad's resolve to extend additional help to island nations in the Pacific is a timely development, given that China has been increasingly marking its territory. Certainly, to the Asian giant's displeasure, China has previously called Quad an "Asian NATO". All the member countries of Quad have had a face-off with China in recent times. India's friction with China has a long-standing history with military encroachment in Ladakh's Galwan valley in 2020 being the most recent concern of a very direct nature. Further, the compounded crisis in Sri Lanka is an invitation for China to mark its presence more prominently in the Indian Ocean Region. The uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, located northeast of Taiwan, is administered by Japan. China calls this archipelago Diaoyu and claims it as its own. China imposed trade sanctions on Australia after it went expressive on probing the Wuhan lab leak theory as a possible origin of the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement of this outcome of the Quad Summit has indeed sent China into a state of alarm, sensing that this is America's plan to corner China with military and strategic allies. The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi has dubbed this association as "Indo-Pacific NATO", and alleged it for "trumpeting the Cold War mentality" and "stoking geopolitical rivalry". Expectedly, China sees Quad as an instrument for "disrupting regional peace and stability". Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng had earlier said that "closed and exclusive small circles or groups is as dangerous as the NATO strategy of eastward expansion in Europe. If allowed to go on unchecked, it would bring unimaginable consequences, and ultimately push the Asia-Pacific over the edge of an abyss". NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), also called North Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance of 30 member states that came into existence in the aftermath of the second World War as a counter to the Soviet Union. NATO continues to exist as a system of collective security whereby its member states (28 of which are European) agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. Even after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO remained in operation in the Balkan states, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. While the purpose of this trans-Atlantic agency stands justified to the extent that a member state will not be left in the lurch in the event of external aggression, the possibility of an entity of such nature, bound together and driven by mutual interest, is a necessary deterrent at a time like now when China's predatory ways are making their mark along strategic territories. It is pertinent to be mindful of the fact that the member countries of Quad are representatives of diverse cultures and interests and forging a common interest as solid, lasting ground is the prerequisite for elevating Quad to the status of NATO. However, experts are of the view that Quad is no Asian NATO nor does it aspire to be one, as retaining its flexibility as an informal forum will augment its partnerships and expand its scope of cooperation, such as the launching of new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) by Biden in Tokyo. IPEF has 13 founding members, including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its purpose is to "advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies. Through this initiative, we aim to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region", as said in a joint statement by the participating countries. Whatever be the evolving features of this alliance, it is necessary for Quad to be founded on certain positive and constructive non-negotiable terms in order to sustain itself. Rising together as a force to counter China cannot be a very sustainable effort in the long run given diplomatic obligations and economic requirements of "enlightened self-interest". Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Colombo, May 29 : Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday stressed that the crisis-ridden nation's Parliament should be strengthened with more powers as done in India and other countries. Making a special statement, Wickremesinghe proposed that a system similar to that of pre-independence state council should be introduced to monitor public finances and create powerful and stronger laws to enable the Parliament to exercise monetary powers. "Now we need to change the structure of our Parliament and create a new system by combining the existing system of Parliament or the Westminster system and the system of State Councils. In those cases, the Parliament can participate in governing the country," the PM stated. "First of all, the existing laws need to be strengthened in order to give those powers to Parliament in the exercise of monetary powers. Following the example of countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India, we are proposing a stronger and more powerful law," Wickremesinghe said in the televised public speech. Suffering from severe financial crisis, Sri Lankans launched non-stop street fights for more than 50 days with violent resistance by the Rajapaksa government and his supporters. The angry people torched over 50 houses of government politicians, including houses of ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the violence killed nine persons, including an MP, besides injuring over 200 others. Former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and his cabinet was forced to step down as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe from the opposition as PM. During his address, Wickremesinghe also stressed that there were two major issues in the political spheres -- constitutional change with 21st Amendment to weaken the powers of Executive President and strengthening the Parliament, and to abolish the Executive Presidency. He charged that functioning of the Parliament has been paralysed due to the weakening of the Parliamentary powers by the 20th Amendment which was introduced by Mahinda Rajapaksa's government. "There is an allegation that even though the ruling party had a majority in the Parliament, it neglected the work of the Parliament. Everything was systematically controlled by the Cabinet ministers," Wickremesinghe said. To face the economic crisis, the premier proposed to appoint five committees to monitor public finances and find solutions to the problems faced by banks and financial institutions, besides appointing 10 other supervisory committees. The backbenchers of the Parliament are to appoint the chairpersons of the total 15 committees which have to be responsible for the Parliament. Wickremesinghe also invited the youth who had been protesting for over 50 days to join the 15 committees. The PM proposed to establish a National Council consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the major parties to form policies for the country. He said the National Council could talk about the decisions of the Cabinet, reorganisation of the Parliament and it will have the right to summon the Cabinet of ministers and the chairmen of the committees. "According to the new system we have proposed, the President will be held accountable to the Parliament. The Cabinet of ministers woll also be accountable to the Parliament, and the same goes for the National Council. The 15 committees and oversight committees will also be accountable to the Parliament," Wickremesinghe said. Paris, May 29 : American teenager Coco Gauff reached the quarterfinals of the French Open after beating Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-0, here on Sunday. Gauff, seeded No 18, was down a break twice in the first set against No 31 seed Mertens, but won the last eight games of the match. She wore Mertens down over the course of 82 minutes with world-class defense. The 18-year-old American won 51 of the 75 total points of more than five shots in the match. On the other hand, Mertens, who missed much of the clay-court season before the French Open with an injury, hit 25 unforced errors and only 15 winners. Gauff, conversely, hit 19 winners to 17 unforced errors. She also broke Mertens six times and won 17 of 20 points when she went to the net. The youngest of three teenagers to reach the last 16, Gauff joined Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals. Zheng Qinwen, 19, is the next player up for World No 1 Iga Swiatek, and they'll play their fourth-round match on Monday. Gauff will next face either compatriot Sloane Stephens or No 23 seed Jil Teichmann of Switzerland. Srinagar, May 29 : Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday met the family members of Amreen Bhat, a Kashmiri TV artiste who was killed by terrorists in Budgam on May 25. Her nephew was also injured during the terror attack. Sinha assured every possible assistance and support to the family by the administration. "She was a strong-willed woman and a pillar of support to her family. We shall forever remember Amreen's indomitable spirit", Sinha said. Later, Sinha also went to Soura in Srinagar district to enquire about the well-being of the injured daughter of slain J&K police constable Saifullah Qadri. While interacting with the family members and relatives of the martyr, Sinha wished a speedy recovery to the daughter and assured the grieving family of every help and assistance. Geneva, May 29 : About 33 countries have reported 650 probable cases of mysterious acute hepatitis among children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The reason, however, has remained "unknown and under investigation", the WHO said in a statement. "Six hundred and fifty probable cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children have been reported to WHO from 33 countries in five WHO Regions between April and 26 May 2022." Out of the 650 probable cases, at least 38 (6 per cent) children have required transplants, and nine (1 per cent) deaths have been reported to WHO. About one-third of the cases, 222, are in the UK, and another 216 have been reported in the US. Besides, "99 additional cases are pending classification" the WHO said. The global health agency added that the "cases are more clinically severe and a higher proportion develop acute liver failure compared with previous reports of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children". It remains to be established whether and where the detected cases are above-expected baseline levels. WHO assesses the risk at the global level as moderate. According to a joint surveillance report from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), of a subset of 156 cases with data on hospital admission, about 14 per cent required intensive care, and 12 per cent needed a liver transplant. About 75.4 per cent of cases were below 5 years of age. While common viruses known to cause hepatitis, such as hepatitis A, B, C, D and E, have been ruled out in these kids, adenovirus -- a common family of infections responsible for illnesses from colds to eye infections -- has been suspected to be causing the condition. Data from the UK showed adenovirus in 75 per cent of the cases, but the data for other countries are incomplete. The WHO stated that adenovirus associated virus 2 (AAV-2) has also been detected in a small number of cases in the UK in liver and blood samples. The strongest connection between the cases seems to be a virus called adenovirus 41, but adenovirus 41 is not an obvious culprit, experts say, because it has never been known to cause hepatitis in children who do not have weakened immune systems. However, "further investigations are ongoing for the causative agent", the WHO said. The WHO also ruled out the hypotheses related to side effects from Covid-19 vaccines, stating that most of the affected children did not receive these vaccines. Meanwhile, the UN health body suggested countries to "maintain regular hand washing and respiratory hygiene". Mumbai, May 29 : The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, flagged off the 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), with Bangladesh as the 'Country of Focus' at the Nehru Centre in Worli, Mumbai. To celebrate 50 years of independence of Bangladesh, the MIFF 'Country of Focus', a package of 11 documentary films from the neighbouring country, including the critically acclaimed 'Hasina: A Daughter's Tale' will be presented at the seven-day festival being organised by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The highlight of the opening ceremony was the documentary filmmaker, film historian and biographer Sanjit Narwekar being conferred the coveted V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the understanding of films. Narwekar has written and edited more than 20 books on cinema, including 'Marathi Cinema in Retrospect', which won him the Swarna Kamal at the National Film Awards in 1996. The V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award comes with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a golden conch and a citation. In a video message screened at the inauguration, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and Youth Affairs and Sport, Anurag Thakur, said: "Documentary cinema creates the most significant impact. It not only educates, inspires and motivates a change in the society, but also acts as a tool that transcends cultures and boundaries." The minister also mentioned that the MIFF provides a platform where documentary filmmakers from all over the world get to exchange ideas and explore the possibilities of co-productions and marketing of documentary, short and animation films. The Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Dr L. Murugan, lauded Shaunak Sen's film 'All That Breathes' for winning the best documentary award at the recently concluded 75th Cannes Film Festival. He also reminded the audience that the Government of India had announced incentives for international filmmakers and co-productions, especially of feature films, animation films, documentary films and web series. The film personalities present for the inaguration included filmmakers Shaji Karun, Kiran Shantaram and Rahul Rawail, and actor Dalip Tahil. New Delhi, May 29 : Amazon caused the downfall of Future Retail Limited (FRL) when it could not buy its assets on the cheap, placing FRL now on the brink of bankruptcy, the independent directors of FRL have said. In a reply to Amazon, the directors said in a letter, "Your feigned concern over the state of affairs in FRL is a falsehood and an attempt to gloss over this inconvenient truth." "Your letters are not motivated by the concern or interest of FRL stakeholders, but only as a self-serving act to destroy FRL at any cost," they added. "It is strange that you (Amazon) are now making these allegations against FRL and the independent directors, whose every action during the relevant period has been in bona fide discharge of their fiduciary duty to safeguard the interests of FRL, its shareholders and employees. "These efforts of the independent directors have been frustrated solely on account of Amazon's unlawful and mala fide interference with FRL's business and its sustained efforts to destroy the company," they added. There has been no failure by independent directors to discharge their obligations under law or otherwise, they claimed. "Your allegations that independent directors facilitated the stratagem and aided and abetted the so-called fraud to handover the stores to Reliance is false to your knowledge, and a narrative now being created by you to carry on your battle with Reliance using FRL as a pawn," the letter said. The independent directors of FRL said that the facts that have come on record and which will surely be looked into by the Indian regulators in due course will expose how Amazon has been playing the system in India. "Amazon has financial interests in a host of companies and uses them to bump off successful traders on its platform and exploit the goodwill built by them. The nonsensical basis on which this is done is by suggesting that a subsidiary company is not a group company. It is Amazon's business model that calls for an investigation," they added. Amazon's suggestions that FRL has paid $14 million to bond holders and hence it is not in financial difficulties and that FRL should have paid all lease rentals due to Reliance (when the fact is that it could not make any payment to Reliance) are absurdities, the independent directors said. It is a known fact that FRL has defaulted in servicing of its loans, payments to creditors and is on the verge of being admitted to bankruptcy. It is a bitter irony that Amazon, the cause of the present state of affairs, is feigning ignorance of the acute financial distress of FRL, the letter said. Ahmedabad, May 29 : Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya recorded his best IPL bowling figures, 3/17 in four overs, to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 130/9 in 20 overs in the title clash at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday. With the crowd firmly behind him and chanting his name, Pandya took out Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer in a tight bowling display by the home side on a slow, dry pitch to keep Rajasthan to a low score, which they wouldn't have imagined after electing to bat first. Yashasvi Jaiswal began by playing seven dot balls before clearing Mohammed Shami over mid-off for a boundary, followed by an emphatic lofted drive over cover for six. He went on to hook Yash Dayal for a six over long-leg, but the left-arm pacer struck on the very next ball, cramping the left-hander for room and miscuing the pull to deep square leg. Despite the Jaiswal blitz, Gujarat kept Rajasthan on a tight leash in power-play, with Lockie Ferguson bowling the fastest ball of the tournament with a wide yorker going past a circumspect Buttler's bat. After Rashid Khan didn't leak any boundary in his first two overs, including getting some turn from his googly, Buttler made full use of the width from Ferguson to smash back-to-back boundaries. Samson tried to up the ante but miscued the pull off the outer edge to backward point off Pandya, his captaincy counterpart. He was nailing his hard lengths against Devdutt Padikkal, which eventually forced the left-hander to end his misery by cutting to short third man off Khan. Pandya's seam up delivery on the back of the length worked again when Buttler nicked behind to keeper Wriddhiman Saha. Hetmyer carted Pandya for boundaries through off-side in the 15th over. But the Gujarat skipper had the last laugh when the left-hander defended too early on a back of the length ball and popped a simple return catch back to the bowler, effectively breaking the back of Rajasthan's innings. Their slide continued as R Sai Kishore had Ravichandran Ashwin holing out to long-on and then got Trent Boult to slice straight to long-off. Riyan Parag and Obed McCoy produced a boundary each to take Rajasthan to 130 before being dismissed in the final over off Shami. Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 130/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 39, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22; Hardik Pandya 3/17, R Sai Kishore 2/20) against Gujarat Titans. New Delhi, May 29 : Days after the NSCN (IM) issued a statement taking exception to Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton's certain remarks on the peace parleys and perceived delay in arriving at a solution, the BJP Nagaland on Sunday hit out at the militant group saying "Nagas need to know the truth". "Right now, our leaders need to speak out for it is high time now... Nagas need to know the truth as the Naga political issue and its related problems are not something which have to be kept in the dark; everybody deserves to know what is going on and what will happen," a statement from BJP Nagaland's media cell said. It said the BJP Nagaland unit has "always been at the forefront in advocating an early and amicable solution to the long-standing Naga political issue. And despite the multitude of opinions and allegations hurled against our legislators in recent times, it needs to be accepted by all if we are really craving for a solution". "We need to be more vocal about what is happening, what we want to achieve, what we need to hold on to, and what we need to let go. Those blaming a few legislators for being vocal and voicing their opinions also need to understand that the legislators in a way also represent the voice of the Centre and cannot be ignored or dismissed," the statement said. Notably, the saffron party's statement came a day after the core committee led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Deputy CM Patton (BJP floor leader in the Assembly) held a meeting with an NSCN-IM delegation led by V.S. Atem, a longtime aide of the militant group's powerful general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah. "At this crucial juncture, when all our leaders need to speak out, it is disheartening that some leaders and their party are maintaining a stoic silence over the matter, despite holding influential positions like leading the core committee, as ignoring it will in no way add anything to our collective aspirations of the long-standing political solution," the BJP statement said. It asserted that "BJP Nagaland shall never shy from advocating what is needed to be told because we stand with the Nagas in its aspirations for an honourable and acceptable solution". It is a rare occasion that an established national party has gone on record to join issue with NSCN (IM) or any such militant organisation. There is a perceived feeling among a section of Naga leaders, common people and also important players in New Delhi that there is a deliberate attempt to delay the solution as 'the status quo' suits some vested interests, including a section of established political stars in the state. On May 27, the NSCN (IM) had expressed concern at the recent "outrageous" statements made by Nagaland BJP ministers and NPF leaders on the Naga political solution with reference to the Framework Agreement of 2015, Naga Flag, a separate Constitution and integration of Naga contiguous areas. It had said that many of the Nagaland BJP ministers and other party leaders are "not able to fully appreciate the complexities and intricacies involved and are simply allowing themselves to be carried away by their election syndrome". Patton had recently used strong words with regard to attempts being made by certain quarters to delay the solution, saying: "Some big (perhaps militant) leaders do not want a solution. They want to keep relaxing and enjoying the comforts of life with money collected through extortion and taxes. "If this continues, I would say, go to hell. You won't go to heaven. How can you go to heaven by causing so much hardship to the public? We must come out openly now. It is high time. Enough is enough." NPF leader Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu had also referred to the Framework Agreement of 2015, saying the potent NSCN (IM) group has "sealed its fate" and has virtually endorsed the Constitution of India by inking the same. Therefore, he said, it is high time "for NSCN-IM to say whether they take it or leave it" vis-a-vis the flag and the separate Constitution demands. The Centre has more than once categorically rejected the twin demands of flag and Constitution. Sources said that the top concerned players in the government have conveyed to Nagaland Chief Minister and even the likes of former Chief Minister S.C. Jamir to convey to the Naga people to appreciate that when the Centre took strong steps with regard to Jammu and Kashmir, how could a flag or a separate Constitution could be given to Nagaland. NPF leader Azo Neinu said that in the given context, the stance taken by the government of India is to be appreciated as it has decided to allow the use of the Naga flag for cultural programmes. "In fact, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Home Minister (Amit Shah) are willing to visit Nagaland and also hoist the Naga flag for any cultural event. As a regional politician often taking stance against the BJP, I must appreciate that the government of India has gone all out to accommodate the request and demand of the Naga leaders," Neinu said. However, the NSCN-IM has rejected this proposal too, saying that Naga flag could not be used merely for cultural activities. The government sources say that the twin demands of flag and Constitution were raised by NSCN-IM only after October 31, 2019 when the officials claimed formal talks were already over. (Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of books, 'The Talking Guns: North East India' and 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth'. The views are personal) Srinagar, May 29 : Two terrorists have been trapped in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces at Gundipora area in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said on Sunday. "Two local terrorists of proscribed terror outfit JeM trapped in encounter including killer of our Martyr Constable Reyaz Ahmad. JeM terrorist Abid Shah had killed our unarmed colleague on May 13," Jammu and Kashmir Police quoting Inspector General Police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar tweeted. The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter. Bhopal, May 29 : The BJP on Sunday announced the names of 18 candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls with the biennial elections for 57 seats in the Upper House scheduled to be held across 15 states on June 10. From Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has decided to field a woman candidate -- Kavita Patidar -- who belongs to the OBC community, which accounts for around 50 per cent population in the state. With this, the party seems to have sent a message to the community as OBC reservation in polls has been a hot topic of debate in Madhya Pradesh for some time now. Taking to social media, Patidar said, "I will try to discharge the responsibility assigned to me by the central leadership." Notably, the BJP recently included Patidar in the 18-member core committee as well as the election committee for the state. The state leadership made an announcement of both these committees a couple of days back, stating that a decision has been made on the direction of BJP President J.P. Nadda. The decision to field Patidar came on the same day when the Congress included senior advocate Vivek Tankha in its list of 10 candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls. Taking a dig at Congress' decision, the state BJP alleged that the opposition has decided to send a person to the Upper House who created hurdles for OBC reservation in the state. Now with Patidar's name announced for Rajya Sabha polls, the state BJP leaders are trying to take on the Congress over the OBC issue. Patidar's father late Bherulal Patidar was a former minister (1990 to 1992), who also served as the Deputy Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Assembly from 1993 to 1998. Panaji, May 29 : Goa Police on Sunday arrested three persons for allegedly looting tourists and threatening them with dire consequences. Sachin Bharadwaj and Ashish Singh -- both native of Haryana and Mubarak Mulla from Calangute, Goa have been arrested in this connection, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi said. According to Dalvi, he had received a complaint from one Pravin Patil from Kolhapur, complaining that he along with his friends were stopped by accused persons at Mapusa and were taken to a beauty parlour over the pretext of taking them to a restaurant. Later, they were brutally assaulted and robbed of their gold ornaments. The offence has been registered under sections 147, 504, 323, 395, 506(ii) r/w 34 IPC. Nicosia, May 30 : Cyprus and Israel have kicked-off their "biggest ever" joint military exercise in the Cypriot air, sea and land territory, a Defence Ministry statement said. The joint military exercise between the two countries began on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement added that the exercise, codenamed "Agapinor 2022", which will be held largely on Cypriot territory, with the participation of "land, air and sea forces from both countries," will be concluded on Thursday. Defence Ministry sources were quoted by Cypriot media as saying that judging from the military units taking part, the exercise will be the biggest ever so far. "The maneuver is part of the agreed Bilateral Military Cooperation Program between the two countries and depicts the excellent relations of the two countries in the field of defence and security," the Defence Ministry statement said. Israeli media said that Israel's Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz will watch part of the exercise, but did not elaborate. They also said that Israeli special forces units and "many military aircraft" will take part in the exercise. New Delhi, May 30 : A man accused of raping his minor step-daughter has died under mysterious circumstances inside the lockup at Dabri police station in Dwarka. Delhi Police have said that they are waiting for the autopsy report to comment on the matter. It is said that the man might have committed suicide. A senior police officer said that on Friday, they received a PCR call at the Dabri police station about a rape case, following which a team was sent to the spot. The accused, Subodh, was allegedly beaten up by the public and was handed over to the police after which he was taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for treatment. During inquiry, the mother of the victim told the police that Shubodh (40), a resident of Madhu Vihar, sexually assaulted his step-daughter. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital where she underwent a medical test, which confirmed rape. The police then lodged an FIR under Section 4 of the POCSO Act following which Shubodh was arrested. Thereafter, the accused was lodged in the lockup of the Dabri police station. On Saturday, the accused reported that he was feeling unwell after which the SHO took him to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in an unconscious state. He was declared brought dead at the hospital. "As the acccused has died and as per the MLC he was beaten up by the public, a case under Section 304 IPC has been registered. The post-morterm report is awaited," the police said. Bhopal, May 30 : Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Govind Singh wrote a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanding security under the protocol. Singh in his letter on Sunday mentioned that an armless constable has been deployed in his security. He claimed that he may be attacked as such incidents have occurred in the past as well. Referring to his recent political visit in Bhind, Singh accused the District police of negligence in his security. "It appeared that Bhind police were not serious about my security. I can be attacked at any time. Also, if anything happened to me, then the government will be responsible for it," the LoP wrote in his letter. Citing another example of negligence in his security, Singh said that during a visit to Datia district, his driver left him after 10 km and returned from there due to which he was stuck in a traffic jam. He was appointed the new Leader of Opposition in the state assembly nearly a month ago before which the state Congress President Kamal Nath held the post. Singh, a senior Congress leader and seven-time MLA belongs to Thakur community, and has a stronghold in Gwalior-Chambal division of Madhya Pradesh. By appointing him as LoP, the Congress sent out a message to its leaders and the BJP in the region. Earlier, the Congress had won more than 20 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections, however, since nearly a dozen party MLAs left with Jyotiraditya Scindia in March 2020 to join the BJP, the Congress wanted a strong leader in the region. Since Govind Singh is considered close to Digvijaya Singh, his appointment as LoP was also made to take on Jyotiraditya Scindia, who also hails from Gwalior-Chambal division. Bhopal, May 30 : The Madhya Pradesh BJP will start a 15-day campaign to highlight the beneficiaries of the Centre and the state government's schemes. This initiative has been taken to mark the completion of eight years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre. A booth level campaign will be kicked off on May 29 and will end on June 14 during which BJP's booth level workers will reach out to people and will be highlighting the initiative taken by Modi in the past eight years, said state BJP President V.D. Sharma. The state BJP President on Sunday added that the campaign will be part of a nationwide campaign launched by the party's central leadership. "PM Modi will kickstart the campaign on May 31 from Himachal Pradesh. The state BJP leaders and workers have been tasked to take forward the work done under the leadership of Modi in last eight years to each house in the state," Sharma added. This decision by the BJP comes at a time when the panchayat elections are taking place in the state and local body polls are likely to be held in the next two months. The BJP leaders are of the view that the campaign will help the party to counter the Opposition's allegation on OBC reservation. The Madhya Pradesh Congress has launched a scathing attack against the BJP over the OBC reservation issue. The former Chief Minister and state Congress President, Kamal Nath on Sunday said, "The BJP had agreed with the Congress to pass a unanimous resolution of not conducting local body elections without OBC reservation from the state Assembly in December 2021 because the Congress had cornered it. The BJP claims that Supreme Court's judgment won but in panchayat elections, hardly 9-13 per cent reservation was given to the OBC community." Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh BJP on Sunday has also nominated the members of its 'Shikshak Prakostha' at division level (a wing of the BJP which is tasked to connect the teachers and the students of private institutions with the party). Rajiv Awasthi, who has been appointed as state BJP Co-incharge of two divisions Rewa and Shadol, told IANS, "Shikshak Prakostha has a crucial role to play at the grassroot level. The party unit functions on the direction of the state leadership and is accountable to report to the state Party President." Moscow, May 30 : Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country will continue to supply natural gas to Serbia uninterruptedly, during a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Putin made the announcement to supply natural gas to Serbia on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian President and Vucic discussed bilateral relations in detail, including "steps to expand mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation," and exchanged views on the "situation in Ukraine and developments around Kosovo," the Kremlin said in a statement. It added that the leaders reaffirmed their common position to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Aden : , May 30 (IANS) UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg arrived in the southern port city of Aden to hold meetings with the country's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) over the reopening of blocked roads to the strategic southwestern province of Taiz. An official of Yemen's government told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity that "Grundberg along with his team arrived in Aden and began discussions with the PLC and government members on the issue of the besieged city of Taiz". On Saturday, representatives from the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia concluded an initial round of discussions without reaching an agreement on opening roads around Taiz and other regions of the war-ravaged Arab country, Xinhua news agency reported. The negotiation was hosted by Grundberg, who described the results of the talks as "promising," noting that a proposal for the phased reopening of roads around Taiz, "including an implementation mechanism and guarantees for the safety of civilian travellers," was drawn up based on the three-day discussions. The Yemeni-Yemeni talks on opening the blocked roads of Taiz and elsewhere began on May 25 in Jordan's capital Amman, and are part of the UN-brokered truce that came into effect on April 2. The Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have been locked in clashes with the Iran-allied Houthi militia in the north, east, and west of Taiz since April 2015. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa. Little stirs the pot more consistently, or generates more buzz, than a serial agitator. The digital fashion NFT community now has its very own enfant terrible in Mason Rothschild. The coolest, most fashionable digital NFT wearables are symbols of identity, just as luxury items are in the real-world. The Metabirkin NFTs from duo Mason Rothschild and Ericka del Rosario certainly have people talking, and in some cases, even suing. As brands like Gucci, Rimowa, Givenchy, Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, and many others, continue to tap into the increasingly mainstream appeal of the crypto market by minting their own luxury NFT pieces, the luxury fashion house Hermes has itself refrained from entering into the burgeoning space. The 185-year-old French luxury fashion brand has indicated it has zero immediate plans to enter the NFT or metaverse market, proudly proclaiming that they value the tangible expression of handcrafted physical objects. Which is why the MetaBirkin NFT from Mason Rothschild and Ericka del Rosario is so controversial. The popular digital collection consists of 100 virtual renderings of the iconic Birkin bag. Hermes has spoken out against the offering, which has total sales of around $1 million, saying that they do not consent to the commercialization or creation of the NFTs, and the company is taking legal action to protect its intellectual property and trademark rights. The MetaBirkins collection is actually the second time Rothschild has used NFTs to play on the well-established reputation of the Hermes bag. His first collaboration, with fellow digital artist Eric Ramirez was dubbed the Baby Birkin and was a 1 of 1 edition of an NFT Birkin Bag adorned with a stylized 40-week-old fetus. Rothschild was able to argue then that the Baby Birkin NFT was protected on the basis of parody and satire. Still, Mason Rothschild isnt letting the legal trouble get to him. He and Ericka del Rosario recently hosted an NFT launch party in collaboration with artist Amber Park at their fashion boutique in Beverly Hills, Terminal 27. The 3,000 square foot store doesnt just sell cutting-edge clothing, but is also becoming a social hangout and gathering place for the Metaverse and crypto communities to party and promote their newest digital fashion projects. +++ This article originally appeared in the PSFK iQ report, Fashioning Virtual identity. Cowdery started her commercial career in television at NBCUniversal and Lionsgate and then at EOne. She joined BossaNova CEO Paul Heaneys TCB Media Rights in 2017 as sales executive for Benelux, CEE and MENA, rising to a position of VP of sales.She now joins BossaNova from Beyond Rights, which acquired TCB Media Rights in April 2020, following the collapse of Kew Media Group. Cowderys appointment sees her reuniting with other original team members from TCB, with Claire Lowe joining as commercial and business affairs director and Charlotte Johnson as finance and operations director at the start of the year and Jasmin Joseph who joined as BossaNovas first employee as marketing manager in 2020.Commenting on her new role, Cowdery said: I couldnt be more delighted to be re-joining Paul and the team. I am passionate about the content I sell and about the need to make strong lasting relationships with clients. The opportunity to get onboard the new hybrid model of BossaNova was too good to resist.Holly brings a verve to her trade as an outstanding sales person, added Paul Heaney. Her content knowledge and professionalism allied to her intelligence, maturity and sparkling personality puts real weight behind BossaNova and will add an X factor into what is already an outstanding team. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/29/2022 ADVERTISEMENT [ spoilers warning: This report contains spoilers on Yvette and Mohamed's relationship and if the couple is still together and married]. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Did are Yve and Mohamed still together now or has the couple split? ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. has featured Mohamed Abdelhamed and Yvette "Yve" Arellano butting heads over their different cultural beliefs on Season 9, so did the couple break up or go through with getting married -- and are Mohamed and Yve still together now, and living in the U.S. together?Yve, a 48-year-old acupuncturist and massage therapist from Albuquerque, NM, and Mohamed, a 25-year-old from Egypt, introduced themselves on 's ninth season.Yve has a twelve-year-old son named Tharan, who battles autism, Down syndrome and Stage II kidney disease.Yve said she has a lot on her plate as a single mom and there had been times that were very demanding and stressful. For example, Tharan had to be catheterized every three hours. She tried to be positive and keep moving forward.Yve was almost married before. She dated her son's father for eight years but said "different people go through different things" and she didn't feel emotionally supported by her ex. Yve therefore called off their engagement.Yve said she wasn't interested in dating at all until a man half her age from Egypt slid into her DMs. She bragged about him having a "shredded" body and six-pack of abs.Yve called Mohamed an amazing person, whom she had videochatted with a couple of days after meeting. They began talking multiple times a day, and Yve said that even though she's 48 years old and he's 25, the age difference didn't matter to them.After a couple of weeks, the pair expressed love to each other, and then two months after they met, Yve decided to go see Mohamed and purchased a plane ticket.Yve said once she saw Mohamed in person, all of her fears melted away and their time together was just "magical and perfect."The couple got engaged right away with a red-ruby ring, and Yve said she never had this type of connection with somebody before.Once Yve returned from Egypt, she started the K-1 visa process and he was approved for it two years later.Mohamed was therefore about to fly to Albuquerque, but Yve's friends worried about him being possessive and controlling.Yve even tossed some of her clothes that were too revealing given Mohamed wouldn't want her dressing that was in public.Yve's fiance was also the same age as Tharan. Yve didn't want to be judged or criticized for dating a young man, and she admitted people questioning her decision and Mohamed's motive was "hard" and "heartbreaking.""I just want everyone to be happy for me," Yve said in tears.Yve relaxed the day before Mohamed's arrival with several of her best friends, who had been very supportive of her relationship.Yve revealed Mohamed was a virgin when they met due to his Islam religion but they "went against things" and broke the rules due to their strong and alleged once-in-a-lifetime connection.Yve wasn't willing to convert to his Islam faith, but she was prepared to dress differently and give up alcohol to please him. Yve's friends feared Mohamed wouldn't like them, and they didn't like the idea of Yve changing herself for a man.Yve's friends didn't want Yve to lose herself in the relationship and her independence and individuality.Yve's best friends also worried whether Mohamed he was after a "sugar mama" or green card, but she insisted she loved Mohamed and had a gut feeling that everything was going to work out and be okay.Once the pair reunited in the airport, they hugged and kissed, and Yve seemed completely ecstatic."You look so beautiful!" Mohamed gushed, adding how it was an amazing feeling to finally show affection in public. "That was my first taste of freedom. I felt like I was born again in this moment."Yve repeatedly called Mohamed "my love," and Mohamed said he felt like he was living in a dream and he was scared to wake up from it.Mohamed, however, admitted that leaving his home was very hard because he wouldn't be able to go back for a while and see his family and friends. Yve pointed out how she wasn't the only person in the relationship making sacrifices, which her loved ones didn't seem to understand.Yve was worried how Mohamed would adjust to life in America, especially because she would have to work and he was used to his mother cooking all of his meals every day for him.Yve then brought Mohamed home and gave him a tour of the house. Mohamed said he already considered himself married to Yve and so he didn't feel guilty to live with Yve before marriage, even though premarital co-existing is against his Islam religion.Mohamed gushed about his new house being really big, twice the size of his place in Egypt, and Yve surprised him with red rose petals on the bed. Yve also gifted Mohamed a silver crown ring to represent how he's her king.However, Mohamed was disappointed to learn Yve had yet to set up the bidet, which he needed for making himself clean before prayer sessions, which he conducts about five times a day."My perfect in my imagination is the woman will love me as my mother. So, someone [who can] prepare everything for you to make your life easier. That's what I was looking for. Yve makes me feel good... She's older, she's mature and she's taking care of me," Mohamed explained.Mohamed said not having a bidet bothered him a lot and he was starting to realize how different their cultures really are."Yve needs to make sacrifices for me... and if she doesn't, I think that may ruin our relationship," Mohamed said.The couple then went into their bedroom, and Yve joked about how they weren't going to be relaxing that night.After two years of being apart, Yve said she had a night with Mohamed that she had always dreamed of, and the pair agreed it was a very special morning as well.Mohamed said it was nice to cuddle a woman rather than a pillow in the morning, but he had never lived with a woman before.Mohamed wished he and Yve could have breakfast in bed and explore the area, but Yve had to go to work and she apologized for that.Yve knew she'd have to be Mohamed's sole provider for a while, and she found that a little stressful."I'm trying to understand, but I didn't want to spend my first morning in America by myself," Mohamed complained, adding, "I expected her to cook for me because my mom cooks for me and watches my needs... I expected Yve to do the same. This is not what I was expecting for my future wife."Mohamed was starting to miss his mother already, as he looked around the kitchen for salt and other ingredients.Mohamed, however, was excited to meet Yve's son in-person later that day.Mohamed realized his first 90 days in America were probably going to be tough because he'd be stuck at home often.Later that day, Yve introduced Mohamed to her son Tharan, and the guys hugged. Tharan said Mohamed being in America was "so cool," and it was such an adorable moment.Mohamed called it an "amazing feeling," and the hug made him feel right at home. Mohamed surprised Tharan with a toy and then Yve cooked the boys some hamburgers and a nice dinner.Tharan was clearly comfortable around Mohamed, who was going to assist Yve in taking care of Tharan when she was gone working. Yve hoped Mohamed would essentially be Tharan's babysitter, sometimes for full days.Mohamed worried he'd be more of a babysitter than a fiance, and he didn't want to have "a female role" during his 90 days in America.With 88 days to wed, Yve welcomed a handyman into her home to finally install the bidet Mohamed desperately needed. Mohamed told Yve that in his Islam faith and culture, a woman and a man could not be alone.Mohamed asked Yve to call him if a man was coming over because she's not even allowed to be in the same house as another man.Mohamed asked Yve to keep her distance from the handyman, and Yve was annoyed because she had been trying to do something nice for him."I feel like I was being scolded, and I was just trying to do something nice for the man I love," Yve vented in a confessional."I'm getting concerned because I didn't know that was a rule. Am I not going to be allowed to be near strangers anymore? I don't want to live my life that way, so I'm kind of nervous."Mohamed said he had given up everything in Egypt to move to the U.S. and be with Yve and so she needed to make sacrifices for their relationship as well. Mohamed said he needed to feel comfortable in his home and Yve had to follow rules in order to please him."Keep a list," Mohamed said."You have to be a little more flexible and understand that I am not a Muslim woman," Yve clapped back."But you're with a Muslim man," Mohamed replied."But you're in America," Yve argued."But I am who I am," Mohamed quietly noted.Yve realized she had a lot to learn about Mohamed in the next 90 days and she hoped he'd be willing to be more open-minded about how things are in the United States. She didn't want Mohamed to change her too much, explaining that their relationship wouldn't work out in that case.Mohamed doesn't have any photos of Yve on his Instagram account. She's only included in a short promo of that he uploaded on his page on March 31 at the start of Season 9.Mohamed didn't even identify Yve in the caption or say anything sweet or nice about her.Mohamed's page is also filled with underwear and sexy modeling photos.He has also been posting pictures of himself in Egypt, suggesting he may not be living in the United States anymore. He has been posting photos throughout April and May 2022 in Egypt.And in late May, Mohamed captioned a modeling photo of himself, "At least I'm stronger than Yesterday."But on May 16, Mohamed spoke about America being his "home.""Egypt is beautiful. American people are very welcoming. #american thanks #america," He wrote."Everyone here made me feel that I'm home, thanks to the#90dayfiancefamily #90dayfiance #tlc and thanks Tharan for welcoming me with a huge hug."Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! FILE - Robert W. McElroy, bishop of the diocese of San Diego, arrives to attend a conference on nuclear disarmament, at the Vatican, Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. Pope Francis said Sunday, May 29, 2022 he has tapped 21 churchmen to become cardinals, most of them from continents other than Europe, which has dominated Catholic hierarchy for most of the church's history. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. NEWFANE The Newfane Flea and Farmers Market is receiving a lot of praise from vendors and attendees. I feel really happy, said Julia Tadlock, market manager. The vibes are good. People seem excited that its back. Tadlock said the weekly Sunday market features a mix of antiques, farmers, craftspeople, yard sales and food vendors. This has been a really great event for me, Jaci Reynolds, owner Jacis BBQ Joint, said as she prepared a meal or two. Newfane Flea Market returns under new management NEWFANE Vermonts oldest flea market is reopening next month under a new manager, who has Reynolds said sales on Sunday smoked those from another flea market where she previously sold food. Its been a busy day, said Larisa Volkavichyute, owner of the Leopard Frog art gallery and gift shop in West Brattleboro. Volkavichyute sees the flea market as a way to advertise her new shop. I think its great, said Beth Shaw, owner of Lodestar Lights. Im so happy to be part of it. Shaw, who lives in Shaftsbury, plans to sell handmade and reiki-infused candles at future dates at the Newfane Flea Market and Farmers Market. Donna Evans of Ridgewood, N.J., said its refreshing to see the flea market being rejuvenated and giving people an outlet to share what they love. Evans, who has relatives in West Dummerston and a cabin in Townshend, grew up going to the Newfane Flea Market. Jen Karpin, owner of Morning Glorious Vintage in Brattleboro, said its nice to see the market happening again. She remembered going there in her 20s and now, she gets to do it again in her 50s. Before the flea market opened, Karpin had seen a sign about its return when driving on Route 30. It felt so right, she said. Tadlock said shes glad with how the flea market is going so far. Last week, she held a soft opening. Tadlock, who has run Brattleboro Flea for about five years, is renting the property from Bill Morse and his nephew Jesse Holden. The flea market is known as the oldest in Vermont. Morses grandmother owned the property since 1952, and the flea market has been running since 1967, although it was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biker Bobs Burgers & Dogs, now at Vermont Marketplace on Canal Street at Exit 1, had its food truck there last year. Tadlock plans to run the flea market every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 29 through Oct. 30, rain or shine. To learn more, visit newfaneflea.com. HAMDEN At a time when some argue the need for youth programs is greater than ever, a Hamden mentorship program is shutting down. Its leaders, who launched Hamden Youth Connections a year ago, say a lack of funding has forced them to bring the initiative to an end. (Im) very disappointed, said founder Cheryl Kasprzycki. All of our board we all did this for the community. None of us have kids in middle or high school. We wanted to do this because we knew that Hamden needed it. Seeing the program fail to garner enough support to keep running was disappointing, she said. Even though were all volunteers, (Hamden Youth Connections) doesnt run on nothing, Kasprzycki said. You have to have money for insurances, programming and supplies. When Kasprzycki decided to launch the program a year ago, she said, she was promised financial support from the town. Though Hamden did provide some building space, the money never came through, she said. And as time went on, she failed to get answers about the funding from the town, she said. You just feel bad because it was a wonderful program, and you feel a little disappointed, said fellow board member Kim Washington. You feel a little hurt because a lot of kids benefited from the program. For a time, Kasprzycki was able to keep the program going through a grant from the Rotary Club, her own personal funds and some money earned through fundraising, she said. I couldnt continue to fund it ... without backing from the town, she said. I reached out to various senators, the governor, different charitable organizations. We did some Facebook fundraising but none of it really amounted to enough to get us through. Though Hamden Youth Connections recently was awarded some money through a grant, it would not have been enough to keep the initiative running for more than two months, Kasprzycki said, so she turned it down. Former Mayor Curt Balzano Leng, who was in office when the program began, said he intended to fund Hamden Youth Connections and other youth programs with money from the American Rescue Plan Act but was unable to disburse any of it before he left office. Leng did use money from the first tranche of ARPA funds to make up for lost revenue in the municipal budget, he later said in a written statement. The remainder of the funds ... (were) completely undesignated for anything other than future programs and community improvements, he wrote. My desire was to see funding for positive youth programs and violence reduction efforts, as well as major renovations to the Keefe Community Center. Kasprzycki said she has tried and failed to get answers about the ARPA money from the current administration. Sean Grace, chief of staff to Mayor Lauren Garrett, issued a statement indicating the town has not decided how to spend the ARPA funds. Earlier this year the town put out a request for proposals for after-school programs, he said, and awarded the money to The Village. It is unclear whether Kasprzycki put in a bid. Possible funding from the Board of Education also fell through, Kasprzycki said. About 50 middle and high school students participated in Hamden Youth Connections, according to Kasprzycki. Activities included classes on subjects including carpentry and financial literacy. The program also had a community service aspect to it, she said. Community leaders involved in youth programming spoke to the impact that losing services like Hamden Youth Connections can have. Any opportunity that is lost, its gonna be impactful, and from everything I heard about (Hamden Youth Connections), it was good, said Leonard Jahad, who heads the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program. Yet Jahad said there are other valuable services in town. Hamden Youth Services, which runs out of the Keefe Center, does a phenomenal job with the resources it has, he said. Sometimes, engagement is just as big a challenge as program availability, according to Jahad. Rich Mutts, who runs the Born Rich Foundation, said running youth programs can be stressful because a lot of us are nonprofit or volunteers, so were always scrambling to get funding and get people engaged. To Mutts, recent community strife shows how important youth engagement is. (If) we take a look at some of the violence and just some of the things that are going on locally, its very apparent that these things are needed more than ever, he said. Earlier this month, 15-year-old Hamden High School student Elijah Gomez was shot and killed in broad daylight near the canal line. The past year has brought other challenges to the school district, including a rash of threats of violence and a stabbing. Any time you lose funding or lose different programs that are geared towards resources or assisting youth, its not only detrimental to the youth in the community but the community as a whole, said Mutts. To support youth, Mutts said, it is important to have innovative programming thats constantly evolving, which means we need constant funding. Its important that leadership in the municipality understands that the youth shape the community, he said. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com MORA, N.M. (AP) As more than 2,700 firefighters in northern New Mexico continued to battle the nations largest active wildfire on Sunday, many evacuees were growing concerned about their future after weeks away from home The biggest fire in the states recorded history has been burning for six weeks now, and some of the hundreds forced to evacuate say their financial resources are dwindling. Amity Maes, a 30-year-old Mora resident who said she is 8 months pregnant and penniless, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that she bounced around for weeks before finding shelter at an evacuation center in Glorieta, where she believes she contracted COVID-19. Officials at Glorieta Adventure Camps said there have been 67 coronavirus cases among evacuees, including some that required hospitalization. After her isolation period, Maes said she was urged to leave and go to a hotel in Santa Fe where she could be closer to a hospital if she went into labor. But the hotel didnt have her reservation when she arrived and when she finally got a room, it was only for one night. They keep encouraging us to go to Albuquerque where evacuees are being housed in hotels, Maes told the newspaper. We dont have gas. We dont have no income. Theres no gas vouchers. Theres no anything. Im on a quarter-tank of gas, and I dont know what Im going to do. The Glorieta retreat center has housed hundreds of people this month and hosted a dozen organizations providing services and resources to evacuees. But it is scheduled to close its shelter this week to prepare for its annual summer camps. Staff members are trying to ensure all of the center's guests have a place to go when the doors close, but some families are uncertain where they will land. Heather Nordquist, who has been engaged in issues affecting northern New Mexico residents, said evacuees needs are not being met. She has collected about $3,000 in donations, which she has used for food, gift and gas cards, and supplies for evacuees. I am so deeply discouraged that our tax dollars arent finding their way to these evacuees, Nordquist told the New Mexican. My heart breaks for the people of Mora. Meanwhile, the wildfire remained 40% contained around its perimeter Sunday. A cold front that arrived Friday night has lowered temperatures, raised humidity levels and provided cloud cover that shades the fuels so that the fire has to work harder and struggles to burn that material, fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns. Its actually given us some decent conditions to go after this fire. At 484 square miles (1,253 square kilometers), the fire is so big its been split into three zones managed separately by three of the 17 largest Type I incident teams in the nation. The merged Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fire is among five active large fires in the state and among 16 nationally, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Police officers, neighborhood committee members and community volunteers dressed in head-to-toe white PPE have been a ubiquitous feature of China's zero-COVID policy, often shown on social media video uploads surrounding people, beating and dragging them away, or knocking on their door to put pressure on them to submit to a PCR test, to leave home for an isolation camp. Dubbed White Guards in a nod to the Red Guards, the often violent and arbitrary enforcers of political decrees during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the "dabai," or "big whites" have gained themselves a reputation for Kafkaesque orders, physical violence and abuse of power. Yet many didn't sign up for grueling disease control prevention measures that left some of them isolated from friends and family and others loathed by the residents they had thought they were mostly there to help. Constant political sloganeering, changing criteria and orders from higher up, and incomprehensible containment processes left many neighborhood committee members and healthcare workers emotionally drained, under constant psychological stress and liable either to lash out physically or verbally. Others grabbed any opportunity to improve their lives with both hands, as in the case of the Shanghai neighborhood committee who barricaded themselves into a room to gorge themselves on a secret stash of cake while their residents were having trouble getting any food at all. A community doctor surnamed Chen was among the army of White Guards drafted in to carry out mass, compulsory PCR testing throughout the Shanghai lockdown, getting up in the middle of the night to start swabbing thousands of mouths and nostrils a day. "We were originally doctors in regular private clinics," Chen told RFA. "When lockdown started a while back, all non-essential facilities were shut down, and staff called in to assist with disease control and prevention work." "We didn't volunteer for this work, and we received no compensation for it," he said. A worker in a protective suit looks out through a gap in barriers at a closed residential area during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 25, 2022. Credit: Reuters. A political task Chen was pressured into joining the "dabai" by his manager, who said PCR testing was now a political task, under ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping's ongoing insistence on a zero-COVID strategy to deal with the omicron variant of COVID-19. "If we hadn't gone, the powers-that-be would have given our clinic trouble in future, making it hard to stay in business," Chen said. In return for wearing full body PPE for five hours straight, making bathroom breaks well nigh impossible, Chen, who lives in Handan city in the northern province of Hebei, said the "dabai" could expect three meals a day and drinks provided by the authorities, at a time when many families are struggling to buy enough food because of lockdown restrictions on businesses and delivery drivers. Many would save their meals and bring them home to their families after work, Chen said, adding that this was a key motivation for him to keep doing the work. Chen said there was scant scientific basis for the seemingly endless rounds of mass PCR testing he helped to implement. "This isn't really disease control and prevention at all," Chen said. "The most important thing in disease control work is to prevent clusters, but many communities had zero infections." "The whole thing was more of a political show, using Handan as a line of defense to protect Beijing," he said. "Everyone is in danger right now, and a lot of people are afraid to talk about the trauma the pandemic has caused them, but ... it won't stay hidden," Chen said. A health worker (C) wearing personal protective equipment conducts a swab test for the Covid-19 coronavirus in a compound during a Covid-19 lockdown in Pudong district in Shanghai on April 19, 2022. Credit: AFP Depression and trauma Ukrainian forces have had some success fighting Russians in the city of Syevyerodonetsk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his late-night address on June 2, but the overall military situation in the Donbas region, which he previously characterized as "very difficult," has not changed. Ukrainian forces have been locked in a grinding battle for control of the city and regions in eastern Ukraine as they struggle to hold off Russian troops while they await the arrival of the advanced rockets and anti-aircraft weapons that the United States has promised to send. But the arms deliveries are possibly weeks away, meaning a prolonged period of grueling combat is likely. The war has become a war of attrition, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on June 2 following talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. Wars are by nature unpredictable and therefore we just have to be prepared for the long haul," Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Biden at the White House. The war most likely will end at the negotiating table, he said, adding that what happens during talks is closely linked to the situation on the battlefield. Street fighting was reported on June 2 in Syevyerodonetsk where Ukrainian forces continued to put up stiff resistance despite the Russians controlling most of the key Donbas city with the aid of massive and indiscriminate artillery bombardments. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Zelenskiy again urged the West to speed up weapons deliveries for his outnumbered and outgunned troops as the Kremlin angrily warned that arming Kyiv will "bring more suffering to Ukrainians." Moscow's furious reaction came after Britain joined the United States and Germany in announcing that it will send Ukraine advanced weapons systems to help defend itself against Russia. As fighting raged in Syevyerodonetsk, a regional official warned that civilians are sheltering from Russian shelling under a chemical plant in the city and authorities fear it may still have stocks of dangerous materials. The regional head of the Luhansk military administration, Serhiy Hayday, said that 80 percent of Syevyerodonetsk was now under Russian control. Hayday also said on June 2 that, besides Syevyerodonetsk, Russians are also attempting to advance south toward the key Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, where Mayor Vadym Lyakh called for the evacuation of the heavily damaged city. In its daily intelligence bulletin on June 2, Britain's Ministry of Defense concurred that Russia has taken control of most of Syevyerodonetsk. It said that the main road into the city "likely" remains under Ukrainian control but Russians are making steady gains with the aid of heavy artillery fire. In an address to Luxembourg's parliament, Zelenskiy said Russia now occupies about 20 percent of his country's territory, with the front line of the battle stretching for more than 1,000 kilometers. He said Ukraine estimates Moscow that has lost "more than 30,000 soldiers," since it launched its offensive on February 24, "but this does not stop Russia. This state is still ready to lose and kill, kill people." "Because only one person in Russia doesnt want to let us stay as we are," he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who before the war questioned the existence of Ukraine as a nation state. In his nightly address Zelenskiy also slammed the "absolutely senseless shelling" of northern border regions from Russian territory. "The entire temporarily occupied territory of our state is now a zone of complete disaster, for which Russia bears full responsibility," he said. Zelenskiy also thanked Biden for promising to send missiles and said he expected good news about weapons supplies from other partners. The new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said after presenting her credentials to Zelenskiy that the delivery of U.S. military aid is being accelerated. My understanding is that now its very quick, within days, less even, of a decision, that the hardware is in Ukrainian hands, Ambassador Bridget Brink said. But senior Pentagon officials have said the most advanced U.S. rocket systems -- the HIMARS -- that can strike targets as far as 80 kilometers away, will take at least three weeks to reach the battlefront, raising questions of whether they will arrive in time to stop Russias slow but steady gains. Zelenskiy has voiced gratitude for all the assistance that Ukraine has received from the West, but said that weapons supplies needed to be sped up up because "we have to defend ourselves against virtually the entire Russian Army." "We need more weapons for Ukraine -- modern weapons that will ensure the superiority of our state over Russia in this war not only through courage, intelligence, but also technologically. And I ask you to advocate this need before other European states," Zelenskiy said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again warned on June 2 of absolutely undesirable and rather unpleasant scenarios if the latest Western-supplied weapons were used against Russia. This pumping of Ukraine with weapons...will bring more suffering to Ukraine, which is merely a tool in the hands of those countries that supply it with weapons, Peskov told reporters. But Peskov, asked if Moscow, after being slapped with the most onerous sanctions in recent history, wants to close "the window" to Europe that Peter the Great sought to open 300 years ago, said "No one is planning to close anything." With reporting by Reuters, BBC, CNN, AP, and AFP Russian forces continued their offensive in eastern Ukraine, closing in on strategic towns and cities and shelling Kharkiv after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the northeastern city in his first trip outside Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Russian forces increased the pressure on Syevyerodonetsk and Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine after claiming to take the nearby city of Lyman, with Ukrainian officials saying defenders were holding out under desperate conditions in those strategic areas. Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Hayday said the situation in Lysychansk had become significantly worse in recent hours and that there are fatalities and wounded people. In Syevyerodonetsk, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces had carried out an assault operation while Hayday said street-by-street fighting was raging in the city situated hear the banks of the Donets River. Zelenskiy on May 29 paid a surprise visit to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, venturing out of the capital, Kyiv, for the first time since Russias unprovoked invasion began on February 24. He visited with soldiers on frontline positions and held a session with local officials, including Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, regional administrator Oleh Synyehubov, and members of the military command. "You risk your lives for us all and for our country," Zelenskiys office quoted the president as telling troops fighting there. The presidential office posted a video on the Telegram messaging app of Zelenskiy in a bullet-proof vest as he toured areas devastated by Russian shelling in and around the city over recent weeks. Reuters reported that hours after Zelenskiys visit, several blasts were heard in the city and that a large plume of smoke was visible northeast of the central area. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said Russian shelling had caused fires around Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. Russia has kept up a bombardment of Kharkiv after Ukrainian fighters pushed its forces back from positions near the city several weeks ago. Russian forces have turned their efforts to the eastern part of Ukraine -- specifically the Donbas region -- after stiff resistance prevented them from taking Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. In comments to French television, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 29 said what he called the liberation of Ukraine's Donbas region was an unconditional priority for Moscow. Other Ukrainian territories should decide their own future, he said. The Ukrainian presidents office said Synyehubov told Zelenskiy that Ukrainian forces had made some progress in their counterattack against Russias latest offensive. "But we are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, as shelling continues, or to conduct full-fledged demining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, Synyehubov was quoted as saying. He added that Russian forces had damaged 2,229 high-rise buildings, of which 225 were completely ruined, in the Kharkiv region. He said the northern and eastern districts of Kharkiv had suffered the most damage, with more than 30 percent of the housing stock destroyed. The damage figures -- as is common from both sides in the conflict -- could not immediately be verified. Earlier, in his late-night video address on May 28, Zelenskiy expressed hope that allies will provide needed weapons as Ukrainian forces try to halt advancing invading Russian forces in the east. Zelenskiy said that he expected good news on weapons deliveries this week, without giving details. Zelenskiy said the military situation in the Donbas region was complicated, adding that defenses were holding up in a number of places, including Syevyerodonetsk and Lysychansk, the last major areas under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region. "It's indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstood this onslaught," he said. Russian invading forces are reported to have made gains in recent days in eastern Ukraines Donbas, comprising the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Fighting for control of Syevyerodonetsk continues with Russian forces conducting assault operations on May 28, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on May 29. "With the use of artillery, Russian forces carried out assault operations in the area of the city of Syevyerodonetsk," the General Staff said in a statement on its Facebook page. Hayday, the governor of Luhansk, said Russian forces had dug in at the Myr hotel in northern Syevyerodonetsk. He said the bulk of Russian forces were unable to advance into the city center and were taking casualties, but he also said Ukrainian troops were not currently able to "push them out of the hotel." Zelenskiy vowed to maintain Ukrainian resistance in the important city. "Some 90 percent of buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city's housing stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunication. There is constant shelling," Zelenskiy said. "Capturing Syevyerodonetsk is a fundamental task for the occupiers...We are doing all we can to hold this advance," he added. Russian artillery was also pounding the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road, which Russia must take to close a pincer movement and encircle Ukrainian forces, and police said there was significant destruction in Lysychansk. Ukrainian officials said on May 29 that Russian forces had been pushed back from Bakhmut, although battlefield details could not immediately be verified. The British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence report on May 28 that if Russia succeeded in taking over those areas, the Kremlin would likely view it as a substantive political achievement, which it could use to justify its invasion to the Russian people. In his late-night address, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was approaching the point where it would outnumber the Russians both technologically and in terms of its ability to strike. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States. "The coastal defense of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles -- they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams," Reznikov wrote on his Facebook page on May 28. He said Harpoon shore-to-ship missiles would be operated alongside Ukrainian Neptune missiles in the defense of the country's coast including the southern port of Odesa. Last month, the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, sank after what Ukraine says was an anti-ship missile attack. Moscow says a fire sparked an ammunition blast. With reporting from AP, AFP, Reuters, and TF1 JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police will set up permanent police stations in all public hospitals following a recent wave of violence against medical staff in the country. The Israeli Ministry of Finance has approved the budget needed for placing police officers in all emergency rooms at a total of 19 million shekels (5.68 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The change is one of the demands made by the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), which represents about 95 percent of the doctors in the country. Earlier this month, the IMA went on a 24-hour warning strike after a serious incident took place at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Dozens of family members of a patient who died at the hospital attacked the medical staff and vandalized the place, local media reported. "Violence in hospitals cannot be tolerated," said Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "Recent incidents have proven that we can not allow medical staff to work without protection." A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. The monthly stipend for National School District trustees has increased from $252 to $265, a 5 percent increase the board approved in late January. The tally was 4-0, with trustee Barbara Avalos absent during the Jan. 23 meeting. The compensation falls in line with the stipend trustees receive in the similarly sized San Ysidro School District, which also pays $265 a month. The much larger Chula Vista Elementary School District, which serves 23,400 students, offers trustees a monthly $750 stipend. For comparison, the National School District serves about 5,600 students at 11 elementary schools and a preschool. Advertisement Board President Alma Sarmiento said the only other time the board had agreed to a higher stipend in the past 26 years she has served as a trustee was last year, when they decided to increase the monthly amount by $11. It helps compensate us for the time we devote to board meetings, as well as school visits we make to see our district in action, and other events we attend throughout the year to observe learning programs and recognize student achievement, Sarmiento said. Under the California Education Code, governing board members are allowed to increase their compensation by no more than 5 percent a year. In October, trustees gave raises to Superintendent Leighangela Brady, top administrators and teachers. Brady, whose contract was extended through 2021, received a retroactive 2.5 percent raise. She will receive another 2.5 raise in July so long as she scores a positive evaluation for the current school year. Top administrators received a pair of 6 percent raises, with the second set to take effect in July. Under a three-year contract with the teachers union, teachers received retroactive raises of up to 4 percent as part of changes to the pay scale. Also included in the contract is a 4 percent raise across the board for the upcoming school year. The raises apply to teachers, psychologists, speech language pathologists and counselors. Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez (Photo : Jayne Doucette / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Ed Aldridge, President of CMA CGM America, and American President Lines, and Peter de Menocal, WHOI President and Director, with a CMA CGM branded DMON buoy. Collisions of marine animals with large sea vehicles are among the largest threats to aquatic biodiversity. To help end this problem, a science center and one of the world's largest shipping enterprises collaborated to assemble robotic buoys. The main goal of these buoys is to protect whales, which are the common victims of lethal marine vessel collisions. WHOI Partners with Shipping Line to Create Robotic Buoys Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) led the development of the new robotic buoy technology. The instrument, partnered with underwater gliders, functions through sound recording that documents audio from nearby whales. These real-time recordings would be utilized to get accurate information regarding the state of the aquatic species that swim in regions with high shipping traffic. The North Atlantic right whales are the animals that are frequently killed by massive shipping vehicles. Because of this, the buoys were specialized to track the location of the endangered animals. The data from these robotic devices would then be relayed to businesses traveling back and forth across the oceans to change their direction and give way to inhabitants of the sea. The robotic buoy development was led by Woods Hole marine ecology specialist Mark Baumgartner. Up to this date, whales existing across the oceans sum up to only 340 individuals. The global population of whales continues to decrease because of the human-induced ship strikes that happen on the busiest routes. Because of the gruesome collisions recorded throughout history, French shipping firm CMA CGM stepped up and collaborated with Woods Hole to minimize the casualties. The project involved the deployment of robotic buoys where the North Atlantic right whales are commonly detected, particularly in Norfolk, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia. ALSO READ: Robot-Assisted Surgical Operations Give Better Recovery Rates and Quality of Life, Cuts Readmission CMA CGM supported the scientific work by funding the mission. Baumgartner explained that the data recorded by these buoys would be consolidated together with the recordings collected from robotic buoys currently sitting in other parts of the east coast. He adds that the testings for the two new buoys for Virginia and Georgia will be tested soon. Changing Industrial Shipping Practices: Protecting Whales in Shared Ocean Baumgartner said that our industrial practices should adjust to the presence of whales across the oceans. The technology the team constructed functions to emphasize the damaging shipping practices and give more solutions for the whales that will be implemented, the expert continued. The east coast was previously full of whales, but due to commercial whaling, their population dropped significantly. The new problems they face today are fishing gear entanglement and ship collisions. Despite efforts to conserve the whales, most strays outside protected regions and end up on high-traffic shipping routes due to the changing climate and scarcity of food resources. CMA CGM representatives said they chose to work on the deployment of the robotic buoys in Virginia and Georgia as it is one of the busiest shipping line regions in the United States. CMA CGM America president Ed Aldridge also said that the project serves as a responsible act of sharing the ocean with the aquatic animals and protecting the endangered species. Among the targets of the robotic buoy mission is to show the records of the selected regions to the public through an online platform, as well as to give insights to federal authorities regarding the implementation of 'right whale slow zones' that requires marine vehicle operators to notch their ship's speed down to 10 knots (18.5 kilometers per hour) or less, PhysOrg reports. RELATED ARTICLE: World's Smallest Remote Robot: Crab-Inspired Machine Tinier Than Flies Can Walk with Speed Half Its Body Size Per Second Check out more news and information on Robotics in Science Times. Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday morning, a day after appearing in San Francisco with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for a climate change partnership. Newsom was exhibiting mild symptoms and is expected to work remotely, officials said. He will be in isolation at least through Thursday and until he tests negative. Grateful to be vaccinated & for treatments like Paxlovid, Newsom said on Twitter. Im following health guidelines and will be isolating while I work remotely. Newsom was prescribed Paxlovid, COVID-19 antiviral pills that reduce severe disease and death by 90%. His office said he would start his five-day Paxlovid regimen immediately. On Friday, Newsom and Ardern met in San Francisco to discuss climate change. The governors office shared photographs and video of the meeting on Twitter, saying that a partnership with New Zealand will strengthen ties between our two governments to deploy critical solutions that are essential to addressing this existential crisis. Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for Newsom, said New Zealand officials were notified of Newsoms status. She said it was not immediately clear how he was infected. No one else in his family has tested positive, officials said. Mellon said Sunday she had no further details on Newsoms condition or schedule. Two members of Prime Minister Arderns delegation also tested positve for the virus in San Francisco: Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Chris Seed, and Chief Press Secretary Andrew Campbell, Radio New Zealand reported on Sunday. Both were reportedly isolating in San Francisco while the rest of the delegation headed to Washington D.C . to meet with President Biden. Seed had tested negative, however, ahead of the Newsom meeting, a spokesperson told Radio New Zealand. Ardern herself had isolated at home after testing positive on May 13. Newsom is fully vaccinated against the virus and received his second booster shot May 18, his office announced. The governor has been vocal about the importance of being vaccinated against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 90,000 people in California and more than 1 million people across the United States, according to data reviewed by The Chronicle. 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. Newsom will be tested before he leaves isolation, his office said, pointing to guidance in Californias Smarter Plan. He quarantined in the past because of exposure to a staff member who tested positive in December, and again in November after three of Newsoms four children were exposed to a California Highway Patrol officer who later tested positive. Two of Newsoms children tested positive in September, and officials said the family was following all COVID protocols. San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Dustin Gardiner and Joaquin Palomino contributed to this report. Lauren Hernandez (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Pope Francis named Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego as one of the 21 new cardinals on Sunday, passing over the higher-ranking archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone. Francis made his announcement after delivering traditional Sunday remarks from the Apostolic Palace to the public in St. Peters Square in Vatican City, according to the Associated Press. It was unclear whether Francis decision to pass over Cordileone was tied to Cordileones announcement that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not be allowed to receive Communion because of her support for abortion rights. Francis has previously denounced politically weaponizing Communion, the Associated Press reported. Cordileone, in a statement, congratulated McElroy for his appointment and touted his San Francisco ties. Cardinal-elect McElroy is a native San Franciscan who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1980. He served at several parishes, including St. Cecilia, St. Pius X and St. Gregory, he wrote. Cordileone announced in a public notification on May 20 that he would not allow Pelosi to receive Communion after warning her in April that she must either repudiate her position on abortion or refrain from referring to her Catholicism in justifying abortion rights. As you have not publically repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come, Cordileone wrote. Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to (my) care ... I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance. It was just the latest escalation in Cordileones very public campaign against Pelosi and abortion rights as a whole in October, he started digital and radio ads urging Catholics to pray to change the minds of Pelosi and other politicians who support abortion rights. Pelosi responded to the bishops decision four days later and called out his inaction against political officials over other issues that are against Catholic teachings, such as supporting the death penalty. In an appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe, Pelosi also said Cordileone has opposed LGBTQ rights, something she said was not consistent with the Gospel of Matthew. Cordileone told The Chronicle in November that he had declined to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The next month, a local parish canceled a visit by Cordileone over the health concerns his presence posed. These same people are against contraception, family planning, in vitro fertilization, Pelosi said. Its a blanket thing. And they use abortion as the front man for it while they try to undo so much. McElroy, 68, of San Diego, is seen as a progressive who has criticized the campaign to exclude Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, who support abortion rights from Communion, the Associated Press reported. 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. It will bring tremendously destructive consequences, McElroy, a San Francisco native, wrote in a letter published by the Jesuit magazine America on May 5. The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare. This must not happen, he wrote. McElroy received his bachelors degree in history from Harvard in 1975 and a masters degree in history from Stanford in 1976. He then studied at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park and graduated from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley in 1985. In 1980 he was ordained a priest and was assigned to the San Francisco diocese. He then became an auxiliary bishop in 2010 before becoming bishop of San Diego five years later. Jessica Flores (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after the Porsche he was driving was in a collision with another vehicle late Saturday in Napa County, the California Highway Patrol confirmed to The Chronicle. Pelosi, 82, was arrested at 11:44 p.m. Saturday and was later booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, according to jail records. As of Sunday afternoon, online booking records listed Pelosi as out of custody. His bail was set at $5,000, according to jail records. Pelosis arrest was first reported by TMZ. The crash occurred north of the town of Yountville at State Route 29 and Walnut Lane, according to a CHP press release. The CHP said Pelosi drove a 2021 Porsche into the intersection, where he was struck by a 2014 Jeep. No one involved in the accident suffered injuries, and the driver of the Jeep was not arrested. The CHP provided no additional information regarding the incident. According to a statement released Monday afternoon by a spokesperson for Paul Pelosi, he was driving across Highway 29 to Oakville Cross Road after dinner at a friends when the Jeep, which was driving south, hit the Porsches rear fender. Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement after the accident: The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter which occurred while she was on the East Coast. The congresswoman on Sunday attended the graduation ceremony at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where she delivered the commencement speech, according to her Twitter account. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Joaquin Palomino contributed to this report. 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. Jessica Flores (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores This is breaking news and will be updated as more information becomes available. In California, the lawsuits are mounting middle-aged men, saying they were sexually assaulted as children by a Boy Scout leader or a priest. A woman, now in her late 30s, detailing how she was allegedly assaulted in a center for foster children. A man who said he was abused while volunteering with the Salvation Army. At least 750 of those lawsuits filed since January 2020 are against Catholic dioceses, and more than 800 people are in the process of filing to beat a Dec. 31 deadline, according to lawyers involved in the cases. The year-end date marks the close of the states three-year lookback window, which allows plaintiffs to file civil suits for childhood sexual abuse no matter how long ago the alleged events took place. Now, facing hundreds of lawsuits, a group of Catholic bishops is taking those challenges to the nations highest court. Saying they faced potentially ruinous liability, the bishops last month asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the California lookback window unconstitutional. Review is critical now, before the Catholic Church in the largest state in the union is forced to litigate hundreds or thousands of cases seeking potentially billions of dollars in retroactive punitive damages, according to the petition, which was first reported by the Catholic News Agency. California created its new lookback window in 2019 under Assembly Bill 218, authored by then-Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat. The bill opened a three-year period, from 2020 to 2022, that permitted complainants to file sexual abuse claims that exceeded the statute of limitations. The law allows people younger than 40 to file complaints without any extra steps. Complainants older than 40 must obtain, through an attorney, a mental health evaluation that finds there is a reasonable basis to believe that the plaintiff had been subject to childhood sexual abuse. In 2002, the state passed a similar law creating a year-long window for people to file such claims. More than 850 people sued the Catholic Church the following year, and another 150 sued other religious institutions and the Boy Scouts of America. The Catholic Church paid out more than $1 billion to settle claims, according to the bishops petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Multiple dioceses sold vast swaths of church property in the 2000s, the petition states. Some exhausted or relinquished their lawsuit insurance, and the church believed at the time that the matter was over. That assurance proved to be false, the bishops wrote. Across the country, such lookback windows have faced and survived multiple legal challenges at the state level. Actor Bill Cosby, accused of more than 50 sexual assaults over decades, has challenged them in California and New Jersey. Prince Andrews initial challenge to New Yorks lookback window failed to persuade a judge in January to throw out his case. Los Angeles attorney Paul Mones, who is representing at least 75 people suing the Catholic Church and dozens more suing other institutions, said he expects a flurry of filings in the last 60 days of the year before the lookback window expires. Among his cases, Mones said, were people suing the Boy Scouts of America, private schools, public schools, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. There are few institutions that serve youth that do not have a history of having perpetrators in them who harm children, Mones said. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a previous California lookback window, but that was specific to criminal prosecution. In that 2003 case, Stogner vs. California, the high court ruled 5-4 that allowing California to charge someone criminally with child sex abuse after the statute of limitations had expired inflicted punishment for past criminal conduct that did not trigger any such liability. In 2013 and 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed similar proposals to create lookback windows in California. The lawsuits during the current window have been targeted at both religious and secular institutions. In California, more than 200 women and men have sued an El Monte childrens center, alleging abuse between 1988 and 2001. In Sacramento, two brothers have sued the Capital Christian Center, alleging that they and three other former students were abused sexually in the early 1980s. Rick Simons, a plaintiffs attorney managing the cases against the Catholic Church in Northern California, said his oldest case dates to the early 1960s. That litigant and others like him didnt sue during Californias 2003 lookback window because he wasnt ready, Simons said. One year is just not enough time for some folks to process stuff, Simons said. This time, maybe the parents are mostly gone. Many more people are sober. This was news in 2002 and 2003, that Catholic priests were engaged in systematic abuse. People hadnt heard it on that scale, he added. The abuse cases against the Catholic Church during the current lookback window have been divided into three consolidated cases across the state: Northern California, San Diego and Los Angeles. In Northern California, plaintiffs attorneys said more than 200 people have already filed suit, and another 800 are in the process of filing. In San Diego, 80 people have filed suit, and in Los Angeles, 473 people have sued. The (bishops) petition is an attempt to invalidate the law and a disingenuous slap in the face to victims who have yet to come forward, said Mike McDonnell, spokesperson for the group Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Its concerning to us because its not a thing of the past, it is a thing of the present and it is absolutely a thing of the future. McDonnell said the sexual abuse claims test not just the financial resources of the Catholic Church and its dioceses, but the insurers that cover them. 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. Insurers have expressed concern over the reopened statute of limitations and their financial exposure to costs far higher than they anticipated when they originally issued policies for an organization, whether its a church or a Boy Scout troop. In 2019 alone, 14 states amended their laws to allow more time for claims of child sexual abuse, and at least eight states reopened the window for abuse claims that had exceeded the statute of limitations. Nationwide, lookback windows have typically led to thousands of lawsuits. In New Jersey, for instance, more than 1,200 sexual abuse lawsuits were filed between December 2019, when the states lookback window opened, and October 2021, when it closed, according to the Associated Press. About two-thirds of those New Jersey lawsuits named religious institutions. Lawsuits against schools represented about 14% and about 9% named the Boy Scouts. Bill Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League, said in a statement that a focus on the Catholic Church in child sex abuse legislation and litigation is anti-Catholic bigotry. It is a myth to maintain that the Catholic Church has a monopoly on the sexual abuse of minors: it exists in every institution where adults interact with youngsters, Donohue said. The Catholic Church in California has twice dealt with this issue. It should not be subjected to another round of lawsuits. California Catholic churches have paid among the highest dollar amounts for sex abuse settlements of any state, according to a list of settlements compiled by the website Bishop Accountability. The Los Angeles diocese paid $660 million to settle hundreds of abuse claims in 2007, and that same year, the San Diego diocese filed for bankruptcy and paid 144 people a total of $198 million. Those are the two highest settlements made by the Catholic Church in the U.S. Bankruptcy is a real fear for the churches involved in this litigation, said Jeff Anderson, a Minneapolis-based attorney with an office in Los Angeles who represents child sex abuse claimants suing the Catholic Church. They are among the most frequent offenders, so yes, they are the most exposed [financially], Anderson said. Anderson said the church is banking on the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, as well as the justices own religious affiliations six justices are Catholic, though one, Sonya Sotomayor, is part of the courts liberal minority. I think thats the only thing they can bank after, Anderson said. This writ is really the Hail Mary pass to the Catholic court. Nigel Duara writes for CalMatters a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. A yearlong study of more than 60,000 people tested for the coronavirus in San Francisco found intriguing shifts in COVID-19 symptoms over three different surges including fewer reports of loss of smell, once considered a trademark of the illness probably because of changes in the virus itself as well as individuals immunity. More people with COVID reported symptoms of upper respiratory infection including cough, sore throat and congestion during the omicron surge than earlier waves, researchers found. Patients also experienced fewer instances of systemic issues such as fever and body aches. Loss of smell was reported by 20% of those who tested positive during the delta surge, but only 5% during omicron. The same study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, also found that most people infected during the omicron surge tested positive for at least five days, and in many cases up to 10 days, after their first positive test. This suggests they may remain infectious for several days after their symptoms have improved or gone away entirely, well after federal guidelines state they no longer need to isolate. California guidelines are more restrictive and recommend isolating as long as people test positive, for up to 10 days. The findings demonstrate how COVID has become milder for many people over time, but also underscore the ways in which it remains a threat thats stubbornly difficult to control, especially as more blunt mitigation measures such as mask mandates are no longer in place and programs to support those who are ill fade away, health experts said. Milder illness does not mean no illness, said Dr. Diane Havlir, a UCSF infectious disease expert and senior author of the study. It does not mean the illness doesnt affect peoples ability to go to work and support their families. And were still seeing hospitalizations. We are still in a pandemic, and we need to keep our response on pace with the virus. The San Francisco study was conducted by researchers at UCSF and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in coordination with the San Francisco Latino Task Force. They looked at people who got tested at the Unidos en Salud testing site in the Mission District from January 2021 to January this year. That period included three surges: the first fueled by the epsilon and alpha variants, the second by delta, and the third by omicron. The study does not include results from the current surge, which is being driven by omicron subvariants but so far appears to be unfolding similarly to the most recent winter wave. Some early studies have found that the subvariants may be more likely to cause disruptive, flu-like symptoms than the original omicron. Hospitalizations were far lower during the omicron surge and, so far, the current surge than previous waves, reflecting increased immunity because of vaccination and previous infection as well as a coronavirus variant that causes less severe illness in most people, health experts have said. The Mission District study appears to support that. In addition to finding generally milder symptoms caused by omicron than earlier variants, the study showed perhaps unsurprisingly that symptoms also varied by vaccination status. People who were vaccinated and boosted were actually more likely than those who were unvaccinated or not boosted to experience congestion and a sore throat suggesting, some infectious disease experts said, that their body had a strong immune reaction to the initial infection in the nose and throat, which probably prevented the virus from infiltrating further. Those who were unvaccinated or unboosted were more likely to report fevers and body aches signs that the infection had penetrated beyond the upper respiratory tract and was triggering a systemic immune response. During omicron, you have this virus thats been shown to localize to the upper respiratory tract. Independent of the immune response, that in itself suggests that its less likely to go systemic, said Nadia Roan, a UCSF immunologist and investigator at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco who was not involved in the Mission District study. And then you have the other side, which is the immune response. That immunity will also help. The study also looked at symptoms by age group. It found that during omicron, children younger than 12 generally reported only one symptom, with cough, fever, sore throat and congestion being most common. Throughout the study period, loss of smell was very uncommon in children only one incident was reported in kids under 12. Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease expert at Stanford, said the overall results supported what hes heard and experienced himself, as someone who had COVID during the omicron surge. But he noted that theres no guarantee that future variants will continue to cause milder disease, even among the vaccinated. It just goes to show that different variants will have different effects, clinically, he said. But we cant always predict what these may be. 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. Several health experts said they were concerned by study results showing how long people were testing positive. The Mission District clinic used rapid antigen tests throughout the study period people would get tested at the site, and have the results sent to them within 15 minutes. Among those who returned for testing in many cases for proof that they were safe to leave isolation and go back to work 80% tested positive again at five days, and 60% were still positive after 10 days. The rapid tests dont necessarily prove that people are still infectious if they are positive, but scientists consider them a strong marker for infectiousness. During the omicron surge, the CDC revised its guidance to allow people to leave isolation after five days, without testing, as long as their symptoms were improving. Many experts at the time argued that ending the previously recommended 10-day isolation period was premature; California stuck with the earlier guidance, allowing people to exit isolation early only if they tested negative. The Mission District study would seem to support Californias more conservative approach, some health experts said. They added that its unclear how infectious people are if they test positive after 10 days. But Havlir said earlier studies have found that they likely are at low risk of infecting others. She advised people make judgment calls at that point perhaps continue wearing a high-quality mask indoors, and avoid being around high-risk individuals until they are negative. With this omicron surge, people were carrying high levels of virus certainly longer than five days, Havlir said. Her advice if theyre still testing positive on day 10: You might wait a little beyond 10 days to be 100% sure its safe. She added that the results of the study also demonstrate the need for plentiful access to rapid testing either at a community site like the one in the Mission, or with home tests. The new public health approach is personal responsibility, she said. We need to make sure people have what they need. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Francisco Prides decision to ban police officers from marching in uniform in next months parade elicited strong reactions last week: Law enforcement, firefighters, Mayor London Breed and openly gay District Six Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who previously served as the Police Departments lead spokesperson, all said they would boycott the 52nd annual event because of it. The ban doesnt apply to police officers providing security at the parade. It requires only that the ones who march wear anything but their full police uniforms. The backlash shows how, even in liberal San Francisco, asking cops to leave their dress blues at home can be controversial despite a years-long national effort to create more distance between the LGBTQ community and a fraternal order that doesnt have a history of treating queer people justly. While San Francisco Pride announced its police uniform ban in 2020, pandemic-related parade cancellations kept it from being tested until now, which is why some local politicians and residents are in such a huff. But bold political stances have always been part of this citys annual celebration of LGBTQ community and culture, which culminates with the summer weekend procession that regularly draws massive crowds in the tens of thousands. The roots of this particular stance go back six years. After the Orlando nightclub massacre in June 2016, local Pride organizers announced increased security metal detectors and roughly 25% more police at its racial and economic justice-themed parade that year. This happened at a moment when Black Lives Matter was ascending behind its work to bring attention to police killings, including the 2015 death of Mario Woods, shot 20 times by San Francisco police officers for reportedly refusing to drop a knife. The Bay Area chapter of Black Lives Matter backed out of participating in the Pride parade as a grand marshal, with BLM member Malkia Cyril noting at the time that increasing the police presence at Pride does not increase safety for all people. At the time, then-SF Pride board President Michelle Meow said she understood the BLM move and that, going forward, Pride would rethink what safety means outside of police protection, because that is not the answer, the Guardian reported. Five months later, the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report about the San Francisco Police Department, detailing the same institutionalized racial bias that BLM had cited for sitting out the Pride parade. By 2019, anti-police demonstrators blocked the parade route on Market Street at Sixth Street for almost an hour, The Chronicle reported. Video footage circulated on Twitter shows officers shoving people, and at one point dragging a protester across the pavement. In the background, parade-goers can be heard shouting, Cops out of Pride! SF Pride asked that the citys Department of Police Accountability look into SFPDs actions. When the city responded a year later by saying it found no evidence of wrongdoing, local Pride leaders issued a statement condemning the findings and announcing the uniform ban. From 2017 to 2021, LGBTQ organizers in New York, Washington, D.C., Denver and other cities either banned uniformed officers from marching in their parades or disinvited cops altogether. The actions push back against power structures, like police, that have historically mistreated marginalized communities. Even today, LGBTQ people are much more likely to be arrested than straight people and remain overrepresented in every facet of the criminal legal system, according to a report last year from the Prison Policy Initiative. 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. In a statement Monday, Breed called her parade boycott a very hard decision. Dorsey, the man she appointed supervisor, labeled the uniform ban a policy of exclusion. San Franciscos Transgender District responded in an Instagram post Thursday specifically calling Breeds choice a betrayal of inclusive values and ethics that have defined the city... as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community for decades. While the relationship between local law enforcement and the LGBTQ community is less fraught than in other parts of the country, anti-LGBTQ hysteria is resurgent in some states, shaping school curriculum and legislation. And trans people remain far more likely than cisgender people to experience physical violence when interacting with police, according to the Anti-Violence Project. Even the SFPD lacked a policy requiring officers to refer to transgender, gender variant and gender nonbinary individuals by their preferred pronouns until 2018. Let me echo the point BLM made six years ago: Law enforcement uniforms and guns dont signify safety for everyone. SF Prides ban isnt anti-police. Its pro-peace of mind for groups rarely afforded it. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips Graduation season is once again upon us as is the time-honored tradition of the commencement speech. While some are more inspiring than others, these headlining events often do not age well. Speakers have long mixed their platitudes with justifications of terrible things, from racism to disastrous wars, but rarely have they celebrated covering up murder. In 1905, David Starr Jordan, the president of Leland Stanford Jr. University, may have done precisely that. In doing research for my book on the death of the co-founder of Stanford University, Jane Stanford, I spent several years going through the universitys archives, the Hawaiian archives, collections of private papers, newspapers in California and Hawaii, and such police records that survive. I found that Jordan was a master of what Gilded Age Americans called inwardness. By inward they meant something whose appearance belied its deeper meaning. Jordans posthumous celebration in speeches, articles and books of Jane Stanford as the Good Woman was deeply inward. It hid the reality that he and Stanford had come to hate each other. His 1905 commencement speech was similarly inward. Before her sudden death in Hawaii by strychnine poisoning a few months earlier, Jane Stanford had decided to fire Jordan. Without a dead Jane Stanford, Jordan would not have delivered his address to 250 Stanford graduates. After the death, Jordan went to Honolulu as a representative of the university and Jane Stanfords estate, ostensibly to bring home her body but really to discredit the findings of a coroners jury and the Honolulu police that she had met death at the hands of a person or persons unknown. Jordan created a counter narrative. He hired a doctor who concluded that although the autopsy found her stomach to be empty, eating a large lunch had created considerable gas, which created pressure on her heart. This prompted hysteria and triggered a heart attack. She presumably could have been saved by a fart. That the autopsy showed no evidence of a heart attack did not deter Jordan. He slandered the doctors present at her death and those who had conducted the autopsy. He dismissed the investigation by the Honolulu police. And he persuaded the San Francisco police, who were easily persuadable, to accept his conclusions. In Honolulu, an outraged High Sheriff William Henry later said Jordan came to Honolulu for the sole purpose of making it seem that Mrs. Stanford died from natural causes and was not murdered. Henry predicted rich people would not leave large sums to universities when they think they thereby risk having the term of their natural days shortened for the purpose of getting at the money left in their wills. The sheriff thought Stanford University was nearly bankrupt (which was not true) and that it had need of money Jane Stanford still controlled, which was true. Stanford was always about money. Harvard University President Charles Eliot told Jordan that the general feeling was that the Stanfords had tried to raise a personal monument by the good use of ill-gotten money. Jane Stanford acted as if she owned the place. And, for all practical purposes, she did. By praising her so effusively, Jordan tried to mask their quarrels and his cover-up. Until this day, the Stanford administration has maintained Jordans portrait of Stanford as a university founded on love: the love of a mother for her child, her husband, and ultimately all the children of humanity. No one had any reason hate her, let alone kill her, unless they were deranged. But in 1905 it was all too apparent that Jane Stanford had numerous enemies who, because of her control of their personal lives, her termination of their positions, and her taking of money they thought was rightfully theirs, hated her. Jordan was hardly the only one with a motive for murder. And there were widespread rumors that it was Stanford rather than the killer who was deranged. If Stanford University was her child, then she often seemed ready to abandon it by turning it over to the Catholic Church, refusing to admit women students as required by its charter or withdrawing her funds from its support. Jordan thought that a murder trial would bare issues that would not benefit the university. Many agreed with him. It was a relief that the Good Woman was gone. When on May 24, 1905, Jordan gave his final words to men and women receiving degrees, he may not have intended the speech to sound like a justification of his own actions in the Stanford case, but it did. Everything they had learned, he told them, should be an impulse to action ... If you have planned somewhat, then carry out your plans. If you have learned the nature of something, then turn your knowledge into execution. If you have gained aspirations these count for nothing except as you try to make them good. ... There is no virtue in knowledge, in training, in emotion or in aspiration except as you use them in the conduct of life. And the conduct of life is not a negative thing to commit no crimes, to keep out of jail and to wait until things come to you. This is not righteousness. To do nothing wrong is not to live aright. For living is a most positive matter, moving things, changing things, using man and matter to accomplish the results which seem to you worth while. Jordan had taken command of events; he moved things, changed things, and used man and matter to accomplish the results that to him seemed worth while. By his standards, he lived aright. And he had stayed out of jail. Jordan was an advocate of science, pacifism, conservation and co-education. He stood up to Jane Stanford when she tried to close the university to women. But he was also a eugenicist and that has led to his posthumous downfall. The university recently stripped his name from Jordan Hall, and, lamenting the lack of memorials to Jane Stanford on campus, renamed the road in front of the Quad as Jane Stanford Way. Once the entire campus was a memorial to the Stanford family from the Memorial Arch to the statue of the family that stood at the approach to the original Memorial Church dedicated to Leland Stanford. The 1906 earthquake destroyed the arch and the church. It brought Annie Stanford, the widow of Leland Stanfords brother Asa, grim satisfaction. The earthquake was almost an act of just retribution for Janes cruelty, pitilessness and vengefullness. Jane had told Asa, then old and sick, When your brother died, our relations were severed. I dont know you. In eliminating one problematic figure, the university now celebrates another. This year when you listen to the pieties of the prominent, consider that they may be inward. Their prose may be attempts to obscure and not to educate. Richard White is the author of Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits, and the Birth of a University. It is hard not to feel hopeless about the political system after 19 elementary school students and two teachers were slaughtered last week in a Texas school, 10 days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, N.Y. Nationally, our leaders havent done anything substantive about gun safety in nearly three decades mostly because Republicans are largely unwilling to offend the powerful gun lobby and its supporters. Yet there is a reason to feel some hope. To do so, however, will require the ultimate test in your faith in how California influences the rest of the nation. It will require you to believe in the influence of the place that showed America a different way to think about same-sex marriage, that birthed the power of technology and that has long been the incubator of political and social change. Now, comes perhaps an even greater challenge: Can California change Americas toxic relationship with guns? California Gov. Gavin Newsom believes so. He is inviting the nation to follow what he likes to refer to as the nation-state of California, the worlds fifth-largest economy. For so many of us that are feeling deep anxiety and fear, I hope you look to this state for leadership for demonstrable results, Newsom said after the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. California leads this national conversation. When California moves, other states move in the same direction. If youre dubious, ask Garen Wintemute. Hes the director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis, and a leading national researcher on the impact of gun violence. Despite being immersed daily in that horror, Wintemute remains hopeful, both in the power of humanity and in Californias ability to lead. Me, the hopeful person, says we cant give up, Wintemute told me last week. We cannot let go of the belief in the possibility of the species to change for the better. And California is democracys leading laboratory on firearm violence and firearm policy, Wintemute said We try things here. And if they work, other places pick them up. Here are some reasons to cling to a glimmer of hope. California has led before: The modern gun safety movement began in California in 1967, led by GOP icon Gov. Ronald Reagan. What inspired this, as Newsom pointed out, was a perverse series of reasons. Namely, that Reagan and others were terrified that year when members of the Black Panthers stood on the steps of the state Capitol legally holding shotguns, pistols and .357 Magnums. Co-founder Bobby Seale said Black people have begged, prayed, petitioned, demonstrated, and everything else to get the racist power structure of America to right the wrongs of the past. The time has come for Black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late. Adam Winkler, author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms said the gun law California passed was among several designed to target African Americans. The law that Reagan signed with the National Rifle Associations backing banned Californians from openly carrying weapons. Reagan wasnt Californias only Republican governor to enact change. In 1989 a gunman carrying two pistols and an AK-47 killed five children and injured 29 other kids and a teacher at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton. Later that year, Republican Gov. George Deukmejian signed the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act, which banned magazines with a capacity of over 10 rounds and classified dozens of guns as assault weapons. In 1994, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, led the charge to pass a federal ban on assault weapons after a gunman killed eight during a rampage at a high-rise office building at 101 California St. in San Francisco. Since then, studies on the effectiveness of that law have suggested the 1994 law was effective in reducing mass-shooting deaths, according to the Washington Post Fact Checker. The federal law, however, expired a decade later and hasnt been renewed. Some reforms are working: Gun safety organizations regularly tout California as having the strongest gun laws in the nation thanks to laws that passed in the 1990s that make it harder for people who are a danger to themselves and others to acquire dangerous firearms, according to Brady United Against Gun Violence. In 1993, Californias firearm mortality rate was 17.5 per 100,000 residents higher than the national average of 14.7. But from then until 2017, Californias firearm mortality rate declined by 55% almost four times the decrease in the rest of the nation, according to Brady. In 2021, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranked California as having the strongest gun safety laws in the nation and a gun death rate of 8.5 per 100,000 residents thats far lower than Texas, which earned an F grade from the organization and had 14.2 deaths per 100,000. Some California policies have the potential to influence more states, Wintemute said, like its assault weapons ban (currently in place in seven states). Or its ban on owning, purchasing or possessing firearms for 10 years if youve been convicted of a violent misdemeanor. Two other states have similar laws. California was among the first states to adopt a red flag law, which enables a family member, co-worker, school employee or law enforcement to ask a court to seize a firearm from someone determined to be a danger to themselves or others. Now, 19 states do. (A 2021 Chronicle investigation showed that application of the law varies wildly by jurisdiction.) Since the state has so many gun laws, part of the challenge faced by gun researchers is that it is often hard to determine which of them is directly responsible for lowering firearm-related deaths, Wintemute said. (His team is currently studying the effectiveness of Californias laws as a collective bundle.) Yes, mass shootings happen here from San Bernardino to Gilroy. And yes, California gun laws often cant do much to stop someone who legally bought a firearm in another state. But a powerful effect of Californias pack of gun laws, Wintemute said, is that they set bars to the purchase of firearms that dont exist in others states. Thats a deterrent. And theyre popular: 63% of likely voters say laws covering the sales of guns should be more strict, according to a 2021 survey from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Willingness to experiment: Newsom said last week that he is ready to sign a dozen new gun control measures currently moving through the Legislature. Among the most experimental at least from a legal perspective is a measure that would enable citizens to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault rifle or untraceable ghost gun in California. It is purposely modeled after a law passed in Texas last year that that bans most abortions after six weeks and enables private individuals to sue clinics and providers. Newsoms gambit is, as he put it last week, that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court will have a hell of a time taking this law and not applying their same principle point of view that they applied on the Texas abortion law. Being on the leading edge of gun safety laws comes with legal risk, especially when they come before conservative courts. Earlier this month, a pair of federal appeals court judges appointed by Donald Trump overturned Californias ban on selling semiautomatic rifles to anyone under 21, saying it violated the constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense. In the next few weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to strike down a New York law requiring a law enforcement permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. That would affect a similar law in California. Advocates worry that other gun laws could be at risk in the courts, too, including the states bans on large-capacity magazines and minimum age requirements to buy or possess guns. But advocates say a fear of setbacks isnt a reason to quit pushing the envelope. And perhaps no advocate can speak with more authority than the namesake of the Giffords gun safety organization, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords. In 2011, Giffords was shot in the head while she was meeting with constituents near Tucson. After that, she spent years learning to walk, talk, ride her bike, play the French horn and work her way back to a normal life, she told people this month during an online event held by Mannys, a Mission District community gathering center. She urged the activists there not to get discouraged, even in the face of last weeks horror. It can be so difficult, Giffords said. Losses hurt. Setbacks are hard. My own recovery has taken me years. ... A better world is possible. But change doesnt happen overnight. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli The Pacific Crest Trail is supposed to provide an escape from society, a place where a person can unplug and explore the wild and scenic landscapes that inspired Americas early naturalists. But increasingly it is morphing into an exhibition of ecological deterioration wrought by the warming climate. Higher temperatures, less snow and ice, dry springs, wildfires, smoky skies and denuded forests have come to define the experience of hiking the 2,600-mile trail, which extends from Mexico to Canada through the mountains of California, Oregon and Washington. The current generation of hikers is already having to adapt. Ive started carrying N95 masks with me while hiking, said Brad Marston, a climate physics professor at Brown University who has hiked sections of the trail for the past nine years. While traversing a High Sierra segment in 2013, he said, I had to get off the trail for a while because the smoke was too bad. Being driven off the trail by fire or smoke, or enduring miles of parched scenery, has become part of the standard Pacific Crest experience. The growing threats have prompted the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which operates in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, to begin shifting its mission from preserving the trail and managing hiking permits toward addressing environmental degradation head-on. It can no longer be ignored: Climate change is serious and pressing, and these are some of our last chances to prevent some of the worst consequences, said Jack Haskel, the associations trail information officer. Wildfires are the primary source of disruption, but a drier, warmer future will likely yield all sorts of pitfalls for trail users and particularly for the thousands of hardcore thru-hikers who attempt to trek the whole thing in a single, six-month odyssey each year. Max Whittaker/Special to The Chronicle I knew there was a big potential for a dry year to produce a lot of fires, but I didnt imagine so much destruction, or seeing plumes of smoke every other day, or having to turn back on trail, or having road closures almost separate our group, Rebecca Harnish, who hiked the trail last summer, wrote in an Instagram post chronicling her journey. It was haunting. A recent article drawing on climate research co-authored by Marston paints a despairing portrait of the trails long-term outlook. Published in the latest edition of the Pacific Crest Trail Associations quarterly magazine, it conjures scenes of charred forests, bare glacier beds, brittle vegetation, hazy skies and hotter days. According to the article, hikers will face heightened risk of heat stroke by the end of the century, as triple-digit summer temperatures on the trail will become exceedingly common. Early-season snow may be minimal, and the streams hikers rely on for drinking water may dry up, leaving no place to get water for stretches as long as 40 miles. Lightning ignitions the top cause of wildfires in Northern California will rise, along with the potential for recurring destructive blazes in drier landscapes. Meanwhile, atmospheric rivers will be more extreme, bringing rain events that will worsen erosion and damage the trail. Such a holistic decline in hiking conditions could make an unsupported trip all but impossible, the article reads, and foreshadows a future PCT experience unlike any we have known. John OBrien, a climate scientist in Mendocino who co-authored the article with Marston, said it was important for hikers to know what is in store, because these high-elevation areas are going to see some of the biggest changes. Chief among the changes is the shrinking of what constitutes an average snow season and the resulting upward creep of the snow line in Californias mountains. Parts of the Sierra could get cooked bare of snow some years within a quarter-century, according to a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Last summers thru-hikers can attest to the difficulties. The Dixie Fire in the northern Sierra, which raged from July to October, torched 112 miles of the trail an unprecedented impact, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. In the past two years, 532 miles of the trail in California and Oregon were closed due to wildfires and 194 miles of it burned. Wayward hikers, driven out of the woods by smoke and fire, wound up in towns under evacuation orders and had to be shuttled to safety. One thru-hiker, who last year broke the speed record on the trail, recounted a surreal afternoon near Mount Shasta when smoke blotted out the sun and ash rained down from the sky. Marstons article represents a first public-facing step in the associations transition; it was published as hiking season ramps up, during another year in which record numbers of people are expected on the trail. The association estimates that 1 million people set foot on the trail each year, though its impossible to keep an exact tally. Marston believes the association should have recognized the issue sooner. Id been frustrated trying to get the PCTA to acknowledge the import of climate change in the past, he said. Im pleased that theyve now turned the corner and are thinking hard about its effects. Max Whittaker/Special to The Chronicle The scope of the associations planning which is part of a larger climate-change response among federal land agencies is expansive. It ranges from relocating campsites, thinning brush along the trail and warning about the dangers of backcountry campfires to advocating for government funding for trail maintenance. Last year, about $4.4 million in emergency funds via the Great American Outdoors Act were allocated to Pacific Crest Trail programs in California, Haskel said. For hikers, drier conditions and more volatile weather necessitate greater attention to trip -planning, with consideration paid to fire danger and contingencies for evacuating the trail quickly. The association has added new trip planning tools to its website that keep up-to-date information on fires, smoke, air quality and park closures aspects that hikers would rarely have planned around even 10 years ago. A candid trail update from the association last August, when wildfires prompted the Forest Service to shut down Californias national forests, read, Basically NorCal is closed. Max Whittaker/Special to The Chronicle Forest Service staffers have become quicker to assess damage to the trail burn areas and more aggressive in early trail and forest rehabilitation work, Haskel said. Complicating those efforts, however, is a dearth of critical volunteer labor the association relies on to maintain the enormous trail. In 2019, 2,038 volunteers chipped in about 107,000 hours of trail work, Haskel said. But the pandemic cratered participation. Last year just 1,221 volunteers performed about 55,000 hours of work. The infusion of government funds will allow the association to revitalize its trail maintenance programs and recruit new volunteers this year, Haskel said. Probably the biggest impact that the (association) might have is building a strong volunteer core, he said. In the past few years, weve redoubled efforts to recruit people, especially in rural areas. A series of late-season storms have dusted Californias mountains with snow, but it is largely expected to melt away quickly rather than meaningfully improve drought conditions. This year could be the absolute worst fire season, Cal Fire officials said recently. Max Whittaker/Special to The Chronicle Trail experts anticipate another harsh summer for Pacific Crest hikers as well as the potential for more profound impacts to the high-elevation environments it passes through. People who did the trail 10-15 years ago, their experience is going to be very different from someone who does it 20 years hence, OBrien said. People take for granted how fast our ecosystems are changing. Gregory Thomas is The San Francisco Chronicles editor of lifestyle and outdoors. Email: gthomas@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @GregRThomas When someone tells you theyve had an out-of-body experience, it can usually be attributed to one of two things. When I felt my spirit leave its shell, though, I was neither at church nor on acid. I was in the Mojave Desert, inexplicably weeping and questioning my life decisions inside an electrostatic generator called the Integratron, the magnum opus of an old man who thought he was an alien mouthpiece. Allegedly based on the design of Moses Tabernacle, the writings of Nikola Tesla and telepathic directions from extraterrestrials, the Integratron looks like an alien spaceship, but without the tech. Inside the 38-foot-high white dome, its made of nothing but Douglas fir wood. Cushions and quartz crystal bowls are scattered throughout; light gently trickles in from a small, circular sunroof. While the current owners run it as a sound chamber, the original builder, George Van Tassel author, aircraft engineer and ufologist built the structure with the intention of generating electricity to charge the human body and extend human life. The biggest trouble on this planet is, that when you get smart enough to do something with the knowledge you have acquired here, death intervenes, he once wrote. While the Integratron failed as a fountain of youth, visitors from across the world still gather there to experience psychoacoustics, or sound-based healing sessions. The idea appealed to me immediately; as someone who uses synths to make ambient drone textures and other horrible noises, Ive always believed that music is medicinal. (It may sound like New Age drivel, but theres some science that backs up the theory.) Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag The noise we hear in our everyday lives media noise, traffic noise, etc. can interact with our nervous system in the same way that stress does. The Integratron sound bath acts like an antidote to that chaotic noise in our minds, bodies and spirits, Nancy Karl, who co-owns the Integratron with her two sisters, Joanne and Patricia Karl, told me when I visited. Hearing those pure sounds in this unique space can truly be a transcendent experience. Parked in Landers, California, about 17 miles from Joshua Tree, the Integratron really does look like a UFO from a distance. But inside, it felt just like every other drum circle my parents dragged me to as a kid. I walked up a spiral staircase to the main sound chamber, where people in billowy linen pants shuffled around and sat on the floor without saying a word. As the sound bath began and I let my conscious mind drift, I thought of my own mistreatment toward myself, along with the lack of boundaries Ive imposed on others. When I awoke, I felt like a deep, suppressed part of my psyche had finally percolated to the surface; it reminded me of nothing so much as ego death, the complete loss of subjective self-identity that can happen while using psychedelics. I walked away feeling hollowed out, but lighter on my feet. Chris Pizzello/ASSOCIATED PRESS Enter the Mojave, an outcasts oasis Van Tassels life started off in a fairly conventional way, according to his 1952 book, "I Rode a Flying Saucer!" He was raised in a middle class family in Ohio before attending aviation school in 1927. In 1930, he moved to Santa Monica to work in his uncles auto garage. Thats where he met Frank Critzer, a jobless eccentric with plans to unearth gold and silver in the desert, according to The Mojave Project, a multimedia documentary project by artist and writer Kim Stringfellow. According to Van Tassel's accounts, Critzer was on his way to the Morongo Basin when his car broke down; he was so down and out, Van Tassel fixed his car for free and let him sleep in the garage. When the car was ready, Van Tassel gave his new friend $30 in cash, plus provisions, which Critzer promised to pay back once hed struck it rich. The prospector then made his way to Giant Rock, an enormous boulder in the Mojave desert, and began using dynamite to blast a two-room subterranean home underneath, complete with a kitchen and a living room. The two men remained friends, and Van Tassel, his wife and their three daughters spent many weekends visiting Critzers stone palace. Critzers underground home was featured in a number of articles during his life, but it was his death that would blast him into infamy. In 1942, Critzer became a suspect in a series of thefts in nearby Riverside County, which included 200 pounds of dynamite. When local police confronted him at his desert dwelling, he denied knowing anything about the stolen goods. An officer said hed have to search the home anyway, to which Critzer pleasantly replied, Come. Ill show you. What happened once the officers descended into the cave is the subject of much debate. According to the cop who got farthest into the home, Critzer yelled, Youre not taking me out of here alive. Im going, but another way, and youre going with me! before detonating a crate of dynamite. Critzers body was blown to pieces in the blast, which burned the clothes off the officers back and landed him in the hospital. The other two escaped with concussions. Image via Integratron website Guided by voices While Critzer was building his home, Van Tassel was building a career as a plane engineer. But he always yearned for the desert. In 1947, five years after Critzer died, Van Tassel turned the dream into a reality, moving his whole family to Giant Rock, where they lived in a truck near the boulder. George fixed up the defunct airstrip Critzer had built, and his wife Eva opened a little restaurant called the Come On Inn. In 1953, Van Tassel began hosting group meditations in Critzers old home; it was during those sessions that he started channeling voices from his new space brothers: 700-year-old aliens who coincidentally looked like young white people with a good healthy tan. Over the next few years, Van Tassel reportedly developed strong relationships with several aliens, including an extraterrestrial named Ashtar. He claimed that his alien contacts taught him about a universal energy, which was so powerful that, if the masses found out about it, there would be no more authority, no more money system and no more slavery by credit. Ashtar also brought dire warnings of looming nuclear destruction, which could only be subverted by Van Tassel spreading the good word. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag Van Tassel called his new organization the College of Universal Wisdom; the familys desert activities attracted attention from law enforcement, although investigators were unimpressed with what they found. According to a 1954 FBI report, the college was nothing but a cave dug out beneath a giant rock, where Van Tassel and his family lived in primitive conditions. Those same aliens also brought him the plans for the Integratron, a 16-sided structure with a revolving ring around the outside, and a giant copper spiral around the building. The design was intended to generate electricity to charge the cells of people sitting inside while it ran. To fund the project, Van Tassel began throwing annual UFO meet-ups called the Giant Rock Interplanetary Spacecraft Conventions, which he hosted regularly until the mid-70s. Attendees would camp at the site, discuss alien visitations and even experience their own. In 1953, Van Tassel commissioned a Los Angeles architect to design the Integratron, and he set about building it. While the structure itself was done by 1959, according to the Mojave Project, the electrostatic generator was still unfinished when Van Tassel died in 1978. Several people leased the property from Van Tassels widow over the next few years, and then she sold it outright in 1987. Before the Karl sisters bought it, they used to hop the fence and experiment with playing recordings inside the dome, according to the Desert Sun. When it was put up on the market in 2000, the three of them jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. Nancy Karl told me they plan to be stewards of the property for years to come. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag Exploring a new sonic frontier Karl told me that the Integratrons acoustics are powerful because of its curved shape and all-wood interior. Others have argued that its because the site is at a geomagnetic vortex. Magnetometers read a significant spike in the Earths magnetic field in the center of the Integratron, according to the Desert Sun, and these magnetic forces, combined with the domes parabolic architecture, reportedly create richer, fuller sounds. My experience in the dome had indeed been so powerful I decided to look into the science of how sounds affect the brain. I found nearly 400 published scientific articles with evidence that sounds can change how we think and feel. But I also happen to be particularly susceptible to spiritual experiences. My parents are classic Southern California New Agers; I grew up hearing about psychics, crystal healing and how my mothers friend astral projected into her bedroom one warm summer evening. Courtesy of OWL Courtesy of OWL "Located in the Sky Village Outdoor Marketplace, Bob Carr's famous crystal cave is an art installation and meditation space filled with thousands of amethysts and quartz crystals." (Images courtesy of OWL) "Located in the Sky Village Outdoor Marketplace, Bob Carr's famous crystal cave is an art installation and meditation space filled with thousands of amethysts and quartz crystals." (Images courtesy of OWL) My parents also werent afraid to welcome odd desert characters into our lives: When I was a teenager, they befriended Bob Carr, a boisterous, bearded and damn-near-toothless desert weirdo, while exploring the Sky Village Outdoor Marketplace, his ragtag flea market in Yucca Valley. We went back on Christmas vacations for years; I once even had to rescue them from his famous crystal cave, an art installation and meditation space filled with thousands of amethysts and quartz crystals. I didnt bring much mysticism with me when I left Southern California. But even now, the unknown still lures me back to the high deserts lunar landscape. I once snapped a photo of a UFO over my parents house in the desert, and while I lost it when I lost the phone, I still think about it all the time. I cant quite say why Im so obsessed with that picture, or where I stand on the subject of channeling and interplanetary communication. If anything, my trip to the Integratron left me with more questions than answers. But there is one thing I know for sure: I want to believe. Click here to read the full article. Ana Rodriguez lost her only daughter in the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, this week. She calls it utter madness that the gunman was able to legally purchase two AR-15 rifles the minute he turned 18 this month, but still couldnt get served at a bar. How can an 18 year-old buy an AR but he cannot buy beer? That is absolute insanity, Rodriguez, 35, tells Rolling Stone. Speaking in a her first interview since the rampage claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers including her 10-year-old daughter Maite Rodriguez the devastated mom says she heard the father of another victim highlight the disparity in the minimum ages for gun buying and drinking in Texas, and she wanted to amplify the message. In my opinion, nobodys brain is fully developed at the age 18. Youre still a child, and what would a child do with an AR? I guess we all know now, she says. Rodriguez, who went from planning her daughters future to planning her funeral all in the same week, says that even amid her blinding grief, she can see Gov. Greg Abbotts refusal to even consider stronger gun laws in the aftermath of Tuesdays tragedy for what it is, inexcusable. He is an absolute embarrassment to Texas, she says of the two-term Republican governor whos heading into an election against Democratic challenger Beto ORourke, the former U.S. Representative who interrupted an Abbott press conference Wednesday to call the tragedy totally predictable due to lax gun regulation. Breaking down in sobs as she describes her bright and empathetic daughter, Rodriguez says Maite, and everyone killed in the senseless shooting, had so much to offer and deserved so much better. Ever since kindergarten, she wanted to be a marine biologist. She was very smart and competitive. She started looking at universities on the internet and had her heart set on Texas A&M in Corpus Christi, Rodriguez says, marveling at her childs determination at such a young age. She was very charismatic, very loving, giving. She was my very best friend. We did everything together. She was my only girl, Rodriguez says. She was a beautiful soul, inside and out. She was definitely way better than I was at that age. I was so proud of her. Rodriguez, 35, says her life now will never be the same. This has completely, completely destroyed me, Rodriguez says. This situation has completely rocked me to my core and my entire family. None of those children deserved what happened. We want to thank the community for everything theyre doing for us. If she could see how much people care for her and these kids, shed be so happy. A relative of Rodriguez, Felix Coronado, set up a GoFundMe to help the family with funeral expenses and time away from work to grieve. Speaking to Rolling Stone on Wednesday, Coronado described Maite as someone who was always looking out for others. She was always excited and happy so much fun to be around. She loved going to the beach, Coronado, the brother of Maites grandfather, says. We heard from a kid who survived in the room. He told us that she did everything she could to help the other kids. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Luakam Anambe wanted her newborn granddaughter to have a doll something she'd never owned as a child working in slave-like conditions in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. But she wanted the doll to share their Indigenous features, and there was nothing like that in stores. So she sewed one herself from cloth and stuffing. The doll had brown skin, long, dark hair, and the same face and body paint used by the Anambe people. It delighted passersby; while Indigenous dolls can be found elsewhere in Latin America, they remain mostly absent in Brazil, home to nearly 900,000 people identifying as Indigenous in the last census. A business idea was born, and her modest home now doubles as a workshop where she and her daughter produce dolls for a growing clientele. Before, only white dolls existed, then came the Black ones, but Indigenous ones didnt appear, said Anambe, 53, wearing a beaded necklace and a headdress of delicate orange feathers. When Indigenous women see the dolls, they sometimes cry. Since 2013, Anambe has sold more than 5,000 dolls at local fairs and through social media, mailing them across the country, and she is fundraising to attend a German fair with the aim of exporting to Europe. Her burgeoning business in Rio de Janeiro is a world removed from the Amazonian state of Para, where her life of hardship began. She was one of 15 children and Anambes parents sent her and two sisters to live and work at a plantation. Just 7 years old, she was charged with looking after the plantation owners toddler. She remembers being rebuked after asking the owner's wife for a doll; she should work, not play, Anambe recalls being told. And she received no compassion when telling the woman that she had been sexually abused. She never received any pay, and complaints often ended with young Anambe locked in a dark tobacco storeroom, alone. Anambe said she was 15 when the plantation owner forced her to marry his friend, a man two decades her senior, with whom she had a daughter. Anambe soon fled her violent husband, leaving her baby with family. Were fighters, in a fight to survive, she said, referring to Indigenous people who regularly face peril from Amazon land grabbers, loggers, ranchers and miners. Before colonization, there were millions of Indigenous people in Brazil. Today, there are far fewer. And every passing day, less and less. Anambe worked for years as a cleaning lady in Belem, Para states capital. But she felt life had more in store for her and that she should seek opportunities in one of Brazil's biggest cities. She hitched an eight-day ride to Rio with a long-haul trucker and thought of him as a godsend, especially because he didn't abuse her. Her Indigenous features stood out in Rio, and she experienced prejudice. Eventually, she landed a job in a bikini factory and was able to send for her daughter, by then in her twenties. Little by little, they saved enough money to move from their one-room shack to a small home, where she started making clothes for some fashionable Rio brands. With the skills she developed sitting behind her sewing machine, she made her first doll. Its like a mirror, said her daughter, Atyna Pora, who now works with her mother. Through the doll, we see ourselves, and we have to break down the taboo behind it, because we have always been very discriminated against. Anambe and Pora have expanded their portfolio to include dolls bearing face and body paints of five other Indigenous groups. Each is handsewn, dressed in traditional clothes and carefully painted with a sharpened branch from a tree in their backyard, following Indigenous custom. While they were the first to reach a broad audience using social media, others have followed in their footsteps. Indigenous fashion designer Weeena Tikuna, also born in the Amazon rainforest and now based in Rio, started making Indigenous dolls to dress them in her creations. I admire her work, like that of other Indigenous women," Tikuna said of Anambe. "We need that Indigenous representation. Anambe named her first doll after Atynas daughter, Anaty, which became her company's name. And 20% of proceeds go to her nonprofit, Maria Vicentina, named for her mother and grandmother. Based in Para, it will provide seamstress training to women under duress, growing the Anaty doll operation while helping provide them financial independence. When I left the state of Para, I didnt leave just for myself. I went for other women, too, Anambe said. Anaty came to give this empowerment to us, Indigenous women. With its vineyard-adjacent setting, Williams-Sonoma-sponsored culinary stage, and what can only be described as tech-bro-turned-sommelier clientele, BottleRock Napa Valley seems like it could be, perhaps, the least metal of the major music festivals. But dont tell that to the Metallica Family. The bands fans, complete with wraparound sunglasses and foot-long beards, poured into wine country on Friday for the first day of the festival to see the heavy metal headliners. Throughout the day, bands such as Scottish indie pop group CHVRCHES and Austin-based art rock band Spoon seemed like more natural fits to the BottleRock mold. But there was no question who the main attraction was, with Metallica shirts outnumbering any other band's by a factor of at least ten to one. Many members of the audience that I spoke with had seen the Bay Area rockers, who just began their fifth decade of making music together, over 20 times in concert. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images One woman standing next to me was a relative novice, having only gone to four shows before this one, but she had gotten to see the band in its 80s heyday. Despite being in their late 50s, Metallica's members can still shred and headbang with the best of them. Frontman James Hetfield came out bare-chested wearing only an open denim vest, but was able to pull off the look despite being old enough to be many of his fellow BottleRock performers father (or grandfather). Meanwhile, lead guitarist Kirk Hammetts iconic shoulder-length hair looks fuller and healthier than most guys half his age. Metallica opened with Hardwired and the band was so in-sync with the audience that Hetfield could step away from the microphone for minutes at a time while the crowd belted the lyrics. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images With all the Metallica fans, the audience did skew a little older than for many of the rest of the performers especially compared to the crowd at Norwegian DJ Kygo, who was playing at the same time on a different stage. One middle-aged fan I spoke with said this would be his 21st concert and that he wouldnt have considered going to BottleRock which includes a spa, wine-tasting booth, and silent disco on the festival grounds had Metallica not been playing. Another Metallica fan who had been to over 20 shows told me, its kind of insane how good of musicians they are. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images But it wasnt all hardened Metallica veterans. A young couple I spoke with said theyd driven over eight hours from San Diego to see the band for the first time. We are here only for Metallica, they told me confidently. The adoration went both ways, with Hetfield telling the crowd, who he referred to as the Metallica Family, how hes extremely grateful to be here after 41 years. He noted that even after all this time, it still blows my mind that fans want to hear the band play. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images Playing for just under two hours, Metallica ran through a setlist made up almost entirely of their greatest hits from the 80s and 90s. The band flexed its metal bona fides on songs like "Seek & Destroy," managing to convey both the rage and charisma needed to pull off lyrics as harsh as: Our brains are on fire with the feeling to kill And it will not go away until our dreams are fulfilled But they also showed they aren't one-note, with Hetfield and Hammett breaking out acoustic guitars for the more contemplative "The Unforgiven." They also didn't shy away from the over indulgence that comes with being a headliner, playing "Master of Puppets" in its nearly 10-minute entirety. Metallica closed with its two biggest songs, co-mega hits off their 1991 self-titled album (Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman) which fans sang along to, their voices already hoarse from two hours of screaming. As the Metallica fans filed out, passing by stations serving sparkling rose and Tomales Bay oysters, one got the sense that many might not be back for days two and three of the festival. OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) On the morning of Oct. 20, 2021, Lee County Sheriffs Deputy Tyron Ponds made a traffic stop in Beauregard that turned into a shootout. Ponds, a 34-year-old Army veteran, had graduated from the police academy in Selma two months earlier, and it was only his sixth day of working alone as a deputy. Now, he is recounting that day and its aftermath in an interview with the Opelika-Auburn News. It was on Lee Road 121 at about 8:30 a.m. when Ponds said he pulled over a motorcycle rider later identified as John Squirrel Cross. He didnt have a tag on his motorcycle, and I made the decision to initiate a stop, Ponds said. ... It took him a while to pull over, but he finally pulled over. I got out and introduced myself and the reason for the stop. He seemed fairly well at first. Ponds said he was aware that Cross had not shut off the motorcycle. The situation escalated once I asked him to identify himself and he refused to show a license, Ponds said. Then I asked him to step off the motorcycle, so I can identify him. Thats when he took off and the pursuit initiated. Ponds said he pursued Cross for about a mile and a half until Cross lost control and crashed his motorcycle. At first I thought he was seriously injured, so I was trying to render aid, Ponds said. As he approached, Cross took off running, Ponds said, and ran about 20 feet along the side of the road until he fell near the wood line. When Cross stood up, he pulled out a gun and started firing, Ponds said. My sole thing was to lay down fire before I was severely injured and just to subdue him, to stop him in his tracks, he said. Ponds said his training kicked in quickly and he returned fire. Just two weeks earlier at Fort Benning, he had trained to shoot from a vehicle and react to fire. A situation like that is hard to prepare for, especially with a real-life event, he said. That training I think overall helped save my life. Ponds was stuck by bullets three times, on the side of his right hand, on his right arm and on his left hand, which took off the tip of his little finger and damaged his ring finger. For me, I was more focused on returning fire and staying alive, he said. I wasnt really fixated on my injuries at that point in time. Cross was hit at least twice by the return gunfire, and Ponds was able to subdue him. Deputies arrived at the scene about five minutes after the shooting and found Cross in a wooded area a short distance from the crashed motorcycle. The first person to arrive on the scene was Ponds patrol supervisor, Lt. Bill McGuire, whos been in law enforcement for 27 years. Ponds said McGuires arrival made him feel overwhelmed and happy. McGuire, 49, of Notasulga, was on patrol in the Beauregard area and headed to the scene after hearing that the suspects motorcycle was still running. When he heard Ponds had been shot, things got hectic. It dont matter how old the guys on my shift are, theyre like my kids, McGuire said. I feel responsible for them. Over the radio, Ponds sounded out of breath, McGuire said, and he feared the worst. Arriving on the scene, he parked on the opposite side of the road and Ponds stumbled over to the vehicle. He fell down at my door; I got out and started looking for whoever it was that shot him, McGuire said. We were trying to figure out where the shooter was and where (Ponds) bleeding was coming from. Shielded behind the back of McGuires truck, he inspected Ponds wounds and patched him up. When more backup arrived, McGuire and a sheriffs corporal searched for the shooter and found him unresponsive in the woods. Ponds was loaded into the back of an ambulance, and the pain from his wounds started to set in as his adrenaline wore off, he said. He was transported to Piedmont Hospital in Columbus, Georgia and Cross was life-flighted by helicopter. A Lee County warrant for attempted murder was filed against Cross in October and his case is pending, according to Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere. Sheriff Jay Jones said he was filled with dread of the unknown when he was notified of the officer-involved shooting, and he immediately went to the hospital. Its such a cliche, the worst feeling in the world, but it was, Jones said. Ponds had two surgeries to clean and care for the bullet wounds. In April, he had tendon transfer surgery to allow him to have functionality in his right hand again. They took the tendon that closes your hand, and they rerouted it to the backside of it, Ponds explained, so I can use that tendon to open my hand. Ponds said the situation has taken a toll on his family, and that it took some time for his three children to get used to seeing his injuries. Of all the support hes received since the October incident, he said: I think that solidified my stay here in Lee County. Ponds said hes healing well and is most definitely ready to return to work as a deputy but is taking things day by day and waiting for the doctors approval. He is currently working in investigations and is going through physical therapy for his injuries. He could be cryptic, demeaning and scary, sending angry messages and photos of guns. If they didn't respond how he wanted, he sometimes threatened to rape or kidnap them - then laughed it off as some big joke. But the girls and young women who talked with Salvador Ramos online in the months before he allegedly killed 19 children in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, rarely reported him. His threats seemed too vague, several said in interviews with The Washington Post. One teen who reported Ramos on the social app Yubo said nothing happened as a result. Some also suspected this was just how teen boys talked on the Internet these days - a blend of rage and misogyny so predictable they could barely tell each one apart. One girl, discussing moments when he had been creepy and threatening, said that was just "how online is." In the aftermath of the deadliest school shooting in a decade, many have asked what more could have been done - how an 18-year-old who'd spewed so much hate to so many on the Web could do so without provoking punishment or raising alarm. But these threats hadn't been discovered by parents, friends or teachers. They'd been seen by strangers, many of whom had never met him and had found him only through the social messaging and video apps that form the bedrock of modern teen life. The Washington Post reviewed videos, posts and text messages sent by Ramos and spoke with four young people who'd talked with him online, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of further harassment. The girls who spoke with The Post lived around the world but met Ramos on Yubo, an app that mixed live-streaming and social networking and had become known as a "Tinder for teens." The Yubo app has been downloaded more than 18 million times in the U.S., including more than 200,000 times last month, according to estimates from the analytics firm Sensor Tower. On Yubo, people can gather in big real-time chatrooms, known as panels, to talk, type messages and share videos - the digital equivalent of a real-world hangout. Ramos, they said, struck up side conversations with them and followed them onto other platforms, including Instagram, where he could send direct messages whenever he wanted. But over time they saw a darker side, as he posted images of dead cats, texted them strange messages and joked about sexual assault, they said. In a video from a live Yubo chatroom that listeners had recorded and was reviewed by The Post, Ramos could be heard saying, "Everyone in this world deserves to get raped." A 16-year-old boy in Austin who said he saw Ramos frequently in Yubo panels, told The Post Ramos frequently made aggressive, sexual comments to young women on the app and sent him a death threat during one panel in January. "I witnessed him harass girls and threaten them with sexual assault, like rape and kidnapping," said the teen. "It was not like a single occurrence. It was frequent." He and his friends reported Ramos' account to Yubo for bullying and other infractions dozens of times. He never heard back, he said, and Ramos' account remained active. Yubo spokeswoman Amy Williams would not say whether the company had previously received reports of abuse related to Ramos' account. "As there is an ongoing and active investigation and because this information concerns a specific individual's data, we are not legally able to share these details publicly at this time," she said in an email. Williams would not say what law prevents the company from commenting. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Ramos had also written, "I'm going to shoot my grandmother" and "I'm going to shoot an elementary school" shortly before the attack in messages on Facebook. And Texas Department of Public Safety officials said Friday that Ramos had discussed buying a gun several times in private chats on Instagram. Ten days before the shooting, he wrote in one of the messages, "10 more days," according to the official. Another person wrote to him, "Are you going to shoot up a school or something?" to which Ramos responded, "No, stop asking dumb questions. You'll see," the official said. Andy Stone, a spokesman for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and the chat service WhatsApp, referred The Post to an earlier statement from the company that said the messages were sent privately. The rise of services that connect strangers through private messaging has strained the conventional "see something, say something" mantra repeated in the decades since the Columbine High School massacre and other attacks, according to social media researchers. And when strangers do suspect something is wrong, they may feel they have limited ways to respond beyond filing a user report into a corporate abyss. Many of Ramos' threats to assault women, the young women added, barely stood out from the undercurrent of sexism that pervades the Internet - something they said they have fought back against but also come to accept. A 2021 Pew Research Center study found these experiences are common for young people, with about two-thirds of adults under 30 reporting that they've experienced online harassment. Thirty-three percent of women under 35 say they have been sexually harassed online. Danielle K. Citron, a law professor at University of Virginia, said women and girls often don't report threats of rape to law enforcement or trusted adults because they have been socialized to feel they do not deserve safety and privacy online. Sometimes, they don't think anyone would help them. Women and girls have "internalized the view, 'What else do we expect?'" said Citron, the author of the upcoming book "The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age." "Our safety and intimate privacy is something that society doesn't value." Ramos' hatred toward women and obsession with violence were clear in the messages viewed and interviews conducted by The Post, but his identity was mostly hidden. The teens who spoke with The Post said they saw him on live videos he did on Yubo, then they exchanged Instagram user names to message with him. And he'd constrained his comments to private messaging services like Yubo and Instagram, leaving only the recipients with the burden to react. Like many of the people he spoke with, Ramos had shared little about himself online. He used screen names like "salv8dor_" and "TheBiggestOpp" - and shared only his first name and his age. His profile pictures were selfies, him holding up his shirt or looking dour in front of a broken mirror. He shared animal videos, struck up flirtatious conversations and shared intimate things about his past that left some feeling like distant friends. But in recent months, he'd also started posting darker imagery - moody black-and-white photos and pictures of rifles on his bed. His threats were often hazy or unspecific, and therefore easily dismissed as just a troll or bad joke. One girl told The Post she first saw Ramos in a Yubo panel telling someone, "Shut up before I shoot you," but figured it was harmless because "kids joke around like that." In the week before the shooting, Ramos began to hint that something was going to happen on Tuesday to at least three girls, she said. "I'll tell you before 11. It's our little secret," she said he told them multiple times. On the morning of the shooting, he messaged her a photo of two rifles. She responded to ask why he'd sent them, but he never wrote back, according to a screenshot viewed by The Post. "He would threaten everyone," she said. "He would talk about shooting up schools but no one believed him, no one would think he would do it." Another 16-year-old said she met Ramos on Yubo in February and that he messaged her asking for her Instagram account. Earlier this month, he reacted to a meme she'd posted that referenced a weapon with a laughing emoji and said, "personally I wouldn't use a AK-47 but "a better gun": an AR-15-style rifle like the one police have said he used in the shooting, according to a screenshot viewed by The Post. The Uvalde shooting comes less than two weeks after another gunman killed 10 Black people in a Buffalo grocery store. He live-streamed the attack through the video service Twitch, which removed the stream within a few minutes; copies of it remain online. The alleged gunman, Payton Gendron, also used the chat platform Discord as a place to save his online writing and pre-attack to-do lists. On the day of the attack, he invited people to his private room, and the 15 who accepted were then able to scroll back through months of his racist screeds and see another view of his attack live-stream. Discord has said the messages were visible only to the suspect until he shared them the day of the attack. The revelations about the Uvalde gunman's social media activity follow years of complaints from activists and high-profile figures about Instagram's ability to combat its most troubling users. Instagram has said that tackling abusive messages is harder than in comments on public pages, and that it doesn't use its artificial intelligence technology to proactively detect content like hate speech or bullying in the same way. Instagram users can report direct messages that violate the company's rules against hate speech, bullying and calls to incite violence, and they can block offensive users. But many abusive messages still slip through the cracks. The Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy group, said last month it had analyzed more than 8,000 direct messages sent to five high-profile women and found that Instagram had failed to act on 90% of the abusive messages, despite the posts having been reported. Facebook's critics have alleged that the ability to tackle dangerous posts could get harder once the company follows suit on its plan to expand end-to-end encryption, which scrambles the contents of a message so that only the sender and receiver can see it, as a default setting on all of its messaging services. Currently, encryption is the default setting on WhatsApp but users only have the option of encrypting their messages on Instagram and Facebook. But the company has argued that as more people flock to private messaging it wants to ensure social media networks are "privacy focused." In recent years, Instagram has launched new tools to protect teens from predatory users, particularly adults attempting to groom them. Last year, the company began making young teens' accounts private by default once they signed up for Instagram, and they stopped adults from being able to send direct messages to teens that don't follow them. The company also recently announced a "hidden words" feature, which allows users to filter offensive words, phrases and emoji in message requests into a separate inbox. Yubo said it bans posts that threaten, bully or intimidate other people and uses a mix of software and human moderators to curb inappropriate content. People can block others' accounts or report concerns to a team of "safety specialists," who the company says respond to each person's report. Researchers have documented that a history of violence or threats toward women is a common trait among gunmen in mass shootings, as evident in the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and the 2019 shooting in Dayton, Ohio. Whitney Phillips, a researcher joining the faculty of the University of Oregon this fall, said social networks could do more to push back on violent harassment toward women, but that the threats on their site are a reflection of a larger "boys will be boys" cultural attitude that normalizes men's bad behavior online and offline. "When someone says something violent to you or makes some sort of death threat to you, for many women that happens so often that it wouldn't even register with them," Phillips said. - - - The Washington Post's Shawn Boburg and Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report. CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) While navigating the unimaginable grief of losing their 7-year-old son, Cooper, to a blood infection, his parents, Eric and Becky Lins, found purpose through a project meant to honor their very special boy. After spending time choosing his headstone, they visited the Southdale Elementary School playground to clear their heads and think through things. Their family often would play with their three children there, including Cooper who was a Southdale second-grader at the time of his passing Feb. 27. Just about every day in the summer, they would walk there, as their home was only about a half block away, said Becky Lins, also a Peet Junior High counselor, told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. She recalled Cooper always climbing as high as he could, and how he loved hiding in the spiral tubed slide, surprising people and laughing about it afterwards. While on that walk, they decided they wanted to honor his joyful, fun-loving spirit while blessing a whole lot of other families, said father Eric Lins, a Peet Junior High and Aldrich Elementary band teacher. That thought has turned into a community effort to raise $140,000 for a new unique addition to Southdales playground, which hasnt been updated in years. It also was a campaign Eric Lins said would bring the community together to meet a need. Theyve raised a little more than $30,000 since the campaign kicked off earlier this month. Lets dream big and lets see what happens, Eric Lins recalled saying. He noted that they leaned on a quote from Harry Potter as they started the campaign: Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light. His parents are hopeful the community will come together to raise the funds by the end of July. If that is accomplished, the playground set would be constructed before Iowas cold hits in the fall and dedicated as a celebration. There will be lots of new opportunities for climbing, and it encourages healthy playing for all abilities, said Eric Lins. After driving around to different playgrounds in the area and looking through catalogues, Principal Jason Strub recalled seeing the parents faces when they found the page they wanted to bring to life. As soon as they saw that page, it was Cooper, Strub said. They could have done a tree or bench memorial. That would have been great, but it wasnt representative of Cooper playing, running around, socializing with friends, climbing and smiling, Strub added. The new addition will increase the playground footprint by about one-third and allow for more kids to play on it at once. It also will be green, Coopers favorite color, and be representative of him being their St. Pattys baby. Becky Lins also noted it will give kids unique obstacles, which Cooper always liked, especially while playing at Ninja U and going from one end of a course to the other. At the Southdale Social, where they were recently raising funds for the campaign, Becky and Eric Lins said they heard stories about their son that they had never heard before. One involved Cooper rallying the troops to roll a giant snowball when everyone else was tired, showcasing his energy and spirit. Another was about covertly planting corn with a friend near the playground as part of a top secret plan. Weve heard all about how he had such a good heart, said Becky Lins. Thats been endearing. He just got along with everyone, added Strub. I really do think everyone in the class thought he was their best friend. Southdale Elementarys IMPACT parent group is leading the fundraising. That makes all donations tax-deductible. Checks can be written to Southdale IMPACT and mailed to 4105 Stewart Lane, Cedar Falls, IA 50613. People can also contribute @Southdale_Playground_Addition through the Venmo mobile payment service. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORFOLK, Va. (AP) May Wells heart sank as she watched her husband leave their Williamsburg home in the back of a police car. Her husband, Ray, suffered from early onset Alzheimers disease, and his condition had deteriorated to the point that Wells called for help. He was having these delusions that there were people in the house who were going to kill us, she said. The police took Ray to the emergency room, which offered to refer him to a state-run psychiatric hospital in western Virginia. Wells said she had the resources to send Ray to a private memory care home otherwise, he likely would have ended up in the states care. I dont know what (else) people who dont have the means to pay for it do, she said. The answer: Hundreds, suffering from Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia, end up every year in state-run psychiatric hospitals that arent equipped to care for them. Being there can not only worsen their conditions, leading to lengthy stays, it can leave the mentally ill languishing on waiting lists and taking up space in city jails. The families of those dementia patients, however, often have no where else to turn, as professional at-home or residential memory care is costly and in short supply. State mental hospitals are restorative by nature; theyre trying to restore people to a positive mentally healthy state, state Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, said. To send someone to a restorative environment, when they have a diagnosis like dementia and cant be restored, it just doesnt make any sense. And its getting worse. The states psychiatric hospitals cared for 505 and 493 patients with dementia in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, respectively, according to a recent report from a state dementia services workgroup. Those figures for 2017 and 2018 were 377 and 439, respectively. Suzanne Mayo is the director of community integration for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which oversees the states eight psychiatric hospitals. She said the hospitals are better equipped to treat mental health illnesses, such as depression or bipolar disorder not those with dementia. Our hospitals really specialize in medication treatments, she said, adding that non-pharmaceutical care, such as music or sensory therapy, is generally more effective at treating a dementia-related behavioral health crisis. Emma Lowry, a clinical psychologist and the facility director of Piedmont Geriatric Hospital, a state-run psychiatric facility in Burkeville, said chaotic hospital settings can increase stress or depression in dementia patients, and cause their cognitive impairment to further decline. It can lead to longer stays in our settings because when theyre experiencing increased agitation, or confusion or behavioral issues, then discharge can become harder, she said. It becomes a vicious cycle where people can kind of get stuck in the system, which they never should have been in in the first place. Dementia patients, on average, stay about 229 days. Thats roughly 3 times longer than someone with a mental illnesses, according to the workgroup, which convened last year to examine dementia-related hospitalizations at state facilities. And the states psychiatric hospitals are already overcrowded, Mayo said: Theres no space to spare. Anytime we have a patient taking up a bed who could be better served elsewhere, that is a bed for someone else who may be waiting to get in, she said. While sending someone with dementia to a psychiatric hospital is problematic, the two preferred alternatives keeping them at home or moving them into a residential memory care facility both come with their own challenges. Katie McDonough, director of programs for the local chapter of the Alzheimers Association, said many families initially think a residential memory care home might be a good solution. Then they see the exorbitant costs and learn theyll have to pay out of pocket. The majority of Americans live their lives believing that there will be some government program that provides for their loved one when they are older, she said. Then they realize that health care and long-term memory care are two different things. But McDonough said caring for someone with dementia at home can be isolating and overwhelming. Its not rare to see a caregiver die before their loved one living with Alzheimers because of the lack of ability and time to pay attention to their own needs, she said. Families hoping to hire part or full-time health care providers for assistance also run into roadblocks. There are huge shortages of health workers, for example, who offer in-home services, said George Worthington, dementia services coordinator for the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services. The workgroups report offered a range of suggestions to help families provide care at home. It advised the state to provide funding to expand educational and training programs for caregivers and others about how to prevent or deescalate a dementia-related crisis. Being a caregiver is a hard job; its definitely one of the hardest jobs out there, said state Sen. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, a geriatric nurse practitioner. I would love to see us put some policies in place so we can be more supportive. The workgroup also recommended developing partnerships with colleges and creating workforce pipelines in middle and high schools to help recruit future dementia care providers and alleviate the shortage. Mason, who represents a district with a high senior population, said hes pushing to create a high-level state position that solely focuses on addressing the rising rates of seniors, which is leading to more cases of dementia. By 2035, there will be more people over 65 than children under 18, Mason said. So when it comes to state government, when it comes to policy, when it comes to programs, we need to right now be working to address what will be an extraordinarily large segment of our population. Wells, whose husband died of Alzheimers last year, said she now advocates on behalf of other families battling dementia. She shared her story with legislators including Mason to raise awareness about the disease. And she hopes lawmakers will work in coming years to support caregivers, especially those from low-income households. Its emotionally devastating, its physically devastating, and for many people, it is financially devastating, Wells said. (This disease) completely destroys a human being and the burden is enormous for those trying to manage that persons life. One day after a white, 18-year-old gunman in New York who was livestreaming with a helmet camera reportedly opened fire at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood killing 10 people, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel vows to fight against gun violence and racially motivated hate crimes. Attorney Benjamin Crump, right, accompanied by the family of Ruth Whitfield, a victim of the shooting, speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, May 16, 2022. Attorney Benjamin Crump, right, accompanied by the family of Ruth Whitfield, a victim of the shooting, speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, May 16, 2022. Nessel is calling for "common-sense gun control measures that would keep firearms out of the hands of mentally unstable perpetrators, as well as a crackdown on hate crimes and domestic terrorism," according to a press release issued by her office Sunday. "While yesterdays devastating mass shooting was hardly surprising given the violent, pro-gun rhetoric proliferating in this country both online and off, it is shocking how easily a teenager with a history of mental instability and making violent threats was able to obtain these weapons," Nessel said in the release. The mass shooting sent shockwaves through an unsettled nation gripped with racial tensions, gun violence and a spate of hate crimes. On the day before the shooting, Dallas police said they were investigating a series of shootings in Koreatown as hate crimes. The Buffalo attack came just one month after another massacre on a Brooklyn subway train wounded 10 people. Nearly six months ago, Michigan made national news when a 15-year-old sophomore reportedly opened fire at his high school killing four students and wounding seven other people. Paul Sancya/The Associated Press Jake May/The Associated Press Oxford High School students mourn their classmates during a vigil after the Oxford High School school shootings on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Ethan Crumbley, the alleged shooter, has been charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism, for the shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County, roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. Though parents in the United States are rarely charged in school shootings involving their children, even as most minors get guns from a parent or relatives house, Ethan's parents have been charged, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Paul Sancya/The Associated Press James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter three days after the school shooting. The semi-automatic gun used in the shooting was purchased legally by Crumbleys father one week before the shooting, according to investigators. Nessel accused Oxford's school board members of being "more focused on limiting liability" than responding to the concerns of the community and investigating the events that led up to the shooting after they declined her second offer to investigate. Nessel said she was "deeply disappointed by the school boards repeated rejection of my offers" to conduct an independent review of the events of the days preceding the incident in a press release issued by her office Wednesday, May 11. Just over half of U.S. states have child access prevention laws related to guns, but they vary widely, according to reporting by the AP. No Michigan law requires gun owners to keep weapons locked away from children. Nessel, the incumbent Attorney General, was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2019, and is up for re-election in November. She has long fought for laws that would require adults to keep their firearms under lock and key and away from kids. "The mass shooting in Buffalo wasnt just a failure to prevent a mentally unstable teenager from accessing assault weapons," Nessel said in her statement on Sunday. "It was a horrifying, racially motivated crime." To investigate similar crimes, Nessel established the Michigan Attorney General offices first-ever Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism unit in 2019, which investigates and prosecutes hate crimes by following up on credible tips and offering departmental resources to assist local and federal law enforcement partners. According to FBI data, hate crimes in the U.S. rose 23% between 2016 and 2020, and hate crimes targeting race and ethnicity made up 65% of hate crimes in 2020, rising 42% during that period. There were nearly 3,000 hate crimes committed across the nation targeting the Black community in 2020; hate crimes targeting the same community rose nearly 60% between 2016-2020 and rose more than 40% between 2019-2020. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Senators in New England are getting behind a push to provide more federal resources to administer local and state elections. Sen. Angus King, Maines independent senator, said the Sustaining Our Democracy Act would provide $20 billion in federal money over the next 10 years to help states with election necessities, such as training poll workers and upgrading voting equipment and registration systems. King said the proposal is a reflection of the fact that elections take significant investments of time, money, and personnel." He said that's "why the federal government must ensure that state and local governments have the tools they need to administer safe, effective elections. State and local governments that want to receive the money would need to submit plans for how the funds would be used. King said the proposal makes clear that it would stop states from using the money in ways that make it harder for eligible voters to cast their votes. Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, chairwoman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren led nine of their colleagues in introducing the Sustaining Our Democracy Act. Voting is the beating heart of our democracy, and we must ensure that states have the resources they need to conduct fair and robust elections, Warren said in a statement. The co-sponsors of the proposal are all Democrats except for King and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. King and Sanders are independent senators who caucus with the Democrats. NASHUA, Iowa (AP) A pastor and bicycling enthusiast is riding 1,500 miles from Nashua, Iowa, back to his home in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Rev. Andy Armstrong began his ride at the Little Brown Church on Friday, May 13, to bring attention to needed renovations at The First Church, where hes pastor. The First Church needs nearly $150,000 to repair its church bells. The church was built in 1893 and houses 15 bells first exhibited at the Chicago Worlds Fair. But an engineers assessment says age and the affects of weather are taking a toll on the bells structural components. To raise awareness, Armstrong headed to Nashua, Iowa, and was greeted by Mayor Alex Anthofer and the Little Brown Churchs pastor, the Rev. Drew McHolm. Before being given a tour of the church, Armstrong gave Anthofer a key to his city in New Hampshire. I have a good feeling that (Armstrong) and I are gonna talk back and forth, and I hope he does come back, Anthofer told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. I think it would be exciting to go out there and actually see Nashua in person. Nashua was originally called Bridgeport, then Woodbridge. The town settled on the name Nashua in honor of two brothers who came from Nashua, New Hampshire. One owned a grocery store and the other built a steam saw mill. Armstrongs ride is called Tower to Tower, and he will ride across eight states. His stops in Iowa include Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine before he crosses the Mississippi into Illinois. Armstrong says hes not going to be a salesman, but will tell people about the purpose of his ride if asked. Most people I meet, its going to be about hospitality, Armstrong said. But, those God moments are going to happen too. Im going to be thankful for hospitality first and foremost. And when that stuff comes up, the spirit leads. GUILFORD, Conn. (AP) A wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 in Connecticut killed four people in two cars early Sunday morning, state police said. The accident occurred shortly before 3 a.m. in Guilford, about 12 miles east of New Haven. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) The district attorney of coastal Georgia's largest county has become the latest prosecutor statewide to say she'll generally stop prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases involving possession of less than an ounce of the drug. Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones made the announcement Tuesday. Like other prosecutors, police chiefs and sheriffs who have stopped marijuana enforcement, she cited the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's refusal to test for small amounts of marijuana unless other felony charges are involved. Without a verified test, the state cannot prove that the accused violated the law, Jones said in a statement. She also cited Georgias 2019 law that made hemp farming illegal, saying its hard to tell the difference between legal hemp and illegal marijuana. The change began immediately. Officials in other jurisdictions including the Atlanta suburbs of Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, as well as Athens-Clarke County and Augusta-Richmond County have made similar announcements since 2019. Disposing of low-level petty offenses that do not threaten public safety and do not involve a victim allows the state to focus already-limited resources on the serious cases that do, Jones said. A number of Georgia cities and counties, including Savannah, Atlanta and Macon-Bibb County have also reduced penalties for possessing marijuana. They've told police to only write a ticket and not take someone to jail. Jones said she would still prosecute people with more than an ounce of marijuana, those who sell the drug, those who possess it around children or in school zones and those who drive while impaired. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who led that city's previous efforts to cut marijuana penalties, told WTOC-TV that he supports the move. I think it just makes sense," he said. But Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher said he must uphold state and federal laws and that his deputies will still arrest anyone possessing any amount of marijuana. State lawmakers, mostly Democrats, have introduced a number of bills in the Georgia General Assembly seeking to legalize marijuana or reduce penalties for possession, but none have advanced. Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, one of Pope Francis' ideological allies who has often sparred with more conservative U.S. bishops, was named by the pope on Sunday as one of 21 new cardinals. The San Diego diocese said McElroy will be installed by Pope Francis on August 27 at St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Among his notable stances, McElroy, 68, has been one of a minority of U.S. bishops harshly criticizing the campaign to exclude Catholic politicians who support abortion rights from Communion. It will bring tremendously destructive consequences, McElroy wrote in May 2021. The Eucharist is being weaponized and deployed as a tool in political warfare. This must not happen. In selecting McElroy, Francis passed over the higher-ranking archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone. Earlier this month, Cordileone said he will no longer allow U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion because of her support for abortion rights. McElroy, in a statement, said he was stunned and deeply surprised by the news of his appointment. My prayer is that in this ministry I might be of additional service to the God who has graced me on so many levels in my life, he said. And I pray also that I can assist the Holy Father in his pastoral renewal of the Church. Cordileone issued a brief statement noting that McElroy is a native San Franciscan and offering congratulations on the appointment. The statement made no mention of the two clerics' differences. Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who has worked with McElroy for many years, also offered congratulations adding that the new cardinal will serve the global Church well. By naming Bishop Robert McElroy as a cardinal, Pope Francis has shown his pastoral care for the Church in the United States, Gomez said in a written statement. McElroy received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard in 1975 and a master's in history from Stanford in 1976. He studied at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California, and in 1985 received a theology degree at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He obtained a doctorate in moral theology at the Gregorian University in Rome the following year and a Ph.D in political science at Stanford in 1989. He was ordained a priest in 1980 and assigned to the San Francisco diocese, where he served in a parish before becoming personal secretary to Archbishop John Quinn. Other California parish assignments included Redwood City and San Mateo. He became an auxiliary bishop in San Francisco in 2010. In 2015, early in Francis' pontificate, he was named bishop of San Diego. Over recent years, McElroy has been among the relatively few U.S. bishops who questioned why the bishops conference insisted on identifying abortion as its preeminent priority. He has questioned why greater prominence was not given to issues such as racism, poverty, immigration and climate change. The death toll from abortion is more immediate, but the long-term death toll from unchecked climate change is larger and threatens the very future of humanity, he said in a speech in 2020. Last year, he was among a small group of bishops signing a statement expressing support for LGBT youth and denouncing the bullying often directed at them. The bishops statement said LGBT youth attempt suicide at much higher rates, are often homeless because of families who reject them and are the target of violent acts at alarming rates. We take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you, it read. Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side." Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the Catholic church, hailed McElroy's appointment. He represents the kind of prelate our church needs, one who will stretch out a hand, not a fist, to the LGBTQ community, DeBernardo said. As an elector of future popes, McElroy can play a role in making sure that the next papacy will continue in the welcoming spirit of Pope Francis. The Diocese of San Diego runs the length of Californias border with Mexico and serves more than 1.3 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties. It includes 98 parishes, 49 elementary and secondary schools, and, through Catholic Charities of the Diocese of San Diego, various social service and family support organizations throughout the region. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) As the war in Ukraine rages, Serbia's president announced that he has secured an extremely favorable natural gas deal with Russia during a telephone conversation Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has refused to explicitly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and his country has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow. Vucic claims he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has spent recent years cementing ties with Russia, a long-time ally. The gas deal is likely to be signed during a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Belgrade early in June a rare visit by a ranking Russian official to a European country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began Feb. 24. Vucic said he told Putin that he wished peace would be established as soon as possible. Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, and its main energy companies are under Russian majority ownership. What I can tell you is that we have agreed on the main elements that are very favorable for Serbia, Vucic, a former pro-Russian ultranationalist, told reporters. "We agreed to sign a three-year contract, which is the first element of the contract that suits the Serbian side very well. It is not clear how Serbia would receive the Russian gas if the EU decides to shut off the Russian supply that travels over its member countries. Russia has already cut off gas exports to EU members Finland,Poland and Bulgaria. The EU as a whole has been hurriedly reducing its reliance on Russian energy since the invasion, and is set to discuss ways to further do so and to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a leaders' summit that starts Monday. Despite reports of the atrocities in Ukraine due to the invasion, Vucic and other Serbian leaders have been complaining of Western pressure to join sanctions against Russia. Serbian officials say the Balkan country must resist such pressure, even if it means abandoning the goal of joining the EU. Under Vucic's 10-year autocratic rule and relentless pro-Kremlin propaganda, Serbia has gradually slid toward aligning with Russia. Polls suggest a majority in the country would rather join some sort of a union with Moscow than the EU. The agreement reached by President Vucic with President Putin is proof of how much Serbias decision not to participate in anti-Russian hysteria is respected, Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said. The free leader, free people, make decisions that are good for Serbia and do not accept orders from the West, said Vulin, who is known for his pro-Russian stance. ___ Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. By SA Commercial Prop News Eskom has plans to sell non-core properties, saying the proceeds will be used to raise the companys capital. Financially-constrained Eskom is looking to sell more properties, saying the proceeds will be used to raise the companys capital. As part of its efforts to raise funds from the disposal of non-core property, Eskom has announced the sale of two buildings to the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation. According to the power utility, this will help relieve some of the accommodation pressures faced by university students and social housing. The sale of two high-rise office buildings in Kimberley and Johannesburg, previously utilised as regional offices, has raised R76.1 million for the utility. In total, Eskom aims to raise more than R2 billion from the sale of non-core property, Eskom said in a statement on Tuesday. Staff have since been moved to other locations as part of Eskoms drive to optimise space and derive maximum value from its extensive property portfolio. The state-owned entity said this forms part of its approved strategy to responsibly dispose of non-core immovable properties. The property disposal process is in line with Eskoms unbundling process and its bid to raise capital. The entity said the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has been given the first right of refusal on all properties with a residential potential, in line with government policy. The department will therefore convert the Kimberley Trust Centre, the tallest building in the Northern Cape city, and the 26-storey regional office in Johannesburg into residential housing units, which will assist the department towards meeting its mandate of providing social housing, Eskom explained. In terms of the sale agreement, Eskom said the Kimberley building will be converted into social housing units to meet the demand for residential units, while the Braamfontein building will enable the department to respond to the accommodation needs of university students in Johannesburg. Eskom continues to explore similar opportunities in other areas where it owns non-core property stock. It is expected that sales of Die Wilge Flats outside the Kusile Power Station at eMalahleni and the Lephalale Stands near the Medupi Power Station will be finalised during the first half of the current financial year. Another non-core immovable property is being offered for sale through the governments process of property disposal. Michael Wyke/AP Fresh off speaking at the National Rifle Association convention held three days after 21 people were gunned down in a Texas grade school, Sen. Ted Cruz was confronted by a frustrated citizen in a Houston-area restaurant Friday. Video being shared on social media by the group Indivisible Houston shows an apparent constituent first posing for a photo with Cruz, then engaging him in a seemingly one-sided debate. The man seemed to want an answer as to why Cruz, who receives considerable financial support from pro-gun groups, would speak at a convention celebrating firearms in the wake of Tuesdays tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys president has told journalists he still intends to block Finland and Swedens accession to NATO. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said meetings this week with Finnish and Swedish delegations had not been at the expected level, noting there had been no steps taken to alleviate Turkeys security concerns. As long as Tayyip Erdogan is at the head of the Republic of Turkey, we cannot say yes to countries that support terror joining NATO, he told journalists on his plane following a visit to Azerbaijan Saturday, according to the daily Hurriyet newspaper. Erdogan referred to an interview on Swedish state television with Salih Muslim, a member of the Syrian Kurdish administration in northeast Syria, on the night of the delegation meeting. He cited this as evidence of Swedens support for Syrian Kurdish militants that Turkey views as an extension of an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. They are not honest or genuine, Erdogan said and vowed to not allow countries that nuzzle terrorists to their bosom, feed terrorists on their laps. He also accused Germany, France and the Netherlands of committing the same mistake of supporting terror. The Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey has been fighting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, since 1984 inside Turkey and northern Iraq, where it has stepped up its operations. Ankara has also led cross-border operations into Syria to push the YPG away from its border, saying they are one and the same as the PKK. All NATO members must approve the two Nordic nations' historic bid to join the alliance, propelled by alarm at Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, which commands the second largest army in the alliance, has said it won't allow their accession unless steps are taken, including a lifting of restrictions on weapons sales to Turkey. Erdogan added he would be speaking by phone with Russian and Ukrainian leaders on Monday. UVALDE, Texas -- After slipping into Robb Elementary through an unlocked side entrance, 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos stormed into adjoining classrooms and informed terrified fourth-graders that it was "time to die." "Goodnight," Ramos said, before shooting and killing a teacher. Students were next, according to witness accounts. Children who had been watching "Lilo & Stitch" scrambled for hiding places. Hot shrapnel burned through the dressy outfits some had worn for an awards ceremony earlier on the morning of May 24. One girl smeared herself with a classmate's blood and played dead. The attack went on for so long, witnesses said, that the gunman had time to taunt his victims before killing them, even putting on songs that one student described to CNN as "I-want-people-to-die music." As the minutes ticked by, increasingly desperate students called 911. At 12:03 p.m., a girl called 911 for a little over a minute and whispered that she was in Room 112, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven C. McCraw. She called back at 12:10 p.m. reporting multiple people dead, he said, and again a few minutes later, to say there were still a number of students alive. "Please send the police now," the girl begged the dispatcher at 12:43 p.m., 40 minutes after her first call. More time would lapse before authorities finally entered and killed Ramos just before 1 p.m. By then, the gunman had turned a sleepy afternoon at the end of the school year into a 90-minute massacre -- an attack prolonged and worsened by the failure of security measures and a catastrophically slow response from authorities in this southern Texas town. In all, 19 children and two teachers were killed, with another 17 people wounded, a devastating toll for a small, tightly woven, largely Hispanic community where it was common for relatives to be in the same class at school. In the days that followed, local heartbreak bubbled into rage as Texas officials waxed on about police bravery, glossing over law enforcement missteps that took days to acknowledge. Only now, a more reliable chronology is emerging through official statements, 911 logs, social media posts, and interviews with survivors and witnesses. The revelations tell a story of institutional failure at the expense of unprotected children. Here in Uvalde, there is little expectation that correcting the record will lead to any real policy change, especially with hyperpartisan midterm elections looming. "I mean, there's protests on gun laws and stuff, background checks, but it doesn't go anywhere," said Angel Flores, 17, speaking at a San Antonio hospital where she was visiting two relatives who were taken there after being shot in Uvalde. "Sandy Hook happened, what, 10 years ago?" said Angel's father, 37-year-old David Flores, referring to the 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. "It's the same thing, down the road again. Nothing changes." - - - On Tuesday morning, Dora and Bob Estrada settled in to watch their favorite daytime soap, "The Bold and the Beautiful." While waiting for her show to start, Dora heard two popping sounds from the direction of Robb Elementary across the street. She told her husband she thought it was gunfire. "He said, 'No, that can't be,'" Dora recalled. "I said, 'No, that is shots.'" Dora worried about her grandson, Jayden, a second grader at Robb. A short time later, her daughter, Jayden's mother, called to warn her parents to lock their door; she'd heard of an active-shooter threat. The Estradas decided to go outside and check on the school and noticed "a bunch of cops on the corner." "They were just standing there," Dora said. Given the time frame, those first pops Dora heard likely came from early shots Ramos fired as soon as he arrived at the school at 11:28 a.m., targeting people on the street who heard him crash his truck into a ditch and were coming to his aid. Minutes earlier he had shot his 66-year-old grandmother in the face at their nearby home, took her vehicle and drove the short distance to Robb Elementary. The grandmother survived and called 911; authorities have not released the exact timing or content of her 911 call. New details have dispelled earlier accounts of a confrontation between the gunman and an armed school police officer outside the school, a story the authorities changed four times. First, officials said the gunman exchanged fire with the officer outside the school before going in. Later, McCraw said that there was an encounter, but no gunshots were exchanged between the two. On Thursday, officials said there had been no confrontation at all and that the gunman had simply walked in. On Friday, McCraw added that the school police officer was not on campus but rushed there after the 911 call about a man with a gun at the crash. "He drove right by the suspect," who was crouched behind a vehicle in the parking lot, and mistook a teacher for an intruder, McCraw said. Ramos entered the school at 11:33 a.m. through a back door that should have been locked but had been propped open, authorities said. The shooter walked to the rear of the building, turned down a hall and began firing into classrooms 111 and 112, authorities said, unloading more than 100 rounds of ammunition in those first moments. At the sound of gunshots, children and staff in other parts of the building began streaming out of the school, some heading for safety in a nearby funeral home. Others didn't have time to run. In Room 109, teacher Elsa Avila rushed to lock the door and turn off the lights. She told her students to hide under their desks, recalled a 9-year-old survivor, Daniel, whose mother asked that his last name not be used. Daniel saw Ramos approach the window of his classroom door and shoot through the glass, striking Avila and another student a few feet away from him. Daniel said he and others were "playing dead" inside the classroom because they feared he could see them. Bullets zinged around the classroom, with one fragment striking a fellow student's nose. Daniel recalled a "crunching" sound as it struck bone. Stymied by the locked door, Ramos moved back down the hallway, returning to Rooms 111 and 112, the adjoining classrooms. McCraw said that three officers with the Uvalde Police Department were the first officers into the school and that two received grazing wounds at that time from Ramos. McCraw said Ramos had locked the doors to Rooms 111 and 112 but briefly re-emerged into the hall -- at a time McCraw did not specify, but this is likely when those in Room 109 were shot at -- before locking himself in the adjoining classrooms again. Gunfire was heard at 11:37 a.m., 11:38 a.m., 11:40 a.m. and 11:44 a.m., McCraw said. Four more local officers -- from the police department and county sheriff's office -- arrived, according to McCraw, at a time he did not say. None of the officers attempted to enter Rooms 111 and 112 and engage the gunman, officials said. By at least 12:15 p.m. McCraw said, "as many as 19" law enforcement officers had converged on a school hallway, including Border Patrol tactical team members who arrived with shields. "There was plenty of officers to do whatever needed to be done," McCraw said. But the incident commander believed more equipment and people were needed for a "breach," McCraw said, and he added that there was a sense that law enforcement "had time" and saw "no kids at risk." At almost exactly the same time, the student in Room 112 called again. She said eight or nine students were alive. Three minutes later, at 12:19 p.m., a student in Room 111 called 911 but hung up at the urging of another student, McCraw said. At 12:21 p.m., he said, three shots could be heard over the 911 line. As the attack was underway, frantic parents began showing up at Robb after receiving active-shooter alerts. The scene outside the police cordon grew tense as families demanded to know why officers weren't storming into the building to save their children. Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Dany Reyz, 51, heard about the gunfire at his repair shop half a mile from Robb, where his grandson and six nieces and nephews are enrolled. He immediately drove over, arriving around 11:40 a.m., according to phone logs that detail the frantic calls he was making as he looked for a place to park. When he made it to the scene, Reyz said, more than a dozen parents already were huddled near the entrance of the school, demanding that officers do more to intervene. On the east side of the building, he said, another group of parents were trying to push through a fence to get inside the school, but were being repelled by police. Felix Rubio, 39, a relative of Reyz, heard enraged parents tell officers to "go do your f------ job." When authorities insisted they were doing their jobs, Rubio said, a man yelled for them to "get your f------ rifle and handle business." The distraught parents could do nothing but wait, trusting that authorities were doing all they could to protect students. "Six-year-old kids in there," lamented one man in a video taken outside the school that day. "They don't know how to defend themselves from a shooter." By the time authorities declared the attack over, just after 1 p.m., the Estradas had found their grandson's teacher and learned that he was safe. Reyz's grandson and nephews also got out, but a niece, 9-year-old Eliana Garcia, was shot and killed. Some parents only learned their children were dead hours later, at a local civic center where families were asked to wait for updates and, in some cases, submit DNA samples to help identify victims. Over and over, witnesses said, parents were led to a private room where authorities broke the news. The families' screams could be heard from outside the building. - - - Even for a nation hardened by the frequency of mass shootings, the tragedy in Uvalde seemed too much to bear. News anchors wept on live TV. Families eulogized slain children in widely shared social media posts, drawing Americans into a visceral experience of grief. At a news conference the day after the attack, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, flanked by state law enforcement officials, mourned the deaths but praised law enforcement for what he described as a brave response that likely saved lives. The event was briefly interrupted by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who was removed while heckling Abbott about lax gun laws. The governor's praise for law enforcement agencies also didn't sit well with Robb Elementary parents who had video evidence showing how they pleaded with officers to go inside the school. Fact-checkers found other holes and inaccuracies, and soon the official story collapsed in what one cable-news anchor called "a Texas-sized mess." On Friday, Abbott backed off his earlier remarks, saying he was livid about being "misled." McCraw said an incident commander in charge of the police response made "the wrong decision" when he stopped treating the gunman as an active shooter and instead viewed him as a "barricaded subject" as his shots became less frequent. An off-duty Border Patrol tactical agent from the agency's BORTAC unit was the first of several agents to arrive outside the classroom around 12:15 p.m., according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share preliminary details of the investigation. Local police and other officers assembled in the hallway told the agent the shooter was barricaded inside the classroom, which the agent described as "quiet," according to the official. "They have not told me they were frustrated," the official said, of the decision not to go after the shooter. "But they told me it was hard to discern who was in charge." The agents did not have a battering ram or breaching tools. A U.S. Marshal on the scene provided the agents with a ballistic shield, the official said. McCraw said Friday that officers finally used keys they got from a janitor to unlock the classroom doors. When the team finally moved on the shooter, they found him hiding in a closet in Room 111. He came out firing as the Border Patrol tactical agents entered the room behind the ballistic shield. One of the BORTAC agents was grazed on the head, and took some shrapnel in the foot, but wounds were light. The agents saw children piled up around the room, huddled together, some still alive but many deceased, the official said. "It hurts to think there are many things that they didn't do," said Joe Rodriguez, 64, who was heading to Robb Elementary on Friday to drop flowers off at a wooden cross to memorialize his granddaughter, Tess Mata. "They could have saved her," Rodriguez said. "They could have saved some lives." At the memorial on Uvalde's Main Street, Amanda Flores said she knew all 21 victims. Some were close family friends while others were friends of her grandchildren, one of whom was at Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting. Flores said she was hesitant to criticize the law enforcement response -- she said Uvalde is proud of its police force and is also home to scores of Customs and Border Protection agents. She said one of her close friends, a border agent, sprang from the barber's chair in the middle of a haircut to respond to the shooting. Still, Flores said, there's no getting around the hard facts of the law enforcement response: "We needed the help ASAP for our kids, and it wasn't there." - - - The Washington Post's Teo Armus and Peter Jamison in Uvalde.; Joanna Slater in Williamstown, Mass.; Jon Swaine in New York; Kim Bellware in Chicago; and Nick Miroff, Hannah Knowles, Joyce Sohyun Lee and Timothy Bella in Washington contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WESTPORT Jean Wells has always wanted to help others. Its why she joined the U.S. Coast Guards Womens Reserves in World War II and its evident in the decades of volunteering that have happened since. Its also one of the reasons she was selected to be the grand marshal for the Westport Memorial Day Parade on Monday which happens to be her 105th birthday. I am so deeply grateful, she said of the honor to lead the parade. And for the milestone birthday itself? It is a wonderful blessing from God and my lord and savior Jesus Christ, she said. William Vornkahl, Westport Veterans Councils president, said Wells was a perfect choice for grand marshal given her service and this years theme: Honoring Women Veterans. We thought, who better could we have, he said. Wells was born in Indiana on May 30, 1917. She moved to Westport in 1926 and attended Bedford Elementary School the current site of Westport Town Hall. She also attended Katherine Gibbs School at her fathers wishes so she would be able to take care of herself. It was so very difficult that I told my mom I was having a nervous breakdown, Wells said. Mom decided to take me to Atlantic City for mud baths. Wells said the mud baths helped ease her anxiety, and she was able to graduate as a secretary, later becoming a Coast Guard yoeman. Wells was inducted into SPARS, the womens division of the Coast Guard, on Jan. 15, 1943 at the age of 25. She served in Palm Beach, Florida at the Biltmore Hotel which had been turned into the U.S. Naval Special Hospital. I wanted to help, she said. She attained the rank of yeoman 2nd class before she was discharged on Sept. 1, 1945. Wells returned to Westport and married David S. Wells. They have two sons, David and Jonathan. Vornkahl said this years theme of honoring female veterans is important. They served their country and served it well, Vornkahl said. We should honor all of the veterans who have served our country. While Westport has honored female veterans before, this will be the first time the U.S. Coast Guard Womens Reserves, or SPARS, will be highlighted. That particular branch of service was created on Nov. 23, 1942 through legislation. Like other military branches in World War II, the Coast Guard needed more men serving elsewhere, leaving a void in the shore jobs back in the U.S. More than 10,000 women stepped up to assume those roles between 1942 and 1946, according to the U.S. Coast Guard . These women were under military direction, and they were subject to assignment according to the needs of the service, the U.S. Coast Guard said. This was one of the key factors in using women as part of the military force. The jobs they were filling could not have been done by civilians working for the armed forces because they were not as mobile and did not fall under military law and discipline. Last years parade was the first year back after a short hiatus due to COVID. People were stacked along the parade route to honor the veterans, Vornkahl said. Hes expecting a similar turnout this year, if not more, given how active Wells is in the community. Jean is a bouncing ball, Vornkahl said. Wells has been very active with the Red Cross with blood drives and has volunteered at Norwalk Hospital for more than 32 years. She also visits with veterans at the hospitals, delivers food to the underprivileged and has spent the past eight years on various ministries trying to do anything she can to help. After the war, up until this day, my heart is always to serve others, Wells said. The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. Monday. It will begin on Riverside Avenue, continue on Post Road East to Myrtle Avenue, then to Main Street and end at Parker Harding Plaza. Prizes will again be awarded for floats in a variety of categories. Memorial services will be held on Veterans Green immediately following the parade. Joshua Bessex/AP BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Starbucks has until later this week to file any objections with the National Labor Relations Board after workers at a shop in Birmingham became the first of the company's locations in Alabama to vote to organize. Baristas and other employees at a downtown store voted 27-1 to organize in a tally announced Thursday, news outlets reported. Documents show they would be represented by Workers United if the vote stands. WFO LAS VEGAS Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, May 29, 2022 _____ DUST STORM WARNING BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Dust Storm Warning National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 911 AM PDT Sun May 29 2022 The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a * Dust Storm Warning for... Southeastern San Bernardino County in southern California... * Until 1115 AM PDT. * At 907 AM PDT, a dust channel was observed along the Interstate 40 corridor near Daggett and extending southeast towards Vidal Junction. HAZARD...Periods of less than a quarter mile visibility with strong winds in excess of 50 mph. SOURCE...Detected by National Weather Service meteorologists. IMPACT...Dangerous life-threatening travel along parts of Interstate 40 and State Route 62 from Joshua Tree to Vidal Junction. * Locations impacted include... Twentynine Palms, the State Route 62 corridor, Amboy, Ludlow, Joshua Tree Lake Campground, Earp, Vidal Junction, Big River and Johnson Valley. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not drive into a dust storm. PULL ASIDE STAY ALIVE! To report severe weather, contact the National Weather Service, or your nearest law enforcement agency, who will relay your report to the National Weather Service office in Las Vegas. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Storm Prediction Ctr, Norman, OK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, May 28, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 282 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 811 PM CDT SAT MAY 28 2022 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 282 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS TX . TEXAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE ARCHER BAYLOR CHILDRESS COLLINGSWORTH COTTLE DICKENS DONLEY FOARD GRAY HALL HARDEMAN HASKELL HEMPHILL KENT KING KNOX MOTLEY STONEWALL THROCKMORTON WHEELER WICHITA WILBARGER ...A strong core of winds will impact portions of central Lubbock County through 845 PM CDT... At 808 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a core of strong winds associated with a high-based shower. This area of strong winds was located near Wolfforth at 808 PM, or 4 miles southwest of the South Plains South Plains Mall, moving northeast at 35 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 55 mph and blowing dust. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Locations impacted include... Lubbock, Wolfforth, Shallowater, Idalou, Lubbock International Airport, Texas Tech University, Downtown Lubbock, Lubbock South Plains Mall, Reese Center, New Deal and Lubbock Science Spectrum. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a sturdy building. LAT...LON 3342 10187 3350 10207 3382 10197 3371 10163 TIME...MOT...LOC 0108Z 207DEG 31KT 3353 10194 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 282 FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN TEXAS THIS CANCELS 3 COUNTIES IN THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS DONLEY GRAY HEMPHILL THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF CANADIAN, CLARENDON, GLAZIER, KINGSMILL, LAKE MARVIN, AND PAMPA. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 282 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN TEXAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 2 COUNTIES COLLINGSWORTH WHEELER THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BRISCOE, DOZIER, LELA, LUTIE, SAMNORWOOD, SHAMROCK, TWITTY, WELLINGTON, AND WHEELER. The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northeastern Kent County in northwestern Texas... Southeastern Dickens County in northwestern Texas... Southwestern King County in northwestern Texas... Northwestern Stonewall County in northwestern Texas... * Until 915 PM CDT. * At 814 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles southwest of Girard, or 11 miles west of Jayton, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. * Locations impacted include... Spur, Jayton, Girard and Swenson. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, May 28, 2022 _____ HEAT ADVISORY URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE...UPDATED National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 822 PM CDT Sat May 28 2022 ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 108 expected in the plains and up to 112 along the Rio Grande. * WHERE...Terrell, Lower Brewster and Pecos Counties. * WHEN...From 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ TO 8 PM CDT /7 PM MDT/ SUNDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected. * WHERE...In New Mexico, Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. In Texas, Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains in Texas. * WHEN...From 1 PM CDT /noon MDT/ to 8 PM CDT /7 PM MDT/ Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Severe turbulence will be hazardous for low flying, light aircraft. People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive. ...HEAT ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED... Temperatures have cooled below heat advisory criteria. ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM MDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 35 to 458 mph with gusts up to 60 mph * WHERE...Guadalupe Mountains Above 7000 Feet. * WHEN...From noon to 7 PM MDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR NORTHEASTERN KENT...SOUTHEASTERN DICKENS...SOUTHWESTERN KING AND NORTHWESTERN STONEWALL COUNTIES... At 822 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 4 miles southwest of Girard, or 9 miles northwest of Jayton, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. Locations impacted include... Jayton, Girard and Swenson. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, May 28, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Archer County in northern Texas... Southwestern Wichita County in northern Texas... Southeastern Wilbarger County in northern Texas... Northern Baylor County in northern Texas... * Until 845 PM CDT. * At 756 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles north of Red Springs, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Dundee, Lake Kemp, Mabelle, Lake Diversion and Lake Kickapoo. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Madrid, 28 May 2022 (SPS) - The Spanish Congress adopted a resolution Thursday reaffirming the need to accomplish the decolonization process of Western Sahara, in full compliance with international legality and the UN resolutions, indicated a statement of the Parliament. For the second time in less than two months, the Spanish Congress has expressed its rejection of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to support the Makhzen's so-called "autonomy" plan on the Western Sahara issue. Thus, the Parliament recalled that it remained on the historical line of Spain, insisting on the process of decolonization of Western Sahara within the framework of UN resolutions, stressed the statement. It urges the government to "reaffirm the need to accomplish the process of decolonization of Western Sahara, in full respect of international legality, within the framework of UN resolutions. On April 7, Spanish parliamentarians rejected Madrid's reversal of its position in favor of Morocco, and accused the head of government of abandoning a historic position of neutrality toward the conflict. They approved a proposal submitted by three parliamentary blocs denouncing the "unilateral and illegal" change of position of Sanchez regarding the conflict in Western Sahara. A proposal that calls for a "correction" of this position and to support the UN resolutions to allow the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination. During intense debates on Western Sahara, parliamentary groups strongly denounced the position defended by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, calling it a "betrayal" of the Sahrawi people, and demanded that he sends a "clear" message to the King of Morocco that "the only framework that Spain can defend is that of international legality supporting the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. 062/T To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Generations of regional Australians might remember being told to go to bed by a cartoon figure known as Prime Possum. But after decades that tradition could come to an end. Seven West Media, the new owner of regional broadcaster Prime Media, is planning to drop the Prime and GWN brands from their markets in the coming months. The change, which will also count as a cost efficiency from the acquisition of Prime by Seven, will be made on June 6, ahead of the Commonwealth Games in mid-July. No more Prime Possum? Seven is planning a rebrand of its regional television network. Credit:Screenshot Seven boss James Warburton said in an internal note to staff that the time was right to create one brand. From June 6, Seven will migrate viewers from Prime7 and GWN7 logos to a Seven logo. 7NEWS will become the one brand across all the Prime7 News service and GWN7 News at the same time the other network changes take place, Warburton said. The opener graphic slide will still include The voice of (market) but under the 7NEWS brand. The language and content within our local content will naturally remain as we currently do. Swedish film director Ruben Ostlund won his second Palme dOr at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for Triangle of Sadness, a hard-hitting comedy set on a cruise ship for the very rich. Ostlund also won for his previous film The Square, about pretension and moral compromise in the art world, in 2017. He now joins a select group of male double winners including Francis Ford Coppola, Ken Loach and Michael Haneke - who have all, as one Twitter wit put it, won Cannes as often as all the women combined. Ruben Ostlund, winner of the Palme dOr for Triangle of Sadness. Credit:AP While Triangle of Sadness has plenty to say about inequality and the social order, it was a scene of mass seasickness when a storm hits the boat during a lavish dinner that made it the talk of the town when it was shown the previous weekend. As almost everyone else is vomiting up the colourful remains of mindful eating, the Marxist captain played by Woody Harrelson and a cheerfully amoral Russian oligarch conduct a drunken political debate over the ships loudspeaker system. It was a long scene of stupendous comic brio and a high yuck factor. We wanted after the screening [for people] to go out together and have something to talk about, said Ostlund after he received the Palme, arguably the top prize in the film world. All of us agree that the unique thing with cinema is that were watching together. So we have to save something to talk about but we should also have fun and be entertained. In some good news for Australian Ostlund fans, his next feature is set on a long-haul flight from London to Sydney. The festivals second prize, the Grand Prix, was shared between veteran French auteur Claire Denis for her existential espionage film Stars at Noon and Flemish director Lucas Dhont for Close, about two boys whose childhood friendship starts to fray when they move to high school. Other awards skewed to films from beyond Europe, a welcome response from a festival bound by tradition that can often seem stuffy and insular. Koreas powerhouse film industry claimed two prizes. Best director went to Park Chan-wook for his murder intrigue Decision to Leave, while Song Kang-ho won best actor for his role in Broker as a dealer who takes unwanted babies and sells them to aspiring parents. Broker was set in Korea but directed by Japanese maestro Hirokazu Koreeda, who turns a potentially sordid subject into the sort of sweet drama about ad-hoc families we have come to expect from this director. Director Ruben Ostlund is awarded the Palm dOr Award for the movie Triangle of Sadness. Credit:Getty From somewhat closer to home, Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the prize for best actress for her role as an investigative journalist in Holy Spider, an Iranian film based on a real case of a serial killer of prostitutes who claimed to be doing Gods work. Swedish-born filmmaker Tarik Saleh won best script for a political thriller set in Egypt, Boy From Heaven, about a scholarship boy in a religious university who steers a course between ideologically driven groups, each trying to install their favoured imam in the lifelong job as head of his college. The important Camera DOr for best first film, which can go to a film in any section of the festival, was awarded to War Pony, set in the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and both written and performed by Lakota people. It was directed by Gina Gammell and Riley Keough, who is Elvis Presleys granddaughter and was thus back on the red carpet for the out-of-competition premiere of Baz Luhrmanns glitzy biopic Elvis. For comedians of a certain age, there was one album that was worn out on the turntable, dutifully memorised and acted out. That was George Carlins signature Class Clown. The way George Carlin looked at the world and broke it down taught so many of us how to be comedians, said Judd Apatow. He injected the software into our brains about how to think as a comic. George Carlin was arrested for disturbing the peace after a show in Milwaukee in 1972. Credit:HBO/Foxtel Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio have teamed up to honour Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians, by directing the two-part HBO documentary George Carlins American Dream. For most people, he is on our Mount Rushmore of comedy, said Apatow, whose contributions include The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. He is definitely one of the best thinkers but also writers and performers that comedy has ever had. Australian man killed in Ukraine had a 'heart of gold' Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Former government MPs head to Canberra now in opposition Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss After reading about the new reason to call the Australian Prime Ministers office (C8) Joy Cooksey of Harrington fears the PMs office may need a permanent secretary of the Sir Humphrey calibre to deal with the upsurge in annoying phone calls. John Perry of Enmore informs us that Jai Hindley of WA is current running second, by a mere three seconds, in the overall standings of the Giro dItalia. When asked by an interviewer if he was there to win he insisted that he wasnt there to put socks on centipedes. The reaction of the tifosi was not reported. Imagine the reaction if hed used the spider variation instead. Observing a flock of at least 25 ibis flying over his house in a V formation heading east toward the city, Gerald Erickson of West Ryde wondered if they would be migrating from the breeding areas of the Menindee lakes area and returning to the bins of the CBD for food, as surely the lakes would not be drying out with all this rain we are experiencing. Further to the failure to remove corflute posters (C8), Jeff Ralph of Glen Davis was driving from Lithgow to Bathurst late last week and noticed that the Nationals candidate A. Gee (not the more famous B. Gee) had left over 20 of them adorning trees by the side of the road. It was interesting to note that, whilst in the vicinity of the mining/industrial township of Lithgow, he was depicted hatless. As I approached the more agricultural township of Bathurst, his portrait was suddenly adorned with a broad-brimmed hat. As I passed Mt Panorama I looked carefully to see if he had put on a crash helmet, but no luck. While there has been so much interest in the rough end of the pineapple (C8), weve been overlooking the best part. Maurice Collins of Wollongbar gives us a reminder. The sweetest and tastiest part of a pineapple (C8) is always the bottom end (stalk end) not the top end (rough end). The pawpaw is the opposite to this. If you do a taste test, the end furthest from the stalk is always the tastiest. Those suburbs made up almost 20 per cent of ANUs early offers to NSW students. However, the university refused a Herald freedom of information request for the same postcode data and more school information for the 2021 cohort, citing privacy concerns. The national Higher Education Standards Committee late last year established a sub-group specifically to look at the transparency of the admissions process, particularly when it came to changes in admissions practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attila Brungs, vice chancellor of the University of NSW which does not issue early offers and gives students ATAR bonus points to recognise disadvantage said the ATAR provided transparency and an attempt at a level playing field, even though there were inequities such as some students having better-resourced schools than others. Its still better than having everything going out in pre-offers, when who knows who is making the decision, and why, he said. Early offers do have some benefits, but it has to be carefully considered in the totality of how we ensure everybody has equal opportunity. Tom Alegounarias, the former president of the Board of Studies and former chair of the NSW Education Standards Authority, said university entry processes should be transparent and consistent, and too little was known about early offers. What we lose as bites are taken away from the [ATAR] is reliability and confidence in what you have to do to get into uni, he said. And that has a direct and important impact on working-class kids. What are universities judging access on? Is it certain types of students, then what types? Is it students from already privileged backgrounds who they think will be more cost-effective to incorporate into their processes? Until we know how and who they select, we dont know that there isnt. The ATARs time might be up, but it needs to be replaced with something that allows confidence. Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney said there were risks associated with putting too much emphasis on a so-called portfolio approach, which takes non-academic achievements into account, such as volunteering, sport or music. What I like about the ATAR is its downstream of universal public examinations, he said. Loading If you go to a portfolio approach, you lose that equality of opportunity through the whole process. The ATAR is not perfect, but weve got to make sure, whatever happens, we dont lose some of the good things. School principals are also concerned that students lose motivation to study when they receive an early offer. Robin Nagy, the director of Academic Profiles, a consultancy that crunches data for private schools, said some schools had more than 90 per cent of students receiving unconditional offers before the HSC exams. The effect of this has been to pull the rug from under schools in terms of relying on extrinsic motivational factors for working hard toward the final exams, he said. Some educators argue that the ATAR is a proxy for socio-economic advantage, as those in the best resourced schools do better. But critics of early entry schemes say they also privilege students at well-resourced schools, who have staff helping with applications. In countries such as the US, universities set their own entry criteria and students must apply directly. But Alegounarias said the US system also had a tradition of bequests and scholarships for disadvantaged students. We have an entry system that is periodically set aside, sometimes on a basis that we dont understand, he said. Its the worst of both systems. However, Claire Wyatt-Smith, director of the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education at the Australian Catholic University, said neither the ATAR nor direct offers constituted a truly fair system. The variation from university to university and school to school, we would be naive to say theres a level playing field, she said. We should aspire to transparency to inform young people and mature age candidates choices for pathways for entry and entry requirements. Early offers have boomed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Schools Recommendation Scheme, which is based on year 11 results, and the schools opinion of a students academic abilities and aptitude, grew from 11294 offers in 2017 to 20530 last year. Sydney Harbour island to be returned to Aboriginal community Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss The eruption in Australian politics has put Anthony Albanese on course for six years in power, at least, if he acts carefully to complete the demolition of the Liberals. The prime minister has a much stronger hold on power than the election results suggest at first glance. Labor has 75 seats, and may get 76, but the prospect of 77 seats has receded. Albanese looks like he is holding on by his fingertips. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Yet the defeat of the Liberals puts The Lodge out of reach for anyone else in this parliament for at least two terms provided, of course, Labor learns the lessons of 2010 and gives its new prime minister its loyalty. The electoral pendulum shows Labor is within striking distance of winning more seats from the Liberals at the next election if it governs with competence and care. The upside of Albaneses weakness going into the campaign that few voters knew him is that Albanese doesnt carry much baggage. That could change, and quickly, and will not be enough to save him from crises of competency, such as we saw during his campaign. Peter Dutton, almost certainly anointed as the new opposition leader, does not have the same thing going for him. He is known, but for his hard-man portfolios and for the delight he takes in baiting the left. Loading His forays into racial stereotyping saying in 2018 that Melburnians were afraid to go out to dinner because of African gang violence, and his 2016 comments on the mistake of resettling Lebanese Muslim immigrants in the 1970s were deeply disappointing. Dutton is also notorious for boycotting the apology to the Stolen Generations (something he later said he regretted), which will put him, and his party, in an interesting position when they formulate a response to a referendum on the Voice to parliament. Dutton, as a former Queensland cop, has seen Aboriginal disadvantage up close, and perhaps he believed the apology was tokenistic. But symbols matter in politics, and the Uluru Statement from the Heart is not virtue-signalling from a white-woke minority. Besides, what the right-wing of the Liberal party calls woke is becoming increasingly mainstream, especially when these issues are framed for what many of them are - a request for fairness. Dutton, as the man who guided the Coalition to a deft solution to its impasse over same-sex marriage, will hopefully be cognisant of the culture-war follies of his predecessor. It was encouraging that he spoke this week about the Liberals being the party who believed in families whatever their composition. Duttons world-view seems to have been formed in a crucible of threat he was a policeman in the Drug and Sex Offenders Squads in the 1990s, and left the police force after sustaining terrible injuries in a car crash in the line of duty. I have seen the wonderful, kind nature of people willing to offer any assistance to those in their worst hour, and I have seen the sickening behaviour displayed by people who, frankly, barely justify their existence, he said in his 2001 maiden speech in parliament. More recently, in the Home Affairs and Defence portfolios, Dutton has been alive to threats of a national security nature. He was one of the first people at high levels of government to realise the profound shift in Chinas intentions in our region. In the lead-up to the election, Dutton spoke freely about Australias future prospects for war. He told the Australian Financial Reviews Jacob Greber that most Australians would be shocked at the scale of Chinas interference and cyber-warfare. He spoke of an invasive approach not limited by morals or by law and said he had no doubt were heading in a very troubled direction . The same rhetoric, of course, could be applied to the threat of climate change, but there is no doubt Dutton speaks from a place of intimate knowledge of Chinas capability. Loading How will Dutton balance this serious talk of threat with his apparent desire, now, to show the Australian public his warm side? We have heard much this week from Coalition frontbenchers, and his wife, about Duttons humour, his decency, his compassion and his intelligence. Stuart Robert, Duttons Queensland ally, says Dutton is a warm-hearted, very, very decent, very competent individual. Robert also made the strange assertion that: you cant judge someone on either comments theyve made or decisions theyve done when theyre exercising their either personal conscience or their particular viewpoint. Oh, but people can, Stuart! And they will. Biden to visit Texas school where 19 children were shot dead Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss On Tuesday morning the elementary students gathered for their awards ceremony. Kat was recognized for straight As and Bs, as well as with an award for paw-some computer skills, featuring a giant paw print. Ariely, a year below her sister, received an award for outstanding citizenship. In a photograph taken at 10.51am, less than an hour before shots would begin ringing through the school, Kat can be seen standing in a row of children clutching their certificates in front of a stage. To either side of her are several of her classmates including Jose Flores, Xavier Lopez, Alexandria Rubio, Layla Salazar, Annabell Rodriguez and Uziyah Garcia as well as their teacher, Arnulfo Reyes. Not pictured is Eliahana Torres, the best friend with whom Kat was usually inseparable. As the ceremony wound down, Roque said goodbye to her daughters. Can I go with you? Kat asked. Roque reminded her that school wasnt out until 3pm. Stay, she said firmly. But Kat said all her class would be doing that afternoon was watching a movie. She would be bored, she told her mother. It occurred to Roque that Kat might help her with some shopping for the two-bedroom house they had just moved into on the outskirts of Uvalde. Where are you going, Kat? Her teacher asked as he saw her leaving. Roque explained to Reyes that she was going to sign her daughter out for the afternoon. Then she went to the front desk. Just the one? the receptionist confirmed. The other doesnt really want to leave, Roque joked. A little over an hour later, Roques truck screeched to a halt in front of her parents house across from the school. She looked at her phone again. A Uvalde Strong sign is posted on an electric pole in Uvalde, Texas. Credit:AP They said theres a shooting at Robb, her eldest daughter, Johnbenay, had texted. Ariely is in there, Roque replied, with a weeping-face emoji. Police were everywhere. Roque led Kat into a house at the back of her parents property and told her to lock the door and stay there, no matter what happened. Soon, Kat began texting with her older sister. Benay is me kat it is scary because I keep hearing like thousands and thousands of gunshots, she wrote. Its okay baby just stay by mom, Johnbenay wrote back. Shortly after that, Johnbenay texted again. Anything yet? Roque had spent most of her life in Uvalde. Her father, Jorge Roque, immigrated to the United States when he was 12 from Palau, about 240 kilometres away across the Mexican border. She loved many things about her hometown: The quiet and seemingly changeless pace of life, the open fields where her daughters could ride the familys four horses. But above all she loved Uvaldes intensely communal spirit. The towns population had grown to about 15,000, but people still said everybody knew everybody, and to Roque that seemed true. She certainly couldnt go long without encountering a neighbour, or friend, or aunt, or cousin. They were at the grocery store, and at the snow cone place, and at Ofelias, the restaurant owned by her mother and where Roque worked as a waitress. Yet the crowd she joined outside the police perimeter at Robb on Tuesday was unlike any she had seen before in Uvalde. People were crying, angry and bewildered. Some were yelling at police officers. It was chaos, she later recalled. Roque stood with many parents on one side of the school, near Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home. Her father waited with others at the back of the campus, near his house. Time passed, though she couldnt say how much. The crowd grew angrier, and so did she. Then she felt her phone buzzing again. It was her sister, who not long ago had delivered to her the news of the shooting. Now she had more news. Ariely was alive. The girl had emerged from the back of the school and had run into the desperate embrace of Jorge, her grandfather. Roque joined them outside the house on Old Carrizo Road, where she too embraced her daughter. Ariely had been hiding behind the curtain of the stage where she and her sister received their awards that morning, quietly praying until they were led out of the building. She never encountered the shooter. Roque thanked God as she held her daughter, again and again. But she soon became aware that there were limits to what she could celebrate. Kat was still cowering in the nearby house. None of her classmates from the fourth grade were anywhere to be seen. Loading Roque looked around at the other parents, many of them her friends, who were straining for a glimpse of their own children. One approached Roque with a question. Have you seen my daughter? Late on Friday afternoon, Roque was once again leaving the Walmart at the northeastern edge of town, this time with her 11-month-old baby, Rodolfo, and Kat and Ariely. Her shopping list was very different from the one she had just three days earlier. In the cart were bouquets, which the store was now giving away, and Sharpie markers. How is everybody? The cashier asked Roque. So far, good, Roque replied quietly. All right, she then said to the cashier. See you later, Dora. The family climbed into the silver Chevrolet pickup. They were not in a hurry, as Roque had been on Tuesday, and the truth was that they were not eager to reach their next stop. Roque drove at a steady pace down Main Street, running no red lights. They passed a Texas state flag at half-staff, and a Subway sign board that now read Uvalde Strong. They passed the impromptu memorials that were appearing someplace new every day as the sun rose. Class photographs. Wreaths. Rows of empty chairs. There were so many children dead. Why had her own been spared? Roque couldnt stop thinking about it, although her thoughts seemed to lead nowhere. It keeps playing in my head: What if I had left her there? I would have felt that guilt for the rest of my life, she said. A child looks at a memorial site for the victims killed in this weeks shooting at Robb Elementary School. Credit:AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills Roques mother, the matron at Ofelias restaurant, told her Gods voice had guided her to take Kat out of school on Tuesday morning, that there were angels watching over them. But why had those angels not watched over so many others? Roque felt like she had glimpsed some truth many people went their whole lives without seeing, something to do with chance or fate, but she didnt know what it was. Honestly, I dont know. I keep thinking about it. I just keep thinking about it, she said. I could have left her. And now their destination was in view: the Uvalde town square, with its worn stone fountain surrounded by 21 white crosses. It was just after 5 p.m., that hour of the day in South Texas where the sun is an increment too bright for the human eye. Roque parked on a side street and stepped out of the truck with her children into the 96-degree heat. The square was not nearly as crowded as it would be in the coming hours, when the votive candles were lit and television crews began their evening broadcasts. But there were still a few photographers and camera crews roaming the site. Kat stopped abruptly and turned her back on the memorial. Guys, theyre going to take pictures of me, she said. Roque told her she would be okay. Kat had said on the way over that she was afraid of crying, and her mom had told her that there was nothing wrong with that. But her face, like Arielys, betrayed almost no emotion as they approached the crosses bearing the names of their dead schoolmates. Loading On the square they met with Roques sister, Ruiz, and niece, Aleah. The girls uncapped the markers they had just purchased while Roque held the bouquets. Aleah, Kat instructed her cousin, we have to sign all of them. Ariely followed behind her older sister, and Roque followed behind all of them, watching her daughters through large, dark sunglasses. Messages had been scrawled in most of the available space on the crosses, assuring the dead children that they were loved, and missed, and in heaven, where the people of Uvalde would see them again. The girls had to reach across waist-high mounds of flowers and stuffed animals to find corners where they could write. As she circled the fountain, Kat began to see the names of the children with whom she had posed for the photograph Tuesday morning, when they had all been alive and holding their school awards: Jose Flores, Xavier Lopez, Alexandria Rubio, Layla Salazar, Annabell Rodriguez and Uziyah Garcia. The children were killed in a classroom where she should have been sitting on Tuesday afternoon. On each of their crosses, she simply wrote her name: Kat. And then she found herself looking at a cross that bore the name Eliahana Torres. Thats my best friend, Kat said, expressionless. Eliahana Torres cross stands at a memorial site for the victims killed in this weeks shooting at Robb Elementary School. Credit:AP Uvalde: President Joe Biden has grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. The visit to Uvalde on Sunday, Texas time, was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community mourning a staggering loss after a shooting. He travelled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 black people at a supermarket. US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit Robb Elementary School on Sunday to pay their respects to the victims of a mass shooting that claimed 21 lives. Credit:AP At Robb Elementary School, Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign. They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, and the first lady touched the childrens photos as the couple moved along the row. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Hours earlier, Cruz took to the stage at the NRAs annual meeting in Houston, where he joined former president Donald Trump in rejecting proposals for new restrictions and calling instead for more school security or mental health screenings, while issuing dark warnings of alleged Democratic plots to take weapons. The elites who dominate our culture tell us that firearms lie at the root of the problem, Cruz said in his address to the crowd Friday. Its far easier to slander ones political adversaries and to demand that responsible citizens forfeit their constitutional rights than it is to examine the cultural sickness, giving birth to unspeakable acts of evil. While several performers and GOP lawmakers dropped out of NRA events following the massacre at Robb Elementary School, the Republicans who kept their speaking slots at the annual gathering were defiant, despite mounting public pressure. Protesters gathered outside the downtown George R. Brown Convention Centre, about 450 kilometres from Uvalde, to demand gun control and answers from authorities. In his remarks, Cruz said the shooting was the ultimate nightmare for every parent and accused Democrats of seeking to use the massacre as a pretext to disarm Americans. He also suggested schools should have a single door guarded by armed police or trained military veterans - a plan that would appear likely to run afoul of fire safety laws requiring more than one exit in buildings. Cruz also called for bulletproof doors and locking classroom doors. The remarks came the same day as the Texas Department of Public Safety acknowledged that police made the calamitous choice on Tuesday not to pursue gunman Salvador Ramos into a classroom where students were trapped. Officers waited outside in a hallway while panicked children inside repeatedly called 911 pleading for help, authorities said. Officials say Ramos emerged from a classroom closet firing at Border Patrol tactical agents entering the room. Funeral preparations are under way for the 21 people killed by Ramos, 18, in the attack. Officials have faced swelling outrage over how they handled the tragedy, particularly after revelations that parents had begged police outside to go in and confront the shooter sooner, only to be blocked from entering themselves. Gun rights groups have given Cruzs campaigns or political actions committees more than $US442,000 during his career, the most of any lawmaker between 1989 and 2020, according to Federal Election Commission data from 2021 cited by the nonprofit OpenSecrets. Loading Earlier in the week, Cruz stormed away from an interview after he was asked by a British journalist why mass shootings happen only in America. Cruz, who attended a vigil in Uvalde and greeted and hugged residents and family members of victims, took exception to Sky Newss Mark Stone when he asked, Why does this only happen in your country? . . . Why only in America? Why is this American exceptionalism so awful? You know, Im sorry you think American exceptionalism is awful, Cruz fired back. Youve got your political agenda. God love you. Its far from the first time the Texas senator has been heckled in public. In 2018, Cruz and his wife, Heidi, were shouted out of a Washington restaurant by members of a protest group opposing his support of Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the Supreme Court a confirmation process that was interrupted by allegations that he sexually assaulted one woman and engaged in sexual misconduct with another as a teenager. After Cruz travelled to Cancun, Mexico, in February 2021, while millions of Texas residents were without power and safe drinking water amid freezing temperatures, the senator was heckled by rapper Bun B at a Houston Astros playoff game. Where you going? Bun B asked. To Cancun? Loading On Friday night, Hernandez started off asking for a picture with Cruz, who was dining with his family at Uptown Sushi, according to video. After the photo was taken, Hernandez turned to Cruz and asked what he could do to convince the senator to support gun-control laws in the United States. When Cruz advised he watch his address to the NRA convention, Hernandez wasnt satisfied. Why cant you support stronger gun laws in this country? Hernandez asked. Cruz, who looked into the camera phone and realised he was being recorded, again argued that his bill to harden school security would have helped prevent school shootings like the one in Uvalde. As Hernandez got more animated, a security official stepped in between him and Cruz. You combine ignorance and hatred, Cruz told him, according to video. You dont know what youre talking about. The situation grew more tense, with Cruz raising his voice in arguing my bill would have stopped the shooting, video shows. Seconds later, Hernandez is pulled away by multiple people as he repeated his same question around mass shooting: Why does this keep happening? Knowing he was likely to get kicked out of the restaurant, which he was, Hernandez said he paid the bill for him and his wife ahead of time. I left the waiter a big tip, he said, acknowledging the heartache it probably caused to the restaurant. Madrid, 28 May 2022 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front Brahim Ghali reaffirmed the Sahrawi peoples determination to continue its armed struggle until independence, pointing out that Spain has responsibilities and debts to pay one day. The Sahrawi people are determined to continue (armed struggle to impose its right to self-determination and the establishment of a Sahrawi State and will achieve their objectives for which they are combating, underlined President Ghali in an interview he granted to the Spanish television channel Telecinco, adding that it is just a matter of time. President Ghali described the Spanish Prime ministers change of position on Western Sahara and his submission to the Makhzen regime as a betrayal, pointing out that Madrid has debts to pay one day to the Sahrawi people. In this respect, he wondered about what lies behind this decision of the Spanish Prime minister, pointing out that this change of position blew up decades of good relations. Our official relations have broken off, he said. President Ghali spoke also to the Spanish authorities, underlining that Spain has historical responsibilities that it has to acknowledge before the history and the Sahrawi people. 062/SPS/APS This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The last week of April was a whirlwind for San Francisco's Chinatown. The storied neighborhood debuted the AAPI Community Heroes Mural," a mostly black and white depiction of 12 mostly unsung Asian American and Pacific Islander figures on the wall of a bank. Three days later Neon Was Never Brighter, the first ever Chinatown contemporary arts festival, took over the streets throughout the night. Traditional lion and dragon dances, a couture fashion show and other public art activations" were featured in the block party-like event. Cultural and arts organizations in Chinatowns across North America have worked for decades on bringing greater appreciation and visibility to these communities. But they faced an unprecedented one-two punch when the pandemic caused shutdowns and racist anti-Asian attacks increased and continue. As painful as those events are, they also indelibly influenced the reemergence of various Chinatowns as close-knit hubs of vibrancy and culture. Cynthia Choi, co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, is still blown away to be one of the heroes painted in the San Francisco mural. But being at the festival was equally touching for her. I got really emotional because its been so long since Id seen so many people come out to Chinatown, especially at night. I had heard so many of my friends or family saying, I dont want to go to Chinatown," she said. I knew it was going to be fun and exciting, but I was really moved. There has been renewed attention from cities, companies and younger Asian Americans from outside these historic Chinatowns. Wells Fargo partnered with the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco on the heroes mural. Everyone wanted to really address anti-Asian hate and to uplift Asian American voices, said Jenny Leung, the executive director of the Center, which is a member of the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative. Youths voted on who to put on the mural. Frequently the way that Chinatown looks is imported as a tourist kind of attraction and fantasy for visitors to see, Leung said. Its never really about celebrating the communitys perspective and voice. The idea for the Neon festival, which was overseen by the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative, was briefly discussed pre-pandemic. But the events of the last two years lent urgency to it. We wanted to kind of push that deadline a little bit earlier in order to be able to address the 20, 30, 40, empty storefronts that are increasingly rising in the community, said Leung, who characterizes Chinatown as a museum without walls. Josh Chuck, a local filmmaker behind the documentary Chinatown Rising, has noticed younger generations dining or participating in events in Chinatowns. A friend who works in tech began last year picking up orders for friends who wanted to support Chinatown restaurants. Soon he was making spreadsheets to track 400 deliveries. Honestly, theres no way I could have imagined something that would galvanize these people that I know. Even myself, like, I feel much more connected and committed, Chuck said. Its a silver lining. In New York, the first of five summer night markets start next month in the city's Chinatown. It will be the biggest event to date for Think!Chinatown. The 5-year-old nonprofit has done numerous projects like artists-in-residency programs and oral histories. But last year after a series of verbal and physical assaults against Asians, they partnered with Neighborhoods Now, a local pandemic relief initiative, on Chinatown Nights. It was a small-scale gathering of less than 10 artist booths and food trucks in Forsyth Plaza park. Despite a crazy two-month prep window, there was a collective feeling of we just need to be together, said Yin Kong, Think!Chinatown co-founder and director. And there was a tectonic shift with philanthropy focusing on equity. "It reprioritized these other organizations that traditionally would have funded other things to focus on how to support communities of color in a different way, Kong said. The expanded event next month will have 20 booths and sponsorships, and will be scheduled when most Chinatown restaurants are closed so owners can participate. The mechanisms that got us there would not have happened without the pandemic," said Kong, who feels Think!Chinatown is now seen as more legit with better funding, full-time staff and the possibility of an office space instead of her dining table. In Vancouvers Chinatown, the pandemic only exacerbated ongoing issues of vandalism, graffiti and other crimes. But within the last year, the Canadian city managed to launch cultural projects planned before COVID-19. Last month, the Chinatown Mural Project showed off a series of pastoral murals painted by a local artist on six roller shutters of a tea shop. In November, the interactive Chinatown Storytelling Centre with relics and recorded oral histories opened. We would have done this anyway (regardless of the pandemic), said Carol Lee, chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, which oversees the Centre. But you know, in some ways, it makes you feel like you have more purpose because its more necessary. Jordan Eng, president of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, agreed that there's more collaboration and a lot more youth interest than there was five, 10 years ago. There are fewer than 50 Chinatowns across the U.S. with some more active than others. Many Chinatowns took shape in the 19th century as Chinese laborers arrived to mine for gold out West or work on the railroad. They lived there because of blatant discrimination or self-preservation. Their housing was single-room-occupancy units, or SROs, with communal kitchens and bathrooms, said Harvey Dong, a lecturer in ethnic studies and Asian American studies at University of California, Berkeley. Many older Chinese Americans and immigrants in Chinatown reside in these units still. Another constant in Chinatowns: developmentfrom the sales of no longer affordable SROs in San Francisco to a light rail expansion in Seattle to a proposed new jail in New York City. Chinatowns elsewhere have shrunk to a block or disappeared altogether because of gentrification. It's a tricky juxtaposition for a city to tout Chinatowns to tourists yet offer few resources to its residents. So you have these huge festivals to bring in businesses. You have these parades and all this stuff. But definitely, its important that the needs of the community, especially the working class and the poor, are addressed, Dong said. Meanwhile, excited arts and culture advocates are moving forward to put their own stamp on Chinatown. Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative in San Francisco is designing Edge on the Square, a $26.5 million media and arts center set to open in 2025. In New York, Think!Chinatown plans to lease a space with a kitchen for art exhibitions and cooking classes. The hope is to keep engaging with Asian Americans inside and outside of Chinatown. "What draws them to Chinatown is that cultural connection," Kong said. Its something you cant really put your finger on. ... But its really the soul of Chinatown. And we need to keep protecting it and make sure it can grow. ___ This story has been updated to correct that the mural was a partnership between Wells Fargo and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, not Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative. ___ Tang reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ttangAP COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) A local man was on top of the world. Todd Ammerman, the 54-year-old CEO of Columbus construction company River City Contracting, was among the dozen climbers, plus Sherpa guides, with Madison Mountaineering of Wyoming who reached the summit of Mount Everest around 8:30 a.m. Nepal time on May 21. His wife, Janette, was in Colorado visiting their daughter, McKenzie, as they monitored Todds ascent via GPS from the Garmin he wore. Although they couldnt directly communicate with him, they knew he was at the highest point on Earth when the Garmin informed them he was 29,032 feet above sea level. That was pretty fun, she told the Ledger-Enquirer while waiting for Todds return flight home Wednesday. The whole thing was just so emotional. We were just so excited for him. We knew he was well-prepared, but you just never know what can happen on those high mountains. We were just elated. Todd now has climbed four of the peaks known as the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on each continent. In addition to Mount Everest, he has conquered: Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, 19,340 feet; Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina, 22,000 feet; Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, in Alaska, 20,310 feet. So he still has on his to-do list: Mount Elbrus in Russia, 18,000 feet; Mount Vinson, also known as Vinson Massif, in Antarctica, 16,050; Carstensz Pyramid, also known as Puncak Jaya, in Indonesia. Todds trip to Mount Everest lasted about two months, including acclimatization time at increasing elevations in the Himalayas. Janettes concern was eased by knowing Todd received supplemental oxygen during the climb. And when he sent her a photo upon his return to Kathmandu, she exclaimed, Oh, my gosh! Im so happy to see all your fingers! So, as far she knows, he didnt suffer frostbite. Ill find that out probably on the car ride home, she said. He wouldnt want to worry McKenzie and I or his parents. We dont know any of those stories yet. One of those stories certainly will be about traversing the Khumbu Icefall at more than 18,000 feet. They literally take like painting ladders, metal ladders, and they just plop them over these crevasses, and they crawl across, she said. They had to go over those several times. That made me really, really nervous. Despite those fears, Janette said she fully supports her husbands dangerous pursuit of his Seven Summits goal. Its his dream, said Janette, the River City Contracting office manager. Who am I to stay in the way? I would never do that to him or my daughter. So weve supported him 100% all the way, his whole family and all his friends, and those back at work that have to cover for him. As of December 2021, according to the Himalayan Database, 6,014 different people have reached the summit of Mount Everest (some multiple times among the more than 10,000 successful attempts) since Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of India became the first in 1953. And as of January 2021, according to Climber News, 305 people have died trying to accomplish the feat. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEWTOWN For those who have lived the trauma of an elementary school massacre, theres no easy way to convey to a grieving town in Texas that the pain of irreplaceable loss will continue to reverberate, except to say that hope can grow up alongside it. You will find a way through it, although it doesnt seem possible, said Nicole Hockley, co-founder of a homegrown nonprofit who lost her son in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, directing her thoughts to families in the small Texas town of Uvalde, where an 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers last week. We are here for you when you are ready. From the moment news broke in Texas on Tuesday about the deadliest school shooting in America since the Sandy Hook shooting nearly 10 years ago, it became apparent that the two tragedies were, in Hockleys words, far too eerily and hauntingly similar causing some here to wonder in what ways recovery in Uvalde might parallel Newtowns experience. Like Newtown, the Texas shooter was a young man described as isolated and troubled who shot a loved one in his home before bursting into his local elementary school with an AR-15-style rifle, intent on killing children. Like Newtown, Uvalde has a modest population with a rural spirit and a tight-knit school community. Like Newtown, Uvalde has been besieged by media scrutiny, caught in the middle of the polarized gun control debate, and doubted by conspiracy extremists. Like Newtown, the police response to the Texas school shooting has been criticized. Like Newtown, there is no one to prosecute, because the shooter is dead. It would have been easier from my standpoint if there had been somebody to prosecute, said Danbury States Attorney Stephen Sedensky on Friday, speaking of the Sandy Hook investigation he led. In both cases the shooter is dead in our case it was suicide, (in Texas) he was killed by law enforcement. We had the investigation, but we didnt have the prosecution, and I remember thinking, How can this result in some good? Sedensky said. To a certain extent, they are going through that down there. While survivors and those closest to the Sandy Hook shooting who spoke to Hearst Connecticut Media last week do not believe that other mass shootings are any less tragic such as the racist attack in Buffalo, N.Y., earlier this month that left 10 dead there is something about the age of the young Texas victims and the barbarity with which they were slain that resonates with the deepest pain, because it transports survivors back to the horror of Dec. 14, 2012, when 26 first-graders and educators were slain at Sandy Hook School. The traumatic grief in Newtown was so palpable last week that a senior faith leader said, You can hear it in the silence. Life after death What happens next in Texas should be determined by Uvaldes families of loss, leaders in the Newtown recovery effort say. The reason: Not even families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook shooting can know what parents are going through in Texas, except that some families here were incapable of living their lives as usual in the days immediately following the 2012 shooting, because they were in the rawest stages of trauma. For that reason, local families and community members who want to help Texas survivors are adamant about not making the same mistake well-wishers made in Newtown 10 years ago who grouped together Sandy Hook families as though they all grieved the same, and who acted on Sandy Hook families behalf however well-intentioned without first asking. This is a time to remember and support the victims and the community not to push an agenda, because that pulls support from where the attention should be, said Neil Heslin, who lost a son in the Sandy Hook shooting. The focus now has to be on support for these individual families and the community for the weeks and months to come. At the same time, Sandy Hook has the experience of finding hope through the pain that a similarly situated community such as Uvalde might find helpful when those families are ready to hear it. In the early days of Newtowns recovery, for example, leaders here insisted that while they would never forget the victims, they would not be defined by tragedy. The elements of recovery that Newtown leaders coordinated included a return-to-school plan and a federally funded trauma team that offered treatment assistance to families of loss, the school community and first responders. If Sandy Hooks experience is any indication, leaders in Texas should expect that some first responders and community members traumatized by the widespread pain and grief in Uvalde may not feel right accepting treatment they feel ought to go to families of loss. Leaders should emphasize that post-traumatic stress can have crippling effects on anyone it afflicts and should be treated like any serious ailment, an expert said. When the media presence dies down and people go back to their lives is when the most impact is felt and when (Uvalde) is going to need the most support, said Melissa Glaser, a psychotherapist who ran the federally funded Newtown Recovery and Resiliency Team for 21 months in the towns early seasons of grief. Glasers 2019 book about Newtowns recovery devotes a chapter to describing the effect local politics had on the trauma teams effort to reach as many of Newtowns 28,000 people as possible with the message that help was available. Glaser warned against leaders needlessly setting back treatment efforts by setting unreasonable timetables for recovery. Glaser recommended that communities build trauma recovery plans that last 10 to 15 years. Leaders in Uvalde should be prepared to bring in treatment experts who understand complex communitywide trauma, said Abbey Clements, a fourth-grade teacher in Newtown who comforted her students during the 2012 shooting as gunshots rang through her classroom over the loudspeaker. Sadly, sometimes the experts lack experience in this level of trauma, Clements said. Its pathetic when you think about how frequently these things are happening. On a communitywide, basis, the small Texas town will have to rebuild the ties that were broken by the brutal crime. Newtown did that in part by building a new $50 million elementary school and building a $15 million community center. Numerous community forums and public hearings helped Newtown air anxieties and share frustrations, eventually leading to majority consensuses. At the same time, the Uvalde community should expect that once the police investigation is complete, law enforcement procedure will be reviewed. In Newtown, multiple reports from the FBI, the states attorney, State Police and the Office of the Child Advocate helped settle lingering questions about how such a vicious mass murder could have happened, and how to keep it from happening again. Finally, when no one in authority would tell a high-profile conspiracy extremist to stop defaming Newtowns families, some of those family members took the conspiracy extremist to court. Last year, Sandy Hook families won three defamation cases against Alex Jones, a Texas-based host of an internet merchandising and broadcast business, who was described by his representative in court as the Coca-Cola of the conspiracy theory community. Hauntingly similar While the Uvalde shooting happened in the summer at the end of the school year and the Sandy Hook shooting happened 10 days before Christmas in the middle of the school year, other key details of the two tragedies are similar. Criticism of the police response has been mounting in Uvalde, just as police procedure was under the microscope in Sandy Hook following the worst crime in modern Connecticut history. By late last week, police in Uvalde were responding to criticism that the gunman was in the Robb Elementary School building for about 90 minutes before he was confronted, the Associated Press reported. In 2018, a report found Connecticut State Police made a mistake in setting up a command post in the middle of an active crime scene when they responded to the shooting at Sandy Hook School in 2012. The report also faulted police for initially not dealing with family members forthrightly. The report said, there was an overall sense of frustration, and at times anger, because of the amount of time it took for the families to receive the final word about the victims, and some felt it was unnecessary and tortuous to have to wait for so long, because some (parents) reported that it seemed as though the world knew what was going on and they were the last to find out. Another similarity between the Texas and Sandy Hook tragedies is the shooters profile. Uvalde shooter Salvador Ramos is described by police as an 18-year-old who frequently skipped class at Uvalde High School and was not set to graduate with his class. Police said he had no criminal record, mental illness history or obvious red flags. Those who said they knew the Uvalde shooter told the Associated Press they saw increasing signs of isolation, outbursts and aggression. The Uvalde shooter posted messages on the social platform Yubo that he was about to shoot up an elementary school, according to the Associated Press. Last week, Sandy Hook Promise said if authorities or peers had taken the signs of the Uvalde shooters pending violence seriously, the school shooting could have been prevented. Sandy Hook Promise has made the same case about Adam Lanza, a chronically isolated 20-year-old who had Aspergers syndrome, anorexia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Lanza, who had become so estranged from the world in 2012 that he was fixated with mass murder, took his mothers AR-15-style rifle from an unlocked closet and shot her to death. He then shot his way into a locked Sandy Hook School and killed 20 first-graders and six educators before killing himself. In 2014, the state Office of the Child Advocate released a 140-page report documenting opportunities that the Newtown school district and Lanzas family missed to treat his mental illness, but the report found that Lanza alone was responsible for the shooting. Newtown educators later defended themselves against the states findings in their own report. They are both very sad cases, Sedensky said. When I heard about (Texas) I said, This is Sandy Hook all over again. My thoughts go out to both the families of the victims in Uvalde and at the same time the Sandy Hook families, because they have to be saying, When will this end? Sedensky said. My heart just breaks. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, May 29, 2022 _____ HIGH WIND WARNING URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 224 PM CDT Sun May 29 2022 ...HIGH WIND WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT /10 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Southwest winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected. * WHERE...In New Mexico, Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. In Texas, Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains in Texas. * WHEN...Until 11 PM CDT /10 PM MDT/ this evening. * IMPACTS...Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Severe turbulence will be hazardous for low flying, light aircraft. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... High winds could make driving difficult for motorists driving high profile vehicles such as campers, vans, and tractor trailers. ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 98 expected across the mountain areas, up to 106 expected across the plains, and up to 112 along the Rio Grande.. * WHERE...Marfa Plateau, Davis Mountains Foothills and Chisos Basin, Chinati and Davis Mountains, Central Brewster County, Terrell County, Lower Brewster and Pecos Counties. * WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT today. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Only together, Romanians here and there, can we build the strong and wealthy Romania that we want, and the relocation of some companies to Romania, amid the current complicated context, may represent an opportunity to encourage Romanians who want to return to the country, president Klaus Iohannis said in a message addressed on Sunday, on the Day of Romanians Everywhere. "As every last Sunday of May, we celebrate today the Day of Romanians Everywhere, a holiday dedicated primarily to those who are abroad, but who carry in their soul the love of the native country. No matter where we are today, it is a good opportunity to reflect on everything that connects us to others and each of us to Romania. We are united by a strong identity and belonging to a nation that, throughout the ages, has endured with dignity over all the steps of history. I evoke our tough character today, because times are difficult again, not only in Europe, but throughout the world. After a devastating pandemic, near Romania's borders, a war was unleashed that seemed impossible to conceive in our time. As always, in the moments of turmoil, Romanians have tried to rise to the height of the moment, to set an example of solidarity to the whole world and to show who we really are," the president said in his message. Klaus Iohannis emphasizes that "Romania's humanitarian effort and the unprecedented involvement of our citizens in the crisis of the Ukrainian refugees were appreciated by the whole world, which noted the generosity and hospitality of the Romanians". "The efficiency which the state institutions and non-governmental organizations responded with to this humanitarian drama was doubled by the significant support of the Romanians abroad, who mobilized in an exemplary manner with humanitarian aid and convoys for the Ukrainians. Therefore, I thank you all for your involvement," the president said. President Iohannis believes that the relocation of some companies to Romania, amid the current complicated context, may represent an opportunity to encourage those who want to return to the country. "I know that, despite the tense international situation, many of you are thinking of returning to Romania, encouraged by the potential for growth that our country has. A dynamic economy continuously generates business opportunities, productive investments and better paid jobs. The relocation of some companies to Romania, amid the current complicated context, may represent an opportunity to encourage those who want to return to Romania. In this respect, the Government's actions to support, through dedicated programmes, Romanians who want to return to the country are extremely important. Only together, Romanians here and there, can we build the strong and wealthy Romania that we want. Happy birthday, dear Romanians everywhere," reads the message of President Klaus Iohannis.AGERPRES KATHMANDU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government announced on Sunday that it would reduce by 60 percent the minimum amount for foreigners to invest in Nepal. Presenting the annual budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins in mid-July to the House of Representatives, Nepali Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said the minimum threshold for foreign direct investment (FDI) will be brought down to 20 million Nepali rupees (about 160,760 U.S. dollars) from the existing 50 million Nepali rupees (about 401,900 dollars). He noted that the move aimed to attract more FDI to the country. In May 2019, the Nepali government increased the threshold by 10 times from 5 million Nepali rupees (about 40,190 dollars) on the grounds that the concentration of foreign investments in small businesses was affecting those in Nepal. Pashupati Murarka, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Xinhua that the government's move could help attract more foreign investments in the country, even in small- and medium-sized enterprises. It's is momentum to have a progressive taxation, of special pensions particularly, the Social Democratic Party (co-ruling PSD) chairman Marcel Ciolacu said on Sunday at a Prima TV private television broadcast. "We will come up with a sustainable pension reform at the moment for Romanians. We cannot leave Romanians with a pension of 1,600 RON. (...) I personally do not have a special pension, and PSD, since I am president of the party, has come up with two legislative changes on special (service, ed. n.) pensions. (...) I think it's the best time to come up with progressive taxation. Of special pensions in particular. It's too much discrepancy. (...) But we have to keep in mind the activity of every one they had in society. (...) We tried three times to abolish them (special pensions, ed.n.). We didn't succeed. It means that we must change our strategy in order to have the efficiency that the Romanians expect, because they consider it an injustice and then we wait for the motivation from the Court (CCR, Constitutional Court, ed. n.) and then, together with the specialists, we come to see maybe it was a motivation on the form not on the merits. If it is only in form, we come again with a draft law of total abolition of special pensions," the leader of the Social Democrats explained. In his opinion, taxation and the "brunt" are now borne by those on low and middle incomes. "One cannot, in the public system, have higher incomes than the President of Romania. If we want to place the society in a normality," the Social Democrat added. Marcel Ciolacu said that in Romania it is about an "excessive" taxation on labour and a tax "too relaxed on capital". "We have these discussions within the coalition," the official said. Referring to the economic crisis, Ciolacu said that Romania will not be in the situation in which Greece was because "Greece relied on tourism and the export of olive oil, strawberries. We don't compare the two states. And there was a broader context there. With Germany, with Greece. We are now talking about a crisis that has not only reached Romania. At that time, the crisis was reached only in Greece, due to measures not taken in time. We are now talking about a European and global context," said the PSD chairman.AGERPRES As many as 203 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, down 92 from Friday, with roughly 9,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Sunday. Of the new cases, 24 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease. Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 48, and in the County of Cluj - 28. As of Sunday, 2,908,506 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania. - Hospitalisations - As many as 548 people with COVID-19, up 14 from the Friday reporting, including 34 children, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities. Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 75 patients, down 8, are in intensive care. Of the 75 patients admitted to ICU, 62 are unvaccinated against COVID-19. - Deaths - According to the ministry, one Romanian infected with SARS-CoV-2 is reported dead in the last 24 hours. The dead man was over 80 years old, unvaccinated against COVID and had comorbidities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 65,678 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania. As the U.S. mourns the victims of its latest mass shooting 19 elementary school students and two teachers gunned down in Texas Democratic governors are amplifying their calls for greater restrictions on guns. Many Republican governors are emphasizing a different solution: more security at schools. The divide among the nation's governors mirrors a partisan split that has stymied action in Congress and many state capitols over how best to respond to a record-high number of gun-related deaths in the U.S. The political differences tap deep into the country's roots, highlighting the tensions between life, liberty and the constitutional rights spelled out in the nation's founding documents. After the massacre Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, The Associated Press asked governors across the U.S. whether they believed their states have an obligation to reduce mass shootings and violence committed with guns and, if so, how to do that. About half the governor's offices responded to the AP. There was agreement that they had a responsibility to try to do something. Democrats and Republicans alike mentioned the need to invest in mental health services and training to try to help people potentially prone to a violent outburst. But the commonality generally ended after that. Should people younger than 21 be prohibited from buying semi-automatic guns? Should ammunition magazines be limited to no more than 10 bullets? Many Democratic governors said yes. If youre not serious about guns, youre not serious about crime prevention. I think thats more true today than ever before," said Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, where 20 students and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School a decade ago. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he supports limits on both bullet capacities and the purchase of semi-automatic weapons. He rallied Friday with gun-control advocates in Philadelphia while denouncing his state's Republican-led Legislature for not passing his gun proposals. They would rather cave in cravenly to the gun manufacturing lobby than pass commonsense legislation that would keep children from dying, Wolf said. Among Republican governors who responded to the AP, only Vermont Gov. Phil Scott expressed support for such gun control efforts. Scott signed a law in 2018 limiting the capacity of firearm magazines and raising the general age to buy guns to 21, with exceptions for 18- to 20-year-olds who undergo a firearms safety course. Other Republican governors either sidestepped the AP's questions about specific gun-control measures or said they opposed them. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy was a firm no on setting bullet limits or age restrictions that could infringe on constitutional rights. Stricter gun laws are not a solution to this problem we must focus our attention on the status of mental health in our communities, Dunleavy's office said in email. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he would not endorse such gun-control proposals, because he believes they have no chance of passing in the state's GOP-led Legislature. DeWine, a Republican, instead proposed spending a significant amount of money on efforts to ensure schools are protected against potential attacks. He didn't outline exactly what that security would entail. Republican governors were more likely to support efforts to strengthen security at schools. The AP asked about proposals to arm teachers and staff with firearms, add security guards or secure schools with such things as metal detectors and fencing. Though her office didn't respond to the AP's survey, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota denounced calls for gun-control as garbage and embraced greater school security measures during a speech Friday to the National Rifle Association convention in Houston. Why do we protect our banks, our stores and celebrities with armed guards but not our children? Are they not truly our greatest treasure? Noem said. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa also laid out a variety of potential school safety steps while talking to reporters Friday. Its looking for ways to harden schools, its talking about having conversations about state resource officers, she said, later adding: "Maybe a single entrance into the school system and making sure educators are trained. While dismissing proposals to restrict gun ownership, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said the solution is to focus on the individual problems and to continue providing grants to schools for security upgrades. You might call it hardening them when children are in their classroom, said Holcomb, a Republican. Some Democrats also support funding for specially trained police known as school resources officers, or improving the security of buildings. But none of the Democratic governors who responded to the AP's questions supported arming teachers or staff to deter or stop attacks. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers a Democrat who is a former teacher, school superintendent and state education chief said he's concerned that arming teachers would make schools more dangerous. Placing additional security guards or police at every school building could be both impractical and counterproductive, he said. Theres not enough people to do it, Evers said, and Im not sure we want to turn our learning institutions into armed camps. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Tom Davies in Indianapolis; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio; and AP statehouse reporters from across the U.S. contributed to this report. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. WILDWOOD The search for a missing woman near the Al Foster Trailhead stretched into its sixth day Saturday with no sign of 72-year-old Carol Schulte of Ballwin. The Hidden Valley Ski Patrol spent five hours scouring the popular recreation area along with kayakers and other volunteers, said Tim Schulte, Carol Schultes stepson. Everyone we met on the trail, they were looking for Carol, he said. Carol Schulte was last heard from early Monday, when she called her job as a bus monitor for Rockwood School District to say she wouldnt be in, Tim Schulte said. Her cellphone last pinged near the trailhead a little after 7 a.m. Hiking is part of Carol Schultes regular routine, her stepson said, and the flat, crushed-gravel path was a favorite of hers. The trail follows the Meramec River for five miles through Sherman Beach and into Castlewood State Park. Tim Schultes father called him about 10 a.m. Monday when his wife had not returned home. Carol Schultes minivan was found parked at the trailhead, at 225 Grand Avenue in Wildwood. By afternoon, the family had contacted authorities; a formal search began on Tuesday. The response was incredible, said Tim Schulte. The Eureka and Metro West fire protection districts, Missouri Water Patrol and St. Louis County Police have coordinated efforts, bolstered by friends, family and strangers, Tim Schulte said. His stepmom is an outdoors lover who also bikes and kayaks. She is part of the Tails on the Trails Facebook group and often hikes with her dog but didnt usually venture off-trail unless she was with others. Carol Schulte and her husband, Len, celebrated their 40th anniversary the day before she went missing, her stepson said. The family has been heartened by the communitys response. The hope seems to diminish with each hour, said Tim Schulte, a resident of Eureka who is a pastor at The River at Eureka. But were very encouraged and overwhelmed with prayers and support. The family is posting updates to a Facebook page titled Missing Hiker: Carol Taylor. Anyone with information on Carol Schultes whereabouts is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 314-615-5391. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today After more than 80 years gone, Paul Boemer finally returned from Hawaii. And Vince Boemer who gently accepted the folded American flag that had covered his brothers casket was happy to welcome him back. He was a good man, Boemer said. He was a good older brother. Earlier this month, Paul Boemer was laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in a ceremony scored by the playing of taps and a 21-gun salute. Family, friends, a Navy honor guard in dress whites and several dozen Freedom Rider veterans stood with reverence on a sunny, humid St. Louis day. Its a great honor to be part of this, said Vince Boemer, who soon will turn 98. Its wonderful to see the U.S. government go to these lengths to honor its veterans. To be sure, Paul Boemer did not plan to be gone so long when he enlisted in the Navy in late 1938. After growing up in south St. Louis, the eighth of 10 children, and graduating from Cleveland High School, the lanky 18-year-old decided on a stint in the military. He completed basic training, and the Navy assigned the new coxswain a sailor who helps steer a ship to the USS Oklahoma. So Boemer boarded a troop transport in Norfolk, Virginia, and sailed to the ships home port, Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Thats where Boemer was stationed in 1939 and on Dec. 7, 1941. On that day, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet; the USS Oklahoma was struck by two torpedoes. The battleship quickly capsized, claiming the lives of 429 crewman. Paul Boemer was a month shy of turning 22. In all, 2,403 U.S. personnel died that Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor and 19 vessels were destroyed or damaged. But because of these lengths taken by the U.S. government, Vince Boemer finally got to see his big brother buried in his hometown. Its for the families The effort began with the graves of the unknown USS Oklahoma dead who had been interred for decades in The Punchbowl. Officially known as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, The Punchbowl (a volcanic crater) in Honolulu was where 389 unidentified sailors from the USS Oklahoma were buried, and where they remained until 2015. That year, the federal governments Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency initiated its USS Oklahoma Project. The project was based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and aimed to put names to as many of the unknown crewmen as possible. In all, 355 of the 389 unknown sailors were identified. The work which project leader Carrie LeGarde called overwhelming and rewarding has one simple goal: We try to give the living answers about the dead, she said. To do that, LeGarde said five years were spent on the painstaking, gruesome work of cataloging remains. A forensic anthropologist, LeGarde has worked for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for 10 years and joined the USS Oklahoma Project in 2019. She conceded that the efforts were not for the squeamish. LeGarde said the first step was to exhume the many caskets, open them, unwrap the remains and begin sorting them. Every bone was documented and given a number and then entered into a database, she said. Then, researchers went through all the bones again to see which ones did, or didnt, go together. It came down to doing things like separating (the bones of) left arms from right arms, she said. A most crucial part of the project was DNA testing, LeGarde said, noting that arm and leg bones, skulls and pelvic bones provided the best testing material. After those tests were performed, the remains were again divided into groups based on age, height and race. While that work went on, the Navy Casualty Office contacted survivors of crewmen to ask for DNA samples in order to make valid comparisons. Thats the critical piece, the DNA sample from a living relative, LeGarde said. So finally, in September 2020, the positive identification of Paul Boemer was made, the Navy reported. The Navy Casualty Office took over from there, contacting the Boemer family and starting arrangements to move the body back home an endeavor that culminated with the May 11 service at Jefferson Barracks. LeGarde said these memorial services are precisely what keep her and her colleagues dedicated to their task. I would love to get a chance to meet the families, she said. Thats why we do this, its for the families. To be sure, Vince Boemer felt fortunate to be at his brothers service. But hes lucky to be here at all for he has his own war story to tell. After graduating in 1943 from Cleveland High, he joined the Army. Of nine Boemer boys, six served in the military during World War II. In 1945, while with the Armys 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division in the Philippines, his squad was ambushed and he was shot in the hip and side. Boemer said he had to drag himself, half-conscious, into the thicket along the trail to avoid capture by the Japanese patrol. He was unsure how long he had laid bleeding in the bush, but four Filipino women from a nearby village eventually found him and carried him out of the jungle. Even then, his thoughts turned to his older brother. My biggest worry was getting word home to my mom that I was alright, he said. I know how hard (Pauls) death was on her. Shed passed out when she got the news, and I didnt want that to happen to her again. I want them to remember At the May 11 service, Boemer sat next to two old friends, creating a tableau that is more rare each passing day: three living World War II veterans in one place. Dan and Edgar Krattli, brothers from Pine Lawn, both served in the Navy. A submarine service veteran, Dan Krattli, 98, said with a smile upon introduction, Im that one Navy veteran who never learned to swim. The brothers did not meet Vince Boemer until after the war, when they were all students in 1946 at Principia College. I went from hell to heaven in a year, Vince Boemer said. With so many guys still in the service, the female-to-male ratio was about 8 to 1. Vince Boemer married his wife, Jean, in 1955. Together for 67 years now, the couple has had three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. And that line of descendants will one day receive the flag that Vince Boemer clutched at his brothers service, and which now sits in a display case at his home in Town and Country. I want them to remember, Boemer said as he looked out across the national cemeterys orderly expanse. And I want my brother to rest in the radiance of Gods love. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is in Israel for five days of talks with political and business leaders of the Middle Eastern country. Ducey arrived in Israel on Sunday morning, accompanied by the heads of the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ducey spokesperson C.J. Karamargin said the Republican governor's meetings will focus on trade, water and border security. Ducey has worked over his seven years in office to boost economic ties with Israel, which has a similar arid climate and water and security issues. He will meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Isaac Herzog as well as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also will meet with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides. Ducey will pay a Memorial Day visit to Israel's 9/11 memorial in Jerusalem, meet with the city's mayor and visit some historic sites. It is Ducey's third trip to Israel since he took office in 2015. He was the first Arizona governor to go there when he led an 8-day official trade mission during his first year as governor. He attended an international conference on water technology and met with business and government officials. In 2019, he and his family traveled there for a combined business trip and family holiday vacation. He toured a commerce authority trade office that opened in Tel Aviv earlier that year. Ducey has touted Israels water desalination technology as a way to augment Arizonas supplies, which are endangered by long-term drought and climate change. He wants the state Legislature to approve a $1 billion investment for boosting the state's water supply this year. Key to that plan is a desalination plant that could cost more than five times that amount. Ducey has not provided any details of plans for the plant, which would likely be located in Mexico and draw water from the Gulf of California. Commerce authority president and CEO Sandra Watson and Danny Seiden, a former Ducey staffer who now leads the statewide Chamber of Commerce business group, are traveling with the governor. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The actions or more notably, the inaction of a school district police chief and other law enforcement officers have become the center of the investigation into this weeks shocking school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The delay in confronting the shooter who was inside the school for more than an hour could lead to discipline, lawsuits and even criminal charges against police. The attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead in a fourth grade classroom was the nations deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade, and for three days police offered a confusing and sometimes contradictory timeline that drew public anger and frustration. By Friday, authorities acknowledged that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while the police chief told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway at Robb Elementary School. Officials said he believed the suspect was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and that there was no longer an active attack. The chiefs decision and the officers apparent willingness to follow his directives against established active-shooter protocols prompted questions about whether more lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, and who should be held responsible. In these cases, I think the court of public opinion is far worse than any court of law or police department administrative trial, said Joe Giacalone, a retired New York police sergeant. This has been handled so terribly on so many levels, there will be a sacrificial lamb here or there. As the gunman fired at students, law enforcement officers from other agencies urged the school police chief to let them move in because children were in danger, two law enforcement officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to talk publicly about the investigation. One of the officials said audio recordings from the scene capture officers from other agencies telling the school police chief that the shooter was still active and that the priority was to stop him. But it wasnt clear why the school chief ignored their warnings. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who at a news conference earlier in the week lauded the police for saving lives, said he had been misled about the initial response and promised there would be investigations into exactly who knew what, when, who was in charge and what they did. The bottom line would be: Why did they not choose the strategy that would have been best to get in there and to eliminate the killer and to rescue the children? Abbott said. Criminal charges are rarely pursued against law enforcement in school shootings. A notable exception was the former school resource officer accused of hiding during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. New York City defense attorney Paul Martin and Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, both said Saturday that they did not know of any other officers who have been criminally charged for failing to act in a mass shooting. Martin, who has represented police officers charged with murder, assault and other crimes, said he thinks what happened in Uvalde differs from Parkland because the officers who waited to confront the assailant were following orders. Martin said he doesnt think they can be charged based on decisions from their command. As for the school district police chief who decided to wait, Martin said it would be a very high bar to charge him criminally because police officers are given latitude to make tactical decisions. The families can sue the police department for failing to act. ... They can clearly be found civilly liable, he said. I think its very doubtful that they could be criminally charged. In terms of civil liability, the legal doctrine called qualified immunity, which shields police officers from lawsuits unless their actions violate clearly established laws, could also be at play in future litigation. Potential administrative punishments meted out by the department itself could range from a suspension or docked pay to forced resignation or retirement, or outright termination. The families of most of those killed or wounded in Parkland reached a $127.5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the FBIs failure to stop the gunman, even though it had received information he intended to attack. Former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson is scheduled to go to trial in September on charges of child neglect resulting in great bodily harm, culpable negligence and perjury. He has said he did the best he could at the time. A federal judge threw out all but one of the lawsuits against the school district and sheriffs office after the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, ruling that the gunmen were responsible. The daughter of a teacher who bled to death reached a $1.5 million settlement in her lawsuit against the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in 2002. Police were heavily criticized at the time for not going into the school sooner. What Columbine taught us is, when you have an active shooter situation, waiting for additional resources will result in people losing their lives, Wexler said. Here we are, 20 years post-Columbine and thats the same issue that continues to challenge law enforcement." He said every department should clearly spell out in their policies that a gunman must be immediately confronted in these situations. The Uvalde School District police chief, Pete Arredondo, decided that the group of officers should wait to confront the assailant, on the belief that the active attack was over, according to Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The crisis ended shortly after officers used keys from a janitor to open the classroom door, entered the room and shot and killed Ramos. Arredondo could not be reached for comment Friday, and Uvalde officers were stationed outside his home, but they would not say why. Maria Haberfeld, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said the police departments policies, procedures and training will be scrutinized to see whether the officers on the ground in Uvalde followed them. If they did, and criminal charges are still brought, she said it would send a chilling message to police nationwide. "If you follow your procedures, youre still brought up on charges. So whats the point of having procedures? she said. But Jorge Colina, a former Miami police chief, wants to know more about what was going through the minds of the officers inside the school as the chief told them to wait in the hall. Did someone challenge the decision there? he said. Did someone raise an objection at least? Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Uvalde, Texas; Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Mike Balsamo in Washington, D.C.; and Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 29, 2022 Appearing on the Focus on Africa Talk Show On Tuesday, the 24th of May 2022, Presidential aspirant Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe named corruption, mainly in the public sector as one of the main reasons responsible for the backwardness of Liberia and its citizens. According to him, the main cause of Liberias underdevelopment is due, in large part, to the collective failure of Liberians to work for, demand, and make the necessary hard choices and sacrifices for good governance. Cllr. Gongloe argued corruption has become so embedded in Liberia. He declared corruption as a threat to national security, arguing that it was crippling the economic and social development of the country. In 2020, Transparency International rated Liberia as the fifth most corrupt country in Africa. Liberia's audit general office which tracks the spending of public funds has conducted numerous audit reports showing most of the funds spent by various government institutions over the years could not be properly accounted for. Corruption in Liberia occurred through the diversion of public funds, irregular payments, unauthorized expenditures, staff fraud, and bribery denying the citizenry crucial services like access to affordable healthcare, employment, and affordable education for the countrys young ones, etc. But Liberia has found its saving grace in a new model that Cllr Gongloe is proposing which is quarterly Lifestyle Audits for the public employees which involve an intensive probe into their lifestyles in order to detect sudden and suspicious affluence that may suggest fraud. According to Cllr. Gongloe, the salaries, and benefits of the President and all officials of the government in the three branches of government shall be published, and that any official of the government that interferes with the functions of the police or any law enforcement officer shall, upon summary fact-finding, be immediately dismissed. Cllr. Gongloe argued that the chronic deficit of leadership characterized by greed, a thirst for illicit wealth, and self-interest, as opposed to the welfare of the nation, is a significant factor in the current state of Liberia. Countries like Kenya and South Africa have been carrying out lifestyle audits. Kenya for instance has embraced lifestyle audits as a means to reduce corruption in both the private and public sectors. Government institutions in Kenya audit their staff by comparing the lifestyle of such staff with their income, to reveal any inconsistencies. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) of Kenya in 2008 took a financial controller who was earning Kenyan Sh306, 000 (USD2, 623.42) a month to court. The EACC said he owned seven houses or plots, four vehicles, six bank accounts (one in London), and had Kenyan Sh4 million (US$ 34,290.61) in cash in his house. In 2018, the Kenyan Government intensified the war on graft by announcing that all public servants will undergo a compulsory lifestyle audit to account for their sources of wealth. In an article published by the Katiba Institute, Kenya, on 27 June 2018, it was reported that various corruption scandals have been exposed and over 40 persons have been arrested as a result of corruption scandals resulting from lifestyle audits in Kenya. In South Africa, the government has carried out lifestyle audits for the public sector to curb corruption and fraud. However, lifestyle audit in South Africa is not limited to the public sector as the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has been carrying out lifestyle audits on private individuals and using them for several criminal investigations. The SARS encourages members of the public to report people living a lifestyle beyond their known means of income. The SARS would usually ask the individual to fill out a questionnaire to aid them in their inquiry. Lifestyle audits in Liberia as proposed by presidential aspirant Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe will tell us who in the public service has eaten what, who continues to eat, who is likely to eat, and what they like eating. The audits, too, are about how as citizens we will stop the elite from chopping/eating our resources, about ending corruption by public officers, and about the implementation of the vision of the Constitution as regards the integrity of such public servants. Lifestyle audits are solidly anchored in the Liberian Constitution. Chapter 11, Article 90(a) (b) provides for values of integrity, transparency, and accountability while Article 15(c) provides for the freedom of information. There are two specific statutes enacted by the legislature to implement the vision of the Constitution on integrity, transparency, accountability, and freedom of information. They are the National Code of Conduct for All Public Officials and Employees Act 2014; the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Act (2008) (for effective implementation of Chapter 11 of the Constitution) and the Freedom of Information Act 2010 (for effective implementation of Article 15(c). The objective of the Liberian Constitution and the statutes is to make public employees transparent and accountable to the Liberian public about their assets and liabilities. Undeniably, the mischief to be cured was dramatically revealed in April of 2022 when Cllr. Gongloe called on President Weah to disclose the source of funding for the barrage of properties accumulated and constructed following his ascendancy to the presidency for the sake of promoting accountability and transparency and in keeping with the public right to know as enshrined in the Liberian constitution. Cllr. Gongloe maintained that the manner and form in which the President acquired these properties remain one of the main reasons his assets were not published by the General Auditing Commission (GAC). President Weah refused to respond to Cllr Gongloe's request even though a forensic lifestyle audit could have settled the issue. Lifestyle audits are also about conspicuous consumption reflected in expenditures of expensive capitalist toys, travel, residential housing, skyscrapers, charity and philanthropy, investing abroad, food and booze, and day-to-day expenses incurred in carrying out a particular lifestyle. The audit seeks to find out where the money to sustain such lifestyles comes from. If it is found that it comes from raiding and stealing of public resources, that is, blatant corruption then the public officer is criminally liable. One critical value in the Constitution and the statutes enumerated here is the participation of the people. Lifestyle audits cannot be credible, transparent, and accountable without vigorous participation from the public. Conducting lifestyle audits also on the President, the Vice President, Senators, Representatives, Ministers, Judges, and every public official will be a project that will perhaps be a first in Liberia, and among only a very few in Africa. Making public the declarations of the wealth of the President, the Vice President, etc. will usher in robust public participation. There will be public debates about the declarations and their respective veracity. The audit team will, of course, conduct a forensic lifestyle audit and address the issue of the veracity and integrity of these declarations. There will be consequences arising from this exercise. If taxes have not been paid, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) can demand them. If we are serious about fighting corruption in our country, we have to take Gongloe's proposals seriously and got to borrow a leaf from Kenya and South Africa. When that is done and properties gotten illegally are confiscated, the trust that exists between the masses and our leaders will improve. Corruption hinders the ability of the state to provide a better life for all its citizens and robs communities of water to drink, shelter for their families, the supply of textbooks for pupils, medical supplies to save lives, job-creating opportunities, and other basic necessities needed to live a life of prosperity. We must wage a fierce and fearless battle against this demon of corruption and remove it from the public service. Lifestyle audits are a powerful tool that will aid us in this fight and will put Liberia on a democratic trajectory of accountability and transparency. With the recent racially motivated massacre in Buffalo still echoing through America, Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked passage of a domestic terrorism measure that would have focused federal resources on heading off such tragedies. The legislation didnt involve new gun regulations but would merely create a framework within federal law enforcement to anticipate attacks by white supremacists and other domestic terrorists. Yet, in an astonishing display of callousness toward the victims of Buffalo and a still-grieving nation, Republican senators shrugged off the proposal as unnecessary. In analyzing that response, its useful to consider how those Republicans would have responded had the Buffalo shooter been, say, a brown-skinned American Muslim targeting Christians instead of a white supremacist targeting Black people. Domestic terrorism has a long history in the U.S., with the once-powerful Ku Klux Klan the quintessential example of it. Todays domestic terrorists are less organized and more splintered as a subculture but thanks to the ease with which American civilians can obtain and use weapons of war, it only takes one hate-filled assailant to kill many and terrorize more. The May 14 killing of 10 victims, most of them Black, in a Buffalo supermarket by an 18-year-old white racist attacker is the most recent example, but others abound: the 2015 shooting of nine Black parishioners by a neo-Nazi assailant in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2018 killing of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by an anti-Semitic gunman; the 2019 killing in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart of 23 people, mostly Latino, by an anti-immigrant white nationalist. The list goes on. The lives of those victims werent more or less valuable than those of the 21 victims of the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting last week. But unlike the deranged assailant in that massacre, who killed randomly and without apparent motive, attackers who target their victims by race, ethnicity, religion, etc., are part of a societal threat that, in theory, can be anticipated and possibly thwarted, with the right investigative structure in place. Last weeks failed legislation would have created a federal framework to analyze and report on threats posted online and other warning signs, with an eye toward anticipating future attacks. Republican House members overwhelmingly supported an almost identical bill just two years ago. What has changed now, aside from the tragic example in Buffalo, about why its needed? What has changed, it seems, is that the midterms are approaching, and the GOP needs all its base voters in line including the increasingly emboldened purveyors of white nationalism, replacement theory and other extremist movements that can become breeding grounds for domestic terrorism. This, in a nutshell, is how radicalized the once-sober party of law and order has become. Regarding Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts old pro-gun tweet resurfaces after deadly school shooting (May 25): Im a gun owner and I believe that tighter gun controls can have some effect to reduce mass shootings, but it will not totally prevent them, since there are already a lot of guns out there. Im against total gun bans. I believe one solution might be to have only one point of entry to our schools that is provided with tight security. Of course, there would be exit-only doors for emergencies. In a 2015 tweet, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged Texans to buy more guns since his state was second to California in gun purchases. Fast forwarding to the present: Of the eight largest mass shootings in the U.S., four were in Texas. Abbott has achieved his states No. 1 status. Dennis Frazier St. Peters Known for her work with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, singer-songwriter Hollis Wong-Wear said while this pandemic deterred some of her creative plans, she found ways to work around it. After a year of great cautiousness and staying inside, I realized that to catalyze myself as a creative again, I needed a break from (Los Angeles), the Grammy-nominated musician said. The things that made the city the city werent within reach. Im really fortunate that Joshua Tree National Park is two and a half hours away from L.A. Its desert landscape feels almost like a moonscape. I ended up going there for a month in February 2021 by myself to write my debut solo project, Subliminal. It may seem counterintuitive for me to have sought even more solitude during a time of isolation, (but) it was an important way for me to break free and find myself in a new space physically and creatively. For over two decades China has been quietly developing several new technologies that have matured, been tested and are now entering service with the Chinese Navy. The most visible aspect of this is the DF-21D ballistic missile equipped to hit warships at sea and over a thousand kilometers distant. The basic DF-21 is a 15 ton, two stage, solid fuel missile that is 10.7 meters (35 feet) long and 140cm (4.6 feet) in diameter. Range varies (from 1,700-3,000 kilometers) depending on model. The DF-21D is believed to have a range of 1,500-2,000 kilometers. While the 500-2,000 kg (.5-2 ton) warhead usually contains a nuclear weapon, there are also several types of conventional warheads, including one designed for use against warships. Some of these conventional warheads are for use against targets in Taiwan. This is because the DF-21, as a longer-range ballistic missile that comes down on the target faster than the 1,200 shorter-range ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan, is more difficult to intercept. The DF-21D warheads were too fast for the Pac-3 BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) missiles Taiwan was installing around crucial installations a decade ago. BMDs have improved since then, but so has the Chinese ballistic missile arsenal. In 2020 China tested the DF-26B, a longer-range version of the DF-21D. The 20-ton DF-26B has a max range of 4,000 kilometers. This is a larger 14-meter long 140cm diameter missile that entered service in 2016 as the conventional DF-26. By this time the DF-21D had been tested and proved that it could work. Why not a larger version that could hit enemy warships, especially aircraft carriers, even farther away? Five years later the DF-26B was tested and in service. By 2022 China had the smaller YJ-21 missile that could be carried by bombers or large (destroyers or cruisers) warships and use the same target detection tech as the DF-21D and DF-26B to hit distant ships. Until 2013 there was no evidence that the complete DF-21D system had been tested. But then satellite photos showed a 200-meter-long white rectangle in the Gobi Desert (in Western China) with two large craters in it. This would appear to be a target for testing the DF-21D, and two of the inert practice warheads appear to have hit the target. American carriers are over 300 meters long, although the smaller carriers (amphibious ships with helicopter decks) are closer to 200 meters long. It appears China is planning on using the DF-21D against smaller warships, or perhaps they just wanted to see exactly how accurate the missile could be. Over the last five years several similar missile testing sites were discovered in the vast desert areas of western China. Some of these test targets portrayed air bases or even larger targets like naval or army supply depots as well as harbors where American warships are regularly found. China was seeking a way to carry out another Pearl Harbor type attack and they appear to have found it. Out in the desert China also found ways to improve the accuracy and reliability of their remote-sensing satellite. Back in 2011 an odd, geometric pattern was spotted in a Chinese desert that was used to calibrate satellite sensors, including those used to locate and identify targets for DF-21D type missiles. For three years (2011-13) various components of the DF-21D were tested, but until these satellite photos showed up there was no evidence that there had been any tests of the complete system against a carrier size target. Since 2012 there have been photos of DF-21Ds on TELs (transporter erector launcher vehicles), and announcements of the first units activated three years ago. By 2013 there was evidence of the successful tests. What has not been tested, apparently, is a dress rehearsal test against a large ship (an old tanker or container ship would do) at sea and moving. That might yet happen. Before the 2013 tests China put three "remote sensing" satellites in orbit, moving in formation at an altitude of 600 kilometers across the Pacific. Equipped with either radar (SAR or synthetic aperture radar) or digital cameras, these three birds can scan the ocean for ships, even though the Chinese say their purpose is purely scientific. A typical SAR can produce photo quality images at different resolutions. At medium resolution (3 meters) the radar covers an area 40x40 kilometers. Low resolution (20 meters) covers 100x100 kilometers. This three satellite Chinese posse looks suspiciously like a military ocean surveillance system. This is the missing link for the Chinese ballistic missile system designed to attack American aircraft carriers. China has been developing the DF-21D since about 2002. Most of the development effort was devoted to targeting systems that would enable them to seek out and find aircraft carriers. On the DF-21D warhead itself, sensors would use infrared (heat seeking) technology for their final approach. This sort of thing had been discussed for decades, but China appears to have put together tactics, sensors, and missile systems that can make this all happen. The key was having multiple sensor systems which would include satellites, submarines, or maritime patrol aircraft that could find the general location of the carrier before launching the ballistic missile. Those sensors were eventually revealed as operational, as was the DF-21D itself. The program that developed the DF-21D technology was all about more than creating a long-range carrier-killer. Taiwan was to point out that since 2009 China has maintained a force of at least 1,400 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan. That's up from 200 in 2000, 800 in 2004 and 1,300 in 2008. Most of these are Dong Feng DF-11 and DF-15 models. The DF11 (also known as the M11) has a range of 300 kilometers and carries a one-ton warhead. The DF15 (M9) has a range of 600 kilometers and carries a half ton warhead. From the Chinese coast, to targets in Taiwan, it's about 200-300 kilometers across the Taiwan Straits. In addition to the ballistic missiles there are also over a thousand Chinese warplanes and over 100,000 troops (including several brigades of paratroopers) available for an attack on the island. The missiles would use high explosive or cluster bomb warheads, and would basically be bombs that could not be stopped. Well, that's not exactly the case. Taiwan is investing in an anti-missile system that would negate a large number of the Chinese missiles. If used, perhaps 75 percent of the missiles would actually hit their target. The others would suffer failures in propulsion or guidance systems. Each missile is the equivalent of a half-ton or one ton aircraft bomb. One problem the DF-21D solved was that missiles aimed at Taiwan had relatively primitive guidance systems, meaning that the warheads would usually land up to 500 meters from the target. The Chinese gradually upgraded those guidance systems using tech developed for the DF-21D program. Since 2010 China has also been increasing its missile forces aimed at American and Japanese forces in the region. Its plans for Japan to simply move several hundred ballistic missiles close enough for these missiles to hit Japanese military bases. Crippling American forces in the west Pacific was another matter especially since the Chinese dont want to use nukes, or pay a lot more for hundreds of expensive longer range ballistic missiles carrying high-explosive, instead of nuclear, warheads. Workers cite subcontracting and lack of respect from the employer as key issues in the dispute KATINNIQ/MONTREAL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The 630 unionized workers at the Glencore-owned Raglan Mine in Nunavik, members of the Syndicat des Metallos/United Steelworkers union, went on strike late Friday night, May 27. A demand for genuine respect from Glencore is a major issue for the union members, who often work 11-hour shifts, for 21 consecutive days, at the isolated, fly-in/fly-out nickel mining operations in Nunavik. The increased use of subcontractors, who work under inferior conditions at Raglan Mine, is another key issue in the labour dispute. It has reached the point where there are often many more contractors at the mine site than unionized workers. It doesn't make sense. This means fewer economic benefits for the regions of Quebec, while this multinational corporation extracts huge profits by exploiting our natural resources, said Eric Savard, president of Steelworkers Local 9449, which represents the striking workers. In addition to the shameful use of subcontractors, other stumbling blocks in negotiations include vacations, working conditions and wages. Above all, however, workers are demanding respect from Glencore. Glencore has been continually pushing the limits. It even balks at providing a proper lunch hour to workers who are working 11 hours a day, 21 days in a row. Its reached the point where those who refuse to work overtime are given the cold shoulder by the bosses. Living conditions at the mining camp have deteriorated over the years. The employer systematically quibbles over the living and working conditions of employees who are away from their families for long periods of time. Its time for this company to show greater respect for the workers who are generating its profits of tens of millions of dollars each year, Savard added. The parties met on Friday in the presence of a mediator, without breaking the impasse in negotiations. The union members therefore decided to exercise their strike mandate, which they had approved last week by an overwhelming majority vote of 97.5%. We are faced with an employer who continually seeks to do as little as possible to improve the quality of life of its workers. This employer has even tried to divide the workers and turn them against each other. But today, union members are united and have chosen to walk out, together. And it is united that they will return to the mining camp when they receive the respect they deserve from their employer, said Steelworkers union representative Harold Arsenault. The Syndicat des Metallos/United Steelworkers, affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour, is the largest private-sector union in Quebec, representing more than 60,000 workers in all economic sectors. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220528005045/en/ Clairandree Cauchy, 514 774-4001, [email protected] Source: Syndicat des Metallos/United Steelworkers Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the Company or FPI) today announced it closed two transactions this week an acquisition in Illinois and a disposition in South Dakota. The 78.5-acre row crop farm in Illinois was purchased on Tuesday for $685,000. It is the Companys first acquisition in Will County, which is in the northeastern part of the state and sits in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area, as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. On Wednesday, FPI sold 1,690 acres of South Dakota farmland for $7.8 million to the farmer who was renting the land. The transaction resulted in an approximately 16% gain for the Company. We are often willing to sell farmland at a fair price to good tenants as a way to help them grow and improve their businesses, said FPI Chairman and CEO Paul Pittman. Even with this sale, the Company continues to be in growth mode, and we are actively seeking new acquisition targets. The recent purchase in Illinois is a prime example of the kind of asset were looking for its a productive farm strategically located near marketing hubs and a vibrant tenant base. FPI is the nations largest publicly traded farmland REIT by U.S. acreage. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blender Bites Ltd. (the Company, Blender Bites or Blender), (CSE: BITE, FWB: JL40, WKN: A3DWAM), a Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of premium, organic and plant-based pre-portioned frozen functional foods, is pleased to announce that the worlds leading club store chain (the club chain) has reordered club size packs of its award winning Power Berry & Green Detox flavour superfood smoothie pucks for the club chains Eastern Region Canadian locations. The reorder is for 40,000 units of the product which will be delivered to 42 Eastern Region club store locations in June, including Ontario, Quebec and Canadas Maritime provinces. The reorder by the club chains largest Canadian Region illustrates sustained customer satisfaction and demand. North America currently has the largest market share in the global functional beverages market with the industry projected to grow by 8.07% in 20221; and with North Americans changing their food eating habits and turning toward convenient and ready to eat products, the continents frozen food market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.14% during the 2016 to 2026 period.2 In Canada alone, the Frozen Food Production industry is expected to see 2.5% increase this year3. The current reorder and the Companys recent announcement relating to the club chains Western Canada Division purchase commitment (see Company press releases of May 23, 2022) is, in the Companys opinion, reflective of the growing popularity of healthy plant-based functional foods across the Nation. With an anticipated upward trend in demand for Blender Bites products and the Companys current distribution agreement in place with the club chain, Blender Bites is primed to capitalize on the lucrative and rapidly expanding functional and frozen beverages markets. To get yet another purchase order from the Eastern Division is a strong indicator of how well our product has been received by these provinces. As we enter the summer months and smoothie season, Im confident even more consumers will discover and enjoy our delicious and nutritious smoothie innovations. We are excited for the next few months as we will be on shelves Nationally across the Country at the beginning of June and we will start to see some very serious revenue numbers, stated Chelsie Hodge, the Companys CEO and Founder. The Company also wishes to announce that Chelsie Hodge, Blender Bites CEO and Founder will be hosting a 2022 Revenue Guidance Conference Call, the details of which are provided below. BLENDER BITES: 2022 REVENUE GUIDANCE CONFERENCE CALL DATE: June 1, 2022 TIME: 1:30 p.m. PST; 4:30 p.m. ET; 10:30 p.m. CET NORTH AMERICA TOLL-FREE: 1-800-201-7439 DIAL TOLL NUMBER: +1-778819-8331 CONFERENCE CODE: 873838 A recording of the conference call will also be posted on the Companys website approximately 2 hours following the live event. ABOUT BLENDER BITESBlender Bites is a Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of premium frozen food products with a focus on functionality. Blender Bites was founded in 2016 and was first to market in Western Canada with a pre-portioned easy smoothie product that is free of any unnecessary inner plastic packaging. Blender Bites products are certified organic, vegan, non-GMO, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. They contain no added sugars and are made in Canada. Blender Bites products are distributed internationally across Canada and the US, and are currently sold in over 900 stores, including Sobeys, Safeway, Save on Foods, Whole Foods Market, Buy-Low/Nesters, IGA and Fresh Street. On behalf of the Board of Directors,Blender Bites Limited Chelsie Hodge, Chief Executive Officer For further information, contact Blender IR Team at: Email [email protected]Telephone 1-888-997-2055 CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENTThis news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties, and uncertain capital markets. Readers are cautioned that actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. 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 required by law. ___________________________________1 See Functional Beverage Marketing & Industry Trends Shaping 2022 article for more.2 See North America Frozen Food Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027) article for more.3 See Frozen Food Production in Canada - Market Size 20052027 article for more. Source: Blender Bites Limited Hundreds of Aspen Dental offices to open doors for annual Day of Service, honoring veterans Veterans and their families can call 1-844-277-3646 to schedule an appointment CHICAGO, May 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 11, participating Aspen Dental locations nationwide will open their doors to provide free care to military veterans across the country. Now in its 8th year, the Aspen Dental Day of Service provides much-needed dental care for veterans and their families at no cost to honor their service and break down barriers to health care. Appointments are still available for veterans in Indiana, at the following Aspen Dental locations: Crawfordsville, Indiana Evansville, Indiana Evansville, Indiana (South Red Bank) Fort Wayne, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana (Castleton) Indianapolis, Indiana (Lawrence) Indianapolis, Indiana (Southport Rd) Jasper, Indiana Richmond, Indiana South Bend, Indiana Terre Haute, Indiana Veterans and their families can call 1-844-277-3646 (1-844-ASPENHMM) to find a participating Aspen Dental office in their community and schedule an appointment. Advance appointments are required. During the Day of Service, Aspen Dental doctors and their teams focus on treating the most urgent dental needs for veterans and their families - with a focus on getting them out of pain, from fillings and extractions to dental hygiene and basic denture repairs. Millions of Americans struggle to access dental care every year, and veterans are no exception. In fact, U.S. veterans are ineligible for dental benefits through the Veterans Administration unless they're 100% disabled, have a service-related mouth injury, or were a prisoner of war. Visit www.HealthyMouthMovement.com to learn more. About Aspen Dental Aspen Dental was founded in 1998 in New York by Bob Fontana with a simple goal in mind: to break down the barriers that doctors and patients face when it comes to dental care. Today, more than 20 years later, with nearly 1,000 Aspen Dental locations nationwide, the mission of the company remains the same to bring better care to more people. Aspen Dental is the largest group of branded dental offices in the world. For more information, visit aspendental.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About TAG The Aspen GroupTAG The Aspen Group was built on the simple idea of bringing better health care to more people. TAG and the independent health care practices it supports operate more than 1,100 locations in 45 states through its four health care support companies: Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, WellNow Urgent Care and Chapter Aesthetic StudioSM. Combined, the companies serve more than 35,000 patients a day and more than 8 million patients each year. TAG is headquartered at 800 W. Fulton Market in Chicago. For more information, visit teamtag.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/free-dental-care-for-military-veterans-and-their-families-on-saturday-june-11-with-appointments-still-available-in-indiana-301556920.html SOURCE Aspen Dental Hundreds of Aspen Dental offices to open doors for annual Day of Service, honoring veterans Veterans and their families can call 1-844-277-3646 to schedule an appointment CHICAGO, May 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 11, participating Aspen Dental locations nationwide will open their doors to provide free care to military veterans across the country. Now in its 8th year, the Aspen Dental Day of Service provides much-needed dental care for veterans and their families at no cost to honor their service and break down barriers to health care. Appointments are still available for veterans in Kentucky, at the following Aspen Dental locations: Ashland, Kentucky Danville, Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky (Dixie Hwy) Louisville, Kentucky (Outer Loop) Owensboro, Kentucky Paducah, Kentucky Pikeville, Kentucky Richmond, Kentucky Somerset, Kentucky Veterans and their families can call 1-844-277-3646 (1-844-ASPENHMM) to find a participating Aspen Dental office in their community and schedule an appointment. Advance appointments are required. During the Day of Service, Aspen Dental doctors and their teams focus on treating the most urgent dental needs for veterans and their families - with a focus on getting them out of pain, from fillings and extractions to dental hygiene and basic denture repairs. Millions of Americans struggle to access dental care every year, and veterans are no exception. In fact, U.S. veterans are ineligible for dental benefits through the Veterans Administration unless they're 100% disabled, have a service-related mouth injury, or were a prisoner of war. Visit www.HealthyMouthMovement.com to learn more. About Aspen Dental Aspen Dental was founded in 1998 in New York by Bob Fontana with a simple goal in mind: to break down the barriers that doctors and patients face when it comes to dental care. Today, more than 20 years later, with nearly 1,000 Aspen Dental locations nationwide, the mission of the company remains the same to bring better care to more people. Aspen Dental is the largest group of branded dental offices in the world. For more information, visit aspendental.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About TAG The Aspen Group TAG The Aspen Group was built on the simple idea of bringing better health care to more people. TAG and the independent health care practices it supports operate more than 1,100 locations in 45 states through its four health care support companies: Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, WellNow Urgent Care and Chapter Aesthetic StudioSM. Combined, the companies serve more than 35,000 patients a day and more than 8 million patients each year. TAG is headquartered at 800 W. Fulton Market in Chicago. For more information, visit teamtag.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/free-dental-care-for-military-veterans-and-their-families-on-saturday-june-11-with-appointments-still-available-in-kentucky-301556922.html SOURCE Aspen Dental (Tribune News Service) Otis Randle spent his post-high school years, from 1967 to 1971, serving in the U.S. Navy, providing sea support aboard the USS Ranger aircraft carrier while stationed in Vietnam. He had it easier than others who had to fight the battles on land during what was an especially long and brutal war. Randle went on to serve as a machine mechanic in the Navy and then worked for the Post Office after his military retirement. And late last week, just days before Memorial Day, a new generation of U.S. service men and women sailors and Marines who were part of the 2022 LA Fleet Week festivities in San Pedro descended on Randles South Los Angeles home to repair stucco, replace roofing and generally brighten things up with a new coat of paint. Along the way, they bonded with each other and earned the gratitude of Randle, 73, and his wife, Elizabeth, 71, who were thrilled by the transformation of the two 1930s-era house Elizabeths parents had previously owned. The repair job on Thursday and Friday, May 26-27, was one of the many off-site projects service men and women participate in during LA Fleet Week, which began in 2016 but was dark in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. The workdays were also part of Habitat for Heroes, a program overseen by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, that works with other available resource providers for veterans, including Home Depot, to take care of vet-owned homes. More than 275 veterans and active-duty military members have benefited from the Habitat for Heroes Program, which was founded in 2011 as an outreach to assist military vets with home repairs and renovations. For many retired homeowners, the need comes as they grapple with the rising expenses of maintaining a house, something they were able to do during their working years but find much tougher with on fixed incomes. The exercise had a purpose for the young workers as well, said Marine Corps combat videographer Sydney Smith, 22, who participated and documented the process. The effort encouraged the two branches of the service, she said, to expand their abilities to work together as a team. I thought wed have Team Navy vs. Team Marine, she said, but they worked very cohesively together. Teams consisted of about 15 workers each day. Crew members from the USS Essex and USS Portland both in the Port of Los Angeles for the four-day LA Fleet Week event that wraps up on Memorial Day pitched in for the workdays, climbing ladders and wielding power washers and paint brushes. Among the workers was Navy Hospitalman First Class Harold Weinrich, 34, of Beaverton, Oregon,. Weinrich, stationed at Camp Pendleton, said L.A. Fleet Week the first hes attended is a great way for service members to interact with the public. He encouraged the public to stop by the Fleet Week expo area in San Pedro for a visit. Fleet Week continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Monday at the USS Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd. It was a year ago, said Elizabeth Randle, that her husband contacted the Habitat program for help on repairs that they calculated would cost something like $30,000 money the couple simply couldnt spare now that they were in their retirement years. Shed seen how older homeowners so often couldnt keep up with the high cost of repairs and maintenance and didnt want their homes to be in that state. The property includes a back house, built in 1932, where a relative will be staying and the front house, built in 1938, where the Randles live. While in basically good shape, the structures were in need of new paint and other repairs, including sealing the windows. Everybody is so friendly and nice, said Elizabeth Randle, who grew up in Hawthorne. Its really a blessing. With all the craziness in the world, its good to see good people. Sergio Morazan, superintendent of the Habitat program, said the goal is to help U.S. veteran families extend the life of their homes while other resources may be found going forward, if needed. That, he said, will help them stay in their own homes. We were lucky Fleet Week was here, Morazan said, adding that this project, about 20 miles from the San Pedro Fleet Week site, was already on the books at just the right time. Having more workers will help to finish it up sooner, Morazan said. As for the young workers, he said, they pick up new skills, learn to bond with one another and get lessons on the importance of preserving items that may seem, in their eyes, not worth the effort. The projects usually take several weeks, Morazan said. Little by little, it starts looking fresher and better, he said of the homes. And that benefits the whole neighborhood. 2022 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit the Orange County (Calif.) Register at ocregister.com . The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 29, 2022 Cruz and Trump - Courtesy of AP I am at a loss for words to describe my utter outrage, my excruciating pain, and my revulsion at yet another massacre in what has become an unending cycle of carnage wrought by guns. The perpetrators are not only the murderers themselves but the Republican members of Congress who enable them to commit such heinous crimes and thus become complicit in this unfathomable American tragedy. Righting the Wrong Yet another elementary school shooting massacre has left 19 children and two teachers dead this time in Uvalde, Texas. The gunman was an 18-year-old who is also dead. The victims in this case were mostly 8, 9, and 10-year-olds. The bloodletting that this country is experiencing daily due to gun violence is inflicting such suffering that it cannot be measured or grasped. Suffering that leaves every parent choked in anguish that cannot be assuaged, that cannot be compensated for, explained, or given some greater meaning. This is absolute, unfathomable loss. These parents who have lost children to inexplicable, murderous rage have been plunged into a nightmare from which they will never wake. This is a horror which defies any and all explanation, a horror which any decent society would prevent by any means necessary. Are we really willing to live in a country where a parent taking their 4-year-old to school must wonder whether their child will be alive at the end of the day, whether their child will be subjected to unspeakable terror? Just to grasp how epidemic mass shootings have become in this country, consider the fact that since the May 14 massacre in Buffalo NY that left ten people dead, sixteen mass shootings have occurred. Five mass shootings occurred the very next day on Sunday, May 15, claiming four lives and injuring twenty-three. How on earth can we as a country pretend that this is in any way normal, acceptable, or anything less than an indictment of our society which has become so desensitized to gun violence? Every American should be standing up and crying out for an end to this awful and shameful epidemic which is permitted to continue because we apparently regard the right to have easy access to lethal firearms as of greater merit and legitimacy than the right to live free from violence, mayhem, and senseless killing. President Biden said in the aftermath of yesterdays shooting, I am sick and tired of it. We have to act. The New York Times reports today that Texas has seen eight mass shootings in the last 13 years but it is important to note that the Times is defining a mass shooting as an incident in which a lone shooter has killed at least four people. That is not how it is defined by the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which a minimum of four victims [are] shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident. Under that definition there have been 179 mass shootings in Texas, since January 1, 2017. We have had literally decades to say enough is enough, now we must act. Yet no action or meaningful legislation is forthcoming no action will be taken to strengthen background checks for gun buyers, no action will be taken to ban the sale of assault rifles which were used in Uvalde and in over 165 mass shootings in this country since the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre on December 14, 2012. The heartbroken parents who have had to endure unspeakable pain are told by political leaders that they have the prayers of the country; that they and the children they have lost will be remembered in the prayers of concerned Americans all across the nation. Prayers? Parents who lost a child do not need anybodys prayers, good wishes, or social media self-displays of condolence and commiseration. They want their child to come back from school alive, to be held again, kissed again, and loved again. Offering prayers sounds disgustingly irrelevant to the nature of the crisis at hand. What the parents and every American that has lost a loved one to senseless shooting needs now is serious actionactual legislation that will curb the spate of gun violence which is consuming this country from within. The whole world is watching as America continues to destroy itself, its social bonds of trust, and its duty to its children, through its obsession with protecting gun rights at all costs. We have fetishized the Second Amendment; we have turned it into an idol, an altar on which to sacrifice our children as if we exist to serve and protect this single right. Do we truly need to protect at all costs whatever the right for people to have unimpeded access to firearms that belong nowhere but on the battlefield? Is this what any serious person could think the Second Amendment is about? Is anyone supposed to believe that the Founding Fathers were so concerned that an 18-year-old should be able to purchase an assault rifle for his birthday that they would safeguard that right above the right of an 8-year-old not to be gunned down in the middle of school? Senator Ted Cruz is scheduled to speak at the NRAs annual meeting on Friday. What is he going to say, given that he claimed to be sickened by what occurred in Uvalde? Is he going to rise to the moment and tell the NRA that the country can no longer bear to watch this horror unfolding day by day? Is he going to say that the right to guns can be protected while enacting basic common-sense laws which will prevent this needless, and unimaginably cruel killing of societys most innocent and vulnerable members? Is he going to say that enough is enough, that we must all, Democrats and Republicans alike, wake up and together pass legislation to end this American tragedy? Or will he simply repeat the same platitudes and refuse to lay any responsibility at the door of an organization whose overriding concern has been to protect Americas right to deadly firearms for profit? For politicians to seek the support of a corrupted organization to be elected, and close their eyes and numb their hearts to the bloodletting of thousands of innocent men, women, and children if this is not an American tragedy, then what is? No, we can no longer settle for prayers, we can no longer settle for platitudes, we can no longer settle for promises. We need action and we need it now. Any Republican who refuses to pass sensible legislation that at a minimum reduces the frequency and the scope of these mass shootings has the blood of the dead on their hands. They must be held responsible for failing to act because they know full well that their inaction will certainly lead to the next mass shooting, and by refusing to act, they become complicit to the killings. The American tragedy is not limited to the carnage that is daily sweeping the nation. Our real tragedy is when the lives of our citizens become fair play and those who refuse to act are still in power. KRAMATORSK, Ukraine Russia claimed to have overrun a key rail hub while its troops fought Ukrainian defenders in the streets of another city in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said the railroad center Lyman had been "completely liberated'' by a joint force of Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists. Meanwhile, nearly 40 miles to the east, Russian troops on Saturday sought to encircle Ukrainian defenders in the manufacturing center of Sievierodonetsk, where the fighting cut power and cellphone service and terrorized the civilians who hadn't fled. Having failed to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early in the 3-month-old war, the Russians set out to seize parts of the eastern industrial region Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. They made grinding progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas. Control of Lyman would give Russia's military another foothold in the region. It has bridges for troops and equipment to cross the Siverskiy Donets river, which has so far impeded the Russian advance into the Donbas. Ukrainian officials have sent mixed signals on Lyman. On Friday, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian troops controlled most of it and were trying to press their offensive toward Bakhmut, another city in the region. On Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar disputed Moscow's claim that Lyman had fallen, saying fighting there was still ongoing. In his Saturday video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as "very complicated'' and said that the "Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result'' by focusing its efforts there. As his offensive pushed ahead, Russian President Vladimir Putin pressured European leaders to stop arming the embattled Ukrainians and blamed Western sanctions for an emerging global food crisis. The Kremlin said Putin pressed his case in an 80-minute phone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellor's spokesperson, and called on Putin to engage in serious, direct negotiations with Zelenskyy on ending the fighting. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin affirmed "the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue." The three leaders, who had gone weeks without speaking during the spring, agreed to stay in contact, it added. But Russia's recent progress in eastern Ukraine could further embolden Putin. "If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion," the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Russia has intensified efforts to capture the cities of Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, which are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk. Luhansk Gov. Serhii Haidai reported that Ukrainian fighters repelled an assault on Sievierodonetsk but Russian troops still pushed to encircle them. He later said Russian forces had seized a hotel on the city's outskirts, damaged 14 high-rise buildings and were fighting in the streets with Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the city's bus station. A humanitarian center couldn't operate due to the danger, Striuk said, and cellphone service and electricity were knocked out. And residents risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, he said. Some supply routes are functioning, and evacuations of the wounded are still possible, Striuk said. He estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died from the fighting as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that couldn't be treated. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, Associated Press reporters saw older and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs Friday in Bakhmut. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to persuade reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sievierodonetsk, returned home. "I have to know he is alive. That's why I'm staying here," said Lvova, 66. On Saturday, people who managed to flee Lysychansk described intensified shelling, especially over the past week, that left them unable to leave basement bomb shelters. Yanna Skakova left the city Friday with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old sons and cried as she sat in a train bound for western Ukraine. Her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. "It's too dangerous to stay there now," she said, wiping away tears. Russia's advance raised fears that residents could experience the same horrors seen in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which endured a three-month siege before it fell last week. Residents who had not yet fled faced the choice of trying to do so now or staying. Mariupol became a symbol of massive destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. Mariupol's port has reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia entered the port early Saturday. In the call with Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said, Putin emphasized that Russia was working to "establish a peaceful life in Mariupol and other liberated cities in the Donbas." Ukrainian authorities have reported that Kremlin-installed officials in seized cities have started airing Russian news broadcasts, introduced Russian area codes, imported Russian school curriculum and taken other steps to annex the areas. Russian-held areas of the southern Kherson region have shifted to Moscow time and "will no longer switch to daylight saving time, as is customary in Ukraine," Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Krill Stremousov, a Russian-installed local official, as saying Saturday. In his address Saturday, Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of preventing Kherson residents from leaving, saying they effectively "try to take people hostage'' in a "sign of weakness.'' The war has caused global food shortages because Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations over which side bears responsibility for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage and Ukraine citing a Russian naval blockade. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said two Russian vessels "capable of carrying up to 16 missiles" were ready for action in the Black Sea, adding that only shipping routes established through multilateral treaties may be considered safe. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems. Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Antonov, said Saturday that such a move would be "unacceptable" and admonished the White House to "abandon statements about the military victory of Ukraine." Moscow is also trying to rattle Sweden and Finland's determination to join NATO. Russia's Defense Ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target about 600 miles away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The Zircon, described as the world's fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead and is said to be impossible to stop with current defense systems. Last week Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the country's west in response to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Andrew Katell in New York and AP journalists around the world contributed. ISTANBU Turkeys president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. Like I always say, well come down on them suddenly one night. And we must, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his plane following his Saturday visit to Azerbaijan. Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. That conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, has killed tens of thousands of people. However, the YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations. Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same. All coalition forces, leading with the U.S., have provided these terror groups a serious amount of weapons, vehicles, tools, ammunition and they continue to do so. The U.S. has given them thousands of trucks, Erdogan said. He warned that Turkey wouldnt need anyones permission to fight terror. If the U.S. is not fulfilling its duty in combating terror, what will we do? We will take care of ourselves, he declared. Ankara has launched four cross-border operations into Syria since 2016. In 2019, an incursion into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their alleged support for the Kurdish groups. Turkey has stepped up military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq where they are based. The PKK is considered a terror group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Just as we are conducting operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and PKKs offspring, the same situation applies even more to Syria and is much more important, Erdogan said. BUFFALO, N.Y. Mourners laid to rest the last of 10 Black people killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket with a service on Saturday that became a call to action and an emotional plea to end the hate and violence that has wracked the nation. The funeral for 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield the oldest of the 10 people killed in the attack two weeks ago included an impromptu speech by Vice President Kamala Harris. She attended the service at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo with second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Harris told the mourners this is a moment in time for "all good people" to stand up to the injustice that happened at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, as well as at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and in other mass shootings. "This is a moment that requires all good people, all God-loving people to stand up and say we will not stand for this. Enough is enough," said Harris, who wasn't scheduled to speak and came to the microphone at the urging of the Rev. Al Sharpton. "We will come together based on what we all know we have in common, and we will not let those people who are motivated by hate separate us or make us feel fear." Following the funeral, Harris and Emhoff visited a memorial outside the supermarket. The vice president left a large bouquet of white flowers, and the pair paused to pray for several minutes. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden had placed flowers at the same memorial on May 17 and had visited with the victims' families. Biden is expected to head to Texas for a visit this weekend with the families of victim's of Tuesday's school shooting. Harris later told reporters that the administration is not "sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like" to the nation's gun violence problem. "We know what works on that," she said, reiterating support for background checks and a ban on assault weapons. "Let's have an assault weapons ban," she said. "An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in civil society. Background checks: Why should anyone be able to buy a weapon that can kill other human beings without at least knowing: Hey, that person committed a violent crime before, are they a threat against themselves or others?" Harris said the nation has to come together, as well. "We have to agree that if we are to be strong as a nation, we must stand strong, identifying our diversity as our unity," she said. It's been a sad week of goodbyes for family and friends of the Buffalo shooting victims, a group that includes a restaurant worker who went to the market to buy his 3-year-old's birthday cake; a father and die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who worked as a school bus aide; and a 32-year-old sister who moved to the city to help a brother battling leukemia. Whitfield, a grandmother and mother of four, had been inside the supermarket after visiting her husband of 68 years in a nursing home when a gunman identified by police as 18-year-old Payton Gendron began the deadly onslaught. Authorities said Gendron, who is white, targeted the store three hours from his home in Conklin because it is in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who delivered a fiery tribute to Whitfield at the beginning of the funeral service, called for all "accomplices" who aided and abetted "this monster" who opened fire in the supermarket to be held accountable, from the gun manufacturers and distributors to the parents of the suspect. Crump said those those who "instructed and radicalized this young, insecure individual" should also be held to account for taking Whitfield from her family, the Buffalo community and the planet. He called her "one of the most angelic figures that we have ever known." "It is a sin that this young depraved man, not a boy, went and killed Ruth Whitfield and the 'Buffalo 10,'" Crump said, referring to the victims. Sharpton described being floored to learn the shooter live-streamed his assault on Twitch, noting how his mother had grown up in Alabama, where hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan once killed Black people. Today, he said, white supremacists "are proud to practice racism." Sharpton made a pitch for gun control measures during his eulogy, saying all communities need to come together and "disarm the haters." "There is an epidemic of racial violence that is accommodated by gun laws that allow people to kill us," he said. "You ain't got to love us, but you shouldn't have easy access to military weapons to kill us." In all, 13 people were shot in the attack which federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Three people survived. Whitfield was the mother of former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield. Gendron is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail. His attorney has entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. __ Pool reports were contributed to this story. Haigh reported from Connecticut. The federal government has found no evidence that flaws in Dominion voting machines have ever been exploited, including in the 2020 election, according to the executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. CISA, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has notified election officials in more than a dozen states that use the machines of several vulnerabilities and mitigation measures that would aid in detection or prevention of an attempt to exploit those vulnerabilities. The move marks the first time CISA has run voting machine flaws through its vulnerability disclosure program, which since 2019 has examined and disclosed hundreds of vulnerabilities in commercial and industrial systems that have been identified by researchers around the world. (The program is aimed at helping companies and consumers better secure devices from breaches. The security of Dominion voting machines has become a flash point in the fraught politics of the 2020 election with supporters of former president Donald Trump claiming that the results were tainted by machines that were manipulated, while election officials -- including Georgias Republican secretary of state and governor -- insisted that there was no evidence of breaches or altered results. There are nine flaws affecting versions of the machine called the Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite ImageCast X, according to a copy of an advisory prepared by CISA and obtained by The Washington Post. The ImageCast X allows voters to mark their candidate choices on a touch-screen and then produce a paper record, as was the case in Georgia. It can also be used as a paperless electronic voting machine. The flaws, many of which are highly technical and which mostly stem from machine design as opposed to coding errors, generally require an attacker to have physical access to the devices or other equipment used to manage the election, CISA said. We have no evidence that these vulnerabilities have been exploited and no evidence that they have affected any election results, said Brandon Wales, CISAs executive director in a statement to The Post. Of note, states standard election security procedures would detect exploitation of these vulnerabilities and in many cases would prevent attempts entirely. This makes it very unlikely that these vulnerabilities could affect an election. CISA conducted its review in response to a report by two researchers prepared as part of long-running litigation over the security of Georgias voting system. The lead researcher, University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman, served as an expert for plaintiffs who filed the case in 2017. The plaintiffs -- a group of voters and voting security activists -- argued that the paperless touch-screen machines Georgia was then using, which were made by a different company, were so lacking in security that they violated voters civil rights. Georgia agreed to acquire a new system and in 2019 bought Dominion ImageCast X ballot-marking devices, which were first used in 2020. The plaintiffs now argue that this replacement system is still too vulnerable to manipulation, and that Georgia should adopt a system of hand-marked paper ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by machine. CISAs five-page advisory is based in part on Haldermans 100-page report, which remains under seal in a federal court in Atlanta. The advisory is expected to be released next week after officials in all 50 states are notified. CISAs disclosure, however, is unlikely to settle the matter. The lawsuit over machine security is about to enter its sixth year, and unfounded claims of fraud continue to animate Republican voters and elected officials. The advisory comes as a report released Friday by The Mitre Corporation, a federally funded research and development center, reached similar conclusions to those of CISA, according to the office of the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. The report, which was commissioned by Dominion, was not released publicly. Both the CISA and Mitre reports show what reasonable people already know -- if bad actors are given full and unfettered access to any system, they can manipulate that system, said Gabriel Sterling, a top aide to Raffensperger, in a statement. That is why procedural, operational, and legal election integrity measures are crucial. Sterling said that like CISA, Mitre found that existing procedural safeguards observed by election offices make it extremely unlikely for any bad actor to actually exploit the . . . vulnerabilities Halderman found. But Halderman, who has said publicly that he has no evidence that the machines flaws were exploited, told The Post that the vulnerabilities were serious and could be used by an attacker. The most significant, he said, is a coding flaw that allows an attacker who gains access to a jurisdictions central election computers to spread malware to the ImageCast X machines. Voting systems rely on multiple layers of defense including physical and electronic safeguards, he said. These vulnerabilities show that unfortunately the electronic safeguards are not as secure as they need to be. The disclosures follow Tuesdays primary elections in Georgia, which saw record turnout for a midterm primary. No evidence of tampering was found. In the 2020 presidential election, officials carried out a hand recount of the entire state, reading the candidate names off the ballots and not just rescanning them. Election security experts have raised concerns about insider threats from election officials who subscribe to conspiracy theories about voting machines. Tina Peters, the clerk in Mesa County, Colo., was indicted in March on charges stemming from her efforts to copy Dominion hard drives. Peters said she has done nothing wrong. Georgia officials are investigating an allegation that machines in Coffee County were accessed by people seeking evidence of fraud. Election experts say that measures implemented over the years make it extremely unlikely that a malicious insider could carry off a hack that alters votes to throw an election. In many jurisdictions, two people are present when handling voting and tabulating equipment, Maria Benson, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Secretaries of State, told The Post. Election officials also have implemented extensive security measures, she said, including controlling physical access to election-related systems, ensuring they have adequate backups, and testing the accuracy of systems and processes before and after each election. Dominion was aware of the flaws and told CISA that its systems can be updated to address them, the agency said. - - - The Washington Posts Emma Brown contributed to this report. To Dakotas surprise, it wasnt the shelling that terrified him most. A Marine Corps veteran who volunteered to fight in Ukraine, he has taken cover behind walls as Russian gunfire punched through and felt the throttle of artillery so many times that his catchphrase, Its normal, became a joke within the unit. What wasnt normal, he said, was the feeling of dread while he hid and listened as Russian attack helicopters strafed the position his team of tank hunters had just fled. That moment, he said, was quite honestly the most unsettled I had been the entire time. Dakota, who is home in Ohio now after seven weeks of fighting abroad, is among the legion of Western volunteers who have taken up arms against Russia. Like others, he spoke on the condition that his full name not be disclosed, citing concerns for his safety and that of family and friends. In interviews with The Washington Post, foreign fighters from the United States and elsewhere described glaring disparities between what they expected the war to be like and what they experienced. They recalled going into battle underequipped and outgunned, the occasional thrill of blowing up Russian vehicles, and feeling torn over whether to go back to Ukraine. Some intend to do so. Others saw friends die and decided enough is enough. For several, an inflection point came in late April when 22-year-old Willy Joseph Cancel, another Marine Corps veteran, was killed in combat northwest of Mykolaiv, a region that has seen ferocious violence as Russian commanders have sought to widen territorial gains. The full circumstances surrounding Cancels death remain a mystery, and his body has not been recovered. Attempts to speak with Cancels family were unsuccessful. There are no known U.S. military personnel in Ukraine, and the Biden administration has sought to discourage American citizens from independently joining the fight, though it is not against the law to do so. Officials have said that the battlefield is complex and dangerous, and that Americans wishing to help the Ukrainian cause should look to do so by other means. And while the exact number of Americans volunteering is unknown, an estimated 4,000 expressed interest after the invasion in late February. Many entered the fight after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally appealed to foreign volunteers to journey there and fight. Military veterans, in particular, have been drawn to the war, emboldened by their combat training and an eagerness to apply their skills in a conflict that, for many, feels like a struggle of good versus evil. But the conflict also has drawn Western military veterans who either have never deployed into combat previously or have experienced only asymmetrical insurgencies not this type of war, with contested airspace, unrelenting rocket bombardment, and swarms of drones with sophisticated thermal targeting technology. Dane Miller, a U.S. Army veteran, went to Poland to take on a quieter but significant role helping to run logistics for refugee aid centers and sending crucial supplies over the border into Ukraine. He has also assisted volunteer networks in reviewing prospective foreign fighters military records, to assess whether they have the chops . . . to take on a massive military, he said. While many do, a common theme is that swagger sometimes stands in place of relevant experience, he noted. He has advised some veterans against going into Ukraine. Theres this idea of heroism and its glorified. I will look at your 214 and tell you if youre ready for this, he said, referring to the U.S. militarys discharge paperwork, DD Form 214, that lists the training and certifications completed while in uniform. In the Marines, Dakota spent four years as an antitank missile gunner, according to his service record provided by the Marine Corps. He never saw combat but did spend time in Afghanistan as a contractor, he said. He put his first semester of college on hold so he could fight the Russians, saying a righteous indignation compelled him to go for it. He arrived in Ukraine within days of the invasion. Commanders were eager, he said, to tap his knowledge of U.S.-manufactured Javelin anti-armor weapons, thousands of which have been transferred to the Ukrainian army. Dakotas cohort of foreign volunteers was attached to a Ukrainian military unit and brought by yellow school bus to Kyiv, from which they were sent northwest into an embattled town outside the capital. It was early March. They were issued antitank weapons and Javelin missiles but no batteries for the launch unit, he said. Without a power source, the equipment was inoperable. Homes were on fire, Dakota recalled. His unit gathered for a patrol through the woods. A commander motioned with his hand: Everything that way is Russian. Artillery blanketed the area. The Ukrainians and their volunteers dispersed. Some went into trench lines, other went into homes. One abandoned residence still had a Christmas tree set up, he recalled. Some Russian troops fell back as the fighting intensified, and they left behind a wounded comrade who wailed into the night, Dakota said. By the end of the second night, eight of the 20 volunteers in Dakotas unit had abandoned their posts, he said, including a fellow Marine veteran who appeared to break his machine gun with a rock in the hope of passing it off as battle damage. Another feigned an injury, he said. Dakota fought throughout the Kyiv region and later was dispatched to the south to help train others on using the Javelin. On one mission, he said, he was unable get a lock on a Russian tank with a cold thermal signature. Then, four men climbed onto the hull to sit and smoke. The sight locked on their body heat. His missile pulverized the vehicle, a strike captured on video. Russian artillery pounded their position a half-hour later, and Dakotas team withdrew under the cover of night. About a week later he felt nauseated and carsick. He was diagnosed with a brain injury linked to his proximity to the shelling, he said, and left for home toward the end of April. He has been in recovery ever since. Its not over. Its not done. Its not finished, he said. Other volunteers described different frustrations. Pascal, a veteran of the German army, was on a team with Cancel, the American killed in combat in late April. Problems arose during their first mission, he said. The team suspected their two-way radios were being monitored by Russian forces, and they lacked extra batteries, forcing them to rely on unsecured cellphones and WhatsApp to communicate. Soon after they exchanged plans, their position was attacked by Russian artillery, he said. The volunteers felt underinformed during many of their missions, not knowing where they were and, vitally, where the Russians were, Pascal said. The day Cancel was killed, he said, they took fire from a position they believed to be Ukrainian but didnt have radio communication to confirm. Two members of the team ventured out to investigate. Gunfire sounded and they never returned, he said. The remaining team members came under heavy fire, including artillery rounds, from the same direction, Pascal said. One team member was killed in the shelling. Pascal and another volunteer turned their attention to Cancel, who had be struck by shrapnel, he said. They applied tourniquets in a fruitless attempt to stop the bleeding. Their bodies were left behind as Pascal and another survivor withdrew. That was Pascals last mission. He later crossed into Poland. Miller, the American volunteer, met him at a bar in Warsaw and noted how shaken up he seemed. They stepped outside and Miller consoled him, using Google Translate to find the right words in German. They hugged. From the beginning, we had no chance, Pascal said in an interview. I was asking myself why I survived and the others did not. A Ukrainian-born man who is a naturalized U.S. citizen spoke with The Post on the condition he be identified only by his radio call sign: Texas. He recalled how, early in the war, he saw images of his hometown on fire and left to join the fight two days later. Texas, who earlier this month returned to his home in Houston, never served in the military. He works in an office. But hes a quick study, he said, and soon was imparting lessons learned from his American colleagues to the Ukrainians whom he fought alongside things like tactical theories for conducting ambushes, and staying out of sight from Russias surveillance drones and vehicle-mounted optics. Texas patrolled in hunter-killer teams in southern Ukraine, he said, including one mission where he spotted a T-72 tank dug into a berm near Mykolaiv, its turret barely visible from more than two kilometers away. Texas fired a missile and it sliced through the tank just next to the turret. A success but the rest of the team let out a groan. They wanted to see a column of fire propel the tanks turret high into the air. It didnt explode the way we wish it would, said Texas, whose lessons were documented in an April report by the Wall Street Journal. We were kind of bummed about that. Life at home lacks the sense of purpose and excitement, Texas said. Hes mired in divorce proceedings, initiated before he left for Ukraine, and occasionally hears from friends who update him over text about their successful tank harvests. In quiet moments, he reflects on what he has taken from the experience, good and bad. Hes more relaxed at work and doesnt stress about small inconveniences the way he used to. But something is missing, he said, and he is tempted every day to get it back. Once you see that life-and-death contrast, and you come back to a peaceful life and a peaceful job, he said, everything seems to be less meaningful by comparison. UVALDE, Texas President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of "do something" as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: "We will." At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children's photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims' families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. "You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends," he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. "You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important." As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting "do something." Biden answered, "We will," as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. "And we are committed to turning this pain into action," he said. The visit to Uvalde was Biden's second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims' families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist "replacement theory" killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nation's entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. "Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died," Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. "We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer." Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. "It's easy to point fingers right now," said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS' "Face the Nation," before adding, "Our community needs to focus on healing right now." Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Biden's decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. "It's more than mourning," she said. "We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. It's on the news. People cry. Then it's gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again." "If there's anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while he's here, and I'm sure he will," she added. "But we need change. We need to do something about it." Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: "When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?" Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movement's most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washington's sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state "red flag" laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC's "This Week" that these other ideas are "not insignificant." The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. "There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook," said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. "And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before." ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. (Tribune News Service) Art Schaap remembers the day in 2018 when people from Cannon Air Force Base knocked on his front door and asked to test his water. The Clovis dairy farmer had seen airmen use firefighting foam during training exercises. But he soon learned that toxic chemicals from that foam had leaked off-base into the groundwater beneath his land. Thats when the nightmare began, he said. In the years since, Schaap found himself unable to sell the cows contaminated milk or meat. He has been forced to euthanize whats left of the 3,665 animals at Highland Dairy. Ive lost so much money, I dont know if I can restart, Schaap said. The farmer said the Air Forces actions since the pollution began do not demonstrate integrity and said his family has got nothing from the military base. The state Environment Department has accused the Department of Defense of leaving Schaap and the regional dairy industry holding the bag. But Air Force officials say their hands are tied. Now the fourth-generation dairyman faces a new problem: disposing of thousands of contaminated cow carcasses. New Mexico is suing the Department of Defense over the pollution. The state agency says the contamination at Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases poses an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, can cause certain types of cancers, high cholesterol and low birth weights. The forever chemicals that accumulate in the bloodstream were once common in non-stick and waterproofing products. New Mexicos litigation has stalled in federal court with other PFAS lawsuits. State Environment Secretary Jim Kenney said the state and farmers like Schaap are left to navigate the cleanup. We are taking on all the responsibility, Kenney said. From the science and technical modeling of the PFAS plume moving through Clovis, to evaluating how to remediate it, to testing peoples water, public and private water supplies, to educating the community around PFAS exposures. Disposing of dead cows Soon after the Air Force notified Schaap of the contamination, state and federal agencies said the dairys cow milk and meat had to be taken off the market because PFAS levels in the animals exceeded health advisories. Schaap added filters to groundwater wells and replaced tainted feed. But it was already too late. He was shut out of livestock auctions. He spent millions of dollars feeding animals that eventually died. He will likely never get another contract to ship milk out of the dairy southeast of Cannon. State estimates put the farms revenue losses and increased expenses at more than $5.9 million. The U.S. Agriculture Department offers monthly payments for producers who have had to remove milk from the market because of chemical contamination. New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte helped push the USDA to expand that program past the original 18-month limit. Highland Dairy worked with state agencies to outline a plan for the disposal of thousands of dead cows as part of the USDA funding process. We dont want to put that (PFAS) back into the soil and the groundwater, Kenney said. Schaap placed the animals in a shallow trench at the farm with a view of the Air Force Base in the distance. State agencies will help test the decomposed livestock to find the best final option. PFAS levels in the soil and water at the disposal site could force Schaap to move the animals again to a hazardous waste landfill. NMED allocated $850,000 from an emergency fund for cow disposal. The Department of Defense caused the contamination, the pollution, the poisoning of this herd, Kenney said. They have legal responsibility, if not legal certainly ethical, to assist or pay for (Schaaps) expenses. The state continues to test milk at nearby dairies. Slow progress The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a roadmap last fall to study nationwide PFAS contamination and hold polluters accountable. Part of that process is determining if the agency will set a maximum contaminant level for the chemicals, said Greg Lyssy, a senior project manager with EPA Region 6. A legally-enforceable standard would regulate the toxins in drinking water. The EPA has begun testing water systems for nearly 30 PFAS compounds. Were trying to collect more information across the country on how much PFAS is out there what are the levels, he said. But the federal agency has not listed the chemicals as a hazardous waste. A drinking water standard would not go into effect until at least late 2023. Air Force officials say that limits their cleanup efforts. Christipher Gierke, a remedial project manager with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, said a pilot project to pump and treat the aquifer could start construction this summer. This is what (we) can legally spend taxpayer dollars on based on the requirements that are out there now, Gierke said. A $16.6 million project will use three extraction wells and six injection wells to test treatment of the contamination plume that has flowed southeast of Cannon. Gierke said the test will inform long-term cleanup solutions. The Air Force is awaiting lab results from on- and off-base soil and groundwater samples. The data will help Cannon decide locations for off-base groundwater monitoring wells. Im part of this community, and I live here, and thats why I work so hard to try to push this investigation through, because I understand how this does impact the local community, Gierke said. Even so, the Air Force maintains that current federal regulations restrict the Department of Defense from addressing anything other than human water consumption concerns. Four years ago, the Air Force began providing bottled water and filtration systems for Schaaps family and other residents affected by the plume. Highland Dairy spent $200,000 to install a filter on the livestock water supply. The Air Force could not assist with the livestock water. We found out that it takes years to get PFAS out of the cows bodies and its just not a fast fix, Schaap said. In December, the farmer met with Col. Terence Taylor, who became commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon last summer. Schaap commended state agencies and U.S. lawmakers for helping his business through a yearslong crisis. But he said his experience with military officials is like talking to a brick wall. To me, we have got nothing from Cannon Air Force Base, Schaap said. The only reason why they came over to visit us was for political reasons and for a photo-op. The farmer said the bases pilot water treatment project is a waste of time. I think if we can get the cleanup project away from the military and put it to either locals or another agency for cleanup, I think were a lot better off, Schaap said. Taylor has acknowledged that the federal timelines dont always match up with an urgent fix the community wants. Were all interested in ensuring that we have clean, consumable water for the health and well-being of everyone, Taylor said in September. We are not looking for ways to halt progress. In fact, were trying to speed things up as best we can. Whats next Kenney said the EPA roadmap puts teeth to policy that had not been progressing very rapidly in the prior administration. Now it is progressing quickly, although from a state perspective, still not quickly enough, he said. Thats not a criticism, but were dealing with PFAS contamination in a non-theoretical way. Curry County commissioner and Clovis farmer Seth Martin said he understands the militarys need for a data-driven process to clean up the plume. But what is happening now, is it continues to devastate agriculture in that area, Martin said. As for Schaap, the best option may be to move the dairy operations. His property values have plummeted. All thats left of the dairy are the decomposing cows. Theres farms out there, but to relocate is very expensive right now, because land and building materials are so high, he said. We have no idea where well go. (c)2022 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Visit at www.abqjournal.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON Its difficult for Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to express too much hope that this time, after yet another mass shooting in the country, things will be different when it comes to Congress passing legislation to address gun violence. But he allowed room for some optimism Sunday, saying he was in talks with more of his GOP colleagues than ever before. Murphy was in office in 2012 when a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in his home state. And he was in Congress on Tuesday when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers, the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook. In the years since Sandy Hook, there have been plenty of discussions in Washington, but no significant federal legislation has been passed to tighten gun laws, Murphy noted on Sunday. But there are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, Murphy said on ABCs This Week. And while in the end I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before certainly with many more Republicans willing to talk right now than were willing to talk after Sandy Hook, he said. Other Democratic lawmakers also echoed hopes that some gun control legislation may now be worked out, even as most Republican members of Congress have shown little indication they are willing to support any tighter controls on guns. The day after the shooting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., begged his GOP colleagues to consider a bill that would strengthen background checks on those seeking to buy guns. To my Republican colleagues, imagine if it happened to you. Imagine if this was your kid or your grandkid. How would you feel? Schumer said Wednesday. Schumer called on just 10 Republicans to stand before history and yell stop! He then acknowledged the reality that most would not. The Senate went into recess without taking any votes on gun legislation. But on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., deputized Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to negotiate with Democrats on gun legislation. Those bipartisan conversations which have continued throughout the holiday weekend, even though the Senate is in recess have been encouraging, Murphy said. These are serious negotiations, and we are going to continue to meet through early next week to try to find some common ground, Murphy said, before adding that a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks might not be realistic, even though he wholeheartedly supports them. But what were talking about is not insignificant, he added. Were talking about red-flag laws. Were talking about strengthening and expanding the background check system, if not universal background checks. Were talking about safe storage. He once again tempered his optimism, saying that simply breaking that logjam could be the most important step that the bipartisan group could accomplish. That would just show that progress is possible and that the sky doesnt fall for Republicans if they support some of these common-sense measures, Murphy said. Still, most Republicans have shown an unwillingness to budge on allowing any restrictions on gun ownership. On Fox News Sunday, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., who is running for Senate, indicated he would not support any changes to gun laws currently on the books, saying un-infringed Second Amendment rights were required in case citizenry needed to take our government back. NRA-endorsed Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., broke with the GOP last week and said he now would support an assault weapons ban, magazine capacity limits, raising the age to be able to purchase guns from 18 to 21, and other gun restrictions. The recent shootings in Buffalo and in Uvalde forced him to reevaluate his position on guns, Jacobs told the Buffalo News. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., whose NRA rating went from an A to an F after he called for a ban on bump stocks following a mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival, on Sunday blasted the NRA as a grifting scam. Kinzinger said raising the age for gun purchases to 21 years old is a no-brainer and said he was open to regulations or even a ban on AR-15s. On Saturday in Buffalo, Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault weapons. I think if theres a way to maybe when it comes to ARs, you know, if theres a special license you need to own one, Kinzinger said. Im definitely ready to engage in that conversation. And maybe that ultimately includes not selling them anymore. Thats fine, because to me, again, Im focused on saving life now. Presiding over a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., called for a vote on background check legislation after the Senate returns from its Memorial Day recess. We should vote, he said. Thats why we were elected. On CNNs State of the Union Sunday, Durbin said he was not certain the Uvalde tragedy would move enough Republicans to show political courage in a very tough situation. I cant say for certain, but I can tell you, I sense a different feeling among my colleagues after Uvalde, Durbin said. Of course, 10 years ago, it was Sandy Hook, and Parkland, and so many other instances. He added that the stories coming out of Uvalde could compel lawmakers to picture your own children or grandchildren captives of this madman as hes killing them off one by one in that school, and realize, it is time for us to do something. The Washington Posts Mike DeBonis and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report. In the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, schools around the U.S. have brought in additional security staff and restricted visitors as they deal with a new rash of copycat threats. For some families and educators it all has added to uneasiness in the wake of the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jake Green, 34, of Los Alamos, N.M., was jolted when he saw a plainclothes police officer for the first time while walking his 7-year-old daughter into school Friday morning. He grew up in Colorado, not far from where two Columbine High School students shot and killed 12 classmates and a teacher in 1999. Green remembers attending memorials and candlelight vigils as a fifth-grader, but he's torn about whether having police at his daughter's school is best. "In a way, I don't really feel any safer with police around," Green said. "Seeing the police there, it really made it seem like the worst possibility was even more possible today." In El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 23 people in a racist 2019 attack that targeted Hispanics at a Walmart, schools are on edge. The El Paso Independent School District has already encountered some reported threats that turned out to be false. They were either "students joking or overly-sensitive parents," said Gustavo Reveles Acosta, a district spokesperson. "Our community is still raw from that incident," Acosta said. "It hits us in a pretty emotional way." The district, which has its own police department, has also stepped up patrolling at all 85 campuses. Officers have been pulled from monitoring traffic or other duties. Schools already have updated camera surveillance systems. Visitors are required to ring a doorbell and show identification before they can enter. The district is making a point to look out for teachers' and students' mental health. A counseling team has been visiting every school to speak about the shooting in Uvalde. They are also urging people to talk in private about any distress. Mia Baucom, a 15-year-old student at a Forth Worth, Texas, high school said it was surreal to think the Uvalde killings happened in her home state. It also stirred memories of a lockdown at her school two months ago that was prompted by a shooting. "I'm a little more stressed out about it because just the fear of what if that happened at my school?" said Baucom, whose last day of school was Thursday. "Let's say we get more police officers. Most likely that's not going to stop people from going crazy and just shooting up schools." Schools have ramped up police presence in a host of states, including Connecticut, Michigan and New York, after the shooting Tuesday that left 19 students and two teachers dead. In Buffalo, N.Y., where a white gunman fatally shot 10 people in a racist attack in a supermarket on May 14, the largest school district announced new security rules effective immediately. Any visitors parents, siblings, vendors have to call ahead for approval. No exceptions will be made. They may be subjected to a search by a wand detector. Doors will be locked at all times. In Jacksonville, Fla., the Duval County Public Schools' chief of school police banned backpacks or large handbags at any school through Friday, the last day of school. Small purses were allowed but could be searched. A discredited threat against a middle school prompted a Texas school district 200 miles southeast of Uvalde to end the school year a week early. The Kingsville Independent School District announced Friday would be the last day of school. But students should not see any penalty for the premature end to the year. "In light of the tragedy in Uvalde, there has been an enormous amount of stress and trauma. Unfortunately, more stress and trauma are added with 'copy-cat threats' that start circulating such as the one that was sent today for Gillett (Middle School)," Superintendent Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez wrote in a statement on the district's website. It's clear staff and students nationwide are on edge as several reports of firearm sightings on campuses have popped up in the past few days. Two Seattle-area schools went into lockdown Friday morning and police eventually recovered an airsoft gun. The Everett, Wash., schools then had their lockdowns lifted. Two people were arrested Thursday after a Denver high school locked down its campus. Police found a paintball gun but no other firearms. Classes were canceled anyway. UVALDE, Texas Days after a local man burst into an elementary school and killed 19 children and two teachers before officers managed to kill him, the signs of grief, solidarity and local pride are everywhere in Uvalde. Many are wearing maroon, the color for Uvalde's school district. And light blue ribbons adorn the giant oaks that shade the city's central square, where mourners come to lay flowers around a fountain and write messages on wooden crosses that bear the victims' names. In front of a day care center on one of the city's main streets, 21 wooden chairs sit empty. Everyone in the predominantly Latino city of roughly 16,000 people seems to know someone whose life has been turned upside down by losing a family member or close friend in the attack at Robb Elementary School, which was one of the deadliest of its kind. Joe Ruiz, pastor of Templo Cristiano, said a teacher who is friends with his wife herself a former Uvalde teacher summed up the community's mood best by saying people have "cried out everything" they could and are now just tired and needing rest. Police have come under heavy criticism for waiting more than 45 minutes to confront the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, inside the adjoining classrooms where he unleased carnage. As the investigation into the attack continues, including Ramos' reasons for carrying it out, some residents have expressed anger toward the police. Among them is 24-year-old carpenter Juan Carranza, who said he watched the attack unfold from across the street from the school. The next day, he called the officers cowards. Steven McCraw, who heads the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that the school district's police chief, Pete Arredondo, made the "wrong decision" to wait so long before sending officers into the locked classrooms. He said Arredondo, who was in charge of the law enforcement response during the siege, believed Ramos was barricaded inside the two adjoining classrooms and that children were no longer at risk. Arredondo, who graduated from Uvalde High School and was recently elected to the City Council, hasn't spoken publicly since McCraw criticized his decision-making, and his house now has a police guard. Oasis Outback, where Ramos bought his guns, has stayed open and its barbecue restaurant did its usual brisk Friday night business. The gun shop at the back of its sporting goods section was temporarily closed out of respect to victims' families, according to a posted sign. An Oasis employee who declined to give her full name said the store has been getting angry calls blaming it for the attack, but the callers' phone numbers were not from the area. Support for gun rights is strong in Uvalde, which is roughly halfway between San Antonio and the border city of Del Rio. But some parents and relatives of victims are calling for change. "I just don't know how people can sell that type of gun to a kid 18 years old. What is he going to use it for but for that purpose?" said Siria Arizmendi, a fifth grade teacher whose niece, Eliahna Garcia, was killed. She spoke in her dining room shortly before Eliahna's great-grandparents, also Uvalde residents, arrived. Javier Carranza, a 43-year-old gun owner and Army veteran whose daughter, Jacklyn, was killed, said it was "kind of ridiculous" to sell such firepower to an 18-year-old and that better background checks are needed. Uvalde sits amid flat fields of cabbages, onions, carrots, corn and peppers, but mechanized farming replaced many jobs. Construction material companies are among its most coveted employers. The city is home to a Border Patrol station that operates a highway checkpoint and monitors freight trains in what has suddenly become one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings. A massive camp of Haitian migrants that sprang up under a bridge in Del Rio last year made headlines around the world. Many residents can trace their family's presence in Uvalde through three or four generations, creating a cherished sense of community. On one Friday night each month, stores stay open late and food vendors occupy the central square outside a neoclassical courthouse. "Uvalde Strong" messages adorn store windows, T-shirts and lawn signs. Curbs and sidewalks are less common the farther one gets from the central square, with roosters walking on cracked pavement near Robb Elementary School. Ruiz, the Templo Crisitano pastor whose children and grandchildren live in Uvalde, asks new parishioners about their ancestry to get to know them better. Before Tuesday, occasional traffic deaths were the biggest tragedies to befall Uvalde. "We've had individuals murdered, but not on a mass scale like this," said Tony Gruber, pastor at Baptist Temple Church. The Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) and Dar Al-Qarar, a commercial arbitration centre, have discussed cooperation in the field of arbitrator rehabilitation and preparation. BAB Chairman of the Board of Directors Adnan Ahmed Yousif met Tariq Al Shamimri, Secretary-General of the Commercial Arbitration Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Guild States Dar Al-Qarar, recently to discuss ways to reinforce collaboration between the two parties within the framework of the centres services to the financial and banking sectors in the fields of arbitration in commercial and investment issues in the GCC states. During the meeting, the two parties noted Dar Al-Qarars mission of providing qualified arbitrators to the Bahraini and Gulf markets. Conflict resolution Yousif noted the role of the Dar Al-Qarar Centre in serving the financial, banking, commercial and economic sectors through mediation and arbitration services that contribute to conflict resolution through settlement without resorting to law suits, and to serve the economic and investment environment in the GCC states. BAB is eager to expand its collaboration with Dar Al-Qarar by developing a long-term working methodology that will benefit both parties, especially given Al Shamimris significant role in leading the work of this centre and merging international experience with local expertise in the GCC countries to achieve contemporary best practices in the field of arbitration, said Yousif. Al Shamimri said the collaboration with BAB would broaden the horizons of Dar Al-Qarar in its work to develop the legal and arbitration environment in the Gulf states as a whole. In addition to providing advanced international arbitration that helps resolve disputes in the best way, it contributes to supporting the commercial sector and attracting foreign investment by providing a successful and accessible means of arbitrating trade disputes following best international practice. Arbitration training Our philosophy of training at the centre stems from a vision that sees the energies of qualified youth as an opportunity to complete their legal and arbitration capacity and increase their knowledge to take responsibility for resolving commercial, financial and investment disputes through arbitration. This is done by providing trainees with the latest methods of arbitration, Al Shamimri said. Dar Al-Qarar has distinguished itself since its inception in March 1995 in Bahrain through its interest in developing a programme for the rehabilitation and preparation of arbitrators.-- TradeArabia News Service WASHINGTON, D.C. Staggering! one visitor said Saturday as she walked around the USAA Poppy Wall of Honor. A poppy for every American killed in combat since World War I, was the main theme of the wall. More than 645,000 poppy flowers made of fabric were encased on one side of the wall making for a display to visually demonstrate the cost of war and the magnitude of the sacrifices made by Americas war fighters. Its incredible, said Air Force veteran Jim Hilderbrand who was viewing the 133-foot-long exhibit on Saturday after he arrived in D.C. as part of a motorcycle group called Run for the Wall. The group tries to raise awareness for prisoners of war and those listed as missing in action. We ride for those who cant, said Hilderbrand who served in the military for 6 years part of that time working on B-52 bombers and KC-135s at U-Tapao near Bangkok, Thailand, during the Vietnam War. On the ride out from California, he was given a biographical sketch of a person listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. I taped it to my motorcycle, and when I got here, I placed it at his panel where his name is. And that completes my mission. After that mission, Hilderbrand made his way a short distance to the poppy wall. He said words cant describe the feelings he has walking through all the memorials, especially the Vietnam Veterans wall, every year when Memorial Day rolls around. Its healing, he said. The first couple of years he made the cross-country ride, Hilderbrand said he always lost it emotionally, and he had to be sure he had a buddy with him. But its getting easier, he said, and hes always emotionally uplifted when he sees the support of people across the nation who line the streets and overpasses to cheer on his motorcycle group. Its a far cry from what happened when service members came home from overseas assignments during the Vietnam War. Everybody knows what happened when we came home You werent greeted with open arms. You couldnt wear your uniforms around. You were worse than a felon. Hilderbrand said he appreciated his time at the poppy wall, learning about the history of the poppy as a symbol of those who die in war. He was also taken aback by the sheer number of people who lost their lives in combat, as portrayed on the exhibits panels. On the opposite side of the wall from where the poppies were encased, a series of panels gave brief factual accounts on each of the wars. One panel explained how the red poppy became the symbol of remembrance for those who died defending freedom since World War I. Another panel told the story of Canadian doctor Lt. Col John McCrae who penned the poem In Flanders Field, in which McCrae describes poppies in the fields where many of his comrades were lying dead. Retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Charles Restivo was on hand as a volunteer for USAA, where he works as a technical project manager. Restivo said he volunteered to be a part of the poppy display in D.C. because he wanted to get further engaged in understanding what Memorial Day is about. Its eye-opening, Restivo says, seeing how many lives have been lost in the conflicts, but he said another important aspect of having the exhibit on the National Mall during the Memorial Day weekend is the opportunity veterans have to connect with each other. Some of them dont give their story away very easily, Restivo said. And this, I think, allows them With a lot of us being veterans, we can relate. Restivo recently chatted with a veteran who passed through the exhibit and told him about how she had been blown up in a mortar attack. She described herself as Humpty Dumpty being put back together again She was very happy to talk, and I was glad to help accommodate her, and, Ill say, help ease some of her pain. She told me she still has flashbacks. As Restivo finished speaking, the thunderous sound of thousands of motorcycles could be heard heading down Constitution Avenue about a block away from the exhibit. After parking their vehicles, the riders were directed by D.C. police officers to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. Their walking route led right past the poppy wall, which was about to get very busy. (Tribune News Service) When Christopher B. Cosgrove III was a boy, his mom thought that as he grew older he wasnt going to want to spend very much time with his parents. But the young man surprised her. In high school, through college, and even after he graduated and joined the U.S. Marines he was still hanging around with us, his mother, Charlene Cosgrove-Bowie said. He and his girlfriend would just hang out at the house, every time we made vacation plans he still wanted to hang out with us, it was wonderful. As a Gold Star mother a parent of a fallen service member Cosgrove-Bowie has kept up that connection with her son, just not in the way she had ever expected. Cosgrove died 23 while serving in Iraq. Every week, Cosgrove-Bowie spends time with him at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover not far from her home. During a previous visit, she spent time planting flowers at Cosgroves grave along with the other family plots. She watered the flowers as pinwheels blew in the breeze. Bending down to pull weeds she stopped and looked at the pictures and portrait on his headstone. Visitors leave challenge coins, stones, or tokens letting others know theyve been there to pay their respects. Every Memorial Day a gunnery sergeant does a 21-gun salute, and he puts the spent casings around the grave, she said. I try not to get rid of them. I have to honor his memory, and I have to make sure, you know hed be proud of it. It has to be nice and neat and clean and pretty so he would be proud, said Cosgrove-Bowie with a tremble in her voice. Shes not the only Gold Star mother marking a somber Memorial Day. Every week Barbara Rhoads visits her son Ryans grave, sometimes less in the winter, sometimes twice in the summer. The first thing she does is pray and greets him at his resting place in the back of Holy Redeemer Cemetery in South Plainfield. I come, and I take care of his stone, she said on a recent visit as flags around her were whipping in the wind. They do the main part of the area, but they dont get to the side of the gravestone or the foot marker and so Ill bring my Weed Wacker and my blower to get the grass off of it, and I just do the portions (stones) so you can still read it, Rhoads said. As a boy, Rhoads was a lover of music and animals he had frogs, a cat, dogs, lizards, rats. He loved music. Ryan was very full of life, he had lots of friends, he could come into the room and you could feel his smile, Rhoads said. If you were sad he would lift you up, she added with a smile. Rhoads was having trouble finding his path at 21, and with a family history of military service on both sides, he joined the Army. He blossomed, said Rhoads, noting her son did well in basic training but was injured at advanced training. He had to stay in Oklahoma for six weeks while his group returned to Georgia. He was injured again in Georgia but received his heavy equipment certification and, wanting to start a family, he met a woman and married six weeks later. His mother said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, started drinking and was prescribed medication. I spoke to him the night before he died, and he was really happy and he was coming out for Memorial Day (to) spend a week with us and the dogs, added Rhoads. He died May 21, 2015, at the age of 23 in Georgia, before he had a chance to be deployed, according to his obituary. Weeks before his death, Barbara Rhoads wrote her son a letter, telling him she wanted to get a dog. That Mothers Day he surprised her with a puppy, which she named Sophia. She is the highlight of my life because she is from him, said Rhoads with a smile. When Cosgrove-Bowie thinks of her son she thinks of the fond memories, not the ones that hurt. He liked to play jokes and laugh and have a fun time. He was a nice polite young man, he loved people, loved kids, love being around family, Cosgrove-Bowie said. He wanted to join the Marines right after high school, but his mother asked him to wait until after college. After his third year at Monmouth University, he came home and told his mom he had a summer job. What job is that? she recalled asking him. I am going into boot camp, into the Marines, he told her. Cosgrove was able to attend boot camp, return to college and graduate, and then return to the U.S. Marines just as his mother asked. He was a lance corporal with G Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, based at Picatinny Arsenal and was among those who volunteered to go to Iraq. Before he left, he had to make his will and suggested he could be buried in Arlington Cemetery if something were to happen. But his mother said it would be too far for family to come visit. So he put in his will that he wanted to be buried here with the family which I was happy with because I can come to the grave and maintain the grave, said Cosgrove-Bowie. He was in Fallujah in 2006 manning an entry point when an IED went off. The marines that were with him have embraced us and we have embraced them, said a teary-eyed Cosgrove-Bowie. They see each other at least once a year. This time of year is especially difficult for families like Cosgrove-Bowie and Rhoads. I wish I wasnt a Gold Star Mom, Cosgrove-Bowie said. Rhoads said her son wont be alone. The family has bought cemetery plots for her, her husband, and Ryans brothers and sister. I pray for him, I know hes in heaven, I know hes doing better, said Rhoads as she brushed the freshly trimmed and decorated marker for her son After cleaning up the area she decorated it with a wreath, flowers, and a patriotic dog and cat statue. People say happy Memorial Day, but Memorial Day is not happy, she said. emurray@njadvancemedia.com . 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com . (Tribune News Service) The remains of 23 American military service members from Idaho who were killed during the Korean War are still unaccounted for, but after more than 70 years, another fallen soldier from the conflict with ties to the region was finally laid to rest before family just over a week ago. The four surviving siblings of Pfc. Kenneth Bridger, of the U.S. Armys 7th Infantry Division, gathered on Saturday, May 21, at Twin Falls Cemetery for a full military honors ceremony. The private service, which began with a flyover by two Army Black Hawk helicopters and concluded with a 21-gun salute and the customary playing of taps, was decades overdue. Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, who commands the Idaho National Guard, participated in the ceremony. Garshak presented a folded American flag to Bridgers brother, Wilber Bridger, the veterans oldest living immediate relative, and Purple Heart coins to each of the four siblings, representing the award granted to U.S. service members wounded or killed in the line of duty. Its very comforting to me as a service member, and I think to all who serve, to know that we fight for a country thats committed to keeping that promise of never leaving a fallen comrade behind, Garshak told the Idaho Statesman by phone. Regardless of how long it takes, whether its over 70 years in this case 72 years the country will continue its efforts to keep that promise and that pledge. Bridger, a 17-year-old enlistee from northeast Washington, was reported missing on Nov. 30, 1950. His Army regiment, stationed in a defensive position near North Koreas Chosin Reservoir, suffered significant casualties during an attack from communist Chinese troops, and he was believed among them, although his remains were not recovered. A few years later, the Bridger family relocated from Colville, Wash. about 70 miles north of Spokane to Idaho. Just before Memorial Day, the nations annual observance of military members who lost their lives in service to the country, he was buried at the cemetery in Twin Falls in an urn next to his mother and another brother. We set aside Memorial Day to honor Americas defenders the ones who have earned and deserve our reverence, recognition and respect, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in a statement to the Statesman. Lets all commit ourselves to making sure this generation and every one after it honors those who serve in the military forces, especially those who have paid the ultimate price. Through an Idaho National Guard spokesperson, Bridgers family declined an interview, requesting privacy after an emotional time. But the family had long given up the idea of ever being reunited with their brothers remains, according to The Spokesman-Review. Roughly three decades ago, the Bridger siblings gave DNA samples to the military on the off-chance that Kenneths remains were one day located. Its been 30 years-plus since that happened, Wilber Bridger told The Spokesman-Review in February. We werent expecting anything. But that unexpected call did eventually come. Remains of U.S. service members, held within 55 boxes, were returned to American soil in the summer of 2018 in a diplomatic agreement struck between President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, and proved to hold the key. It was unclear then how many missing service members might be included in the remains. More than 80 individuals have yet to be identified, but it is now thought to be as many as 170 Americans, according to a U.S. Defense Departments POW/MIA Accounting Agency spokesperson, represented in those remains all killed between 1950 and 1953 in what is sometimes called The Forgotten War. In January, based on the DNA from Bridgers siblings, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Hawaii identified his remains. Late on Tuesday, May 17, Bridgers remains, under the watchful eye of an active-duty soldier, were flown from Hawaii to Twin Falls, placed in a hearse and guided by a veterans group on motorcycles in a procession to a funeral home. Four days later, the long-lost soldier was honored with several awards including the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, and the Republic of Korea-Korean War Service Medal as he was finally laid to rest. This is the last memory and experience of those surviving family members of their loved ones service to the United States, Garshak said. Theyre all equally significant. Every single military funeral honor that I participate in is significant, but I would say that this one does stand out. 2022 The Idaho Statesman, Boise. Visit idahostatesman.com . (Tribune News Service) A soldier who died during the Korean War and was identified nearly 70 years later was warmly welcomed back to his home of Champaign County during Memorial Day weekend. Cpl. Charles Eugene Hiltibran of Cable, Ohio, enlisted into the U.S. Army in July of 1948, just a day after his 17th birthday. He was later assigned to the Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division in the United States Army. The Champaign County teenager was reported missing in action in December of 1950, during the battle of Chosin Reservoir. His remains were unable to be recovered following the intense, 17-day long battle, according to Hiltibrans obituary. Hiltibrans living family, friends of his family and the community filled Brownridge Hall, home of Urbanas post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, on Saturday to honor the young soldier. Hiltibrans half-brother, Daniel McBride of Springfield, was 3 years old when Hiltibran left for the war. McBride accepted numerous awards on behalf of Hiltibran: a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct Medal, an Army Occupation Medal with a Japan clasp, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars, a Combat Infantryman Badge and a United Nations Service Medal. We werent expecting this much, he said. And were so grateful. Several certificates, plaques and even a p-38 (a can-opener used by soldiers which hung on a chain along with their ID tags) were also given to Hiltibrans family by the Korean War Veterans Association, the Patriot Guard Riders, the Ohio Governors Office and posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Justin Tomlinson said during the funeral services Saturday that soldiers who fought in the battle at Chosin Reservoir did so during bitter cold conditions, with temperatures dipping below -40 degrees. Ceremony officiant Chaplain Ray Branstiter echoed this, saying the actions of Hiltibran and other soldiers during the Korean War remind him of what it means to be a hero. Champaign Countians lined the streets, some saluting, as the young Cable soldier proceeded to Oak Dale Cemetery, where he was laid to rest. Cpl. Hiltibran was brought home, Branstiter said. And all of this would not be possible without the promises of our country and the incredible efforts of the POW/MIA. In July 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes they said contained the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived days later at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for identification, according to a release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Hiltibran was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency April 20, 2020 after his remains were identified using circumstantial evidence and anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis, the DPAA said. The Cable native is the second soldier from this area to be identified recently by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Hawaii. U.S. Army Pfc. Chauncey (William) J. Sharp, of Osborn one of two villages that formed Fairborn in 1950, with Fairfield was identified and his remains were interred Saturday at Dayton National Cemetery. More than 7,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Hiltibrans name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for, the DPAA said. (c)2022 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio Visit Springfield News-Sun, Ohio, at www.springfieldnewssun.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Fire and Emergency New Zealands new Tauranga Service Centre has been officially opened by Internal Affairs Minister, Hon. Jan Tinetti. "The centre will better provide the equipment, logistics, information technology and resources firefighters need to do their job," say Deputy Chief Executive Organisational Strategy and Capability Development Russell Wood. "Firefighters play a vital role in communities to keep people and property safe. Thats why its important that this service centre can manage, store, maintain and distribute safe and fit-for-purpose equipment when and where firefighters need it." The centre will manage Fire and Emergencys regional equipment, logistics, fleet, ICT, and property and was opened on Friday. The new purpose-built facility. Photo: FENZ. "This centre distributes the full range of firefighting and emergency response tools, equipment, technology and other resources, including storing and distributing all the COVID PPE gear used by firefighters across the North Island, and storing and managing thermal imaging equipment used for search and rescue operations," says Russell. "It has been built for the future and designed to be sustainable to cater to the long-term needs of the region." The centre is the workplace for thirteen Fire and Emergency personnel involved in asset management, maintenance, and logistics. In her speech, Minister Tinetti acknowledged the centres important role in making sure firefighters across Nga Tai ki te Puku have safe and fit-for-purpose equipment and resources, when they need them, so they can keep people and properties safe. This centre is the first in a new model for Fire and Emergency, with more of a Region-wide focus. Thirteen Region-based members of the Organisational Strategy & Capability Development Branch from Equipment and Logistics, Fleet, Information and Communications Technology, and Property are based at the centre. Together, they manage, maintain, store, and distribute a huge range of firefighting and emergency response tools, equipment, information technology and other resources for the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti Districts and beyond. The storage and distribution of the COVID PPE gear used by firefighters across the North Island, and thermal imaging equipment used for search and rescue operations, are also managed from this centre. Jan Tinetti addresses attendees at the opening launch. Photo: FENZ. The new centre replaces two separate facilities in Otumoetai and Ngongotaha says Bruce Nilson, Region Equipment and Logistics Manager. Neither was fit for purpose, and they were around 60km apart geographically, he says. Being on one site, and close to two highways, will make a huge difference. The new facility is purpose-designed, with a 1304m2 multi-purpose office, warehouse and workshop building on a 9702m2 site. It includes a canopy to make working outside in any weather much easier. Charlie Lott, National Manager Equipment and Logistics, explains that the site has been designed with sustainability and health and safety front of mind. Weve included features like tanks to store rainwater harvested from the roof that is then used for test water, and electric vehicle charging stations. Were bulk buying firefighting foam in large containers that gets decanted into reusable smaller pails, says Charlie. Health and safety features include a decontamination wash to stop any harmful chemicals being transferred to other parts of the facility, exhaust extraction and noise reduction within the workshop, and hose testing and washing technology that automates many of the processes rather than being hands-on. The Service Centre opening on Friday was also attended by Ngati Ranginui iwi representatives Des Tata and Sonny Ranapia, Fire and Emergency Board Member Mary-Anne Macleod, Deputy National Commander Brendan Nally and Deputy Chief Executive Organisational Strategy and Capability Development Russell Wood, along with members of our Service Delivery and Organisational Strategy and Capability Development teams. The official opening followed a blessing of the new centre on 20 May by Ngati Ranginui iwi representatives. New Zealand King Salmon has revealed a 42 per cent mortality rate for salmon they farmed in warm water areas in their financial year ending January 31 2022. For the salmon towed to cooler water the mortality rate was 37 per cent. SAFE Campaigns Manager Anna de Roo says its an animal welfare disaster. "If this was happening to cows or pigs there would be investigations and prosecutions," says Anna. "Salmon are just as deserving of protection under the Animal Welfare Act, however, currently they have no code of welfare. Mortality rates this high are completely unacceptable and it warrants a full animal welfare investigation." Salmon in the wild would normally be able to swim to cooler waters. Factory farms render them trapped in warmer waters. Overcrowding, an inability to escape danger, disease and heat stress kills hundreds of thousands of salmon every year. Last summer New Zealand King Salmon made 160 trips to the Blenheim landfill to dump 1,269 tonnes of dead salmon. It currently has a resource consent application lodged to open more farms. "Fishes feel pain and have the ability to experience positive and negative emotional states similar to other animals, but, its clear fishes are being ignored," says Anna. "Salmon farming is factory farming, which is inherently cruel. Argentina banned fish farming last year and Aotearoa needs to look at banning it too." "As a starting point, farmed fishes need a code of welfare to begin addressing the terrible treatment of fishes in factory farms." Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Saudi Arabia has actively supported global efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and provided over $770 million to set up a Covax vaccine manufacturing facility, the Saudi Minister of Health, Eng Fahad Al-Jalajel has said. During its leadership of the G20, Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries that requested holding a special summit to unify global efforts to contain the pandemic, he said in a speech delivered at the 75th session of the General Assembly of the World Health Organization WHO, which concluded on May 23rd in Geneva, Switzerland. This resulted in unprecedented global cooperation, leading to the setting up of the Covax manufacturing facility, he said. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' re-election On a different note, Al-Jalajel congratulated Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on his re-election as Director-General of the WHO for a second term, and the renewal of the international community's confidence in his leadership of the Organisation. Al-Jalajel also held several bilateral meetings, in which he met the Ministers of Health in Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Djibouti, Cuba, Maldives, Poland, Malaysia, and India. During these meetings, bilateral cooperation on health was discussed. This WHO meeting is the first since the beginning of the pandemic. The theme of this years Assembly is Health for peace, peace for health. where representatives of member states, partner agencies, civil society representatives, and experts discuss the present and future public health issues of global importance.-- TradeArabia News Service AD Ports Group, the regions premier facilitator of logistics, industry, and trade, will host the 7th Edition of Ports Authorities Roundtable (PAR 2022), a major annual maritime event that brings together port authorities from around the world together. The event is taking place at a crucial time for the ports and shipping sectors, as concerns grow over cargo backlogs in Asia that could potentially have major downstream effects for global supply chains. Under the theme Reimagining a New Era of Trade Together, global port authorities will convene for the first time in the Middle East to exchange best practices, discuss issues of common interest and build mutually beneficial collaboration for todays evolving maritime landscape. The event will take place at Four Seasons Al Maryah Island from May 31 to June 2. At the closed-door event, first launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in 2015, the UAE delegation will be joined by high-level representatives from key global ports including Antwerp, Barcelona, Busan, Guangzhou, Iraq, Kobe, Oman, Rotterdam, Saudi Arabia, Seattle, Singapore and Shanghai. Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group said: AD Ports Group is honoured to bring the Port Authorities Roundtable to the UAE and wider Middle East region for the first time. Exceptional challenges faced in recent years have not only demonstrated the crucial role of trade in sustaining economic recovery but have also created opportunities to fast-track critical developments. "This event represents a key moment for progressive and productive dialogue on our collective response, and conversations at the Roundtable will be an essential cornerstone to establishing actionable roadmaps for the future growth of our industry. Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said: The maritime industry has remained resilient in the face of unprecedented challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. With global supply chain disruption, ports around the world are doing their best to manage the disruption and facilitate the flow of vessels and goods. "As port authorities, we must all continue to collaborate and respond to developments so as to further enhance the resilience of the sector, which plays a critical role in transporting more than 80% of global goods. "Notably, as we tackle immediate challenges, we must also push ahead with transforming our sector for the medium and long term. All port authorities are contributing to strengthen maritime resilience through digitalisation and innovations to improve port to port connectivity and the efficiency and capacity of the entire supply chains through better tracking and optimisation of the flow of goods. " Across sub-themes Disruption, Digitalisation, Decarbonisation, and Diversification the three-day event will focus on the role of ports in the global supply chain and their function to impact energy transition, climate change and the digital evolution, delving into topics on cross-border collaboration, the workforce of the future, cybersecurity and more. - TradeArabia News Service autobahnjpr BHPian Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Jaipur Posts: 204 Thanked: 485 Times Quote: DrCar Originally Posted by I would like to share my experience on how I got scammed at a toll naka You just need to contact your fastag provide and then lodge a complaint. They will check and refund the money. This is not a sign of corruption but a technology issue. Just raise a service ticket/complaint. I have faced similar issues after which I lodged the request for reversal and got the money refunded in my fastag wallet. Quote: kosjam Originally Posted by A friend of mine works for a Bank Fasttag company and I was discussing corruption at Toll Nakas. His opinions were very insightful. .... Earlier Yamuna expressway was not fastag compliant and toll was collected manually. When they implemented fastag, they designed with the new tags and thus older tags were not compliant. The automatic boom barrier would not open with older tags. There are 3 tolls between Noida and Agra and on all the 3 tolls, the operator was kind enough to note down the details and manually enter the same so that money got deducted from my fastag account while he allowed me pass through. Later while returning back, at the first toll plazas I got the newer version tag as replacement and got my balance from old tag transferred to the new tag and the entire thing took just 5 mins. This is the level of convenience we get which we sometimes take for granted. This can happen once in a while. Sometimes the technical request response mechanism goes out of sync and the same request is fired twice, while the previous request itself was successfully completed.You just need to contact your fastag provide and then lodge a complaint. They will check and refund the money. This is not a sign of corruption but a technology issue. Just raise a service ticket/complaint.I have faced similar issues after which I lodged the request for reversal and got the money refunded in my fastag wallet.I would like to share a positive experience of manual entry. I took fastag when it was initially launched in 2017. That time, the tag was narrower and had different bar code. Later new, updated fastag which was broader and had different codes was launched. Till last month, I faced no issue with the older fastag on any of the national highways in multiple states. However, last month when I was travelling on Yamuna Expressway, the RFID reader at toll refused to read my fastag. My fastag had good balance and I told the operator that I have faced no issue so far and showed him the fastag balance on my phone.Earlier Yamuna expressway was not fastag compliant and toll was collected manually. When they implemented fastag, they designed with the new tags and thus older tags were not compliant. The automatic boom barrier would not open with older tags. There are 3 tolls between Noida and Agra and on all the 3 tolls, the operator was kind enough to note down the details and manually enter the same so that money got deducted from my fastag account while he allowed me pass through.Later while returning back, at the first toll plazas I got the newer version tag as replacement and got my balance from old tag transferred to the new tag and the entire thing took just 5 mins. This is the level of convenience we get which we sometimes take for granted. Last edited by vb-san : 29th May 2022 at 16:34 . Reason: Back-to-back posts merged. Please use the EDIT or QUOTE+ (multi-quote) button instead of typing one post after another. The U.S. military wants a space nuclear system demonstration to happen by 2027. This might be possible after two Seattle-based companies won the contract of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). (Photo : Photo by Red Huber/Getty Images) A long exposure was used to create this image) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch complex 39A on May 6, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was carrying another batch of Starlink internet satellites to be deployed to a growing low obit constellation providing Internet access coverage to 32 countries. The U.S. Department of Defense organization announced on May 17 that it chose Ultra Safe Nuclear and Avalanche Energy, allowing them to show their space-based nuclear techs. But, DIU hasn't announced if they will only pick one or two of the upcoming power systems. The U.S. military explained that they want to have a space nuclear system efficient enough to help them keep an eye on government and commercial activities in the cislunar space (the space region between Earth and the moon). US Military Space Nuclear Power System Demonstration According to Space.Com's latest report, the United States is expecting space activities in the cislunar space region to increase in the coming decades. (Photo : Photo by Red Huber/Getty Images) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch complex 39A carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft on a commercial mission managed by Axion Space at Kennedy Space Center April 8, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first fully private crew on an 10-day mission to the International Space Station is commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. Also Read: SpaceX's Rocket System will Soon Deliver US Military Weapons Acrosss the Globe in Just an HOUR! One of these missions is NASA's Artemis program, which aims to bring people to the moon. As of writing, the two Seattle companies are still working on their new nuclear systems. SpaceNews reported that Ultra Safe Nuclear would demonstrate its so-called EmberCore; a nuclear radioisotope battery that can lead to more efficient spacecraft power and propulsion. USNC's battery is expected to help NASA space explorations once it is tested and proven safe. "This 'next-gen' radioisotope system will be able to scale to 10 times higher power levels, compared to plutonium systems, and provide more than 1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy in just a few kilograms of fuel," said the Defense Innovation Unit. Other Space-Based Nuclear Techs You Can Expect Aside from EmberCore, you can also expect Avalanche Energy's Orbitron, which can generate energetic particles after trapping fusion ions in electrostatic fields. The heat and electricity that Orbitron creates are expected to power high-efficiency propulsion systems. Meanwhile, DARPA is also looking to demonstrate its own nuclear tech. Although the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is not connected with DIU's efforts, it still plans to develop a new nuclear thermal rocket engine. Previously, a nuclear fusion experiment achieved 59 megajoules of energy. Some experts also claimed that the largest nuclear fusion reactor might not work as the fuel crisis worsens. For more news updates about space-based nuclear techs and other similar innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: US Military's New Nuclear Rocket To Monitor Earth-Moon Space Region; DARPA Explains Why It's Important This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan have announced an industrial partnership for sustainable economic growth in Abu Dhabi today to unlock new industrial opportunities and enhance sustainable economic growth in the three countries, across five sectors. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, witnessed the signing of the partnership, which is designed to achieve sustainable economic growth across food and agriculture, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, textiles, minerals, and petrochemicals. In order to accelerate the partnership objectives, a $10 billion investment fund has been allocated and will be managed by ADQ Holding. Dr Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and Dr Bisher Al Khasawneh, Prime Minister of Jordan, also witnessed the signing. The partnership agreement was signed by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Dr Nevein Gamea, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade; and Yousef Al Shamali, Jordan Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply. Sheikh Mansour stated: The partnership embodies the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to enhance industrial integration with Arab nations and the rest of the world so we can achieve a major leap in the industrial sector and transform its potential an economic driver. Industry is the backbone of the worlds largest economies. Through its capabilities, effective policies and current focus on developing advanced technology and logistics infrastructure, we are confident that the UAE can build a global economic powerhouse by leveraging industrial partnerships across the region. Sheikh Mansour added: Advancing the industrial sector in the UAE, Egypt and Jordan will help strengthen and diversify the economy in each nation and increase the contribution of industry to the national GDP. This partnership is also a testament to its signatories ability to strengthen their relations and introduce new projects and industries within an integrated industrial ecosystem, while unlocking promising opportunities for future generations. The three nations have diverse resources and unique competitive advantages, including access to raw materials. In particular, they enjoy robust capabilities in the pharmaceutical industries, with a clear ambition to develop and expand them further and increase their production capacity. They also wish to strengthen manufacturing capabilities in the steel, aluminum, petrochemicals and derivatives sectors, said a statement. The three nations combined industrial capacity represents around 26% of the total industrial capacity of the MENA region. These countries also enjoy a highly developed logistical infrastructure, including airports, ports and strategic transport corridors such as the Suez Canal; major companies with distinct capabilities in the main focus areas of the partnership; and access to capital and smart financing solutions. Almost half the total population of the partner countries comprising 122 million people are young people, who represent both a large market and an emerging workforce, it said. Dr Al-Khasawneh highlighted that the partnership is a testament to the depth of the historic relationship between the three countries; emphasising that that the partnership enhances integration, protects supply chains, empowers import substitution, and promotes sustainable economic development; all of which will result in economic growth, job creation and other benefits. Dr Al-Khasawneh thanked the leadership of the UAE for their efforts towards strengthening relations and economic cooperation in the region. Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly thanked the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the UAE for a significant partnership that embodies the depth of relations between the countries. He stressed that the support of the leadership in the three nations facilitated effective consultations and discussions between the stakeholders and specialists, resulting in the conclusion of these important agreements. Dr Madbouly stressed that the current regional and international conditions make it imperative for Arab countries to maximise opportunities for integration, especially since each country has its unique competitive advantage and its capabilities. He added: The projects that have been agreed upon will create an added value for the three countries and will have a positive impact on national security, local industry, and supply chain activities. There will be a continuous follow-up to the implementation of these projects, facilitating procedures, and overcoming obstacles. We aim to quickly reap the benefits of these projects, especially as the first phase achieves many gains in terms of enhancing food and drug security. The projects will also attract foreign investment and provide job opportunities for our youth. UAE minister Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber said: In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology focuses on developing and empowering the industrial sector, enhancing its contribution to the GDP and on economic diversification. He added: "We extend an open invitation to our partners to support this collaboration by encouraging private sector participation, enhancing advanced technology applications, providing smart financing solutions, and opening markets to encourage the growth of the industrial sector in these and other countries." He continued: "In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and with the aim of accelerating the objectives of this partnership between the three nations, a US$10 billion investment fund has been allocated to accelerate the partnership objectives and will be managed by ADQ Holding. - TradeArabia News Service The most tender concern | Guard the "future" to come! The police "Shi Mi" tells you to stay away from the temptation of the Internet His role was a keeper of a magic place, an outsider or a ghost, who knows all the secrets, the corners of the work. Who moves around the other dancers, in the spaces between them, observing them, perhaps guiding them. We laughed so much, and we cried, recalls Spanish dancer Jorge Nozal. It was a journey, and it was very, very special. Jorge Nozal and Adam Elmes. Credit:Eddie Jim It was a way to say goodbye, he says. But also to use all this maturity to go a little bit further, somehow... and every moment on stage I knew this was going to end, so I was there to be in the moment. This is what it was. This is what it is. And I dont know what is going to happen after that. What happened was the pandemic, which ended plans for a European tour of Kunstkamer. Instead its next life was half the world away, in a production for The Australian Ballet that took that company, under ambitious new artistic director David Hallberg, far out of its comfort zone. And Nozal came along for the ride: an adviser to Leon and the company, then unexpectedly reprising his outsider part, coming out of retirement as an alternate performer to Hallberg himself, who would also dance the role. They dont get the opportunities to jump into the cold water, says Nozal, reflecting on The Australian Ballets decision to take on the work so unlike its bread and butter ballet. They never did this work ever, not even one of the four different styles [in the piece]. They never did this language, this style... the goal was literally to transform the company, and make another company. More than half of Australian adults dont have a valid will, even though it could impact their families in the event of their death. Most dont update their will because they simply havent gotten around to it yet, research shows. More than half of Australian adults dont have a valid will. Credit:iStock However, if you die without making a will, there will be implications on the distribution of your assets once youre gone. Updating your will should be done when your circumstances change in life, such as when you marry, divorce, or your grandchildren are born, explains legal expert Nancy Collins, of King & Collins. Experts have poured cold water on the theory that fraudster Melissa Caddick cut off her own foot, instead saying it was entirely possible for the appendage to have been separated from her body and then swept by ocean currents hundreds of kilometres south of Sydney. In November 2020, Caddick, 49, vanished within hours of authorities executing a search warrant at her Dover Heights house in relation to her Ponzi scheme. Over the previous eight years, Caddick had stolen $23 million from clients who thought she was investing their funds in shares. In later February 2021, only days after a warrant had been issued for her arrest, it was announced her partial remains contained in an Asics running shoe had been washed up at Bournda Beach, about 400 kilometres south of Sydney. The Labor caucus will vote on the prime ministership this morning after a dramatic confrontation yesterday between the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, and his deputy, Mr Keating, and the revelation of a 1988 secret agreement in which Mr Hawke agreed to quit after the 1990 election. Caucus will meet at 8 am. The Government was in turmoil last night. Cabinet was forced to defer its long-awaited decision on Coronation Hill after a two-hour meeting described by sources as electric and bizarre. The numbers are uncertain. Mr Hawke must be harmed by the disclosure yesterday that in 1988 he had given Mr Keating a promise in the presence of the transport magnate Sir Peter Abeles and the ACTU secretary, Mr Bill Kelty, to stand aside after the 1990 election. The Right-wing numbers man Senator Graham Richardson lit the match for the leadership confrontation on Wednesday when he went to Mr Hawke, declaring he had learned of the private agreement and asking what he was going to do about it. Mr Hawke confirmed he had made the agreement but said he had changed his mind about going. He told Senator Richardson his disposition was to continue as Prime Minister. But he indicated he would think about it during his trip to Europe, due to start on Wednesday. He also said he would consider the situation overnight. Commercial pilots believe increasing the maximum tailwind speed for landing planes at Brisbane Airport in a bid to reduce noise would be too risky. A professional body representing more than 7000 Australian pilots has begun a public campaign against the move to increase the maximum tailwind for landing aircraft from 5 knots to 7 knots in Brisbane. Pilots are campaigning against calls to increase the maximum tailwind speed for landings at Brisbane Airport. Credit:Brisbane Airport Corporation Airservices Australia and the Brisbane Airport Corporation have been under pressure to address complaints about aircraft noise since Brisbanes new parallel runway opened in July 2020. One recommendation was to ask the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to raise the maximum tailwind speed for landing aircraft. The Andrews and Albanese governments are on a collision course over Victorias Suburban Rail Loop project, according to infrastructure experts, who expect federal cash to hinge on an independent assessment of the plan. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged $2.2 billion before this months federal election as an initial investment in the first stage of the 90-kilometre orbital railway through Melbournes middle suburbs. Anthony Albanese established advisory body Infrastructure Australia as infrastructure minister in the Rudd government in 2008. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But the commitment Labors largest pre-election infrastructure pledge is well short of the $11.5 billion Victoria wants from its federal colleagues to build the loops first eastern leg. The first stage connecting Cheltenham to Box Hill is set to open by 2035 and cost between $30 billion and $34.5 billion. Infrastructure experts said further federal funding would be complicated by federal Labors pre-election pledge of restoring the role of independent advisory Infrastructure Australia, which Albanese established as infrastructure minister in the Rudd government in 2008 to guide spending decisions. A copy of Mooroolbark Grammars legal rules which must be purchased from Consumer Affairs Victoria in a process that took The Age two weeks shows the school is still teaching Applied Scholastics. The purposes of the school include teaching Hubbards methods and are based on his moral code in a publication called The Way to Happiness. The school is affiliated with the Association for Better Living and Education, an international organisation set up by Scientology and says it wants to communicate with Affinity and Reality at all times. Applied Scholastics uses a teaching method called Study Technology which was developed by Hubbard. It says it aims to teach students how to learn and apply what theyve learnt to their everyday life, rather than rote learning and memorising content or concepts. It claims that there is a widespread hidden illiteracy problem in society and that one of the main barriers for students is misunderstanding words. One of the simplistic techniques they use is to encourage students to look up definitions of words they dont understand in the dictionary. Montessori is a style of teaching that has an emphasis on children learning at their own pace and developing natural interests and independence without formal instruction. Mooroolbark Grammar principal Gabriella Agosta, 29, whose name before marriage was Caligiuri, grew up in a family of Scientologists who regularly post on social media about the religion. In a statement in response to questions, she said that information on Applied Scholastics was not included on the website because it was a new school and our website is still under construction. Mooroolbark Grammar principal Gabriella Agosta She did not answer questions as to why the school mentioned Montessori in all its public material and not Applied Scholastics. The statement said the school was proud of its links to Hubbards teachings and parents of prospective students were told of its educational methods. Agosta has been a provisionally registered teacher with the Victorian Institute of Teaching since November last year. Provisionally registered teachers include graduate and early career teachers, as well as those who are returning after five or more years to the profession. She did not answer a question about her experience to run the school. In March last year, Agostas brother uploaded a video to Facebook showing the pair handing out booklets for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World International, an American foundation sponsored by the Church of Scientology. Mooroolbark Grammars website is registered to an adherent of Scientology, and according to the schools social media, it recently had a music program developed by a sound engineer who is featured on the Scientology website speaking about the way the religion helped him tackle life better. Scientology headquarters in Ascot Vale Credit:Justin McManus A Montessori Australia spokesperson said it was a national advisory body that strives to support all authentic Montessori providers but did not oversee the operation of any school or centre, which were all independently owned and operated. They did not oversee Mooroolbark Grammars curriculum or practices and said the school had not undertaken Montessori Australias quality assurance program. Its complete desperation. Theyre still running Scientology but cloaking it behind Montessori, said Paul Schofield, a former board member of Yarralinda and ex-Scientologist who had been heavily immersed in the religion for 30 years. He said Scientology would be inimically opposed to Montessori as it contradicted Hubbards writings. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard Montessori philosophy is a good philosophy, its all workable. Hubbards is completely the opposite. The narcissism of Hubbard is most chronic when you see how he treats children. Theyre objects to be used, he said. Its right through the entirety of Scientology that kids are responsible for their behaviour. They were old beings in young bodies and could do any job required of them as theyd already done them in some of their past lives over the last quadrillions of years. Last month three Australian residents accused Scientology of child trafficking, covering up multiple sexual assaults, forced labour and other abuses in a legal claim lodged in Florida against Scientology leader David Miscavige and five Church-related organisations. The plaintiffs were part of Scientologys Sea Org and Cadet Org entities that involved them signing billion-year contracts to provide free or cheap labour to Scientology. Critics of Scientology accuse it of being money-focused and dangerous claims the church rejects. Loading Before the rebranding, Yarralinda was struggling to survive and had just 27 students according to the MySchool website. Its financial accounts for 2020 show that 64 per cent of its $804,000 in revenue came from federal and state government funding. It had lost more than $100,000 in both 2020 and 2019 and had sold its Mooroolbark site for $4.5 million in early 2021 to Toorak-registered Runslow Pty Ltd. Yarralinda closed at the end of 2021. A planning application was approved by Yarra Ranges Council last year for a 127-place child care centre to be built on the Mooroolbark site. Agosta said her school was not connected to the development. Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes and Greens Senator Dorinda Cox have gone head-to-head over the Liberal Partys election of Peter Dutton as its new leader. While Hughes described Dutton as very effective, Cox said he would continue his divisive nature. Senator Hollie Hughes. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Ive known him for about 15 years and perhaps his public persona versus what hes like in private is very, very [different], Hughes told ABCs Afternoon Briefing. Hes someone who was always very effective, very supportive whenever I went to him with an issue, something that had to be dealt with ... hes very effective. Senator Dorinda Cox. I think theres a lot of people that are nervous about how effective he will be. Hes very, very capable and I think he will ensure the Liberal Party stays very true to its centre right values. In response, Cox criticised Duttons past behaviour and his language today. I think Mr Dutton will continue his divisive nature and weve heard that through the language today, particularly around making a mistake ... boycotting the apology was quite a significant issue and a very, very public stance in relation to that, she said. Glad to hear hes been on a learning curve but I dont hold any hope that thats actually going to provide any collaboration in the work of going forward, particularly for the Liberal Party. We have seen that with [the debate over African gang violence] and the divisive language they used. [And in] jokes about our Pacific neighbours and the water thats been lapping at their door step and them asking for two decades of the politicians and particularly for the Liberal Party for urgent climate action. This will continue to be a narrative that the Liberal Party will continue under Peter Dutton. The two also debated enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the constitution. During the discussion Hughes took a swipe at Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, saying her behaviour is an abomination most of the time. Cox said the behaviour of politicians on both sides needs to be corrected. Tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects used by the Coalition to woo voters at the federal election could be axed or wound back as the new government seeks to bring the federal budget under control. Two long-term mega-projects to which the federal budget has dedicated a combined $5.2 billion the East West Link in Melbourne and the Perth Freight Link are already under scrutiny while money promised to regional communities could be held back to help reduce the size of the budget deficit. The original plan for the East West Link through Melbourne. Despite being rejected by the Victorian government, it and the Perth Freight Link sit on the federal budget. The incoming federal government has inherited a budget forecast to show a deficit of $80 billion this financial year and $78 billion in 2022-23. Gross debt is at $888 billion, on track to reach $1.2 trillion within three years, while interest rates on outstanding debt are climbing. The Coalition used the March 29 budget to announce more than $20 billion in additional infrastructure spending. That included almost $4 billion on rail projects in NSW and Queensland, $3.1 billion on freight terminals around Melbourne and $7.4 billion on dams and irrigation projects. In 2014, Nine screened the last ever season of Australias Funniest Home Videos, the show where excruciating but mostly harmless pranks and accidents were caught on camera and sent in by viewers to be screened to the nation. Axing the show rather than moving it online now looks like a missed opportunity. Just four years later, LadBible launched in Australia from its UK base with basically the same formula. It now tops Facebooks list of widely viewed pages, with posts and videos boasting 104 million viewers in the US alone during the first quarter of 2022. LadBible Australia is the most viewed page on Facebook. LadBibles formula is easy to describe and hard to execute, given the number of clout-hungry influencers and publications it is up against. It scours the internet for trendy topics and viral clips, accepts submissions of cute, funny or shocking videos, and repackages it all into a constantly tweaked fire hose of content that social media algorithms and users seem to love. One of its most popular recent videos on TikTok (1.1 million views) is of a sulfur-crested cockatoo perched on a side-view mirror, eating a McDonalds hash brown, as the driver goes for a spin. Only in Australia is the caption. Bologna: A captain of Italys flagship state airline has been fired after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls, leaving traffic controllers unable to communicate with the plane for ten minutes. According to the Italian daily Repubblica, both pilots of the ITA Airlines AZ609 passenger flight from New York to Rome on April 30 had dozed off at the controls of the Airbus 330. Italian national carrier ITA. Credit:AP The co-pilot was napping for a controlled rest as procedure allows, according to the report, but the captain is supposed to be awake and reachable. ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, is the new state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy, which the government reorganised after Alitalia formally declared bankruptcy last autumn. Girls take part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) Girls take part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) A girl takes part in a paint-me-red campaign against sexual violence in Lalitpur, Nepal, May 28, 2022. The campaign is meant to raise awareness against sexual violence. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua) Chicago police work at the scene of a shooting near East Chicago Avenue and North State Street in the Near North Side neighborhood in Chicago on May 19, 2022. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) 21 Shot, 4 Dead Across Chicago Over Memorial Day Weekend: Police At least 21 people were shot, including four fatally, across Chicago from Friday to Sunday morning, officials confirmed. In one mass shooting incident, five people were seriously wounded after a fight broke out early Sunday morning in the Lawndale neighborhood on Chicagos West Side. Five people aged 16 to 33 were on a sidewalk on South Karlov Avenue at around 1:30 a.m. when a fight broke out and a shooting ensued, police told local media outlets. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, a male and femaleboth aged 21were shot in the arms, a 21-year-old man was shot in the left side of the body, and a 33-year-old male was shot in the face. No suspects have been arrested. In another part of Chicago, a man whose age is not known was shot and killed in Englewood on the South Side. Officials said he was on a sidewalk on South Carpenter Street when someone shot him in the head and body, according to local media reports. On Saturday, two males were killed after they opened fire in Englewood at around 5 p.m. on South Bishop Street, police said. After they shot each other, both males were transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. One of the shooters was identified as 29-year-old Derrick Washington, authorities said. Another person was shot and killed on the South Side on Saturday at around 1:30 p.m. on West 63rd Street, according to police. The mans age and identity were not provided, and no suspect has been taken into custody, police said. Last weekend, one person was killed and another 26 were wounded in shootings across Chicago, which has among the strictest gun control laws in the United States. In 2022, there have been 899 shooting incidents, according to Chicago Police Department data. Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that in response to recent shootings, Im not gonna rest, and I know the superintendent and the entire department shares my resolve that weve got to do more to give people confidence and make them feel safe because they are safe, according to local media. Anyone who imagines that the suspension of Covid-related measures in much of Europe means that those measures, and hence the C-19 vaccination campaign, are things of the past should have a look at the recent pronouncements on the subject of the European Commission, starting with Commission President Ursula von der Leyens April 27 statement on the next pandemic phase. While acknowledging that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over but apparently not, on her account, the pandemic as such von der Leyen warns that we must remain vigilant. Infection numbers are still high in the EU and many people are still dying from COVID-19 worldwide. Moreover, new variants can emerge and spread fast. But we know the way forward, she concluded, We need to further step-up vaccination and boosting, and targeted testing. The emphasis is mine. Note that von der Leyen does not merely say that vaccination and boosting should continue say perhaps for particularly vulnerable groups she says rather that they have to be further stepped-up! This in an EU in which, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, nearly 85% of the adult population has already been fully vaccinated! In the Commission press release, von der Leyens call for stepped-up vaccination and boosting is the first of a series of measures that member states are called on to take before autumn. A factsheet on COVID-19 Sustaining EU Preparedness and Response: Looking ahead, which was published by the European Commission on the same day, April 27, reiterates von der Leyens point. The first section is entitled Increasing uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and the first bullet point reads: Member States should increase vaccination uptake and the administration of boosters and fourth doses for those who are eligible. They should also increase vaccination among children. Here, the emphasis is in the original. The second bullet point continues: Member States should prepare COVID-19 vaccination strategies for the coming months taking into account the simultaneous circulation of seasonal influenza and incorporate COVID-19 vaccination into national vaccination programmes. On May 12, The European Parliaments recently created special committee on the Covid-19 pandemic (COVI) hosted a question-and-answer session with EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. (Full video here.) In a tweet, the French Member of the European Parliament Virginie Joron summed up the gist of Kyriakidess remarks as follows (authors translation): PRIORITY: 100 million unvaccinated in EU who will have to be convinced and targeted without discriminating against them. > combatting misinformation > next pandemic with new variants this winter Like Kyriakides, incidentally, the Commission press release also identifies intensify[ing] collaboration against mis- and disinformation on COVID-19 vaccines as one of the priority actions for the fall. Finally, in a more recent May 17 tweet, Virginie Joron shared the below photo of a Commission document that was distributed to the EU Parliaments Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and that includes, in effect, a vaccination strategy for the fall. This document likewise targets the unvaccinated, its first bullet calling on EU member states to: Strengthen efforts to increase the uptake or completion of the primary course among the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated including by continuously monitoring and analysing vaccine hesitancy to overcome it. The emphasis on targeting the unvaccinated is particularly puzzling given how rapidly vaccine-induced protection against Covid-19 is now known to wane. In immunological terms, once it has, there is, of course, no meaningful distinction to be made anymore between vaccinated and unvaccinated. Some studies and data even suggest that the vaccinated are at this point more prone to infection. Only the very recently vaccinated may perhaps enjoy some added protection. Numerous observational studies have demonstrated how rapidly the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines wanes: in particular, that of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, which is by far the most widely-used vaccine in the EU. But there is no need to cite these studies here, since the very next bullet point in the Commission document tacitly acknowledges the rapid waning of vaccine efficacy, calling on member states to: Increase efforts on the uptake of booster doses by all eligible adults, starting from three months after the primary course. The emphasis here is again mine. The third and last vaccine-related bullet-point specifically concerns child vaccination. It is truncated in the document photographed by Joron, but the full version is to be found in the Commissions most complete statement of its Covid-19 strategy for the fall: a communication to the Parliament and other EU institutions that likewise dates from April 27. The full version of the recommendation reads as follows: Before the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, consider strategies to increase vaccination coverage rates among younger children, e.g. by working with paediatricians and other health professionals who are trusted sources of information for many parents. It was considerate of Kyriakides to insist that the unvaccinated should not be discriminated against, even if they need to be targeted. But it should be noted that the April 27 communication, as reflected in Jorons photo, also stresses the need to [e]nsure the adoption of the Commission proposal to extend the application of the EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation. The main effect and purpose of the EU Digital Covid Certificate, which has also served as framework and infrastructure for domestic health or vaccine certificates in EU member states, is, of course, precisely to reward the vaccinated and discriminate against the unvaccinated. The European Commissions April 27th documents thus clearly invoke a new rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the fall, specifically targeting the hitherto unvaccinated and also children. Moreover, if the Commission gets its way as it can be expected to and the EU Digital Covid Certificate is indeed extended, they also raise the specter of this new rollout being combined with exactly the same coercive, discriminatory measures that turned Europes unvaccinated into social pariahs for much of the last year. From Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Pro-pipeline supporters rally outside a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources regarding Bill C-69, in Calgary, Alta., on April 9, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh) Alberta Courts Overturning of Liberals Environmental Impact Law Marks Principled Approach to Federalism: Law Prof The recent ruling by the Alberta Court of Appeal that the federal governments Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is unconstitutional may show that the court has a principled approach toward federalism thats more consistent with earlier jurisprudence, says a constitutional law expert. Other courts are approaching federalism in Canada a little bit differently today, and the Alberta Court of Appeal may have a different approach than some other courts, Dwight Newman, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said at a webinar hosted by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute on May 26. I wouldnt describe it so much in terms of the Alberta Court of Appeal standing for provincial rights, so much as the Alberta Court of Appeal standing for a very principled approach to federalism in line with a lot of prior jurisprudence. The court ruling on May 10 said that the federal government shouldnt override the Constitution and the federal system through laws such as the IAA. The act allows Ottawa to measure the environment impacts of intra-provincial pipeline and other energy development projects such that the federal government essentially has veto power. The IAA is part of Bill C-69, which received royal assent in June 2019. Detractors like Alberta Premier Jason Kenney had dubbed it the No More Pipelines Bill. Newman said the courts ruling is a big division of powers decision between federal and provincial jurisdictions that came out strongly in favour of the province. He said the reasonings will be further debated, and one involves the courts argument that the IAA is the federal governments attempt to regulate every resource development project, including those entirely within a single provinces jurisdiction. In particular, the court made reference to Section 92A, an amendment to the Constitution that says natural resource ownership, development, and management are within the jurisdiction of the provinces. The panellists also drew reference from another Alberta Court of Appeals decision on the federal carbon tax. In February 2020, the court ruled that the Liberal governments carbon tax was unconstitutional, though the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately struck down the decision in favour of the government. However, Newman noted that while he finds it a smart decision for the Alberta government to refer both the carbon tax case and the IAA case to the Alberta Court of Appeal, it doesnt mean the court is biased in protecting the people in the province, but rather it is standing up for legal principle. The Alberta Court of Appeal has done that in these two decisions as best it sees it, he said. The federal government is appealing the Alberta Court of Appeals decision to the Supreme Court. Alienation of Western Canada Several panellists at the webinar discussed how the IAA has increased Western Canadas frustration with Ottawa intervening in issues under intra-provincial jurisdiction. Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the University of Saskatchewan and an MLI distinguished fellow, said that following the defeat of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, there has been a slowdown in the approval of pipeline projects and more policy obstacles for energy development, including Bill C-69. The West was really angry about that. You have this sort of net-zero objective where people in the West are always looking to Ottawa and saying, When are they coming at us?' Coates said. These are all part of a piece where Western Canada has been increasingly frustrated with Confederation. Heather Exner-Pirot, an MLI senior fellow, said the issue also calls for a return of the Confederations division of power between the provinces and the feds, as theres a sense that Ottawa is encroaching more and more [on Western Canada] and trying to centralize things. Were a diverse country of different economic interests, different cultural interests, and so trying to make us all fit the mould is a recipe for disaster. And were seeing the polarization, were seeing the alienation, and were seeing the opposition to that, Exner-Pirot said. A lot of Canadas polarization issues would be addressed if the federal government stuck to federal powers and the provinces stuck to their powers. Noe Chartier contributed to this article. Star Wars fans attend the first day of the Star Wars Live Celebration, at the Anaheim Convention Center, in Anaheim, Calif., on May 26, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) All the Star Wars Announcements at Star Wars Celebration Star Wars fans and investors in Walt Disney Co. might be interested to hear the latest news and updates from the Star Wars Celebration. Here is a look at some of the news and trailers shared at the event that could keep Star Wars fans and investors happy for years to come. The Star Wars Celebration is being held in Anaheim, California from May 26 through May 29 to celebrate all things Star Wars and Lucasfilm. The event was last held in 2019. Lucasfilm, which is part of Disney, typically uses the event to highlight upcoming releases in the Star Wars franchise and also spotlight key actors of past and present who interact with fans throughout the event. Here are some of the key highlights from the event: Obi-Wan Kenobi Highly anticipated Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi hits streaming platform Disney+ Thursday at 9 p.m. PT with the first two episodes. Several of the stars of the show were at the event including Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, who play Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively. We are back. Its been too long, but the wait is almost over, Christensen told the crowd. McGregor told the crowd that part of the reason he came back to the Star Wars franchise was the fans. In the last five or six or so years, we started to feel all of your love for the prequels that we made. The truth is, thats meant an enormous amount to us, McGregor said. Rupert Friend (L), Deborah Chow (2nd L), Ewan McGregor (C), Moses Ingram (2nd R) and Hayden Christensen attend the studio showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Anaheim, Calif., on May 26, 2022. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) Andor Series Cassian Andor, who was a featured character in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, gets his own series with Andor coming to Disney+ on Aug. 31, 2022 with a two-episode premiere. The series is set five years prior to the film and comes with 12 episodes in the first season and a second season already in the works. I know what he represents, star Diego Luna said of Andor, This is the story about the people. Its a story that has the most to do with us. Its about what we can do, its about the power we have. Ahsoka Fan favorite character Ahsoka gets a series set to hit Disney+ in 2023 with Rosario Dawson playing the famous Jedi knight. The Mandalorian Disney+ series The Mandalorian is set to return in February 2023 with showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni sharing details with the crowd. New Star Wars Series Announced While several of the shows and movies highlighted at Star Wars Celebration has already been teased or announced, a new series was shared for the first time: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew starring Jude Law will debut on Disney+ in 2023. The series centers on a group of children lost in space. Its the story of their journey trying to find their way home, Jon Watts said. It stars four kids, but it is not a kids show. Watts, who serves as the director of the new series, was the director of the last three Spider-Man movies for Disney and Marvel. Willow Another Lucasfilm owned franchise is Willow. A new series is set to premiere on Disney+ on Nov. 30 and take the franchise into the future from the 1988 film of the same name. Warwick Davis, who played Willow in the movie and was also featured in the Star Wars franchise, returns in the series. A trailer was shown at the Star Wars Celebration. Indiana Jones Another Lucasfilm franchise outside of Star Wars is Indiana Jones. The fifth Indiana Jones film was highlighted with Harrison Ford in attendance. The movie was given a release date of June 30, 2023. Unlike many of the showcased series that will be exclusive to the Disney+ platform, the Indiana Jones film will be released in traditional theaters. We have almost completed the next Indiana Jones film, featuring the music of John Williams, Ford said. I am really proud of the movie that we made. No plot details of the film were shared and Lucasfilm did not unveil a trailer. A teaser image of the film was shared Thursday. Why Its Important The Star Wars franchise celebrated its 45th anniversary on May 25. The anniversary of the franchise, the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Celebration and the annual holiday May the Fourth highlight an exciting month for the beloved franchise. The last Star Wars film to hit theaters was Star Wars Episode IV: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The company has some movies in the works including Rogue Squadron, set for a theatrical release in 2023. Disney and Lucasfilm used Star Wars Celebration to spotlight several series and highlight the exclusive content in the franchise coming to the Disney+ platform. Disney reported 44.4 million domestic Disney+ subscribers and 129.8 million worldwide subscribers for the streaming platform. As the home of many exclusive Star Wars shows and others in the Disney catalog from Marvel, Pixar and Disney Animation, Disney+ could continue to be a must-have streaming platform for movie and television lovers. By Chris Katje Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 23, 2022. (David Gray/Getty Images) Counting Continues as Australian Labor Party Just One Seat Shy of a Majority Government Labors hopes for majority government are now pinned on three electorates after a fourth lower house seat went to the Greens. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday called last weekends election an outstanding result for the party. The major parties both received record-low primary votes, but Albanese pointed to voters in traditional blue-ribbon seats putting independents as number one. Deakin and Macnamara in Victoria and Gilmore in NSW are the three seats that remain close. Labor needs 76 seats to gain a majority in the lower house of federal parliament, with the party sitting on 75. Liberal MP Michael Sukkar is 655 votes ahead of Labors candidate Matt Gregg in Victorias Deakin electorate, which has recorded a roughly 4 percent swing to Labor. In Macnamara, incumbent Labor MP Josh Burns has taken a slight lead over his Greens rival Steph Hodgins-May with Liberal candidate Colleen Harkin trailing. In NSW, sitting Labor MP Fiona Phillips is 214 votes behind Liberal candidate Andrew Constance in Gilmore, with postal votes slightly favouring Constance. Even with Labors final count in Parliament House uncertain, the party will hold a caucus meeting on Tuesday before its new ministry is sworn in on Wednesday. The Greens have claimed victory in the Queensland seat of Brisbane, with sitting Liberal MP Trevor Evans relinquishing the seat to Stephen Bates after a tight contest between Bates and Labors candidate. And Nationals deputy David Littleproud announced on Saturday he will run against Barnaby Joyce for the partys leadership. Former veterans affairs minister Darren Chester has also put his hand up for the role. The junior coalition partner will have its first post-election meeting on Monday where they will spill the leadership as per tradition. A man walks at one of Europe's largest clothing market "Barabashovo", destroyed by shelling in Kharkiv, on May 21, 2022. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images) Australian Man Confirmed Killed in Ukraine An Australian man has died while providing humanitarian aid in war-torn Ukraine, the prime minister has confirmed. Michael ONeill, 47, was killed on Wednesday, leaving behind three children as well as five siblings. This is a tragedy and I want to give my condolences to the family of the man involved, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in Sydney on Saturday. The family has requested that their privacy be respected and I ask the media to do that. In a public post on Facebook, one of ONeills sisters said he had been driving trucks in Ukraine to help civilians flee the country as well as helping transport the wounded. She described her brother as a larrikin and always a battler. Always looking for a cause he headed to Ukraine to drive trucks, she said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February, with allegations of war crimes made against the federations troops since the invasion. During his trip to the Quad leaders meeting on Tuesday, Albanese said he had expressed Australias view that the Russian unilateral, illegal, immoral attack on the people of Ukraine was an outrage. The atrocities which are being committed on innocent civilians is something that we couldnt have expected in the 21st century, he told reporters after the meeting. Earlier this month, then-foreign minister Marise Payne announced further sanctions on high-profile Russians, including media personalities and military higher-ups. The Greens' candidate for the seat of Brisbane Stephen Bates speaks during the party's election night function on May 21, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Dan Peled/Getty Images) Australias Left-Wing Greens Claim Federal Seat of Brisbane The Greens have declared victory after winning the federal seat of Brisbane, snatching the Queensland electorate from the Liberals and gaining a fourth spot in the House of Representatives. Greens candidate Stephen Bates took the seat over Labors Madonna Jarrett after a close race and a tense week of vote counting for the electorate, which covers the city of Brisbane. The Greens have won three seats in Queensland after also claiming Ryan and Griffith. Party leader Adam Bandt holds the seat of Melbourne in Victoria. In his election promise, Bates pledged he would tackle the climate crisis by advocating for 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, manufacturing renewables in Australia, and investing in public transport. He also wanted to ban corporate donations to political parties, establish a Federal Corruption Watchdog, and expand Medicare to cover dental and mental healthcare. From the conversations weve had with people across Brisbane for the last 12 months, the mood has been people were angry, Bates said while declaring victory on Saturday. People were fed up with the status quo, and people were fed up with the complete inaction on climate change. Bates said new Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would have to work with the parliament that was given to him. Even if Labor does form a majority in the House, we will still be in the balance of power in the Senate, he said of his predictions as votes are finalised. That gives us such a great opportunity to actually work with the Labor government to go further and go better on policies that we know will benefit the people in this country, he said of the Greens climate agenda. Jarrett said she had called to congratulate Bates. Although counting is still ongoing, it is clear that we wont get across the line here in Brisbane, she wrote on Facebook. While I am disappointed I could not be prouder of the campaign we have run here in Brisbane over the past 12 months. Outgoing Liberal MP Trevor Evans conceded defeat last Saturday as despite leading the three-candidate preferred count, he was unlikely to retain his seat due to preferences. Greens leader Adam Bandt declared the greenslide continues in a statement on Saturday. Stephens fantastic win means the Liberals defeat is even more profound, he said. Were the most powerful third party in the parliament and were ready to fight for action on climate and inequality. Kim Kardashian West of 'The Justice Project' speaks onstage during the 2020 Winter TCA Tour Day 12 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena, in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 18, 2020. (David Livingston/Getty Images) Beyond Meat Partners with Kim Kardashian in New Campaign Beyond Meat announced on Tuesday that it would be launching a new campaign with Kim Kardashian, who will be joining the company as chief taste consultant. Kardashian appeared in a promotional video to announce her new partnership with the company, in which she is expected to make regular contributions to Beyond Meats newsletter with exclusive offers, recipes, content, and more, the company promises. Beyond Meat noted that Kardashian is highly selective of brands she partners with, but said she chose to work with Beyond Meat as a long-time fan of the brands products and mission. I believe so much in the mission of Beyond Meat that Ive stepped in to help with my greatest asset: my taste, says Kardashian in the promotional video. Now that Im Beyond Meats chief taste consultant, Kardashian says, theres never been a better time to go beyond. However, by the consensus of investors in the stock market, there have indeed been better times to go beyond. While the company was once the darling of the emergent meat substitute industry, Beyond Meat has since fallen from grace, as reflected by the diminishing prices of shares in the company. Currently, the cost of the companys stock sits below $23 per shareless than its initial public offering of $25 dollars per share in May 2019, and less than a tenth of the stocks July 2019 peak. Further contributing to the woes of the company, it has been scrutinized over the purported health benefits of its product. Though Beyond Meat frequently touts the nutritional benefits of its product compared to animal meat, critics claim that the companys meat alternatives are highly processed and high in seed oils, containing harmful and unnatural concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids. For vegan food and beverage companies, suggestions that their products may not be as healthy as purported can do great damage to a companys reputation. Swedish company Oatly has also faced criticism over the nutrition content of its vegan milk alternatives, which are also heavily processed and laden with canola oil, with the companys stock prices having fallen by over 80 percent since its stock market debut in May last year. Such concerns over meat and dairy alternatives can also be highly politicized, as they are tied to the Great Reset proposed by German economist Klaus Schwab. One of the pillars of such a reset to the global economy is a drastic reduction in human consumption of meat, which Schwabs World Economic Forum has described as an occasional treat, not a staple. If it were up to me Id have your company seized and dismantled and your owners put in jail for poisoning the public, said one Twitter user during a heated exchange with the official Oatly Twitter account last February, during a day in which Oatlys social media team responded to hundreds of people criticizing the company. Such hostility on social media is well-known to Beyond Meat too. In May 2020, the companys product became the basis for the popular internet meme Two Soyjaks Pointing, modeled on a photograph of two men pointing at a sign for Beyond Fried Chicken while making the expression derisively referred to as the soylent grin. The meme, which implies that the phytoestrogen content of soy products has a feminizing effect on the men who consume them, is a testament to the skepticism that Beyond Meat has encountered from consumers accustomed to animal products. These concerns are mirrored by the companys plummeting stock prices. Beyond Meat did not respond to requests for comment on criticisms of the nutrition value and political implications of the companys products. It is not altogether certain that such backlash is responsible for the companys plummeting value, but the convergence of reputational and financial woes will likely prove difficult to reverse for the once-hyped company. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden pay their respects at a makeshift memorial outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 29, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Visits Texas Shooting Site as DOJ Launches Review of Police Response President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday to pay respects to the victims who were killed during last weeks mass shooting as the Justice Department signaled that it would initiate a federal review of the police response. Reporters on the scene in Ulvade said that the Bidens arrived in the Texas city on Sunday morning. Biden visited a makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School before he went to attend Mass at a local Catholic church Biden was also scheduled to meet with family members at a community center and later meet with first responders at a local airport before returning to Washington. The White House said he wont deliver a speech. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden pay their respects at a makeshift memorial outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 29, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Last week, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and shot and killed 19 children and two adults. Officials recently said that police waited more than an hour before entering the building to stop the assailant, who was eventually killed by a Customs and Border Protection agent. Also Sunday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would review how law enforcement dealt with the shooting amid reports that police delayed their response. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin made the request, according to the federal agency. The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley announced in a statement on Sunday. The DOJs Office of Community Oriented Policing will review the response and will publish a report, the agency said. A day before and during a speech at the University of Delaware, Biden suggested that more gun control measures are on the table, saying, We can finally do what we have to do to protect the lives of our people, and of our children. Ill be heading to Uvalde, Texas, to speak to those families. As I speak, those parents are literally preparing to bury their children, in the United States of America, bury their children. There is too much violence, too much fear, too much grief, Biden said. It came about a day after Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault weapons while speaking at a funeral of a woman who was shot in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, earlier this month. Its possible that she was referring to AR-15-style rifles such as the one that was used in Uvalde. We are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, were not looking for a vaccine. We know what works on this, Harris told reporters near Air Force One, adding: Lets have an assault weapons ban. You know what an assault weapon is? You know how an assault weapon was designed? It was designed for a specific purposeto kill a lot of human beings quickly. An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in a civil society, she said. A makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School is filled with flowers, toys, signs, and crosses bearing the names of all 21 victims of the mass shooting that occurred on May 24, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) The term assault weapons has been criticized by pro-Second Amendment groups and Republicans for being intentionally misleading and vague. Definitions of what constitutes an assault weapon also vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, although they are often defined as a semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine, sometimes with a pistol grip. The term is sometimes interchanged with assault rifle, which historically has referred to fully automatic or selective fire rifles that use intermediate cartridges such as the .223 Remington. Last year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a measure, known as the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021 (pdf), seeking to ban more than 200 different weapons, including rifles that fire small rounds such as different variations of the Ruger 10/22. More than 30 Democrats in the Senate backed her bill at the time. Around the same time last year, Democrats in the Senate also proposed a federal ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, which ended in 2004, prohibited the making, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons, which was defined in the Act. Fully automatic weapons have been banned since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act. Weapons banned were identified either by specific make or model (including copies or duplicates thereof, in any caliber), or by specific characteristics that slightly varied according to whether the weapon was a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban says. Chris Raniere at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg ,Fla., on May 28, 2022. (Lily Yu/The Epoch Times) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.Chris Raniere, who works as a vice president at a software development company, notes that beyond presenting a beautiful performance, Shen Yun Performing Arts also showcases Chinas culture to the audience. Its fantastic, really educational as well, said Mr. Raniere, who works as a vice president at a software development company. Traditional Chinese culture is beautiful. New York-based Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance and music. The company travels the world each year with all new programming, with a mission to revive Chinas culture. Mr. Raniere said its very important to bring back traditional culture, especially in modern times, as many things have deteriorated, he added. Bringing back traditional culture across the world is very important, he said. [Shen Yun does] a good job of explaining some really good things that I dont think everyone totally understands. Mr. Raniere added that Shen Yun is very elaborate, and praised the different range of classical Chinese dances as well as different ethnic and folk dances presented by Shen Yun. The diversity of the dance is fantastic, he said. Incredible to Watch Keith Hansen and Brittany Scot at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., on May 28, 2022. (Kailiang Jia/The Epoch Times) Brittany Scott, vice president at a cyber security company, said she found Shen Yun to be a vibrant performance. The colors are absolutely beautiful, and it tells a story without words, she said. Its been really enjoyable to watch and really be taken in by just the beauty of the dancers and the colors. Ms. Scott said she was intrigued by the Shen Yun Orchestra, which plays original compositions to accompany the dances on stage. Im very impressed by how brilliant they are and I really enjoyed the music and musicality of the performers and of the orchestra, she said. It was pretty incredible because it builds up and you can really go along with the story with the orchestra. Its been incredible to watch, she said. Keith Hansen, who owns a fitness center, said he also enjoyed the different aspects of Shen Yun. Theres a lot going on visually: the colors are beautiful, the movements beautiful, he said. Ive never been anything like this before. Reporting by Lily Yu and Kailiang Jian. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Canadas Top Judge Spoke Bias Against Trucker Convoy, Lawyers Say Thirteen lawyers have sent a complaint letter to the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) about comments made by Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner regarding the trucker convoy that staged large-scale protests against COVID-19 mandates in downtown Ottawa earlier this year. The seven-page letter quotes a full page of excerpts from an April 9 Le Devoir article in which Wager said the convoy was the beginning of anarchy where some people have decided to take other citizens hostage, to take the law into their own hands, not to respect the mechanism. That, I find that worrying. Wagner characterized the convoy protests as a circumstance that could undermine our principles such as judicial independence, the rule of law, institutions. He said the protests included people of good faith but also others who were remotely guided with misunderstanding and a certain ignorance of the rule of law, and who were seeking to bypass the political system. It doesnt inspire good feelings in me. I find that disturbing, Wagner said. The Le Devoir article adds, Forced blows against the state, justice and democratic institutions like the one delivered by protesters to the doors of the Prime Ministers office and the Supreme Court of Canada must be denounced with force, and this, by all the figures of power in the country, believes Mr. Wagner. Appearance of Partiality In February 2022, four groups filed notices of application with the Federal Court to review all matters related to the trucker convoy to determine whether the invocation of the Emergencies Act was justified. The lawyers expressed concern over the possibility that one or more of those applications may reach the Supreme Court and be heard before Wagner. [T]he Chief Justices views expressed in the Le Devoir article fit within the legal definition of a reasonable apprehension of bias and an appearance of partiality. We submit that the Chief Justices remarks will undermine Canadians confidence in the independence of the Supreme Court of Canada in particular, and in the judiciary, generally, the lawyers letter read. We further submit that the confidence of the litigants in the capacity of the judicial system to impartially and fairly determine the issues raised in the four (4) Notices of Application filed, plus any other Notices of Applications to be filed, will be undermined. In their letter, the lawyers cited the CJCs own Ethical Principles for Judges, whose latest edition was published in 2021. The principles are written for federally appointed judges, including those on the Supreme Court of Canada. The principles say that judges must ensure that their conduct at all times maintains and enhances confidence in their impartiality and that of the judiciary and avoid using words or conduct, in and out of court, that might give rise to a reasonable perception of bias. The letter also cited a section from a United Nations publication titled Commentary on the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct. A judge should not involve himself or herself inappropriately in public controversies, the commentary said. If a judge enters the political arena and participates in public debateseither by expressing opinions on controversial subjects, [or] entering into disputes with public figures in the community, he or she will not be seen to be acting judicially when presiding as a judge in court. The Epoch Times reached out to Wagner for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication. Queens University law professor Bruce Pardy was one of the signatories, as was lawyer Keith Wilson, who has represented some of the Freedom Convoy protest participants. The CJC is composed of Canadas 41 chief justices and associate chief justices. It is chaired by Chief Justice Wagner himself. It was created in 1971, partly in response to the case of a judge who was charged with a criminal offence but the charges were later dismissed. Since 1990, the CJC has heard 15 complaints. The last one was made in 2017 against Superior Court of Ontario Justice Frank Newbould. Newbould announced his retirement two days after the CJC concluded that an inquiry should be launched, leading to termination of the proceedings. A documentary about the search & recovery of missing service members. NR | 1h 6m | Documentary | 2012 From the outset, I could tell that this would be a gut-wrenching film to watch. The filmmakers meet with former U.S. Marine (USMC) Eddy Albert at his Los Angeles home to interview him. Despite being senile and having a hard time hearing, Albert modestly describes his wartime experience at the battle for the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, where Albert saved the lives of dozens of fellow Marines who were stranded there. Former U.S. Landing Craft Officer Leon Cooper, and Marine photographer Norman Hatch, are next to give us their accounts of this little-known World War II conflict zone. Although Tarawa is an island parcel of land that is less than one-third the size of New York Citys Central Park, it had on it a strategically placed 4,000-foot long airfield landing strip that could then be used as a forward base of operations. From it, air power could be projected to many key locations throughout the Pacific Theater of World War II. But the entire island had already been taken over by the Japanese, who were well dug in and not about to give it up without a serious fight. Thus, when the Marines came to take it over via amphibious assault boats (Higgins boats), the island became one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. The horrific aftermath of the battle of Tarawa in Until They Are Home. (Vanilla Fire Productions) When the smoke finally cleared from the 3-day-long siege of the island, the Marines had wonbut at what cost? A total of 6,000 Marines and Japanese soldiers had lost their lives in the pitched battle. Marines that had been in the initial assault waves had suffered the brunt of the causalities and were buried in mass graves to prevent disease from spreading. As we listen to Kelsey Grammers baritone narration, we are introduced to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (or JPAC for short), based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The organization works on the more than 84,000 still-unaccounted for United States service member deaths. Through their hard work and dedication, JPAC manages to close about 100 cases per year. One of JPACs cases involves traveling to the now-developed island of Tarawa to try to find human remains in order to bring closure to American families. Grammer proudly exclaims that no other country on earth dedicates as much time and resources to reclaiming its war dead as the United States. Although the films co-directors, Steven Barber and Matthew Hausle, briefly touch on other combat theaters during World War II, their main focus is on Tarawa since it is lesser-known. As General James Amos, Commandant of the USMC explains, before the Marines landed on Tarawa, none of them could have known that theyd find themselves in such an epic battle. JAPC recovering the war dead in Until They Are Home. (Vanilla Fire Productions) Much of this fascinating documentarys story is told through the numerous interviews of a small group of surviving Marines who were there on the beaches of Tarawa during World War II, as well as several JPAC team members. Like the Marine Veterans, you can see the intense dedication that the JPAC members have for their missiontheirs being to recover the remains of Americas war dead left behind in foreign lands, and provide much-needed closure for families. But perhaps the most touching story here is the one about the late, great Eddy Albert. In his last screen appearance, he talks about how he was part of a rescue effort to help recover the dead and wounded Marines off the coast of Tarawa, but modestly downplays his role. Since the coral reefs prevented many of the Higgins boats from reaching the shores, the Marines were sitting ducks for the entrenched Japanese who picked them off as they swam toward the beaches. Albert had been tasked by his commanders to recover lost equipment from the shores and take anything he found back to the ships. However, after seeing all of the dead and wounded just off-shore, Albert disobeyed orders and began rescuing stranded Marines while under enemy fire. During his interview, he displays incredible modesty, despite the fact that he saved dozens of lives and was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery. Humble hero Eddy Albert in Until They Are Home. (Vanilla Fire Productions) Its unfortunate that many of these lesser-known but equally important battles have largely been forgotten. If one mentions Normandy or Dunkirk, people usually recognize those theaters of World War IIbut the numerous smaller places like Tarawa have rarely been covered, and are gradually fading into obscurity. Thank God we have documentaries such as this to remind us of these lost battlefields. Until They Are Home Directors: Steven C. Barber, Matthew Hausle Star: Kelsey Grammer, Paul Freedman Running Time: 1 hour, 6 minutes MPAA Rating: Not rated Release Date: Nov. 10, 2013 Rated: 5 stars out of 5 Watch on Epoch Cinemavisit the link here. Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A mountain rescue team car in Rakovica, Croatia, on May 29, 2022. (Nova TV via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Croatian Police Search for Small Plane That Went Off Radar Croatian police say they are searching for a small plane that went off the radar Sunday after taking off from the Adriatic Sea coast town of Split. The Cessna 182 plane disappeared from the radar around 0925 GMT while flying in the direction of Germany, officials said. It remained unclear how many people were on the plane. About 70 members of the mountain rescue services were dispatched to the mountainous area near village of Rakovica in central Croatia. There they joined teams from the police and army to search for the missing plane. Their efforts were hampered, however, by adverse weather conditions. Far-Reaching US Amendments to WHO Regulations, Global Pandemic Treaty Raise Concerns: Journalist U.S.-proposed amendments to the international health regulations which govern response to pandemics and the new global pandemic treaty, both on the agenda of the World Health Organizations general meeting, pose a threat to countries sovereignty, said journalist and author Nick Corbishley. The amendments proposed in January by the Biden administration will give the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) unilateral authority to declare a public health emergency in any nation based on whatever evidence the director chooses. The WHOs International Health Regulations were introduced in 2005 and were stimulated a bit by the SARS outbreak in 2003, Dr. David Bell, an expert in global health and infectious disease who previously worked at the WHO, told EpochTVs American Thought Leaders program. The 13 amendments put forward by the Biden administration were on the agenda of the 75th World Health Assembly held last week in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of the WHO and is attended by delegations from all member states, according to the organizations website. The assembly also started deliberation on what the newly proposed global pandemic treaty might include. The global pandemic treaty is a parallel mechanism of the WHO. It will have force under international law and is very similar to the International Health Regulations amendments, but it will give far more power to the WHO and its director-general, Bell said. Corbishley believes that the assembly will focus more on compliance of WHO member states with regulations adopted by the organization. The Biden administration mentioned setting up a compliance committee that will ensure that WHO participants follow its regulations, Corbishley told EpochTVs Crossroads program. Currently, the WHO only has an advisory role. Its only able to make recommendations to member states and it is up to the participating nations to decide whether and how they implement those recommendations, Corbishley explained. That is likely to change if there is a global pandemic treaty. He pointed out that the concept of a compliance committee if implemented, will be almost like to police the actions of each member state. The countries that are most at risk of losing the most sovereignty in this sort of scenario are likely to be poorer, smaller countries. Similar cases have been observed within the last 15 to 20 years in the World Trade Organization, where global corporations can sue national governments in an international court for infringing on their profits or even threatening their future profits, Corbishley said. It hits poor countries, smaller countries much more because they dont have the money to be able to pay off these kinds of lawsuits. They dont have the diplomatic clout on an international level to be able to resist these things. Impact of Global Pandemic Treaty Every country that signs on to the pandemic treaty instituted by WHO will lose some degree of sovereignty, but it is hard to tell to what extent because the treaty is at the beginning of its development, Corbishley said. If [the WHO] does gain the power to declare a public health international emergency in a country without even consulting or reaching an agreement with the state in question, then that is a massive shift in the power balance between states and a supranational organization like the World Health Organization, Corbishley said. If the treaty can enforce a certain amount of compliance on states in the area of public health policy, a new trend of the balkanization of globalization could begin, Corbishley noted. Globalization is beginning to look a lot more fragile than it did five to 10 years ago. For example, Russia, which has a large population and a reasonably large economy, recently floated the idea of withdrawing from WHO, he said. Although Corbishley doubts that the United States or the European Union will oppose the treaty, if some other big countries start expressing their concerns that the treaty is not in their interest, then it could become impractical as a document, he pointed out. An initial working document toward this global pandemic treaty is called the zero draft report and it was also on the agenda of the last World Health Assembly, Bell said. The treaty is supposed to be discussed and agreed at the World Health Assembly that will convene next year and would then come into force upon ratification by the participating countries, he added. To adopt the treaty, two-thirds of WHO members have to agree, while amending the existing international health regulations requires approval by only half of the participating countries, Bell said. There are no clear proposals for the global pandemic treaty because the work on the draft has just started, Corbishley said, adding that some draft documents could be available in August. Private Funding of WHO Corbishley emphasized the issue of the private funding of the WHO, which in his view leads to the semi-privatization of global health. This trend is consistent with the strategic partnership agreement between the World Economic Forum and the United Nations, which represents the semi-privatization of certain global policies including health. The WHO is influenced by the countries which comprise its assembly and by the private and corporate donors who fund a lot of its programs, Bell said. So it responds to those who directed. It certainly is pushing a very new way of managing health and of managing decision making in health, particularly in outbreaks, that is clearly to the advantage of these donors of WHO, Bell explained. He also noted that there is a possibility that countries would take advantage of this whole situation to further their strategic interests over the interests of rival countries. The world is a diverse place. Not all countries agree with each other. About 80 percent of funding for the WHO, comprised of 194 member states, comes from private companies and private foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationthe second largest overall contributor after Germany. The United States is the third-largest contributor. Germany, the top donor to WHO, is also the biggest exporter of pharmaceutical products in the world, Corbishley pointed out. Moreover, the WHO has a contract with T-Systems, a subsidiary of German company Deutsche Telekom AG, to build a global interoperable system of vaccination passports, according to a company statement. Considering how pharmaceutical companies have managed to captureto a certain extent or to a great extentour governments and regulatory bodies and academia, it begs the question: to what extent [is the WHO] reflecting the interests of the global public, and to what extent do they represents the interests of the pharmaceutical companies that whether directly or indirectly through their the member states are funding the WHO, Corbishley said. He also encourages people on the left or the center of the political spectrum to pay more attention to the amount of private funding the WHO receives. Right now it seems people on the right are deeply concerned about how giving more powers to the WHO might pose a threat to sovereignty, Corbishley noted. Jan Jekielek and Mark Tapscott contributed to this report. Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics. The story of Austrian composer Franz Schubert (17971828) was one of the most tragic in classical music. When historians look back on his work, they view it equal in every measure to that of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. Apart from a few composers of that time (Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms) who found and championed his compositions, Schubert might have been completely overlooked for the genius he was. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that Schubert died at 31 years of age, eight months after his first and only public performance in 1828. It wasnt until after his death that this vast treasure trove of music was discovered. Of course, by then Schubert wasnt around to experience the recognition he deserved. Its actually a testament to his genius that the work lived on. Schuberts first formal music teacher, Michael Holzer, who was the organist and choirmaster of Lichtental Parish Church, remarked that he could find nothing to teach the child; he was left to regard him in astonishment and silence. It is not such a tragedy for listeners today. We still have his wonderful music to explore. However, we might wonder how Schubert would have felt if hed known the many hearts his music would touch. Wanderer Fantasy Portrait of Franz Schubert, 1846, by Josef Kriehuber. (Public Domain) I am a real fan of piano sonatas. With solo piano, there is nowhere to hide. Without the cover of an orchestra, the details of every partmelody, counterpoint, harmony, and rhythmare all exposed. The genius of the work is thus revealed, as well as the personality of the composer. Every note is a clue to who the writer is. Schubert, a shy and retiring gentleman, was full of mischief, mystery, and wonder. His piano sonatas are an incredible contribution to our heritage and reveal him as a man with a limitless interior landscape of emotion. There is enough polite, baroque gaiety to enjoy, but on closer examination, Schuberts sonatas reveal sensitively expressed romance, pathos, and yearning. The Fantasy in C, Op. 15, more commonly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, was written for solo piano in 1822, and is one of Schuberts most well-known and frequently performed works. It is considered one of the greatest compositions in the entire piano repertoire. This four-movement fantasy is linked by a unifying theme with each movement flowing into the next, starting with a variation of the opening phrase from a former composition Der Wanderer. This lied (poem set to music) was originally composed in 1816 for piano and voice with lyrics and title derived from a poem by Georg Philipp Schmidt von Lubeck. The Wanderer Fantasy is considered his most challenging work; he is quoted to have barely the ability to play it himself. Composed during the post-Enlightenment, the fantasy alludes to the onset of changing tastesthe complexity, the sense of searching, and his contemporary time itself. Musically it is incredible; as a cultural reference, it is absolutely magnetic. In the song, the wanderer seeks a distant paradise but cannot find it anywhere among men: Where are you, my dear land? Sought and brought to mind, yet never known. Searching for happiness, the wanderer asks, where? and a ghostly breath answers, There, where you are not, there is your happiness. The Wanderer Fantasy broke away from the classical form in that it was created to be performed without a break between the movements. Both the virtuosity and structure captivated other Romantic era composers, most intently the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, who transcribed it for piano and orchestra. Editing Schuberts original score, Liszt rearranged the final movement and added alternative passages into the fantasy. Poetic Music Illustration of Johann Wolfgang von Goethes poem Erlkonig (translated as king of the fairies), 1849, by Moritz von Schwind. Narodni Galerie Praha, Prague. (Public Domain) There are over 900 works by Schubert to explore, ranging from traditional Viennese waltzes like the dreamscape Serenade for full orchestra, viola, or cello to his poetic lieder. Erlkonig (translated as king of the fairies) is one of Schuberts more preeminent lieder. Set to Johann Wolfgang von Goethes poem of the same name, it is a dramatic and challenging composition that is widely regarded as a masterpiece of the early Romantic era. The lied tells the story of a father who swiftly rides home on horseback, holding his anxious and feverish son. As the story unfolds, the child experiences hallucinations of the malevolent spirit of the Erlking (personification of death) that tries to lure the boy. As they race through the forest, the frightened father tries to console his child by defining the supernatural experiences as mere natural causes: a streak of fog, rustling leaves, and the shimmering willows. When they reach home, the father discovers that his son has died. Schubert was only 18 years of age when he created this evocative and theatrical composition in 1815. Composed for vocals and piano accompaniment, the song features four charactersnarrator, father, son, and the Erlkingall sung by a single vocalist. All characters are sung in the minor key except the Erlking, whose character is sung in the major key. You will also hear the seeds of the dramatic use of piano that would later accompany many of the first black-and-white movie melodramas. The piano simulates the galloping of horse hooves with a distinct triplet passage and leitmotif bassline (recurring musical theme). Death and the Maiden The Penitent Mary Magdalene by Carlo Dolci. Oil on canvas. National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm. (Public Domain) String Quartet No. 14, also known as Death and the Maiden, was composed in 1824 after Schubert learned of his imminent death. The quartet was inspired by one of his earlier lieder, using the same title, and was originally set to a poem by German poet Matthias Claudius. The theme of the quartet is a death toll about the terror of dying and the hopeful anticipation of the comfort and peace that follows. In the dialogue between the maiden and death, the young woman fearfully casts death away, crying out: Go, savage man of bone! I am still younggo! The verse sung by Death in Schuberts lied reads: Give me your hand, you fair and tender creature; I am a friend and do not come to punish you. Be of good cheer! I am not savage, Gently you will sleep in my arms. Despite Schuberts illness and depression, he continued to write tuneful, light music that evoked warmth and comfort. The String Quartet No. 14 was first played privately in 1826 and not published until 1831, three years after his death. Unfinished Symphony Third movement from the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert. (Public Domain) To make time to write the Wanderer Fantasy for the wealthy patron Carl Emanuel Liebenberg von Zsittin, Schubert stopped writing what would come to be known as the Unfinished Symphony. Unfortunately, the Unfinished Symphony remained unfinished, and the Wanderer Fantasy wasnt performed in public until 1832, long after the composers death. If there was any doubt about Schuberts pure emotionality, the drama of the Unfinished Symphony, also known as Symphony No. 8, will quickly dispel all doubts. Although the symphony is missing its finale, which would complete the musical form, it is not lacking in any other sense. Due to the lyrical drive of the dramatic structure, the unfinished Symphony No. 8 is often referred to as the very first Romantic symphony, which cements Schuberts place in the annals of music history. The bold symphonic scope of Schuberts music as well as its dramatic power and emotional tension celebrate him as a romantic who influenced the next group of musical legends such as Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss. Its easy to see why his work is considered in the same league as the works of Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. Schuberts compositions are still being discovered by audiences that appreciate its depth and emotive expression. I just wish he had known that we would still know his name almost 200 years later. Frontline Attorney in COVID Crisis Calls Biden Out on WHO Power Grab An Ohio attorney at the forefront of the national COVID-19 debate says President Joe Bidens proposal to shift power to the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare viral pandemics is a legal ploy to circumvent the United States Constitution. I think thats absolutely what this is. This isnt as simple as giving up our sovereignty. This is a very complex legal move, said Attorney Thomas Renz in an interview with The Epoch Times. This is horrendous. To even propose something like this is mindblowing, Renz said. Renz is the lead attorney in several significant cases brought in Ohio, New Mexico, Maine, and nationally, regarding forced COVID-19 vaccines, illegal lockdowns, big-tech censorship, questionable death numbers, and other pandemic-related issues. He currently represents Americas Frontline Doctors and Make Americans Free Again, organizations that oppose unconstitutional federal health mandates. Renz recently began speaking out against Bidens 13 proposed amendments to the UNs International Health Regulations (IHR) that govern WHO operations. Such a move, he said, would give the WHO power to declare public health emergencies in the United States, using whatever evidence it wants. The IHR changes, if adopted, would grant broad authority to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanhom Ghebreysus, a former Ethiopian government minister who has been in the role since 2017. Attorney Thomas Renz Its more than a little suspect, Renz said, noting that any treaty ratified by Congress has roughly the same statutory weight as federal law. Federal law has more authority than state law. If theres a dispute between federal law and state law, federal law wins, he said. A treaty, if ratified, generally would trump state law. In terms of the U.S., thats how it works. The question is not whether the WHO can do this, but what kind of an impact [will it have], how does it affect the U.S.those sorts of things. To that extent, it could have indirect authority. Opposition Builds This week, opposition from African delegates to the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, has prompted continued discussions over Bidens proposed amendments. Under the U.S. Constitution, Renz said Biden could use his executive authority to transfer power to the WHO in public health emergencies, sparking constitutional challenges. The Constitution trumps any treatyperiod, Renz said. If theres a dispute between the Constitution and any other lawincluding a treatythe Constitution always wins. The WHOs primary role is to provide input in public health matters, but it does not have the legal authority to direct health policy at the national level. However, the IHR amendments could change all that. They are proposing to have more authority to do things within a nation, Renz said. Does that mean the nation loses its sovereignty? No. The WHO couldnt come into the United States and do anything the United States couldnt do constitutionally because the Constitution would be the line in the sand in terms of what they can and cannot do. Renz said the Constitution is broad concerning a public health emergency. What weve seen over the past two years is what I see as a gross abuse of power by the federal government. Were still working through the constitutionality of what has happened. We dont have all of this done in the courts yet. There havent been rulings on a lot of this stuff. We dont know where a lot of this is going to end up, Renz said. [President Donald] Trump told [the WHO] to pound sand during COVID-19. Biden would probably do what hes told under the guise of what hes empowered to do as president. The president could claim this is through the treaty power, and with it his power as president. Hes authorizing the WHO to take this action or that action to assist the U.S. One of the things I would be very concerned about is what information on Americans he [would] share under the guise of public health. We know theyve been gathering genetic data. We suspect they have quite a bit of information on our genetics through PCR testswe dont know what theyve been getting. They havent said. We know that theyre gathering it. COVID-19 Epic Fail Renz criticized the WHO as the same crew that failed epically on everything related to COVID. The WHO is still not sure whether this was developed in a Chinese lab. The WHO has been a disaster. Why in Gods name would we want to empower them to do anything? Though international agreements weigh differently in each country, he said, if enough countries sign on [with the IHR changes], you could have 50 countries producing garbage science thats not accurate, not peer-reviewed in any meaningful way. What if the WHO and 50 other countries decide theres a crisis, and that the United States is contributing to that crisis because we wont let the WHO come in and do whatever they want to do? Those 50 countries could say, You know what? Were going to sanction the U.S. That could have a huge impact on the economic supply chain. Citing the Biden administrations failed effort to use the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to mandate COVID-19 vaccines in the workplace, Renz said the WHO pushing a monkeypox vaccine in the United States, for example, would face a similar constitutional hurdle. If the federal government couldnt mandate [vaccines], neither could the WHO mandate it. But theyd tryabsolutely theyd try. I think what theyre trying to do is leverage what we know to be vast powers of the president in terms of international relations. Theyre trying to use that as an indirect means to force Americansto force the public into something that would be difficult to challenge in the courts. I dont think Biden is aware of whats going on. I think hes selling out to whoever is pulling the strings. Weve got to look at whos promoting this. This whole thing reeks of a money and power grab, Renz said. The following essay was written by Joseph Simboli Jr., one of the members of the 89th Infantry Division who liberated Ohrdruf, the first Nazi concentration camp to be discovered by American forces in April 1945. For decades, Simboli struggled with the internal turmoil of what he saw and couldnt prevent on that sunny April morning in 1945, according to his family. Simboli never shared his wartime story in detail, until he lost his wife Geraldine at age 84 in 2019. The day after her funeral, Simboli pulled out decades of personal writings and artifacts from WWII. Before Simboli died in May of 2021, his family asked if he would like to see his work published. He smiled and waved his hand, his family said. No one would want to read my musings, he said. Well, unless you think so. Then, please! April 4, 1945. It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Ohrdruf, Germany, and my unit, the 89th Infantry Division, was on patrol. We had just moved south to investigate conflicting reports that a Nazi concentration camp existed nearby. Rumors of such camps had circulated, but we had found none. German fighter planes had been strafing overheadno doubt a last-ditch attempt to keep their genocide secret from the world. We had stayed in our covered positions, biding time until the attack ended. The deluge of mortar no longer made my legs vibrate uncontrollably, the way they did the initial many times a shell burst inches from my body. When the thunder ceased and the clouds of smoke cleared, and we resumed our movements deeper into the country, my legs buckled again. This time it wasnt because of mortar. It was from the waves of the most putrid smell I could never possibly imagine. Rotting flesh, burned feces, stale urine, and dirty laundry all conspired to burn my nostrils and throat like an inferno. My stomach felt as though I was on an elevator that couldnt find its desired floor. It took everything I could do not to throw up. Then again, maybe the reason I didnt throw up was because, as we approached the unimpressive-looking camp, and then crossed through the surrounding 15-foot-high wire fence into its grounds, I struggled to feel anything at all. My mind had frozen: I simply couldnt process what I was seeing. Bloodied and wet, half-naked, and emaciated bodies, some still warm, in tattered striped clothing, frozen in unnatural positions, were piled haphazardly on the ground in what appeared to be the main assembly area of a camp. Whether they were men or women wasnt clear. The hand of an older individual with a gaping head wound fought its way through the mound to be seen. Railroad ties, like a makeshift pyre, were strewn with hastily half-burned and decomposing victims. There were more skeletal dead bodies buried in common pits, with hands, torsos, limbs all sticking out. I dont know that you can know a life-changing moment when its happening. It seems as if it would be impossible, because most kinds of impactful moments have some level of disbeliefor else because overwhelming feelings, like sheer horror and revulsion, dont allow your mind to process everything thats happening. I know the profundity of what I saw in Ohrdruf that morning was completely lost on me right then, and, in truth, in the days and weeks, even months, that followed. None of us there had any prior idea of the atrocities being inflicted. We had no reliable reports; no photos or videos had been splashed all over the media to document it, as we have today. No history books had laid them out in photographic accounts, as my children and their children have now seen. We trudged through an unknown, unexperienced evilunaware, with every step, how that evil took hold in us and shaped our attitude, beliefs, and future actions. A week after we found the camp, people still vomited at the sight and stench of the beating shed, as prisoners later said that small building was called: 115 strokes as punishment with a sharp-bladed shovel for a minor infraction. Gen. George Patton was among those throwing up when he visited with President Dwight Eisenhower and other generals soon after we arrived. We learned much from the surviving prisoners about Ohrdruf and the terror that had occurred in the days leading up to our arrival. Ohrdruf was a forced labor camp and a subcamp of Buchenwald, which would later be recognized as one of the largest Nazi concentration camps. At one time, Ohrdruf had around 12,000 prisoners, but when news of our approach came in late spring of 1945, the Nazis began a systematic evacuation of the campas barbarically systematic as the slaughter in camps themselves. A few days before our arrival, nearly 10,000 prisoners were marched to Buchenwald, 30-something miles from OhrdrufI should say those who were capable of walking. The SS guards machine-gunned those too ill or disabled to make the trip. Some prisoners escaped along the way, hiding in the woods for days, only to reappear at the camp after we arrived. Others were gunned down during the march. The SS guards must have been told to cover up their atrocities, hence the lye on the bodies in the beating shed and the makeshift pyre of railroad ties with heaps of half-burned bodies. Apparently, prisoners had been forced to exhume decomposing bodies and cremate them. But the SS guards gave up the effort and left the grisly remains for all to see. Gen. Patton commanded the burgermeistersimilar to a town mayorhis wife, and the surrounding townsfolk to come to Ohrdruf to see what their fellow countrymen had done to their other innocent countrymen, and to dig graves for the dead. The idea that these and other townspeople might have prevented the mass slaughter by not turning a blind eye to what, by most accounts, was whispered throughout the countryside, left a burning fury inside me for decades. We learned the burgermeister and his wife killed themselves that night, a small justice. Looking back, Im not sure if something died in me that night as well, or if something new was born. I was numb after Ohrdruf. We all were. Its hard to figure something like that out, especially when you cant feel much at all. Then again, we didnt have much time to consider it. After Ohrdruf, we expected to head to Japan. But with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the countrys formal surrender to the Allies, our unit and others were rotated to the French coast, awaiting ships to be transported back to the United States. The thought of home was surreal. Going back to normal life was what so many of us talked about for so long, and yet after everything we experienced, how do you ever just go back? When I joined the service, I was just a 20-year-old boy from Pennsylvania who had been wide-eyed about life, looking for adventure, caught up in the swell of patriotism of the war raging in Europe and Japan. I had spent a year dodging bullets and bombs, detonating mines, and setting up booby traps, roadblocks, and pillboxes. Id lost my best friend on the first day of combat and hundreds more in one night while crossing the Rhine River during Operation Varsity. Id hidden in cellars along the Moselle River bank and listened to church bells toll as our battalion climbed into small, unreliable boats, paddling for our lives as the sky lit up with fire. I saw everything that war does to people: fear, rage, guilt, barbarism. By the grace of God, I made it through, for the most part physically unscathed. But what I encountered that first day at Ohrdruf, I still, at 94 years old, cant wrap my head around; it caused an invisible wound unlike anything Ive known, one that I struggle to put words to even now. We didnt go home as planned, at least not then. Our company was diverted back to Ohrdruf. Back to that hellscape? The thought brought back the queasiness, which was made worse when we arrived: The stench was still there, months later. Memories of those heaps of bodies and body parts, the beating shed, the brass knuckles, the indignity of it all and utter disregard for human life came flooding back, as did the burning inside. Our mission this time was to rebuild the fence around the camp that had been destroyed by an attack. As we began, groups of German women, who had worked in the concentration camps for the Nazis, were brought in to be held. Looking back through the journals I kept of the war after I returned home, I see that I described these women as unusually tough. In hindsight, that was a very polite way to describe what these individuals were. As we worked to rebuild the fence, they lobbed the most despicable verbal assaults at us with the force their male compatriots did earlier from the skies. ProfanityI wont recall it hereunlike anything Id heard. They taunted us, ruining our work, undermining our efforts, even throwing pieces of the poles we had just trimmed and cleaned up, back over the fence. There was no remorse for what the Nazis had done and what these women oversaw the Nazis do and facilitated their being able to do, no humility in their countrys fall from power and respect on the world stage. As far as I could see, there was not a stitch of humanity left in them. Again, that burning inside took hold. I wanted to strike out at them, silence their vile spewing, make them pay, hold their hands to the pyre of accountability, not just for their petty insults thrown at us, but for the holocaust they and others wrought. Its an animalistic urge that makes you want to take this kind of action, and as a man, especially, to take it against women. It certainly went against all my beliefs and codes of honor. A bunch of us griped repeatedly to our officers to be allowed to do something, but we were shut down and told not to react. But for the previous year, all we had done was react against the enemythats what we were trained to do. And now, even with the enemy in our sight, still threatening us, with full knowledge of the worst that they had done, we still couldnt do anything but swallow our anger, disgust, and contempt and continue reconstructing their pen. I will never comprehend the manifestations of the Holocaust. And the memories of Ohrdrufs liberation have never gone away; in fact, they are the ones that have remained with me most clearly and intensely and, as Ive come to see, shaped many of my most ardent beliefs and actions. The nightmares have lessened and faded, but the existential nausea that I felt that first day has returned over and over, sparked by sights, sounds, smells, and events. These memories have been, and will always be, with me, like the spiked brass knuckles I found that they used in the beating shed. I mentioned that I wasnt sure if something died in me during my time at Ohrdruf, or if something new was born. After I got home, back to Pennsylvania, and tried to create a new normal life (I married an amazing woman, had five children, and worked as an artist and craftsman alongside my wife), I realized that it was both. My innocence died with the Nazis slaughter of the innocent lives I saw in the camp, and the millions of other innocent lives slaughtered in the Holocaust. They couldnt prevent it from happening, nor could they do anything to help themselves when it was happening. And I couldnt have prevented it from happening. That raw, burning outrage that I had swallowed in Ohrdruf could either consume me or help me and others to live. When faced with the impossible or the unthinkable, you have two choices: You can lose faithin yourself, others, life, and Godor you can turn to faith to find meaning and purpose. There have been times when Ive felt the former taking over. But when I got home from the war, I made a vow to myself that if ever I saw anything like this again, the widespread defilement of human dignity and life, I would have to do something about it. I couldnt prevent the horrific mass slaughter by the Nazis, but my memories of it and that burning outrage I still feel about it could serve as an inspiration to protect life, in all its various forms, especially the innocent. This is what Ive done, whether that is in my art or community and political advocacy, along with my wife, for the last seven and a half decades. A small honor to the lives that were lost. A great reminder to everyone that life is always worth living. Joseph Simboli, 1925-2021, enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17, and then served in World War II with the 89th Infantry Division. He attended and taught at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, and then established, with his wife Gerry, their art studio, Simboli Design. He also enjoyed running and racing sports cars. On the morning of May 20, a red car pulled up in front of Stephen Smith Towers, a senior community building in Philadelphia. A woman stepped out of the car and opened all the car doors, taking out tens of bouquets of fresh flowers while greeting passers-by and offered them the donated flowers. In a short time, all the flowers had been gifted away. This lady is known as the Happy Flower Lady. Philadelphia local Patricia Gallagher had just picked up these fresh flowers donated by a grocery store that had leftover bouquets from the previous day and rushed to deliver them. Gallagher told The Epoch Times, Its just something that gives me so much joy every day, to pick up these free flowers and be able to bloom smiles everywhere I go. Since May of 2013, the Happy Flower Lady has delivered more than 65,000 donated bouquets of fresh flowers to surprise people in need of a smile, including thousands of residents in senior living facilities for the last nine years, spreading the power of kindness and bringing joy and smiles to people. Gallagher has delivered flowers to Stephen Smith Towers senior community four or five times in the past. Sheioah Gordon, who lives in the community, was overjoyed after receiving the flowers: I feel wonderful. I feel good. Give me my flowers while Im living. I enjoy getting flowers. To me, it makes my day. I love flowers. Gordon was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, went to hospice care, and has just been released as she is now in remission. Flowers brighten up everybody, Felicia Wise, a social worker at the senior community, said. She was so excited to get a full cart of flowers to the senior community. The residents need flowers to brighten up their day. And shes such a good person, I love to see her come. I think this is an amazing, amazing, amazing, good thing that shes doing for the community, Tanisha Dawson, co-owner of the Nurtured Nest homecare agency, said of Gallagher after receiving her flowers. I feel like this can make somebodys day. If youre down or if you are just waking up on the wrong side of the bed and you get these flowers, they can really turn your day to a good day. So I think this is great. And it makes me feel happy. Dawson continued, I think that she should continue to keep doing it. I think that is definitely something that is helping the community with so many negative things going on. Its a positive contribution. And I just commend her. Hopefully we can be a part of it. A Philadelphia resident Tia R. Myrick received the happy flowers too. I love these flowers. Theyre beautiful. They also make my home, my kitchen table look good. Put them in a vase. Theyll be beautiful for at least a week. I dont know Patricia, but I appreciate her for giving the flowers to me anyway, Myrick said gratefully. The small act of kindness can bring happiness to people. You never know what just one Hello may do or a bundle of flowers may do to brighten up someones day. Gallagher started her Happy Flower Day project about nine years ago. When Gallagher moved in with her mother to help take care of her, they were trying to think of fun things to do besides going shopping or going to visit her friends. Gallaghers daughter came up with the idea to contact different stores and ask them what they do with their surplus or leftover flowers. And once she got that idea, Gallagher and her 88-year-old mother, and their 91-year-old friend Bob, would go around Philadelphia and pass out flowers every morning. This just made everyone happy. Since then, Gallagher has brought hundreds of beautiful donated bouquets to strangers in shelters, nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, and other places every week. Whats amazing to Gallagher is that every time she wants to deliver flowers somewhere, she can always find the person in need. Just yesterday, I picked up 125 flowers. And I thought, Where should I go? and I thought of a place, it was an hour away. And I thought, oh, with the cost of gas, should I really drive an hour? Eventually, Gallagher decided to go. She recalled, When I got there, a new resident was being moved in and her daughter, who was probably my age, was feeling very sad about bringing your mother into the nursing home for the first time. So when I offered her flowers, she was just ecstatic. Patricia Gallagher picks up the leftover flowers from one grocery stores backyard in the suburb of Philadelphia, Pa., on May 20, 2022. (William Huang/The Epoch Times) And all caregivers in the nursing home got flowers that day. They were having a birthday party for all the May birthdays, and everyone got flowers. A hospice nurse had 10 more hospice patients to visit, and all got flowers. Gallagher said happily, So those 100 or so bunches of flowers just went. Gallagher echoed the Chinese proverb: A little fragrance always clings to the hand that gives the roses. I feel so happy. I come towards someone with flowers and I say: I have some free flowers leftover from an event. Would you like a bouquet? And they asked Are they free? And I say Yes. I smile, they smile; I hug, they hug. Gallagher said, You can never have a bad day when youre passing on flowers. Because as the Chinese say: Youre giving but the fragrance really comes back at you. I think, as the giver, I have as much joy as somebody that receives the flowers. Flowers During the Pandemic Even during the pandemic, Gallagher didnt stop her flower deliveries. Before the pandemic, she had delivered flowers to the nursing homes every day for years. But when the pandemic came, they didnt want to risk flowers that had been touched coming into their facilities. Gallagher said: I feel that so many people are downtrodden, sad, depressed, anxious about employment, about gas, and everything. And during the pandemic, I couldnt go to the nursing homes. So instead, she decided to walk around the streets of North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Center City, and Norristown. Whoever I saw at the bus stop, at the train station, walking with their little children, I gave the flowers out primarily on the streets. And that was just as exciting as giving them to the seniors in the nursing home. We all had masks, the receiver, and the giver. But we still communicated with our eyes and exchanged sort of like that. And it made all of us happy. She believes that during the pandemic, this meant a lot to people, and it was just a great spot for people to receive flowers on the street. The Happy Flower Lady has a clear dream: that is to be a representative and advocate for saving the flowers. Gallagher had planned her Happy Flower Day Tour in March 2020, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. She is hoping this fall to start her special tour. I want to travel to these cities: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Des Moines. I want to go to Nashville, Knoxville, I want to go up to the New England states, Gallagher said. Once there, she wants to offer to do a free program for libraries, nonprofits, schools, nursing homes, and adult daycare centers, and these organizations would invite people from the community, the scouts, and the PTA to get involved. Patricia Gallagher (L) gives donated flowers to a resident of Stephen Smith Towers senior apartment and talks with him, in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 20, 2022. (William Huang/The Epoch Times) Gallagher thinks the Happy Flower Day project can be done on every continent, wherever there are flower stores, there are wedding events, and there are places where you can pick up the flowers. Hundreds of people who have gotten in touch with her or have heard her speak say theyve started a flower sharing project. Gallagher has written 31 books, four of which are on helping people who may want to start a Happy Flower Day type of program. She suggests beginners start with the book FAQs About Starting a Free Flower Sharing Project. Gallagher concludes: If you dont want to do flowersactually, Im allergic to flowers; every morning, I take medicine so that I dont sneeze and cough but other people can do what I also do two days a weekI go to food pantries (to help with the hungry). Two of her other books are ideas for spreading random acts of kindness, one of which is 150 Ways to Sprinkle Kindness in Your Community. She welcomes everyone to visit her website at HappyFlowerDay.org. Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos on April 28, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) Investors Sue Elon Musk and Twitter Over Pending Takeover The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, was sued by Twitter investors for unlawful conduct claiming he manipulated the companys stock price downward by sowing doubt about his bid to buy the social media company. Twitter, which is based in Californias Bay Area, was also named as a defendant in the suit, which argued that the company had an obligation to investigate the Tesla CEOs pre-bid conduct. The class-action lawsuit (pdf), filed on May 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accused Musk of allegedly attempting to drive down Twitters stock value in order to buy it for a cheaper price, or as a possible attempt to step away from the acquisition deal. Musk admitted at a technology conference in May, that striking a deal at a lower price was not out of the question. Musk offered to buy the company in April for $44 billion, but has since put the deal on hold until Twitter provides more information on how many platform accounts are bots. The social media company had said that it had fully disclosed its total bot estimates to the SEC, but it still admitted that its estimates may be too low. In 2021, Twitter was forced to pay $809.5 million to settle claims that it had inflated its rate of growth and the number of actual users per month. The shareholders also claim that the recent drop in Teslas stock since the final deal was announced on April 25, has put Musks ability to finance his acquisition of Twitter in major peril, as he has publicly pledged to use his shares as collateral in order to secure the loans needed to buy the platform. Teslas shares were trading at around $713 at the end of the week on May 27, down from above $1,000 or about 25 percent since early April. Twitter shares on May 26 closed at $39.54, about 27 percent lower than Musks current $54.20 offer price. The litigants by investor William Heresniak of Virginia, who said he was acting on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, accused the tech billionaire of wrongful conduct after his false statements and market manipulation created chaos at Twitters headquarters in San Francisco. They requested that the California court grant certification for the suits class-action status and to be awarded an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages. Meanwhile, the timing of Musks disclosure of his stake in Twitter has already triggered an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC requires any investor who buys a stake exceeding 5 percent in a company to disclose their holdings within 10 days of crossing the threshold. The litigants said that Musk saved $156 million by his failure to timely disclose within the required timeframe, and that he had exceeded the ownership threshold of 5 percent on March 14. The investors further allege that Twitters stock price would have been higher had they been made aware that Musk had increased his holdings in the company. By delaying his disclosure of his stake in Twitter, Musk engaged in market manipulation and bought Twitter stock at an artificially low price, said Heresniak. Musk only publicly admitted in April that he had already owned 9.2 percent of Twitter for his initial bid. The suit also accuses of Musk making a false and misleading disclosure of his Twitter holdings to the SEC, by submitting a form meant only for passive investors, not for those attempting to buy the company or who had been offered a board position. The litigants were further upset at Musks public tweet on May 13, which they claim, constituted an effort to manipulate the market for Twitter shares as he knew about the fake accounts. Musk posted on Twitter: Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users. The tweet by Musk and the reaction to it further drove down Twitter shares. The shareholders accuse Musk of denigrating the social media platform in response to the plunging value of Teslas shares, violating both the non-disparagement and non-disclosure clauses of his purchase agreement with the company. They said that in doing so, Musk hoped to drive down Twitters stock price and then use that as a pretext to attempt to re-negotiate the buyout. The lawsuit also noted that the Tesla CEO waived due diligence in his immediate bid to buy the social media platform, which meant that he had waived his legal right to review its non-public finances. Musk is facing another lawsuit this month from the Orlando Police Departments pension fund in the Chancery Court of Delaware, where Twitter is incorporated, in an attempt to halt the takeover on the basis that other major shareholders were quietly supporting Musks buyout, which would forbid the deal from closing for three more years according to state law. However, the litigants in the California suit are not attempting to stop the purchase. Musk pledged an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing to fund his bid for Twitter on May 25, which is a sign that he is still interested in closing the deal. Reuters has contributed to this report. Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" is seen in this illustration taken on May 22, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Ireland Confirms 1st Monkeypox Case One case of monkeypox has been identified in the Republic of Ireland, the countrys public health authorities confirmed on Saturday. Its the second confirmed case on the island after neighbouring Northern Ireland confirmed its first case on Thursday. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said it was notified on Friday night of the case in the east of Ireland. The person was not hospitalised, the HPSC said, but it didnt provide other information in order to maintain patient confidentiality. The centre said a second person was awaiting test results, and those who were in contact were being provided with advice. Monkeypox, a viral disease usually found in West or Central Africa, has appeared in around 20 countries including in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and the Middle East this month. Since England reported its first confirmed case on May 7, around 200 confirmed cases and more than 100 suspected cases have been reported, most of them in Spain, England, and Portugal. The HPSC said the Health Service Executive had set up a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team since the beginning of the outbreak. It also said monkeypox had been made a notifiable disease, meaning hospitals and labs are required to notify the local health authorities when they identify a case of the disease. Northern Irelands Public Health Agency confirmed the UK regions first case on Thursday, hours after a case was announced in Wales. As of Thursday, three cases were identified in Scotland and 101 were found in England, bringing the UK total to 106. Only the first case was reported to have had a recent travel history to Nigeria and the majority of the confirmed cases were among men who have sex with other men. Three confirmed cases were reported in Latin America on Saturday, two in Argentina and one in Mexico. One Argentinian case is a Spanish citizen who travelled to Argentina on Wednesday, according to the countrys Health Ministry. Mexicos Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the case identified is a 50-year-old male New York resident who was probably infected in the Netherlands. Initial symptoms of the monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion. A rash may develop within one to five days after the appearance of fever. It changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab which later falls off, According to the UK Health Security Agency. An individual is contagious until all the scabs have fallen off and there is intact skin underneath. The scabs may also contain infectious virus material. The disease doesnt easily transmit among humans, but transmission can occur if one comes in contact with clothing or linens used by an infected person, monkeypox skin lesions or scabs, or the coughing or sneezing of an individual with a monkeypox rash. Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President for Gun Owners of America, in an interview on NTD's Capitol Report, on May 28, 2022. (NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Lefts Narrative Pushing Gun Control Omits Cases Where Guns Save Lives: Erich Pratt 'They only care about certain deaths' The lefts push for more gun control omit the many cases that go against their narrative, such as instances where guns were used to neutralize shooters, according to Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), a gun rights advocacy organization that represents more than 2 million Americans. The left is all about pushing gun control. Its absolutely disgusting what theyre doing. Theyre pushing gun control, theyre fundraising off of this within hours of the shooting, Pratt told NTDs Capitol Report, referring to the May 24 shooting that killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. And really, its despicable because it becomes clear they only care about certain deaths, he said. Politicians and activists pushing for gun control neglect to talk about cities that already have the policies they want to implement for the entire nation, he said. For example, more than 40 people have been shot and killed in Chicago this month. In the last 30 days, in Baltimore, there had been 20 people shot and killed. But the left is not talking about that. Theyre not fundraising off of Chicago or Baltimore because they already have very strict gun control, Pratt noted. Those cities dont serve their cause[they] have red-flag, gun confiscation orders, they have universal background registration checks, they have so-called assault weapons bans, they have everything that the left is trying to push on us, and yet they have murders out the wazoo in those two cities that they cant control it. And what that tells us, obviously, is that gun control is not the answer, he said. Pratt noted examples of past deadly attacks that did not involve guns, and said that blaming a certain instrument for mass attacks is short-sighted because no law that bans a certain object is going to stop an evil-determined heart from killing. Whats amazing, and this is one of the things that the anti-gun left does, is they only talk about certain uses of a firearm, which fit their narrative when theyre used in a bad way. But then they wont talk about firearms when theyre actually used to stop mass shootings, Pratt said. Pratt noted how, on May 25, the day after the mass shooting in Uvalde, a woman with a concealed carry permit in West Virginia shot and killed a man who had started firing an AR-style rifle into a crowd of people at a birthday-graduation party. He accused the left-wing media of generating opposition to peoples Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms by only selectively talking about certain stories, and neglecting stories that show how guns may be used to avert more deaths. A lot of times where there has been a lot of killing they are brought to an end by a good guy with a gun, he said. Pratt shared the story of Stephen Willeford, who is currently GOAs spokesperson. As an armed citizen, Willeford in November 2017 stopped a shooter at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, from potentially killing more people. Sadly, everyone at that church in Sutherland Springs did not have a gun on that day except for the bad guy, Pratt said. But when Steven Willeford, who lived down the street heard the shooting, he ran out of his house barefoot with his AR-15 [and] called the guy out of the church. That guy came out and Steven mortally wounded him. I mean, the guy got in his car, drove off but eventually took his own life because he was wounded so bad, he continued. The FBI cited that case and many other cases as examples where armed citizens use guns to stop attempted mass murders. Pratt argued against the concept of gun-free zones, saying they only serve to be places where shooters seek to go. The Uvalde shooting was an example of that, he noted. Its really important to point out that in most cases, these killers will try to seek out a location where its a gun-free zone. You know, 81 percent of police agree that teachers and staff should be armed, and with good reason because no school has ever had a mass shooting where there were armed teachers and staff, he said. But tragically, that wasnt the case at the Texas School. Police were reportedly not quick to rush in. And this Texas school didnt take part in the program that allows teachers to be armed, so it was a gun-free zone. And again, thats what killers often choose to target. And why would 94 percent of mass shooters target gun-free zones? Because they dont want bullets being fired back at them. Thats why they dont target police stations or gun shows because killers love gun control. And sadly, thats what enabled this killer in Texas. Mimi Nguyen Ly Reporter Follow Mimi Nguyen Ly is a reporter based in Australia. She covers world news with a focus on U.S. news. Contact her at mimi.nl@epochtimes.com A man walks in front of a destroyed school in the city of Bakhmut, in the eastern Ukranian region of Donbas, on May 28, 2022, on the 94th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) RussiaUkraine War (May 29): Ukrainian Defenders Hold out in Donbas City Under Heavy Fire The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, May 29. Click here for updates from May 28. Ukrainian Defenders Hold Out in Donbas City Under Heavy Fire Russian forces intensified their attacks with barrages of heavy artillery to capture a key Ukrainian city in the southeastern region of Donbas, whose full takeover Moscows top diplomat said was now an unconditional priority. Constant Russian shelling has destroyed all of the critical infrastructures in Sievierodonetsk, the largest city Ukraine still controls in Luhansk, one of the regions in Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while pledging to do everything to hold off the advance. Some 90 percent of buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the citys housing stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunication, he said in a televised speech. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a fundamental task for the occupiers We do all we can to hold this advance, he added. ___ Ukraines Donbas Unconditional Priority for Moscow: Russias Lavrov The liberation of Ukraines Donbas region is an unconditional priority for Moscow, while other Ukrainian territories should decide their future on their own, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday. Lavrov was speaking in an interview with Frances TF1 television channel as Russia pressed on with its offensive to secure control of key towns in Donbas, Ukraines traditional industrial heartland made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He reiterated Moscows claims that its special military operation in Ukraine is to demilitarize its neighbor after waves of NATOs eastward expansion and cleanse it of what it sees as Nazi-inspired nationalism. Kyiv and Western countries see those claims as baseless pretexts for a land grab. The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognized by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority, Lavrov said, according to a text released by Russias Foreign Ministry. For the rest of the territories in Ukraine, he said: I do not believe that they will be happy to return to the authority of a neo-Nazi regime that has proven it is Russophobic in essence. These people must decide for themselves. Russias incursion, he said, became inevitable after Western countries failed to heed what he described as warnings about Ukraines disregard for, and military attacks on, its Russian-speaking citizens. Ukraine has denied making any such attacks. ____ Zelenskyy Visits Frontline in Rare Trip Outside Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops on the frontline in Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, his first official appearance outside the Kyiv region since the start of Russias invasion on Feb. 24. You risk your lives for us all and for our country, the Presidents office website cited him as telling the soldiers, adding that he handed out commendations and gifts. Zelenskyys chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on the Telegram app that the president had also visited Ukraines second-largest city of Kharkiv. Yermak said Zelenskyy toured destroyed residential buildings, noting that their replacements had to be built with bomb shelters in place. The presidents chief of staff added that 31 percent of the Kharkiv regions territory was currently occupied by Russia, and a further 5 percent had been taken back by Ukraine having been occupied earlier. ____ Zelenskyy Suggests Donbass Could Soon Fall Amid Indescribably Difficult Russian Onslaught Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine could soon fall to Russian forces, giving his most grim assessment yet. In a video address over the weekend, Zelenskyy said that conditions in Donbass have grown indescribably difficult and suggested the region could fall to Russia. Since the 2014 color revolution in Kyiv, pro-Russian forces have controlled parts of Donestk and Lugansk and sporadic fighting has erupted over the years. But our defense holds on, Zelenskyy told the public. Its indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstand this onslaught of the occupiers. Read full article here ____ EU Unity on Russian Sanctions Starting to Crumble, German Minister Says German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Sunday expressed fears that the European Unions unity was starting to crumble ahead of a summit to discuss an oil embargo against Russia and plans to cut dependence on Russian energy. After Russias attack on Ukraine, we saw what can happen when Europe stands united. With a view to the summit tomorrow, lets hope it continues like this. But it is already starting to crumble and crumble again, Habeck told a news conference. On Friday, European countries scrambled to reach a deal to embargo seaborne deliveries of Russian oil but allow deliveries by pipeline, a compromise to win over Hungary and unblock new sanctions against Moscow. Habeck called for Germany to speak with one voice at the summit instead of abstaining from votes due to differences of opinion within the countrys ruling coalition. He called for similar unity from other EU states. Europe is still a huge economic area with incredible economic power. And when it stands united, it can use that power, Habeck said at the opening of the German Hannover Messe trade fair. ____ Serbia Agrees to New 3-Year Gas Supply Contract With Russia Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday he had agreed to a new 3-year gas supply contract in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I can not speak about the price now, all details will be agreed with Gazprom, Vucic told reporters. Vucic said that he had agreed with Putin that the price of gas would be linked to the oil price, but did not elaborate. Serbias 10-year gas supply contract with Gazprom expires on May 31. Vucic also said that he had discussed with Putin the expansion of gas storage space in the Balkan country. ____ Russian Troops Storm City Amid Eastern Ukraine Bombardments Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city Sunday as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain strategic footholds for conquering the region in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance. Ukrainian regional officials reported that Russian forces were storming Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the city. The fighting knocked out power and cellphone service, and a humanitarian relief center could not operate because of the danger, the mayor said. Sievierodonetsk, located about 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscows quest to capture all of Ukraines industrial Donbass region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two cities are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbass together with neighboring Donetsk. Russia is focused, after failing to seize Ukraines capital, on occupying parts of Donbass not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian forces made small advances in recent days as bombardments chewed away at Ukrainian positions and kept civilians trapped in basements or desperately trying to get out safely. Attacks to destroy military targets throughout the country also caused casualties in civilian areas Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as indescribably difficult. The Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result by concentrating its attacks there, he said in a Saturday night video address. ____ Erdogan Says Wont Let Terrorism-Supporting Countries Enter NATO: Media President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkeys talks last week with Finnish and Swedish delegations were not at the expected level and Ankara cannot say yes to terrorism-supporting countries entering NATO, state broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Sunday. Turkey has objected to Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance, holding up a deal that would allow for a historic enlargement in the face of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Erdogans latest comments indicated his opposition continued. For as long as Tayyip Erdogan is the head of the Republic of Turkey, we definitely cannot say yes to countries which support terrorism entering NATO, he was cited as telling reporters on his return from a trip to Azerbaijan on Saturday. ____ Russias Gazprom Continues Shipping Gas to Europe via Ukraine Russian gas producer Gazprom said on Sunday its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point stood at 44.1 million cubic meters (mcm), up from 43.96 mcm on Saturday. An application to supply gas via another major entry point, Sokhranovka, was rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. ____ Message to the World: Lithuanians Fundraise to Buy Drone for Ukraine Hundreds of Lithuanians clubbed together to buy an advanced military drone for Ukraine in its war against Russia, in a show of solidarity with a fellow country formerly under Moscows rule. The target of five million euros ($5.4 million) was raised in just three and a half days, largely in small amounts, to fund the purchase of a Byraktar TB2 military drone, according to Laisves TV, the Lithuanian internet broadcaster that launched the drive. Before this war started, none of us thought that we would be buying guns. But its a normal thing now. Something must be done for the world to get better, said Agne Belickaite, 32, who sent 100 euros as soon as the fundraising launched on Wednesday. Ive been donating to buy guns for Ukraine for a while now. And will do so until the victory, she told Reuters, adding she was motivated in part by fears Russia could attack Lithuania. The drone has proven effective in recent years against Russian forces and their allies in conflicts in Syria and Libya, and its purchase is being orchestrated by Lithuanias Ministry of Defense, which told Reuters it planned to sign a letter of intent to buy the craft from Turkey next week. ____ Ukraine Aide Says Any Moscow Deal Not Worth Broken Penny, Zelenskyy Says Russia Officials Powerless Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace talks negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on Saturday that any agreement with Russia could not be trusted, adding the only way to stop Moscows invasion was by force. Any agreement with Russia isnt worth a broken penny, Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Is it possible to negotiate with a country that always lies cynically and propagandistically? Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other after peace talks stalled, with the last known face-to-face negotiations on March 29. The Kremlin said earlier this month Ukraine was showing no willingness to continue peace talks, while officials in Kyiv blamed Russia for the lack of progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the only person worth talking to was Russian President Vladimir Putin, since he made all the decisions. It doesnt matter what their foreign minister says. It doesnt matter that he sends some negotiating group to us all these people are nobodies, unfortunately, he told Dutch television in an interview filmed on Friday. Putin says Russian forces are on a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine and rid it of radical anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies call that a false pretext. ____ Russia Test-Fires Its Latest Hypersonic Zircon Missile The Russian navy on Saturday conducted another test of a prospective hypersonic missile, a demonstration of the militarys long-range strike capability amid the fighting in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry said the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Northern Fleet in the White Sea launched the Zircon cruise missile in the Barents Sea, successfully hitting a practice target in the White Sea about 1,000 kilometers (540 nautical miles) away. The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service later this year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Zircon is capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and has a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). Putin has emphasized that its deployment will significantly boost the capability of Russias military. Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines and could be used against both enemy ships and ground targets. It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia. ____ Ukraines Former President Blocked From Leaving the Country Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was prevented from leaving Ukraine to take part in a meeting of a NATO body in Lithuania, his partys parliamentary faction said on Saturday. Poroshenko was stopped twice at a border crossing with Poland while he was on his way to the meeting of NATOs Parliamentary Assembly, a consultative interparliamentary organisation, the statement said. Ukrainian media reported Poroshenko could not cross the border due to technical problems with a permit allowing him to leave the country. Poroshenko had received all the formal permissions to leave the country and had been included in the official delegation of the Parliament of Ukraine for this event, his European Solidarity parliamentary faction said. Poroshenko was to have a number of high-level meetings in Vilnius, including with the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda. He was also scheduled to participate in a meeting of the European Peoples Party in Rotterdam, it said. In January, Poroshenko won a court ruling allowing him to remain at liberty while being investigated for treason in a probe he says was a politically motivated attack linked to allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Poroshenko is being investigated in connection with the financing of Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country through illegal coal sales in 201415. ____ Putin Says Hes Willing to Discuss Resuming Ukrainian Grain Shipments Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of France and Germany in a phone call on Saturday that Russia was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports, the Kremlin said. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key global fertilizer exporter and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil. For its part, Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports, the Kremlin said. It said he also informed French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia was ready to increase its export of fertilizers and agricultural products if sanctions against it were lifteda demand he has raised in conversations with the Italian and Austrian leaders in recent days. Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of weaponizing the food crisis created by its invasion of Ukraine, which has sent the prices of grains, cooking oils, fuel, and fertilizer soaring. Russia has blamed the situation on Western sanctions against it, and on the mining of Ukrainian ports. The Kremlin said Putin also said Russia was willing to resume talks with Ukraine. Special attention was paid to the status of the negotiations that are frozen because of Kyiv. President Vladimir Putin confirmed the Russian sides openness to resume dialogue, it said. Jack Phillips, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report. Massachusetts Governor Vetoes Plan to Give Illegal Immigrants Drivers Licences Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday vetoed a plan that would have let the state issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants over identity verification concerns as well as concerns involving voting. The bill (H4805), if passed, would have seen illegal immigrants issued a standard drivers license from the state if they applied starting July 1, 2023. People who apply would need to provide some proof of identity, date of birth, and state residency. A spokeswoman for Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano said the chamber plans to take an override vote on June 8, according to the State House News Service. A two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber to enact the legislation. In a letter to the state legislature (pdf), the Republican governor said he could not sign the measure, saying the states motor vehicle registry does not have the ability to verify the identities of illegal immigrants. The Registry does not have the expertise to verify the validity of many types of documents from other countries, he wrote in his veto message. This legislation also undoes a critical safeguard to the drivers license issuance process that I signed into law just six years ago, he added. Consequently, a standard Massachusetts drivers license will no longer confirm that a person is who they say they are. He also said the measure would significantly increase the risk that noncitizens will be registered to vote. This is because the bill does not have any measures that would help tell apart a lawful citizen and an illegal immigrant, and furthermore, it restricts the registry from sharing citizenship information with entities responsible for ensuring that only citizens register for and vote in our elections, he said. Baker previously told reporters on May 9 that, if the bill passes, there would be huge numbers of provisional votes, which will then make it harder for people to figure out who actually won elections. The state has two elections upcoming, with primaries on Sept. 6 and the general election on Nov. 8. Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth disagreed. He told the Boston Globe on the same day, How the governor manages to link that to the license issue, I am confused and baffled. I do think that the governor in his comments and the Republicans in general in their comments on this issue have tried to raise the specter that this will allow these persons to vote, he said at the time. Nothing could be further from the truth he is making this rhetorical assertion that there are going to be people voting, which they are not. Read More Nearly 1 Million Illegal Immigrants Obtain Drivers Licenses in California this Year Supporters of the bill say it could help improve safety on roads. Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition said that she was deeply disappointed in Bakers veto of the measure. The policy would not only make our communities safer, but benefit our economy and bolster trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, she said in a statement, reported WBUR. We hope that the legislature will waste no time in overriding the Governors veto. The bill had passed the state House and Senateboth with Democrat majoritieswith more than enough votes to override any veto from the governor. The House initially passed the bill with a 120-36 vote, and the Senate voted in favor with a 32-8 vote. On May 26, the House voted 118-36 to accept the conference committee report on the measure. If the measure becomes law, Massachusetts would join 16 states and the District of Columbia in allowing illegal immigrants to be issued drivers licenses. The Microsoft logo during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) Microsoft Joins Peers in Hiring Slowdown Amid Economic Volatility Microsoft Corp. looks to slow hiring in its Windows, Office, and Teams chat and conferencing software groups, Bloomberg reports. Recently, Microsoft disclosed plans to double its budget for salary increases and boosting stock grants to retain key workers. Microsofts slowdown was not companywide, and overall it will continue to hire with additional focus on where those resources go. Microsoft mentioned a need to realign staffing priorities amid global economic uncertainty as such caution was typical in periods of economic volatility. Recently chipmaker Nvidia Corp. shared its plans for a hiring slowdown. Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc., and Salesforce Inc. have also undertaken similar measures. By Anusuya Lahiri 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. People place flowers at a makeshift memorial for the 21 victims of an elementary school mass shooting in the town square in Uvalde, Texas, on May 29, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Mixed Feelings as Biden Visits Mass Shooting Site in Uvalde, Texas UVALDE, TexasTexans who visited Uvaldethe site of a mass shooting that left 21 dead last weeksignaled they had mixed feelings about President Joe Bidens visit to the town. On May 29, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited a makeshift memorial near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The White House said he would meet with families and wouldnt give a public speech. Hundreds of locals and visitors slowly circled the makeshift memorial in Uvaldes town square on May 29. A somber pall hung over the grassy square, shaded by giant trees. The fountain had become the centerpiece of the memorial, with white crosses bearing the names of each victim surrounding it. Mounds of flowers, kids toys, messages, and candles hugged each cross. At one point, as Biden was making a public appearance, he suggested that gun control measures could be on the table. A bystander yelled: Do something, to which Biden replied, We will. Raul Nolasco, a resident of Uvalde and brother of Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco, told The Epoch Times that he pins the blame on a decline in moral standards. The hardest part is to see is the breakdown of our culture. And life is not the same anymore. The change in our society is getting worse, he said. As we all can see, its not going in the right direction. This happened in a small town where you will never, ever, ever think that something like this could happen, said Nolasco, who used to work at Uvalde High School as its truancy officer. Its really the breakdown of the family. The social structure, the cell of society, is the family. The primary issue is the lack of a father figure. This has slowly happened, and its hard to see how it started, but it started with the breakdown of the family, he said. When asked if he had any feelings about Biden visiting Uvalde, Nolasco looked at his watch and said, What time does he leave? Whos raising the kids now? he said. So they go to gangs, play video [games] its not a healthy lifestyle. Its not conducive to anything good. Dallas resident Alex Alvarado was vacationing with his wife in San Antonio, and they decided to drive the 90 miles to Uvalde for the day to pay their respects. I have three daughters. As a parent, I feel for the parents of those kids, Alvarado told The Epoch Times on May 29. So Im here to show support, that theyre not alone. And anything they need as a citizen of this great country, Im here to support. I have a deep feeling, I cant explain it. I cant imagine what those parents are going through. Grief, sorrow, sadnessI mean, this shouldnt have happened. Alvarado said he didnt know the details of Bidens visit to Uvalde, but said it was good he planned to meet with the families of the victims. Im not against Biden, but I have mixed feelings on him, too, Alvarado said. Its not like he can take a magic wand and fix everything. Victor Gonzalez drove 650 miles to Uvalde from Benton, Arkansas. He set up a grill at the Tractor Supply store on May 28 and cooked free hamburgers and hotdogs until the food ran out. Gonzalez said it was important for him to come, because as a human being if you dont feel sorrow and sadness in your heart, theres something wrong with you. He said the food for Uvalde had been donated by Performance Food Group in Little Rock. He wasnt enthusiastic about Bidens visit. I dont really think its about Biden right now. Its not about politics, Gonzalez said. I see a lot of people coming together. Alyssa Barrientos, 20, stopped at each cross and laid a flower, tears streaming down her face. She also placed a letter at Alexandria Rubios memorial, the daughter of Uvalde Sheriffs Deputy Felix Rubio. I just said that Im sorry that this happened. It should not have happened. I was just saying that the politicians and the presidents of the future, they should resolve thisthis problem in our country, she recounted the contents of her letter. And I just told them in November when I vote here in Texas, I will have them on my mind. Ill have them on my mind in every future election I vote in. Elise Reyes from San Antonio said shes glad Biden came to Uvalde. I heard that hes going to talk to the families. I hope that something is done, she said. Gun reform needs to happen. For sure. I dont think anybody needs to own an AR-15. Its crazy this happened. From the time when Columbine happened to now, its been so many years and nothing has been done. So its just a surreal feeling. Charlotte Cuthbertson Senior Reporter Follow Charlotte Cuthbertson is a senior reporter with The Epoch Times who primarily covers border security and the opioid crisis. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2022 Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 18, 2022. (Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) Musk Raises Trust Issues on Bill Gates Multi-Billion-Dollar Bet Against Tesla Elon Musk called out former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates again for shorting Teslas stock, casting doubts on his goodwill in fighting climate change given the latters multi-billion-dollar bet against the electric carmaker. In a series of Twitter posts, Musk disclosed Gates short position would now require up to $2 billion to close out. The position was initially $500 million before the business went up a lot, according to the Tesla CEO. The share price of Tesla has seen a 20-fold increase since 2019, from $37 a share back in 2019 to the current trading value at around $760 per each, reaching an all-time high late last year of $1,222 per share, a 30-fold increase. Since Gates still has a multi-billion dollar short position against Tesla while claiming to help with global warming, I guess I have some trust issues with him too, Musk wrote on May 27. It was $500M, but then Tesla went up a lot, so now its $1.5B to $2B to close it out Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2022 It is not the first time for him to question Gatess commitment to help to address climate challenges, as the later has been betting on the Musk-operated electric vehicle companys stock prices dropping. Musk previously had confirmed a leaked text exchange with Gates, unveiling that the former worlds richest person admitted to short-selling Tesla shares. According to the conversation record, Musk turned down the others request to discuss philanthropy possibilities. Sorry, but I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change, Musk said. Gatess media relations team didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. I dont think whether ones short or long Tesla is a statement about your seriousness about climate change, Gates told The Wall Street Journal in early May. I applaud Teslas role in helping with climate change, he added, but did not not directly address his Tesla short position. The billionaire also approves of Musks potential impact on Twitter, suggesting that the latters plan to purchase the platform would allow for more so-called misinformation to proliferate. Thats not his track record, Gates told the Wall Street Journal. The Tesla CEO has said he would restore free speech to the platform that he described as having a very far-left bias and vowed to stop what he calls woke mind virus. Musks recent remarks followed a now-closed Twitter poll, asking his followers whether they trust billionaires or politicians less. The result was nearly 76 percent of the 3.4 million respondents voting that they trust politicians less. Some users then started targeting other billionaires in reply. One asked if he thought Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was (generally) a good person? Hes fine, Musk wrote in response, but called for more effort from his rival on the ongoing space race, and less partying. Bezos previously questioned whether Twitter will fall under the influence of Beijing, hours after Musk secured a $44 billion buyout of the social media firm. People taking part in a protest against old-growth logging march along Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver on March 27, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) No Arrests Yet After Protesters Dump Manure in Front of BC Premiers Constituency Office Over Old-Growth Logging VANCOUVERPolice are continuing to investigate possible vandalism and mischief charges after manure was dumped in front of B.C. Premier John Horgans constituency office on May 25. Staff Sergeant Beardsmore with the West Shore RCMP detachment, which is investigating the incident, confirmed to The Epoch Times that his detachment has a file open, but so far no charges have been laid or arrests made. Wed certainly be interested in speaking to anybody that was involved, he said. The Save Old Growth activist group took credit for the dump, and The Epoch Times learned that one of its members allegedly involved in the incident may turn herself in. Beardsmore said he is not aware who that might be. I dont know who it is that youre talking to, and Im not asking you, obviously, to tell me that, but if they do come to turn themselves in as it were, we certainly would have a conversation with them about that. In September 2020, the Ministry of Forests released its Old-Growth Strategic Review, which made 14 recommendations to protect old-growth forests, including nine areas throughout the province totalling almost 353,000 hectares. The changes were to be implemented within a three-year time frame. However, in March of this year a report card released by environmental groups and some First Nations criticized the government for being slow to deliver the fundamental change it promised in the wake of the old-growth panels report and in the last provincial election. Save Old Growth has been engaging in an ongoing campaign to pressure the government to end all old-growth logging in B.C., saying Horgan hasnt followed through on his promises. In an interview, co-founder Zain Haq said that although his group doesnt plan to escalate such acts as dumping manure, it could still happen. I mean, its possible that theres going to be similar actions at the offices of other members of the cabinet, but at the moment Im not aware of any plans to do that, he said. Its very much a possibility that someone can decide to just throw manure, and then wed support that person through that process. Haq said one of his colleagues involved in the manure dumping incident at Horgans office told him she may approach police to discuss her part in it. I do believe that one of the people who did it plans on turning themselves in to the police in a few days from now, he said. The Epoch Times reached out to Horgans office for comment but did not receive a response by press time. B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth issued a statement to Chek News in Victoria, saying, Peaceful protest is part of our democratic society. On the other hand, vandalizing property, preventing people from accessing services, and harassing local businesses is deplorable behavior. For those who employ these reprehensible tactics, I can assure you that you achieve nothing but increasing the frustration of the local community. Save Old Growth has launched a number of protest actions in recent months, including blocking major highways in B.C. during rush hour, as well as staging hunger strikes in an effort to have a public meeting with Katrine Conroy, minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development. Haq agrees protests which disrupt communities initially can create negative pushback. But his groups philosophy is this usually changes to support once the message reaches the people who are inconvenienced by the protests. Beginning June 13, Save Old Growth plans to resurrect blocking traffic again after a recent pause to their protests. And these new attempts, Haq said, will cause more chaos as the group aims to maintain the blockades longer than two or three hours theyve become known for. We dont plan on doing action in the same way we were doing last time around, he said. We plan on doing permanent occupation of sites throughout B.C. Were talking about highways and ports and other infrastructure. If people dont like our tactics, then the unfortunate reality is that our tactics are the only way. Online Fundraiser for Uvalde Teachers Orphaned Family Reaches $2.5 Million A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $2.5 million in support for the children left behind by the slain Uvalde elementary school teacher and her husband who died shortly after her killing. The fundraiser was launched after the death of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed in the May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Irmas husband, Joe, died from what appeared to be a heart attack two days following the tragedy. The couple was survived by two sons, 23-year-old Cristian and 19-year-old Jose; and two daughters, 15-year-old Lyliana and 12-year-old Alysandra. Irmas cousin, Debra Austin, wrote on the fundraiser campaigns page that Irma was a wonderful person who would do anything for anybody with no questions asked and loved her classroom kids and died trying to protect them. I am equally [devastated] to report Irmas husband Joe has tragically passed away this morning (5/26/2022) as a result of a medical emergency, she added. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear. As of the morning of May 29, the total amount of donations has reached $2,590,000, far exceeding the $10,000 goal initially set by Austin, who promised that all the money will go to the Garcia family for various expenses. I would like to thank all the donors worldwide that have contributed to these wonderful kids, she wrote on the campaign page in a message to donors. The prayers and love and support you have sent are so very much appreciated and needed as they continue their journey through life without their mother and father. Irma was among the 21 victims, including 19 children, who have been killed by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. A fourth-grader who was inside the classroom where the gunman opened fire, told San Antonio TV station KENS that the shooter walked into the room and uttered, Its time to die. When I heard the shooting through the door, I told my friend to hide under something so he wont find us, said the boy, who was not identified. He and another four children were able to survive by hiding beneath a table with a tablecloth. They were nice teachers, the boy spoke of Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles, who were killed while trying to shield their students from gunfire. They went in front of my classmates to help. To save them. Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a press conference that students trapped inside the classroom with Ramos repeatedly called 911 and plead for help, but officers spent more than an hour waiting in the hallway instead of breaching the classroom door. According to McCraw, the commander at the scene in Uvaldethe school districts police chief, Pete Arredondodecided the group should wait to confront the gunman on the belief that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject. It was the wrong decision, McCraw said. KATHMANDUA small passenger plane with 22 people on board went missing in cloudy weather in Nepal on Sunday and authorities suspended a search in difficult terrain as night fell. The search operation has been suspended for today because of the darkness, police spokesperson Bishnu Kumar K.C told Reuters. We could not make any progress. The search will resume early tomorrow. Officials said bad weather and mountainous terrain had hampered their efforts to locate the plane, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter operated by privately owned Tara Air. The plane took off in the morning for a 20-minute flight but lost contact with the control tower five minutes before it was due to land, government officials said. The plane departed from the tourist town of Pokhara, 125 kilometers (80 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. It was headed for Jomsom, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Pokhara and is a popular tourist and pilgrimage site. State-owned Nepal Television said villagers had seen an aircraft on fire at the source of the Lyanku Khola River at the foot of the Himalayan mountain Manapathi, in a district bordering Tibet. Ground search teams are proceeding toward that direction, Tara Air spokesperson Sudarshan Gartaula told Reuters, referring to the fire site. It could be a fire by villagers or by cowherds. It could be anything. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) also said a team was headed to that area. The airline said the plane was carrying four Indians, two Germans, and 16 Nepalis, including three crew. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the missing aircraft, with registration number 9N-AET, made its first flight in April 1979. The weather office said there had been thick cloud cover in the Pokhara-Jomson area since the morning. Nepal, home to eight of the worlds 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically located in mountainous areas that are hard to reach. In early 2018, a U.S.Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board. In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu. By Gopal Sharma Then-Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) arrives for the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on March 1, 2022. (Saul Loeb/Pool/Getty Images) Rep. Madison Cawthorn Under Scrutiny For Suspicious Crypto Trading Activity Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) revealed in a filing on Friday that he had sold more than $250,000 worth of Lets Go Brandon (LGB) meme cryptocurrency on Dec. 31, 2021, the day the value of the digital coin peaked before it lost much of its value. At a party on Dec. 29, 2021, Cawthorn posed with LGB chief promoter James Koutoulas, posting a photo on his Instagram account with a comment Tomorrow we go to the moon! The next day, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown announced that the LGB coin would be his primary sponsor for the 2022 season, pushing up the digital currencys value by 75 percent. According to Brown, his deal with LGB was negotiated directly by Koutoulas. Cawthorns periodic transaction filing shows that he bought LGB coins worth between $100,001 and $250,000 on Dec. 21. Ten days later, on Dec. 31, he sold a portion of his LGB holdings for between $100,001 and $250,000. During the 10-day period that Cawthorn held the coin, the value of his investment shot up by 98 percent, according to an analysis by the Washington Examiner. Cawthorns trading decisions look like a classic pump and dump scheme, Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told the media outlet. Did he have inside information? It sure appears that way, he said. Hes hanging out with the guy, announced it was going to spike the next day. The next day it spiked, and then he sells a portion of it. We dont know exactly how much he sold since he said its partial, but he sells it the next day. A day after Cawthorn unloaded his investment, the LGB coin began its fall in value. On Jan. 4, NASCAR announced that it declined LGBs sponsorship deal with Brown. By the end of the month, the coins value had fallen drastically. In a Feb. 20 livestream, Koutoulas blamed the decline in LGB coins value on insiders dumping their holdings all at once. Currently, the coin is trading 99 percent below its peak price set the day Cawthorn sold his holdings. In a March 22 video uploaded to LGBs official Twitter account, the Republican lawmaker was once again seen promoting the meme coin. This is going to the moon, baby! To the moon! Cawthorn says while pointing to an LGB coin logo pinned on Koutoulass suit. Letsgobrandon.comget on the train. Get on the train. Take the power of currency away from the government. In April, Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) had called for an inquiry into whether Cawthorn had committed insider trading. Insider trading by a member of Congress is a serious betrayal of their oath, and Congressman Cawthorn owes North Carolinians an explanation, he said in an April 27 tweet. The House Ethics Committee had recently voted to investigate Cawthorn for promoting the LGB coin. The meme currency is named after a derogatory phrase about President Joe Biden. Senator Promoting Patrick Browns Tory Leadership Bid in Chinese Community Accuses Competition of Promoting White Supremacy Brown is endorsed by Sen. Victor Oh and groups taking pro-Beijing positions in Canada's Chinese community In a message recorded in Chinese asking voters to support Brampton Mayor Patrick Browns bid for the Conservative Party leadership, Conservative Sen. Victor Oh accuses Browns competition of racial discrimination and promoting white supremacy. When we see candidates running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canadaone of the three major political parties in Canadadiscriminate against people of colour in their speeches while promoting extreme white supremacy, as Canadian citizens, and for the sake of our future generations, we have the duty to join this Party and vote for a candidate who is friendly to people of colour and to new immigrants, Oh said in a video posted on YouTube on May 27, without elaborating on what racist incidents he was referring to. Ohs video was in association with an event he co-organized in the Chinese community in the Toronto area on May 26 to promote Browns leadership bid. According to reports in local Chinese media, the event was co-organized by the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO), an organization that takes pro-Beijing positions in the Chinese community, with representatives from many other groups that similarly take pro-Beijing positions in attendance. CTCCO chairman Guo Ning Weng repeated Ohs comments in a speech at the event, saying one of the reasons to support Brown is his stance against racial discrimination, according to Canadian Chinese Media News. During the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong which led to crackdowns by authorities in Beijing, CTCCO was among the groups holding events in Toronto to denounce the protesters in Hong Kong. The group has also supported the Chinese Communist Partys national security law imposed on Hong Kong, which has been denounced by many democratic countries including Canada as undermining Hong Kongs autonomy. Other organizations with representatives present at the event hold similar pro-Beijing positions, including the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC). CPAC was one of the select recipients of the Overseas Chinese Organization awards during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in attendance in 2014, organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. Earlier this year, a federal court judge affirmed that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office is involved in acts of espionage that are against Canadas interests. Patrick Brown announces his candidacy for the federal Conservative leadership at a rally in Brampton, Ont., on March 13, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Sen. Oh has in the past attracted attention for his frequent trips to China. The Senate ethics officer said in 2020 that Oh breached conflict of interest rules by accepting a free trip to China in 2017. He has also taken other free trips to China sponsored by the Chinese regime and pro-Beijing business groups in previous years, according to the Globe and Mail. In 2016, when fellow Conservative Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo introduced a motion urging Beijing to end its hostilities in the South China Sea, Oh spoke against the motion. He is also a regular guest of honour at events featuring the Chinese ambassador or top consul officials in Canada. Earlier this year, Oh apologized to former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu for accusing him of lying about falling prey to a disinformation campaign that Chiu says cost him his seat in the 2021 federal election. Chiu had in the previous session of the Parliament introduced a private members bill to compel those working on behalf of foreign entities to register as foreign agents in order to increase transparency. But the bill was misrepresented to those in the Chinese community to mislead them into believing it was against their interests, Chiu says. The Epoch Times contacted Oh for comment but didnt hear back by publication time. Brown replied to an email seeking comment by asking for a link to Ohs video, but didnt respond further by publication time after he was provided with the link. Brown has taken a noticeably milder stance on China in the leadership campaign compared to other candidates. During the candidates debate in French on May 25, Brown said that while its important to defend human rights, it is also crucial to support trade vital to Canadas interests, such as sending liquified natural gas to China as a way to help China fight climate change. And it is a way to improve relations with China that became worse under [former] prime minister [Stephen] Harper, he said. Harper famously refused to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which was attended by many world leaders. His tenure was marked as an era of cooler relations with the Chinese regime compared to previous Liberal governments. After Justin Trudeaus Liberals won the 2015 election, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the two countries were entering a golden era. Racism Accusations Brown and his campaign have on several occasions attempted to link fellow leadership contender and Tory MP Pierre Poilievre to racism. Brown shared a video on Twitter on May 15 of Pat King, one of the protesters who went to Ottawa during the trucker convoy, in which King talks about a plan to depopulate the Anglo-Saxon race. There is an end game, its called depopulation of the caucasian race, or the Anglo-Saxon, and thats what the goal is, to depopulate the Anglo-Saxon race because they are the ones with the strongest bloodlines, King says in the video. Patrick Brown (L) and Pierre Poilievre trade barbs at the Conservative Party of Canada English leadership debate in Edmonton on May 11, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh) Referring to the video, Brown said, Here is Pat King, a leader of the convoy [Pierre Poilievre] supported, spreading the dangerous white supremacist White Replacement conspiracy theory which was reported to have been in the Buffalo shooters manifesto. Convoy organizers have distanced themselves from King, saying he is not one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, the main group that staged the truckers protest demonstrating against COVID-19 mandates in Ottawa in late January and February. A few days later on May 18, Tory MP Michelle Rempel Garner, co-chair of Browns leadership campaign, shared a screenshot of an email on Twitter in which someone said to be a Conservative Party member says I believe in Nazi-ism, and signs off with I support Pierre Polievre! Poilievre responded to these incidents by saying he denounces all racism. The Conservative Party later said the person who sent the email resigned his membership of the party after an investigation was launched into the incident. Andrew Chen and Isaac Teo contributed to this report. Serbian President and presidential candidate Aleksandar Vucic speaks after the results of the presidential election, in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 3, 2022. (Antonio Bronic/Reuters) Serbia Agrees to New 3-year Gas Supply Contract With Russia BELGRADESerbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday he had agreed a new three-year gas supply contract in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I can not speak about the price now, all details will be agreed with Gazprom, Vucic told reporters. Vucic said that he had agreed with Putin that the price of gas would be linked to the oil price, but did not elaborate. Serbias 10-year gas supply contract with Gazprom expires on May 31. Vucic also said that he had discussed with Putin expansion of gas storage space in the Balkan country. Putin said to call him if I feel there is anything more to be discussed, said Vucic, Putins closest ally in Europe. Serbia, which aims to join the European Union, has come under pressure recently from Western countries to align its foreign policy with the bloc and impose sanctions on Russia. In 2008 the Balkan country put its gas and oil sectors in the hands of Russian companies. Gazprom Neft and Gazprom together hold a majority stake in the countrys sole oil company while Gazprom is majority shareholder in the countrys sole gas storage facility. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw provides an update on details of the May 24 mass shooting in which 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Texas Official Has No Idea Where School Police Officer Was at Time of Mass Shooting An official in Uvalde, Texas, said he has no idea where a school resource officer was at the time of last weeks mass shooting that left 21 dead. So far, there have been conflicting reports about where the school officer was when 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School. Questions have also emerged about why a door was propped open by a teacher minutes before, and why police delayed entering the building by about an hour. Im like a lot of people. Were still in the dark about that. Were still learning new developments that are coming to light, Uvalde County Commissioner Ronald Garz told CBS News on Sunday. My heart goes out to the community. Were emotionally shattered. Authorities have yet to clarify the location of the unnamed officer. Last week, Steve McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the officer responded after someone called 911 about a car crash that had involved Ramos near the school. After the call, the officer drove immediately to the area he thought was the man with the gun, to the back of the school, which turned out to be a teacher, McCraw said. Officials are still trying to come up with a comprehensive timeline of how the incident unfolded. Police in Uvalde have recently faced criticism about how long they took to respond and stop the shooter, who killed 19 children and two teachers inside Robb Elementary. Ramos was shot and killed around 90 minutes after he entered the school That officer was not on scene, not on campus, but had heard the 911 call about the man with the gun and drove immediately to the area, sped to what he thought was the man with the gun to the back of the school and what turned out to be a teacher and not the suspect, McCraw said. Its not clear why the officer wasnt at the school on Tuesday. McCraw, who wasnt involved in the law enforcement response, admitted that it was the wrong decision to delay entering the room where Ramos was located. Responding officers, he said, believed the suspect was barricaded inside two connecting classrooms and that children were no longer at risk. During public remarks on Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott said he is livid about being misled about the details of the law enforcement response. There are people who deserve answers the most, and those are the families whose lives have been destroyed. They need answers that are accurate, and it is inexcusable that they may have suffered from any inaccurate information whatsoever, the Texas Republican said. A makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School is filled with flowers, toys, signs, and crosses bearing the names of all 21 victims of the mass shooting that occurred on May 24, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Texas Senator Defends Police Amid Criticism Over School Shooting Response Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) defended the law enforcement response after it was confirmed they waited about an hour outside the Uvalde, Texas, school during last weeks mass shooting. The Texas senatorwho was recently tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to work with Democrats on possible gun control rulesclaimed that criticizing first responders after the shooting, which left 19 children and two adults dead, is distracting and unfair. The second-guessing and finger-pointing among state and local law enforcement is destructive, distracting, and unfair, Cornyn said this weekend. Officials have said that it took well over an hour for police to enter the building after the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, entered Robb Elementary School. It drew condemnation from both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both Republicans, with Patrick saying the move cost childrens lives. Meanwhile, according to social media posts from police, there was an active shooter drill at Robb Elementary in March, which instructed first responders to stop the killing and added an officers first priority is to move in and confront the attacker. On Monday the UCISD Police Department hosted an Active Shooter Training at the Uvalde High School. Our overall goal is to train every Uvalde area law enforcement officer so that we can prepare as best as possible for any situation that may arise, the police department wrote two months ago online. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) walks through the Senate subway on his way to a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 27, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) When asked about what is being done to hold police responsible for the delayed response, Cornyn wrote: My only point we need a thorough investigation and to nail down facts before reaching a conclusion. Accountability should follow. The head of the Texas Department of Public Security, Steve McCraw, told reporters Friday that it was the wrong decision for officers to wait, explaining that the on-scene commander at the time believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject. A decision was made on the sceneI wasnt therethat this was a barricaded subject situation, there was time to retrieve the keys and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject, McCraw said. At that point, that was the decision, that was the thought process. Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde through a door that was propped open by a teacher just minutes before, McCraw added. McCraw said that there was also no school resource officer at the school, and he could not say why. The officer, he said, later responded when someone called 911. On Saturday, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) told Fox News that when he visited Uvalde, officers told him that first responders were scrambling to locate a tool to pry open a school door to engage the shooter. Last week, McConnell told CNN that he directed Cornyn to begin discussions with Democrats, including Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), to see if they can work together on legislation targeting guns. I met with Senator Cornyn this morning. As you know he went home yesterday to see the family members and begin the fact finding of this awful massacre and I have encouraged him to talk with Sen. Murphy and Sen. Sinema and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that is directly related to the problem. I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution, McConnell said, without elaborating. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 27, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters) Top Democrat Senator: Serious Bipartisan Negotiations on Gun Control Underway Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that bipartisan negotiations on possible gun legislation are now underway, coming days after a mass shooting in Texas that left 21 dead. Speaking to ABC News, Murphy, an ally of President Joe Biden, said that possible legislation includes expanding the federal gun background check system, red flag laws, and laws around storing weapons. Were talking about red flag laws. Were talking about strengthening and expanding the background check system, if not universal background checks. Were talking about safe storage. And yes, were also talking about mental health resources and more security dollars for schools, Murphy said, claiming that their bill could have a significant downward pressure on shootings. Maybe thats the most important thing we could do is just show that progress is possible and that the sky doesnt fall for Republicans if they support some of these commonsense measures, he said. Several days ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) directed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to lead GOP negotiations with Democrats, including Murphy. After the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, Murphy and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) were involved in efforts to pass gun control legislation. When asked by CNN last week about red flag laws, background checks, or other measures, McConnell stated that he told the Texas senator to meet with the Democrats who are interested in getting a bipartisan solution and come up with a proposal, if possible, thats crafted to meet this particular problem. Red flag laws refer to gun control measures that allow police or, in some cases, family members to petition a state court to order the removal of a firearm from an individual. More than a dozen states already have passed red flag rules. But opponents have said that red flag laws have deprived individuals of their civil liberties and their Second Amendment rights. In a separate interview Sunday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, told CNN that I can tell you I sense a different feeling among my colleagues after Uvalde, referring to the shooting. Officials identified 18-year-old Salvador Ramos as the lone shooter who shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. They said Ramos legally purchased several firearms after his 18th birthday. Amid the talk of new legislation, Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday called for an assault weapons ban, although its not clear what she meant. We are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, were not looking for a vaccine. We know what works on this, Harris told reporters near Air Force One, adding: Lets have an assault weapons ban. You know what an assault weapon is? You know how an assault weapon was designed? It was designed for a specific purposeto kill a lot of human beings quickly. An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in a civil society, she continued to say. However, critics of such legislation have suggested that assault weapon is a nebulous term with no clear definition. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, wrote over the weekend: A gun is a gun is a gun when it comes to those commonly available to civilians. Assault rifles (as gun opponents have broadly defined) are no more/less deadly than other avail firearms. Assault rifles (full automatic fire kind you likely mean) already banned/highly restricted. In truth, anti-gun activists seek severe restrictions on, and oppose in concept, any individual civilian RIGHT to own ANY firearm, even though it is an inalienable right specifically recognized in the U.S. Constitution under the Second Amendment. This is the debate, Fitton said. (LR) Candidates Leslyn Lewis, Roman Baber, Jean Charest, Scott Aitchison, Patrick Brown, and Pierre Poilievre at the Conservative Party of Canada English leadership debate in Edmonton, Alta., on May 11, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh) Michael Taube: Tory Leadership Debates: Intensity May Surprise Some, but Its Not New and Not Unique to Canada Commentary Canadas Conservative Party has held several debates involving its six leadership candidates. Its notable to mention that political observers and party members who have either watched or attended these events have remarked on what they perceive as being a similar themethat is, the leaders debates have been more intense, divisive, and politically charged than anything theyve ever witnessed before in this country. Is that a valid assessment? Yes, to some extent. The language at these debates has been pretty rough at times. This has been quite evident during fiery exchanges between acknowledged frontrunner Pierre Poilievre and his closest rival, Jean Charest. During the first (and unofficial) leaders debate, at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa on May 5, Charest said that this mess with the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa is the fault of Mr. Trudeau, but then went on to say that Poilievre during that time, supported an illegal blockade. You cannot make laws and break laws and then say I will make laws for other people. The crowd booed Charests remarks and cheered Poilievre after he blasted the former federal PC leader and Quebec Liberal premier for once again repeating a bunch of Trudeau rhetoric on our hardworking truckers. The Conservative MP and former cabinet minister also had a long back-and-forth exchange with Charest, stating that he needs to come clean with how much money he got from Huawei Technologies when he worked with the Chinese telecom. The former provided a non-response each and every time. Meanwhile, Poilievre pointed out that Charest, who claims to be pro-choice, supported the recriminalization of abortion when Brian Mulroney was prime minister. That was your position, he said at the May 11 debate in Edmonton. You seem to have forgotten it. Youve forgotten a lot of things about your record. Charest put more gasoline on the fire during the May 25 debate in Laval. He targeted Poilievre when he asked whether Conservatives would take the path of American-style politics, attack politics, politics where we pit one group against another, politics where we make slogans and every answer is a dodge? His candidacy supposedly offered the choice of not to be a pseudo-American, and a leader who is able to unite the party and who has judgment, who doesnt go sending signals about conspiracy theories, who goes off into theories about the Bank of Canada or bitcoin. Other leadership candidates have joined the fray, too. Leslyn Lewis critiqued Poilievre for not being one of the loudest voices during the Freedom Convoy, and claimed that you did not even speak up until it was convenient for you. Patrick Brown pushed back against Poilievres interest in cryptocurrency, calling it magic internet money. Polievre blasted Charest and Brown in tandem for working as a little coalition. Canadians are aware that politicians can be combative in the House of Commons and provincial legislatures, and outside those hallowed halls. Theyre simply not used to seeing these types of strong-willed battles between leadership candidates of any political party. Fair enough, but its important to keep a few things in mind. When youre fighting for the heart and soul of the party, as the Conservative leadership candidates are doing, the tone, tenor, and language of a debate will increase and become more negative. Im not justifying this, of course, but its part and parcel of what we should expect to see from now until the Sept. 10 vote. Its also not a unique phenomenon to Canada. This happens in many other countries. Intensity was on full display during the U.S. presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, and between Trump and Joe Biden in 2020, and there have been equally intense senatorial and gubernatorial debates. The UK has had some strongly worded battles in recent leaders debates in 2015, 2017, and 2019. An emotionally charged leaders debate occurred in France earlier this year between presidential incumbent Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. The same thing happened in Australia between then-prime minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese, which led to a brief shouting match. There have even been fierce leaders debates in Asia and Africa that put these exchanges to shame, too. Long story short, this is something Canadians need to get used to seeing in leaders debates going forward. Its the way of the world, and the nature of modern political debates. Were not immune from it, Im afraid. Neither are Canadas other parties, for that matter. The Jean Chretien-Paul Martin Liberal leadership struggle, rise of far-left NDP wings like the Waffle and Socialist Caucus, and wild battle involving the Green Party and now-former leader Annamie Paul is evidence of this. In time, theyll be marching to the same debate tune and wondering how it all came to pass. Now, theyll know why. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. UK Attorney General: Schools Dont Have to Accommodate Gender ID Change The British attorney general says schools do not have to accommodate students who want to change gender identification, and are under no legal obligation to use certain pronouns or allow children to wear uniform of another sex. Attorney General Suella Bravermanthe top government adviser on law in England and Waleshas become the latest of a number of senior government figures to challenge the ethos of some public institutions which affirm childrens adoption of another gender identity. Her comments to the Times of London, published on Saturday, come as the government draws up formal guidance for schools on transgenderism. Under-18s cannot get a gender recognition certificate, under-18s cannot legally change sex, she told the newspaper on May 28. So again in the context of schools I think its even clearer actually. A male child who says in a school that they are a trans girl, that they want to be female, is legally still a boy or a male. Braverman said that schools have a right to treat them as such under the law. They dont have to say OK, were going to let you change your pronoun or let you wear a skirt or call yourself a girls name,' she said. Last month, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi criticised a school after reports that a pupil had been hounded out for asserting that sex was biologically determined. He also, however, suggested that schools should accommodate pupils with gender dysphoria, for example allowing them to use the lavatories with a gender of their preference. She said young peoples wish to change gender appears to be influenced by their peers. Some parts of the country there are very low rates of children presenting as transgender, in some parts of the country its quite worryingly high. That must be to do with the way teachers and local education authorities are approaching this subject. Medical professionals, teachers should be taking a much firmer line. They shouldnt take an unquestioning approach, they shouldnt just take what the child says. That position echoes statements by British Health Secretary Sajid Javid last month. He described the way the nations health care system currently handles cases of children with gender dysphoria as bordering on ideological. Responding to a question, Javid told MPs that he shared concerns about the NHS insisting on childrens perception of their own gender as a starting point for treatment, describing the approach as overly affirmative. Javid highlighted that the NHS had already commissioned a review into its own gender identity services, the Cass Review, with an interim report published in March. It is already clear to me from her interim findings and the other evidence I have seen that NHS services in this area are too narrow; they are overly affirmative and in fact are bordering on ideological. Javid has also condemned the treatment of the teenage girl who was allegedly hounded out of her private school for insisting biological sex was real, saying that a growing culture of shutting people down is deeply disturbing. Javid wrote on Twitter: Facts matter. Respectful debate matters. Biological sex mattersask any doctor or nurse. Facts matter. Respectful debate matters. This growing culture of shutting people down is deeply disturbing and must be challenged, he added. Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade marking the 30th anniversary of the spiritual discipline's introduction to the public, in New York on May 13, 2022. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times) US Should Get Tougher on Chinese Regime Over Its Persecution of Falun Gong: Advocate A human rights advocate has called on the United States to take stronger action against the Chinese regime over its rampant persecution of the spiritual group Falun Gong. There are acts before our Congress right now to try and put an end to [the persecution], and that kind of legislation, something that really has teeth, is very important, Levi Browde, director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, said on May 13. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline with meditative exercises and moral teachings centered around the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It grew in popularity during the 1990s leading to up to 100 million people practicing in China by the end of the decade. Perceiving this to be a threat, the Chinese regime in 1999 launched a nationwide campaign seeking to eradicate the practice. Tens of millions of people fired from their jobs and kicked out of school are at risk for arbitrary detention, being put into a labor camp, a black jail or prison where theyre horribly tortured, Browde told the Capitol Report program on NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times. Up to thousands have been killed during this persecution. So its absolutely horrific, and its in the millions, he added. Browde stressed that Falun Gong adherents are not an ethnic minority, nor are they limited to certain regions of China. So when the Chinese Communist Party went after Falun Gong, they were really taking an entire section of Chinese society and demonizing them and going after them, he said. The advocate further referred to the regimes state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting, which he described as a prolific practice. The practice involves prisoners of conscience, in particular, younger ones, who pre-screened and then killed for their organs when it is needed for the organ transplant market. This is a way that they have murdered many, many Falun Gong practitioners and its also a huge business, he said. Browde recognized the effectiveness of both the current and former U.S. administrations punishment of Chinese officials for their roles in persecuting Falun Gong adherents. That sent ripple effects throughout China, and actually had some positive impacts in different areas where people started to get scared that theyre going to be on a list and targeted by the U.S. government, he said. Browde also pointed to bills before Congress that seek to punish those involved in forcefully taking organs from live Falun Gong adherents. Late last year, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) introduced the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R.6319), which the lawmaker described as a measure to aim at pressing the Chinese regime to abandon its cruel, regressive extermination agenda toward the faith groupincluding forced organ harvesting, unjust imprisonment, and forced labor. If passed, the bill would mark the first legislative measure in the United States to hold human rights abusers accountable on this issue. Hannah Ng Reporter Follow Hannah Ng is a reporter covering U.S. and China news. A young Uyghur activist holds up a poster that reads "China where is my grandma?!" during a demonstration outside the Foreign Office in Berlin, where the Chinese Foreign Minister was expected to hold talks with his German counterpart on Sept. 1, 2020. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images) Uyghur Women Subjected to Sexual Violence in CCPs Xinjiang Repression: US Religious Freedom Commissioner Uyghur women are victims of sexual violence under the Chinese regimes campaign of repression in Xinjiang, regardless of whether they are detained in an internment camp or not, according to Nury Turkel, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. They think all the sexual violence that theyre subjecting Uyghur women to, this mysterious drug that theyre giving, forced sterilization, collective punishment through gang rape, are the methods [through which] they are liberating the Uyghur women just let that sink in, Turkel recently told Epoch TVs American Thought Leaders program. According to estimates by researchers, the Chinese regime has detained more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps in the far western region of Xinjiang, where they are subjected to torture, rape, forced labor, and political indoctrination. The U.S. government and other Western democracies have labeled Beijings actions a genocide. Turkel, an Uyghur-American and author of the new book No Escape: The True Story of Chinas Genocide of the Uyghurs, said he interviewed Uyghur survivors who confirmed that guards were always on the lookout for younger, more vulnerable female Uyghurs. There was a habitual practice of those women being led out of the cell late at night, he added. In cases where the rape resulted in a pregnancy, those babies would then be owned by the state and the mothers would disappear, the commissioner said. It reminds of the old KGB tactics to make babies and then let them train from the very early age, to be loyal to the Soviet regime, Turkel said. Its [also] a reminder of how Hitler treated the Jewish woman during the Holocaust, he added. Other testimonials Turkel received revealed that Uyghur women were subject to sexual violence even in their own homes when there was no male protection. Chinese cadres claiming to be relatives would invite themselves to stay with these families and some would demand sexual favors, he said. This is a wholesale attack you will live in this fear, surveillance, even at your home. They come to stay with you and intimidate you, even using your children to spy on you, Turkel said. The religious freedom commissioner urged the international community to take action to stop the Chinese Communist Partys crimes. If we dont stop this atrocity, this crime committed against the Uyghurs, it may become a new norm, and they will be used against others, even though some of it has already been in practice. He used the Chinese regimes persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, which has been ongoing for more than two decades, to illustrate this point. Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to organ harvesting and people didnt pay attention. Now its happening to the Uyghurs. Hannah Ng Reporter Follow Hannah Ng is a reporter covering U.S. and China news. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden attend the Quad Fellowship Founding Celebration event in Tokyo, Japan, on May 24, 2022. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images) We Are in Lock-Step With the US: New Australian PM on Combating Chinas Influence Australia will follow the United States lead in recognising China as the most serious long-term challenge to the international order, Australias newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed, as the communist regime continues stepping up its communist platform in the Pacific region. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Australias 31st prime minster said, Australias pretty much in lockstep with our allies in the United States when he was asked about his centre-left Labor governments approach towards China. The comment comes after U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 26 declared that Washington cannot rely on Beijing to change its trajectory and would shape the strategic environment around Beijing to advance our vision for an open, inclusive international system. Even as President Putins war continues, we will remain focused on the most serious long-term challenge to the international orderand thats posed by the Peoples Republic of China, Blinken said during his speech on the Biden administrations China policy. China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it. Beijings vision would move us away from the universal values that have sustained so much of the worlds progress over the past 75 years. However, Blinken noted that the United States doesnt want to sever China from the U.S. or global economy. For our part, we want trade and investment as long as theyre fair and dont jeopardize our national security, he said, as he outlined policies that have been characterised by some defense and security experts as a missed opportunity. Competition need not lead to conflict. We do not seek it. We will work to avoid it. But we will defend our interests against any threats, Blinken said, while noting that the international community was beginning to agree on the need to approach relations with Beijing with more realism, citing Chinas lack of reciprocity. He said that despite its rhetoric, Beijing is pursuing asymmetric decoupling, seeking to make China less dependent on the world and the world more dependent on China. Blinkens approach was echoed by Albanese, who stressed that his government would seek to speak about competition without catastrophe when dealing with China. The prime minister acknowledged there is strategic competition between Australia and Chinas communist regime but added that Labor would deal with it in a mature way that recognises its in all of our interest for there to be peace and security in the region. He added that increasing engagements with Pacific nations is key to Labors policy in combating China, pointing to Foreign Minister Penny Wongs trip to Fiji this week to deepen ties with neighbouring countries. Labor also planned to invest in Australias defence training, maritime security and climate actions; increase parliamentary visits and work programs for the people of the Pacific; as well as improve the Pacific Islands infrastructure to deal with the challenge of climate. However, former prime minister Scott Morrison has previously disputed the idea that boosting funding would be sufficient to curb Chinas aggressive regional expansion. Youre suggesting if you double funding in the Pacific, somehow the Chinese government doesnt have any influence or wont be seeking to coerce or exert its influence, Morrison said. That assumption doesnt hold. According to an election-eve leak, reported by The Australian, the Morrison government had disapproved a proposal by former foreign affairs minister Marise Payne to double Australias aid to the Pacific, fearful that Beijing could build a military base less than 2,000 kilometres from Australia. China on Saturday inked a deal with the Pacific island nation of Samoa to deepen diplomatic ties. The agreement, signed by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Day Three of a 10-day tour to eight Pacific countries, includes agreements on increasing cooperation for local law enforcement. Wangs trip to the Pacific has sparked concerns that Beijings ambition to shape the regional order is becoming more overt since the emergence of the Solomon-China military deal and Beijings domination in the South China sea. Beijing is moving faster and bigger in the South Pacific than Canberra may have expected and isnt waiting to see what the Albanese government does, said Michael Shoebridge, Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes (ASPI) Defence, Strategy and National Security program. The key judgement Pacific leaders must make is whether the highly intrusive authoritarian presence Beijing brings is worth the cash. In an ASPI commentary on May 26, Shoebridge wrote that given Beijings strategic ambition, speed, and scale in the Pacific, what Australia is offering in contrast is not enough. If we believe that, once we get the climate change policy right, just doing a bit more of what weve been doing for years will give us different results, we need to think again. What we have been doing has led us here. The defence expert also questioned the effectiveness of Labors foreign policy regarding China, saying that Australia needs a bigger imagination of a shared region with our Pacific neighbours, not incremental expansion of existing schemes like seasonal workers and more defence training. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd speaks at a news conference in Polk County, Florida, on May 29, 2022. (Courtesy of Polk County Sheriffs Office) Were Going to Shoot You Graveyard Dead: Florida Sheriff Warns Would-Be Mass Shooters A Florida sheriff warned would-be school shooters that they will be shot graveyard dead in the wake of a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. On Friday, Sheriff Grady Judd in Polk County told reporters: If you come to a school in this county, armed, were going to do our best through either our guardians, our school resource officers, or our school resource deputy sheriffs to eliminate the threat outside of the school before they ever get to the children. Were trained to do that. Judd was seemingly referring to reports that officers delayed their response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. This is the last thing youll see before we put a bullet through your head if youre trying to hurt our children, Judd said, while holding a photo of armed officers who were armed with AR-15-style rifles. Then he warned: We are going to shoot you graveyard dead if you come onto a campus, with a gun, threatening our children or shooting at us. Alongside Judd was Ryan Petty, a Florida father whose daughter died in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, who argued that teachers should be armed. Since the year 2000, there has yet to be a single case of someone being wounded or killed from a shooting, let alone a mass public shooting, between 6:00 AM and midnight at a school that lets teachers carry guns, Petty wrote on Twitter. On Sunday, the Department of Justice confirmed it would investigate the police response to the mass shooting. Late last week, top Texas officials said that responding officers did not immediately try to enter Robb Elementary under the mistaken view that there was no threat to children after the shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, barricaded himself. Department spokesman Anthony Coley said that after the review, the findings would be made public. The announcement came as President Joe Biden was visiting Uvalde, where he and First Lady Jill Biden paid their respects at a memorial to the 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday. The goal of the review, which the Uvalde mayor requested, is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and response that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, Coley said in a statement. The agencys Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will handle the probe. Its not clear when the review will be finished or when the report will be issued. The Associated Press contributed to this report. WHO Politics Are Putting the World at Risk: Urgent Reform Is Needed Commentary Its now clear that the World Health Organization (WHO) has ceased to be a credible organization capable of protecting the human race with timely precautionary interventions. The WHOs bureaucratic attitude has left the body in a sorry state, due to politically motivated leadership. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a biologist and career politician from Ethiopia (and an individual alleged to have covered up a cholera outbreak under his watch as the Ethiopian Health Minister), became the WHOs director general after an intense campaign. Candidates jet-settled to influential member states to lobby for their support. With then-President Donald Trumps complete disenchantment with the WHO, Chinas interest in the functioning of the WHO had peaked. And, with the alleged full backing of the Chinese, Ghebreyesus won the election. While his election may seem like a matter-of-fact episode in world affairs, its true impact was felt by the entire human race in 2020. The intelligence networks of most large countries knew as early as November 2019 that all was not right in China. Within weeks, developed nations were tracking the censorship of the hashtag #WuhanReportedMysteriousPneumonia. However, it was only after a closed-door meeting in China between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ghebreyesus in January 2020 that the WHO announced COVID-19 was a pandemic of international concern. The WHOs team of scientists was allowed in China only after that, delaying much-crucial information transfer that would have come in handy as countries braced for the pandemic. Unfortunately, the WHOs delay in alerting the world was much too late. A month later, when the WHO finally released the report of its on-the-ground findings from China, the Asian country was praised for its pro-lockdown response. As we see today, Shanghai and several other large Chinese towns and cities are reeling under stringent shutdowns, with immense mobility restrictions owing to their Zero COVID strategy. And it doesnt seem to be working. Despite desperate cries for help from citizens, the WHO announced only on May 10 in a watered-down statement that Chinas Zero COVID strategy is not sustainable. However, just before the WHO criticized Chinas COVID-19 response, seemingly as a diversionary tactic, it had released a report on a study to calculate global excess mortality due to the coronavirus. The report pegs global excess deaths at 15 million, 5 million of which are attributed to India alone (Indias official reported toll is about 500,000). Contrastingly, the WHO report pegs Chinese excess mortality figures in the negative, opposing all other major studies estimating Chinese excess mortality to be around 7.5 million. Suspiciously, two weeks before the actual report was released, findings of the controversial study were leaked to selected sections of the press in an attempt to create a desired narrative. The WHOs study remains plagued with inaccurate statistical models and opacity in data used. Despite India being home to one-sixth of the worlds population, the WHO has categorized it as a Tier II country, using the same statistical models for countries such as Argentina, Egypt, and Indonesiawhich are smaller geographically and demographically. Additionally, the core of the WHOs study is based on the Karlinsky model (pdf), whereby researcher Ariel Karlinsky used one province (Cordoba in Argentina) to determine all excess mortality. Karlinsky was quick to disclose that the proportionality principle must be satisfied in order for his model to yield unbiased estimates, meaning that the share of COVID-related deaths of states and regions being used for national projections should be stable throughout the projection period. However, in the case of the WHOs India model, it only uses data from 17 out of 30 Indian states. Considering Indias massive size and the differences in population density between urban and rural areas, the impact of the pandemic varied widely within the country in 2020 and 2021. It renders the core of the WHOs study scientifically flawed. Strangely, since the reports release on May 5, the WHO has changed its uncertainty interval several times, suggesting an effort to self-correctperhaps due to the adverse reaction from numerous countries. For India alone, the low point of the interval range has been corrected to 1.4 million excess deaths, as opposed to the original claim of 5 million. While self-correction is a right step for the WHO to take, the body is in dire need of an overhaul. Blatant servility to Chinese interests plays out in the WHOs conduct, costing the rest of the world. Member states must form a non-biased consortium to debate the overhaul process and neutralize geopolitical motives. My home country of India can play a pivotal role. Considering its neutral (but powerful) geopolitical position, deep embedment in global supply chains, and demographic influence, India can lead the WHO to much-needed reform. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a place where a fight with Russian troops occurred in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on May 29, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters) Zelenskyy Suggests Donbas Could Soon Fall Amid Indescribably Difficult Russian Onslaught Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine could soon fall to Russian forces, giving his most grim assessment yet. In a video address over the weekend, Zelenskyy said that conditions in Donbas have grown indescribably difficult and suggested the region could fall to Russia. Since the 2014 color revolution in Kyiv, pro-Russian forces have controlled parts of Donestk and Lugansk and sporadic fighting has erupted over the years. But our defense holds on, Zelensky told the public. Its indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstand this onslaught of the occupiers. Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in close-quarter combat in the Donbas city of Sievierodonetsk as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain strategic footholds for conquering the region. Ukrainian regional officials reported Russian forces storming Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the city. The fighting knocked out power and cellphone service, and a humanitarian relief center could not operate due to the danger, the mayor said. Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Sievierodonetsk, during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, on May 26, 2022, amid Russias military invasion launched on Ukraine. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) Sievierodonetsk, located about 89 miles south of the Russian border, emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscows quest to capture all of Ukraines industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service, Striuk said. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk river. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up Donbas together with neighboring Donetsk. If the occupiers think that Lyman or Sievierodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. Donbas will be Ukrainian, Zelenskyy said during his nighttime address. The pro-Russian Donetsk Peoples Republic, meanwhile, told state-run media that Ukrainian troops shelled Donetsk six times overnight on Saturday and Sunday. Russias Ministry of Defense also claimed that the town of Krasny Liman was taken from its forces on Saturday. As a result of the joint actions of the peoples militia units of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the Russian armed forces, the city of Krasny Liman was completely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, according to the TASS news agency. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Roton Middle School students are stepping back in time to explore the origins of their hometown and learn more about its bravest defenders. Led by social studies teacher Mark Jackson, seventh- and eighth-grade students are each completing historical scavenger hunts to remember Norwalks fallen soldiers, the citys founding and the incineration of the town during the American Revolution. Students can work individually or in small groups on the six-week project, which ends June 7. The end-of-the-year project was started over 10 years ago by Roton Middle School social studies teachers Dean Vaccaro and Rob Pennington, who now serves as the assistant superintendent of schools for Norwalk Public Schools. The assignment fits into citizenship education, a big push from the state, according to Jackson. Being Norwalk born and raised, I wanted to engage students to do a project where they get out of the classroom and travel around town, together with their parents and explore Norwalk's memorials, Vaccaro said. I thought a scavenger hunt would be a creative way to have students do this and take an active part in Memorial Day. The seventh-graders will visit four veterans memorials in honor of Memorial Day, including the Shea-Magrath Memorial, the World War II Memorial for former lifeguards at Calf Pasture Beach, the World War I Memorial on the town green, and the Memorial Wall at Norwalk City Hall. The kids can see what these names mean, learn the history behind them and dive deeper, said Justin Morse, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Roton. The seventh-grade students can also earn extra credit by visiting the traveling exhibit The Wall That Heals to honor Vietnam veterans. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica will be stationed at Veterans Park, starting Thursday through next Sunday. I like learning about all of these people and their sacrifice. Its inspiring for students, said David Smith, a seventh-grader at Roton. I like how the project is out of school. You retain more information when youre doing something physical as opposed to reading a book or watching a video. Smiths classmates Phoebe Strickland and Abby Fry said they enjoy learning about places that are easily accessible as opposed to historical sites overseas or out of state. I take in information better when I remember going there. Its a better way to learn, Strickland said. It intrigues me more knowing where I live than places Ill never go to, Fry added. This project enables that. The eighth-grade assignment corresponds to the American Revolution unit and revolves around the founding of Norwalk and the burning of the city. Location sites include the monument for Roger Ludlowe, who negotiated the purchase of Norwalk from Chief Mahackemo of the Norwaake Indians, and Grummans Hill where British General Tryon watched the city burn in 1779. Students must also choose if they would play the role of an American patriot or a British loyalist when they imagine the British ships sailing into the harbor from Calf Pasture Beach and how they would respond. I didnt know about the burning of Norwalk and how as a town it was able to regrow after so many buildings were burned down, said Anora Voss, an eighth-grader at Roton. This is a good hands-on assignment. We learn more about the town and immerse ourselves in what it was like in the past in Norwalk. For a generation far removed from the people who lived through these historical moments, eighth-grader Mackenzie McGonigle said they are lucky enough to have all these different monuments of things that happened back then. As much as the students learn completing their project, Jackson said parents also discover a lot about Norwalk, even those who have lived in the city their whole lives. Visiting the veterans memorials also sparks family conversations about relatives who served in the military. I had two grandfathers who served, one in World War II and one in Korea, who are on the city hall plaque, Jackson said. Vaccaro also enjoys seeing students visiting the sites and bumping into their classmates and their families as they all work on the project together. This weekend, I might drive by the Roger Ludlowe monument and see large groups of students and parents gathered there, some of whom just ran into one another, all together on the journey of the scavenger hunt exploring, learning, talking, laughing and enjoying the nice weather. How often does that occur in the school setting? emily.morgan@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TAFT, Okla. (AP) Authorities said a 26-year-old man was in custody after one person was killed and seven people were injured in a shooting early Sunday at an outdoor festival in eastern Oklahoma, where witnesses described frantic people running for cover amid gunfire. An arrest warrant was issued for Skyler Buckner and he turned himself in to the Muskogee County sheriff's office Sunday afternoon, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. OSBI said that those shot at the Memorial Day event in Taft, located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, ranged in age from 9 to 56. A 39-year-old woman was killed, OSBI said. The injuries of those wounded were considered non-life-threatening. OSBI had earlier said two juveniles were injured in the shooting but said Sunday afternoon that only one juvenile was injured. Witnesses said an argument preceded the gunfire just after midnight, the agency said. We heard a lot of shots and we thought it was firecrackers at first, said Sylvia Wilson, an owner of Tafts Boots Cafe, which was open at the time to serve a surge of visitors to the small town for the gathering. Then people start running and ducking. And we were yelling at everyone... Get down! Get down! Wilson said to The Associated Press by telephone from the cafe on Sunday morning. About 1,500 people attended the event in Taft, which usually has a population of just a few hundred people. Members of the Muskogee County Sheriffs Office were in attendance and immediately began rendering aid, OSBI said. Bullets were literally flying everywhere, Jasmayne Hill, who was working at a food truck during the event, told the Tulsa World. Hill said she and Tiffany Walton, the owner of the food truck, dove to the truck's floor to avoid the bullets. Were thinking were safe and the bullets are like going through the bottom of the food truck, Hill said. They didnt hit us, thank God. Neicy Bates and her husband were operating another food truck when the shots rang out. She told the Tulsa World that most people were just going to the ground trying to get out of the way. People were just screaming. Some were trying to run away. There were cars leaving, trying not to hit each other," she said. Walton, who lives in Taft, said for decades the town has held a multi-day festival over Memorial Day weekend. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said on Twitter that he was grateful for the OSBI's swift response to assist local police. Wilson estimated her cafe is about 100 feet (30 meters) from where the shooting broke out. She said law enforcement had been on the scene to help with security earlier and that officers reacted quickly to the shooting. We are upset, Wilson said, adding: But everything is getting back to normal... The danger has passed. Buckner was being held Sunday in Muskogee County jail. Jail records did not have an attorney listed for him. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Andrew Harnik/AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Kevin Wolf/AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NAPA, Calif. (AP) Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was arrested this weekend on suspicion of DUI in Northern California, police records showed Sunday. Paul Pelosi was taken into custody late Saturday in Napa County north of San Francisco, according to a sheriff's office online booking report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) As Russia asserted progress in its goal of seizing the entirety of contested eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin tried Saturday to shake European resolve to punish his country with sanctions and to keep supplying weapons that have supported Ukraine's defense. The Russian Defense Ministry said Lyman, the second small city to fall this week, had been completely liberated by a joint force of Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists, who have waged war for eight years in the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia. Ukraines train system has ferried arms and evacuated citizens through Lyman, a key railway hub in the east. Control of it also would give Russia's military another foothold in the region; it has bridges for troops and equipment to cross the Siverskiy Donets river, which has so far impeded the Russian advance into the Donbas. Ukrainian officials have sent mixed signals on Lyman. On Friday, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian troops controlled most of it and were trying to press their offensive toward Bakhmut, another city in the region. On Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar disputed Moscow's claim that Lyman had fallen, saying fighting there was still ongoing. In his Saturday video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as very complicated and said that the Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result by focusing its efforts there. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute phone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons to Ukraine and blamed the conflicts disruption to global food supplies on Western sanctions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellors spokesperson, and called on Putin to engage in serious, direct negotiations with Zelenskyy on ending the fighting. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin affirmed the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue. The three leaders, who had gone weeks without speaking during the spring, agreed to stay in contact, it added. But Russias recent progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas, could further embolden Putin. Since failing to occupy Kyiv, Ukraines capital, Russia has set out to seize the last parts of the region not controlled by the separatists. If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion, the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Russia has intensified efforts to capture the cities of Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, which are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk. Luhansk Gov. Serhii Haidai reported that Ukrainian fighters repelled an assault on Sievierodonetsk but Russian troops still pushed to encircle them. He later said Russian forces had seized a hotel on the city's outskirts, damaged 14 high-rise buildings and were fighting in the streets with Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station. A humanitarian center couldnt operate due to the danger, Striuk said, and cellphone service and electricity were knocked out. And residents risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, he said. Some supply routes are functioning, and evacuations of the wounded are still possible, Striuk said. He estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died from the fighting as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that couldnt be treated. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, Associated Press reporters saw older and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs Friday in Bakhmut. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to persuade reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sievierodonetsk, returned home. I have to know he is alive. Thats why Im staying here, said Lvova, 66. On Saturday, people who managed to flee Lysychansk described intensified shelling, especially over the past week, that left them unable to leave basement bomb shelters. Yanna Skakova left the city Friday with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old sons and cried as she sat in a train bound for western Ukraine. Her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. Its too dangerous to stay there now, she said, wiping away tears. Russias advance raised fears that residents could experience the same horrors seen in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which endured a three-month siege before it fell last week. Residents who had not yet fled faced the choice of trying to do so now or staying. Mariupol became a symbol of massive destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. Mariupols port has reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia entered the port early Saturday. In the call with Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said, Putin emphasized that Russia was working to establish a peaceful life in Mariupol and other liberated cities in the Donbas. Germany and France brokered a 2015 peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would have given a large degree of autonomy to Moscow-backed rebel regions in eastern Ukraine. However, the agreement stalled long before Russia's invasion in February. Any hope that Paris and Berlin would anchor a renewed peace agreement now appears unlikely with both Kyiv and Moscow taking uncompromising stands. Ukrainian authorities have reported that Kremlin-installed officials in seized cities have started airing Russian news broadcasts, introduced Russian area codes, imported Russian school curriculum and taken other steps to annex the areas. Russian-held areas of the southern Kherson region have shifted to Moscow time and will no longer switch to daylight saving time, as is customary in Ukraine, Russias state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Krill Stremousov, a Russian-installed local official, as saying Saturday. In his address Saturday, Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of preventing Kherson residents from leaving, saying they effectively try to take people hostage in a sign of weakness. The war has caused global food shortages because Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations over which side bears responsibility for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage and Ukraine citing a Russian naval blockade. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said two Russian vessels capable of carrying up to 16 missiles were ready for action in the Black Sea, adding that only shipping routes established through multilateral treaties may be considered safe. Ukrainian officials have pressed Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems. Russias ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Antonov, said Saturday that such a move would be unacceptable and admonished the White House to abandon statements about the military victory of Ukraine. Moscow is also trying to rattle Sweden and Finlands determination to join NATO. Russias Defense Ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The Zircon, described as the worlds fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead and is said to be impossible to stop with current defense systems. Last week Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the country's west in response to Sweden and Finlands bids to join NATO. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Andrew Katell in New York and AP journalists around the world contributed. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Editors Note: In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, local historian Cindy Reinhardt tells the stories behind some of Edwardsvilles historic buildings in a series of eight articles in the month of May. No documentation has been found to determine exactly when the house at 404 N. Buchanan St. was built, but there are clues. Frederick George and Phillipena (Ritter) Bernius bought the property in two parts in 1878 and 1879, before there was a house, and they are listed as living there in the 1894 Edwardsville City Directory. Fred took out a mortgage of $2,000 in 1891 which could indicate that is when the house was built, but there is no documentation to prove it. What is certain, is that the house was built for the Bernius family. Fred Bernius, known as Fritz in his youth, was born in Edwardsville on Sep. 14, 1843, the son of Henry and Louise Bernius, early German immigrants to this area. Freds father was a shoemaker by trade who also served terms as constable and police magistrate. Fred was educated in private schools and apprenticed to a merchant to learn the retail trade. He worked in that field until the winter of 1861 when he joined Company K, 10th Illinois Infantry of the Union army. He saw action in many well-known battles before joining Sherman for his famous March to the Sea. He was twice wounded, once in the head at Atlanta, then again in South Carolina where a more serious wound left him with a permanently stiff arm. He was an active member in the GAR, an organization for veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, and when a Sons of Veterans fraternity was organized in Edwardsville, it was called Camp Bernius, No. 178. Sons of Veterans. For many years, newspaper articles about him began with, Fred Bernius, the old soldier After the war, Fred came home to Edwardsville and went to work for the G. B. Crane general merchandise store. In June 1867, he married Philippena Ritter and started a family that would grow to six children; the three that survived to adulthood were Henry, Benjamin and Pearly. Philippena, born Dec. 28, 1846, near Belleville, Illinois, also had German immigrant parents. Her father, Phillip Ritter, moved his family to Edwardsville when Philippena was very young when he accepted a job as manager of the Wabash Hotel. The building still stands on the northwest corner of Union and Main streets. When Cranes store closed in 1891, Fred was one of four employees that founded the Edwardsville Dry Goods Company where Fred became president. The company was taken over by Henry Bollman and later became the Model Department Store. Its probably no coincidence that when the Edwardsville Dry Goods Company was sold, Fred and Philippena left the house on North Buchanan Street. Fred tried the grocery business for a time, but then found a position as a rural mail carrier, a job he held until the age of 75. Fred and Phillipena, moved from North Buchanan Street to Columbia Avenue where they lived on the same block as their son Benjamin. At that time, Benjamin also worked for the Post Office. Philippena died in 1920 at the age of 73 after an illness of several years. In her obituary she was called a kind and gentle mother and wife with a wide circle of friends. Fred died in January 1926, while on a visit to his son Benjamin who then lived in Long Beach, California. He was 83 years old. An 1894 article by Capt. George C. Lusk regarding Freds character said, As a man he was generous, upright, and honorable, and as a soldier was dutiful and brave. In 1903, the house at 404 N. Buchanan was purchased by Louis and Caroline (Hoffman) May who moved in with their four children, Adelia, Rowena, Louis Jr., and Calvin. Louis May Sr. was born in Marine, Illinois, in 1870, but left the farm for Edwardsville when just 15 years old. By the time he moved to the house on North Buchanan St., he was well established as a realtor who also served on the board of numerous financial institutions. In August 1893, Louis married Caroline Hoffman whose father built the Hoffman House Hotel at the corner of St. Louis and Main streets. The Hoffman House later became the Leland Hotel. One of Louiss numerous businesses was a tavern which on July 1, 1919, due to a wartime prohibition amendment, was no longer allowed to serve alcohol. This was followed by the national amendment that prohibited the sale of alcohol until the end of Prohibition in 1933. Caroline died in October 1919, when her youngest son, Calvin, was only 11 years old. The following year, in the 1920 census, her daughters, who were already married, had moved into the house with their husbands and maintained the household. Through most of the 1920s the daughters and their families lived at the house. Louis Jr. married Margaret Belknap and established his own home after his marriage. When Louis Sr. died in 1930, his will stipulated that his real estate holdings, including the house, were to be sold. In 1932, each of his children purchased different appraised portions of his personal and commercial properties with the house going to Louis Jr. and the property behind the house to Adelia. In 1935, Adelia sold that property to Louis. After just a few years living in other houses, Louis May Jr. returned to his childhood home in 1932 and lived there until the 1950s when he and his wife built a new house in the new subdivision of Montclaire. Fred Bernius would be surprised to see his old home at 404 N. Buchanan St. looking so nice after all these years. From the front, he would recognize it immediately, but from the side, it has been greatly expanded while remaining sympathetic to the original Victorian architecture of the house. Bakersfield National Cemetery The Bakersfield National Cemetery will commemorate Memorial Day with a 9 a.m. ceremony on Saturday, May 28 at the Bakersfield National Cemetery. veterans, their families, friends and the public are invited to attend. Guest speakers for the event include Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Congressman David Valadao. The event will also feature a fly over, wreath presentation, traditional military tributes and music provided by the Bakersfield High School Band. U.S. Air Force Lt Col Hans Buckwalter, will provide the keynote address. Buckwalter is the Deputy Commandant, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwardes AFB, California. As Deputy Commandant he oversees the conferral of a Master of Science degree in flight Test Engineering and the associated academic and flight training of 48 test pilot, systems operator and engineering students per year. Bakersfield Civil Air Patrol will assist with parking for the event. Handicap accessible parking is available at the cemetery but is extremely limited. Carpooling to the ceremony is being strongly urged. Due to the expected large crowd, patrons are encouraged to plan to arrive early and be in their seats by 8:45 a.m. The ceremony, which will begin at 9 a.m., is expected to last approximately one hour. Traffic at the site will be required to cease at that time. The ceremony will be held rain or shine so plan appropriately for inclement weather. Should the weather be warm, as expected, complimentary bottled water will be available during the ceremony. Also note that after the ceremony on Saturday, May 28, volunteers from the community will mark more than 9,000 gravesites at the cemetery with U.S. flags to honor the men and women who served the nation. Family members that wish to place a flag on their loved one's gravesite are asked to do so prior to the ceremony - between 7 and 8:30 a.m. The Bakersfield National Cemetery is located at 30338 E. Bear Mountain Blvd., Arvin, California. Located on donated land from Tejon Ranch, the 500+ acres in Kern County had its first interments July 1, 2009. For further information about the event, please contact the cemetery office at (661) 867-2250. Peter Obi Support Network (POSN) has called on all Nigerians of goodwill to join the former governor of Anambra state in his new Political party. Peter Obi announced yesterday that he has joined the Labour Party in his quest to become the president of the federal republic of Nigeria in 2023. The group in a statement issued after Mr Peter Obi announced his new Political party said the call has become necessary to jointly wrestle Nigeria from the hands of political merchants. POSN also called on all credible politicians from across the country to abandon PDP and APC and join the new party. In the statement signed by Comrade Sani Saeed Altukry, POSN also said Peter Obi presidential aspiration has turned into a Movement that will salvage Nigeria. The POSN Spokesman therefore called on all Nigerians of goodwill to abandon the two defunct political parties, PDP and APC and join Peter Obi to satisfy the yearnings of all Nigerians for peace, security, and economic advancement. The statement also stated that, "the decision of former governor of Anambra, Peter Obi to join the Labour Party is an opportunity for youths across the country to join force together and wrestle Nigeria from the hands of political jobbers. "The new party will give an opportunity for Nigerian youths to achieve their dreams. "The defection of Peter Obi from PDP is an opportunity to build a Mass Movement to satisfy the yearning of Nigerian youths. It is certain that the Political party under Obis leadership will deliver dividends of democracy to millions of Nigerians." Are you a politician or does lying just run in your family? Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe A former United States President famously made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims during the four years of his presidency. This is an average of more than 20 a day. In Nigeria a contender for public office will possibly tell twice that amount of lies depending on the office, and how long the campaign will last. And take it to the bank, they will most likely steal. In a conversation I was having with one of my students, it went thus Student: How do you know when a Nigerian politician is lying? Me: His lips are moving. Student: But why do they lie? Me: Because they can. There is nothing as pitiful as a politician who is deficient in relaying untruths, when he lies, he lies, he learns to lie, he is Ali Baba, he is Baba Sala, in Northern parts he is Dan Iboro... lying and stealing come naturally. They spin the truth to make themselves seem more capable and successful than they are and appeal to whoever they are talking to at the time. They make promises they know they wont be able to keep. However, truth be told, politicians lie partly because we are drawn to lies. We love to have our ears tickled and we love to believe gossip. Secondly, because in the political world, lying works. How does the saying go? A lie travels halfway around the world before truth has put its pants on. This is true even when we know, intuitively, that we were just lied to. Yet tolerating habitual lying by your favorite politicians is identical to participating in it. Complain not when your moral blindness leads to you getting the very government you deserve. In politics what you see is not what you get, you can tell Ali Baba is lying when they claim they want fairness for all. They're part of and represent an unfair elite who will never share their wealth, power or opportunities with the underclass. Ali Baba is promising peaceful, united Nigeria. I am happy that they know, or at least recognize the very sacrosanct fact; the nation is in shambles, peace elusive and divided more than any other time in her history. Baba Sala is insisting that he is the most experienced, on the strength of his current position, but Nigerians have heard these stories by the tales. The question is what have you really done Baba Sala, other than tell us lies, lies and more lies. I won't step down for any aspirants, and why I will win the party ticketso says Ali Baba, even as Northern groups drum up support for him. Do you know that in every election circle, all parts of Nigeria have more than a dozen loads of support groups prepping the Ali Babas and Baba Salas? And after the drama, they leave the stage, some of them on D-Day, others defecting to other parties when you deny them the ticket, which they believed was solely theirs. Baba Sala insists that his priority is the revitalization of the Ajaokuta Steel industry, let me remind us that in 1978 a candidate promised to kill all the mosquitoes in Lagos, while another stated he will put Air Conditioning on the streets. In recent times, we were promised a near end to corruption, let me not call names and open the proverbial fowl yansh. Ali Baba vows that he will end insurgency, and that Nigeria needs a courageous President, implying that he was one, I recall only recently we asked for a strong president, these days all we get are assurances, and getting to the bottom of it, we have never solved any matter technically. Again, we are being courted with the poisoned chalice. Baba Sala says that his presidency will build trust; Trusting Nigerian leaders are at our own peril, leaders who are ethnic warlords, faith fanatics, betraying collective trust at the slightest possible opportunity. So, Ali Baba is of the opinion that either Northeast Southeast should produce the president, and one wonders how that addresses the concerns of governance, accountability, and probity, it does not even in practice address the question of inequality and equity. Baba Sala meets party stalwarts and promises restructuring and real democracy. It is very good that they know that what we are currently practicing is nowhere what democracy should be, rather in Felaswords this is a crass demonstration of craze. The promise of restructuring, one asks from the current structure what can be restructured? Ali Baba promises purposeful leadership, that is one myth, a word that Nigerians do not understand. Even the purpose of Nigeria is becoming lost on Nigerians. A nation with plenty potential but sadly leaders with no purpose, drive and direction. Ali Baba wants to bring purposeful leadership, he says thats why he wants to be president. Baba Sala wants to follow in the steps of the incumbent, Ali Baba disagrees that anyone that would follow the incumbent should be rejected. Baba Sala says that the nation needs to address marginalization for us to progress. They seem to know what the problem is but all have two or more problems. (i) How to solve them, and secondly the will to attempt solving them when they get the office. They all say one thing and do not hesitate to do the opposite. Ali Baba says power in the wrong hands will spell doom for the country, and we ask if power has really been in the right hands. If only the right hands had power albeit briefly, we wouldn't be here with Ali Baba and Baba Sala promising robust engagement and innovative leadership, when we cannot solve fuel crises or education strikes, what is innovative or engaging? Baba Sala says he will restore the North central as top agriculture destination, he forgets we need to be alive to eat Irish potatoes, we need his friend Ali Baba to provide stability, unite us and secure the land before talking about food security. Baba Sala insists that insecurity requires holistic treatment, we laugh, because even the thieves and liars themselves require holistic treatment of mind, spirit and soul to be able to give the nation any chance of a great future. Ali Baba is promising true federalism and economic recovery, many of these liars and thieves are making promises, telling the populace what they want to hear, like in the past, some cried, some wailed, all kinds of gimmicks are at work, monies stolen from public tills will be on display. There are Ali Babas and Baba Salas that will be pushing the messianic stance, telling us they are not desperate, and they love us more than we love ourselves, and they want the best for us. These times happen so fast that before we know, it would be open sesame and we have been hoodwinked. The Nigerian nation is at her lowest ebb, yet there is hope, and indeed despite all the sad news, the bad occurrences, the level of insecurity, and economic hullabaloo. We do not need fine speeches, we are not in need of rhetoric, the nation is one of an enduring people that are saying, give us electricity, quality education, vastly improved health system, class transport systems, A people that is guided by the ethos of equity, fairness, rule of law and more. Nigeria can get it right, if it gets the right leader, a visionary, one that sees things that are not, and asks why not, and wants to lead the charge, lead a new way of thinking and doing things. In the men that want to lead us come 2023 is there one any different, and if there is one, are we willing to stake our bets and for once do something different to get a different resultOnly time will tell Ahead of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Primaries, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has recommended Governor David Umahi for the nation's apex leadership position in 2023. The recommendation was made by the Central Working Committee of the two unions during their courtesy visit to the Governor on Sunday at the new presidential Lodge, Government House, Abakaliki. NUJ, led by its National President, Comrade Chris Isiguzo, and his NAWOJ counterpart, Mrs Ladi Bala, expressed delight with the Governor's prudent management of the State's lean resources which has produced unexpected all round transformation across the State. Isiguzo who maintained that the time has come for the media to rise up to the occasion by setting positive agenda, added that political actors should put service to the people first in their discourse and agenda. Isiguzo said: "From what we saw and what we heard about, your Excellency, even if we stay here in Ebonyi for the next two weeks, it will be difficult to appreciably earmark your landmark achievements in Ebonyi State. "From what we saw your Excellency, I must tell, you have done very well as a State Governor. "What we have seen today are outstandingly remarkable: the University of Medical Sciences in Uburu constructed by you cannot be seen anywhere because if Nigerians especially our political leaders appreciate what you put there, you have clearly succeeded in stemming the tide of Medical tourism because what our people travel abroad, to Asia, America and Europe, you have brought to Ebonyi State. "The one that really endears me so much your Excellency, is the Inyere bridge in Edda. "From what we have seen and heard, the much you have put into it, and what you are still putting into it, if it were some other places, what you use to put the bridge there would have gulped the resources of that place for the next 20 years. "From what you have done, Nigerians should unite and come to Ebonyi and plead with you to replicate what you have done in Ebonyi at the National stage. " It shouldn't be the other way, where you are asking. "It should be us and the rest of Nigerians asking you to come and do what you have done here at the National stage. "That is why the media must begin to talk about the positive things that are emanating from our Democratic experience so that the rest of the country will fly with it." Mrs Bala in her speech, stated that for Nigeria to effectively tackle her Infrastructural challenges, it needs a leader like Umahi. NUJ and NAWOJ CWC were in Abakaiki, Ebonyi State capital for their quarterly meeting, during which they found opportunity to inspect some of the Governor's projects. From Living Waters Phuket: Heres To You! Living Waters Phuket Foundation was established in late 2021 to provide financial grants enabling essential relief aid projects to take place, assisting underprivileged communities. It helps fund projects around back to school initiatives, renewable energy, environmental issues and those which help build brighter futures for disadvantaged people across Thailand. Communitycharity By Sponsored Sunday 29 May 2022, 11:00AM Photo: Living Waters Phuket Foundation Living Waters Phuket Foundation (LWPF) would like to give thanks to some extraordinary people, without whom the last 2+ years of emergency food relief efforts would not have been possible. Lets start by taking a look back on this immense life bag project; run predominantly by 5 Star Marine. It had already been going for 22 months throughout the pandemic before LWPF took over to continue raising awareness and funds at the start of the year. This devoted effort saw over 1 million life bags go out to underprivileged communities around Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui, Phang Nga, Koh Lipe, Koh Yao Islands and further afield for over 2 years. Often distribution was strategically planned when areas were struck with major isolation or community lockdowns plus the previous lack of tourism due to entry restrictions. So here is our heartfelt THANK YOU to Sutai Muay Thai; in particular Amy and Nando who have been there since the very beginning, packing a few hundred life bags each time at the start of 2020. Without you this project wouldnt have built the foundations it needed to grow and develop as it did. Of course, we could not have done this without each and every single volunteer who turned up to pack, helped to deliver or purchase supplies for this food crisis initiatives over the years. Peter and Nina, your commitment and enthusiasm for coordinating volunteers, packing and deliveries across Phuket and beyond has been unwavering, THANK YOU. We sincerely want to THANK the Governor of Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Government and the Phuket Red Cross for your vital support and efforts in helping us gain access to communities who needed support and help the most. We also extend our THANKS to everyone who helped make these efforts possible and of course every single person who donated towards this cause. THANK YOU to all the Hotel volunteer teams for their efforts, including The Marriott Bonvoy team, The Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach, The Amari Phuket, The Six Senses, Koh Yao Noi and the Intercontinental Hotel Phuket. We would love to name everyone involved, but the numbers make this impossible; needless to say, we THANK YOU all for your hard work and dedication. THANK YOU to so many others, including Phuket Has Been Good To Us, UWC Thailand, Headstart School, BISP, KIS, the Phuket Hotels Association, community packing pods, everyone who has helped donate, pack and distribute - the list could go on and on, but you know who you are and we THANK each and every one of you for being part of this incredible community initiative which has literally saved lives across Thailand during the worst years of the pandemic. As this chapter draws to a close, we are humbled by what has been achieved by working together to help thousands of people across Thailand. THANK YOU again, one and all for your support, effort and commitment. As the ability to spend more time and efforts on other areas aside from the life bags begins, the Foundation will continue to help make a difference by funding upgrades to care centres, schools and educational facilities for underprivileged children; helping create employment and skills development for groups in need; assisting with back to school initiatives; funding sustainable skills and food production education; and generally devoting its funds into helping the most vulnerable communities across Thailand. By Joanna Matlub For more information about the Living Waters Phuket Foundation, visit them at: www.livingwatersphuket.com Facebook Instagram Twitter Weeboon Donations: Living Waters Phuket Phuket Opinion: Sucking Phuket dry PHUKET: Phuket observers this week were introduced to one of the most absurd ideas to land on our island for quite some time: a project to further tap into underground water sources as a way to bolster water supply for local residents. opinionnatural-resourcesWater-Supply By The Phuket News Sunday 29 May 2022, 10:00AM Mr Sakda inspects the water drawn from one of project wells in Phuket on Thursday (May 26). Photo: PR Phuket Sakda Vicheansil, Director-General of the Department of Groundwater Resources, was on the island on Thursday (May 26) to inspect, and announce, the project underway. The project has already identified 14 large-volume water sources among 45 wells drilled across the island. Mr Sakda said that the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa had ordered the Department of Groundwater Resources to investigate the underground water resources available. With Mr Varawut so publicly visible in protecting the environment that statement is very believable. But to say that the project is to investigate how those water sources may be exploited beggars belief. Mr Sakda surely as head of the Department of Groundwater Resources has his role limited to that select area of involvement, but when investigating underground water resources in Phuket it must involve the Royal Irrigation Department, which is responsible for providing the public water supply delivered by the Provincial Water Authority, including all the private water sources used to serve the PWA as well as the three major reservoirs on the island (Bang Wad in Kathu, Bang Neow Dum in Srisoonthorn and Klong Krata in Chalong). Mr Sakda may be unaware that the PWA started to roll out a major push to expand the public water supply network across Phuket over a decade ago. That major push did not come out of nowhere. Wells and aquifers across the island were already drying up. Residents in the southern reaches of Phuket, especially in Rawai where most people still relied on well water and water trucks, were among the last to finally be connected to public mains water supply. Much of the area today is still dependent on wells. Phuket may be a large island, but is still an island. Bountiful in rain, Phuket has enough precipitation and catchment areas to support a relatively large population for an island this size yet those limits have already been found. The limits were plainly evidenced by the water shortages of 2018 and 2019, when the Army was called in to supply entire neighbourhoods, some of which had residents carrying water back to their homes from communal tanks for months. And the solution presented this week was to explore further depleting those resources? The logic is simply stunning. In trying to avoid water shortage crises in the future, the Phuket office of the Royal Irrigation Department and the PWA did well to look to small private water sources on the island that are naturally replenished. They also finally got the ball rolling on the pipeline from Phang Nga to bolster supply from a reservoir there dedicated to supplying Phuket. In their assessments and selections, they were careful to check first to ensure the water sources being added to the collective supply would not be overly depleted. Mr Sakda must do the same. Conduct a widespread survey to identify where large aquifers may be used in case of emergency? Sure. To identify them with the preconceived intent of exploiting them? No. The guidelines developed will be used in other archipelago areas with similar geological features in the future, Mr Sakda said. Fine, but it is very difficult to see how the eventual guidelines produced could provide any advice other than: Use as little as possible; draw only what is necessary. On any island saltwater intrusion is a key concern. As Australian experts Greene, Timms, Rengasamy and Arshad wrote as recently as 2016: Degradation of the quality of groundwater due to salinization processes is one of the key issues limiting the global dependence on groundwater in aquifers. As the salinization of shallow aquifers is closely related to root-zone salinization, the two must be considered together. As for any intention to use more groundwater in Phuket for farming, experts Pulido, Rigol-Sanchez, Vallejos and Sola said more recently in 2018, Agricultural irrigation represents the main use of global water resources. Irrigation has an impact on the environment, and scientific evidence suggests that it inevitably leads to salinization of both soil and aquifers. There are limits to exploiting natural resources, and on this island groundwater is one of them. Many people across the island still today rely on groundwater for their household supply. How much is already drawn from Phukets aquifers must be first determined before any thought of drawing more can be considered. Mr Sakda needs to look first, before diving in. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Forget breaking the sound barrier: Tom Cruise just flew past a major career milestone. The 59-year-old superstar just got his first $100 million opening weekend with Top Gun: Maverick. In its first three days in North American theaters, the long-in-the-works sequel earned an estimated $124 million in ticket sales, Paramount Pictures said Sunday. Including international showings, its worldwide total is $248 million. Its a supersonic start for a film that still has the wide-open skies of Memorial Day itself to rake in even more cash. According to projections and estimates, by Mondays close, Top Gun: Maverick will likely have over $150 million. These results are ridiculously, over-the-top fantastic, said Chris Aronson, Paramounts president of domestic distribution. Im happy for everyone. Im happy for the company, for Tom, for the filmmakers. Though undeniably one of the biggest stars in the world perhaps even the last movie star, according to various headlines Cruise is not known for massive blockbuster openings. Before Maverick, his biggest domestic debut was in 2005, with Steven Spielbergs War of the Worlds, which opened to $64 million. After that it was Mission: Impossible Fallout with $61 million in 2018. It's not that his films don't make money in the long run: They just aren't enormously frontloaded. Top Gun: Maverick had an extremely long journey to get to the theaters. The sequel to the late Tony Scott's Top Gun, which was released in 1986, was originally slated to open in the summer of 2020. Its marketing campaign technically started back in July 2019. The pandemic got in the way of those plans, however, and it was delayed several times. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and co-produced and co-financed by Skydance, the sequel reportedly cost $152 million to make. But even as the months, and years, went by and many other companies chose to compromise on hybrid releases, Cruise and Paramount didnt waver on their desire to have a major theatrical release. A streaming debut was simply not an option. That was never going to happen," Cruise said in Cannes. And it is major, with 4,735 North American theaters (a record) showing Top Gun: Maverick. It also opened in 23,600 locations in 62 international markets. This is one of the longest runways for a marketing campaign for any film ever. And it only served to create more excitement around the movie, said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. This movie literally waited for the movie theater to come back. The build up has been just as flashy, with fighter-jet-adorned premieres on an aircraft carrier in San Diego and at the Cannes Film Festival, where Cruise was also given an honorary Palme dOr, and a royal premiere in London attended by Prince William and his wife Kate. The feeling you get when you watch this film with an audience, its pretty special, Aronson said. The first big screening we had, there was spontaneous applause during the movie. Reviews have been stellar, too, with the film notching a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, who were 58% male, gave it an A+ CinemaScore, according to exit polls. The new film has Cruise reprising the role of Maverick, who returns to the elite aviation training program to train the next generation of flyers, including Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Greg Tarzan Davis, Danny Ramirez, Lewis Pullman and Jay Ellis. Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm and Val Kilmer, reprising his role from the original, also star. This solidifies the notion that the movie theater is a singular and a vitally important outlet for people, Dergarabedian said. People are looking for a great escape from everything thats going on in the world right now. Maverick is now among the top pandemic era openings, still led by Spider-Man: No Way Home with $260 million, followed by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with $187 million and The Batman with $134 million. Notably, Top Gun: Maverick is the only non-superhero movie in the bunch. It also attracted a wide swath of age groups to the theater. An estimated 55% of the audience was over 35. Superhero movies arent for everybody. This movie is for everyone and thats what sets it apart," Aronson said. The theatrical exhibition business has challenges ahead of it, but this is a shot in the arm for that. The Bobs Burgers Movie was the only new release that dared go up against Top Gun. Released by 20th Century Studios and Disney, the animated pic earned $12.6 million from 3,425 locations. It opened in third place, behind Doctor Strange 2, which earned $16.4 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. Top Gun will continue to essentially have the skies to itself until Jurassic World: Dominion opens on June 10. It has a really nice, open marketplace to play, Dergarabedian said. Tom Cruise has always been about consistency. His movies are about the marathon. This is the first movie of his that is sprinting to big box office numbers. Here, he gets the sprint and the marathon. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday. 1. Top Gun: Maverick, $124 million. 2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, $16.4 million. 3. The Bobs Burgers Movie, $12.6 million. 4. Downton Abbey: A New Era, $5.9 million. 5. The Bad Guys, $4.6 million. 6. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, $2.5 million. 7. Everything Everywhere All At Once, $2.5 million. 8. The Lost City, $1.8 million. 9. Men, $1.2 million. 10. F3: Fun and Frustration, $1 million. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Kylie Gregory Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Kylie Gregory Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Kylie Gregory Show More Show Less 5 of 5 ALTON Maevas Coffee is expanding and will have a grand opening of its new outdoor deck from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday, June 4. The new summer drink specials will be rolling out, and we will have the warehouse open for people to walk through and make offers on all the pieces of glass from the old glass factory and antiques, said the Milton Schoolhouses Kylie Gregory, property manager. Finalmente, el jefe de Estado, Pedro Castillo, exhorto al Congreso a dejar la confrontacion inutil que le hace dano al pais. "Sentemonos a conversar para que, a traves de la mas amplia unidad, impulsemos juntos el desarrollo del pais y la agenda Peru".#SiempreConElPueblo pic.twitter.com/kvKTqhvxSL Kingsport, TN (37660) Today Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Israeli police faced off with Palestinians holed up inside Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque on Sunday as hundreds of Jews visited the holy compound ahead of a contentious Jewish nationalist march through the heart of the Old City. The annual Jerusalem procession celebrates Israels capture of the Old City in the 1967 Middle East war and draws thousands of cheering, chanting participants to its narrow, stone streets. Palestinian factions have warned that the flag-waving parade through the citys Muslim quarter could re-ignite their decades-old conflict with Israelis. Tensions have been rising in the city for weeks. Hours before the procession was due to kick off, police locked some Palestinians inside a mosque on the Al-Aqsa compound as Jewish visitors arrived for daily tours of the compound, which is revered by both Muslims and Jews. Palestinians threw stones and shot fireworks towards police, who responded with stun grenades. Among the Jewish visitors were a dozen or so young men, wearing religious garb, who smiled, sang and clapped in the direction of the protesters. Other Jews were later seen holding up Israeli flags. The Islamist group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, condemned videos posted online suggesting that Jews had prayed at the site, in violation of a long-standing ban. The Israel government is fully responsible for all these irresponsible policies and the following consequences, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told Reuters. In recent years Hamas has cast itself as a defender of Muslim Jerusalem. After weeks of tension last year over Palestinian evictions in the city, Hamas fired rockets into Israel during the nationalist march, triggering an 11-day war that killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 people in Israel. NO CHANGE Despite calls for a rethink of the march from some of his own coalition allies, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has refused to countenance any changes. The flag parade will be held as usual according to the planned route, as it has been for decades, his office said on Friday, adding that it would review the situation regularly through the coming hours. Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital, while Palestinians want the eastern section as capital of their future state. Hamas, deemed a terrorist organisation by Western governments, sees all of modern-day Israel as occupied. For Palestinians, Sundays march is an affront and a violation of one of the few places in the city, increasingly hemmed in by Jewish development and settlement. The parade comes at an already highly charged moment. Repeated clashes took place between Palestinians and Israeli police in the Al-Aqsa compound in April, during the holy month of Ramadan, with Muslims angered by rising numbers of Jewish visitors to the mosque esplanade. Two weeks ago, the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, killed during an Israeli army West Bank raid, descended into chaos when police charged the mourners. Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount a vestige of their faiths two ancient temples. Sundays procession is due to culminate at the Western Wall, a Jewish prayer site that sits below the Al-Aqsa mosques. SOURCE: REUTERS Russian forces intensified their assault on the largest city held by Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region in the east on Sunday as Kyiv said it was hopeful longer-range weapons it desperately needs from Western allies could soon arrive. Slow, solid Russian gains in recent days in eastern Ukraines Donbas, comprising the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, point to a subtle momentum shift in the war, now in its fourth month. Invading forces appear close to seizing all of the Luhansk region, one of the more modest war goals the Kremlin set after abandoning its assault on the capital, Kyiv, in the face of Ukrainian resistance. Russias defence ministry said its troops and allied separatist forces were in full control of Lyman, the site of a railway junction west of the Siverskyi Donets River in the Donetsk. However, Ukraines deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, said the battle for Lyman continued, the ZN.ua website reported. Sievierodonetsk, some 60 km (40 miles) northeast of Lyman on the eastern side of the river and the largest Donbas city still held by Ukraine, was under heavy assault. The situation has extremely escalated, said Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk. The shelling was so intense it was not possible to assess casualties and damage, though two people were killed on Saturday and 13 more buildings in the city were destroyed, he said. Gaidai said on Friday that Ukrainian troops might have to retreat from the city to avoid capture but it was not clear whether they had begun to pull out. Russian artillery was also pounding the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road, which Russia must take to close a pincer movement and encircle Ukrainian forces, and police said there was significant destruction in Lysychansk. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts. Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak repeated a call for U.S.-made long-range multiple-rocket launchers. U.S. officials have told Reuters such systems are actively being considered, with a decision possible in coming days. It is hard to fight when you are attacked from 70 km away and have nothing to fight back with we need effective weapons, Podolyak posted on Twitter. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced hopes in a late-night video address that Ukraines allies would provide needed weapons, adding that he expected good news in the coming days. His adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, said: The weapons we so desperately need will most likely be delivered soon. Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and U.S. self-propelled howitzers, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Saturday. CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES Zelenskiy said the military situation in the Donbas was very complicated, adding that defences were holding up in a number of places, including Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. Its indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstood this onslaught, he said. Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said if Russian forces were to capture Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine could be expected to launch counter-offensives. Putin is now hurling men and munitions at the last remaining major population centre in that (region) as if taking it would win the war for the Kremlin. He is wrong, they said. In a sign of frustration over Western differences on the war as its economic costs become more evident, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna said NATO had shown itself incapable of mounting a united response. We have to talk clearly about the catastrophic consequences for the future of all Europe if Ukraine is defeated, she said on Facebook. Pushing diplomatic efforts for a solution to a conflict that has ramifications beyond Ukraines borders, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call on Saturday. They urged him to lift a Russian blockade of Odesa port to allow Ukrainian grain exports, France said. The Kremlin said Putin told them Moscow was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports. Ukraine is a major grain exporter, and the blockage of its exports threatens to result in food shortages in a number countries, including in Africa. Zelenskiy said in a television interview he believed Russia would agree to talks if Ukraine could recapture all the territory it has lost since the invasion began on Feb. 24. Still, Zelenskiy ruled out the idea of using force to win back all the land Ukraine has lost to Russia since 2014, which includes the southern peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed that year. I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people, he said. Russia says it is waging a special military operation to demilitarise Ukraine and rid it of nationalists threatening Russian-speakers there. Ukraine and Western countries say Russias claims are a false pretext for a war of aggression. Thousands of people, including many civilians, have been killed and several million have fled their homes, either for safer parts of Ukraine or to other countries. SOURCE: REUTERS KATHMANDU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A passenger plane that was flying from Nepal's Pokhara to Jomsom in Mustang district with 22 people on board went missing on Sunday morning, a local government official said. "The passenger plane belonging to Tara Air has been missing," Shiva Prasad Rijal, assistant chief district officer of Kaski in Pokhara told Xinhua. "It was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members," he added. The plane took off from Pokhara airport at 9:55 a.m. local time and was supposed to land at Jomsom airport at 10:20 a.m., but it lost contact with the control tower a few minutes after taking off, Rijal said. In announcing its 2022 American Music Festival, which runs June 2-5 in Troy and Cohoes, the Albany Symphony boasts of performing the leading voices in contemporary music and thats no exaggeration. At the head of the pack of composers this year is the great John Williams. Yes, the John Williams of Star Wars, Jaws and so many other Hollywood blockbusters. Just weeks ago the orchestra devoted a full program to his beloved film scores. Yet theres another side to Williams, that being his concert music, which includes a large number of concertos, among them the Violin Concerto No. 2 heard at Tanglewood just last summer. Williams latest effort in that genre, Prelude and Scherzo for piano and orchestra, will receive its American premiere on Saturday, June 2, at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, with music director David Alan Miller conducting and Gloria Cheng as soloist. In separate interviews, Miller and Cheng observed that the two-movement piece may not be on the scale of a full concerto but it still places plenty of demands on a virtuoso soloist while showing off an ensemble with Williams masterful orchestration. Though concertos typically come with three movements, theres at least one other in Williams catalog thats just two movements, the harp concerto On Willows and Birches, debuted by the Boston Symphony in 2009 and performed by the ASO two years later. So perhaps the shorter structure is a formula or preference for this composer. Theres a story to how the piece came into its present form and found its way to Albany. The Scherzo came first. It was written for Lang Lang, who performed it only a time or two with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014. At some point during the intervening years, Williams mentioned the piece to Cheng, thinking it might interest her. Cheng, who lives in Los Angeles, has known Williams since she performed in his soundtrack for Steven Spielbergs Munich, released in 2005, and she considers him a good friend. Every musician in L.A. probably does an occasional movie. I started working on Johns movies around the time of Munich where I was playing a bit part. Theres a solo in the credits and John said learn this and play it for me tomorrow. I was kind of naive and didnt realize it was an audition, recalls Cheng, who apparently passed the audition. Known as a contemporary music specialist, Cheng has premiered countless works by contemporary composers. Though never a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, shes played with them extensively and been an adviser on contemporary music programming, including for its popular Green Umbrella new music series. Esa-Pekka Salonen, who was the Philharmonics music director for 17 years, dedicated his piece Dichotomie to her. Millers hometown is Los Angeles and his professional career pretty much began with the LAPhil where he served as assistant conductor in the late 80s. His friendship with Cheng dates to that period and theyve had spontaneous reunions over the years, including at the Grammy Awards. Cheng was a winner for best classical soloist in 2008. A phone call from Cheng got the Williams project moving. She called me up and said there was this piece out there thats only been performed once and never heard again, recalls Miller, who responded with typical enthusiasm and suggested that maybe Williams could add a couple more movements. Cheng put him in touch with Williams assistant and things came together. He was very kind and responsive and is such a humble and decent human being. I proposed, Gloria lobbied, and two years ago he dashed off a gorgeous prelude, says Miller. The world premiere of the companion pieces was given in Barcelona last June with Cheng at the keyboard. The Prelude feels nocturnal, like midnight, very questioning and pondering deep thoughts. I find more and more in it the more I play it, things I wish Id discovered earlier, says the pianist. Because the Scherzo was written for Lang Lang, theres a lot of virtuosity, a little bit of rebelliousness and its fun, even laugh out loud. Just before the cadenza theres a wonderful moment, a gorgeous chaotic noise from the orchestra. On the Sunday after the concert in Troy, the musical forces will reunite for a recording session. Theres no firm plan yet on when a disc will be issued or what other works are going to be coupled with it. Miller says it wont be an all-Williams program because Cheng passed along that the Hollywood giant would prefer appearing alongside composers from the non-commercial (classical) realm. The most famous composer in the world wants to be taken seriously as an orchestra composer, says Miller with an incredulous tone. Hes played every two minutes all over the world but he wants respect? Well, he already has that from many of us. Cheng is going to be busy once she makes it to Troy. Besides performing and recording with the orchestra, shell offer a recital in the Music Hall on Thursday, June 2, a program of music by 10 composers (all American, of course) including a world premiere by David Lang. Cheng had just received the new score from Lang when she was interviewed for this story, a little more than two weeks before the concert. Still in the first stage of getting to know the five-minute solo, she shared only the title summer piano (titles in all lower case are one of Langs hallmarks). Lang is widely known as co-founder of Bang on a Can and he received the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. Hes also a native of Los Angeles and Cheng says that they go back a long way. A pandemic-era project for her has been recording all of Langs works for multiple pianos, which include scores for two pianos, for piano four hands, and even one piece for six pianos. Its been an intense collaboration, recording multiple piano works with only one pianist, me. He comes up with wacky ideas that turn out to be wonderful, she says. Also on Chengs recital are four short pieces drawn from a project of tributes to the memory of Steven Stucky, the Ithaca-based composer who died suddenly in 2016 at age 66. A beloved figure in American music, Stucky was composer in residence with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for more than a decade and was in the midst of a multiyear affiliation with the ASO at the time of his death. Saturdays orchestra concert includes a reprise of his Radical Light, which will be recorded to round out an all-Stucky disc. Asked how she negotiates the sometimes breathtaking diversity of styles in todays newest music, Cheng says that she enjoys meeting people and that includes composers. Yet knowing a composer and getting a handle on their music are two different things. The note reading still has to happen. My fingers have to do things they werent brought up to do, things like arpeggios, scales, and Czerny exercises. Its forced me to enter new worlds. The Albany Symphonys American Music Festival Trail Blaze runs June 2-5 at venues in Troy and Cohoes. The program on Saturday, June 4, at the Troy Music Hall has works by John Williams and Steven Stucky, also John Coriglianos recent saxophone concerto Triathlon and a world premiere by Gabriella Smith. Other special events continue on Saturdays through July 3 in venues throughout the region. Get all the information at: albanysymphony.com. Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Seventeen years after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers has completed an extensive system of floodgates, strengthened levees and other protections. The 130-mile (210-kilometer) ring is designed to hold out storm surge of about 30 feet (9 meters) around New Orleans and suburbs in three parishes. It is "the largest civil works project in the Corps history and is the result of nearly two decades of hard work and collaboration at the local, state and federal level, Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a symbolic handoff to the state Friday. The people of New Orleans have experienced the worst Mother Nature has to offer, and with the completion of the system, theyll be protected by the best of engineering, design and hurricane protection. The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and federal meteorologists predict it will be busy. Congress provided $14.5 billion for what is formally called the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System and related projects. It includes two features the Corps describes as the worlds largest a pumping station and a 1.8-mile (2.9-kilometer) barrier that can be closed against storm surges. Louisiana will pay $1.1 billion, the governor's office said in an email Friday. It did not say whether that includes interest. The levees stood up to Hurricane Ida in 2021, though some suburbs outside the system flooded. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. By 2011, the system could protect against a storm with a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, according to the Corps. Features added since then include armoring levees to prevent erosion and scouring when stronger storm surges rise above their tops, and three permanent canal closures and pumps. We know that eventually we will face a surge greater than the 1-percent elevations so we designed the HSDRRS to be overtopped, Col. Stephen Murphy, commander of the Corps' New Orleans District, said in a news release. With all of the armoring now in place, this system enters the 2022 Hurricane Season stronger than it has ever been. The state has been taking control of the system for years as components were built, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate noted. It said maintenance and operation costs are expected to run about $25 million a year for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and about $7.8 million annually for its west bank counterpart. Many out-of-state residents appear to have gotten discounted in-state SUNY tuition due to lax policies, an audit found. The comptrollers office audited seven SUNY schools for the period between June 2015 and September 2019 to determine if they were correctly charging out-of-state tuition to graduate students who have a permanent address in another state. The tuition difference is significant: it costs about $10,000 more for undergraduate studies, on average, and typically $12,000 more for graduate school. But students could get the discounted price simply by checking a box to attest that they were in-state residents, without having to prove it, said the audit, which was released Thursday. About half of undergraduates addresses are confirmed by a central office. But the other half must be confirmed by the specific SUNY school. The schools must also individually confirm each graduate students address. Generally, students must prove they have lived in New York for the previous 12 months. Attending school in the state doesnt count on its own. But some schools were simply accepting what the student listed for residence on their application and other administrators said they didnt know the residency policy applied to graduate students, the audit found. Auditors randomly sampled 1,207 graduate student applications and found that 35 percent of them included little or no proof of address. If all of them actually lived out of state, the SUNY schools lost $1.3 million in tuition, the audit said. And if the 35 percent without proof of address holds true throughout all SUNY schools, up to 52,000 graduate school students might not have had to prove their address to get the discounted tuition. The audit said the problem was most pronounced among the campuses' studied at the University at Buffalo, Binghamton University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and SUNY at Geneseo - "with Buffalo having little or no documented support for graduate students residency in more than half the applications sampled." Auditors also found that several students were over charged, when they were actually in-state residents, for a total over-charge of $44,000. SUNY is enabling graduate students from out-of-state to take advantage of a tuition benefit that is supposed to be reserved for New Yorkers, said Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli in a statement. SUNYs medical schools and other graduate programs are highly competitive and represent an excellent value, regardless of residency status. SUNY administrators and staff need to ensure that tuition is charged correctly for both in-state and out-of-state students. Auditors cited many cases in which it would have been easy to determine the students address. In one case, a SUNY school sent the in-state tuition bill to an address in Maryland, auditors said. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. In another case, an application for medical school clearly showed that the student was not a New York resident, yet the person got the discounted rate anyway. All information on the application was out-of-state. The student indicated a permanent address in another state and graduated from a high school in that state. Additionally, all prior colleges attended by the student were in other states, the Comptroller's Office wrote in the audit. In some cases students even volunteered that they lived in another state, but still got the discount. One student had lived in New York as a high school and undergraduate student, and attended SUNY Cortland with the correctly applied in-state tuition. However, on their graduate application this student listed another state as their permanent and mailing address and answered 'No' to the state residency question. Therefore, the student was not a state resident at the time of graduate admission and should not have been assessed an in-state tuition rate, the auditors wrote. In a response to the audit, SUNY officials noted the analysis included only graduate students, who are about 12 percent of the total student population, and said its possible many of the students are in-state residents who just didnt provide the right documentation. However, officials are clarifying the residency policy with school administrators to ensure documentation is checked in the future. Evan Vucci/AP Retired Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, a native of the city of Rensselaer, has taken over as the new port and supply chain envoy to the Biden-Harris administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the White House said Friday. The Task Force was established in June 2021 to deal with supply and demand mismatches in economic sectors as commercial activity restarted following vaccination and relief efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic impacts. Global supply chains will remain fragile as long as the pandemic continues to disrupt ports and factories around the world, and a lot of work remains to reduce shipping delays and costs for American families, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg said. The recent shooting deaths of 10 Black people in Buffalo at the hands of an 18-year-old white supremacist armed with an AR-15-style rifle underscored the centrality of truth and racial justice to our future as a nation. Days after the Buffalo massacre, the mass slaughter of 19 elementary school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, struck an additional blow to our already-wounded nation. Violence and hate are at crisis levels, but far from new phenomena in America. Weve long held an ignoble global record for mass shootings. Black people are the leading targets for hate crimes in our country, an odious reflection of the ongoing legacy of anti-Black racism on which this country was founded and that infects nearly every aspect of American institutions and identity. Anti-Semitic attacks, as well as violence against the Latino, Asian, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ communities are also on the rise. Alongside guns, a common denominator of these heinous acts is that they are often motivated by the false narrative of white supremacy the Achilles heel of our multi-racial, multi-ethnic democratic experiment. Ironically, this crisis moment in fact requires a great replacement one toward which we were running headlong in 2020 when calcified falsehoods about historical and contemporary racial inequities were being replaced with fundamental truths about structural racism. We are seeing the consequences of our cultural reluctance to do the work necessary to fully realize the demands of a fair, functioning democracy. For a chance at ending these tides of horror, we must find the courage to say that our destinies are linked and that white supremacy is killing us all. The Buffalo massacre prompted scrutiny into how public figures like Fox News Tucker Carlson and the House Republican conference chair, Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, have helped mainstream the hateful replacement theory conspiracy the shooter referenced as justification for his attack. Shamefully, those who have peddled this falsehood one that a disturbing one-in-three Americans believe is true continue to despite the undeniable evidence that it results in bloodshed. The reported contents of the shooters manifesto reveal that the ongoing fearmongering around Critical Race Theory (CRT) is now also driving deadly violence. Anti-CRT mania has been fed by a cynical campaign aimed at censoring truthful dialogue about the history of racism in America, which includes the documented pattern of violence against Black communities. Perversely, due to the edicts of these broadly punitive truth bans, teachers are now reporting that they are afraid to speak honestly to students about the Buffalo shooting. Suppressing the truth about systemic racism only serves to cover for the hate that it breeds. Officials say the 18-year-old picked Buffalo for attack because of its high percentage of Blacks, a statistic that reflects their systemic marginalization in a city that counts among the nations most severely segregated. Decades of racist laws and policies, including private and federal restrictive housing covenants, robbed generations of Black people in Buffalo of equal access to the resources and opportunities every human needs to thrive. The site of the attack was the only accessible grocery store and pharmacy for the majority Black community, further punctuating and extending the pain of the massacre. Racist violence is an outgrowth of the deep-rooted injustice of our nation, and we can no longer afford to brook lies that this injustice does not exist. We must commit to abundant truth and unflinching confrontation with who we are, what we've become, how we got here, and what it will take to get us through. The Reconstruction and Civil Rights eras, though significant points in the development of Americas multi-racial democracy, fell short of excavating the rot that keeps the disease of hate in our body politic. And we continue to see how, by not doing the full work of reckoning, everything we have achieved is vulnerable to assault. We have an opportunity to do differently now, seeing all that we stand to lose. Before we had no model of what was possible. Now we do, which means we have no excuse not to preserve what we've achieved and finish the project. This means urgent action from multiple corners. The federal government must designate these hate crimes as what they are acts of terrorism to assure vulnerable communities that their fears are understood, and that white supremacy is recognized as a lethal threat to individual victims and national security at large. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. Congress must also focus its oversight and appropriations authority on directing resources towards addressing this homegrown terror and holding law enforcement accountable for doing so. The Department of Justice, including the FBI, already has over 50 terrorism-related statutes at its disposal to meaningfully investigate and prosecute racist violence. Social media, implicated in both the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings, continues to be an unchecked public space for the fomenting of distorted narratives, hate speech, and inducements to violence. It is imperative that elected leaders enact concrete steps, such as strict, proactive and constitutional content regulation, to disrupt this cycle. All of us have a role to play in the urgent work of saving our fissured democracy. We must explicitly reject and denounce racism and white supremacy, including when it comes in the form of corrosive conspiracy theories and politically motivated lies. Any candidate who is silent on the scourge of white supremacylet alone espouses itmust be roundly opposed and defeated at the ballot box. The inability to enact laws to protect our diverse electorate and meaningfully tackle gun violence is a direct result of the spread of extremism within elected leadership at both the state and federal levels. These steps do not mean that our democracy will no longer require constant vigilance, or that it is exempt from continuing to evolve. But they are our only hope of surviving the path of fatal nihilism we are barreling down. Janai Nelson is the president of the Legal Defense Fund. ALBANY Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was supposed to face an ethics hearing last month concerning whether he'd violated the law by using state employees to assist in the production of a book that netted him millions of dollars. But a presiding officer overseeing the hearing has postponed the date until Sept. 15, according a filing by Cuomo's legal team on Thursday and by that time, the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics will no longer be in existence, throwing the yearlong investigation's future into question. In July, the new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government will replace JCOPE as the result of a deal tucked into this year's budget legislation. It's unclear whether the new body will pick up management of JCOPE's legal actions against Cuomo and attempt to keep the September hearing date in place. Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin stated in a legal filing Thursday that, because JCOPE is going out of existence, she had made an offer to discontinue Cuomo's own lawsuit filed in April in state Supreme Court that alleges the panel's ethics investigation was tainted by prejudicial actions. Because JCOPE is going out of business July 8, Glavin argued, there will be no legal controversy for a court to decide. But JCOPE would only agree to ending the case if Glavin agreed to drop Cuomo's suit "with prejudice," which would prevent the former governor from refiling the same type of lawsuit against the new ethics body. "JCOPEs counsel conveyed to us that JCOPE commissioners were concerned that the governor could sue again if any of the current JCOPE commissioners were to be appointed to" the new ethics body, Glavin wrote on Thursday. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office, however, says the law creating the new panel bars any current JCOPE commissioners from serving on the new body. In any case, Cuomo did not agree to JCOPE's conditions. Glavin stated that unlike the law that created JCOPE in 2011, the law creating the new ethics commission does not contain any provision that "expressly provides for the survival" of the current panel's pending actions and proceedings after July 8. As a result, Glavin argued, the new commission would have to take its own actions related to any such proceedings. Cuomo's lawsuit argues that JCOPE violated his constitutional due process rights by allegedly prejudging the ethics investigation into whether he misused state resources to write "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic." Cuomo's team also argued that a counterclaim lawsuit filed by the JCOPE should be dismissed, according to a memorandum submitted to the Albany County Clerk on Thursday. The suit by JCOPE had called for Cuomo to pay back the state the $5.1 million in earnings from his book and to not spend the money in the meantime. The ethics commission had decided last year the book was produced in violation of Cuomo's explicit promise not to use government personnel to produce the book. The ex-governor has acknowledged that government staff did extensively assist him, but maintains they "volunteered," making the work legal. While JCOPE's investigation is ongoing, the panel argues that regardless of that outcome, Cuomo clearly violated his 2020 vow. Cuomo attorney James McGuire stated in the Thursday filing that, "The central question presented on this motion can be stated, without hyperbole, as follows: Does JCOPE have the breathtaking, unprecedented power to require a person subject to that power to pay a penalty even though she has not been determined to have violated any law JCOPE is charged with enforcing .... " JCOPE has maintained its actions are legal and filed the counterclaim on May 6, explaining its grounds for calling for Cuomo to promptly return the book proceeds. The ethics panel originally sought to have the state attorney general's office enforce an order commanding Cuomo to "disgorge" the funds. But a letter from the attorney general's office asserted JCOPE did not have the authority to compel that action until a full investigation was conducted into whether he broke state law. Cuomo's team is also arguing that JCOPE should be forced to pay Cuomo's legal fees. This has all been politics since the beginning," Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement. " ... Due process, constitutional rights and the letter of the law be damned." Hochul took over for Cuomo in August, when he resigned under threat of impeachment. Though now critical of the structure of JCOPE's, namely that its members are appointed and allegedly influenced by state politicians, Cuomo did little to reform the oft-maligned ethics agency during his decade in office. The panel was created by Cuomo and legislative leaders in 2011; for years, a chief criticism of the ethics body was that it was overly influenced by the Executive Chamber. Since Cuomo's resignation, however, five of his six commissioners to the body have been replaced by Hochul's appointees. The incoming ethics panel is intended to be more arm's-length from the influence of the elected officials who appoint its members, though good government groups complain that true independence is likely to remain elusive. The new panel will, however, operate under rules that are more likely to allow for the initiation of investigations that could imperil those who make the appointments. Police in Northern Ireland are investigating a suspected acid attack that left a man in hospital with burns. The attack, which happened at around 2.50am on Sunday morning, saw a man assaulted and acid thrown over him in the Chancellors Hall area of Newry. A PSNI spokesperson said the man was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries, which include burns and a suspected broken arm. A Volkswagen car, which is believed to possibly have been linked to the incident, was later discovered burnt out in the Fort Hill Road area. Local MLA Justin McNulty said reports of an acid attack were extremely sinister and very concerning. He said: Attacks of any kind should be highly condemned, but pouring acid on to somebody requires planning and shows real malice. We have seen in the past the impact these attacks can have on victims, many suffer severe injuries and are left with mental and physical scars that may never heal. My thoughts go out to the victim of this attack, who is currently recovering in hospital after suffering burns and a broken arm. I hope they go on to make a full recovery after what must have been an extremely frightening ordeal. He urged anyone with information to come forward. ?? Preparate y participa del #SimulacroNacional2022 organizado por @indeciperu. ? Recuerda que debes evacuar hacia zonas seguras externas y puntos de reunion establecidos por las autoridades locales y regionales. ??? Mayor informacion: https://t.co/2QGMh3t2wa#SiempreConElPueblo pic.twitter.com/N65U0RuXNp For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union. There seems to be an imperative to pretend it is over, maybe not even to remember even as it is still happening. Which, apparently, is how pandemics like the Spanish Flu often work. Watch the results come in as votes are tallied in your community and across the province during Ontario Election 2022. LUXEMBOURG, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardagh Group ("Ardagh") is pleased to announce that its acquisition of Consol Holdings Proprietary Limited ("Consol"), the leading producer of glass packaging on the African continent, has completed. The acquisition, for $1 billion including net debt assumed in Consol, represents a significant inward investment into the South African and other markets in which Consol operates, with a further ZAR 3 billion ($200 million) investment programme in two new furnaces. Ardagh_Group_Logo Consol, headquartered in Johannesburg, and founded in 1944, is the market leader in South Africa where it operates four well-invested glass production facilities. It also operates smaller production facilities in Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Consol serves a broad range of leading international, regional and domestic customers, principally in the beer, wine, spirits, food and non-alcoholic beverage sectors. Following the acquisition of Consol, Ardagh will operate 65 production facilities in 16 countries, on four continents, employ approximately 20,000 people and have annual sales approaching $10 billion. Paul Coulson, Chairman and CEO of Ardagh, said, "We are delighted to have completed this strategic acquisition. By combining Ardagh's global reach with Consol's know-how on the African continent, we are very well-positioned to partner with our customers to meet the growing consumer demand in Africa for premium, sustainable glass packaging." Ardagh Group's acquisition of Consol will enable further opportunities for future investment in glass manufacturing in Africa. To this end, Ardagh is committed to a third furnace investment at its Nigel facility in Gauteng which will add to the existing N2 expansion project due for start-up in May 2022. These combined investments will total ZAR 3 billion ($200 million) and create more than 250 direct jobs, with significant ancillary supply-chain expenditure resulting from these projects. Story continues On completion of the acquisition, Mike Arnold stepped down as CEO of the business following a very successful 20-year tenure in that role. Mike will become a director of Ardagh Glass Packaging Holdings Africa (Pty) Limited and will be part of the Ardagh executive team responsible for growing Ardagh's presence in Africa. Paul Curnow, previously CEO Designate, has succeeded Mike Arnold as CEO. He will also become a director of Ardagh Glass Packaging Holdings Africa (Pty) Limited. Bruce MacRobert, former Chairman of Consol, has become Chairman of Ardagh Glass Packaging Holdings Africa (Pty) Limited, commented: "Ardagh's investment in Consol and in the expansion of glass production in Africa is testament to Ardagh's faith in the Consol team and in Africa's potential." About Ardagh Group: Ardagh Group is a global supplier of infinitely recyclable metal and glass packaging for brand owners around the world. Ardagh operates 65 metal and glass production facilities in 16 countries, employing more than 20,000 people with annual sales approaching $10 billion. Further information: Investors: Investors@ardaghgroup.com Media: Pat Walsh, Murray Consultants Tel.: +1 646 776 5918 / +353 87 2269345 Email: pwalsh@murrayconsult.ie Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1-billion-acquisition-of-consol-glass-completed-301536304.html SOURCE Ardagh Group S.A. The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council has released a fresh review of Russian misinformation, as well as fake and manipulative reports circulated by the enemy on May 28. The Center posted the list on Telegram, as seen by Ukrinform. Russian Ambassador to the United States, Mr Antonov, said that "the supply of multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine could escalate the conflict, as there is a risk that such means could be deployed near Russia's borders and Ukrainians would be able to launch strikes at Russian cities." This is manipulation, said the Center. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement to Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz that food shortages are the result of misguided policies and anti-Russian sanctions on the part of the West is manipulative. "Tensions in the food market may be resolved by supplies from Russia, but this, of course, requires the lifting of sanctions." Read also: Moscow spinning disinformation claiming foreign companies still doing business in Russia The Center for Countering Disinformation also reported on the misinformation being circulated by enemy propaganda channels. Russian media reported that in Ukraine, American biotechnologists and pharmacists are actively restoring a smallpox strain. At the same time, American instructors trained Ukrainian specialists in emergency response to smallpox outbreaks. " As Ukrinform reported, Russian propaganda had been spreading across social media a fake report of the allegedly Ukrainian roots of Polish President Andrzej Duda. The fake claims that the Polish leader is the grandson of Mykhailo Duda, a Ukrainian nationalist and commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who fought with the Poles and took part in the controversial Volhynia events back in 1943. In the occupied Crimea, hospitals were ordered to prioritize Russian wounded soldiers over civilian patients. Thats according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. Due to massive casualties on the part of enemy forces, the occupation authorities in Crimea ordered to remove civilian patients from local hospitals to vacate beds for the wounded soldiers. Donor blood is being intensively collected, the report says. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side noted ongoing combat readiness drills run in the Belarusian response forces. "There is still a threat of missile and air strikes from the territory of the Republic of Belarus on Ukrainian infrastructure facilities," the statement reads. In the north, the Russians fired mortars in Sumy region. In Slobozhanshchyna, the enemy rains fire on Ukrainian forces to prevent their further advance toward the State Border with Russia as they are pushing back the invasion force. Measures are being taken by the occupiers to replenish losses. In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy focused its main efforts on holding ground and deterring Ukraine forces. The Russians fired on civilian infrastructure in the areas of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshky, Petrivka, and Ternova. They were also remotely mining the area of possible advance of Ukraines Forces. In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy conducted intensive reconnaissance, preparing to resume the offensive. Enemy artillery engaged civilian infrastructure in the areas of Husarivka, Velyka Komyshuvakha, Bohorodychne, Sviatohirsk, and others. Air strikes targeted the Dovhenke area. The enemy is conducting offensive operations in the Donetsk direction, actively employing missile forces, artillery, and electronic warfare, as well as pumping up the number of aviation sorties. In the Lyman direction, the enemy is strengthening its strike grouping, using attack aircraft near Dibrova and trying to gain a foothold in the area of Lyman. In the Sievierodonetsk direction, supported by artillery, the enemy ran assault operations in the area of the city, where firefights continue. In the area of Bobrove the Russians suffered losses and retreated to previously occupied positions. Air strikes targeted the Ustynivka area. The occupiers are trying to improve their tactical situation in the Bakhmut direction. With the support of mortar and artillery fire, the enemy conducted offensive and assault operations in the areas of Volodymyrivka, Vasylivka, Komyshuvakha, and Myronivka. None of them saw success as the enemy suffered losses and retreated. Air strikes hit Yakovlivka. In the Avdiyivka direction, with the support of artillery, the enemy tried to advance in the areas of the Kamyanka and Vesele, but with no success. They fired on civilian infrastructure along the line of contact. In the South Buh direction, the enemy suffered losses as a result of offensive by Ukrainian units and took up defense on unfavorable borders near the village of Kostromka, now taking measures to restore lost positions by deploying reserves to the area. "The Russian occupiers inflicted fire on civilian infrastructure in Lymany, Stepova Dolina, Luch, Partizany, Chervony Yar, Trudoliubivka, and other settlements. To replenish its armored fleet, the Russians have deployed some obsolete decommissioned tanks and IFVs (T62s and BMP-1s). Restrictions remain in place in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, where infrastructure facilities are being inspected, while citizens and vehicles undergo security checks. During the past 24 hours, seven attacks by the enemy were repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where a tank and six military trucks were destroyed, and an Orlan-10 UAV was downed. As Ukrinform reported, from February 24 to May 28, the Armed Forces liquidated about 30,000 Russian servicemen. The city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk region, as in 2014, celebrates its birthday under enemy fire, but under the Ukrainian flag. Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, wrote about this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. "History repeats itself, today, as in 2014, Sievierodonetsk celebrates its birthday under enemy fire. And just as eight years ago, we will destroy and push the enemy back, but no longer just to Donetsk, but to the easternmost border of Ukraine," Haidai said. According to the top official, the shelling in Luhansk region is not subsiding as the hottest spot is now in Sievierodonetsk. The city flies the Ukrainian flag. The orcs still control the territory of the Mir Hotel, while failing to advance further, and suffering significant losses. Read also: Crimea hospitals snub civilian patients to treat wounded Russian soldiers Fighting continues in the villages on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, "said the head of the OVA. At the same time, he noted that the Russian invaders turned the prosperous city into a ruin: almost destroying the Azot plant and other flagships of Ukraines chemical industry. He added that the enemy must pay for all damage incurred. "Over the three months of this war, the peaceful town of chemists became the world-famous city of Heroes. The civic feat of volunteers delivering food to the elderly, doctors saving lives under mortar fire, public utility workers risking their lives to restore electricity and water supplies - everyone who had the courage to fight in their place will forever be engraved in our hearts," Haidai added, expressing confidence that Ukraine will win and write a new history of Sievierodonetsk the city of the Unbreakable, where chemical enterprises will be restored. As Ukrinform reported, on February 24, a total of 3,408 enterprises, including 479 industrial ones, suspended operations across Luhansk region due to a large-scale Russian invasion. Russia has already lost about 30,150 troops in Ukraine (+150 over the past day). The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Between February 24, 2022 and May 29, 2022, the enemys total combat losses included also 1,338 tanks (+8 over the past day), 3,270 armored fighting vehicles (+12), 631 artillery systems (+3), 203 multiple launch rocket systems (+0), 93 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+0), 207 aircrafts (+0), 174 helicopters (+0), 2,240 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+14), 13 warships/boats (+0), 504 unmanned aerial vehicles (+1), 48 special equipment units (+0). A total of 116 enemy cruise missiles (+0) were shot down. Over the past day, Russian troops have suffered the highest losses in the Bakhmut direction. The data are yet to be updated. mk The Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed seven Russian troops and a self-propelled artillery system in the Zaporizhzhia direction. The relevant statement was made by Zaporizhzhia Regions Defense Forces on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. On May 28, 2022, the Ukrainian military eliminated seven enemy troops and destroyed one Russian tank, one self-propelled artillery system, two armored fighting vehicles, three Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), four motor vehicles and five mortar systems. The following districts are remaining temporarily uncontrolled in Zaporizhzhia Region: Berdiansk, Melitopol, Vasylivka and Polohy (excluding such settlements as Orikhiv and Huliaipole). Regional authorities continue to send humanitarian aid to the temporarily occupied areas. mk In Luhansk Region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have pushed Russian troops away from the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, which is used to deliver humanitarian aid. The relevant statement was made by Luhansk Regional Military Administration Head Serhii Haidai on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In the Popasna direction, near Komyshuvakha, the enemy troops were pushed two kilometers away. The Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway is now less shot through. Humanitarian goods are transported, Haidai noted. In his words, Sievierodonetsk is remaining Ukrainian controlled. The enemys efforts were unsuccessful. Russian occupiers seized Myr Hotel on the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk but failed to advance farther. Meanwhile, Ukrainian defenders pushed the enemy away from the urban-type settlement of Toshkivka and consolidated their positions there. A reminder that two civilians were killed and about 60 houses destroyed in Russias shelling of Luhansk Region on May 28, 2022. mk Public incitement to commit genocide of the Ukrainian people is a distinct crime. That's according to a report entitled "An independent legal analysis of the Russian Federation's breaches of the Genocide Convention in Ukraine and the duty to prevent," a summary of which was published by Ukrinform. This report is the first to address one of the more contentious and consequential questions of Russias invasion of Ukraine: whether the war is genocidal in character. This is a project of the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, which assembled three teams of experts to assess the subject. This included a team of legal scholars and genocide experts, a second group of open-source intelligence investigators, and linguists who were able to make use of the extensive primary source record this war has already created of communications intercepts and testimonials. The New Lines Institute and Raoul Wallenberg Centre have done extensive work on the Rohingya and Uyghur genocides including producing the first report to make a determination of genocide in Xinjiang applying the 1948 Genocide Convention. Researchers have concluded that Russia bears state responsibility for breaches of Article II and Article III (c) of the Genocide Convention to which it is bound. The Ukrainian national group is recognized domestically, internationally, and expressly by Russia in formal interstate relations and is thus protected under the Genocide Convention. Under Article III (c) of the Genocide Convention, direct and public incitement to commit genocide is a distinct crime whether or not genocide follows. According to the research, high-level Russian officials and state media commentators repeatedly and publicly deny the existence of a distinct Ukrainian identity, implying that those who self-identify as Ukrainian threaten the unity of Russia or are Nazis, and are therefore deserving of punishment. Denial of the existence of protected groups is a specific indicator of genocide under the United Nations guide to assessing the risk of mass atrocities. According to researchers, "accusation in a mirror" is a powerful, historically recurring form of incitement to genocide. A perpetrator accuses the targeted group of planning, or having committed, atrocities like those the speaker envisions against them, framing the putative victims as an existential threat and making violence against them seem defensive and necessary. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials did exactly this, making the utterly false claim that Ukraine had committed genocide or exterminated the civilian population in Russian-backed separatist-controlled areas, as their pretext for invading Ukraine. Russian officials and state media repeatedly invoke denazification as one of the main goals of the invasion and have broadly described Ukrainians as subhuman (zombified, bestial, or subordinate), diseased or contaminated (scum, filth, disorder) or existential threats and the epitome of evil (Nazism, Hitler youth, Third Reich). This rhetoric is used to portray a substantial segment or an entire generation of Ukrainians as Nazis and mortal enemies, rendering them legitimate or necessary targets for destruction. According to the report, in the Russian context, the state-orchestrated incitement campaign overtly links the current invasion to the Soviet Unions existential battles with Nazi Germany in World War II, amplifying the propagandas impact on the Russian public to commit or condone mass atrocities. On April 5, 2022, Dmitry Medvedev, current Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council, posted: having transformed itself into the Third Reich Ukraine will suffer the same fate what it deserves! These tasks cannot be completed instantaneously. And they will not only be decided on battlefields. The day before the widely celebrated Victory Day, marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, President Putin sent a Telegram to Russian-backed separatists claiming Russians are fighting for the liberation of their native land from Nazi filth, vowing that victory will be ours, like in 1945. In addition, experts said that the Russian Orthodox Church has publicly reinforced this historical parallel and praised Russias fight against Nazis. A unit of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces continues to destroy Russian invaders in the Donetsk direction. The press service of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform. "Sicheslav paratroopers continue to destroy Russian occupiers in the Donetsk direction. In the video, soldiers of a parachute unit of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine talk about the destruction of the Russian occupiers in the Donetsk direction," the statement reads. From February 24 to May 29, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 30,000 Russian soldiers, which is 150 more than on May 28. Ukraine's defenders also destroyed 1,338 tanks (+8 over the past day), 3,270 armored fighting vehicles (+12), 631 artillery systems (+3), 203 multiple launch rocket systems (+0), 93 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+0), 207 aircraft (+0), 174 helicopters (+0), 2,240 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+14), 13 warships/boats (+0), 504 unmanned aerial vehicles (+1), 48 special equipment units (+0). A total of 116 enemy cruise missiles (+0) were shot down. The biggest losses of the Russians in the past day were recorded in the Bakhmut direction. States have the duty to prevent genocide More than three months have passed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression in Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting on all fronts - military, diplomatic, economic, humanitarian. And what the ruthless enemy is doing on our land - very often cruelty and insidiousness know no bounds - is difficult to describe in ordinary words. But in this case there are clear, unambiguous legal definitions. This report, entitled "An Independent Legal Analysis of the Russian Federations Breaches of the Genocide Convention in Ukraine and the Duty to Prevent," a summary of which Ukrinform offers to you, was compiled by two well-known institutions from the United States and Canada. The team includes well-known specialists in humanitarian law, including those who have worked in international tribunals on genocidal crimes. With all its scientific thoroughness, the language in which this work is presented is surprisingly clear and transparent. Thesis after thesis, argument after argument - everything comes together, intertwined in a single chain with the ruthless conclusion: Russia in this war is the creator of genocide. This means that all states that have signed the 1948 Genocide Convention must stand up for the protection of Ukraine's population. Preamble This report is the first to address one of the more contentious and consequential questions of Russias invasion of Ukraine: whether the war is genocidal in character. With fighting still ongoing, modern tools have made it vital that this question be examined and its truth made known. With the word genocide so commonly used and similarly disputed allowing for a looseness of definition is unhelpful. A clear reckoning of the facts using the opportunities of modern methods of investigation together with legal analysis pursuant to applicable law is essential. This is a project of the New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, which assembled three teams of experts to assess the subject. This included a team of legal scholars and genocide experts, a second group of open-source intelligence investigators, and linguists who were able to make use of the extensive primary source record this war has already created of communications intercepts and testimonials. The New Lines Institute and Raoul Wallenberg Centre have done extensive work on the Rohingya and Uyghur genocides including producing the first report to make a determination of genocide in Xinjiang applying the 1948 Genocide Convention. This report reasonably concludes that Russia bears State responsibility for breaches of Article II and Article III (c) of the Genocide Convention to which it is bound. The report also concludes that there exists undoubtedly a very serious risk of genocide, triggering States duty to prevent under Article I of the Genocide Convention. This is the first report of its kind, but not the final word on the subject. We hope more will follow. Dr Azeem Ibrahim Director, Special Initiatives New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy Washington, the United States Executive Summary This report comprises an independent inquiry into whether the Russian Federation bears State responsibility for breaches of the Genocide Convention in its invasion of Ukraine and concludes there are: 1) reasonable grounds to conclude Russia is responsible for (i) direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and (ii) a pattern of atrocities from which an inference of intent to destroy the Ukrainian national group in part can be drawn; and 2) the existence of a serious risk of genocide in Ukraine, triggering the legal obligation of all States to prevent genocide. I. The Protected Group. The Ukrainian national group is recognized domestically, internationally, and expressly by Russia in formal interstate relations and is thus protected under the Genocide Convention. II. Incitement to Genocide. Under Art. III (c) of the Genocide Convention, direct and public incitement to commit genocide is a distinct crime whether or not genocide follows. III. Russias State-orchestrated Incitement to Genocide. a) Denial of the Existence of a Ukrainian Identity. High level Russian officials and State media commentators repeatedly and publicly deny the existence of a distinct Ukrainian identity, implying that those who self-identify as Ukrainian threaten the unity of Russia or are Nazis, and are therefore deserving of punishment. Denial of the existence of protected groups is a specific indicator of genocide under the United Nations guide to assessing the risk of mass atrocities. b) Accusation in a Mirror. Accusation in a mirror is a powerful, historically recurring form of incitement to genocide. A perpetrator accuses the targeted group of planning, or having committed, atrocities like those the speaker envisions against them, framing the putative victims as an existential threat and making violence against them seem defensive and necessary. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials did exactly this, making the utterly false claim that Ukraine had committed genocide or exterminated the civilian population in Russian-backed separatist-controlled areas, as their pretext for invading Ukraine. c) Denazification and Dehumanization. Russian officials and State media repeatedly invoke denazification as one of the main goals of the invasion and have broadly described Ukrainians as subhuman (zombified, bestial, or subordinate), diseased or contaminated (scum, filth, disorder) or existential threats and the epitome of evil (Nazism, Hitler youth, Third Reich). This rhetoric is used to portray a substantial segment or an entire generation of Ukrainians as Nazis and mortal enemies, rendering them legitimate or necessary targets for destruction. d) Construction of Ukrainians as an Existential Threat. In the Russian context, the Stateorchestrated incitement campaign overtly links the current invasion to the Soviet Unions existential battles with Nazi Germany in World War II, amplifying the propagandas impact on the Russian public to commit or condone mass atrocities. On April 5, 2022, Dmitry Medvedev, current Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council, posted: having transformed itself into the Third Reich Ukraine will suffer the same fate what it deserves! These tasks cannot be completed instantaneously. And they will not only be decided on battlefields. The day before the widely celebrated Victory Day, marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, President Putin sent a Telegram to Russian-backed separatists claiming Russians are fighting for the liberation of their native land from Nazi filth, vowing that victory will be ours, like in 1945. The Russian Orthodox Church has publicly reinforced this historical parallel and praised Russias fight against Nazis. e) Conditioning the Russian Audience to Commit or Condone Atrocities. The Russian Federation authorities have denied atrocities committed by its forces and rewarded soldiers suspected of mass killing in Ukraine, enabling soldiers to commit, and the Russian public to condone, further atrocities. These authorities are able to directly incite the public by funnelling and amplifying their propaganda through a controlled media landscape and extreme censorship around the war. The purveyors of incitement propaganda are all highly influential political, religious, and State-run media figures, including President Putin. There is mounting evidence that Russian soldiers have internalized and are responding to the State propaganda campaign by echoing its content while committing atrocities. Reported statements by soldiers include: threats to rape every Nazi whore, hunting Nazis, we will liberate you from Nazis, were here to cleanse you from the dirt (following a public execution), among others. IV. Genocidal Intent. What distinguishes genocide from other international crimes is the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, [a protected group], as such. This intent can be attributed to a State through evidence of a general plan (derived from official statements, documents, or policy) or can be inferred from a systematic pattern of atrocities targeting the protected group. The five genocidal acts killing, causing serious harm, deliberately inflicting physically destructive conditions of life, imposing birth prevention measures, and forcibly transferring children to another group can also point towards genocidal intent when viewed in their totality. a) A Genocidal Plan. A general plan to destroy the Ukrainian national group in part may be demonstrated by the incitement to genocide driving the current invasion or by the striking patterns or methods of atrocities suggesting military policy. V. Genocidal Pattern of Destruction Targeting Ukrainians. a) Mass Killings. Investigations have determined that Russian forces have rounded up Ukrainian civilians for mass executions across occupied territory, marked by a pattern of common killing methods hands tied, tortured, and shot in the head at close range. The well-documented Bucha massacre may indicate consistent tactics employed by Russian forces across currently inaccessible occupied areas. The number of mass graves in Russian controlled areas are rapidly expanding, as documented by investigators and satellite imagery, though the full extent of the killing will not be known until access to sites controlled by Russian forces is secure. b) Deliberate Attacks on Shelters, Evacuation Routes, and Humanitarian Corridors. Russian forces are systematically attacking shelters and evacuation routes with precision, indicating military policy, killing and trapping civilians in besieged or conflict areas. c) Indiscriminate Bombardment of Residential Areas. Russian forces have extensively used inherently indiscriminate weapons with wide-area effect, or cluster munitions, targeting densely populated areas in at least eight of Ukraines oblasts (provinces). d) Russian Military Sieges: Deliberate and Systematic Infliction of Life-Threatening Conditions. While bombarding Ukrainians in besieged areas from within and without, Russian forces have simultaneously and deliberately inflicted life-threatening conditions on them. i. Destruction of Vital Infrastructure. Russian forces follow a similar pattern in besieging Ukrainian cities, first striking water, power, and communication sources, and further targeting medical facilities, grain warehouses, and aid distribution centers, suggesting a military strategy and policy of deliberately inflicting fatal conditions on Ukrainians. These coordinated actions by the Russian military to deprive Ukrainians of basic necessities and trap them under these destructive conditions tend to demonstrate that the sieges are calculated to bring about their physical destruction. ii. Attacks on Health Care. As of May 25, the World Health Organization has documented 248 attacks on Ukraines health care system. Mariupol / Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka iii. Destruction and Seizure of Necessities, Humanitarian Aid, and Grain. Russian forces have destroyed and seized vast stores of grain, including expropriating hundreds of thousands of tons to Russia, and repeatedly blocked or seized humanitarian aid or workers seeking to evacuate civilians, using starvation as a weapon of war. iv. Other Sites of Life-Threatening Conditions. Russian forces have held Ukrainian civilians at other sites where they are deprived of basic necessities, at times leading to more immediate deaths by suffocation or starvation. e) Rape and Sexual Violence. Reports of sexual violence and rape in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine suggest a widespread and systematic pattern, including gang rape, rape in homes or shelters, rape of parents in front of children and vice versa. f) Forcible Transfer of Ukrainians. Russia has reported the relocation of over one million people from Ukraine to Russia since the invasion began, including over 180,000 children. Refugees and officials have reported being transferred by force or threat of force. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian legislation is being reformed to expedite the adoption of children from the Donbas, while Ukrainian children forcibly sent to Russia are forced to take Russian classes. The forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia is a genocidal act under Art. II(e) of the Genocide Convention. VI. Intent to Destroy the Ukrainian National Group in Part. The intent to destroy a group in part has been understood to require the targeting of a substantial or prominent part of the group. To assess this threshold, however, the scale of atrocities targeting Ukrainians must be viewed relative to Russias area of activity or control. Russian forces have left a trail of concentrated physical destruction upon retreat from occupied areas, including mass close-range executions, torture, destruction of vital infrastructure, and rape and sexual violence. The selective targeting of Ukrainian leaders or activists for enforced disappearance or murder is further evidence of intent to destroy the Ukrainian national group in part, as those figures are emblematic of the group or essential to the groups survival. VII. The Duty to Prevent Genocide. States have a legal obligation to prevent genocide beyond their borders once they become aware of the serious risk of genocide a threshold that this report clearly establishes has been met, of which States cannot now deny knowledge. The Genocide Convention imposes a minimum legal obligation on States to take reasonable action to contribute toward preventing genocide and protecting vulnerable Ukrainian civilians from the imminent risk of genocide. Russian invaders are preparing new provocations in the Black Sea and are likely to use Ukraines Gurza-M boat captured by them at Berdiansk Port for this purpose. The relevant statement was made by the Association of the Reintegration of Crimea on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The aggressor transferred the Gurza-M artillery boat of the Ukrainian Naval Forces, which was captured at Berdiansk Port, to the Black Sea. In May, this boat was spotted in the bays of Sevastopol and near Snake Island, the report states. Reportedly, Russian occupiers are making attempts to use the Gurza-M radio equipment to spread fake messages on the frequencies intended for navigation safety. To the south of Snake Island, there is a constant gathering of merchant ships sailing in the Romanian territorial waters towards the Ukrainian ports on the Danube, such as Reni and Izmail. According to the Association, the aggressor may use the seized Ukrainian vessels, namely the aforementioned boat, to make direct provocations against merchant ships from third countries, including casualties or marine pollution, and accuse the Ukrainian side of this. In addition, Russian occupiers may launch an attack, allegedly by the Ukrainian boat, on the service or special vessels of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania or Turkey, or even use the seized boat to open fire on civilian objects at the coast of Bulgaria and Romania. The Association has already reported that Russian invaders are committing new and new provocations in the Black Sea. In particular, the aggressor announces fake humanitarian corridors from Ukrainian sea ports, allegedly to allow the merchant ships to leave them. But, such corridors are announced either from the ports seized by Russian invaders, such as Kherson Port, or the ports which are continuously shelled by Russias Black Sea Fleet. In May 2022, Russian occupiers also enhanced their military unit on Snake Island, having deployed air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery systems there. mk Stereotaxis, Inc. Denmarks only robotic cardiac electrophysiology team is recognized for leading the world in treating the most heart rhythm patients using Stereotaxis advanced robotic technology ST. LOUIS, May 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stereotaxis (NYSE: STXS), the global leader in innovative robotic technologies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, celebrates the achievements of the highly skilled electrophysiology team at The Heart Centre Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital for successfully completing more than 5,000 robotic cardiac ablation procedures using Denmarks only robotic system for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders. The Heart Centre Rigshospitalet at the University of Copenhagen is the leading user of advanced robotic technology for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias among a hundred hospitals globally. Electrophysiologists use the technology to repair the electrical circuits of the heart in a minimally invasive procedure called cardiac ablation. Robotic technology is designed to provide increased precision and safety during the procedure. The experience of Rigshospitalet across 5,000 procedures demonstrates these benefits with exceptional procedure success and safety records. Since its installation in 2006, Rigshospitalet physicians have used Stereotaxis RMN technology to treat a broad range of patients including complex cases unsuitable for traditional treatments. Among the thousands of patients who have benefited from robotic ablation are pediatric and congenital heart disease patients. Clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, Dr. Xu Chen, leads physicians in the world with the most robotic cardiac ablation procedures performed with Stereotaxis technology, having completed over 4,000 procedures. Dr. Chen has contributed to a significant body of clinical evidence on the use of robotics in electrophysiology by authoring and collaborating on 13 peer-reviewed studies. We are proud to celebrate this milestone and our contribution to improving patient care and advancing important technology for our field, said Dr. Peter Karl Jacobsen, Head of Invasive Electrophysiology, ablation section, cardiology at Rigshospitalet. Story continues We have always pursued the best treatment for our patients and are glad we could help so many patients effectively and with great safety, added Dr. Chen, Chief Physician and clinical cardiac electrophysiologist at Rigshospitalet. Tens of millions of individuals worldwide suffer from arrhythmias abnormal heart rhythms that result when the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or with an irregular pattern. When left untreated, arrhythmias may significantly increase the risk of stroke, heart failure, and sudden cardiac arrest. Robotic Magnetic Navigation introduces the benefits of robotic precision and safety to cardiac ablation. Robotic cardiac ablation is performed using a soft magnetic catheter navigated inside the heart by a physician seated at a computer cockpit. The physician navigates the catheter using precise, robotically actuated magnets positioned on either side of the patient. We celebrate the Rigshospitalet electrophysiology team on this significant milestone, said David Fischel, Stereotaxis Chairman and CEO. To have treated 5,000 patients is an extraordinary feat. It reflects an outsized impact Rigshospitalet has had on advancing patient care, clinical science, and technology development in electrophysiology. About Stereotaxis Stereotaxis is the global leader in innovative robotic technologies designed to enhance the treatment of arrhythmias and perform endovascular procedures. Its mission is the discovery, development and delivery of robotic systems, instruments, and information solutions for the interventional laboratory. These innovations help physicians provide unsurpassed patient care with robotic precision and safety, expand access to minimally invasive therapy, and enhance the productivity, connectivity, and intelligence in the operating room. Stereotaxis technology has been used to treat over 100,000 patients across the United States, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. For more information, please visit www.stereotaxis.com. This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe, "estimate, "project, "expect" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to manage expenses at sustainable levels, acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace, the effect of global economic conditions on the ability and willingness of customers to purchase its technology, competitive factors, changes resulting from healthcare policy, dependence upon third-party vendors, timing of regulatory approvals, the impact of pandemics or other disasters, and other risks discussed in the Company's periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release. There can be no assurance that the Company will recognize revenue related to its purchase orders and other commitments because some of these purchase orders and other commitments are subject to contingencies that are outside of the Company's control and may be revised, modified, delayed, or canceled. Company Contacts: David L. Fischel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Peery Chief Financial Officer 314-678-6100 investors@stereotaxis.com Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the frontline positions in Kharkiv Region and presented state awards to Ukrainian servicemen. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Kharkiv Region. The frontline positions of our military. I am endlessly proud of our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelensky wrote. The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to each defender for their service. According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the head of the state checked the operational situation in the area of responsibility of relevant units. As part of the visit, Zelensky presented state awards and valuable gifts to Ukrainian defenders and talked to them. A reminder that six civilians were injured in Russias shelling of Kharkiv Region on May 28, 2022. mk Russian forces are terrified by Ukrainian artillery. This was stated by a Battalion Commander with the 95th Separate Assault Brigade, Hero of Ukraine Major Yevhen Shamataliuk, who is now leading his troops in the Izium direction, who spoke in an interview with Ukrinform. "I can't even count the number of units storming our positions because they are constantly changing. They go on the offensive, we repulse it, respectively, the enemy withdraws, and then they rotate And then again, and again After their failed attempts, they either desert, refuse to obey orders, or get deployed somewhere in the rear for re-staffing and so on," said Shamataliuk. According to the commander, various Russian units fought against his battalion. I know that there were airborne units, infantry, marines, and some were even freshly graduated rookies. There are a lot of documents that we have forwarded to the higher headquarters, where there are numbers of military units, names, lists, call signs, and so on. There are also POWs who told which units they were with," the major said. He added that, according to those POWs, their commanders, while assigning them to missions, say as follows: "If you take this settlement, you will be rotated tomorrow and you will return to Russia." "Their soldiers are so demoralized that this is the only way to make them fight. They are terrified of artillery. Now we have more of that so we constantly inflict fire damage. They say they suffer significant losses. But the enemy is actively rotating and pulling up reserves. Now their attacks continue," Shatamaliuk stressed. As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russian contractors are waiting for the end of May to finally "get out" of Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have liquidated an employee of the press service of Russias defense ministry. Thats according to the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. "Meet another Russian occupier who was denazified without any publicity: Colonel Vladimir Ivanov, an officer with the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Muscovy," the statement reads. As Ukrinform reported earlier, nearly 30,150 Russian servicemen have been killed in Ukraine since the start of a full-scale invasion on February 24. Russia has lost the battle not only for Kharkiv, Kyiv and northern Ukraine, but it has already lost its future and all cultural ties with the world. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his video address, Ukrinform reports. "Today I visited Kharkiv -- both the city itself and the frontline positions of our military in the region. Kharkiv suffered terrible strikes from the occupiers. The windows of black, burnt-out, half-ruined apartment buildings of the city face the east and north -- from where Russian artillery was firing, from where Russian combat aircraft arrived. They face Russia, and in them now, like in a mirror, the Russian state can see itself. It can see how much it has lost over these 95 days of the full-scale war against Ukraine," Zelensky said. According to him, Russia has already lost not only the battle for Kharkiv, the battle for Kyiv and northern Ukraine, but it has lost its own future and any cultural ties with the world. "They all burned down, including there, in Saltivka," Zelensky said. Zelensky on Sunday chaired a working meeting on the situation in the Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv. Photo: President's Office It is important to restore the infrastructure in the liberated regions as soon as possible to ensure the normal logistics and operation of enterprises. "It is important for Ukraine to restore the infrastructure in the liberated regions as soon as possible to ensure the normal logistics and operation of enterprises. Financial support for small and medium-sized businesses will also help stabilize the economy, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said at a meeting with German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze, Ukrinform reports citing the Prime Minister's Telegram channel. As the PM noted, the results of the meeting of G7 development ministers, which took place a week ago in Berlin, were discussed. "Then, at a video link, I called on G7 countries to take the lead in rebuilding Ukraine. Madam Schulze and I continued discussing this topic in Kyiv today, the Prime Minister added. Shmyhal also submitted a proposal to the German government with a request to appoint a special envoy to support Ukraine's recovery. "I hope that other special representatives, in particular on the decentralization and transformation of coal regions, will also resume their work," Shmyhal stressed. The Prime Minister also told the German official about the global platform United24 and called to join the filling of the fund for recovery and mobilization of financial resources for the benefit of Ukrainians. German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze visits Ukraine on May 27. Photo: Denys Shmyhal, Telegram ol More than 600 companies have relocated their capacities from the regions where hostilities are underway. Of those, 390 have already resumed operations. This was stated by the Ministry of Economy on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. "More than 600 companies that took part in the relocation program have moved from the areas where the fighting continues. Some 390 of them have already resumed operations at their new sites in the western regions of Ukraine," the statement reads. It is noted that another 87 companies are at various stages of relocation, while another 151 are drawing up the required paperwork. Zakarpattia, Lviv, and Chernivtsi remain the most popular regions for relocation. Businesses are also finding new places to move their facilities to in Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and some other regions. According to Deputy Minister of Economy for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitization Ihor Diadiura, local authorities are promoting the process, helping businesses find work space, connect to power networks, settle their employees, and set up logistics. Entrepreneurs will be assisted in establishing logistics routes and finding new markets, including foreign ones. Memo. The government has launched a campaign promoting relocation of production capacities of Ukrainian enterprises from the war-affected areas, offering aid to such businesses. The European Union is considering a naval mission to unblock maritime trading routes in the Black Sea and resume agricultural exports from Ukraine. This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to El Pais. "The EU is ready to mobilize all possible resources to facilitate the export of grain stored in Ukrainian silos and ports," the newspaper said. The issue will be considered on Monday at the summit in Brussels. In particular, it is about efforts to resume exports from the port of Odesa. As Ukrinform reported, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which politicians said that Putin "wants to allow grain exports from Ukraine, especially by sea." As reported, seaports have been blocked in Ukraine as a result of Russian armed aggression. This threatens serious problems in the global food market. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is trying to disrupt the export of Ukrainian grain even via alternative routes. In addition to provoking a global food crisis, Russia may start blackmailing Europe over natural gas supplies with the onset of cold weather, so it is now necessary for the Western world to stand strong and united. The head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, made the statement on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. "It cannot be ruled out that Russia, in addition to the food crisis, will start blackmailing Europe over gas with the onset of cold weather. Given that the Kremlin now wants to exchange the unblocking of Ukrainian ports for sanction lift, we can see Moscow's ultimate goal. "Economic support for Ukraine, tariffs and embargoes on Russian oil, sanctions against the Russian banking system, auxiliary sanctions, as well as the weapons requested by our state are a strong, united response," Yermak wrote. According to the office chief, the attacks on Russia must be swift and without hesitation, otherwise the Kremlin will try to split the EU and pursue its own blackmail. Russia has blocked all ports and trade routes through which Ukrainian grain is traditionally exported worldwide. More than 20 million tonnes of grain remain stuck in Ukrainian ports and silos. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Russian Federation is trying to disrupt Ukrainian grain shipments even via alternative routes. Photo: Ukrainian Presidents Office Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says he had agreed a new three-year gas supply contract in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Thats according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports. "I can not speak about the price now, all details will be agreed with Gazprom," Vucic told reporters. He said he had agreed with Putin that the price of gas would be linked to the oil price, but offered no details of the deal. Serbia's 10-year gas supply contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom expires on May 31. Serbia, which aims to join the European Union, has recently come under pressure from Western powers to align its foreign policy with the bloc, including on imposing sanctions on Russia. In 2008 the Balkan countrys gas and oil sectors fell into the hands of the Russian companies. Gazprom Neft and Gazprom share a majority stake in the country's sole oil company, while Gazprom is majority shareholder in Serbias sole gas storage facility. New satellite imagery shows that a Russian freighter full of grain allegedly stolen from Ukrainian farms has arrived in the Syrian port of Latakia -- its second trip within four weeks. Thats according to CNN, Ukrinform reports. The new images -- provided by Maxar Technologies -- show the bulk carrier Matros Pozynich at Latakia on May 27. It is one of three vessels that have been loading grain in the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was last seen in Sevastopol on May 19 and subsequently tracked transiting the Bosphorus strait and south along the Turkish coast. The ship can carry about 30,000 tons of grain. The Matros Pozynich's sister ship has also loaded grain at Sevastopol in the last two weeks. Convoys of trucks have been seen carrying grain from farms and silos in the occupied parts of southern Ukraine into Crimea, the peninsula illegally annexed by Russia back in 2014. Ukrainian authorities estimated earlier this month that Russian forces in occupied areas had seized more than 400,000 tons of grain. The grain thefts are threatening this year's harvest in Ukraine, one of the worlds most important grain-producing countries. Almost there: Todd Boehlys takeover of Chelsea will be completed on Monday (AFP via Getty Images) The Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) have congratulated Todd Boehlys consortium on their impending takeover of the club, insisting - the hard work starts now. Earlier on Saturday morning, Chelsea confirmed in a short statement released via their official website that a final and definitive agreement over the record-breaking 4.25billion sale of the club had now been reached, with the takeover expected to be fully completed on Monday (May 30). That comes after the Premier League and UK Government both green-lighted the sale earlier this week, along with the Government of Portugal, where departing owner Roman Abramovich also has a passport. The CST were delighted to see confirmation of the agreement, having held talks with Boehlys camp over recent weeks. However, no one is under any illusions as to the need for the new owners to hit the ground running this summer as they attempt to close the widening gap to champions Manchester City and Liverpool. ... Welcome to SW6 Full Statement pic.twitter.com/ymX57XV83f Chelsea Supporters Trust (@ChelseaSTrust) May 28, 2022 The Chelsea Supporters Trust would like to congratulate the consortium ledd by Todd Boehly on the takeover of Chelsea FC, the CST said in a statement. We wish you every success as the custodian of our club and look forward to a long, constructive and mutually beneficial relationship between you and Chelsea supporters. The CST has been very encouraged by the interactions we have had with Mr Boehly and his team over recent months, but the hard work starts now. It is now time to deliver both on and off the pitch in building a successful, inclusive and forward-thinking club with supporters at the forefront. Russian media report that Poland allegedly seeks to seize Western Ukraine are plain propaganda and "information missiles set to sow panic." This was announced at a briefing for the Polish media on Friday in Kyiv by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrinform reports with reference to PAP. "Russian news is a kind of information missile designed to sow panic," Zelensky said. He noted that he had no time to think about what Russian politicians were saying when sharing propaganda messages about the possibility of Poland seizing part of Western Ukraine. The president of Ukraine stressed that Warsaw is well aware that in the event of aggression against it, "Poland and Ukraine will be together." He stressed the deep need for unity in the face of Russian aggression. Zelensky noted that historical issues that had previously created problems in Ukrainian-Polish relations were "nothing compared to the friendship and unity of the two countries, to which hatred of a common enemy has led." Speaking about the close relations between Hungary and Russia, Zelensky stressed that it seems that Budapest "does not realize the threat, but sooner or later they will have to defend themselves." Zelensky noted that the Russians act methodically, in particular, "methodically kill: in the same way in different parts of Ukraine." According to him, the Russians use the same methodological approach during peace talks with Ukrainians. However, no matter what is decided during the negotiations, everything is ultimately decided by Vladimir Putin. However, he called the talks necessary, so the President of Ukraine considers it his duty to conduct them. Zelensky thanked Poland and the Polish people for the unprecedented assistance they provide to Ukraine and Ukrainians after the start of a large-scale Russian war against Ukraine. "Id like to especially thank Andrzej Duda and his wife for how they engaged in helping Ukraine," Zelensky said. He noted that during the first days of the full-scale war, he spoke with the President of Poland several times a day. Earlier, Sergei Naryshkin, chief of Russia's foreign intelligence service, told Russian propaganda media that Poland allegedly planned to establish military and political control over its former historical territories in Ukraine. As reported earlier, Poland has so far provided more than $1.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, this is about more than 200 T-72 main battle tanks, Gvozdika air defense systems, Grad MLR systems, Piorun MANPADS, reconnaissance drones, combat drones, artillery shells, etc. Photo: Ukrainian Presidents Office Ukraine needs even more intensive cooperation with NATO and hopes that the existing support mechanisms will expand. This was emphasized by the First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Denys Kudin, who spoke at a meeting of the Economy and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, according to Ukrinform, "Ukraine is grateful to NATO for expanding the existing mechanisms of cooperation, first of all, within the framework of the Comprehensive Assistance Package. It includes non-lethal international technical aid, services, and staff training. We especially appreciate the Alliance's contribution to treating severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers abroad. However, the situation at the front and in the rear requires even more intensive cooperation between Ukraine and NATO," Kudin said. He recalled that Ukraine protects from Russian aggression not only itself but the whole of Europe. "We are carrying an incredible burden of human casualties and destruction. Therefore, we hope for solidarity on the part of the Alliance and intensification of all possible support mechanisms," said the First Deputy Minister of Economy. According to the Ministry of Economy, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Economic and Security Committee discussed the macroeconomic situation in Ukraine, wartime economic policy, the macroeconomic forecast, the reconstruction and development plan, and cooperation between Ukraine and the Alliance. It was earlier reported that the leadership of the NATO-Ukraine Interparliamentary Council and the Ukrainian delegation took part in the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 2022 in Vilnius (Lithuania). Among the issues discussed at the session was the war in Ukraine, world security in the new conditions, economic issues, as well as food and cybersecurity. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced phone calls with Ukrainian and Russian Presidents, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Monday, May 30. Thats according to the Communications Directorate of Turkeys Presidential Administration, Ukrinform reports. "We believe that the war between Russia and Ukraine will end in peace as soon as possible, but it seems that the situation is getting worse every day. On Monday, I will have phone calls with both Russia and Ukraine," Erdogan said. Read also: Russians plot provocations in Black Sea using seized Ukrainian vessels According to him, Turkey will continue to "encourage the parties to be guided by channels of dialogue and diplomacy." As Ukrinform reported, in early May, Zelensky said that the first step toward resuming talks with Russia would be for Russia to withdraw their troops to the positions as of February 24, 2022, the day the full-blown invasion started. A few days ago, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that, despite public statements by Russian leadership, nothing signaled Russia's readiness for negotiations; the facts show that the Russian president is determined to further wage war. Photo: Ukrainian Presidents Office EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a phone call on Sunday, May 29, discussed further EU sanctions against Russia. According to Ukrinform, Borrell said this on Twitter. "Called Dmytro Kuleba ahead of the European Council meeting. EU continues facilitating delivery of military assistance. Agreed on urgency to advance on sanctions," Borrell wrote. He also added that the leaders of the EU countries at the summit will "raise how to support export of agricultural products from Ukraine and impact of Russian aggression on global food security." According to British intelligence, Russia is prepared to leverage global food security for its own political aim and then present itself as the reasonable actor and blame the West for any failure. Ukraine is launching a communication campaign "Embrace Ukraine. Strengthen the Union" that should ensure support for the country on its road to the European future, in particular obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership. According to Ukrinform, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine said this in a statement posted on its website. "Today, all of Ukraine supports membership in the European Union. On the fourth day of the war, the President of Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union and we expect to receive candidate status. Ukraine is certainly ready for this step, and Ukrainians' commitment to the principles of democracy and freedom is beyond doubt. Since 2014, we have implemented a number of reforms and a significant part of EU legislation. We are currently in close dialogue with the EU capitals on this issue, and this communication campaign should support and strengthen our dialogue. A strong Europe, a Europe of the future is possible only with Ukraine," said Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Ukraine's Minister of Culture and Information Policy, Oleksandr Tkachenko, in turn, stressed that Ukraine remains a European state, both territorially and historically, and in terms of democratic views and values, "as well as our culture, art and traditions." "Today we are resisting Russian aggression with all our might, acting as a shield for the whole of Europe. We are fighting for peace, our independence, our freedom and the democratic values of the entire civilized world. Today, Ukraine is paying the highest price in order to become part of the EU on legal grounds. I believe that now none of our civilized neighbors has any doubt that Ukraine is an integral part of Europe. Ukraine is already an important element of Europe's cultural and information space. Today, our artists, performers and authors conquer the scenes and screens of Europe, as well as the hearts of Europeans. Ukraine's candidate status for the EU will only expand opportunities in these areas for both parties and strengthen the Union. Ukraine deserves to be a full member of the EU," he said. According to the statement, the slogan "Embrace Ukraine" combines the power of words and the power of strength, soft power and hard power at the same time. "Embrace" can be translated as "hug, accept", it can be clearly read as "join, take in." The phrase "Embrace Ukraine" combines what Europe has already done and is doing, taking in refugees, providing humanitarian and military assistance, and what it has yet to do. On February 28, Ukraine officially applied for EU membership and completed all necessary procedures. The EU leaders are due to meet in late June to consider the decision on granting the EU candidate status to Ukraine. Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said the lives of people in Northern Ireland are being made harder by not having a functioning powersharing Executive at Stormont (Liam McBurney/PA) The lives of people in Northern Ireland are being made harder by not having a functioning powersharing Executive at Stormont, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said. She delivered a sharp criticism of DUP tactics as she accused the party of having no solutions to longstanding issues and instead using Stormont as leverage to force the UK Government to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol, which she said no-one is losing sleep over. In an interview with the PA news agency ahead of Thursdays Assembly elections, Mrs Long also spoke about the need to reform Stormont, saying it is not representative of many people who no longer see themselves solely as unionist or nationalist. The post-Brexit protocol has angered unionists who view the additional checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain as a border in the Irish Sea. Earlier this year the DUP pulled out of the Stormont Executive in protest at the protocol, and party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said during the election campaign that he will not re-enter government after the election until his concerns are addressed. A number of opinion polls have indicated that the cross-community Alliance Party could see a surge in support in the election, and its leader said the DUP should commit to re-entering government as Stormont has no power to change the protocol. what is the alternative to having devolved government because we can't change the protocol as local parties? Alliance Party leader Naomi Long Mrs Long said: I dont think the DUP should take it for granted that people will vote for them in the numbers that it will matter if they go back into government. I think that is a very presumptuous position to take as a politician. The public might decide to vote for other parties and the DUPs role in this will not be as significant as it might currently be. She added: The other thing to consider is this: what is the alternative to having devolved government because we cant change the protocol as local parties? Story continues We can certainly talk to the European Union, we can talk to the UK Government, we can try to find solutions. But we cant change it, we dont have that power. This is simply using our institutions, our government as leverage in order to be able to force the UK Government to do something. But I think that does a disservice to what local government can actually achieve. Alliance Party leader Naomi Long at the launch of its Assembly 2022 election manifesto this week (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire) Mrs Long said local parties should instead be focusing on how to solve bread-and-butter issues such as the cost of living and health service waiting lists. We know that people are hurting, people have issues in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, people are really struggling. We also know that we havent been able to use money which is currently sitting with the Department of Finance. We havent been able to distribute that to the public in any shape or form or to spend it on public services because we havent been able to have a government. If the DUP want to continue down that road, people need to recognise the consequences of that. It means we wont have a budget so we wont be able to do things like prioritise the health service as we had planned, it means that we wont be able to put money in peoples pockets so they can actually start to tackle some of those cost-of-living pressures. I think if you ask most people those are the things that they want to see fixed. Naomi Long with some of the Alliance Partys election candidates (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire) Mrs Long continued: I dont think the DUP have solutions to those problems if their only solution to anything is not to have a government. Whatever our challenges, whatever the challenges of the protocol, it cannot be made better by not having a government here; all that does is make peoples lives harder. I think that is the last message that people want to hear from local politicians. No-one is going to be losing sleep over the protocol but people are genuinely losing sleep because they dont know how they are going to pay their bills, they dont know how they are going to feed their families. The Alliance leader said it is not sustainable to maintain a situation in the Assembly where MLAs are designated as unionist, nationalist or other. We would like to see the designations gone, she she said. I believe that fundamentally what it does is disenfranchises those of us who choose not to designate as unionist or nationalist. I think that by taking away the designations system you create an impetus for people to actually work across the chamber Alliance Party leader Naomi Long But it also creates mutual vetoes in the Assembly and the result of that is that, instead of being able to be encouraged to co-operate, it is actually in peoples interests to form these kind of vetoes and just refuse to do things. I think that by taking away the designations system you create an impetus for people to actually work across the chamber, to moderate their proposals but also to be more likely to work together to deliver things. I also think that it would deal with the fundamental inequality that some peoples votes count for less than others in the Assembly, which isnt something that I think is sustainable and never really has been. Alliance Party of NIs Leader Naomi Long during an interview in Belfast. PA Photo. Picture date: Monday April 04 2022. See PA story ULSTER Election. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire She added: More than that, it would allow us to deal with issues like the First and deputy First Ministers office. We know its a co-equal office, we know that they both hold the same amount of power, so lets just be honest and call it the joint first ministers office. Manty people in our community no longer view themselves simply through the lens of unionist or nationalist, people have all sorts of things which drive them to vote, that shape their politics. I think this idea that everyone sees it through the paradigm of unionist and nationalist is a pretty dated outlook. It isnt one that reflects the population of Northern Ireland as it is. Even those who are unionist or nationalist are often driven by other issues. Former state Sen. Michael Nozzolio remembers where he was when the idea was pitched. The late Steve Bull, who led the Sampson "Salts," was speaking at a ceremony at what is now the Sampson Memorial Naval & Air Force Museum in Seneca County. Nozzolio was in attendance. "It was (Bull's) vision, his dream, to create a cemetery on the site of the Sampson naval base," Nozzolio said. That began what Nozzolio calls a "25-year quest" to establish a veterans cemetery on the grounds of the former air force base and naval training station. When Bull served, he trained at Sampson. Now, he wanted to see at least a portion of the property set aside as a final resting place for veterans. In 2011, Bull's vision came to fruition. The Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery opened to the public. Since then, approximately 900 veterans and their dependents have been buried at the cemetery, which was operated by Seneca County. But there was a bigger goal. State and local officials considered pursuing a national designation for the Sampson cemetery. According to Nozzolio, Sampson was too close to an existing national veterans cemetery in Bath, Steuben County. On the web To learn more about Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery, visit sampsonveteranscemetery.com. There were other hurdles, too. Nozzolio said they quickly learned that they would not be successful without the necessary infrastructure in place. That's when it was decided to form "as much of a cemetery that we could put together." The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency was a partner a "repository for funding," Nozzolio added. To run the cemetery, Seneca County turned to William Yale. Yale is a U.S. Navy veteran and funeral director who had worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration, an agency that oversees veterans' cemeteries across the country. Yale, a Honeoye Falls native, told The Citizen that he moved back to New York after working at Bay Pines National Cemetery in Florida. "They were looking for someone familiar with (the National Cemetery Administration)," he recalls. "It just so happened I was there at the right time." When the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery opened in 2011, Yale was at the helm. He remains its director. The pursuit of a higher designation did not end. While becoming a national veterans cemetery wasn't in the cards, there were conversations about a state-level classification. New York was one of a few states without a state veterans cemetery. If you go WHAT: Memorial Day service WHEN: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Monday, May 30 WHERE: Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 6632 State Rt. 96A, Romulus For years, there were discussions about whether New York would establish a state veterans cemetery. After Sampson opened in 2011, Yale didn't think it would take long for the state to take the necessary steps. In the last decade, he admitted that there were a few years where it "got pretty dark" and they didn't know if it would ever happen. "We just needed to stay the course," he said. In 2020, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo included the creation of a state veterans cemetery in his annual State of the State agenda. He also appointed a panel to oversee the site selection process. As part of the site selection process, the state Division of Veterans' Services issued a request for information in February 2021. In response to that request, it received 10 proposals for the first state veterans cemetery. When the site selection committee met in May 2021 to consider the proposals, the state Division of Veterans' Services released a report recommending Sampson for the designation. Unlike the other proposals, Sampson had the advantage of being in operation and in compliance with National Cemetery Administration standards. In its plans submitted to the state, Sampson noted it has the capacity for 80,000 gravesites at its 162-acre site. At its next meeting, the site selection committee voted to designate Sampson as the first state veterans cemetery. Nozzolio believes the decision confirmed that the local efforts paid off. "We felt if we build it correctly and manage it correctly, the choice will be obvious," he said. The state designation is one part of the process. After the site selection committee's vote, the state Cemetery Management Board had to file a pre-application with the National Cemetery Administration to secure federal funding for Sampson. A list of pending state and tribal government cemetery construction grant pre-applications released by the National Cemetery Administration shows that the state is requesting $2.5 million for the cemetery in Seneca County. If the funding is approved, the state will receive it by the end of September. For many families, the Sampson cemetery represents hallowed ground the final resting place for hundreds of veterans who served their country. Jennie Ewing chose to have her husband, Wayne, buried at Sampson. Wayne Ewing, a longtime Ovid town justice, was stationed at Seneca Army Depot. When she first visited Sampson cemetery, she told The Citizen that she knew it would be "the perfect place" for Wayne's burial. But Jennie Ewing's connection to the cemetery didn't end there. She now volunteers at Sampson, helping with Wreaths Across America and other events. She also assists Yale if he has several services on a given day. With the state designation, Ewing said it gives veterans the tribute that they deserve. "The location is right and the land was available," she continued. "It will be available for many, many years and generations to come." Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. May 29, 1997 AUBURN Pastor Bob Canino is physically safe and emotionally down. "Spiritually I'm in good shape. That's good," he said in a late Wednesday afternoon telephone interview from an apartment in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was 10:20 p.m. in Freetown, and Canino sounded tired. The pastor of First Love Ministries in Auburn said that he and his three companions have had enough food and water to sustain them since a Sunday coup left them trapped in the tiny country on the northwest coast of Africa. Canino, his friend and congregation member Tommy Malvaso; evangelist Joseph Bimba, who ministers south of Rochester; and Norwegian pastor Karl Axel Mentzoni are comfortable. But they are unable to leave the apartment because, as westerners, they could be targets for rebel forces. "There's been a lot of gunfire around," Canino explained. He was sleeping when the weapons began to go off at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. At least 20 people died as a result of the fighting. Compiled by David Wilcox Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2022) Turkey and Israel will hold negotiations on gas deliveries from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe through Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Earlier in the month, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that gas from the Eastern Mediterranean could become an alternative to Russian supplies for the European Union, and Ankara is ready to be part of this process. "There will be talks of our minister of energy and natural resources with Israeli officials regarding taking this step on natural gas with Israel," Erdogan told reporters, adding that the Israeli side has expressed its readiness on the matter. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th May, 2022 ) :The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKA) has condemned the life imprisonment sentence of Indian court in New Delhi against Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik. According to Kashmir media service, WKAF in a statement issued in Washington said that Muhammad Yasin Malik was one of the most fearless, influential, and revered leaders of Kashmir and had challenged India's jurisdiction over his legitimate right of resistance against Indian occupation. The statement said Yasin Malik has spent most of his life in resisting Indian state violence, torture, and multiple jail sentences. He also traveled the world India, Pakistan, EU, and the US in pursuit of a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir conflict, after he renounced armed resistance in 1994, it added. "Voices of indigenous Kashmiris for plebiscite have grown stronger despite increasing atrocities, forced disappearances, imprisonments and forced demographic changes. Malik with his indomitable faith and spirit will continue to inspire millions of Kashmiris around the world to keep on resisting colonialism until they achieve their right to self-determination," it maintained. The WKAF urges the international community, human rights organizations, and the United Nations to condemn Malik's life sentence and demand his unconditional immediate release from the prison.' MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2022) The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (also known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) has shelled Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone five times in the past day, Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlyov, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Saturday. "Over the past 24 hours, five shelling attacks were recorded in the Idlib de-escalation zone from the positions of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group. In the province of Aleppo - four attacks, in the province of Latakia - one attack," Zhuravlyov said. He added that a Syrian soldier had been wounded in Latakia by sniper fire at Syrian government troops near the village of Akch-Baer. The Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides and Control over the Movement of Refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic was established in February 2016. Its tasks include the signing of agreements on illegal armed groups and individual settlements joining the regime of cessation of hostilities, as well as coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid. (@ChaudhryMAli88) SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2022) Ukrainian troops have made two unsuccessful attempts to break through the defense line in the Kherson Region, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the regional military-civil administration, told Sputnik. "In the past days, Ukrainian troops have twice tried to break through the defense line in the Kherson region near the village of Davydov Brod, but were defeated and suffered very heavy losses. They tried to break through and seize the bridgehead and cut off the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," Stremousov said on Sunday. He added that the Ukrainian army left at least 70 of its soldiers killed on the battlefield after attempting the offensive in the Kherson region, losing, presumably, about 200 people in total, as well as 20 units of equipment. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Russian military has already taken control of the Kherson Region in the south of the country and part of the Zaporizhzhia Region. Military-civilian administrations have been formed in the regions, broadcasting of Russian tv channels and radio stations was launched, and trade ties with Crimea are being restored. On Saturday, Stremousov told Sputnik that the Kherson Region had switched to Moscow time. On Friday, the authorities of the liberated part of the Zaporizhzhia Region announced their transition to Moscow time. Harry Wilson is once again crisscrossing New York State in a major political campaign, just like in 2010 during his unsuccessful Republican effort for comptroller. Sure, he acknowledges, he lost that race to Democrat Thomas P. DiNapoli. But he quickly notes the 4 percentage points by which he was defeated the closest any Republican has come to winning statewide since Gov. George E. Pataki's last victory in 2002. Now, as he ramps up his campaign for governor first against three opponents in the GOP primary and he hopes against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul in the general election Wilson said only he can pull off a Republican victory in ultra-Democratic New York. "As I thought about it ... I basically said none of the other guys running can win, and I asked if starting late, could I win both a primary and a general election," he said. "It was clear to me there was a path for both." Wilson is now simultaneously charging down both those paths. In Buffalo on Friday, he continued meeting with key supporters as the June 28 Republican primary approaches. He is now engaged in a four-way contest some say might never have materialized had he entered the race in 2021, when Republican leaders were practically camped out on his Westchester County lawn begging him to enter the race for governor. They recognized his credible effort against DiNapoli, his upstate roots in Johnstown, his American success story as a son of Greek immigrants climbing to Wall Street heights, and his non-politician status. But Wilson declined because of pressing business interests he recently inherited, the same business interests that forged his reputation for turning around troubled companies and that made him a multimillionaire. So when early this year Wilson finally entered the race, party leaders had already turned to Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk County as their endorsed candidate. Now Wilson competes against Zeldin, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and former Trump administration official Andrew Giuliani for the Republican line. "For some reason party leaders always thought I was the best candidate," Wilson says now, "I hope the voters do too." Wilson said the same skills that made him successful in business will serve New York, which he calls a troubled state. He can easily trim the state budget by $25 billion, he said, with his same techniques that turned around troubled companies. While some have criticized his techniques for cutting workers' jobs and benefits, he has always argued his methods ultimately save companies. "It would be very easy for me not to do any of this stuff. I love my business, I love my family. I've been blessed," he said Friday in an interview with The Buffalo News. "But I have a certain set of God-given gifts, and I can really fix complicated situations. I don't think there is any better way to give back than to use those gifts to fix New York State." After his 12-year absence from politics, Wilson is returning in a big way. Ubiquitous on television, his ads hammer away at Hochul and Zeldin often pasting their images alongside former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. In the primary alone, he has pledged to spend $10 million of his own money, with more to come should he prevail on June 28. Now he talks about freedom and his ideas of limited government; opportunity, primarily by addressing the many problems of public schools; and safety. He calls the spike in crime across the state a failure of the government's top responsibility of providing for its citizens' safety. Even as debate now rages following recent shooting massacres in Buffalo and in Texas, Wilson digs in against weakening the Second Amendment. He rejects "politicians who go to their corners;" Democrats who want "to take away law abiding citizens' gun rights, or Republicans who take the position that red flags are not necessary at all." "We've got to understand why not?" he said of red flag laws that have failed to identify the mentally ill and others who pose a genuine gun threat. "We need common sense evaluations to make sure people who might be threats are dealt with proactively." Wilson insists that cutting unnecessary pork barrel projects from the budget would result in a historic tax cut, estimating that New Yorkers could save $3,000 annually. It's no coincidence, he said, that many of the projects Hochul now announces across the state follow her record period of campaign fundraising during budget formation. "She basically saw it as an opportunity to give out political favors," he says. "I think that is corrupt. I think taking taxpayer money to essentially buy support to make her election more likely is inherently a problem." His view of the budget, he said, is to adhere to the state's "core mission" of "facilitating the quality of life for people across the state" and "set the stage" for successful businesses and job creation. Wilson continues his upstate swing today with stops in Rochester and Central New York. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2022) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Beijing has failed to enable a full assessment of the human rights situation in China by a UN delegation. "The United States remains concerned about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team's visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC) and PRC efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit," Blinken said in a Saturday statement. According to the US Secretary of State, Beijing did not allow a "complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment" in China, including in Xinjiang, during Bachelet's visit on May 23. Blinken claimed that Xinjiang residents were not allowed to speak openly about the situation in the region. "The High Commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from traveling out of the region. We also note that the High Commissioner was not allowed access to individuals who were part of the Xinjiang labor transfer program and have been sent to other provinces across China," Blinken said. He reiterated that the United States remains concerned about the human rights situation China and calls on Beijing to allow independent investigators full access to Xinjiang, Tibet, and across China. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is the largest province in China with a population of 25 million people from various ethnic groups, but about 43 percent of them are Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslim. The region, bordering seven countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been considered an epicenter of terrorism and extremism for many years. At the end of August 2018, experts from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported that up to 1 million ethnic Uyghurs could be in so-called "re-education camps" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Beijing has denied the existence of "re-education camps" on numerous occasions, insisting that the country is fully complying with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Pope Francis and the Cardinals at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica during the 2020 Consistory As Pope Francis announces he will preside at the eighth consistory for the creation of Cardinals, we take a look at the 21 men chosen to wear the red hat and where they come from. By Andrea Tornielli In a surprise announcement, and almost three months ahead of schedule, Pope Francis on Sunday called a consistory for 27 August for the creation of 21 new Cardinals, 16 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore Cardinal-electors in an eventual conclave, plus five who have already reached the age of 80 or will reach it before receiving the red biretta. Late August is not a traditional time for consistories (which have usually been held in February, June or November), but the list of new cardinals was preceded by the announcement of a meeting that will gather all the world's cardinals with Pope Francis in order to focus on the new Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, "Praedicate Evangelium," promulgated on 19 March, which will be in force from Sunday, 5 June, the Solemnity of Pentecost. The consistory for the creation of new cardinals on Saturday, 27 August, will precede the meeting, scheduled for Monday, 29 August, and Tuesday, 30 August. Read also 29/05/2022 Pope announces 21 new Cardinals from around the world Pope Francis announces that he will create 21 new Cardinals at a Consistory on Saturday, 27 August. They represent the Church worldwide, and reflect a wide variety of cultures, ... Gaze at the peripheries A look at the list of the new cardinals confirms the line of thinking followed by Pope Francis throughout his pontificate: many of the 16 new Cardinal-electors mark a surprise, not counting the first three who work in the Roman Curia, which are fairly predictable and namely the prefects of the dicasteries of Divine Worship and that of Clergy, along with the president of the Governorate of Vatican City. Once again, the Pope has chosen to associate the College of Cardinals with bishops from all over the world, preferring the peripheries and overlooking those sees that were once traditionally considered "cardinalitial." The three new Curia cardinals come from Europe (Arthur Roche - English), Latin America (Fernando Vergez - Spanish), and Asia (Lazarus You - Korea). Two new Cardinal-electors lead dioceses in Europe (the Archbishop of Marseille and the Bishop of Como); five are working at the frontiers of Asia (one of these, Bishop Giorgio Marengo, the Italian Apostolic Prefect in Mongolia, will become the youngest in the college at 48). There are two bishops in Africa, and four in the Americas (one in the United States, three in Latin America, with two dioceses in Brazil whose incumbent gets the biretta). Also interesting to note is the Archbishop of Marseille, who was born in Algiers, and the Bishop of Como, who becomes the only cardinal to lead a diocese between Italy's northwest and northeast. Cardinal-electors Once again, Pope Francis brought into the College of Cardinals five prelates, two of whom are not bishops, who have already passed or are about to pass the age threshold when they can no longer vote in the event of a conclave. In this mini list, the majority is Italian (three out of five), with acknowledgment among others given to Jesuit Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, esteemed canonist, and collaborator with the Holy See. The number of Cardinal-electors thus expands from the limit of 120 set by Pope St. Paul VI, as has happened several times before. Currently, the College consists of 208 cardinals, of whom 117 are electors and 91 are non-electors. On 27 August, it will rise to 229 cardinals of whom 132 are electors. Looking at the last three pontificates, the College will consist of 52 cardinals created by John Paul II (11 of whom are electors); 64 created by Benedict XVI (38 of whom are electors); and 113 created by Francis (83 of whom are electors). Geographically, the cardinals will be distributed as follows: Europe - 107 cardinals, of whom 54 are electors; the Americas - 60 cardinals, of whom 38 are electors; Asia - 30 cardinals, of whom 20 are electors; Africa - 27 cardinals, of whom 17 are electors; and Oceania - 5 cardinals, of whom 3 are electors. Capri Isidoro broke down in tears in the office of a lactation consultant. The mother of two had been struggling to breastfeed her 1-month-old daughter ever since she was born, when the hospital gave the baby formula first without consulting her on her desire to breastfeed. Now, with massive safety recall and supply disruptions causing formula shortages across the United States, she also can't find the specific formula that helps with her baby's gas pains. "It is so sad. It shouldn't be like this," said Isidoro, who lives in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City. "We need formula for our kid, and where is this formula going to come from?" As parents across the United States struggle to find formula to feed their children, the pain is particularly acute among Black and Hispanic women. Black women have historically faced obstacles to breastfeeding, including a lack of lactation support in the hospital, more pressure to formula feed and cultural roadblocks. It's one of many inequalities for Black mothers : They are far more likely to die from pregnancy complications, and less likely to have their concerns about pain taken seriously by doctors. Low-income families buy the majority of formula in the U.S., and face a particular struggle: Experts fear small neighborhood grocery stores that serve these vulnerable populations are not replenishing as much as larger retail stores, leaving some of these families without the resources or means to hunt for formula. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20% of Black women and 23% of Hispanic women exclusively breastfeed through six months, compared to 29% of white women. The overall rate stands at 26%. Hospitals that encourage breastfeeding and overall lactation support are less prevalent in Black neighborhoods, according to the CDC. The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses also says Hispanic and Black women classified as low-wage workers have less access to lactation support in their workplaces. The racial disparities reach far back in America's history. The demands of slave labor prevented mothers from nursing their children, and slave owners separated mothers from their own babies to have them serve as wet nurses, breastfeeding other women's children. In the 1950s, racially targeted commercials falsely advertised formula as a superior source of nutrition for infants. And studies continue to show that the babies of Black mothers are more likely to be introduced to formula in the hospital than the babies of white mothers, which happened to Isidoro after her emergency cesarean section. Physicians say introducing formula means the baby will require fewer feedings from the mother, decreasing the milk supply as the breast is not stimulated enough to produce. Andrea Freeman, author of the book "Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race and Injustice," said these mothers still aren't getting the support they need when it comes to having the choice of whether to breastfeed or use formula. They also may have jobs that do not accommodate the time and space needed for breastfeeding or pumping milk, Freeman said. "Nobody's taking responsibility for the fact that they've steered families of color toward formula for so many years and made people rely on it and taken away choice. And then when it falls apart, there's not really any recognition or accountability," Freeman said. Breastfeeding practices are often influenced by previous generations, with some studies suggesting better outcomes for mothers who were breastfed when they were babies. Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said she began hearing back in February about Black and Latino families in Detroit and Grand Rapids feeling stuck after finding smaller grocery stores running out of formula. Some were told to go to the local office of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, the federal program that supports low-income expectant and new mothers. Between 50% and 65% of the formula in the U.S. is bought through the program. "Going to the WIC office is like a full day's errand for some moms," Bauer said. She fears mothers are getting desperate enough to try foods that are not recommended for babies under 6 months. Yury Navas, a Salvadoran immigrant who works at a restaurant and lives in Laurel, Maryland, says she was not able to produce enough breast milk and struggled to find the right formula for her nearly 3-month-old baby Jose Ismael, after others caused vomiting, diarrhea and discomfort. One time, they drove half an hour to a store where workers told them they had the type she needed, but it was gone when they got there. Her husband goes out every night to search pharmacies around midnight. "It's so hard to find this type," she said, adding they sometimes have run out before they can secure more formula. "The baby will cry and cry, so we give him rice water." On a recent day, she was down to her last container and called an advocacy group that had told her it would try to get her some at an appointment in five days. But the group could not guarantee anything. Some mothers have turned to social media and even befriended other locals to cast a wider net during shopping trips. In Miami, Denise Castro, who owns a construction company, started a virtual group to support new moms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it's helping moms get the formula they need as they go back to work. One of them is a Hispanic teacher whose job leaves her with little flexibility to care for her 2-month-old infant, who has been sensitive to a lot of formula brands. "Most of the moms we have been helping are Black and Latinas," Castro said. "These moms really don't have the time to visit three to four places in their lunch hour." Lisette Fernandez, a 34-year-old Cuban American first-time mother of twins, has relied on friends and family to find the liquid 2-ounce bottles she needs for her boy and girl. Earlier this week, her father went to four different pharmacies before he was able to get her some boxes with the tiny bottles. They run out quickly as the babies grow. Fernandez said she wasn't able to initiate breastfeeding, trying with an electric pump but saying she produced very little. Her mother, who arrived in Miami from Cuba as a 7-year-old girl, had chosen not to breastfeed her children, saying she did not want to, and taken medication to suppress lactation. Some studies have attributed changes in breastfeeding behavior among Hispanics to assimilation, saying Latina immigrants perceive formula feeding as an American practice. "Over the last three to six weeks it has been insane," Fernandez said. "I am used to everything that COVID has brought. But worrying about my children not having milk? I did not see that coming." U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Uvalde, Texas, Sunday to sympathize with relatives and survivors of the latest mass shooting in the United States, following the killing last week of 19 school children and their two teachers. The Bidens walked past the floral tributes to the victims outside Robb Elementary School, often pausing to touch the cardboard cutout pictures of each of the 21 victims and read their names. While the Bidens paid their tributes, the U.S. Justice Department announced that at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, it would conduct a review of the police response to Tuesdays attack on the school, to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events. In the Texas shooting, law enforcement officials are being sharply questioned about why it took so long, more than an hour, to confront the gunman. The president and his wife spent nearly seven hours in the small Southwestern city, talking with those most affected by the carnage that ensued after an 18-year-old gunman burst into a fourth-grade classroom and opened fire. Biden also attended a Catholic Mass and later met with first responders. It is the second time this month that Biden and the United States have been confronted with a mass killing. He earlier visited Buffalo, in the northeastern state of New York, where a white supremacist opened fire, targeting and killing 10 Black people in a grocery store. Watch related video by Mike O'Sullivan. In the past few days, Texas law enforcement authorities have changed their accounts of exactly how the Robb Elementary massacre unfolded and their response to it. Even as children trapped in the classroom with the shooter made urgent emergency calls, pleading with police to rescue them, the incident commander on the scene, the police chief for Uvalde schools, assessed wrongly, as it turned out that it was no longer an active shooter incident but rather that the assailant, Salvador Ramos, had barricaded himself in the classroom. As a result, the incident commander, Pete Arredondo, did not immediately order police officers into the classroom to end the mayhem before more were killed. Eventually, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived at the school, burst into the classroom and killed Ramos, a high school dropout who bought two assault rifles earlier this month, a few days after he turned 18. The head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steven McCraw, said Friday that with the benefit of hindsight, "it was the wrong decision" to wait to confront the shooter. Lawmakers in Washington have long been stalemated over tightening gun purchase laws, with Democrats mostly supporting calls for stricter measures and background checks on gun buyers and Republicans almost universally opposed. In the aftermath of the Uvalde killings, a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators is meeting to try to determine the scope of what new legislation could win congressional approval. A longtime gun control proponent, Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, told ABCs This Week show Sunday, We need federal legislation. There are more Republicans interested in talking this time than after past mass shootings. Raising the age limit for assault weapons purchases or banning their sale altogetheras was done in the U.S. from 1994 to 2004 are unlikely to be part of any new legislation. Whether any of the possible changes could have prevented the Texas massacre is questionable since Ramos had no criminal record and had not been flagged for mental health care treatment. Dozens of people gathered Saturday in Uvalde to mourn and pay homage to the people killed last week. Twenty-one crosses have been placed around a fountain in the citys courthouse square, one for each of the 19 fourth-graders who died and their two teachers, Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles. A growing pile of flowers, stuffed animals and messages Love you, You will be missed surrounded the crosses. Dozens of candles burned like small eternal flames. Pastor Humberto Renovato, 33, who lives in Uvalde, asked everyone to join hands and pray. The investigation continued Saturday into the time it took for police to confront the gunman. Some 90 minutes elapsed between the beginning and the end of the deadly shooting. Ramos crashed a pickup into a ditch near the school, entered the building carrying an AR-15-style rifle and a bag of ammunition and was inside the school for 40 minutes to an hour before Border Patrol agents stormed in and killed him. Samuel Salinas, 10, said Ramos barged into his fourth-grade classroom and said, Youre all going to die. Then "he just started shooting," Salinas told ABC News. Another student, Daniel, whose mother allowed him to speak to The Washington Post, was in a classroom down the hall. He said his teacher, who quickly locked the door and turned out the lights, saved their lives. She was shot twice when the gunman fired through the doors glass window, Daniel said. For an hour, he said, the students hid in the dark. The only sounds in the room were hushed sobs and his teacher urging the students to remain quiet. 'Stay calm. Stay where you are. Dont move,'" Daniel recalled her saying. Daniel told the newspaper that he and his classmates were rescued when police broke the rooms windows and they crawled to safety. The citys 911 call center received cries for help from at least two students in the adjoining classrooms where Ramos found his victims, McCraw said earlier this week. "He's in Room 112," one girl whispered to the 911 operator at 12:03 p.m. local time Tuesday. She called again at 12:43 p.m., begging the operator to "please send the police now," and again four minutes later. At 12:51 p.m., a Border Patrol-led tactical team stormed in and ended the siege. Police have not yet found a motive for the shootings. Ramoss mother has asked the school childrens parents for forgiveness. In an interview with Televisa, a CNN affiliate, a soft-spoken Adriana Martinez said in Spanish, I dont know what he was thinking. Forgive me. Forgive my son. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Cameroon observed World Menstrual Hygiene Day Saturday with donors and health workers distributing reusable sanitary pads to several hundred poor girls displaced by terrorism and the countrys separatist crisis. Some of the girls said they were seeing sanitary pads for the first time. Also, sensitization teams are working to convince communities to stop stigmatizing girls during menstruation. Several hundred girls displaced by the separatist crisis in Cameroon's English-speaking western regions have received reusable sanitary pads, pants, soap and buckets in schools and public spaces in the capital, Yaounde. The gifts, called "dignity kits," were distributed Saturday as part of World Menstrual Hygiene Day activities by donor agencies and the government to help women and girls maintain proper hygiene. Among the several hundred girls who received the dignity kits was 14-year-old Ernestine Mbih, who said she was displaced by separatists from Babanki, a town in Cameroons English-speaking North-West region. Mbih spoke on behalf of girls who received the kits. "At the end of each month we are wondering where we are going to get money and buy [sanitary] pads, but now, with this pad that we are going to use for one year, we are so very happy, she said. It will reduce the risk of some girls getting pregnant when they go out to get money to buy pad. So we are very grateful and we are thankful that they have brought to us the most essential things that we need as women and young girls." Mbih said some girls go out for prostitution before their monthly flows begin to be able to raise about $3 to buy sanitary pads. International Menstrual Hygiene Coalition coordinator Welisane Mokwe Nkeng, said girls and women displaced by Cameroons separatist crisis live in desperate conditions, lack sanitary towels and need education on managing their periods. Menstrual hygiene education has been a hush-hush topic and many people (girls and women) don't know how to manage their periods, so education is very important, she said. Secondly, we are doing this because of the unorthodox methods that young girls use to manage their periods, especially during this time of displacement. Many of them use grass, dirty clothes, leaves and other things to pad themselves, and so we felt the need to give them an option that is healthy for them and that is going to restore their privacy and dignity." Nkeng spoke from Adagom, a Nigerian town located 60 kilometers from the Cameroon-Nigeria border, where her coalition is distributing sanitary kits to displaced Cameroonians. Cameroon officials report that many Cameroonians stigmatize girls and women during their monthly periods. The government says men force their wives to sleep on the floor during their periods out of the erroneous belief that menstruation brings bad luck. Josephine Nsono, a gender expert in Bamenda, capital of Cameroons English-speaking North-West region, said it is imperative for the government and its partners to convince communities to stop stigmatizing girls and women during their periods. "This girl had a heavy flow and her dress got stained and people see it and instead of calling her attention and helping her in a very dignifying manner, people jeer and it becomes so stigmatizing that someone feels so ashamed instead of feeling very dignified that I am a woman and I am experiencing a natural phenomenon, she said. Some men are simply overburdening their women because they don't seek to understand what menstrual hygiene is. Cameroon says it is building adequate sanitation facilities in schools and public spaces so women and girls will not face difficulties in managing their periods. The United Nations says World Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed on 28 May because menstrual cycles average 28 days in length. It says May is chosen because it is the fifth month of the year and girls and women menstruate an average of five days each month. The U.N. says the day is to advance the idea that menstruation is a biological process so girls and women can menstruate without fear or shame, and without being exposed to more vulnerabilities. The day also raises awareness of the inability of the poor to afford menstrual supplies. Ambassadors from the 27 European Union member states on Sunday examined a compromise that could enable them to break the deadlock on a Russian oil embargo ahead of an emergency summit in Brussels this week. The bloc's officials fear the absence of an agreement will cast a shadow over the two-day meeting starting Monday between European leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the gathering by video link to press the bloc to "kill Russian exports" three months after the invasion of Ukraine. The latest round of proposed sanctions by the EU has been blocked by landlocked Hungary, which has no access to seafaring oil cargo ships. Hungary is dependent for 65% of its oil needs on Russian crude supplied via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs from Russia to various points in eastern and central Europe. Budapest has rejected as inadequate a proposal to allow it two years longer than other EU states to wean itself off Russian oil. It wants at least four years and at least $860 million in EU funds to adapt its refineries to process non-Russian crude and boost pipeline capacity to neighboring Croatia. Slovakia and the Czech Republic, also supplied by the Druzhba pipeline, accepted exemptions of two and half years, diplomatic sources said. The compromise solution put to national negotiators on Sunday consists of excluding the Druzhba pipeline from a future oil embargo and only imposing sanctions on oil shipped to the EU by tanker vessel, European sources said. The Druzhba pipeline accounts for a third of all EU oil supplies from Russia. Maritime cargos account for the remaining two-thirds. The compromise was tabled by France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and by the European Council, which represents the governments of the EU nations. Its aim is to break a stalemate that has, since early May, prevented the EU from imposing a sixth round of sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. This embargo on sea deliveries would involve stopping purchases of oil within six months and of petroleum products by the end of the year. It would also impose additional sanctions on Russian banks and expand the list of Russian individuals blacklisted by the bloc. Another option under consideration would be to postpone the entire package of new sanctions until a solution can be found to provide Hungary with alternative oil supplies, the sources said. "A limited embargo that excludes pipelines will be much less painful for Putin's Russia, because finding new clients for oil supply by tankers is much less difficult," said Thomas Pellerin-Carlin of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank. The EU wants to cut funding for the Kremlin's war effort. Last year's bill for Russian oil imports was $86 billion, four times greater than that for natural gas. If the EU ambassadors succeed on Sunday in reaching a compromise on an oil embargo, it will still need to be approved by their governments before it can be put to the summit. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States has requested Tesla to provide information about the recent incident of a Model Y catching fire in Canada while the electric vehicle was on the move. A previous report stated the Tesla Model Y SUV caught fire and the driver of the EV managed to escape without any injuries. According to a Reuters report, the NHTSA said it is aware of this electric vehicle catching fire and has reached out to Tesla for more information. Tesla is yet to reply to the request as of now. The incident occurred while Jamil Jutha was driving the Tesla Model Y which the individual reportedly bought eight months back. According to the driver, the electric vehicle showed some errors and suddenly shut down. Jutha reportedly said the battery started smoking following which the electric car went up into flames. The owner of the electric vehicle also added that in order to escape, he had to smash the window by kicking it. Everything stopped, the power didn't work. The door didn't open," he was quoted. (Also read | Tesla EVs to take wind, humidity and temperature to calculate battery percentage ) It has been informed earlier that the doors of Tesla EVs are electronically operated in normal circumstances. Though, these electric vehicles from Tesla also come with a mechanical release system that has been built in for emergencies. Regarding the former incident, the driver did mention that it was not easy for him to find the emergency release system at that moment because the situation became very stressful. (Also read | In Tesla snub to India, Elon Musk says no plant before selling cars ) The safety agency said it is also aware of another fire incident involving a Tesla Model 3. This incident took place in California and the electric car caught fire while it was parked. The NHTSA has sought information regarding this incident from Tesla as well. First Published Date: Iran's seizure of two Greek-flagged oil tankers in Gulf waters is "a serious violation of international law," France's foreign ministry said Sunday, calling for the immediate release of the ships and their crews. Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf on Friday, days after Athens confirmed it would deliver to Washington Iranian oil it had seized from a Russian tanker. "We call on Iran to immediately release the crews and vessels," a French foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement. "France reiterates its commitment to the rules of international law protecting the freedom of navigation and maritime safety. We call on Iran to immediately cease its actions that contravene these rules," the statement concluded. Iran said Saturday the crews of two Greek oil tankers were in "good health" and not under arrest. But Greece has condemned Tehran's detention of the two ships as "tantamount to acts of piracy" and warned its citizens not to travel to Iran. The Revolutionary Guards - the ideological arm of Iran's military - had said it seized the tankers "due to violations," without elaborating further. Greece said one of the tankers had been sailing in international waters, while the second was near the Iranian coast when it was seized. Nine Greeks are among the crews, the Greek foreign ministry said, without specifying the number of other sailors on board. As Slovenia transitions to a new prime minister, the country's media look for signs of a reset after the hostile rhetoric and pressure that many say they experienced under the outgoing administration. Former power company manager Robert Golob and his center-left Freedom Movement celebrated a victory in elections last month. They are expected to formally take power in early June. Golob indicated that one of the first tasks will be legislation to limit political pressure on journalists and protect the independence of public media. The pledge strikes a different tone from outgoing leader Janez Jansa, whom the European Parliament criticized for hostile rhetoric and pressure directed at media. During his time in office, Jansa was handed a suspended prison sentence for verbal assaults on two female journalists. A high court upheld that ruling on May 24. Jansa's administration introduced changes seen by many as an attempt to disrupt press agency STA and broadcaster RTV Slovenia. The government at the time defended its actions, saying it was addressing bias at the networks. The Government Communications Office (GCO) echoed that view, publishing criticism of RTV on its website. Golob secured 41 out of 90 seats in parliament: more than any other party since Slovenia declared independence in 1991. His party formed a coalition with the Social Democrats and the Left. Together they hold a comfortable majority in parliament, with 53 seats. The new administration's pledge to protect media is welcomed by media analysts. "I am optimistic regarding the (media) plans of the incoming government particularly since I cannot imagine that conditions at RTV Slovenia could be any worse," said Slavko Splichal, a professor of communication at the University of Ljubljana faculty of social sciences. Splichal, who sits on RTV's program council, added, "I have no reason to doubt that the new government will indeed reduce political interfering in the public media." Period of change As well as accusations of bias, Jansa's Cabinet stopped paying the national news agency STA for almost a year in 2021. Funding resumed after the head of STA resigned and the new head managed to reach a deal with the government. At RTV Slovenia, a leadership change in 2021 led to the shortening or cancellation of several popular news programs. Many media associations and trade unions expressed support for RTV journalists. But the Association of Journalists and Publicists in a May 23 statement said that some changes "were necessary to increase pluralism and professionalism of the RTV." The association, described by some groups as supporting right-leaning media, added, "The incumbent leadership of the RTV has not done anything that would limit journalistic autonomy." Critics, however, saw the changes at RTV as a way to curb criticism of the government. An agreement signed by the new coalition partners on May 24 now seeks to address those changes with action to "prevent constant political meddling" at public media. "Our priority is to protect the independence of the STA and the RTV Slovenia and enable uninterrupted running of public service," the agreement states. The new administration did not detail how it plans to achieve those goals. Splichal, who sits on the RTV's program council as a representative of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, said any change needs to be fast to save the broadcaster. The program council, which is legally obliged to act independently, runs RTV. Currently, parliament appoints the majority of its 29 members. Analysts believe that one way to protect editorial independence could be to reduce the number of council members that parliament appoints. International view The European Parliament and rights groups have cited concerns about a decline in media freedom in Slovenia. But, says Jamie Wiseman of the International Press Institute (IPI), there is "hope among the European media freedom community that this new government can unwind some of the more detrimental aspects of the previous government's program regarding the media." The IPI will be watching for concrete actions from the incoming government. "Vital here will be the implementation of reforms which strengthen the editorial independence of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia," said Wiseman, who is the IPI's Europe advocacy officer. Other areas that need attention, Wiseman said in an email to VOA, is "the normalization of the work of the Government Communications Office (GCO); and refraining from the attempts to attack and discredit critical journalism that was so damaging under the previous administration." The GCO in recent months has posted articles to its website titled Analysis of Reporting of RTV Slovenia. The posts list content that the GCO believes shows bias against the government, including what it sees as hate speech or reports that fail to seek a government response. Journalists and academics generally see the GCO posts as improper political commentaries. The GCO has said previously that no one has dismissed the claims it makes, and that previous center-left governments have also tried to pressure the media. For their part, journalists at RTV have been vocal in their protest at changes to their network and described political pressure in the past year as unbearable. "We are here because we want to stop the aggression, we are here because we want freedom of speech," Helena Milinkovic, head of the coordination of trade unions of journalists of RTV, said during a protest and one-hour strike on May 23. "We fear for the existence of a public RTV," she said, adding that the journalists demand "editorial autonomy, and the depoliticization of the public RTV." The broadcaster is one of the country's most popular channels, with a monthly combined audience of about 700,000, according to station data. But withstanding political pressure is not the only challenge for RTV, said Splichal. The academic believes that the broadcaster needs to increase its presence on the internet and social media to attract younger viewers and ensure its long-term future. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 9:20 p.m.: Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, which won the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this month, raised $900,000 for the country's military battling the Russian invasion by selling the contest's trophy, The Associated Press reported. The group won Eurovision with their entry "Stefania. On Sunday, they sold the crystal microphone they were awarded in a Facebook auction led by Ukrainian TV presenter Serhiy Prytula, AP reported. The funds raised will be used to purchase for the armed forces the PD-2 unmanned aerial system, which includes three aircraft and a ground control station, Prytula said at the auction, according to AP. 8:15 p.m.: In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of visiting the eastern part of the country. Returning from the east to Kyiv, at this time, leaves a rather ambiguous impression. After Saltivka's silence, there is Khreshchatyk, full of people and smiles. After the roar of artillery on the frontline - the relaxation of Kyiv residents who today walked the city, he said. But it is for such happiness to live, live your normal life and just quietly walk the streets of your own city that this war is going on now. That's what we are fighting for in it. For everyone in Ukraine. Freedom and peace is what could really be felt in Kyiv today. Even in spite of the air-raid siren that sounded today as well. 7:37 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has fired Kharkiv's top security services officer for not working hard enough on the city's defense since the beginning of Russia's February 24 invasion. RFE/RL has the story. 6:18 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putins heavy-handed crackdown on dissent at home means that effective opposition to his rule can only exist outside the country, activist and former chess champion Garry Kasparov has told Current Time, a co-production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA. Members of the opposition who have stayed in Russia have no opportunity to express their views, Kasparov said in an interview on May 23 from Riga, where he participated in a meeting organized by the Free Russia Forum to discuss the consequences of Putins decision to invade Ukraine. Political life ended long ago in Russia, Kasparov said. 5:07 p.m.: 4:15 p.m.: Ukraine's capital on Sunday celebrated the 1,540th anniversary of its official founding, with residents taking to public parks and squares, where special events were held, The Associated Press reported. The Kyiv Day celebration took on a special meaning this year, given that the city was surrounded by Russian forces just months ago. 3:24 p.m.: European Union negotiators failed to reach a deal on an embargo on Russian oil but say they will continue attempts to reach an accord before the beginning of an EU summit starting on Monday, an EU official said. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the summit via video link to press for efforts to intensify sanctions against Moscow. EU countries are discussing a proposal in which member nations would accept a ban on Russian oil delivered to the EU by sea by the end of the year. Exemptions would be given to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic which get oil through the Russian Druzhba pipeline. 2:58 p.m.: The Czech Republic and Poland are sending additional weaponry to Ukraine as it struggles against the Russian offensive in the eastern part of the country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said Prague intends to send Kyiv additional weapons worth up to $30 million. "It's crucial that the aid is steady," she said. The Czech Republic has already provided more than $150 million in military aid since the Russian invasion began. Poland said it is providing Ukraine with 18 self-propelled howitzers. Poland is the second-largest donor of military equipment to Ukraine after the U.S. 1:01 p.m: Europes search for alternatives to Russian energy has dramatically increased the demand and price for Norways oil and gas. Europes second largest natural gas supplier is fending off accusations that it is profiting from the war in Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Norways gigantic oil and gas profits are indirectly preying on the war. He urged Norway to use the windfall to support the hardest-hit countries, mainly Ukraine. 12:26 p.m.: As the war rages in Ukraine, Serbias president announced he has secured an extremely favorable natural gas deal with Russia during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Associated Press reports. Serbian President Aleksander Vucic has refused to explicitly condemn Russias invasion of Ukraine and his country has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow. Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas. 11:50 a.m.: More than 682 children have been injured or killed in Ukraine, the countrys Prosecutor Generals Office said on Telegram. The statement said 242 have died, and 440 have been wounded, adding that the figures were not final as it was difficult to confirm reports in places of active fighting. 10:55 a.m.: Russia claims to have surrounded the urban center of Sievierodonetsk as it wages war for eastern Donbas -- Ukraine's industrial heartland, Agence France-Presse reports. However, a Ukrainian official denies the city has been encircled, saying government troops had repelled Russian forces from the outskirts. With an estimated 15,000 civilians remaining in Sievierodonetsk, a local official says "constant shelling" has made it difficult for anyone to get in or out. 10:01 a.m.: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops on the front lines in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, the president's office announced. Reuters reports the visit marks his first official appearance outside the Kyiv region since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. "You risk your lives for us all and for our country," the president's office website cited him as saying to the soldiers, adding that he handed out commendations and gifts. 9:34 a.m.: A branch of Ukraines Orthodox Church that remained loyal to Moscow after a 2019 schism has said it will break with the Russian church over the country's invasion of Ukraine, according to Agence France Presse. It should be one united Ukrainian church, said an Orthodox worshipper. Ukraine was given permission by the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide to form a church independent of Moscow in 2019, largely ending centuries of religious ties between the two countries. However, many parishes, especially in Ukraines east, elected to remain loyal under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate. 8:54 a.m.: Local officials say Russian and Ukrainian troops are engaging in close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city. Associated Press reports the officials say Russian forces were storming the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Sunday and that the fighting has knocked out power and cellphone service and terrorized civilians. Sievierodonetsk has emerged as an epicenter of Russias quest to conquer Ukraines industrial Donbas region. 8:16 a.m.: The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of France and Germany in a phone call on Saturday that Russia was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports, Reuters reported. "For its part, Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports," the Kremlin said. Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of weaponizing the food crisis created by its invasion of Ukraine, which has sent the prices of grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer soaring. 5:44 a.m.: The Washington Post reports that Russia's ambassador in Britain said Russia would not use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Andrei Kelin told the BBC that Russia allows the use of such weapons mainly when "the existence of the state is endangered." 5:23 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Russia has abandoned the upper age limit for people to join the military. The army had had a limit of 18-40 for Russians and 18-30 for foreigners. 4:30 a.m.: The New York Times reports that the Ukrainian army is launching a counterattack in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military says it's broken through a Russian line of defense. 3:04 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry focuses on what it terms "modern Russian messaging strategy: introducing alternative narratives, however unconvincing, to complicate audiences understanding." It says Russia offered to provide a humanitarian corridor on the sea for vessels carrying food in return for having sanctions lifted. Russia, it says, is "prepared to leverage global food security for its own political aim and then present itself as the reasonable actor and blame the West for any failure." "Russias attempt to achieve a reduction in the severity of international sanctions also highlights the stresses sanctions are placing on the regime," the update concludes. 2:03 a.m.: Ukrainian news site Ukrinform reports that more than 50 Ukrainian athletes have been killed in the conflict with Russia. The site quotes Minister of Youth and Sports Vadym Huttsait as saying, ""More than 50 Ukrainian athletes died in the war while defending our land. These are all our guys who played different sports. There are still many athletes who currently serve with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some of them in the territorial defense units. We thank all fighters defending our country." He also noted that the Russian invasion had all but ended training in Ukraine for athletes preparing for world and European championships, and the Olympics. 1:02 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, says that Russian President Vladimir Putin is " inflicting unspeakable suffering on Ukrainians and demanding horrible sacrifices of his own people in an effort to seize a city that does not merit the cost." Its latest update characterizes the invasion of Ukraine as "a desperate and bloody offensive" that has the Russians "paying a price for their current tactical success that is out of proportion to any real operational or strategic benefit they can hope to receive." It also notes that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties in Severodonetsk, and the fighting also took a toll on civilians and infrastructure. 12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he'll address the European Council during its meeting Monday and Tuesday. Al Jazeera quotes him as saying, In particular, I will talk about the following: terror, which has become in fact the only form of action of the Russian state against Europe. Terror on the land of Ukraine. Terror in the energy market of Europe, not just our country. Terror in the food market, and on a global scale. And what type of terror will be next? Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. Shanghai said on Sunday "unreasonable" curbs on businesses will be removed from June 1 as it looks to lift its COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing reopened parts of its public transport as well as some malls and other venues as infections stabilized. The Chinese commercial hub of 25 million people aims to essentially end from Wednesday a two-month lockdown that has severely damaged the economy and seen many residents lose income, struggle to source food and to cope with the isolation. The painful coronavirus curbs in major Chinese cities run counter to trends seen in the rest of the world, which has largely tried to return to normal life even as infections spread. Shanghai, China's most populous city, will end many conditions for businesses to resume work from June 1. The city also launched measures to support its economy, including reducing some taxes on car purchases, accelerating issuance of local government bonds, and speeding up approvals of real estate projects. Shanghai will ask banks to renew loans to small and medium firms worth a total of $15 billion this year. "We will fully support and organize the resumption of work and production of enterprises in various industries and fields," vice mayor Wu Qing told reporters, adding that "unreasonable" COVID restrictions on businesses would be lifted. Wu did not give details of which restrictions would be cancelled. Shanghai in April started publishing "white lists" of important manufacturers in the auto industry, life sciences, chemicals and semiconductors allowed to resume operations. But many of the priority companies had suppliers who were unable to reopen and so they still faced logistical bottlenecks. Many industry executives also complained about onerous COVID curbs, as they needed to find sleeping quarters for staff trying to isolate and to implement rigorous disinfection. Most businesses in the city are still shut. All "white lists" would be abolished, Wu said. Earlier on Sunday, city government spokeswoman Yin Xin said Shanghai would ease testing requirements from Wednesday for people who want to enter public areas, to encourage a return to work. "The current epidemic situation in the city continues to stabilize and improve," Yin said, adding Shanghai's strategy was "pivoting towards normalized prevention and control." People entering public venues or taking public transport would need to show a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours, up from 48 hours previously. Bus services within the Pudong New Area, home to Shanghai's largest airport and the main financial district, would fully resume by Monday, officials said. Plaza 66, a mall in central Shanghai that hosts Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands, reopened on Sunday. Authorities have been slowly relaxing curbs, with a focus on getting manufacturing going again. More people have been allowed to leave their homes and more businesses can reopen, though many residents remain largely confined to housing compounds, and most shops are only open for delivery service. Private cars are not allowed out without approval, and most of the city's public transport is shut. Authorities have yet to announced detailed plans for how the lockdown will be lifted. Gyms and libraries In the capital Beijing, libraries, museums, theatres and gyms were allowed to reopen on Sunday, though with limits on numbers of people, in districts that have seen no community COVID-19 cases for seven consecutive days. The districts of Fangshan and Shunyi will end work-from-home rules, while public transport will largely resume in the two districts as well as in Chaoyang, the city's largest. Still, restaurant dining is banned throughout the city. Shanghai reported just over 100 new COVID cases on Sunday, while Beijing recorded 21, both in line with a falling trend nationwide. China's economy has shown signs of recovery this month following an April slump but activity is weaker than last year and many analysts expect a second-quarter contraction. The strength and sustainability of any recovery will depend largely on COVID, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant proving hard to wipe out, and prone to comebacks. Investors have worried about the lack of a roadmap for exiting the zero-COVID strategy of ending all outbreaks at just about any cost, a signature policy of President Xi Jinping. He is expected to secure an unprecedented third leadership term at a congress of the ruling Communist Party in the autumn. Markets expect more support for the economy. "We expect policies to ease further on the fiscal front to boost demand, given downward pressures on growth and the uncertainty of the recovery pace," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a Friday note. Standing in the middle of a stretch of land surrounded by dunes and pine forest, Juan Romero examines the cracked ground then stares at the dusty horizon. "It's dry... really dry," the retired teacher said at the huge Donana National Park in southern Spain, home to one of Europe's largest wetlands, which is threatened by intensive farming. "At this time of the year this should be covered with water and full of flamingos," added Romero, a member of Save Donana, a group that has been fighting for years to protect the park. Water supplies to the park have declined dramatically due to climate change and the over-extraction of water by neighboring strawberry farms, often through illegal wells, scientists say. The situation could soon get worse as the regional government of Andalusia, where Donana is located, has proposed expanding irrigation rights for strawberry farmers near the park. It's a battle pitting environmentalists against politicians and farmers, and the proposal to widen irrigation rights has drawn backlash from the EU, the UN and major European grocery store chains. The proposal would regularize nearly 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) of berry farmland currently irrigated by illegal wells, said Juanjo Carmona of the local branch of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). "For Donana it would be a disaster," he added. The park, whose diverse ecosystem of lagoons, marshes, forests and dunes stretch across 100,000 hectares, is on the migratory route of millions of birds each year and is home to many rare species such as the Iberian lynx. "Donana is a paradise for migrating birds. But this ecosystem is threatened," said Romero. The driving force behind the plan to extend irrigation rights is the conservative Popular Party (PP), which governs the southern region of Andalusia with the support of far-right party Vox. The plan's fate will be decided after a snap poll in Andalusia on June 19 but with both parties riding high in the polls the controversial proposal looks set to go head. 'Red gold' Defenders of the proposal argue it will aid those who unfairly missed out during a previous regularization of farms in the area put in place in 2014 under a Socialist government. About 9,000 hectares of farms were regularized but another 2,000 hectares that started being farmed after 2004 were deemed illegal. "This plan was badly done. It should have used 2014 as the cut-off date," said Rafael Segovia, a lawmaker with Vox in Andalusia's outgoing regional parliament. The proposed amnesty "does not present any danger for Donana", Segovia said, adding people should take into account the "economic importance of the sector". Huelva, the drought-prone province where the park is located, produces 300,000 tonnes of strawberries a year, 90 percent of Spain's output. Known locally as "red gold", strawberry farming employs some 100,000 people and accounts for nearly eight percent of Andalusia's economic output. UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency, has designated the park one of its World Heritage sites and has called for illegal farms near Donana to be dismantled. It has warned that the regional government's plan would have an impact that would be "difficult to reverse". The European Commission has also weighed in. It has threatened to impose "hefty fines" if any steps were taken to extract more water from Donana park after a European court ruling last year scolded Spain for not protecting its ecosystem. And around 20 European supermarket chains, including Lidl, Aldi and Sainsbury's, sent the regional government a letter urging it to abandon the plan. 'Ruin us' Consumers may get the impression that all strawberries in Huelva come from illegal farms, said Manuel Delgado, the spokesman of an association that represents some 300 local farms. "This situation will likely cause a major reputational problem," he said. The group, the association of farmers Puerta de Donana, argues the plan to extend irrigation rights would "only serve the interests of a minority". "Water resources are limited," said Delgado, who fears farms will be forced to drastically reduce the amount of land they cultivate due to a lack of water. "That would ruin us," he said. Backers of the plan, including other larger farmers' associations, reject these concerns. "There is no water problem in Huelva, it's a lie," said Segovia, the Vox lawmaker. He said water could be diverted to the province's farms from the Guadiana River on the border with Portugal, a solution rejected as "not sustainable" by the WWF. "When there is no rain, there is no rain everywhere," said the WWF's Carmona, adding Spain should instead rethink its agricultural model. Passions are running high. Romero said ecologists who oppose the plan have received death threats. "Without radical changes to curb the overexploitation of water resources, Donana will be a desert," he said. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday lifted a state of emergency imposed since last year's military coup, the ruling sovereign council said. Burhan "issued a decree lifting the state of emergency nationwide," the council said in a statement. The order was made "to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period," it added. Sunday's decision came after a meeting with senior military officials recommending the state of emergency be lifted and people detained under an emergency law be freed. It also came after the latest calls by U.N. special representative Volker Perthes for removing the state of emergency, following the killing of two protesters during anti-coup protests on Saturday. Sudan has been rocked by mass protests since the coup, which have been met by a violent crackdown that has left nearly 100 people dead and hundreds wounded, according to pro-democracy medics. Hundreds of activists have also been rounded up in the clampdown under emergency laws. On Sunday, military officials also recommended allowing the live TV unit of the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera to resume operations in Sudan, after authorities banned it in January for "unprofessional" coverage of protests. Sudan has been reeling from deepening unrest since Burhan led the October 25 coup, upending a fragile transition following the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir. The military takeover triggered widespread international condemnation and punitive measures, including crucial aid cuts by Western governments pending the resumption of the transition to civilian rule. Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, is also struggling from a plunging economy due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under Bashir. The United Nations, along with the African Union and regional bloc IGAD, have been pushing to facilitate Sudanese-led talks to resolve the crisis. Western governments have backed the UN-AU-IGAD bid and urged Sudanese factions to participate in the process. Burhan has pledged to free political detainees to set the stage for talks among Sudanese factions. Last month, Sudanese authorities released several anti-coup civilian leaders arrested in the crackdown. Typically, I feel prepared, Susan Morley-Zender, a New Orleans, Louisiana, resident told VOA when asked about the upcoming start of hurricane season, but this year Im much more anxious. Hurricane season is a six-month window from June 1 through the end of November in which the U.S. states along the Gulf of Mexico and much of the Atlantic seaboard are at the greatest risk of being devastated by a tropical storm or hurricane. Meteorologists poring over data and weather models agree 2022 could produce an especially treacherous season for Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and historically one of Americas most storm-ravaged states Louisiana. Were predicting a 65% chance that the 2022 hurricane season will be above normal, Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane outlook forecaster for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told VOA. If Rosencrans is correct, this will be the seventh consecutive year above normal. While unable to predict the exact number of storms that will make landfall, NOAA released an outlook this week that projects 14 to 21 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and three to six major hurricanes will form in ocean waters around the region this year. Its frightening news for south Louisiana residents who, due to their proximity to the Gulf, are especially exposed. And the news is even worse because weve had a few difficult years in a row, Morley-Zender noted. Her home is still damaged from Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana last August as a Category 4 storm with 240 km/h winds. The second-most intense hurricane in Louisiana history, Ida left hundreds of thousands of residents with damaged or destroyed homes and without electricity. We have $145,000 in damage, and were having an impossible time getting the insurance company to cover it, Morley-Zender said. Our roof is still damaged, and our home needs to be gutted, but here comes another hurricane season. A target for hurricanes Morley-Zender said shes not alone. I was flying home recently, and you could still see hundreds of blue tarps covering roofs, she said. We havent recovered yet. Louisianas propensity to take direct hits from hurricanes has been well documented since the first French settlers arrived and began keeping records. But experts note the problem has worsened in recent years. The past few years have been extremely busy for the Gulf Coast and especially for Louisiana, said Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist with the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. In the past two years Louisiana has had six landfalling named storms, four of which were hurricanes and three of which were major. By comparison, the state didnt have a single major hurricane between 2006 and 2019. Whats to blame for the recent increase of hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf Coast region? According to experts, its a confluence of many factors. Eighty-five percent of these storms develop in the Atlantic Ocean between western Africa and the Caribbean. In recent hurricane seasons, the expansive Bermuda-Azores high pressure feature has been positioned in such a way that it ushers more storm systems from the Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf of Mexico. Once there, according to Xubin Zeng, director of the Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Collaborative at the University of Arizona, warmer-than-usual water in the Gulf of Mexico makes those storms stronger than they would be otherwise. Those warmer waters, Zeng said, are due to climate change, but also to a multi-decade cyclical pattern that sees the heating and cooling of the oceans. We are currently in the warmer portion of that cycle, increasing the likelihood of stronger storms. Adding to the confluence of factors is the La Nina climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that affects both Pacific and Atlantic storms. Whereas El Nino sends stronger winds to the eastern part of the United States, which can act to break up tropical storms and hurricanes, Zeng explained, La Nina produces less wind, allowing storms to continue to strengthen. And, on top of all that, there is something called the Loop Current positioned in recent years in a specific part of the Gulf of Mexico that supercharges hurricanes heading toward the Gulf Coast states, he continued. Its more warm water, and its how Hurricane Katrina and more recently Hurricane Ida were able to get so strong. So far this season, the Loop Current seems positioned to do the same thing. Being prepared Zeng said 2005, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and 2021, when Ida came ashore, were two of the most active hurricane seasons on record. Through his work at the University of Arizona, he believes this year will be more like last year than 2005. While no one wants a repeat of 2005 when Katrina caused over 1,000 fatalities and more than $100 billion in damage, this years forecast is still bad news for Gulf Coast residents still recovering from past hurricanes. Its exhausting, Chris Sisk told VOA. Sisk is a bankruptcy and debt settlement lawyer in Louisiana. Many of his clients are struggling to make mortgage payments while also overseeing repairs on their hurricane-damaged homes. Youre either dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane or bracing for another, imagining the worst and how it will affect you and your family. For people with limited income, its only harder. In the south Louisiana communities of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, for example, more than 5,000 families are still in or waiting for temporary FEMA housing while their hurricane-damaged homes sit unrepaired. It complicates preparing for the upcoming hurricane season when we still have so many who are vulnerable because of the previous one, explained Anna Nguyen, NOLA Ready Communications Director for the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness. Still, city, state and federal officials say they are working hard to ensure New Orleans is ready if storms make landfall this year. Hurricane Ida, Nguyen said, showed the city government how important it was to prioritize the most vulnerable, including low-income residents, the elderly, the unhoused, those with no vehicles and residents who need uninterrupted medical assistance or depend on energy-powered medical devices. But regardless of such efforts, challenges remain. Experts say, for example, despite the regions recent and tragic history with deadly storms, pleas for residents to prepare for hurricane season sometimes fall on deaf ears. There are many who take hurricane season seriously, especially after so many damaging storms in recent years, AccuWeather lead hurricane forecaster Dan Kottlowski told VOA, but there are others who become complacent especially if their home escaped a storm unscathed. Hurricane Ida, Kottlowski said, is a good example, because New Orleans the largest city in the region missed the brunt of the storm. If the hurricane had drifted just 25 kilometers to the east, the damage could have been even more severe. You have a lot of old-time residents who can list all these storms they survived over the years, he said, but theyre missing a really important point. Were not talking about the storms of 30 years ago anymore. Todays hurricanes are traveling over warmer water. Theyre more frequent, theyre stronger and you have to prepare for them now. Thats the annual process many Gulf Coast residents are engaged in now, with the start of hurricane season looming. Theyre making sure generators are working, that they have evacuation plans in place and that they have emergency supplies of food and water at the ready. Its a scary time for many, and inconvenient for all. In recent years, some have chosen to move away rather than risk the uncertainty of another stormy season. Most decide to stay, however. Its my home, explained New Orleanian Timothy Smith, an electrician. This is one of the pains of living in the best city in the world. Europe's frantic search for alternatives to Russian energy has dramatically increased the demand and price for Norway's oil and gas. As the money pours in, Europe's second-biggest natural gas supplier is fending off accusations that it's profiting from the war in Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who is looking to the Scandinavian country to replace some of the gas Poland used to get from Russia, said Norway's "gigantic" oil and gas profits are "indirectly preying on the war." He urged Norway to use that windfall to support the hardest-hit countries, mainly Ukraine. The comments last week touched a nerve, even as some Norwegians wonder whether they're doing enough to combat Russia's war by increasing economic aid to Ukraine and helping neighboring countries end their dependence on Russian energy to power industry, generate electricity and fuel vehicles. Taxes on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies have been common in Europe to help people cope with soaring energy bills, now exacerbated by the war. Spain and Italy both approved them, while the United Kingdom's government plans to introduce one. Morawiecki is asking Norway to go further by sending oil and profits to other nations. Norway, one of Europe's richest countries, committed 1.09% of its national income to overseas development one of the highest percentages worldwide including more than $200 million in aid to Ukraine. With oil and gas coffers bulging, some would like to see even more money earmarked to ease the effects of the war and not skimmed from the funding for agencies that support people elsewhere. "Norway has made dramatic cuts into most of the U.N. institutions and support for human rights projects in order to finance the cost of receiving Ukrainian refugees," said Berit Lindeman, policy director of the human rights group, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. She helped organize a protest Wednesday outside Parliament in Oslo, criticizing government priorities and saying the Polish remarks had "some merits." "It looks really ugly when we know the incomes have skyrocketed this year," Lindeman said. Oil and gas prices were already high amid an energy crunch and have spiked because of the war. Natural gas is trading at three to four times what it was at the same time last year. International benchmark Brent crude oil burst through $100 a barrel after the invasion three months ago and has rarely dipped below since. Norwegian energy giant Equinor, which is majority owned by the state, earned four times more in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The bounty led the government to revise its forecast of income from petroleum activities to 933 billion Norwegian kroner ($97 billion) this year more than three times what it earned in 2021. The vast bulk will be funneled into Norway's massive sovereign wealth fund the world's largest to support the nation when oil runs dry. The government isn't considering diverting it elsewhere. Norway has "contributed substantial support to Ukraine since the first week of the war, and we are preparing to do more," State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson said by email. He said the country has sent financial support, weapons and over 2 billion kroner in humanitarian aid "independently of oil and gas prices." European countries, meanwhile, have helped inflate Norwegian energy prices by scrambling to diversify their supply away from Russia. They have been accused of helping fund the war by continuing to pay for Russian fossil fuels. That energy reliance "provides Russia with a tool to intimidate and to use against us, and that has been clearly demonstrated now," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, told the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Russia has halted natural gas to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria for refusing a demand to pay in rubles. The 27-nation European Union is aiming to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas by two-thirds by year's end through conservation, renewable development and alternative supplies. Europe is pleading with Norway, along with countries like Qatar and Algeria, for help with the shortfall. Norway delivers 20% to 25% of Europe's natural gas, versus Russia's 40% before the war. It is important for Norway to "be a stable, long-term provider of oil and gas to the European markets," Deputy Energy Minister Amund Vik said. But companies are selling on volatile energy markets, and "with the high oil and gas prices seen since last fall, the companies have daily produced near maximum of what their fields can deliver," he said. Even so, Oslo has responded to European calls for more gas by providing permits to operators to produce more this year. Tax incentives mean the companies are investing in new offshore projects, with a new pipeline to Poland opening this fall. "We are doing whatever we can to be a reliable supplier of gas and energy to Europe in difficult times. It was a tight market last fall and is even more pressing now," said Ola Morten Aanestad, a Equinor spokesman. The situation is a far cry from June 2020, when prices crashed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Norway's previous government issued tax incentives for oil companies to spur investment and protect jobs. Combined with high energy prices, the incentives that run out at the end of the year have prompted companies in Norway to issue a slew of development plans for new oil and gas projects. Yet those projects will not produce oil and gas until later this decade or even further in the future, when the political situation may be different, and many European countries are hoping to have shifted most of their energy use to renewables. By then, Norway is likely to face the more familiar criticism that it is contributing to climate change. Russias military says it has taken the eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman, a key railway hub in the Donetsk region. The capture could signal a shift in momentum in the Ukraine war. "Following the joint actions of the units of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian armed forces, the town of Krasny Liman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," the defense ministry said in a statement, using the Russian name for Lyman. On Saturday, Russia also said it has successfully tested hypersonic missiles in the Arctic. The defense ministry said the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile traveled 1,000 kilometers and "successfully hit" a target in the Arctic. Taking control of Lyman sets the stage for Russia to begin the next phase of its offensive in the Donbas region. The town is located 40 kilometers west of Sievierodonetsk, the largest Donbas city still held by Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk, a main focus of Moscows offensive, is now under heavy assault. The governor of the Luhansk region, which along with Donetsk makes up the Donbas, said Friday that Russian troops have entered Sievierodonetsk. "If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion," the British defense ministry said on Saturday. The eastern Donbas region is Ukraine's industrial heartland and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of carrying out a "genocide" there. In his nightly video address Friday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will defend "as much as our current defense resources allow." He sounded a defiant note against Russias offensive in the Ukraines east: If the occupiers think that Lyman or Sievierodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. Donbas will be Ukrainian. Ukraine seeks advanced rockets U.S. military officials acknowledge they have spoken to Ukrainian officials repeatedly about Kyivs requests for newer, more advanced weapons that could help stave off Russian gains in the Donbas but refuse to say publicly whether those systems will be delivered anytime soon. Ukraine has been pleading for weeks with the U.S. to get American-made Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, or MLRS, which are more powerful and more maneuverable than the howitzers and other artillery systems Washington and the West have provided to date. Those pleas have only gotten louder as Russian forces have pushed ahead in eastern Ukraine, making what senior U.S. defense officials have described as incremental gains in a fight that has largely featured artillery and other so-called long-range fire. We're mindful and aware of Ukrainian asks privately and publicly for what is known as a Multiple Launch Rocket System, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters. But I wont get ahead of a decision that hasnt been made yet. Were in constant communication with them about their needs, he added. We're working every single day to get weapons and systems into Ukraine, and every single day there are weapons and systems getting into Ukraine that are helping them, literally, in the fight. There are some indications, however, that U.S. officials may be ready to send Ukraine MLRS to help push back the latest Russian offensive. Multiple U.S. officials, speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity, said the Biden administration is leaning toward sending some MLRS to Ukraine, with an announcement possible in the next week. Later Friday, two U.S. officials speaking to Politico confirmed that the U.S. is inclined to send MLRS to Ukraine but said a final decision has not yet been made. The United States has two multiple launch rocket systems the M270 and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. Both fire similar 227 mm rockets. The M270 can fire up to 12 rockets, while the more agile M142 can fire up to six. Depending on the type of rocket, the M270 can hit targets as far away as 70 kilometers, which is twice the range of the U.S. howitzers currently in Ukraines arsenal. The HIMARS system can hit targets as far away as 300 kilometers. Ukraines top military official, Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny, on Thursday took to Telegram, calling for "weapons that will allow us to hit the enemy at a big distance." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded by warning that supplying Ukraine with weapons that could reach Russian territory would be a "a serious step towards unacceptable escalation." The debate over how best to supply Ukraine with weapons comes as Russian forces in eastern Ukraine appeared to be making more progress despite what U.S. military officials described as stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops. Russian-backed separatists Friday claimed to have captured the center of Lyman, a key railway hub in the Donbas. Other Russian forces managed to encircle most of Sievierodonetsk, the easternmost city under Ukrainian control, with some reports indicating Russian forces are also now in the city itself. Ukrainian officials in Sievierodonetsk said 90% of the city has been destroyed by shelling but Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai remained defiant in a message Friday on social media. "The Russians will not be able to capture Luhansk region in the coming days as analysts have predicted," he said. We will have enough strength and resources to defend ourselves. However, Gaidai also admitted it is possible that in order not to be surrounded we will have to retreat. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday spoke by phone with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. According to Nehammer, Putin offered to complete natural gas deliveries to Austria and to discuss a prisoner swap with Ukraine. "The Russian president has given a commitment that there must be and should be access to the prisoners of war including to the International Red Cross, the Austrian chancellor said. On the other side, of course, he also demands access to Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. However, Nehammer said he was doubtful Putin was interested in any negotiations to end the war. "I have the impression that Putin wants to create facts now that I assume he will take into the negotiations [later]," he said. VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Suspected Zanu PF supporters allegedly attacked Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists on Sunday soon after party leader Nelson Chamisa addressed thousands of people in Kwekwe, Midlands Province. In a tweet, party spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, said, Zanu PF thugs stormed our #Kwekwerally today after President @nelsonchamisas address & violently attacked CCC supporters. 3 people were hospitalized. Zanu PF has turned to political violence as it fears CCCs mass popular support as we approach 2023. The persecution must stop! The by-election victory celebrations are part of a nationwide series of rallies being held by Chamisas party to thank the people for voting for their candidates in the March 26 by-elections. CCC won most of the council and parliamentary seats to fill vacant council and parliamentary seats following the recall by the opposition MDC-T of those that were deemed to be affiliated to the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, once led by Chamisa. Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant commissioner Paul Nyathi, was unavailable for comment as he was not responding to calls on his mobile phone. The CCC is also looking for its member, Moreblessing Ali, who was allegedly abducted by suspected Zanu PF activists. In a tweet, Mahere said, Yesterday, @CCCZimbabwe led hundreds of citizens in a search party for Moreblessing Ali. We roped in @PoliceZimbabwe, MPs, councillors & community leaders to search for her in Nyatsime where the enforced disappearance took place. We continue to demand her safe return. Mahere noted that her family is worried about her abduction. Moreblessing Ali is feared by her family to have been abducted. She was last seen on 24 May then bundled into a car by a Zanu PF mob. Shes a CCC activist targeted for her opposition to the regime. Please RETWEET to raise awareness so shes urgently found! Zimbabwe is expected to hold crucial general elections next year amid fears of an outbreak of political violence. Photo provided by the Indonesian national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) taken on May 29, 2022 shows rescuers approaching survivors floating on the water during a rescue mission for a sunken ship in the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua) JAKARTA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen victims of a sunken ship were rescued safely by rescuers on Sunday, bringing the total number of those who survived the tragic accident in central Indonesia to 31, a senior official said. The 14 people have been rushed into nearby seaports in South Sulawesi province, Yusuf Latief, spokesman for the national search and rescue office, told Xinhua over phone. "Based on the manifest, the ship carried 42 people, meaning that 11 people remain missing," said Latief. "The search and rescue mission will resume tomorrow (Monday) for the 11 missing persons," the spokesman said. He said that the mission will be carried out for seven days, in line with the procedures. Indonesian rescuers intensified the operation to find and help the missing people on Sunday, involving navy, police and sailors and deploying a chopper and several ships with over 100 personnel, Isran A, a rescuer in charge at the information center of the provincial search and rescue office, told Xinhua. The ship sank after being hit by huge waves in the Makassar strait of the province on Thursday, but the rescuers did not get the information about the accident until Saturday, according to Wahid D.J. a senior official at the search and rescue office. The ship suffered an engine failure when it was hit by huge waves, he told Xinhua. The vessel departed from Paotere harbor in Makassar, capital of the province, and headed to a seaport in Pangkajene district in the province, according to the official. Photo provided by the Indonesian national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) taken on May 29, 2022 shows survivors of a sunken ship onboard a rubber boat after being rescued from the water in the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua) Photo provided by the Indonesian national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) taken on May 29, 2022 shows survivors of a sunken ship onboard a rubber boat after being rescued from the water in the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua) During the record-breaking housing boom of the past two years, a drastic under-supply of homes for sale has bedeviled buyers and delighted sellers. Now, the squeeze is slowly easing a shift that could mark the start of a much-anticipated cooling of the white-hot housing market. The abnormal conditions of the past two years have been brutal for buyers. Because the demand for homes outpaced supply by such a wide margin, buyers have faced month after month of steep price increases. In desperation, many home shoppers have waded into bidding wars and even waived contingencies for appraisals and inspections. Housing economists measure the stockpile of homes for sale in months of supply. In January, the number was just 1.6 months, a record low, according to the National Association of Realtors. The figure has ticked up each month since, reaching 1.7 months in February, 1.9 months in March and 2.2 months in April. The real estate rule of thumb says that a balanced market, one that favors neither buyers nor sellers, is characterized by five to six months of supply. So this is still very much a sellers market but the picture looks less skewed today than it did a few months ago. Housing supply has started to improve, albeit at an extremely sluggish pace, Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors chief economist, said in a statement. Joel Kan, an economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, is similarly both heartened and underwhelmed by the inventory trends. At just over a two-month supply, inventory is still extremely low by historical standards, and the recent slowdown in residential construction activity may prolong this shortage, he says. Why the inventory shortage is easing The inventory of homes for sale has expanded in part because home prices are soaring out of reach, and thereby tamping down demand. The median price of an existing home sold in April was $391,200, a record high and up 15 percent from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, the number of sales retreated a bit. Price increases, combined with a recent run-up in mortgage rates, have created affordability challenges for buyers. The average cost of a 30-year mortgage was just 3 percent in August 2021, according to Bankrates national survey of lenders. By mid-May, the number had soared to 5.45 percent. That is causing people to pause, Pappas says. Andrew Sachs, a Keller Williams broker in Newtown, Connecticut, says he has begun to notice signs of a cooler market. There are fewer bidding wars. Maybe the seller gets asking price, but they dont get eight bids that push it over asking price, he says. A seller cant ask for the world and get it, so everything is going to be more negotiable. For the past two years, buyers who wanted to close on a deal had been all but forced to make aggressive bids on multiple properties. Now, the pendulum might be inching back in their favor. We are seeing some pockets of normalization, Sachs says. The more people who can buy homes, the healthier overall the economy will be. Why housing supply is so far below demand A few reasons that the housing shortage has grown so extreme: Builders cant build quickly enough to meet demand: Homebuilders pulled way back after the last crash, and they never fully ramped up to pre-2007 levels. Now, theres no way for them to buy land and win regulatory approvals quickly enough to quench demand. While they are building as much as they can, the massive suburban developments that were common from 1950 through 2010 are now rare. Demographic trends are creating new buyers: Theres strong demand for homes on many fronts. Many Americans who already owned homes decided during the pandemic that they needed bigger places. Millennials, a huge group, are now in their prime buying years. And Hispanic buyers are a young, growing demographic also keen on homeownership. The usual supply spigot is turned off: In a counterintuitive result of the hot market, homeowners arent eager to sell, because they know theyll have to do battle to find another property. Whats more, there are almost no foreclosures these days, removing a small but reliable source of homes from the market. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. Placeholder while article actions load Sri Lanka has a habit of selling off its assets when times are tough. And it doesnt get much tougher than this. The tiny island nation is in default and in desperate need of $4 billion to pay for food, fuel and fertilizer to stave off a deeper crisis. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The newly appointed prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe his sixth time in the job wasted no time in announcing the government would privatize Sri Lankan Airlines, which prior to the pandemic had flown to 126 destinations in more than 60 countries. The carrier struggled with a stretched balance sheet even before Covid-19 and may fail to make payments to aircraft lessors, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote last month. It had lost $125 million in the year through March 2021 and will likely struggle to find a buyer willing to take it on. But when a country has only one days stock of gasoline and not enough dollars to pay for the three ships carrying crude and furnace oil anchored off the coast, selling anything that isnt nailed down starts to look like a worthy strategy. The problem is, Sri Lanka has already essentially given away some of its most strategic points to China, which until recently was working hard to expand its footprint there. Now, Beijing has offered loans of a few hundred million dollars, Wickremesinghe told the Financial Times, while his government is also seeking to renegotiate existing debts to China, amounting to around $3.5 billion. Advertisement Wickremesinghe is pushing to fast-track talks with the International Monetary Fund, but his negotiators havent yet reached a staff-level agreement with the multilateral lender. And until the loans start flowing, Sri Lanka is living day-to-day. Protesters have established a permanent presence in the capital, Colombo, and continue to demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Give us back our stolen money, one sign reads, as their fury at the governments role in the economic crisis shows no sign of subsiding. China is Sri Lankas single largest bilateral creditor, and its white elephants the Chinese-built Hambantota port and little-used airport near the ancestral village of the Rajapaksa family have contributed to citizens rage against the political dynasty that includes both the president, and his brother Mahinda, who on May 9 resigned as prime minister following violence that left nine people dead and dozens wounded. Protesters set fire to the Rajapaksa family home in Hambantota and destroyed monuments to their parents in what was a culmination of months of growing civil unrest over their disastrous fertilizer ban that has led to ongoing food shortages, the failure to handle the foreign-currency crisis, and their inexplicable delays in seeking international aid. Theres also the Colombo Port City, which was meant to position the capital as the next big Asian financial center. But its status as a special economic zone means the government sees little benefit for the scar thats been created along the waterfront. It, like the port, is controlled by a Chinese-owned company, with a significant portion of it on a 99-year lease. Advertisement Of course, not only Beijing seeks to exert influence in Sri Lanka. Indias slice may be smaller, but it continues to hold significant sway simply via its political and economic sway in the region. New Delhi has provided more than $3.5 billion in assistance this year to help pay for fuel, food and medicine. The arrival of Indian shipments of diesel and petrol these past two weeks have caused chaos in Colombo as citizens flocked to fuel stations to try and fill their vehicles. In September last year, one of Indias largest companies, the Adani Group, entered into a $700 million deal to develop a deep-water container terminal in Sri Lanka in what the Sydney-based Lowy Institute described as a strategic game-changer in the battle for influence between Beijing and New Delhi. It will sit next to the Chinese-run terminal at Colombo Port (China Merchant Ports Group Co. also runs Hambantota Port). Then in January, the Indian Oil Corp. subsidiary Lanka IOC took a 49% stake in the joint development of the Trincomalee oil tank farm, with Ceylon Petroleum Corp. maintaining a 51% stake in the finalization of a deal that was struck in 1987, during Rajiv Gandhis tenure as Indias prime minister. Sri Lankas location along one of the worlds busiest shipping routes means its crucial for maintaining global supply chains. Advertisement So what else can the country privatize? Its a question thats worrying political economists like Ahilan Kadirgamar, who is concerned about the social impact of key assets leaving government hands. Kadirgamar, a senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna, said officials were most likely to consider the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Ceylon Petroleum Corp. He predicts there will be significant resistance to such a move. The electricity board is one of the the nations social strengths, he said. Few developing countries have the kind of electricity connectivity and services as Sri Lanka does. Even day-wage laboring families have access to electricity, which benefits their childrens education. The IMF will be pressing the government to reduce the agencys losses, Kadirgamar predicts, and the government may be tempted to fill its coffers via a sale rather than reforming the sector. For now, the country appears to have no other option but to rely on India and Chinas largesse. The World Bank said that until Colombo puts in place an adequate macroeconomic policy framework that restores stability and growth, it does not intend to offer new financing. If Sri Lanka can hold off on selling the silver, it may have a fighting chance to put the economy back together again. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: Sri Lanka Is a Preview of a Global Default Crisis: Ruth Pollard The Great Chinese White Elephant of Sri Lanka: Andy Mukherjee In Africas Debt Fog, China Loses Too: Clara Ferreira Marques This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Ruth Pollard is a Bloomberg Opinion editor. Previously she was South and Southeast Asia government team leader at Bloomberg News and Middle East correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load The UK governments 25% windfall tax on oil and gas company profits, along with the accompanying investment allowance that will let them avoid most of it, will do little to address the countrys pressing energy needs. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, didnt dare utter the words windfall tax something the opposition parties had been urging him to impose for months referring to it instead as a special levy. It amounts to the same thing. The tax will remain in place until oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels, although he gave no hint as to what those levels might be. The grants to households that accompany the tax are undoubtedly welcome, and much needed by people facing another hefty increase in their fuel bills later this year. Advertisement To soften the blow for companies, he also announced an investment allowance that will permit them to offset 80% of the tax through new investment in the North Sea. But that wont help future-proof the UK energy system. Investment in new energy supplies typically have long lead-times. It doesnt matter whether its North Sea oil and gas fields, micro nuclear power plants, or wind farms. Were talking years, not months, before an investment idea translates into significant new supplies. There are two things the country needs desperately ahead of more oil and gas production. 1. Storage capacity for natural gas The UK has nowhere to store natural gas in the summer months to help meet peak winter demand. With gas a common fuel for home heating, demand is highly seasonal. Winter use is typically more than twice as high as during the summer. Advertisement Until five years ago, the UK stored gas for winter use in a depleted field in the North Sea, called Rough. Withdrawals from storage met about 10% of the UKs gas demand in the winter of 2014 to 2015, with Rough accounting for about 70% of that. But that facility was closed in 2017, when its owner, Centrica Plc, decided it was too expensive to repair technical faults that had plagued the site after more than three decades of operation. The decision was good for Centrica, less so for UK energy security. The government at the time was unconcerned about the loss of the countrys only major storage site. The UKs Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy saw no risk to the nations energy security amid rising production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the US and Australia, among other increases in supply. That complacency now looks misplaced. Advertisement Successive governments since then have been unwilling to provide incentives for a replacement, leaving the UK exposed to the whims of spot prices. Thats fine when supplies are abundant, but not when theyre severely constrained, as they were last winter and may well be in the coming one. In the past few weeks, the UK has agreed to import so much LNG that it has more than it can use and nowhere to store it when its delivered. The UKs gas price is now a third lower than continental Europes, as the market adjusts to the over-supply. Were Rough still open, or replaced with a new facility, the excess supply could be stored until its needed, as it is across Europe. Without it, next winters gas crisis will be partially self-inflicted. 2. Urgent action on energy efficiency The support for new oil and gas investment also undermines the COP26 climate agreement reached in Glasgow just six months ago. The gathering, hosted by the UK, called on countries for the phaseout of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Advertisement Tackling energy waste through upgrading a poorly insulated building stock would do more to help households cut fuel bills than investing in more North Sea oil and gas. The impact would start to be felt much sooner and would last for much longer. Improved insulation and more efficient boilers, (or heat pumps once fuel taxes are revised to penalize carbon-heavy natural gas more than electricity that is increasingly carbon-free) would cut bills and reduce gas use for decades. Meanwhile, oil and gas discoveries in the UK North Sea are getting smaller and the production from them is lasting for correspondingly shorter periods. Any benefit to security of supply will be fleeting. The government could have set up an energy efficiency fund, with tax offsets for payments into it by the oil and gas industry, to provide grants and subsidies for building improvements. That would have been a far more beneficial approach than breaking the promises made just six months ago at COP 26. Advertisement More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion: How Putin Ended Modis Natural Gas Dream: Andy Mukherjee Russia Needs Cash More Than Europe Needs Its Gas: David Fickling Sunaks Helicopter Drop Makes BOEs Life Easier: Marcus Ashworth This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Julian Lee is an oil strategist for Bloomberg First Word. Previously, he was a senior analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load At first glance, the acute shortage of baby formula seems like an advertisement for breast-feeding. If only women did what came naturally, the thinking might go, maybe there wouldnt be a problem at all. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight This argument would draw on evidence that multinational corporations like Nestle did much to persuade women to give up breast-feeding in favor of formula. Their 20th-century marketing campaigns ended in consumer boycotts and public disgrace for the formula makers and contributed to the deaths of infants. But this shameful episode obscures an earlier, more complicated history. The business of nursing and sustaining newborns has long been far more vexed than advocates of either breast-feeding or formula-feeding would have us believe. In a perfect world, babies would be breast-fed. The health benefits of human breast milk are well documented. But not all babies or mothers find breast-feeding simple to master. Yes, its natural. Nonetheless, parents have pursued alternatives for thousands of years. Advertisement In some cases, breast-feeding didnt come naturally. In ancient times, as now, some infants failed to latch, leaving desperate parents scrambling. In other cases, mothers came out of childbirth with their health compromised as they recovered from infections like puerperal fever, which often suppressed milk production. Before the advent of modern medicine, a staggering number of women died in childbirth. Conservative estimates suggest that 1 out of every 40 births ended in the death of the mother in antiquity, a figure that largely held constant through the 18th century. Absent an alternative source of nourishment, the baby would perish as well. One solution, which dated back to the domestication of animals, involved feeding infants milk from cows, horses, sheep, goats and even pigs. Sometimes, parents put the baby at the animals teat; more often, they poured the milk into clay containers, often designed to resemble an animal, that allowed infants to sip the substitute. Advertisement But the milk of other animals proved a poor proxy for human breast milk, particularly in the first months of life. A superior choice was another nursing mother, better known as a wet nurse. These women might hail from the same family. More often, they were strangers or servants paid for their service. In the Roman Empire, for example, elaborate business contracts governed this lifesaving act, along with advice literature designed to guide parents on hiring the ideal wet nurse (described as a young, celibate, not-too-attractive Greek woman). Unfortunately, it could be difficult to find a good wet nurse. Many worked for slave traders who rescued infants (girls, mostly) abandoned on trash piles, selling them once they had come of age. Wet nurses also worked for elite mothers who didnt want to breast-feed their babies. Some feared that doing so would ruin their beauty; others sought to resume their pre-pregnancy social lives. Whatever the reason, the practice of hiring women of lesser social status to nourish babies became commonplace in western societies into the medieval and early modern eras. Advertisement The practice provoked unease. Some supposed medical experts speculated that the traits of the wet nurse might be communicated to the baby through some kind of milk magic. The early 17th-century French obstetrician Jacques Guillemeau was typical of a new generation of wet-nurse skeptics. He worried most about the effect that red-headed wet nurses you know, fiery temperament and all might have on babies. Not that animal milk was considered risk-free. In what may be the first book on pediatrics published in the English-speaking world, Thomas Phaire confidently claimed in 1545, If children be fed the milk of sheep, then their hair will be soft as that of a lamb, but if they be fed the milk of the goat, the hair will be course. Far better, perhaps, to roll the dice on a redhead. Well into the 19th century, elite women continued to rely on wet nurses slaves, in some cases while doctors and nurses running orphanages turned to them to keep their charges alive. As the industrial revolution gathered steam, working-class women also began relying on wet nurses so that they could work for wages in factories. Advertisement But the growing reliance on wet nurses went hand in hand with increased stigma. As one Chicago pediatrician complained, wet nurses demanded a price above rubies and they made the family pay for it in submission to their whims, accessions to their demands, and forbearance with their bad habits. The most obvious alternative germ-laden animal milks had evident pitfalls. But this became far less of an issue after health reformers launched clean-milk campaigns that made pasteurized cows milk available to mothers in cities. By the end of the 19th century, pasteurized cows milk effectively supplanted wet nurses, paving the way for the adoption of formula. In other words, contrary to a nostalgic view of the past, plenty of women had already given up breast-feeding a couple of centuries ago, either by choice or necessity. Formula didnt destroy breast-feeding so much as capitalize on trends already underway. Recent archaeological research has lent credence to this point. Advertisement The new formula makers included the German chemist Justus von Liebeg, who marketed a concoction in the late 1860s that combined cows milk with flour and potassium bicarbonate. Henri Nestle introduced his Farine Lactee around the same time. Much like modern formula, this powdered blend of cows milk, malt, sugar and other ingredients could be mixed with water. Over the course of the 20th century, formula makers increasingly marketed their wares as comparable to breast milk, if not actually superior. They worked closely with the medical profession to lend legitimacy to this spurious claim. But this was a gradual development, one that would take many years to come to fruition. By the time the backlash began the La Leche League was founded in 1956 formula makers had become a convenient villain in a compelling, but not wholly accurate, morality tale. One potentially controversial modern alternative to formula would be to bring back some version of wet nursing. This isnt as outlandish as it might seem. In the US, breast-milk banking has gained adherents, though its largely meant for at-risk infants. But the prospect of largely white, upper-middle-class mothers outsourcing breast-feeding to poorer women is apt to run afoul of contemporary sensibilities. Advertisement In the short term, then, formula will remain the best bet for many women, if only supply chains would cooperate. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: How Can the US Fix Its Baby Formula Crisis: Sarah Green Carmichael US Should Follow the EU Model for Baby Formula: Amanda Little Short of Baby Formula? Blame Bad Policy and Red Tape: Bloomberg Editorial Board This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Stephen Mihm, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, is coauthor of Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Russia, predicted a British statesman, will certainly rise again, perhaps very swiftly, as a great united empire determined to maintain the integrity of her dominions and to recover everything that has been taken away from her. While this process is going on Europe will be in a perpetual state of ferment. Those warning words were written not in the wake of the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but in February 1919, by Winston Churchill, after the Russian Revolution and end of World War I. When the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in 1918, enabling their precarious regime to escape from the war, there were 30,000 Allied troops in the country, half British and others American, Canadian and French. They had originally been sent to guard stores shipped to aid Tsarist Russias war effort and to conduct training. Advertisement Churchill, then Britains secretary for war, wanted these men, plus 70,000 Czech troops bizarrely stranded in Siberia, to turn their efforts to aiding anti-Bolshevik Russian forces. After World War I ended in the West on Nov. 11, he told Prime Minister David Lloyd George that his chosen policy, had the premier not vetoed it, would have been peace with the German people, war on the Bolshevik tyranny. Churchill said the choices were either to allow the Russians to murder each other without let or hindrance or for the Allies to intervene thoroughly, with large forces, abundantly supplied with mechanical contrivances. Churchills became the most powerful Western voice supporting the so-called White Russian cause in the nations civil war, which cost up to six million lives between 1917 and 1921. That fragment of history assumes a new relevance and indeed fascination today, as the West once more strives to thwart the ambitions of a brutal master of the Kremlin; as the world once more stands amazed by the incompetence and cruelty being displayed by a Russian army. Advertisement In most societies, leaders aspire to rule by securing respect. Russia, however, has always exalted fear. A British officer posted to St. Petersburg just before World War I was quizzed by a tsarist counterpart about the customs of his service. The Russian was shocked to be told that the British, while off duty, abandoned their uniforms and even their swords in favor of civilian clothes. But people will not be afraid of you! he exclaimed. The writer Ivan Mazhivin, who had been a friend of Tolstoys, wrote about Russians behavior to each other in the Civil War. On both sides bitterness has reached an extreme, inhuman scale. The Reds, once they have taken a [village], plunder everything they can, rape women regardless of their age The Cossacks whip Reds to death with metal ramrods, bury them in the ground up to their necks and then cut off the heads with their sabres, or castrate them and hang them in trees in their dozens. Advertisement Those stories are among a mass of chilling contemporary testimony in a new history of the 1917-21 Russian experience, written by British historian Antony Beevor, who is winning plaudits around the world. The catalogue of muddle, massacre, treachery and suffering in Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921 highlights realities about Russia that have been manifested through the ages. While Churchills 1919 denunciation of what he called the foul baboonery of Bolshevism was intemperate, it was not unjust, given the record established by Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and their cohorts. Yet his efforts to launch an anti-Bolshevik crusade seemed futile to many of his contemporaries, including US President Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George. Churchills posturing appears no more convincing to Beevor, who chronicles the futility of Allied forces against the Bolos, as American and British troops dubbed the Bolsheviks. Again and again, Western units scored local battlefield successes, only to find them nullified by the limitations of their White Russian allies. Advertisement It is extraordinarily difficult for foreigners to influence the fate of a nation as vast and culturally remote from us as is Russia. The chaos of that place, and those times, was almost indescribable. By January 1919, the area of central Russia under Bolshevik control remained small, amid the vastness of the old empire. Siberia and Turkestan were dominated by the White Russians, their forces directed by their supreme ruler, Admiral Alexander Kolchak, from his capital in Omsk in southwestern Siberia. His regime was recognized by Britain and some other powers as the legitimate government of Russia. A tsarist general, Anton Denikin, led a Cossack army in Caucasia and Crimea. A British-led force pushed south from Murmansk on the Arctic Ocean, with wild ambitions to link up with Kolchak. Ukrainians, Finns and Poles were in arms in the west. French troops occupied the Ukrainian coast. British forces, which had moved north from Persia and Greece, held the Baku-Batum railway in the Caucasus. Advertisement The result was widespread confusion. On July 4, 1919, a senior naval officer addressed the British Cabinet. The admiralty and the naval officers on the spot, he said, were really in ignorance as to the exact position: were we, or were we not, at war with the Bolsheviks? Lloyd George responded that Britain was indeed in a state of hostility against Lenin and his followers, but we had decided not to make war we did not intend to put great armies into Russia. Unfortunately for the ever-bellicose Churchill, almost everybody else among the Western allies was sick to death of fighting after four years of slaughter. Above all, working men, conscripted to fight the Germans, were unwilling now to take up arms against Russian revolutionaries, with whom many sympathized. In February 1919, Churchill circulated a note to all British military commanders, asking if their men would be willing to serve abroad. Yes, answered the generals except against the Bolsheviks. Advertisement On July 7, there was a brief mutiny among British troops in northern Russia, in which three officers were killed and two wounded. There were similar disturbances on some warships of the Royal Navy in the Baltic. Britains admirals nonetheless contrived to sustain through the summer of 1919 an energetic little naval campaign, in which ships were sunk on both sides, and three British officers were awarded Victoria Crosses for actions against the Bolshevik naval base at Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, if the two rival Russian armies fought most of their battles with indifferent skill, each successively outbid the other in an auction of atrocities. White Russian general Mikhail Alekseyev wrote to his wife: A civil war is always a cruel thing, especially so with a nation like ours. The belligerents shared a custom of forcing prisoners, before they were killed, to dig their own graves and remove their boots for the convenience of future users. Many men were savagely punished for shooting themselves in the fingers to escape further fighting. These quitters refined the technique for self-mutilation by firing through a loaf of bread, so that powder burns would not infect the wounds. Advertisement Naval officers of the British flotilla in the Caspian Sea became so inured to White executions that they joined in the jokes. They heard the leader of one firing party complain that the five spades he had been issued were insufficient for all the grave digging. The local White functionary, one Funtikov, was known thereafter to the British sailors as five of spades. On the other side, the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka, called themselves the Sword and Flame of the Revolution, idealizing ruthlessness, romanticizing cruelty. Felix Dzerzhinsky, their Robespierrian chief, issued his men black leather flying jackets that had been sent to Russia by the British to clothe the fledgling tsarist air force. The jackets were especially popular with these merciless killers because leather resisted the typhus-carrying lice that had become ubiquitous. The writer Viktor Shklovsky compared the Bolsheviks to the Devils Apprentice, who in an old Russian folk tale boasted that he knew how to rejuvenate an old man. To restore his youth, he first needed to burn him up. The apprentice duly set the old man on fire, then was crestfallen to discover that he had no notion of how to revive him. Advertisement Ruined Britain was spending tens of millions to support the Whites. In March 1919, the decision was made to withdraw its forces from northern Russia the Americans were already gone. Churchill lamented in July, the whole episode was a very painful one we were leaving a small government to fall to pieces at the mercy of the Bolsheviks. In October, the last British troops were withdrawn from Archangel. Field Marshal Henry Wilson, one of Churchills few senior supporters who had initially favored backing the White Russians, wrote: In no Allied country has there been a sufficient weight of public opinion to justify armed intervention against the Bolsheviks on a decisive scale. Once the foreign powers quit the struggle, it was only a matter of time before the revolutionaries hacked a path, mile by bloody mile, to secure control of their entire country. None of the armies engaged displayed much military genius, but the forces of Admiral Kolchak and General Denikin were quite unfit to govern. Beevor writes: All too often the Whites represented the worst examples of humanity in their corruption, incompetence, hatreds and suspicions: For ruthless inhumanity, however, the Bolsheviks were unbeatable. The Reds were led by men of impassioned ideological conviction, while the White leaders could offer no matching ideal. There was little about the tsarist regime that seemed worth fighting and dying to revive. What are the messages for today from this ancient horror story? Scarcely anybody in the outside world sees Russian aggression against Ukraine as part of a civil war, but that is Russian President Vladimir Putins narrative. He views Ukraine as much a rightful part of the Russian Federation as were Siberia or Turkestan in 1919. Thus he describes his onslaught there as a mere special military operation. Putin sees the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as no more legitimate than was Western aid to the anti-Bolsheviks. Unfortunately for the Kremlin, modern Ukraine is an incomparably more disciplined and coherent society than White Russia a century ago. While no nation has clean hands in its wars think Britain in its colonies, the US in Vietnam, France almost everywhere Russias record of barbarism has been matched, but never surpassed. That cruelty and sadism remain institutionalized in Putins army. Russia is such a vast fact that it is hard for other nations to influence its destinies. The Cold War experience showed that it can be contained; internal forces periodically cause it to change its ways. But Churchill, as most of his contemporaries agreed, was extraordinarily foolish amid the worlds moral and physical exhaustion after World War I to make himself the nemesis of Bolshevism. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today has pretensions to a Churchillian role in this conflict. He even enlists some of the old lions rhetoric, speaking of Ukraines finest hour. Ukrainian courage and the might of the US, with modest British aid, may indeed enable Zelenskiys people to save most of their country from aggression. Sad to say, however, there is no more prospect that the Western allies can contrive an absolute victory over Russia than there was century ago that they could achieve an anti-Bolshevik counterrevolution. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Russias Beauty and Brutality Remain an Enigma to the West: Max Hastings What Ukraine Can Learn From Finlands Stand 80 Years Ago: James Stavridis Russia Is Right: The U.S. Is Waging a Proxy War in Ukraine: Hal Brands This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Max Hastings is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former editor in chief of the Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard, he is author, most recently, of Operation Pedestal: The Fleet That Battled to Malta, 1942. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. The National Rifle Association doesnt really use that slogan anymore, but it came to mind last week as I considered a core tension in contemporary progressive thought: strong advocacy of gun control paired with increasing skepticism about law enforcement and incarceration. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In Philadelphia, for example, progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner has deprioritized gun possession charges altogether, holding that they fuel racial disparities and mass incarceration. At the same time, national Democrats are arguing more forcefully than ever for stricter gun laws. The last time this was actually successful, back in the 1990s, it was part of a seamless web of tough-on-crime politics the assault-weapons ban was in a comprehensive crime bill that included hiring more police officers and provisions to build more prisons and make prison sentences longer. Over the past 25 years, the lefts views on the merits of being tough on crime have shifted dramatically. But as the response to last weeks massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, shows, progressives remain deeply concerned about the dangers of widespread firearms ownership. Advertisement That is a reasonable judgment in the face of tens of thousands of lives lost. But to reduce the death toll from guns, progressives are going to need to move beyond a strategy of tweeting harder, fulminating more and placing blame on the financial clout of the now nearly defunct NRA. They will need to come to terms with the fact that reducing gun violence will require more policing and incarceration, not less. Whoever wills the end also wills the means, Kant wrote. But contemporary progressives have shied away from the means stopping people who break even minor rules, using their rule-breaking as a pretext for a search, and then punishing them if they are carrying a gun illegally even while insisting on an increasingly expansive conception of their desired ends. To be clear, quality-of-life policing would not have averted the Uvalde massacre. But neither would have background checks. Tighter rules on high-capacity magazines might have mitigated it, but then again they might not have such rules are in place in New York state and didnt prevent the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket earlier this month. Advertisement The point is that preventing these kinds of murders, in which a person with no prior criminal record obtains a weapon and then kills at random, requires imposing very heavy burdens on ordinary gun owners. The overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun purchasers, including buyers of terrifying semi-automatic weapons, do no harm. Removing all of those weapons from the market is asking innocent people to make a considerable sacrifice. And it raises the question of how to enforce such a sweeping ban. A mandatory buy-back program would likely generate lots of compliance among people who arent criminals. To get guns out of the hands of criminals would require intrusive policing and prosecutions on a scale thats hard to imagine. This is precisely the Only outlaws will have guns scenario that worries even non-fanatical gun owners. They acknowledge that, in principle, a gun-free America would be safer than the current gun-filled America. But they look at cities such as Philadelphia, where gun violence set a record in 2021, and with good reason dont want to bring that model to the exurbs and small towns where they live. Advertisement The problem is that the small handguns that account for the vast majority of murders in America are easy to conceal. Police officers cannot tell by sight who is carrying them they need to stop people and search them. This kind of intensive policing can reduce crime without violating constitutional rights, as academic studies of Operation Impact in which the New York Police Department would flood high-crime areas with officers have shown. The low-crime era in New York City continued for years after the end of stop and frisk, which was discriminatory and bred ill will. Thats because officers continued to stop people people committing crimes and then frisk them. After the deaths of Michael Brown and George Floyd, progressive thinking turned to the idea that aggressive enforcement of laws against low-level or non-violent crimes such as shoplifting, turnstile-jumping or pot-smoking was a mistake. But while it is of course true that fare evasion is a minor crime, these low-level offenses can be a way to enforce gun laws. And as liberals sporadically realize, when lots of people carry guns around, its very dangerous. In a city soaked with guns, gang disputes lead to bleed-outs rather than bruises. A bullet is much more likely than a knife to strike an innocent bystander. And a young man living in a dangerous neighborhood faces a basic cost-benefit calculus: Is the risk of arrest for carrying a weapon illegally greater than the risk of finding himself unarmed? Advertisement Vigorous enforcement of laws against illegal gun possession shifts this risk-reward calculus. First, it raises the risk of carrying. Second, by reducing the incidence of illegal carrying, it reduces the reward. Years of steady application of this principle helped push many US cities into a much safer equilibrium. Now that equilibrium has been disrupted by the dual shocks of Covid and reduced enforcement. Returning to a better equilibrium will be costly in terms of money and human suffering. But it will also have real benefits in terms of reduced gun violence. Fulminating at congressional inaction in the face of spree killers may be satisfying and even necessary. But it is unlikely to persuade them to change the law. Continuing to insist on new rules while shying away from enforcing existing ones, meanwhile, burns credibility with conservative voters, who see a left thats eager to penalize their hobby and reluctant to punish criminals. Advertisement Considerable progress against gun violence is politically and logistically feasible with more quality-of-life policing and vigorous prosecution of illegal gun possession and the increased levels of incarceration both would require. If progressives want to make guns harder to get but dont want to prosecute those who have guns illegally, then its almost as if theyre inviting a future in which only outlaws will have guns. More From Bloomberg Opinion: The Gun Debate Needs to Break Old Patterns: Ramesh Ponnuru Uvalde Families Should Take Gunmakers to Court: Timothy L. OBrien Why America Doesnt Know How to Stop School Shootings: Julianna Goldman How to Start Solving Americas Gun Culture Problem: Carmichael and Wilkinson This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Matthew Yglesias is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A co-founder of and former columnist for Vox, he writes the Slow Boring blog and newsletter. He is author, most recently, of One Billion Americans. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load When a stranger resides with you in your land, do not molest him, a credible authority tells the Israelites in Leviticus. You shall treat the stranger who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; for you too were once strangers in the land of Egypt. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The tension God was referring to is timeless. We all may one day need to flee from injustice, tyranny, violence, hunger or other calamities. And then well need help. In turn, even if were lucky enough (for now) to live in stability, we should offer asylum to those fleeing to us. And yet we often dont. For the first time ever, more than 100 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced, in the jargon of the UNHCR, the refugee agency of the United Nations. Millions of Ukrainian women and children have fled from Russias war of aggression in just the past three months. Millions more often less conspicuous in the Western media have run from violence in places like Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Afghanistan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Advertisement Both the numbers and the suffering are about to get worse. Also owing to the Russian attack on Ukraine a bread basket that now cant export its wheat and other staples a global food crisis is imminent. Most people in Western countries will feel it as a painful rise in prices. But those who are already hungry in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere will face starvation. Margaritis Schinas, the European Unions commissioner in charge of migration, told Bloomberg that hes expecting another refugee crisis. In this one, people will be coming in dinghies across the Mediterranean, rather than on trains through Ukraine and Poland. Itll be more messy, Schinas reckons. As if all those other crises hadnt been messy enough. Ive never been a refugee, but as a journalist, Ive occasionally witnessed the human toll of migration. I picked grapes in Californias Central Valley with undocumented farm workers from south of the border to hear their stories. Theyre the heirs to the Okies who once fled Americas Dust Bowl, as described so hauntingly by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. Except that theyre not only desperate and poor but also alien and unwelcome. Advertisement In 2015-16, I covered Europes refugee crisis. The migrants at that time were largely Syrians fleeing from their own murderous tyrant. I remember the range of reactions in Europe as they arrived. At the train station in Munich, many Germans greeted the newcomers with bottled water, teddy bears and hugs. Other Germans were outraged about the chaos and wanted to keep the refugees out. Most were quietly apprehensive. A similar split in attitudes rent all of Europe. Countries such as Hungary turned the refugees back with barbed wire and water cannon. This spread between hospitality (xenia in ancient Greek), xenophobia (literally, fear of strangers) and all the nuances in between has greeted aliens everywhere and at all times. Its what God was talking about in Leviticus. In my experience, the xenophobes are sometimes racist or callous but more often just anxious. In Germany in 2015, for example, the backlash against migrants was worst in what used to be the communist East, which has also become the bastion of the populist far right. In a meme I heard often, these Easterners felt that German reunification had turned them into second-class citizens in their own country. Advertisement Now they were watching exotic-looking foreigners arriving by the busload and as they chose to interpret the situation skipping the line. The aliens, in this narrative, were threatening to demote the Eastern Germans to third-class citizenship, and depriving them of nebulous rights perhaps welfare, attention or compassion that should belong only to the native-born. The Scotch-Irish in 19th-century America probably felt the same way when the German immigrants arrived, until the Germans said all this about the Irish, who then repeated it with the Italians, then in succession, the Russians, the Jews, the Chinese So it goes. Part of human nature is to distinguish between in-groups and out-groups, and to show the ins more empathy than the outs. Even Benjamin Franklin, ordinarily an open-minded type, looked askance at German and other non-English immigrants, whom he considered swarthy and suspect. Advertisement That might explain the about-turn in Polish policies and attitudes between the 2015 crisis and this years. Back then, the refugees were dark-skinned Muslims, and Warsaw slammed its borders shut. Now theyre fellow Christians and Slavs, and Poland has warmly welcomed more than half of the 6.7 million Ukrainians whove fled abroad. So there we are, forever stretched between dueling human impulses: on one side, openness, compassion and altruism; on the other, suspicion, prejudice and nativism. Some of us emphasize optimistic stories of migrants integrating well into their adopted societies, playing by the rules and just rebuilding their lives. Others dwell on those other tales of traumatized refugees becoming a burden to their host country or committing crimes. All these stories exist, and all are equally worth hearing. Then again, the exact same range of biographies exists for the native-born as for migrants. Ultimately, theyre just a reminder that were all aliens and natives alike human, as Leviticus understood. Advertisement The biggest refugee crisis in history is still ahead of us. War, famine and plague will not only stay around, but spread and become worse, because of climate change. What will that do to our societies, and to us as individuals? All of us, since our common ancestors trudged out of the East African rift valley, descend from migrants. If we go back far enough, we all have refugees among our forebears. And all of us, if were not already displaced, can be sure to have descendants who will flee from something. We all were, are or will be natives and aliens somewhere, at some time. There are no easy answers. Speaking for most Germans in 2015, the countrys president at the time, Joachim Gauck, expressed the dilemma well: We want to help. We are big-hearted. But our means are finite. Itll be important to keep both parts of that sentiment in mind the magnanimity and the limits. But when in doubt, we should heed Leviticus, and keep our hearts big. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European politics. A former editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist, he is author of Hannibal and Me. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load MEXICO CITY Mexican immigration authorities said Sunday they found the bodies of three apparent migrants who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande, the border river with Texas also known as the Rio Bravo. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The National Immigration Institute said no identification was found on two of the bodies, but a third bore documents indicating he was from Nicaragua. Officers from the institutes migrant protection team also found three migrants alive but unable to continue crossing the river due to cold water temperatures and strong currents. The woman, a 2-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, all from Honduras, were rescued with an airboat and taken to a shelter in the border city of Piedras Negras. It was the latest in a series of migrant deaths in Mexico that some activists attribute to heightened security that has led some migrants to use riskier routes to reach and cross the U.S. border. Advertisement Earlier this week, a bus crash in northern Mexico killed seven migrants and injured 24. One of those killed was a pregnant woman and two of the injured were minors. No nationalities were immediately available for the seven dead, but of those who survived, 11 were from El Salvador, seven from Honduras and four from Cuba. Also injured were one Panamanian and one Mexican citizen. The bus plunged through a guardrail and down an embankment in the northern state of San Luis Potosi on Wednesday. Immigrant traffickers frequently cram migrants aboard freight trucks and buses to traverse Mexico on their way to the United States. On Tuesday, authorities in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz said six migrants drowned off Mexicos Gulf coast and one was missing. Apparently, all were from Honduras. Smugglers sometimes take migrants in open boats across the Gulf to avoid highway immigration checkpoints. Advertisement Four migrants, also Hondurans, were pulled alive from the ocean by rescuers after their 25-foot open boat apparently capsized off the coast. In another incident, immigration officials said last week that a migrant father and his 7-year-old son were found dead in the Suchiate River, which marks the border between Mexico and Guatemala. Officials said the 36-year-old man and his son were from El Salvador. Migrants frequently wade, swim or take rafts and boats to cross border rivers to reach the United States. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load CAIRO Sudans leading general lifted a state of emergency Sunday that was imposed in the country following the October coup he led. The decision by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudans ruling sovereign council, came hours after the Security and Defense Council, Sudans highest body that decides on security matters, recommended an end to the state of emergency and the release of all detainees. The recommendations are meant to facilitate dialogue between the military and the pro-democracy movement, the defense minister, Maj. Gen. Yassin Ibrahim Yassin, said in a video statement. They come as the country faces protests against military rule and an unknown number of activists and former officials remain in detention. Earlier Sunday, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, called for the countrys leaders to lift the state of emergency. He decried the killing of two people in a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters who once again took to the streets of the capital to denounce the Oct. 25 coup. Advertisement Once again: It is time for the violence to stop, said Perthes on Twitter. Hundreds of people marched Saturday in Khartoum, where security forces violently dispersed the crowds and chased them in the streets, according to activists. The two were killed during protests in Khartoums Kalakla neighborhood. One was shot by security forces and the other suffocated after inhaling tear gas, said the Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the military takeover upended its short-lived transition to democracy after three decades of repressive rule by former strongman Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir and his Islamist-backed government were removed by the military in a popular uprising in April 2019. Saturdays protests were part of relentless demonstrations in the past seven months calling for the military to hand over power to civilians. At least 98 people have been killed and over 4,300 wounded in the government crackdown on anti-coup protests since October, according to the medical group. Hundreds of activists and officials in the disposed government were also detained following the coup, many were later released under pressure from the U.N. and other western governments. Advertisement The protesters demand the removal of the military from power. The generals, however, have said they will only hand over power to an elected administration. They say elections will take place in July 2023 as planned in a constitutional document governing the transition period. The U.N., the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional group called the Intergovernmental Authority in Development have been leading concerted efforts to bridge the gap between the two sides and find a way out of the impasse. Meanwhile, the trial of four activists accused of killing a senior police officer during a protest earlier this year began Sunday amid tight security outside the Judicial and Legal Science Institute in Khartoum. Dozens of protesters gathered in the area in a show of support for the defendants. The four were detained in raids after police Col. Ali Hamad was stabbed to death as security forces dispersed protesters on Jan. 13. Their defense lawyers deny the allegations. The courts judges in Sundays proceedings ordered the defendants be medically examined after their lawyers claimed they were tortured and mistreated in police detention. The trial resumes June 12. GiftOutline Gift Article God bless the historian, for it is history to which we must turn when we attempt to grasp the full meaning of Memorial Day. On my second deployment to the western Pacific Ocean, I served aboard a guided missile destroyer, USS Waddell, DDG 24. She was sleek, fast, rode low in the water and was armed to the teeth. While the aircraft carrier we accompanied made turns like a manatee with a shopping cart, The Waddell moved with grace and speed. We were on our way from San Diego to Subic Bay in the Philippines. As we approached the Philippine Islands, we made preparations to navigate the San Bernadino Strait between the islands of Luzon and Samar. My duty station was in the Combat Information Center, where we used radar to assist the bridge officers in navigation while detecting and taking surface contacts that might pose a hazard. The captain entered the CIC, which was located directly behind the bridge, to discuss something with the operations officer. Like everyone else, I wore a sound-powered phone headset, with one ear uncovered to better hear normal conversations. The captain explained how he wanted information to be communicated to the bridge. I kept my eye on a contact on my scope until it was no longer an issue. Thats when I heard the captain say Taffy 3 to the lieutenant. The captain was a mustang an enlisted sailor who became a naval officer and originally a radarman. He had soft spot for CIC sailors. I said, Excuse me, sir. What is Taffy 3? The captain looked around at all of us and this is what he told us: On Oct. 25, 1944, a naval battle was fought off Samar Island between Japanese battleships and heavy cruisers against a U.S. Navy escort carrier group, Taffy 3, with screening support from three destroyers and four destroyer escorts. To protect the carriers, the much-smaller destroyers and destroyer escorts attacked the Japanese battleships. The fierce fighting was over in two hours. The Japanese fleet was forced to retreat, but not before they sank two destroyers, USS Johnston and USS Hoel, and one destroyer escort, USS Samuel B. Roberts. The Japanese lost three heavy cruisers. Their battleships suffered heavy damage. The captain told us we were passing over hallowed waters. Below us, in the Philippines Trench, maximum depth 23,000 feet, rested those ships and more than 1,500 American sailors who died in the battle. In two hours. With that the captain returned to the bridge. The straits were busy, so we turned to our duties. Later, after my watch, sitting near the fantail and eating an orange, it wasn't hard to imagine I was aboard the Johnston and listening to what Captain Earnest E. Evans is reported to have said over the intercom: This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can. Only 141 of the 327 sailors on the Johnston survived the battle. Captain Evans was not among them. His widow received his Congressional Medal of Honor. Memorial Day. Lest we forget. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Two years after graduating from his teaching degree, Will Booker works in an abandoned school building with not a student in sight. An old classroom in Sydneys north has been transformed into the office of his employer, a socially conscious start-up called Communiteer. Bookers job at the social enterprise is to connect corporate workers with skilled volunteering opportunities at charities. Its certainly not what he expected to do when he began studying, and says his career switch can be attributed to, strangely enough, pandemic doomscrolling. Will Booker appreciates that his life values and everyday work go hand in hand (and that dogs are allowed in the office). Credit:Rhett Wyman You can ... get in these loops on social media that just keep showing you all the crap happening around the world, Booker tells the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. So I think people are living their lives with [a desire to make the world a better place] in mind. The 23-year-olds sentiments are shared by many of his Generation Z peers loosely defined as being born between 1995 and 2009 and will make up a third of Australias workforce by 2030. Determined to make a difference, they are sweeping into the workplace (real and virtual) with the expectation that employers align with their values, not the other way around. They are the most technologically supplied, formally educated, globally connected, and socially aware generation in history, says demographer and social researcher Mark McCrindle. Advertisement The expectations of this group are high. McCrindle argues that what motivates this generation which he says has grown up indignant about climate inaction, disillusioned by a culture of profit at the cost of other outcomes, and forced to start their careers in a global pandemic is markedly different from generations past, who were more content to collect a pay cheque and call it a day. Weve got a generation looking for careers and roles that are around purpose, meaning, values resonance, community connection and making a difference or having an impact, says McCrindle, author of the 2019 report Understanding Generation Z. Social researcher Mark McCrindle says Gen Z is the most technologically supplied, formally educated, globally connected, and socially aware generation in history. Credit: These young adults walk onto the job with diversity, inclusion and social impact as priorities from day one. The result is a refreshed outlook on leadership that begins when theyre hired and comes into fullness when they step into management roles. And they certainly have career ambitions: 63 per cent said advancement opportunities were a crucial workplace attribute, second only to workplace wellbeing (72 per cent). Theyre bringing about change in organisations because theyre asking these questions. Theyre changing workplace culture, says McCrindle. Theres a collegiality, a flatter structure of interaction and social connection. Employers should take heed. The [old] hierarchy is not a place that has a long span. This next generation is ushering this in. Self-empowerment is another defining characteristic of Gen Z. Unlike millennials, who came of age alongside the internet and began wielding smartphones only in their teens, Gen Z have been digital natives virtually since birth. A whopping 86 per cent of Gen Z-ers expect to be entrepreneurs of some sort in the future, either as a side-hustle or as their main job, McCrindle research shows. Advertisement Loading Not only that, but they are conscious that they are inheriting a world economically stacked against them. McCrindle points out that some of Gen Zs earliest experiences are of the decade-long impacts of the global financial crisis, in which flat wages growth became the norm. Not only is Generation Z the most entrepreneurial generation of our time, but they carry a conviction of collective responsibility and have the means to do something about it. Theyre combining economic pragmatism ... with digital savvy and intuitive technology skills to move to this entrepreneurial mindset, McCrindle says. Money or motivation? Gen Z wants both But its not to say this generation will sacrifice remuneration for their noble ideals. The war for talent triggered by a COVID-driven shrunken talent pool has raised salary expectations. Grant Robson, vice president of sales at graduate recruitment company GradAustralia, says employers were in the drivers seat four years ago amid an oversupply of graduates and interns. Advertisement Not anymore. The ball is in [Gen Zs] court, he says. This current generation has figured out theyve got more authority to start asking: what can you do for me? In 2019, salary was the sixth most important factor for graduates when considering a job offer; this year its second, ranking only behind the work itself. But a good salary itself wont be enough to make Gen Z stick around. Manon te Riele, who works in PwC Melbournes cybersecurity division, has seen some of her friends quit their jobs because they didnt feel their work was contributing to the greater good. Gen Z worker Manon te Riele says she and her friends want careers that give them a sense of purpose. Credit:Paul Jeffers, The Age People are becoming a lot more picky about the work theyre doing, she says. They want to feel like theres a point to it. Though te Riele is only 23, shes a very active employee. Often finding herself the only woman in the room, te Riele has joined the companys Women in Cybersecurity and Technology group. Her passion for mental health has found an outlet through PwCs Green Light to Talk program. Advertisement I dont want to dial myself down for work, she says. Im a mental health advocate Im really focused on making sure we can bring our whole selves to work. Problem solvers drift to new platforms A new ecosystem of apps, communities and education providers has emerged to cater to Gen Z workers who arent satisfied with traditional university courses or job sites. Jeanette Cheah runs HEX, an education technology provider that aims to be the innovation gap year for high school and university students. With a curriculum co-designed by Atlassian, HEX is arming students with design thinking, leadership and technical skills to work in the tech sector and for jobs that dont yet exist. Cheah wants to plug a hole left by idle university degrees that she believes arent closely aligned with industry and dont recognise Gen Zs strengths. HEX founder Jeanette Cheah wants to help students shortcut their way to a job. Young people are already sophisticated digital consumers. Education often doesnt treat them as such, she says. Conventional careers such as medicine, law and engineering are still popular, but theres a big chunk of students becoming curious about what a product manager or a UI designer is. Advertisement Alexander and Beers excellent adventure three groups of students for nine days at a time, with only a day or two to recuperate and plan between them, followed by what Beer calls a three-week house party, with revolving doors and various friends yielded two books: Tuscan Cookbook, co-authored by the pair and eventually translated into numerous languages (including, to their delight, Italian); and Stephanies Journal, an account of a year of major upheaval in her life that included the difficult decision to close her award-winning Melbourne restaurant. Now, boutique production and distribution company Arcadia, based in Orange, NSW and responsible for the Netflix film 2067, has optioned both those books, with the plan to make a movie to be filmed, if all goes well, next year in Italy, of course. Think of it as a Best Exotic Marigold Cooking School, if you will, sprinkled with colourful guest characters but revolving around the two women and their shared love of hospitality. Its a story about how friendships transform us, says Thomson. Its a story of two women on the cusp of some very challenging decisions, set against the backdrop of Tuscany. It wont all be Chianti and laughter, though, as their bond comes under pressure from the strain of all those guests, and the looming life changes that await upon their return to Australia. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In 2015, Australian actor Odessa Young starred in not one but two films, Looking for Grace and The Daughter, both of which screened at the Venice and Toronto film festivals. Its a remarkable feat for any actor, but all the more impressive as these were Odessas first feature roles. Oh, and she was just a teenager. Naturally, headlines followed with words such as one to watch and star on the rise plastered next to her name. Years on, shes still wearing these tags. US Vogue named her as one of only six actors set to rule 2021. These articles have been written about me since I was 16, says the 24-year-old via Zoom from her apartment in New York, where she has lived for four years. Im excited that people are thinking that way. Its also like, gosh, how many breakouts before people have considered me broken? I still dont think that theres been one specific role or one job that has made me feel that Im really on the right track. I actually dont think that will ever happen. Loading But Odessas filmography would suggest that shes already there. She moved from Sydney, where she studied at the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, to LA just two days after her 18th birthday. After a quiet first year in Hollywood, when she was still finding her feet on her own, she scored roles in the 2018 films Assassination Nation and A Million Little Pieces. In 2020, she starred in the post-apocalyptic television miniseries The Stand, based on Stephen Kings 1978 novel, and opposite Elisabeth Moss in Shirley, a film about author Shirley Jackson. What will it take for Odessa to feel like shes made it? It is an insecure industry, so its kind of a protection mechanism, she admits. You never really feel like youve made it. And you know, what decides it? Is it going to the Met Gala ball? Is it a magazine article? Advertisement If it is, then Sunday Life is calling it: Odessa Young has made it. This is only confirmed by her breathtaking performance in her latest film, Mothering Sunday, where she leads a cast that includes some of the biggest names in the industry. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Graham Swift. Set in 1924, it centres on a housemaid, Jane Fairchild (Odessa), who finds herself alone on Mothers Day. While her employers, Mr and Mrs Niven (Colin Firth and Olivia Colman) are out, she has the rare opportunity to spend the day with her wealthy secret lover, Paul (Josh OConnor), whos engaged to another woman. If youre thinking it sounds like a Downton Abbey-type period drama, think again. I say this with the utmost respect possible, but its like an anti-British movie, says Odessa. It goes against British sentimentality, and how love and loss is portrayed in British cinema and television. I think Eva [Husson] being a French director obviously has a lot to do with changing the perspective of the narrative. Young with director Eva Husson, on the set of Mothering Sunday. Credit:AP Previously in those stories, a character like Jane would have been a subplot. It would have served some purpose to show how different life is downstairs. But giving Jane the lead and her own story and letting that story play out? I think thats actually the first act of resistance against what has typically been the upstairs downstairs stories. Its not just the plot of Mothering Sunday that deviates from other British aristocracy dramas. The portrayal of passion doesnt shy away from the raw nature of sex, either. But the gentle pace of the film and the tenderness between the lovers makes these moments feel poignant rather than graphic. We get asked to do all sorts of crazy shit as actors, anyway. So in the grand scheme of things, its actually not so crazy to be nude. Advertisement In one memorable scene, Odessas character explores her lovers mansion completely naked, resembling a model from a Botticelli painting with her porcelain skin and flowing auburn hair. Yet Odessa moves with such natural composure that her nudity feels almost unremarkable. I think that Eva would be pleased to hear that because it is meant to feel lived in. Its meant to feel relaxed, says Odessa. But was she really as comfortable as she looks? As comfortable as one can be, she says. We get asked to do all sorts of crazy shit as actors, anyway. So in the grand scheme of things, its actually not so crazy to be nude. Odessa may have been more daunted to work alongside actors whose work shed admired for so long. But as she found out, not only are Colin Firth and Olivia Colman incredible performers, theyre also lovely people. So thats always nice, I dont have to feel disappointed, she says, laughing. Young stars alongside Colin Firth and Olivia Coleman in Mothering Sunday. Credit:Christopher Schoonover She also took the opportunity to learn from the award-winning duo. It was just an incredible school. To see masters do what they do best, in any industry, in any job, is really amazing to watch. Because you see the passion, and you see the time thats gone into it. Especially with them, theyve won Oscars for a reason. And I got to see what that reason is first-hand, and its just magical. Can she pinpoint the reason? Its hard to articulate, because its in the way they carry themselves. Its in the way that they bury their egos, which is truly one of the most difficult things that one can do. Its not trying to tell everybody in the room around you, just by the way you walk into it, that youre the most important person in there. Advertisement And an overblown sense of entitlement is something Odessa has come across. Actors are just awful people sometimes, she says, with refreshing candour. Truly, I dont have many friends who are actors and the ones I do have, we all have a very sceptical understanding of this job, because its really not that important. But she admits shes gone too far the other way at times, a quality she recognises in fellow Australian actors. I think Australians are really afraid to admit how much the job means to them, she admits. Its something that I had to learn how to do. Basically, I had to have this moment where I was like, Okay, its time to stop pretending that I can just put this audition down tomorrow, and I dont care about it. I think Australians are really afraid to admit how much the job means to them. Americans have this culture of individualism, everybody just wants to be on top. But we find it much harder to admit that we want things for ourselves. I remember having to have big talks with myself, like: I want to take this seriously. Why is my weird Australian tall poppy syndrome not allowing me to take my job seriously? It meant that I was really short-changing myself in terms of how I worked. I thought that putting too much work into it was lame. Loading Was she afraid of committing the crime of being a try-hard? Exactly! And its so twisted, she says. I still have to remind myself that I have nothing else I want to do, so why am I pretending I have things I can fall back on? I know that the only person Im hurting is myself. Maybe one day Odessa will even admit that shes made it. Advertisement Tributes flow for Australian humanitarian worker killed in Ukraine Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Southside businesses can expect to see over $350,000 less in annual consumer spending after the Lone Tree Overpass is constructed, according to the economic impact study (EIS) presented to Flagstaff City Council Tuesday night. Council directed city staff to conduct an EIS after traffic modeling showed that the Lone Tree Overpass project could reduce traffic flows on South San Francisco and Beaver Street by 70%. The EIS was conducted by WSP, the engineering firm partnered with the city on the project, and presented to Council by Jason Carlaftes of WSP. The EIS evaluated two commercials district, the Beaver/San Francisco (BSF) District (Southside) that encompasses those streets south of the tracks, and the Lone Tree/Butler District in southeast Flagstaff, an area locally known as Little Scottsdale. Findings from the EIS show that new traffic flows created by the Lone Tree Overpass would result in $351,100 less annual consumer spending in the Southside and $232,000 more annual spending in Little Scottsdale. By 2040, that change in spending will total $5.2 million less spending in BSF, and $3.4 million more spending in Little Scottsdale, a net decrease of $1.8 million across both districts. Impacts will vary by business type, Carlaftes said. Businesses in the Southside that rely on passerby opportunity sales will be more heavily impacted by the reduction of traffic than businesses that rely on destination sales where a customer travels specifically to visit a business. Examples of opportunity businesses can include coffee shops, retail and grocers to some extent. This shift would put a pressure on businesses to make natural adjustments, Carlaftes said, adding that the decrease in vehicle traffic could open up Southside for improved multi-modal traffic infrastructure, which could help lessen the impact on businesses. If the city were to designate bike corridors on Beaver and San Francisco, that might help accelerate that type of traffic, Carlaftes said. Im all for bike infrastructure, said Brandon Cox, general manager of Macys European Coffeehouse and Bakery on Beaver Street. Cox added that a shift in traffic accompanied by improved multi-modal access would allow Macys to re-connect with the local customer base. A lot of locals love to bike, Cox said. Its what we do. Despite being a business that would theoretically be impacted by a decrease in opportunity sales, Cox estimated that a significant portion of his customers come to Macys as a destination. In some cases a little less traffic might be a good thing. I know I've lost customers over the years because we're so busy all the time with the tourists, Cox said. I would love to cater more to the community. Having to adjust to less opportunity sales is not ideal said Lizzie Simpkins, owner of Zani Cards and Gifts. Her bright blue storefront fortunately faces one way traffic on Beaver Street, and while decreased vehicle traffic could mean less stop-ins, shes not opposed to seeing fewer cars on the street. Theres a lot of traffic in this part of town, Simpkins said. She said she sees almost accidents on a daily basis. I don't think it'd be terrible to have more access for bikes and pedestrians to actually get around safely, Simpkins said. In her estimation, Flagstaff is such a destination town to begin with, that many tourists are likely to find her shop even if there is reduced vehicle traffic. If your goal is to see downtown, youre going to make it here one way or another, Simpkins said. A public meeting to discuss the Lone Tree Overpass EIS is being scheduled for the third week of July. That same meeting will also address intersection design, public art and beautification efforts associated with the overpass. After hearing the EIS during Tuesdays meeting, city council also gave direction for the project to proceed without the Elden Corridor roadway beneath the overpass. This roadway was part of the original planning and designed to connect parcels east and west of the overpass, but favor has shifted toward honoring the Southside Community Plan, which advocated for using the narrow space for FUTS trail and park amenities. It seems like we cant have both the park amenities and the corridor in that space, said Councilmember Austin Aslan. "I have to prioritize the park amenities. Theyre long overdue for the [Southside] neighborhood. The decision to move forward without the Elden corridor roadway was unanimous. Councilmembers noted that choosing a trail system over a roadway would also help save cost on a project that was already over budget. Council will further address of the Lone Tree Overpass intersection design during the regularly scheduled work session on June 7. Sean Golightly can be reached at sgolightly@azdailysun.com Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Former energy minister Angus Taylor is the frontrunner to be appointed to the shadow treasury portfolio under Peter Duttons leadership of the Liberal Party as former foreign minister Marise Payne looks to step down from the frontbench. The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age can confirm Dutton and Sussan Ley will on Monday be elected unopposed as leader and deputy leader of the party, while Senate leader Simon Birmingham and Senate deputy leader Michaelia Cash will remain in their positions. Angus Taylor is leading the race to be named shadow treasurer under Peter Dutton. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Taylor would then likely be given the treasury portfolio under Duttons leadership, according to multiple senior party sources, but the former defence minister has not yet come to a decision and Stuart Robert is also positioning for the portfolio. It can also be revealed that Payne has told colleagues she will not put her hand up for a frontbench position. Apart from former prime minister Scott Morrison, this would make Payne the first frontbencher to voluntarily move on since last Saturdays devastating election loss. Would it be a sort of heresy, as a political columnist, to admit I have struggled, this past week, to pay much attention to politics? And this is, of course, not just any week. It is the first week since the sharp vanquishing of the Morrison government. And it is the first week of a new Australia, under the prime ministership of Anthony Albanese. Perhaps I am simply tired of politics after the rush of a campaign. Or perhaps it is the absence of the vigilance provoked by the last government, of always watching to see what fresh crisis had been manufactured for political purposes (Novak Djokovic, anyone?). And perhaps it is this that has had me dwelling on our tendency to give new prime ministers a pass of sorts. Whatever their previous public performance, we offer them an act of charity: all is forgiven, or at least forgotten. Perhaps, as leader, they will surprise us. I made this mistake with both Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. Many made it with Scott Morrison. In the end, the failures of all three were discernible in their previous actions. Anthony Albanese and his partner, Jodie Haydon, and Bennelong MP Jerome Laxale, in Eastwood on Saturday. Credit:Dean Sewell I have been thinking particularly of Tony Abbotts early aphorism: Happy is the country which is more interested in sport than in politics, an echo of Malcolm Frasers quip about keeping politics off the front page. It is a common conservative refrain, the rhetorical cousin of small government. But Abbotts opposition had been fuelled by the exact opposite approach, as had much of his ministerial career it was never going to work. It will be interesting, then, if Anthony Albanese, a Labor man to his boots, ends up the one to come closest to fulfilling this pledge not by keeping government small, but by somehow lowering the temperature of political debate. Already, he is being kinder to Peter Dutton than might be expected. The ayatollahs of Iran do not respect or pity weakness. They exploit it. Since the moment Joe Biden entered the Oval Office, he has made one concession to Iran after another. As a result, today we face a regime that is more aggressive and assertive. Further accommodating the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism would be a disastrous mistake. Just last year, the Biden Justice Department revealed that Iranian agents attempted to kidnap an American journalist, Masih Alinejad, on American soil. Iranian intelligence assets stalked Ms. Alinejad in New York City, videotaped her family and home, and planned to abduct her and transport her to Venezuela and then Iran, where she would face imprisonment or death for her criticism of the regime. This detestable kidnapping scheme on American soil was an insult to American honor and a gross violation of countless laws and international conventions. Those facts didnt stop the Biden administration from announcing the very same day that the United States would unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets. This one-sided gift was in no way conditioned on good behavior or good faith on the part of the Iranian regime. One can hardly imagine better proof of the administrations unseriousness. This kidnapping attempt is also not an isolated incident. The ayatollahs are also actively plotting the assassination of Trump administration officials on American soil and openly advertising their intent. If we had a competent president, a precondition of any negotiation or act of accommodation would be that such schemes are immediately quashed and never revived. Instead we have a president intent on turning a blind eye to Tehrans endless provocation and aggression. For years, the Iranian military has been actively arming terrorists in Iraq and Syria to kill U.S. service members, including with aerial drones meant to evade U.S. base defenses. An Iranian-backed terror group used one of these drones last year to target and destroy a dining facility used by U.S. service members. Iranian proxies also used these drones to carry out an assault on another U.S. government facility. The situation became so dire that the president ordered airstrikes against two known launching points for these attacks. Iran is also supplying Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad with massive stockpiles of long-range rockets, which are increasingly precise and deadly. The consequences of Irans arms trafficking were on full display last year when Hamas and PIJ fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, our closest ally in the region. This sparked a significant battle that ultimately cost hundreds of lives and threatened to spread into a widespread conflict. Our special envoy in Yemen has similarly found that the Iranian government is continuing to provide significant and lethal aid to the Houthi rebels, who are responsible for one of the bloodiest civil wars anywhere on the globe. After Biden inexplicably removed the Houthis from the U.S. governments list of terrorist groups early in his term, the Houthis and their Iranian patrons escalated their attacks against Saudi Arabia and launched a major new offensive. The violence escalated so much that the administration considered relisting the Houthis as a terrorist group earlier this year. Yet, Tehrans growing aggression is but a distant thought to Bidens negotiators. According to reports, the Biden team is prepared to remove almost all sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran agreeing to even less stringent terms than the 2015 nuclear deal. The 2015 deal includes restrictions on Iran that have either already expired or will expire soon, but this new agreement would do nothing to extend these timelines. Bidens team will likely try to lift sanctions related to Irans terrorism and military activities, which are completely unrelated to Irans pursuit of nuclear weapons. In other words, in addition to giving away the farm, Bidens crack team of appeasers is insisting that Iran take the shirt off our back as well. In a particularly galling move, the administration is apparently considering lifting sanctions on Irans brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was responsible for more than 600 American deaths during the Iraq War. Contrary to the assertions of some, the Iranian nuclear program is not our only strategic priority. We must also deploy every tool available to punish the worlds leading sponsor of terrorism. No serious figure can claim that lifting sanctions, either partially or in full, on the Revolutionary Guard would reduce terrorism in the region. If we sign the deal currently under consideration, we would fill the Iranian regimes coffers and unleash its terror battalions in exchange for empty assurances on nuclear weapons that the Iranians will never honor. We know Iran wont honor this nuclear deal because it didnt honor it last time. As a result of a daring Israeli raid on an Iranian nuclear archive in 2018, the International Atomic Energy Agency discovered multiple undeclared nuclear sites since the 2015 agreement was signed. Despite constant attempts by the Iranians to obstruct access and to destroy evidence, the IAEA still found evidence of secret nuclear activity at these sites. Iran didnt tell the truth then, and it is not telling the truth now. As soon as President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei believe they have bilked all the benefits that they can from the agreement, they will rapidly proceed to a bomb. In the meantime, the regime will use the profits from sanctions relief to build its military arsenal and expand its support for terrorism across the region. President Biden should immediately end negotiations in Vienna and return to a policy of maximum pressure against Iran. The president should start enforcing Trump-era sanctions on the regime, re-list the Houthis as a terrorist organization, increase support for Israels military so that it can both defend against Irans proxies and prevent a nuclear Iran, and bar Iranian officials from entering the United States for attempting kidnappings and murders on our soil. We can either allow Irans scourge of terror and oppression to ripple across the Middle East or we can forthrightly confront and thwart its evil ambitions. I urge the administration to change course and confront the regime in Iran, but Im not holding my breath. Tom Cotton is a Republican senator from Arkansas. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Four years after President Donald Trump undermined U.S. national security by withdrawing unilaterally from the Iran nuclear deal for political gain, the United States is still experiencing the consequences. The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, blocked Irans path to a nuclear bomb, de-escalating a critical security risk and keeping service members out of harms way. Trumps withdrawal put the threat of a nuclear Iran back on the table and put us in a weaker position to deal with other grave threats. Thankfully, President Joe Biden is engaged in serious negotiations to bring Iran back to the international agreement. However, a return to the Plan of Action is still under threat by domestic political squabbles. A case in point: The key sticking point is the status of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps designation as a foreign terrorist organization. Of all the debates surrounding the deal, the Revolutionary Guard designation is the most peculiar. Its a largely symbolic label. In my career in the U.S. military, I understood that symbolism is important, but I knew substance to be most critical. Tough talk is cheap and often risky especially when U.S. security and military escalation are on the line. The foreign terrorist designation should not stand in the way of the United States preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. We need to keep our eye on the ball. Even if the Biden administration lifts the label, Irans Revolutionary Guard will remain heavily sanctioned. The corps has been designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2017. The Revolutionary Guards foreign special operations arm, the Quds Force, is responsible for Irans most egregious activities and has been labeled a global threat since 2007. Beyond that, Irans government has been listed as a state sponsor of terror by the United States since 1984. Bottom line: The Revolutionary Guard will remain a global pariah no matter what. It is dangerous to allow a symbolic foreign terrorist designation to prevent the substantive restrictions on Iranian hardliners that would come with a return to the nuclear deal. The Revolutionary Guard is a bad actor and an adversary, and without meaningful diplomatic action it could get its hands on a nuclear weapon. We only need to look at Russia to see how nuclear weapons can embolden adversaries to menace their neighbors. The Revolutionary Guard designation is trivial for our overarching priority: preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. And it is inconsequential when it comes to other security priorities. The label has had no meaningful effect on curbing terrorism or enforcing human rights sanctions. The Trump administration imposed the designation to prevent the Biden administration from rejoining the nuclear deal despite top Pentagon officials and national security analysts warning that the move would backfire, harming U.S. troops and allies in the region. They were right. In the year after Trump designated the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, attacks by Iranian proxy forces increased by 400 percent. Far from stopping the Revolutionary Guard, the foreign terrorist listing emboldened them. The Trump administrations withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal unleashed Irans nuclear program rather than containing it. This policy failure should not politically bind the Biden administration it should give the president more ammunition to end a dangerous standoff and re-enter the nuclear agreement. The Iran nuclear deal remains in U.S. security interests and the interests of our allies. With Irans nuclear program off the table, we can better address other Iranian threats like the destabilizing activities in the region. Critics argue that the only way to deal with Iran is to withdraw from negotiations and double down on sanctions. But as it stands, the United States has exhausted its leverage under the Trump administrations maximum pressure strategy, which only served to unshackle Irans nuclear program. A negotiated solution to Irans nuclear program is the only reasonable path forward. This is why it is so disappointing that some senators voted last week for a non-binding Motion to Instruct that suggests they support hamstringing the president by adding non-nuclear demands to the nuclear negotiations, risking their collapse. The nuclear deal opens opportunities to tackle other issues, but we cannot squeeze every issue into a non-proliferation agreement. We never did that with the Soviet Union, and it does not make sense to do it with Iran. The senators should remember the Trump Iran policy was a colossal failure. Today, Biden can reverse that failure by rejoining the agreement that removes the Iranian nuclear threat and lowers tensions. It is the right move for U.S. national security. We cannot let what appears as a political challenge of righting one failed policy prevent us from addressing the far more severe threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. And we should not be bound by the shallow talking points of the Trump administration and hawks who have been itching for war with Iran for decades. The decision in front of U.S. policymakers now is whether they will get caught in a sanctions trap set by the chicken-hawks who pushed the U.S. to the brink of war with Iran, and in the process make a diplomatic resolution nearly impossible. As a military man of 30 years with three children currently serving, I would implore our civilian leaders to put country over politics and do everything in their power to rejoin the nuclear deal. Let us not sanction our way into war. Instead, let us show the courage to choose peace. Paul D. Eaton is a retired major general in the U.S. Army; he lead the training of Iraqi forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is also a senior adviser at VoteVets. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Columbus Area Historical Society 1972 Mrs. Grace Niehoff, business teacher at Fall River High School retired after 38 years in education including 20 years at Markesan and 10 years at Fall River. Niehoff taught typing, bookkeeping, business law, and shorthand. Fifty-two second-graders took their first communion in the new St. Jeromes Church in a service led by Father Holzer. 1982 Dr. Clement Cheli, a long time Columbus general practitioner was inducted into the Fifty Year Club at the Wisconsin State Medical Society Meeting. The Society honors physicians who served patients for 50 years. His office assistant was Mary Ann Banetzke. Dr. Cheli came to Columbus in 1932. Rick Radig became the new editor of the Columbus Journal Republican in an announcement by publisher Marshall Bernhagen. 1992 By a 3-2 margin, the Columbus City Council appointed council president Tom Christiansen as mayor in a special meeting, to replace Mayor Jim Kelsh, who had resigned the office. Five candidates vied for the position: Alvin Reynolds, Bill Wendt, Bob Jones, Al Abrams, and Christiansen. Alvin Reynolds received the other two votes. An era came to a close with the retirement of teacher Marianne Heimerl, at St. Jeromes School. Heimerl had many fond memories of the more than 600 students who passed through her classroom in her 25 years at the school. 2002 Columbus Community Hospital and SSM Health Care of Wisconsin signed an affiliation agreement that provided SSMHC/WI with a minority interest in CCH. This was negotiated and agreed upon by both parties in an effort to provide an infusion of cash into CCH and for the hospital to retain local control, Ed Harding, the CCH president and CEO said. The Columbus High School announced the top ten students in the class of 2002. Follow us on Facebook at Columbus, WI Area Historical Society, or email museumcahs@gmail.com. BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged efforts to advance the study of Chinese civilization amid a push to enhance people's confidence in the Chinese culture. Xi made the remarks on Friday afternoon while addressing a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on a national research program dedicated to tracing the origin of the Chinese civilization. The long-standing and rich Chinese civilization is the foundation of contemporary Chinese culture, and a treasure trove inspiring cultural innovation, Xi noted. He called for a better understanding of the 5,000-plus-year history of the Chinese civilization to strengthen historical awareness and cultural confidence of the Party and society in the joint pursuit of national rejuvenation. Xi said the research program on the origin of the Chinese civilization has made marked achievements, but it should be moved forward as there are still many historical mysteries to be unraveled and many issues waiting for settlement with consensus built based on solid evidence and study. It is a complicated, time-consuming, and systematic task to explore the origin and formation of civilization, noted Xi, urging efforts to combine archaeological excavation and literature research with tools and methods of natural sciences. Xi called for greater efforts in studying unearthed artifacts and cultural relics and promoting related knowledge to enhance the power of the Chinese civilization to influence and inspire. Over 5,000 years and more, the Chinese people created a splendid civilization and made great contributions to the progress of human civilization, he said. Stressing that fine traditional Chinese culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, Xi said efforts should be made to adapt it to the context of a socialist society and to develop advanced socialist culture. The Chinese civilization has been known for its openness and inclusiveness since ancient times, Xi said, urging efforts to promote the view of civilization that champions equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and mutual accommodation. Misunderstandings between civilizations can be overcome through enhanced exchanges, clashes avoided by strengthening mutual learning, and civilization superiority replaced by the co-existence of various civilizations, Xi said. Xi also called for respect for people in different countries exploring their own development paths. He stressed telling the stories of the Chinese civilization well to present China as a trustworthy, loveable and admirable country, and the charm of the long-standing and rich Chinese civilization. The protection and use of cultural relics and the preservation of cultural heritage should be actively advanced, Xi also said. He ordered cadres at all levels to provide greater policy support and create a strong social atmosphere for the preservation and development of the Chinese civilization. (Source: Xinhua) Update: 29-05-2022 | 14:48:22 A delegation of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC) paid a working visit to Guanajuato state, aiming to bolster trade and investment. The ACMC delegation joins a session with Governor of Guanajuato Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo The delegation, comprising representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, joined working sessions with leaders of Guanajuato and Irapuato cities regarding economic development, foreign trade, tourism and education. Governor of Guanajuato Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo and local leaders spoke highly of cooperation possibilities across all fields with ASEAN, particularly economic development, trade, investment and tourism, which are expected to help the state in particular and Mexico in general diversify export markets and attract foreign investment. Malaysian Ambassador to Mexico Muzafar Shah Mustafar, who is rotating chair of the ACMC, underlined bilateral cooperation potential in manufacturing, information technology, investment, education, tourism and logistics, affirming that ASEAN serves as a gateway for Mexican products to penetrate the Asian market. Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam said that Mexico is among important markets of ASEAN in Latin America, calling on enterprises to bolster connectivity and capitalise on advantages brought by free trade agreements, especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Mexico and its localities economic cooperation, trade and investment chances with ASEAN were tabled at the ASEAN-Guanajuato business forum, which saw the attendance of 100 local businesses. Statistics by the Mexican Secretariat of Economy showed that trade between Mexico and Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam surpassed 28 billion USD in 2021./. VNA NSPCC Cymru to raise awareness of the charitys work and child protection at National Eisteddfod NSPCC Cymru will be at the Urdd National Eisteddfod this year giving visitors the opportunity to find out more about the charity and encouraging them to take part in its annual Childhood Day next month. Staff and volunteers will be at the event, being held in Denbigh this year, between May 30 June 4 to discuss their work, and promote Childhood Day, the charitys flagship day of fundraising and action that brings everyone in the UK together to protect children. NSPCC Cymru has Childline bases in Prestatyn and Cardiff offering vital counselling services in Welsh and English to children seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The services can be life-changing for children, giving them a chance to speak out safely about whatever might be happening to them or worrying them. In 2021/ 22 the NSPCC helpline for adults referred 352 children in Wales to statutory agencies with concerns of neglect, 291 because of physical abuse, 162 because of emotional abuse, and 243 for sexual abuse. The helpline receives contacts from the public and professionals who have safeguarding fears about a child. The charity will refer these on to statutory agencies when serious enough to do so, while offering advice and assistance in all cases. Tracey Holdsworth, Assistant Director for Wales, said: It is everyones responsibility to protect children. We know that strong communities can help to keep children safe, where thousands of individual people play their part in doing whats right. Thats why we created Childhood Day a day that brings everyone in the UK together to emphasise why child protection is a top priority. We are looking forward to this years Eisteddfod and would encourage everyone to visit our stand on the Maes to find out what they can to help keep children safe. Childhood Day takes place on the second Friday in June every year. This year it falls on June 10. Visit the Childhood Day hub or search Childhood Day to find out more about how you can play your part. NSPCC Cymru/ Wales is urging anyone with concerns about a child, even if theyre unsure, to contact the NSPCC helpline to speak to one of the charitys professionals. People can call 0808 800 5000, email help@nspcc.org.uk or fill in the online form. Praise for hard work and dedication of Brynteg volunteers A team of volunteers have been praised for their dedication and hard work in supporting the local community. Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes MP, recently visited the Brynteg Community House Cafe to find out more about the services they offer the local area. The small community interest company runs a cafe and community building for residents in the Brynteg area. The cafe is open three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday), with crafts in the cafe on Thursdays and a Citizens Advice Bureau on Tuesdays. It is run day-to-day by Irene Thompson, Eva Jones and Sandra Williams (both of whom are also on Broughton Community Council). Eva Jones said: We were very pleased to welcome Mr. Baynes to the Community House. We were impressed he did not give up, as it took several attempts to agree a date. He showed great interest in how we earned the money to keep the building open. We are always pleased to welcome new people to the cafe especially if they show an interest in joining us as a volunteer . Commenting after the visit, Simon Baynes MP said: I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Brynteg Community House Cafe. It was wonderful to meet with volunteers who do an amazing job in ensuring that the Brynteg Community House Cafe is able to run and is a great asset to the local community. It was also good to hear from some of the regular visitors to the cafe how much it means to them as a place where they always receive a warm and friendly welcome. The dedication of the volunteers is very impressive and I would like to thank them for their continuous hard work. Update: 29-05-2022 | 14:48:22 Vietnam reported 1,114 new COVID-19 infections, and no deaths on May 28, according to the Ministry of Health. Health workers administer COVID-19 vaccine shot for a senior citizen Hanoi continued to report the highest daily infections with 285, followed Vinh Phuc with 70, and Yen Bai with 68. The national tally is now 10,716,361. A total 8,463 COVID-19 patients were given the all-clear on the day, bringing the number of recoveries to 9,439,913. There are 189 patients in a serious condition, with six on life support. A total of 220,635,110 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far, with 199.05 million doses in the adult population, 17.45 million for those aged 12-17 years, and 4.12 million for children aged 5-11./. VNA Thousands of Israeli settlers and far right activists attacked Palestinians on Sunday as they marched through Jerusalem's Old City. The attacks took place as part of the now annual Flag March marking Israels annexation of East Jerusalem after its capture during the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Israeli thugs attacking Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City during the 1967 Mideast war. Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Last week, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court overturned a police order stopping far-right activists praying in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site for Muslims, in breach of a longstanding agreement between Israel and Jordan, which administers the affairs of the mosque. Settlers, nationalist and religious activists regularly storm the compound and perform Jewish prayers at the site which is reserved for Muslim prayers. Bentzi Gopstein, the founder and leader of the fascistic Lehava organisation, has even called for the destruction of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock to make way for a Third Jewish Temple. He called on settlers to break into the mosque on Jerusalem Day (May 29) and start dismantling it. While the authorities banned the Flag March from entering the compound, they approved a route through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and the Damascus Gate, a popular meeting place for Palestinians, with a massive police escort, knowing this would provoke mass protests that could inflame the entire region. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollahs secretary general, and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas warned they would respond if the march approached the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Last years Flag March that coincided with Ramadan was one of the factors that led to the ratcheting up of tensions and another of Israels murderous assaults on Gaza, as well as violent clashes between Arab and Jewish Israelis within Israel. Yesterdays march provoked angry clashes, with at least 40 Palestinians wounded in the Old City and the surrounding area, of whom 15 were hospitalized. Their injuries include wounds from rubber-coated steel bullets, beatings and pepper spray. Video clips show settlers assaulting and pepper-spraying Palestinians. Despite a massive police presence, nothing was done to stop the attacks. Officers instead protected the marchers, assaulting the Palestine Red Crescent Societys medical staff trying to reach the wounded near the Damascus Gate. This followed the storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier in the day by more than 2,600 ultra-nationalists and settlers who prayed at the site and raised the Israeli flag. They then marched through the Old City, before converging with the main march outside the Damascus Gate. Israelis wave national flags in front of Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City to mark Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City during the 1967 Mideast war. Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Sundays provocations take place amid Israels deliberate ratcheting up of tensions. Hardly a day goes by without the security forces carrying out a raid in the occupied West Bank, ostensibly in pursuit of terror suspects. They have killed dozens of Palestinians, injured hundreds and made mass arrests that have left detention centres full to overflowing. The latest victim was a 15-year-old, Zaid Ghuneim, shot dead in cold blood on Friday evening in Al-Khader, a village near Bethlehem, while 85 Palestinians were wounded, as the Israeli military cracked down on protesters across the occupied West Bank. These raids come in the wake of a series of killings of 14 Israelis by desperate Palestinians with few known connections to each other or to armed groups. Israeli security forces take positions during clashes with Palestinians following a demonstration against Israel's annual nationalist march through Jerusalem, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) It was during one such raid in Jenin, a centre of opposition to Israel, that the Israeli military deliberately shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh, the veteran Al Jazeera Arabic reporter, who was clearly visible and wearing a press identifier. That and the polices attack on her funeral procession sent a clear message that Israel will not tolerate the reporting of its brutal suppression of the Palestinians. The Palestinians fury over the killingsmore than 60 Palestinians have been killed so far this yearsettler violence against their farms, homes and property, evictions, house demolitions and settlement expansion has been worsened by the deteriorating economic and social conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, particularly in the aftermath of US sanctions on Russia that have pushed up the cost of fuel, fertilisers and food. Israeli violence has escalated since Naftali Bennett, who heads the small ultra-nationalist Yamina (Right) Party, became prime minister on June 21, 2021. Bennett, a leader of the settlers, is a determined advocate of Israels expansionist policy, advocating in 2012 the de jure annexation of Area C, the 60 percent of the occupied West Bank under Israeli military control and home to around 300,000 Palestinians, including it in his 2019 election manifesto. Such a policy can only be carried out by direct military rule, at the expense of both the Palestinian masses and the Israeli working class via social cuts and tax hikes. It has been prepared through the advocacy of communalist and ethno-religious politics, including ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, Israels Arab citizens and migrant workers. As the gap between rich and poor has grown, the state has become increasingly reliant on right-wing settlers and extreme nationalist zealots. As Bennetts fractious coalition loses its majority in the 120-seat Knesset, he is increasingly playing to these fascistic forces. He has called for the formation of armed vigilante groups, based in part on civilian volunteers, including from the New Hashomer (the New Guardian), a militia funded by wealthy donors in the US, far-right groups in Israel and the government that carries out extensive indoctrination activities with high school students described as social involvement. Bennett instructed the National Security Council to present an orderly and budgeted plan to establish a national civilian guard by the end of May. This is aimed not just at fighting terrorists but also Palestinian uprisings in mixed cities that are home to both Arabs and Jews, as happened in Lod and other cities last year during Israels 11-day assault on Gaza. Tensions were further inflamed last week when Israeli forces began demolishing the homes of Palestinians living in the Masafer Yatta district in the West Bank, leaving villagers to sleep out in the open or in tents. It followed a high court ruling this month sanctioning the expulsion of about 1,000 Palestinians from their homes in 12 villages in the area and the repurposing of the land for Israeli military use. Israel has announced plans to build 4,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank. The demolitions are a flagrant breach of the Geneva conventions banning the expropriation of occupied land or the forcible transfer of the local population, They set a precedent for further expulsions of Palestinians in the West Bank. In 1981, Israel designated the area as firing zone 918 for the exclusive use of the military with the explicit intention of forcing the villagers from their homes, according to cabinet minutes. Firing zones now cover 18 percent of the West Bank. The Israeli authorities first sought to expel the residents of the Masafer Yatta area in 1999, but the Supreme Court allowed them to return to their homes, pending a ruling by the high court that took two decades to reach a decision. Since then, the Palestinians have had to live with the threat of the demolition of their homes and the confiscation of their land because they do not have the necessary building license from the Israels Ministry of Defence. Since 2006, the authorities have granted just 75 building permits to Palestinians in Area C, compared with the 20,500 for Israeli settlements. Only 0.5 percent of Area C is available for Palestinian development. With almost all construction deemed illegal, Palestinians cannot access electricity from the grid, infrastructure or water and are forced to pay for costly private water supplies or build solar-powered pumps to access water. China has taken pre-emptive measures, which include improving the education system and tightening security, to ensure that people in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region live in peace and harmony without having to fear terrorist attacks. Western countries, including the US and some European states, have also been the targets of terrorist attacks. And like China, they too have adopted preventative measures to combat this menace. It is every country's priority to eliminate terrorist threats. Yet when Western countries take preventive measures, they are regarded as national security measures and when China takes similar actions, they are considered an act of "genocide". While the entire world has been calling for an end to religious extremism and terrorism, the West has chosen to single out and condemn one country for doing so. The level of hypocrisy is truly mind-boggling. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among the most vocal proponents of such claims, asserting that China's actions amount to genocide. But regardless of how many attempts they make, truth will always prevail. The Western world believes that by raising human rights concerns and hyping up the genocide rhetoric, it can jeopardize Xinjiang's stability, harmony and development. But attempts to demonize Xinjiang have proved futile and will continue to be so. Such nefarious actions serve to expose the West's underlying motives. In Xinjiang, the Uygur population has been continuously increasing. According to official statistics, the population of Xinjiang increased dramatically from 1953 to 2020, with the Uygur population surging from 3.6 million to more than 11.62 million. In addition, the advancement of healthcare facilities in Xinjiang has resulted in a significant reduction in the death rate. The average life expectancy in the region grew from 30 years in 1949 to 74.7 years in 2019. While absolute poverty has been eradicated in the region, per capita disposable income of both urban and rural residents increased by more than 100 times, from 1978 to 2020. Xinjiang has also implemented a multilayered social security program with the aim of improving its residents' well-being, including establishing an education system that covers all levels of education, extending healthcare to even the remotest areas, and ensuring job seekers of all ethnic groups get equal opportunities. The authorities have also taken measures to conserve the cultures of all ethnic minorities. While intangible cultural heritage items of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been included in the national and regional lists, 133 significant cultural heritage sites have been given State protection. Furthermore, religious freedom is protected throughout the region. For example, there are 24,400 mosques in Xinjiang, that is, one mosque for every 530 Muslims. In fact, Xinjiang has more than twice as many mosques than those in the US, the UK, Germany and France put together. Equally significant is the region's safety and security. People's lives and property are duly protected, allowing all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to peacefully pursue a better life for themselves and their children. The Xinjiang regional government's framework and peaceful relations among different ethnic groups have facilitated rapid economic success in recent years. China's policies of promoting ethnic peace include guaranteeing equality and religious freedom, and taking a tough stance against religious extremism. The West's allegations of genocide run counter to the region's economic development. The allegations could be a ploy to draw China's attention away from Xinjiang's development and ease its anti-terrorism policy. As an old adage goes, to know whether the shoes fit, ask the wearer. Xinjiang residents are more knowledgeable than anyone else about the human rights situation in the region. "My achievements are inseparable from the learning opportunities, scientific research platforms, and policy support provided by the government over the years," said Nurzahat Habibul, who grew up in a rural family in Xinjiang and is now an associate professor at Xinjiang Normal University. More than 2,000 government officials, religious personnel and journalists from over 100 countries and organizations have visited Xinjiang in recent years, and seen for themselves how a peaceful and harmonious Xinjiang is progressing steadily. Xinjiang is "a land of prosperity, a land where people enjoy their rights and the rule of law", said Victor Cadena, vice-president of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in China. All of the West's false claims are disproved by such undeniable facts. For years, allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang have been circulating in the Western media but none has been substantiated by facts. Instead of admitting that they have levelled false accusations against China, the Western media has tried to instil in people the belief that China is deliberately obscuring facts and portraying a picture of harmony. The unsuccessful quest of the West to find proof of genocide, forced labor, concentration camps and other human rights violations in Xinjiang is reminiscent of the search in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Is the West genuinely seeking the truth? Or, is it more engaged in inventing it? The author is the founder of Save HK and a central committee member of the New People's Party. People's DailyIts been two years since George Floyd died under the knee of a white police officer. The African Americans death sparked lasting and widespread protests across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. I cant breathe has become a slogan for racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. to oppose racism. However, systemic racism, a stain on the soul of America, is still a huge obstacle on the way of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. to pursue human rights. Just as The Washington Post put it, people of all races took to the streets to demand accountability, justice and reform, and Black people should not continue to be targeted for harm based on the color of their skin. However, its been two years and Black people still cant breathe. Racism is a deep-rooted tumor of the American society. It is continuing to cause human rights tragedies for the racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. According to USA Today, hundreds of people from ethnic minority groups were killed by U.S. law enforcement officers just within a year after the death of George Floyd. Statistics released by American social groups indicated that 266 African Americans were killed by police officers last year, and they were almost three times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police. At the 49th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council held in March this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted that given the large number of deaths of African Americans caused by police brutality in the U.S., relevant departments should take practical actions to investigate into such cases and bring relevant lawbreakers to justice. Racism is an institutional and systemic defect of the U.S. It is embodied in every aspect of the American society. In February 2021, Stanford News, a website of Stanford University, carried an article examining systemic racism in the U.S. The article suggests that in education, youth of color are more likely to be closely watched; in the criminal justice system, people of color, particularly Black men, are disproportionately targeted; and in the economy and employment, from who moves forward in the hiring process to who receives funding from venture capitalists, Black Americans and other minority groups are discriminated against in the workplace and economy-at-large. Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. based think tank, pointed out that the structural racism in the U.S. has deprived colored communities of the opportunity to lift their social stratum, making it harder for colored groups to get higher-quality education, jobs, housing, healthcare and equal judicial treatment. According to a report by the U.S. News & World Report, the U.S. ranked among the bottom 10 countries for racial equality. Racism is exacerbating social divide in the U.S., making discrimination, hatred and violence prevalent. The recent mass shooting targeting at African Americans in Buffalo, New York astonished the world. From the 2015 shooting by a white gunman at an African American church in North Carolina, to the 2019 El Paso killing targeting at Latinos, and to the rising Asian hate after COVID-19 broke out, the U.S. has been seeing more and more hate crimes motivated by racism. According to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, 32 percent of Black adults, 21 percent of Asian adults and 14 percent of Hispanic adults in the U.S. said they worried every day or almost every day that they might be threatened or attacked because of their race or ethnicity, while this figure was 4 percent among White Americans. Do equality and human rights really exist in a society where peoples rights to life and existence, the most important human rights, are measured by their skin colors? The repeated tragedies like the death of George Floyd prove that systemic racism needs a systemic response, said a UN official. There needs to be a comprehensive rather than a piecemeal approach to dismantling systems entrenched in centuries of discrimination and violence, the official added. However, the U.S. system cannot dismantle racial inequality and discrimination for African Americans, said E. Tendayi Achiume, UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Given the polarization of American politics, the U.S. government can barely roll out any practical measure to narrow the racial gap. Some American politicians even publicly resorted to right-wing extremism to fuel the white supremacy. The U.S. President admitted that White supremacy is a poison running through our body politic in a recent visit to the city of Buffalo. However, the current political system is not only unable to offer an antidote, but also constantly exacerbating the systemic racism. Without racial justice, the U.S. cannot be a truly free and democratic country. Two years after George Floyd was killed, the systemic racism of the U.S. society is still there and making ethnic minority groups unable to breathe. This is how human rights are protected in the country. The U.S. should face up to its deep-rooted systemic racism to avoid further human rights tragedies. what offended me more was her sense of entitlement and her overly careerist approach to the profession. I think it's best these types are weeded out early on personally -- does not contribute much. She emailed me again asked me if I had time to meet her, and to be nice I said yes, and then she emails me back that "because she is busy w/ hw, club obligations, and classes" if I can meet her at a time she will propose later. Do these undergrads not realize that they should work around MY clock, not theirs? Not to mention that actively seeking out professors and melding your research interests to maximize getting into a good school is disingenuous from my viewpoint. My advisor was like a second father to me and I'd be pissed if some undergrad simply viewed him as some letter writing machine to be exploited. --You know what's the worst part? She will probably have a very successful application, go into a VHRM and then go on to have a great placement. I agree these people should be weeded out early, but our profession seems to be rewarding these types more and more lately. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Options are limited to prevent brown trout population declines in nine rivers spread across southwestern Montana, a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks official told an interim legislative committee on Tuesday. We have few tools to respond quickly to low flow conditions, said Eileen Ryce, Fisheries Bureau chief for the agency. However, we can adjust fishing regulations to reduce stress during critical time periods. So far, however, FWP has implemented regulations on only two of the hardest hit rivers: the Big Hole and Beaverhead. There, restrictions on fishing in the fall to protect brown trout spawning beds were implemented last year. On the seven other rivers, similar action doesnt seem warranted, FWP decided. For example, FWP said such fishing season closures to protect spawning trout would not be expected to have a population scale effect on the Jefferson, Stillwater, Shields, Madison, Yellowstone, Boulder (a tributary to the Jefferson River) and Ruby rivers. Fishing restrictions, such as no bait fishing, mandating catch-and-release fishing, or limiting angling to fly fishing only, were also ruled out as unlikely to halt the brown trout decline. A hoot-owl closure, which bans fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight, was implemented in 2020 on the lower Madison River and will be continued to see if it has any beneficial effect. Certainly I dont think fishing regulations are going to solve a water quantity issue, but they didnt do any harm, Clayton Elliott, of Montana Trout Unlimited, told the members of the Environmental Quality Council. Petition A day after the EQC hearing, a coalition of conservation groups, fishing businesses and citizens submitted a petition to Gov. Greg Gianforte asking him to assemble a multi-agency, interdisciplinary Cold Water Fisheries Task Force to address the challenges facing Montanas cold water fisheries. The petition was announced in a Wednesday news release from the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper. Montanas world-class waterways and blue-ribbon fisheries deserve special attention said Guy Alsentzer, Waterkeeper executive director, in the statement. They are the lifeblood of our outdoor economy, recreation lifestyles, and the source of drinking water for thousands of Montanans. Upper Missouri Waterkeeper was also in the news recently for its lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to compel the federal agency to make the Montana Department of Environmental Quality roll back its legislatively implemented numeric water quality standards. The nonprofit also faulted Gianforte for refusing to let FWP use its senior water rights on the Shields and Smith rivers last July in an attempt to keep water in the streams. The situation was revealed in a Missoula Current story this April. In a letter written by Gianforte to FWP Director Hank Worsech, the governor said FWPs water request would provide questionable, if any, measurable benefit to the rivers. The Missoula Current obtained the letter through a Freedom of Information Act request. From spring fish die-offs, summer heat waves and unprecedented drought conditions, to record low flows and historically low fish counts with declining brown trout populations combined with increased development and fishing pressure, Montanas world-class cold water fisheries are dwindling away, suffering death by a thousand cuts, the petitioners wrote to the governor. Options Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, asked Ryce during the EQC meeting if FWP had considered any other ideas to deal with low flows. Ryce said some landowners, including those on the Big Hole River involved in a cooperative agreement, are leaving water in rivers and streams rather than using their allocated water right. She said the agency is also looking to lease water rights and working with dam operators on storage as possible solutions. The tools we have directly available to us are limited, and they often do take quite some time to get in place, she said. The best tool we have available is really working very closely with the water users to collectively try to leave more water in the streams. NorthWestern Energy announced in April that it would be reducing flows into the Madison River from its Hebgen Dam to preserve water during another predicted dry summer and below average spring runoff. Saving this water to supplement flows on the Madison River during the heat of the summer will help to reduce stress on fish from elevated water temperatures, said Andy Welch, NorthWestern Energy manager of Hydro License Compliance, in a statement. Hebgen businesses complained to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that NorthWestern did not keep its obligated amount of water in the reservoir last summer, hurting their businesses due to docks and boat launches being left dry. FERC oversees dam operations. A NorthWestern official said the reservoirs lake levels are unlikely to improve this summer. This will be another extremely challenging year without enough water to meet the needs of all the Madison River Basin users, said Jeremy Clotfelter, NorthWestern Energy director of Hydro Operations. I fully expect that we will not be able to maintain Hebgen Reservoir recreation elevations again this summer. A study released last year showed about 87% of the Upper Missouri River Basins water is used by agriculture with another 12% evaporating from reservoirs. The Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin rivers are the main upper basin streams that join to form the Missouri River. Research For a comprehensive view of the brown trout population decline, FWP launched a collaborative study with the U.S. Geological Survey last year. The research looked at 14 different rivers over the past 30 years, utilizing monitoring data to determine the extent and cause of the fishes decline. We established several rivers were showing brown trout declines with the primary driver being declining streamflows, Ryce said. Other potential causes were investigated, including fish pathogens. Signs of systemic stress were identified in the fish, which could be attributed to low flows, high temperatures, and/or other stress events including angling pressure. But the declines were not attributed to a specific or novel pathogen, such as in the case of whirling disease in the mid to late 90s. A whirling disease outbreak hammered the Madison River and other streams, mainly affecting rainbow and native cutthroat trout. Studies are continuing with Montana State University researchers to develop models using natural and angler-induced mortality which could be used to inform management changes as part of an adaptive management approach, Ryce added. Signs The first sign that Montanas rivers may be facing problems beyond the control of fishing regulations arose in 2016. Thats when proliferative kidney disease was identified as the cause of death for what would later be estimated at tens of thousands of fish along about 180 miles of the Yellowstone River, between Gardiner and Billings. The die-off led to a temporary closure of the river to all recreation and an estimated $500,000 economic loss to the region. Fish kills on the Yellowstone were reported again in August 2017 and in 2020, but were more limited in size, so no river closure was enacted. Mountain whitefish, which are more sensitive, have died in larger numbers than trout. Last year, a fish kill in a 10-mile stretch below Ennis Reservoir on the Madison River was investigated. Again, the die-off was predominantly among whitefish, with 800 dead compared to 20 trout. Although some fish had irritated gills, the cause of the die-off was never determined. Last year, low water prompted FWP to close 14 miles of the Ruby River to fishing in May. Agency fish surveys have shown the streams brown trout population dropping from 1,500 per mile to historic lows of 600-700 in the upper tail waters, the Montana Standard reported. The Beaverhead River has seen its brown trout numbers decline from 2,000 to 1,000. On the Big Holes most popular section near Melrose, adult brown trout numbers have fallen from 1,800 to 400 in the past six years, the Standard reported. Pressure The lower fish numbers come as more anglers are fishing, raising questions about whether restrictive catch-and-release regulations would help. FWPs Fisheries chief, Ryce, said the department doesnt have fatality figures from catch-and-release, but stress on the fish can be exacerbated by warmer waters and how often a fish is caught. For the most part, however, the agency doesnt attribute the decline in fish numbers to people catching and keeping fish for consumption. Annually, there are more than 3 million angler days spread across Montana, FWP reported on its website. An angler day is one angler fishing for part of one day. The states fishing economy is valued at more than $900 million. Theres a lot of concern from anglers and those interested in the health of those rivers, said Elliott, of Montana Trout Unlimited. The correlation with low flows is certainly the strongest indicator of what this challenge is. Elliott, along with a representative of the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, praised FWP for reaching out to anglers, conservation organizations and the public and being transparent about what it is doing and the problems being faced. Its not as simple as just saying were going to have this amount of water, he said. We have to do it in a complex landscape. Its not an ideal situation but I think people are really coming together and setting some of the old disagreements aside to do whats right. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 WASHINGTON Few details have emerged about a Supreme Court investigation into the leak of a draft opinion in a major abortion case though there have been plenty of signs of discord within the court since the document's disclosure nearly a month ago. The draft opinion by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, first obtained by Politico and later confirmed by the court, set off a flurry of speculation about the identity and motivation of whoever exposed the document as the court launched a probe into the unprecedented breach. Court officials have remained tight-lipped about the scope of the investigation, which is being handled by the Supreme Court marshal, declining to answer questions from USA TODAY about whether outside entities have been brought in to help or the status of the probe. But there are indications of repercussions from the leak. Law clerks at the court have been asked to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits, CNN reported Tuesday, and some are considering hiring attorneys of their own. The crackdown and focus on cell phones had echoes of efforts to shut down leaks within former President Donald Trump's notoriously fractionalized White House. The justices themselves, meanwhile, have been unusually chatty about the leak's impact. "When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder," Associate Justice Clarence Thomas said at an event in Dallas this month. "It's like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it but you can't undo it." Questioned by the audience at a George Mason University event this month about how the justices are getting along, Alito dispensed with the usual boilerplate about how the nine members of the court are personally close even when conflict bursts into the open. Guns, climate: Supreme Court is juggling major controversies besides abortion Story continues History: Justice Alito's history of abortion in leaked draft opinion? It's debatable Precedent: A look at past Supreme Court decisions that have been overruled "The court right now, we had our conference this morning, were doing our work," Alito said, according to The Washington Post. "Were taking new cases, were headed toward the end of the term, which is always a frenetic time as we get our opinions out. No opinion will be as closely watched this year as the one in Mississippi's challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 opinion that established a constitutional right to abortion. The leaked draft, along with information Politico attributed to a "person familiar with the courts deliberations," suggested a majority of the court supported overturning Roe. Protective fencing remains up around the Supreme Court building in anticipation of protests on May 24, 2022. That prompted protests across the country, including at the justices' homes; anxious applause among anti-abortion groups and lawmakers who have sought to unwind Roe for decades; and a furious spinning of theories about the leaker that quickly took on political overtones. Could it have been a clerk, one of the 20-something law school graduates that put in punishing hours helping to research and craft opinions? Maybe it was a justice, a member of the court's liberal wing trying to scuttle the outcome or a conservative hoping to galvanize support for Alito's position. Theories abound. Answers are more elusive. In the days following the disclosure of the opinion, Politico followed up with another detail from the court's process: No other opinions had circulated, which may suggest negotiations over the Alito draft were at an early stage. This week, citing "multiple people familiar with the proceedings," Politico reported the investigation is "fully in progress." A Supreme Court spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the status of the investigation. Shaken: Leaked abortion opinion shakes trust in Supreme Court Secret?: Supreme Court deliberations are supposed to be secret. What happened? Illegal?: Leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion not illegal, experts predict In a statement a day after the leak, the Supreme Court said Gail Curley, the high court's marshal, would handle the investigation. Curley's office supervises about 260 employees with a wide range of responsibilities, including building security, maintaining order in the courtroom, overseeing contracts and some human resources functions. Although the office manages the Supreme Court police, many of its responsibilities are more administrative. The fact that Chief Justice John Roberts assigned the probe to Curley instead of to some other court official, such as the counselor to the chief justice essentially his chief of staff is telling, experts said. "It's notable that the chief assigned this to somebody who is an institutional officer of the court," Sean Marotta, a veteran appellate attorney who follows the Supreme Court, told USA TODAY earlier this month. "He sort of took it away from his personal office, so to speak, and put it more just in the institutional area of the court." Curley's most public role was supposed to be in the nation's highest courtroom, where the marshal bangs a gavel and announces the entrance of the justices. Her brief script includes "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" meaning "hear ye" and concludes, "God save the United States and this Honorable Court." People who know Curley, 53, told the Associated Press that the former Army colonel and military lawyer possessed the right temperament for a highly charged leak investigation: smart, private, apolitical and unlikely to be intimidated. Though experts say the investigation appears to be unprecedented and it's not clear if the marshal's office has the resources or expertise to run a fully independent search for the leaker. Because the probe was assigned to the marshal, it's being handled as an internal matter, said John Q. Barrett, a law professor at St. John's University in New York. "That's different and not as aggressive as bringing in an outside, experienced investigator or team with law enforcement skills in general and in particular in the context of investigating a leak," Barrett said. Protective fencing remains up around the Supreme Court building in anticipation of protests related to a possible decision that could overturn the Roe v. Wade decision on May 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. It's not likely that such a leak is illegal, experts said, but it would probably be a career-ending move for a clerk, making it impossible to pursue opportunities in the top tiers of the legal profession. Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, said bringing in the Justice Department to help with the investigation would raise separation of power issues the kind of outside involvement Roberts has long been keen to avoid. It could subject the justices themselves to a level of scrutiny they might find unwelcome. I would seek and obtain email accounts and review private email, Mariotti said. Its not clear to me that the chief justice of the Supreme Court wants an investigator whether the marshal or someone else seizing the cellphones of justices and families and associates, going through their private emails and so forth. Investigators of the leak are heading into uncharted waters, some experts said. "I'm 100% certain that they havent investigated anything like this before," said Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior counsel with Ken Starrs independent counsel investigation of President Bill Clinton and the founder of Red Branch Consulting. Alito's draft opinion was a full-throated repudiation of Roe, an approach that if embraced by the court would not only overturn a landmark precedent but amount to a change in the way Americans have understood reproductive rights for the past five decades. If the idea was to raise the alarm, a leak from the left might make sense. A counter-theory is that a conservative might have leaked the draft in an effort to hold together a majority. A wavering justice might be less willing to switch sides in the case if there is a perception of doing so because of the fallout from the disclosure. "In terms of who leaked it and why, it seems much more likely to me that it comes from the right in response to an actual or threatened defection by one of the five who voted to overturn Roe," Kermit Roosevelt, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School told USA TODAY earlier this month. "Leaking this early draft makes that more costly for a defector because now people will think that they changed their vote after the leak." Justices can and do switch sides after seeing draft opinions. Dissents can become majority opinions. There was wide speculation that the court's liberals joined a major decision last year curbing LGBTQ rights to head off a much more far-reaching opinion that would have represented a major win for religious groups. The justices themselves would know if Alito seemed to be losing his majority or if the five votes needed for his opinion are solid. In other words, the justices probably have more insight into the motivation of the leaker than those speculating from the outside. In the cloistered world of the Supreme Court, heavy on tradition and slow to embrace technology, there should in theory be a relatively small number of people who would have access to a draft opinion namely the justices and their clerks. Complicating all of the theories was a lack of clarity about the opinion leaker's motives. "I just dont see someone leaking early an opinion that many people believed was a strong possibility anyhow," Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said on the CAFE Insider podcast this month. "I dont see how anyone could think that that would move the needle at all." Contributing: Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Few answers from Supreme Court a month after abortion draft leak Kevin Wagner Q. Can you tell me something about American government that I probably didnt learn in school? A. There is a great deal to choose from in that question but how about this: George Washington was not the first American with the title of president and our Constitution was not the first document in the United States to define the relationship between the people, the states and the national government. Washington also did not cut down a cherry tree and then confess to his father. Thats a tale that surfaced in a biography well after his death. But, I digress. George Washington was the first president under the U.S. Constitution. However, prior to the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. The Articles constituted the supreme law of the land from 1781 until 1789, which is when the current Constitution went into effect. The Articles were written and passed by the Continental Congress in 1777 and were ratified by all 13 states in 1781. The Articles were the product of a committee charged by the Second Continental Congress with deciding how our new nation would govern itself. The Committee itself was made up of 13 men one representative from each colony. However, the principal drafter was John Dickinson, the delegate from Delaware. The document was about six pages long and was ultimately adopted by the Congress after some debate and revisions. Most Americans learn in school that the Articles failed because they created a weak and often ineffectual central government. Under the Articles, the central government could not tax, set policy or regulate commerce. Federalists like Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison led an ultimately successful effort to replace the Articles with the far stronger government described in the current Constitution. The Articles are often forgotten, but they did have a significant influence on our nations development. They represented a view that sought to limit central authority, which is still very much debated today. Further, it is often overlooked that the Articles were where we named our proposed new confederation of former colonies: The United States of America. Story continues Under the Articles, the first President to serve a full one-year term was John Hanson, a representative from Maryland. However, since there was no executive branch, Hansons role was very different from our modern presidency. Hanson was the president of the Congress of the Confederation, which is closer to what we would call a prime minister today. The job was far more ministerial, and it included duties like signing official documents and dealing with correspondence. President Hanson was one of nine men to serve in that role, and while he only did it for about a year, he played an important part in leading our new nation and helped shape the structure of our democracy. Like George Washington, there is a statue of John Hanson in the U.S. Capitol. Interestingly, Hanson is often credited with establishing the 4th Thursday in November as the date for Thanksgiving. Bet you didnt learn that in school. Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter @kevinwagnerphd. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: George Washington wasn't our first president, not by a longshot. MILFORD This years "Field of Flags" event resulted in 210 flags being installed at Draper Park a record high, according to Citizens for Milford member Geri Eddins. In partnership with The Salvation Army, the Milford Parks Department and the Offices of Veterans' Services, Citizens of Milford members launched Field of Flags to pay tribute to veterans and active military personnel, as well as raise funds dedicated to providing aid to Milford residents in need, Eddins said. Sponsors contribute $40 donations to have a flag tagged with a loved ones name installed by volunteers from The Salvation Army, Milford Federal Bank, the U.S. Army recruiting station and residents who come to help, she said. Volunteers from Milford Federal Bank plant flags as part of Milford's "Field of Flags" display at Draper Park. The community response is overwhelming, Eddins said. Its a stunning display in the heart of downtown Milford. Six years ago, a Milford resident saw a large flag display in another Massachusetts community, Eddins said. They were overwhelmed by the display's beauty and brought the idea back to Milford. Meanwhile, The Salvation Armys "Fly the Flag" program had been running for several years. The town then collaborated with The Salvation Army to set up a "field of flags" downtown at Draper Park. The Field of Flags program was born and became an annual event, pausing only due to the pandemic and construction at the park, Eddins said. The Salvation Army's "Fly the Flag" campaign has been running for several years. Now that construction is done, and COVID has released us somewhat from its clutches, we can run the program again, she said. The 2022 Fly the Flag campaign aims to place more than 500 flags and raise more than $25,000 to provide aid in Milford, Hopedale and Mendon, according to a statement from Heather MacFarlane, director of communications from The Salvation Army. Requests for aid have risen drastically due to the pandemic, MacFarlane said. The Salvation Army assists more than 30 million Americans annually. Capt. Kevin Polito has been an officer for 12 years in The Salvation Army. He, his wife and 10 other volunteers from the religious charitable organization set up flags in Milford and surrounding towns for the individuals who buy them. Story continues A "Field of Flags" covers Draper Park in downtown Milford ahead of Memorial Day. Theres a lot of work and planning involved in placing flags, Polito said. We communicate with the person who owns the house and put flags in areas where wind wont blow them, he said, Ive been an officer for 12 years and have never seen a more labor-intensive campaign. So far, the campaign has raised $15,000 toward its $25,000 goal. Were seeing good traction, Polito said. Next to kettles at Christmas, this is the second biggest fundraiser of the year. Funds will go toward helping residents with rent, electricity, food and clothing, he said. Womens hygiene products are available through a partnership with the nonprofit Dignity Matters, he said. Flags are a symbol of hope and perseverance, Polito said, It warms my heart to see how this program is supported and the community spirit in Milford here. The flags will remain up through Memorial Day before getting taken down. They will be put up again for Independence day, and then a final time from 9/11 through Veterans Day. This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Milford Field of Flags campaign raises funds for residents in need New York States deer harvest was considerably lower last season than in 2020, according to the Department of Environmental Conservations annual report issued last week. Hunters took and estimated 211,269 deer during the 2021-22 big game season, down 17 percent from the previous season (253,990), and below the five-year average of 224,491. Fewer Deer Management Permits were issued last season 615,874, down about 48,000 (7.3 percent) which accounts for some of the decline. The DEC also noted resurgence in Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in some regions, which might have resulted in fewer deer in those areas. More Outdoors: Challenging conventional wisdom on stream and in the field There were 110,839 antlered bucks and 100,430 antlerless deer taken. The antlerless total was down 25 percent, although the DEC says that is partly a correction from 2020, when the take was up 30 percent from 2019. The buck total was down about 5,000. Bowhunters took 48,679 deer, muzzleloaders 19,268, and youth 1,670. The regular season total was 139,734. Hunters continued to be somewhat selective, with 61.3 percent of bucks taken aged at 2.5 or more years, nearly the same as 2020 (61.7 percent). Crossbow hunters downed 14,384 deer, up more than 3,000. The hunter reporting rate hunters are required to report their kills, but the regulation is regularly ignored was up three points to 47.8. Steuben County, where we have our deer camp, again led the state by a wide margin with 13,001 deer taken, with 4.6 bucks per square mile, and 4.7 antlerless deer per square mile. Steuben is a big, rural county with a lot of huntable territory, including a decent amount of state land, and a good mix of woods and croplands. It has been a deer hunting Mecca since the 1930s, especially hunters from the Rochester and Buffalo areas, and there are quite a few clubs and family groups that hunt it hard. The other western Southern Tier counties, much like Steuben in character to Steuben, also produced big numbers 8,461 deer in Chautauqua County, 8,375 in Allegany County, and 7,728 in Cattaraugus. Story continues There were 2,842 bucks taken in Oneida County, and a total of 4,865 deer all together. The Herkimer County totals were 1,712 and 2,690, Madison County 1,730 and 3,975, Otsego County 3,178 and 5,519, and Lewis County 2,324 and 3,399. The buck takes in those counties were pretty much in the same neighborhood as in 2020, while the total take generally was lower, again, at least partly because of fewer antlerless permits being issued. During the annual Youth Big Game Hunt on Columbus Day Weekend, hunters 12 to 15 years old took 1,670 deer, and 11 black bears, with 10,692 junior hunters participating. Junior hunters were allowed one deer, antlered or antlerless. Hunters 14 and 15 could take a bear with a firearm when accompanied by a licensed adult. Chronic Wasting Disease in deer has been an issue in New York for more than two decades. The DEC tested 2,713 deer in 2021-22, and none tested positive. The Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease referred to above is a virus transmitted by midges. The DEC says it cannot by picked up by humans through contact with deer or bites from midges. There was an outbreak of the disease in the lower Hudson Valley last summer, and it has been confirmed in a half dozen or more counties. There were suspected cases in other counties, including Oneida. Signs include fever, small hemorrhages or bruises in the mouth and nose, and swelling of the head, neck, tongue, and lips. A deer infected with EHD may appear lame or dehydrated. Information on EHD and instructions on how to report deer suspected of having it is available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/123773.html. The complete 2021 deer report is available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/2021deerrpt.pdf Write to John Pitarresi at 60 Pearl Street, New Hartford, N.Y. 13413 or jcpitarresi41@gmail.com or call him at 315-724-5266. NOTEBOOK Keesler scholarship applications available The Janice and Paul Keesler Scholarship Fund is accepting applications. The scholarship, which honors the late creators of the former New York Sportsman Magazine, is available to New York State residents who are or will be working toward a degree in some facet of wildlife management. The fund was awarded more than $31,500 in grants over the last 26 years. Applications are available at www.keeslerscholarshipfund.org . The deadline is September 1. Information about the scholarship can be found at www.keeslerscholarshipfund.org. Inquiries can be sent to Bridget Keesler at Keeslerbridget@gmail.com. Black River yields new catfish record New York State has a new channel catfish record. Bailey Williams of Watertown caught a 35-pound, 12-ounce catfish while fishing the Black River on May 8. Williams used cut bait cut up baitfish to fool the fish, which broke the previous record by nine ounces. A photo of Williams with the big cat is available on the Department of Environmental Conservations state record fish page at https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7935.html This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: New York state deer harvest declines Lawmakers and advocates are pressing the Department of Defense to protect access to abortion for servicewomen as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The Army and the Air Force have made policy changes aimed at making leave for pregnancy termination easier. But advocates say the Pentagon itself should issue rules that would allow service women to take leave to end pregnancies through abortion in order to eliminate disparities between the services on abortion access. This is not an Air Force issue, an Army issue, a Marine Corps issue, this is a national security Department of Defense personnel readiness issue, said Rachel VanLandingham, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. So therefore, this policy should come from the Department of Defense itself. Theres no room for disparities amongst the services, she added. The Hyde Amendment forbids federal dollars from being used for abortions unless a pregnancy endangers the life of a mother, and Tricare, the militarys healthcare program, only covers abortion in those cases or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Research from Ibis Reproductive Heath suggests that the rate of unintended pregnancy is higher in the military that in the general population. Ibis president Kelly Blanchard noted, however, that its difficult to tell how many women are seeking abortions because of unintended pregnancies. The military itself is not routinely across branches, collecting enough information to know that number, Blanchard said, adding that the stigma around sexual activity in the military could play a role in the lack of information. I think we just have to be conscious of the challenge of people reporting in a military environment that thats what their experience has been, she said. Service women seeking abortions also have the option to do so at facilities off base. Allison Gill, a Navy veteran and host of the podcasts Mueller She Wrote and The Daily Beans, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post up about seeking an abortion off base after she was raped. Story continues Gill, who at the time was at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, said that when she reported the incident, she was threatened to be kicked out of the military. Had Roe been overturned, that probably wouldnt be the case, Gill told The Hill. The worst part of my experience would be being forced to give birth, first of all. And then being forced to give birth to my rapists baby. While Gill was able to get an abortion at a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic, she said that not every servicemember can easily access the care they need. Many will have to request leave through their chain of command, which can force a servicemember to explain why theyre leaving. Sean Timmons, a managing partner at the law firm Tully Rickney PLC, says that women could face a more hostile work environment after going through the approval process. Even if they get approved, when they return, its probably going to get leaked while they were gone, he said, noting a good number of people will likely treat that servicemember differently. Half of the ranks are probably going to be voters who are very hostile to abortion, he added. So thats going to make a very difficult environment to work. The Supreme Court this summer is widely expected to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. A leaked draft opinion published by Political this month showed five conservatives on the court are ready to do so. At least 26 states are likely to or will claw back abortion rights if Roe gets overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute. Blanchard noted that as the number of clinics where one can access abortion services gets reduced, it puts a greater strain on clinics in other states with more accessible care. You have to travel further, theres additional expense for the travel, you still have to pay for the procedure, you have to find someone to take care of your kids, if you have kids, you have to deal with the logistics of getting time off, she continued. In mid-April, the Army released a policy stating in part that given the time-sensitive nature of the procedure, pregnancy termination will not require unit commander pre-approval. At the same time, the Army said soldiers would have to keep their commanders notified of expected absences. The Air Force adopted a similar policy in June 2021. Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Grinston told a House appropriations subcommittee on May 12 that the Army was drafting policies to take care of service members in an appropriate way in response to the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade. Ultimately, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth would have to sign off on these directives. The Pentagon has been largely mum on how rolling back abortion rights would affect military readiness. The agencys top spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters in early May that the health and well-being of our men and women are paramount concerns of Department leadership. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a group of Democrats on the Senate Armed Services committee urged the Pentagon chief to implement policies to allow servicemembers to obtain special permissions to travel out of state for reproductive healthcare. VanLandingham said that the Pentagon has room to indicate that the military will support women if they need to travel to seek abortion care. Im hoping that the military can do this in a mature, sensitive way. And why? Because they need to retain their women, she said. Women are an integral part of the force And if this is all going to jeopardize their morale and readiness within the military then thats a national security problem. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who led the law enforcement response to the Tuesday mass shooting at an elementary school and prevented officers from confronting the gunman for more than an hour, completed an active shooter training course in December, according to law enforcement records obtained by NBC News. Arredondo completed an eight-hour "Active Shooter Training Mandate" course on Dec. 17, 2021, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement public records, NBC reported. He completed the same course on Aug. 20, 2020. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said Friday that Arredondo wrongly determined that no more lives were at risk after the gunman fired multiple rounds inside a locked classroom. Arredondo determined that the situation inside Robb Elementary School had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject, McCraw said. That decision runs counter to broadly accepted doctrine on handling active shooter situations. "When there is an active shooter, the rules change. ... You don't have time," McCraw said. "You keep shooting until the subject is dead." Nineteen children and two teachers were shot dead. Arredondo was not available for comment Saturday. Police, who were guarding Arredondo's home, said he was not home. He did not respond to a note the American-Statesman left at his door. Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn in as a member of the Uvalde City Council on Tuesday. He was elected to the City Council on May 7. Inside the Uvalde shooting: Teacher describes how she and her students survived 'It was the wrong decision': Officers didn't enter Uvalde classroom as kids kept calling 911 Administrators at Uvalde's City Hall also could not be reached for comment. For Arredondo, patrolling the school district is a hometown job. Arredondo, 50, graduated from Uvalde High School with the class of 1990, according to the Uvalde Leader News. He got his start in law enforcement at the Uvalde Police Department in 1993, then moved to Laredo around 2010 and served as a commander for the Webb County sheriffs office for about eight years, according to the Laredo Morning Times. Story continues Changing stories on Texas shooting: What Abbott, DPS said over 3 different press conferences He was sworn in as chief of police for Uvalde's school district in March 2020. A few months later, he purchased a home less than 2 miles away from Robb Elementary, records show. The decision to end the active-shooter response, McCraw said, meant the police chief believed there was time to retrieve keys to the classroom door from a janitor and for a Border Patrol tactical team to arrive. Nineteen police officers were massed outside the Uvalde classroom, McCraw said. But for more than an hour, according to a new timeline McCraw provided, the shooter traveled between two classrooms connected by a shared bathroom while students and teachers were calling 911 for help, including a girl who begged, "Please send police now." Another caller reported that eight or nine students were still alive about a half-hour before the Border Patrol team entered the classroom behind shields and shot the 18-year-old gunman dead at 12:50 p.m. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo set to join City Council Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontlines of the battle against Russia in the eastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, his first appearance outside Kyiv since the war began, coming as his forces reportedly made a counteroffensive in the south. In a statement, Zelenksys office said that the president met with the members of the military and presented troops with awards and gifts. I want to thank each of you for your service. You risk your life for all of us and our state. Thank you for defending Ukraines independence. Take care of yourself! Zelensky told the serviceman. Zelensky also inspected destroyed residential buildings in Khakiv city, according to a separate statement. According to the presidents office, Russian forces have occupied 31 percent of the Kharkiv region, but it said Ukrainian forces were able to take five percent of the region back. Ukraine announced a counterattack against Russia in the southern Kherson region over the weekend, after waiting for Western munitions to arrive and bolster forces, the New York Times reported. This frontline visit was the first time Zelensky visited a city or region outside of the capital of Kyiv since Russia invaded in late February, according to the Times. Kharkiv has been a key target for Russian forces, with the citys governor confirming on Thursday that nine civilians were killed and 19 others were wounded due to recent Russian shelling. In a previous address, Zelensky also said that conditions in the Donbas region of the country have been indescribably difficult since the invasion began. But our defense holds on, Zelensky said in his address Its indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstand this onslaught of the occupiers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The body of a missing college student has been identified weeks after his girlfriend was found dead in Lake Michigan. University of Illinois student Daniel Sotelos body has been recovered and identified, the Cook County medical examiner has said. Mr Sotelos girlfriend, Natally Brookson, 22, was found dead in the waters off Chicago on 2 May. Police have said that they were both reported missing on 30 April. Mr Sotelo, 26, was last spotted in the 1700 block of South Racine Avenue in central Chicago, according to police. Law enforcement has said that Ms Brookson was last seen leaving her work in the 5500 block of North Maplewood Avenue, north of Chicagos downtown, ABC7 Chicago reported. The body of Ms Brookson was found close to the 5500 block of North Sheridan Road, on the western edge of Lake Michigan, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiners office. Mr Sotelos remains were removed from Lake Michigan close to Wilmette on 22 May, not far from where Ms Brookson was found. No further details have yet been provided concerning the deaths of either Mr Sotelo or Ms Brookson. They both went to the University of Illinois. Ms Brookson was getting a degree in psychology, according to a GoFundMe created to help with funeral expenses. Mr Sotelos sister Jennifer said that he was about to graduate with a masters degree in Organic Chemistry. She added that he had been speaking about his plans for the future, including carrying on with his work at an organic farm in Naperville, Fox 32 reported. I think the difference between a politician and a statesman is that the people believe a statesman will do what he or she believes is the right thing regardless of the political consequences. When it gets down to it, a statesman would rather be right than reelected. It is generally accepted that Mike Mansfield was Montanas greatest statesman. In my younger years I had two wonderful opportunities to have extended conversations with Mansfield. He was as common as an old shoe as the saying goes. When he passed in 2001, national newspaper columnist David Broder wrote that we had just lost the greatest living American. Thats true I think, not because Mike as he preferred to be called, was a power broker, or strong-arm dealmaker like some of his more prominent contemporaries. It was because he was totally genuine. His constituents and his colleagues all knew they could totally trust him. They knew he was simply incapable of placing his personal political interests above what he believed was the public interest. In keeping with that attitude, Mansfield was for gun control. The murders of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Kennedys doubtlessly influenced his thinking about guns, but there is a less well known personal side to Mansfields philosophy toward guns which he revealed in a speech on the Senate floor published in the June 10, 1968, Congressional Record. In that speech, Mansfield said, We ought to think not only of public persons and their deaths are indeed tragic but also the ordinary people, such as the two marine lieutenants, one of them from Fishtail, Montana, who were shot in a little hamburger stand in Washington during the past week; of the bus driver who was held up and murdered; of the high school boy from Wilson High School who a week or ten days ago was assaulted and murdered, and of the thousands of little people, who are likewise entitled to just as much protection as are public figures. In the same speech Mansfield said, I favor, and have favored, the registration of all firearms, and As far as hand guns are concerned, it is my belief that they should be outlawed. There can be little doubt about what Mike would think about the assault weapons of today. Well, those views made news in Montana and triggered the first serious election challenge Mansfield had faced in a dozen years. His opponent, Harold E. Bud Wallace had never run for office before, but he was the proprietor of the Elegant Elk gun store in Hamilton. He made guns his sole reason for running. When the returns were in, Wallace received an astonishing 40% of the vote in the 1970 general election. Two out of five voters had rejected Mike Mansfield in favor of that unknown gun guy. That wasnt lost on Montana politicians, and guns have remained untouchable in Montana politics ever since. Now, after a decade-long series of senseless shootings, one wonders if a change in public sentiment might not be developing. Americans account for less than 4% of the world population, but we own over 40% of the worlds guns. According to the FBI, the number of mass shootings in the United States has doubled since 2018. Clearly, Thoughts and prayers havent been working. Paralyzed by its own rules, the U.S. Senate has been impotent in carrying out its responsibility to insure the domestic tranquility. House passed HR 8 provides for simple background checks, which are overwhelming popular, but the bill has been trapped in cold storage in the Senate of Mitch McConnell for so long that it has freezer burns on it. Similarly, commonsense proposals for limiting the capacity of magazines cannot even obtain a hearing. In the tradition of Mike Mansfield, Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines, could defy the gun guys and act in the public interest. They are both family men who know the difference between right and wrong. It wouldnt have to take any more slaughtered toddlers to convince statesman Mike Mansfield to follow his conscience if he were with us again. How about it Jon and Steve? Bob Brown is a former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate President. Love 9 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Ruben Ostlund won his second Palme dOr for Triangle of Sadness, a biting satire of the rich and (Insta-)famous, bringing the 2022 Cannes Film Festival to a close. Ostlunds follow-up to his 2017 Palme-winning The Square takes a boat full of shallow people models, millionaires and their various trophy partners and abandons them in deep water, forcing the survivors to reconstruct a desert-island society where money holds no power. In such a system, for better or worse, beauty becomes the most valuable asset. More from Variety The jury spread the wealth, presenting three more awards than is typically expected of them two ties and a special 75th anniversary trophy for a total of 10 prizes, which means that nearly half of the movies in the 21-film competition went home with some kind of honor. Tying for second place, Claire Denis Stars at Noon and Lukas Dhonts Close shared the Grand Prix. In Denis divisive but undeniably seductive tropical drama, Margaret Qualley plays an American journalist whose assignment in Nicaragua has run its course, forcing her to use her wits and her wiles to find a way out of the country, with the help of a seductive stranger (Joe Alwyn). Less controversial (but still not without its critics), Belgian coming-of-age/coming-to-terms drama Close which moved many to tears in its portrayal of a tragic rift between two 13-year-old friends. Continuing a hot streak for Korean cinema around the world, Park Chan-Wook won best director honors for his Hitchcockian thriller Decision to Leave, in which a detective falls for the widow of a possible murder victim. After convincing himself that the suspect is innocent, the cop must reassess his choices a few years later when her second husband also dies in a way that cant possibly be an accident. Story continues Every five years, Cannes organizers encourage their juries to give a special anniversary prize. To celebrate the 75th edition, the jury toasted two-time Palme dOr winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their film Tori & Lokita, about two Ghanian immigrants hustling to make ends meet in Belgium. In another tie, the jury prize went to both The Eight Mountains and EO. Co-directed by Belgian couple Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch (who made out on stage, mid-speech), The Eight Mountains sensitively tracks the friendship between two Italian boys one from the city, the other a shepherd boy from the Alps across decades. Combined with Dhont and the Dardennes, this marks a big night for Belgium, as all five directors from the small country went home with awards. Sharing the jury prize, Polish director Jerzy Skolimowskis EO is a loose, at-times-psychedelic remake of Au Hasard Balthazar, tracking the trans-European journey of a donkey through a series of challenging and often cruel interactions with various humans, each one taking him father from the circus performer he loves. I would like to thank to my donkeys, all six of them, Skolimowski said. Swedish-born Tarik Saleh won the screenplay award for Boy From Heaven, which imagines a conspiracy by the Egyptian government to meddle in the appointment of a new grand imam. Banned from Egypt, Saleh was obliged to shoot the film in Turkey, but told the crowd he wishes he could return. I want to dedicate this prize to the young filmmakers in Egypt, to raise your voices and tell your stories, he said. Best actress honors went to Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, who plays an Iranian reporter who risks her own life to catch a serial killer in Holy Spider. The tense true-crime thriller exposes the crimes of a man who targeted prostitutes, turning more chilling still when he is arrested and audiences realize that a segment of society supports his actions against sex workers. I have come a long way to be on this stage. It was humiliation [and] darkness, but there was cinema, said Amir-Ebrahimi, who commended director Ali Abbasi for confronting all those things that cant be done in Iranian cinema. It practically saved my life, and I know it will save lives again. The male performance prize went to Korean actor (and Parasite star) Song Kang-ho for his role in Broker. Song plays a man who sells abandoned babies on the black market in Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazus first Korean-made feature. Unlike Holy Spider, this film actually wants audiences to forgive its criminals, but considering the crime, it takes a performer as likable as Song to pull that off. Representing the Camera dOr jury, Spanish actor Rossy de Palma presented the award for best first film to War Pony, by Gina Gammell and Riley Keough. War Pony tells the story of two young men from the Oglala Lakota tribe and was written and made in close collaboration with the Native American community it depicts. The Camera dOr jury was also impressed with another debut, awarding a special mention to Japanese director Hayakawa Chies Plan 75, which imagines a future in which elderly citizens can elect to be euthanized. Jury president Vincent Lindon, who won Cannes best actor honors in 2015, assured the crowd the the Palme dOr winner was selected with a strong majority, joking that the festival organizers should change the rules: Instead of changing the members of the jury each year, he kidded, the festival ought to invite them back every year. We need four more years, he said. Lindon co-presented the awards with fellow jurors Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, English actor-director Rebecca Hall, French director Ladj Ly, American director Jeff Nichols, Indian actor-producer Deepika Padukone, Swedish star Noomi Rapace, Norwegian director Joachim Trier and Italian actor-director Jasmine Trinca. Full list of prizes below. COMPETITION Palme dOr: Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Ostlund Grand Prix TIE: Stars at Noon, Claire Denis AND Close, Lukas Dhont Director: Park Chan-wook, Decision to Leave 75th Anniversary Special Award: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Tori & Lokita Actor: Song Kang-ho, Broker Actress: Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Holy Spider Jury Prize TIE: The Eight Mountains, Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch AND EO, Jerzy Skolimowski Screenplay: Tarik Saleh, Boy From Heaven OTHER PRIZES Camera dOr: War Horse, Gina Gammell and Riley Keough Camera dOr Special Mention: Plan 75, Hayakawa Chie Short Films Palme dOr:The Water Murmurs, Jianying Chen Short Films Special Mention:Lori, Abinash Bikram Shah Golden Eye Documentary Prize: All That Breathes, Shaunak Sen Queer Palm: Joyland UN CERTAIN REGARD Un Certain Regard Award: The Worst Ones, Lise Akoka, Romane Gueret Jury Prize: Joyland, Saim Sadiq Best Director Prize: Alexandru Belc, Metronom Best Performance Prize TIE: Vicky Krieps, Corsage and Adam Bessa, Harka Best Screenplay Prize: Maha Haj, Mediterranean Fever Coup de Coeur Award: Rodeo, Lola Quivoron DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT Europa Cinemas Label: One Fine Morning, Mia Hansen-Lve Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: The Mountain, Thomas Salvador CRITICS WEEK Nespresso Grand Prize: La Jauria, Andres Ramirez Pulido French Touch Prize: Aftersun, Charlotte Wells GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: Urban Distribution, The Woodcutter Story Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award: Zelda Samson, Love According to Dalva CINEFONDATION First Prize: A Conspiracy Man, Valerio Ferrara Second Prize: Somewhere, Li Jiahe Third Prize TIE: Glorious Revolution, Masha Novikova AND Humans Are Dumber When Crammed Up Together, Laurene Fernandez Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. At the Hanover Borough Council Meeting on April 27, Borough Manager Nan Dunford submitted her resignation. Dunford has served as the Hanover Borough Manager for the last two years, starting in November 2019, and shared that she will be leaving her role to spend more time with her family. According to a press release from the borough, Dunford revitalized the communication of borough information with the public. "Ms. Dunford oversaw the reevaluation of Borough ordinances, comprehensive financial goals and working policies, as well as facilitating funding through grant appropriation. These projects will continue forward as a result of Ms. Dunfords initiatives," the release read. Nan Dunford, borough council manager in Hanover, PA "It was a pleasure working with my colleagues, they all have and continue to do amazing work," Dunford said. More on Nan Dunford:Hanover Borough Manager Receives Official of the Year Award More Hanover news:From tequila ice cream to chamoyada, this Hanover shop offers Mexican-style frozen treats For the last 15 years, Dunford has served as a municipal manager in both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts communities. Prior to coming to Hanover, she spent the early part of her career leading nonprofit organizations, including the Crime Victims Center of Berks County. Dunfords leadership was recognized during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began early in her role. According to the release, "In the face of this unprecedented worldwide event, Ms. Dunford worked tirelessly to assure that Borough services would not be disrupted." In December 2021, Dunford was recognized for her efforts to advance Hanovers momentum in downtown redevelopment, and was awarded the Appointed Official of the Year Award by the York County Economic Alliance at the 2021 Spirit of YoCo Awards ceremony. We thank Nan for her leadership and dedication to the Borough and the greater Hanover area. She will be greatly missed by Borough Council and Borough staff, said Bill Reichart, Borough Council President. Story continues Dunford commended the council and entire corough staff for the support she received in moving the Borough forward. Thanks to each of you, good things are happening in Hanover, she said. The council has retained a professional agency to assist with the process of finding and selecting a new borough manager. For the interim, the council has appointed Amy Hill to the position of borough administrator and Eric Mains to the position of acting water resource director. Valerie Meyers was appointed to the position of assistant borough secretary. Lena Tzivekis is a reporter for the Hanover Evening Sun/York Daily Record. Email her at etzivekis@gannett.com, or message her on Twitter at @tzivekis, and say hi, or let her know where to get the best cup of coffee! This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Hanover borough manager submits resignation Hurricane season begins June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an above-average Atlantic season for the seventh consecutive year. Here's everything you need to know to be prepared for the weeks to come. What's the forecast for hurricane season? The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. With 70% confidence, NOAA is forecasting a range of 14 to 21 named storms. Six to 10 of those could become hurricanes, including three to six category 3, 4 or 5 hurricanes. Hurricane season begins June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an above-average Atlantic season for the seventh consecutive year. This increase of activity is largely attributed to an ongoing La Nina, warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds and an enhanced west African monsoon. The enhanced west African monsoon supports stronger African Easterly waves, which cause many of the strongest hurricanes during most seasons, according to NOAA. The 2021 Atlantic tropical cyclone names selected by the World Meteorological Organization include: Alex, Bonnie, Clin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Martin, Nicole, Owen, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobia, Virginie, Walter. "Early preparation and understanding your risk is key to being hurricane resilient and climate-ready," NOAA Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said. "Throughout the hurricane season, NOAA experts will work around the clock to provide early and accurate forecasts and warnings that communities in the path of storms can depend on to stay informed." History of hurricanes in the Coastal Bend In 2021, Tropical Storm Nicholas formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, strengthening to a hurricane before it made landfall in Matagorda County. The storm brought winds and several inches of rain to the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast, resulting in mass power outages and flash flooding. Western eyewall of Hurricane Hanna brought hurricane conditions to the South Texas coast. Hurricane Hanna made landfall on Padre Island on July 25, 2020. The Category 1 storm left tens of thousands of people without power, put sections of North Beach underwater and took down a portion of the iconic Bob Hall Pier. Story continues On Aug. 26, 2017, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall east of Rockport before returning to sea and making a second, weaker landfall on the Texas coast. How to prepare for hurricane season With hurricane season imminent, now is the time to prepare. According to a 2021 FEMA survey, only 43% of residents at risk of hurricanes have created emergency plans for disasters. Home preparation The National Weather Service recommends the following home preparation tips: Know the elevation of your home and if you're in a flood or evacuation zone. Check mobile home tie-downs for rust and breakage. Mobile home residents should evacuate when told. Trim trees and shrubbery and replace broken fencing. Inspect the roof for loose shingles. Consider replacing old shingles with new ones rated for hurricane winds. Clear clogged rain gutters. Reinforce garage doors or replace with a hurricane-tested door. Reinforce double entry doors with heavy duty foot and head bolts Use a security deadbolt with one inch maximum bolt length Install hurricane shutters, if possible, and inspect existing shutters Use 5/8-inch or greater exterior grade plywood secured by 2 1/2-inch screws to board windows. Store lawn furniture and other loose, lightweight objects. If leaving, turn off propane tanks, unplug small appliances, empty refrigerator and freezer, turn off utilities if told, lock home and take pets with you. If staying, close storm shutters, notify family members of plans, lower swimming pool water level by 1 foot, turn refrigerator and freezer to coldest setting and only open if necessary, stay away from boarded windows, stay in a safe room such as a closet, bathroom or hallway. Emergency kit The American Red Cross recommends having these items in your hurricane supply kit: At least a seven-day supply of non-perishable food and water. One gallon of water per person per day is recommended. Battery-powered portable television or radio with extra batteries. Flashlight with extra batteries. First Aid kit and manual. Sanitation and hygiene items such as instant hand sanitizing gel, moist towelettes, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products. Phone car charger. Whistle. Kitchen accessories, cooking utensils, and manual can opener. Cash. Extra clothing, blankets, and sleeping bags. Matches in a waterproof container. Photocopies of identification, insurance, prescriptions, household inventory, credit cards and your latest utility bill. Photocopies of important documents such as birth/marriage certificates and titles. Also, upload key documents to a cloud storage system or save on a thumb drive or other device. Prescription medications, eyeglasses, contact lens solution and hearing aid batteries. Formula, baby food, diapers and pacifiers. A good map showing county roads and highways. Tire repair kit, booster cables, pump and flares. White distress flag. Toys and games for children. List of family phone numbers and addresses outside the area. Insurance tips Before the storm: Make sure you understand what's covered and excluded in your policy, and that your coverage can replace your home and contents. Find out if your policy covers temporary living expenses in case your home is unlivable due to damage. Prepare written or photographed inventory of your belongings and keep in a safe place with your policy. After the storm: Photograph or video damaged property and make a list of damaged or lost items. DO NOT throw out damaged property before your adjuster inspects the debris. Keep an accurate record of temporary repair and living expenses. What about furry friends? For those with pets, it's important to prepare and pack a variety of items that will ensure the health and safety of your animals during an extreme weather event. Make sure your pets vaccinations are current and have proof they are current. DO NOT assume that a public shelter or hotel will accept your pet. Have a current photo of your pet. Each animal should have a pet carrier large enough for the animal to stand up and turn around. Enough food and bottled water for the duration of your evacuation. DO NOT let your pet eat food or drink water from outside that may have become contaminated. Any medications, a muzzle, collar, leash, paper towels and trash bags. Make sure your pet has a proper ID collar. How Nueces County Emergency Management is preparing Residents should be preparing for hurricane season right now and avoid reacting without a plan, Louie M. Ray Jr. said. "Store up on those life-saving supplies," the Nueces County emergency management coordinator said. "Have a route and have a plan. Communicate that plan from the oldest to the youngest. If Mom and Dad make a plan, bring the family in and talk about it. Talk about safe spots, phone numbers and where important papers are. Have those papers in a location where you can put them in a waterproof bag just in case you need to." The emergency management team Ray runs is in charge of how to reduce loss, protect infrastructure and support the environment from all hazards. It responds to the community's needs before, during and after disaster and emergency situations. Ray said his team, through the Emergency Operations Center, is planning to exercise their knowledge through drills to be better prepared. Ray said residents who are considered medically fragile should register with the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry. The free program provides local emergency planners and emergency responders additional information on the needs in their community. "It lets us know where our medically fragile people are," Ray said. "They may need power and they may need help. It helps us understand who may need help evacuating if the time comes. It gives us a pinpoint." The program is aimed to help people who have disabilities, limited mobility, communication barriers or require additional medical assistance during an emergency event, transportation assistance or personal care assistance. To register, visit tdem.texas.gov/response/state-of-texas-emergency-assistance-registry. Ray said the program also helps residents who may need generators in case of a power outage. "Hospitals have their own supplemented power supply that can help them maintain power during an outage," Ray said. "We are prepared to help them if for someone reason their personal power goes out." In the event of an evacuation, Ray said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales makes the final call, which would come well before a storm makes landfall. "Just be prepared," Ray said. "It's better to be safe than sorry." Ashlee Burns covers trending and breaking news in South Texas. See our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe. This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Hurricane season 2022: Your South Texas storm guide New cases of COVID-19 rose sharply in Massachusetts last week, although less so in Middlesex County. According to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, there were 18,872 new cases of the coronavirus in Massachusetts during the week ending Sunday, up 36.1% from the 13,862 new cases reported the previous week. Forty-one Massachusetts residents were reported dead of COVID-19 last week, down slightly from 46 deaths the week before. Massachusetts is third nationally in terms of where the coronavirus is spreading fastest on a per-person basis, the Johns Hopkins data shows. Last week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased only 8.9% from the week before, with 381,004 cases reported. Sharon Blow checks in curbside for her Delta flight Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Jacksonville International Airport. No one at the moment was wearing a mask following a judge's ruling to lift the mandate that had been in place for COVID-19 protections. With 2.07% of the country's population, Massachusetts had 4.95% of the country's cases last week. Forty-one states had more cases last week than they did the week before. Middlesex County reported 4,443 new cases last week, up 17.4% from the 3,786 new cases reported the week before. There were six deaths linked to COVID-19 in the county last week, down from nine the week before. Worcester County reported 1,860 new cases last week, up 67.6% from the previous week's new case total of 1,110. There six coronavirus-related deaths in the county last week, up from two the week before. Norfolk County reported 1,728 new cases last week, up 31.7% from the previous week's new case total of 1,312. There three coronavirus-related deaths in the county last week, down from seven the week before. Within Massachusetts, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis occurred in Berkshire County, with 429 cases per 100,000 per week; Suffolk County, with 362; and Hampshire County, with 308. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week. Weekly case counts rose last week in 12 counties from the previous week. The sharpest increase from the prior week's pace occurred in Worcester County. Story continues >> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases Massachusetts is second nationally in its share of people receiving at least one shot, with 98.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart. In the week ending Sunday, Massachusetts reported administering another 90,510 vaccine doses, including 15,057 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 89,640 vaccine doses, including 14,913 first doses. In all, Massachusetts reported it has administered more than 14.8 million total doses. A total of 1,757,103 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,263 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 81,365,218 people have tested positive and 993,733 people have died. >> Track coronavirus cases across the United States Massachusetts' COVID-19 hospital admissions rising USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday. Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the state: Last week: 1,202 The week before that: 1,011 Four weeks ago: 819 Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the nation: Last week: 43,243 The week before that: 39,428 Four weeks ago: 37,216 Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients last week than they had a week earlier, while hospitals in 34 states also had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 38 states admitted more COVID-19 patients last week than they did a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows. This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Middlesex County reported 4,443 new cases of COVID-19 last week Marco Rubio is one of the sponsors of a bill that would ban app stores from hosting apps that accept China's digital yuan stablecoin. REUTERS/Mike Segar Republican senators have drafted a bill that would ban China's digital yuan from app stores. Apple and Google would be barred from hosting apps that accept digital yuan as a form of payment. Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton are two of the bill's sponsors. Three Republican senators have launched a bill that would ban Apple, Google, and other app store providers from hosting apps that accept China's digital yuan stablecoin as a form of payment. The bill, which is referred to as the Defending Americans from Authoritarian Digital Currencies Act, is sponsored by Florida senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio, Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, and Indiana senator Mike Braun. The digital yuan is a central bank digital currency (CBDC), meaning it's pegged to the Chinese renminbi and issued by the Chinese central bank. It's already used in at least 15 cities after being rolled out at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. This isn't the first time American lawmakers have tried to regulate the digital yuan. In March, US senators Bill Cassidy and Marsha Blackburn proposed the Say No To Silk Road Act, which would require some government agencies to report on the CBDC. The three senators said the bill is necessary to prevent China surveilling Americans' financial activities. "The Chinese Communist Party will use its digital currency to control and spy on anyone who uses it," Cotton, who is a proponent of a digital dollar, said. "The United States should reject China's attempt to undermine our economy at its most basic level." Read more: Cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central-bank digital currencies are all the rage. We break down what they are and what you need to know about them "It makes no sense to tie ourselves to the digital currency of a genocidal regime that hates us and wants to replace us on the world stage," Rubio added. "This is a major financial and surveillance risk that the United States cannot afford to take." Read the original article on Business Insider Paul Sherry Guernsey County residents will see crews conducting a safety study on paved county roads this year after commissioners recentlyapproved a $48,600 agreement with MasterMind LLC to complete the work. The company specializes in 360-degree high definition mobile video mapping, GIS integration, and traffic safety studies to help government agencies and engineering departments with the maintenance and management of their traffic assets. The study was requested by Engineer Paul Sherry for the Guernsey County Highway Department. "This is the first step in a county-wide effort to clear and maintain the right-of-ways along those county roads and keep them safe," said Sherry. "The study will enable us to identify encroachment and safety issues within the Guernsey County highway corridor. "We will then be able to remove, repair or correct those safety issues," added Sherry. The study will be 90% funded by a federal grant obtained through the County Engineer's Association of Ohio and 10% by a local match. The resolution approved by commissioners states the grant will pay $43,740 while the county covers the $4,860 match from motor vehicle gas tax revenue. Sherry said the typical county road is 60-feet wide and over time nature and residents place items in the right-of-way along the rural roadways. "The Ohio Department of Transportation has within the right-of-way, a 15-foot clear safety distance from the edge of the pavement," said Sherry. "There are a lot of trees including those planted by people, fences and sometimes garages or vehicles that have been abandoned over time, that end up in those right-of-ways." MasterMind LLC will drive the routes with vehicle equipped to collect data and images that will give the county highway department an aerial view to identify the safety issues. The Delaware-based company is scheduled to complete the study by Oct. 17. "Once the study gives us the necessary data and information to correct those issues, we will pursue in-house funding and other funding through the CEAO to get the work that is needed done," said Sherry. There are approximately 220 miles of paved county roads in Guernsey County. This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Safety study approved for Guernsey County roadways For the third year, Americans are greeting the unofficial start of summer shadowed by the specter of the coronavirus amid rising covid-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country. The United States is recording more than 100,000 infections a day - at least five times higher than this point last year - as it confronts the most transmissible versions of the virus yet. Immunity built up as a result of the record winter outbreak appears to provide little protection against the latest variants, new research shows. And public health authorities are bracing for Memorial Day gatherings to fuel another bump in cases, potentially seeding a summer surge. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. It's a far cry from a year ago, with predictions of a "hot vax summer" uninhibited by covid concerns. Back then, coronavirus seemed to teeter on the brink of defeat as cases plummeted to their lowest levels since spring 2020 and vaccines became widely available for adults. Even the vaccinated and boosted now grudgingly accept the virus as a formidable foe that's here to stay as governments abandon measures to contain it. As the virus morphs and the scientific understanding of how it operates shifts with each variant, Americans are drawing their own lines for what they feel comfortable doing. "This time last year, I was so hopeful," said Margaret Thornton, a 35-year-old Philadelphia researcher preparing to spend her summer socializing mostly outdoors because of her weakened immune system. "Now, I don't know when it's going to be over, and I don't think there is necessarily a light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather, if there is a light, is it an opening to get out? Or is it a train?" Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are making cross-country travel plans. Octogenarians are venturing to bars. And families are celebrating graduations and weddings with throngs of mostly unmasked revelers - mindful they may get sick. Again. Story continues More than half of the U.S. population is living in areas classified as having medium or high covid-19 levels by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest cases have yet to overrun hospitals, but that could change as the virus spreads among more vulnerable people. The dominant strains circulating in the United States are the most contagious thus far. "This one is really revved up, and it's probably getting up there with something as transmissible as measles," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College, describing the BA.2.12.1 subvariant now accounting for more than half of new cases. "Over the Memorial Day holidays, if you are in settings where you are indoors with large numbers of people without masks . . . there is a good likelihood you will suffer a breakthrough infection." Experts had hoped that the explosion of the omicron variant this winter, estimated to have infected a quarter of Americans who hadn't already been infected, and the subsequent spring wave of omicron's even more transmissible subvariants, would provide a buffer against future surges. But an emerging body of research suggests those infections will not confer lasting protection as the virus's latest iterations show remarkable ability to escape immunity. Experts say the recently infected who also received booster shots can count on at least several months of immunity, while the unvaccinated should expect little protection. "You should not think, 'Oh, I had omicron, I don't need any shots' or 'I don't need any more shots,'" said Melanie Ott, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and a co-author of a paper recently published in Nature finding limited natural immunity from the omicron variant. "We are going into a surge of the omicron subvariants that are more and more able to infect people who have preexisting immunity." Experts say vaccines are still showing durability in protecting people against severe illness. But the initial burst of antibodies from shots or infections fades after several months, said Celine Gounder, an infectious-diseases specialist and senior fellow at Kaiser Health News. That means the virus can develop into an infection before the body's immune system kicks in. Burhan Yardimci, his wife and their three young children - who had all contracted coronavirus in February - joined thousands of Turkish Americans on Madison Avenue recently for the return of New York's annual Turkish Day Parade, canceled the last two years because of the pandemic. The next day, the family stood among another crowd of thousands for the Celebrate Israel Parade. Yardimci doesn't take much solace in his recent infection as an extra layer of protection. He thought his booster shot would stop infections, but he knows people who've had the virus three times. Because no one in his family became seriously ill, he doesn't see the need to upend his life when everyone around him appears to be carrying on as normal. "Hopefully, we'll never get it again," said Yardimci, 42. In the Boston suburbs, Mandy Boyd found herself humbled by coronavirus after getting infected twice in five months: during the massive omicron wave in January, and again in May after attending a 150-person indoor wedding. Neither case was severe. The experience left the 35-year-old health technology worker reassessing how to protect her 4- and 6-year-old children from infections that would disrupt their schooling or summer camp. She still plans to dine out and go to the gym, but her family will wear masks on their flight to Seattle for an upcoming vacation as well as when they watch a WNBA game while there. She worries about passing on a future variant to her children, even if her short-term immunity protects her from getting sick. "We're in a strange spot because it turned into a much more minor virus," said Boyd of Swampscott, Mass. "From that perspective, I don't see that the world should stop or schools should close." Graduations, proms and weddings have also returned after being canceled in earlier stages of the pandemic when cases were lower than they are now. Adeline Rosales, 26, was among the hundreds of California State University Long Beach students in caps and gowns flooding into Angel Stadium in Anaheim on a recent morning. It was her first encounter with some classmates in the College of Health and Human Services who were only familiar as faces on a computer screen during virtual class. She felt comfortable marching alongside them through a tunnel and onto the field knowing the university required vaccines and booster shots. And it was important for her relatives to celebrate the occasion with her because she is the first in the family to graduate college. But to avoid graduation crowds, she said the family waited several days for their celebratory dinner because they were "a little scared" as infections rose and Los Angeles County moved from a low to medium covid-19 risk level. Rosales lives with her parents, both of whom have preexisting conditions, and six other relatives. "I don't want to risk it at this point," Rosales said. "We're just trying to be as respectful to my parents as possible." For most Americans, coronavirus has faded from the foreground. More than half say they are not too concerned or not at all concerned with coronavirus, according to a May survey by Monmouth University. Nearly three-quarters say they hope to vacation this summer and less than a third say coronavirus is a major factor in their plans, according to a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll. The Transportation Security Administration on Thursday reported screening more than half a million additional fliers a day compared with the same day last year. Experts are paying close attention to the Southeast for a potential covid resurgence because the region did not experience as many cases in the spring as the Northeast, and rising temperatures are driving people indoors. Florida residents are bracing for the return of another summer surge in sharply different ways. For Jeff Schulte, a 63-year-old retiree, coronavirus has never really gone away, and he sees no reason to change his behavior for an omnipresent threat. He is not planning on masking, social distancing or getting booster shots this summer. "For the rest of our lives, it's here," he said while smoking a cigarette outside the library in downtown Sarasota. "It's going to catch every one of us." To the north near Tampa, Rick Kilby, 57, donned a KN95 mask as he hawked his book about the Victorian-era belief in the healing properties of Florida springs at Floridania Fest in a Gulfport casino ballroom. Mostly unmasked attendees snaked past his table, conveniently situated near an open door that brought in fresh air. He's not worried about getting seriously ill after a second booster shot. But after hearing about five vaccinated friends getting infected in just two days, he does fret about having to cancel his upcoming trip to western Pennsylvania - the only vacation he had planned for the year. "It's not like it was two years ago where you are really concerned about going to the hospital and not getting out. Now, it's more of a concern that this is going to be a real inconvenience to my schedule," said Kilby, who lives in Orlando. "That's the wonder of the vaccine. It made it from a life-threatening condition to one that's really more like having a flu or cold or something." Others at the vintage Florida memorabilia festival feared worse consequences. Patti Kane-Wood, 78, entered the expo wearing a blue surgical mask but felt uncomfortable by how attendees "were squeezed in there like sardines" and didn't stay long. She has heard about more people getting covid in the last month than in the last two years. While she feels well-protected from getting her second booster dose, she worries about long-term complications after watching friends develop persistent breathing problems following their illnesses. A recent study found vaccines may offer little protection against most long-covid symptoms. "If I catch covid, even the slightest case of covid, it's possible I have long covid and have issues for the rest of my life," Kane-Wood said. "I'm very afraid because people are very relaxed now and understandably so, but it's not a time to let our guard down." Parents of young children are entering Memorial Day weekend frustrated that children younger than 5 remain the only group ineligible for vaccines. The prospect of regulators clearing shots by the end of June is becoming increasingly likely after Pfizer-BioNTech reported data showing their three-dose regimen proved 80 percent effective in preventing symptomatic infections in children 6 months to 4 years old. In the meantime, parents are navigating how to protect their unvaccinated children when cases are rising and others are dropping their guards. In Portland, Oregon, Jessica Poole said she is not taking her 5-year-old daughter, Lucia, and 3-year-old son, Max, to indoor play facilities, where Lucia would catch illnesses even before covid. She asks Lucia to wear a mask while she's at prekindergarten. And the family isn't planning any travel, because Max is too young to get vaccinated. But Poole, 37, is not trying to avoid the virus at all costs. "Whatever strain is going around now, you can't be too terrified of it," Poole said outside a CrossFit gym where she planned to work out without a mask on. "We need to live a normal life now." At a southeast Portland pub, George Cummings, 85, took a leap of faith as he joined his friends from a local mountaineering and climbing club for drinks. He knows he's at a higher risk because of his age and wears a mask at the grocery store. He said he has not received a second booster shot because his doctor had not told him they were available. He went maskless as he drank lemonade, ate a cheeseburger and mingled with a group of two dozen in the crowded bar. "I'm not sure I'm 100 percent comfortable with my decision, but the alternative was not to go to the event," said Cummings, who lives alone and had suspended his social life for the better part of two years. "It's almost a question of, do you want to live - and that includes some sort of social life for a human being - or am I going to hide in my basement?" - - - The Washington Post's Jack Wright in New York, Yvonne Condes in Anaheim, Calif., and Doug Moser in Boston contributed to this report. --- Video Embed Code Video: The BA.2 "stealth" omicron variant has proven to be more contagious than the original omicron and is rapidly spreading across the world. However, this doesn't mean we should expect new highs in cases and hospitalizations. Here is what you need to know about this rising variant.(REF:monroeb,REF:farrellj2/The Washington Post) Embed code: Related Content First she documented the alt-right. Now she's coming for crypto. 'Ariely is in there': A mother's desperate search for her daughter The Lincoln Memorial rose from the mud of the Potomac 100 years ago President Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Sunday met with survivors of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, as well as families of the victims of the massacre. The Bidens traveled to Uvalde on Sunday, five days after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people, including 19 children. The meeting with families was closed to the press. Biden is slated to meet with law enforcement and first responders in Uvalde before departing Texas for Washington, D.C. The first stop after the president and first lady arrived in Uvalde was to to the school where there is a memorial to the victims. They then attended service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. As Biden left the church, someone in a crowd of onlookers gathered outside yelled Do something! We will, Biden replied. Biden has in the days since the tragedy has renewed his calls for expanded background checks and reinstitute a ban on assault weapons. But most Republicans have brushed off the need for stronger gun laws, instead arguing for more school security including more armed police. Meanwhile, the law enforcement response to the Uvalde shooting has come under intense scrutiny as officials have repeatedly changed the timeline and description of how officers on the scene reacted when the gunman arrived at the school. Officials first said police confronted the gunman outside the school, only to reverse course by admitting that was not the case. Authorities have since said they waited nearly an hour to go into the classroom where the gunman was barricaded, acknowledging it was a mistake not to actively pursue the individual. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Legal sales of cannabis for both medical and adult use opened in New Mexico on April 1, and the first month's sales came close to $40 million. The state's Cannabis Control Division, which regulates production, manufacturing and sales, reported the first month's figures Tuesday afternoon. Through April, licensed dispensaries in 40 New Mexican cities sold $39,470,788 altogether, of which $22,133,173 was for adult use and therefore taxable under the state's Cannabis Regulation Act. Sales of medical cannabis, which is exempt from taxes and requires enrollment in the state's medical cannabis program, amounted to $17,337,615 for the month. Albuquerque, the state's most populous city with 564,559 residents, sold nearly $15 million in total cannabis sales in April, exceeding all other cities by far. Las Cruces was a distant second statewide, selling $3.6 million in total including more than $2 million in taxable sales. The Las Cruces City Council has declined to limit hours of operation for cannabis establishments, which allowed dispensaries in the city to open just after midnight on April 1. Las Cruces is also home to the state's first licensed cannabis lounge, the only place where cannabis is allowed to be consumed in public. Communities bordering Texas, where cannabis remains illegal, also performed well. Among the top five cities for cannabis sales were Hobbs and Sunland Park, which sold $1.74 million and $1.4 million, respectively, including both medical and recreational products. Sol Cannabis is the first and only cannabis consumption lounge in the state of New Mexico, opened on 4/20 April 20, 2022. Several patrons smoke outside on the patio. A Sun-News analysis of recreational sales and population data found that Sunland Park saw the third highest sales per capita around $70.53 likely influenced by cannabis tourism from Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In Anthony, where some dispensaries were not ready to open on April 1, sales topped $27,000, of which $25,000 was for adult use. Ruidoso, a frequent destination for Texas visitors, sold nearly half a million in adult use cannabis and a total of $813,111, which presumably would have been higher without the destruction and evacuations caused by the disastrous McBride Fire, which ignited on April 12. Story continues In Eddy County, Carlsbad was among the top 10 cities in the first-month sales. Dispensaries there sold over $1.1 million in cannabis, including $719,465 in recreational products and $386,776 in medicinal. A line of customers wait outside cannabis dispensary Everest Apothecary in Las Cruces, N.M. on the first day recreational cannabis is legal for purchase on Friday, April 1, 2022. While adult use cannabis outpaced sales of medical cannabis in most cities, there were exceptions in several cities. In Alamogordo, for instance, medical cannabis sales amounted to $651,884 compared to $470,582 in recreational sales. That disparity was most lopsided in Roswell, which reported $673,227 in medical sales the fifth highest compared to just $2,364 for recreational use. In Farmington, total sales amounted to $666,135, of which $413,944 were in adult use sales and $252,191 were for medical products. Like some other communities in New Mexico, sales may have lagged due to dispensaries' struggles to secure required licenses, product and staffing all before opening their doors. Sales also showed promise in Deming, the seat of Luna County, where nonfarm economic development has traditionally struggled. Total cannabis sales came close to a quarter of a million dollars: $241,039 in total, with $139,973 in adult use sales. Amber Sambrano, who works at Hashtag Cannabis, helps out a customer. She guessed that the new dispensary had over 100 customers by 3 p.m. on the day of its grand opening on 4/20 April, 20, 2022 in Las Cruces. Sales of adult use or "recreational" cannabis are subject to a 12 percent excise tax as well as state and local gross receipts taxes. Excise tax payments are due May 25, and based on recreational sales the taxes for April should amount to approximately $2,655,980. Additionally, the state's gross receipts tax of 5.125 percent should amount to around $1,134,325, in addition to local GRT which varies from one locality to another. The excise tax is scheduled to remain at 12 percent below similar tax rates in neighboring Arizona and Colorado until July 1, 2025 and then gradually increase to 18 percent. CCD director Kristen Thomson expressed satisfaction in a statement that sales remained strong after the much anticipated opening weekend, buoyed by 4/20 sales events on April 20. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, right, takes a tour of the Everest Cannabis Co.-Uptown with CEO Trishelle Kirk on the first day of recreational cannabis sales, Friday April 1, 2022, Albuquerque. "New Mexicans showed up on April 1 ready to support local businesses selling high-quality New Mexico products, and theyre still coming," Thomson wrote. "Thanks to hard work by the dedicated people working in the industry, supply easily met consumer and patient demand. New Mexicans have a lot to be proud of in the launch of this new industry, which is already adding value to the states diverse economy. The agency has projected that the cannabis industry will create up to 11,000 jobs statewide with $300 million in sales and $50 million in tax revenue in its first year. If monthly sales level out at more than $25 million, the state will be on pace to beat that sales goal. Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Cannabis sales in New Mexico near $40 million in first month open Liverpool fans show their tickets outside the stadium (PA) The French interior minister has been mocked for blaming ticketless British supporters for chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France as Paris hosted the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool. Liverpool fans endured long waits, crushes, tear gas, as well as reports of some physical attacks by locals before and after the game. Uefa initially delayed the 8pm GMT kick-off, blaming the late arrival of fans. The governing body then issued a statement: In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles. Afterwards, perhaps keen to protect reputations as the French capital played host to the biggest club game in the world, French minister Gerald Darmanin was quick to attribute blame. From his position inside the stadium, Darmanin tweeted: Thousands of British supporters, without tickets or with counterfeit tickets, forced entry and assaulted stewards. Thank you to the many police forces mobilised this evening in this difficult situation. However, The Independents reporter on the ground discovered a different picture, with frustrated fans carrying legitimate made to wait for several hours outside and funnelled into dangerously tight spaces, before being hit with tear gas. The Mail on Sundays chief football writer, Rob Draper, was caught in mayhem and tweeted his experience in detail, sensing danger in the polices operational strategy to use riot vans as blockers to funnel fans into a narrow space outside the ground, long before the situation escalated. One Liverpool fan tweeted pictures of a boys badly cut face, writing: 2 hours queuing. Only got in for half time. tear gassed 4 times despite the fact we were nothing but peaceful. 14 year year old cousin beat up by people trying to steal his ticket. dont let them blame us!!!!! The replies to Darmanin were mocking. Once again you are lying, one wrote in French. The culprits are no more British than you! Story continues Another replied: Buy yourself glasses! You are ridiculous, all the pictures show that they are not English. I came across this issue repeatedly as I tried to access the stadium last night. Locals trying to force their way in leading to security closing the gates and keeping out legitimate fans with tickets. Police either didn't know how to deal with it or didn't want to #LFC #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/JZyexADoMa Nick Parrott (@NickParrottTV) May 29, 2022 The French police are charging fans and locals outside the Stade de France. #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/stQkzX0l4G Jam Williams-Thomas (@JamAntonioTV) May 28, 2022 Television footage showed images of young men, who did not appear to be wearing the red Liverpool jerseys, jumping the gates of the stadium and running away. Other people outside, including children, were tear-gassed by riot police, a Reuters witness said. Some riot police officers stormed into the stadium while others charged at people trying to knock down stadium gates. European soccers governing body Uefa blamed fake tickets for causing the issue and said it would review the events together with the French authorities and the French Football Federation, in a statement welcomed by the British ambassador in Paris, Menna Rawlings. We need to establish the facts, Rawlings tweeted, adding her commiserations to Liverpool after a valiant performance in their 1-0 defeat by Real. Additional reporting by Reuters In June we will graduate from Montanas medical school and begin our careers as resident-physicians in training. For the past 50 years, WWAMI, Montanas public medical school partnership, has been growing the next generation of physicians to serve local communities. We want all Montanans to take pride in this homegrown approach and say thank you for your support. The WWAMI program is a four-year medical school right here in Montana operated through a partnership between Montana State University and the top-ranked University of Washington School of Medicine. The acronym stands for the five states that make up the collective program Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Montana WWAMI admits 30 students per year, most of whom are like us born and raised right here in Montana with commitments to return to the state to practice medicine. The program also prioritizes students who plan to practice primary care and even designates nearly half of each entering class to a rural medicine track. One of the strengths of the program is its connection with the University of Washington, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation for both primary care and family medicine education. As Montana WWAMI students, we train in both Montana and Seattle, bringing back the academic rigor of UW to our hometowns and throughout the state. Because of the academic strength of Montana WWAMI, we are well poised to take residency positions at some of the most well-respected training programs in our chosen specialties. And after residency, which is three to seven years of mandatory training after medical school for new physicians, we are planning to return to our home state to practice. The quality of medical training in and for Montana matters. The residents training now will be caring for our communities, our children, our parents and will relieve current doctors caring for our state. Montana might be rural and small in population, but we all deserve access to world-class health care. And WWAMI delivers. As a public medical school, Montana WWAMI is not motivated by profit or other interests, and its students, like us, have a track record of becoming in-state physician leaders for the past 50 years. New private or for-profit medical schools may bring in more medical students, most of them from out of state, but they are unlikely to return to practice in Montana after having to do their clinical training elsewhere. Students in these new programs will have significantly more debt than Montana WWAMI grads, which matters as our state's cost of living continues to climb. WWAMI focuses thoughtfully on quality before quantity. The mission is providing sustainable, top-notch medical training to future Montana physicians. The WWAMI program is simply unbeatable in quality, mission and service to Montana. And its made up of Montanans, like us, planning to be your future physicians. The program has been diligently serving our state for 50 years, for that we say thank you, and lets support and grow Montanas medical school for the next 50 and beyond. Morgan Julian, Family Medicine, Billings Emma Fulton, Vascular Surgery, Billings Madison Schwarzkoph, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Billings Joey Werner, Emergency Medicine, Billings Samantha Kropp, Neurology, Billings/Red Lodge Darian Schafer, Emergency Medicine, Billings Danielle Guyer, Family Medicine, Billings Marie Elwood, Family Medicine, Billings Sam Forrest, Family Medicine, Bozeman Katie Hawkins, Internal Medicine, Dillon Kristen White, Family Medicine/Obstetrics, Ennis Robin Byron, Internal Medicine, Hardin Ethan Bent, Radiology, Lewistown Kiera Bulluck, Internal Medicine, Lewistown Brooke Parker, Psychiatry, Anaconda Joel Kramer, General Surgery, Missoula Kyle Malek, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Missoula Quin Stevens, Emergency Medicine, Kalispell MaKenna Stavins, Internal Medicine & Primary Care, Kalispell Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sharon Blow checks in curbside for her Delta flight Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Jacksonville International Airport. No one at the moment was wearing a mask following a judge's ruling to lift the mandate that had been in place for COVID-19 protections. New coronavirus cases leaped in Michigan in the week ending Sunday, rising 38.3% as 14,482 cases were reported. The previous week had 10,474 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. Hillsdale County reported 29 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported seven cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 10,371 cases and 204 deaths. Michigan ranked 16th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 8.9% from the week before, with 381,004 cases reported. With 3% of the country's population, Michigan had 3.8% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 41 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before. Within Michigan, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Washtenaw County with 343 cases per 100,000 per week; Oakland County with 220; and Macomb County with 197. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week. Adding the most new cases overall were Wayne County, with 3,399 cases; Oakland County, with 2,771 cases; and Macomb County, with 1,725. Weekly case counts rose in 68 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. >> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases Michigan ranked 35th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 67% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart. In the week ending Sunday, Michigan reported administering another 79,375 vaccine doses, including 6,734 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 85,485 vaccine doses, including 7,115 first doses. In all, Michigan reported it has administered 15,883,605 total doses. Story continues Across Michigan, cases fell in 13 counties, with the best declines in Alpena County, with 29 cases from 53 a week earlier; in Kent County, with 610 cases from 622; and in Ontonagon County, with 2 cases from 8. In Michigan, 67 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 78 people were reported dead. A total of 2,425,946 people in Michigan have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 36,002 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 81,365,218 people have tested positive and 993,733 people have died. Note: In the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus data, cases and deaths for the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Federal Correctional Institution separately from Michigan counties. >> Track coronavirus cases across the United States Michigan's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 1. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state: Last week: 996 The week before that: 728 Four weeks ago: 563 Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation: Last week: 43,243 The week before that: 39,428 Four weeks ago: 37,216 Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 34 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 38 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows. The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale County reported 29 additional COVID-19 cases this week MONTREAL & SINGAPORE, May 29, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 76th Conference of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA) in Singapore would like to draw the attention to the deteriorating labour situation affecting our colleagues of SAT Paraguay (Sindicato de Aeronavegantes de TAM) flying for LATAM Paraguay Airlines. The IFALPA Conference calls on the State of Paraguay and LATAM Airlines to respect pilots rights to free speech, their right to organize and the right to bargain collectively. The Paraguayan government has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98: the Freedom of Association and the Right to Organize Convention and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, respectively. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Association, to form unions and engage in collective bargaining are guaranteed under these conventions. The Paraguayan Government is expected to follow these Conventions. This repressive labour environment coincides with a negative trend in positive safety culture. Active pilot participation within a positive safety culture which respects open reporting of safety issues without fear of punitive measures has been identified as key to continuous safety improvements and effective safety risk management. The IFALPA Conference calls on all airlines and the States in which they operate to respect the rights of pilots to free speech, to organize, and to bargain collectively. We insist that LATAM Paraguay immediately cease their campaign of intimidation against their pilots who simply want to exercise their right to free speech and freedom of association. Note to Editors: The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations represents more than 100,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries. The mission of IFALPA is to promote the highest level of aviation safety worldwide and to be the global advocate of the piloting profession, providing representation, services, and support to both our members and the aviation industry. Story continues 2022 The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations. This publication is provided for information purposes only, in all cases pilots should follow their companys guidance and procedures. In the interest of flight safety, reproduction of this publication in whole or in part is encouraged. It may not be offered for sale or used commercially. All reprints must credit IFALPA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220528005048/en/ Contacts Emily Bitting, Senior Communications Specialist, emilybitting@ifalpa.org Ray Brunelle is a Korean War veteran originally from Somersworth. He tells a story May 24, 2022, about when he was held captive by the Chinese and how he escaped. DOVER Korean War veteran Raymond Brunelle sits on a rocking chair outside Watson Fields assisted living home, recounting his days as a prisoner of war and his recovery from life-threatening injuries to those who will listen. After he tearfully and meticulously tells his story, he leans back, sets his cane aside and reaches into his pocket to pull out a parting gift from his days as a Pease Greeter, a local group known for welcoming troops who land at the local Air National Guard Base. Brunelle, 88, holds out a tiny plastic bag with a single faded white star on tattered fabric inside, hand cut from retired American flags. A simple poem is also enclosed, as a reminder to remember the fallen and the sacrifices made by those who serve. "Here, so you never forget," he explains, as he holds out his hand to give the bag to a younger pair of hands untouched by the scars of war his bear. Memorial Day 2022: Here's a list of ceremonies and events around the Seacoast Ray Brunelle is a Korean War vet originally from Somersworth. He tells the story of when he was held captive by the Chinese and how he escaped and got back to his unit. He cuts stars out of used American flags and gives them out to people so they don't forget those who have served. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who did not come home. Brunelle remembers many men lost at war, but most of all he thinks of his best friend and fellow soldier Larry Rodgers from Cambridge, Massachusetts, who died beside him in Korea in 1952. He was my best friend, and I watched him step on a mine and get blown to hell, Brunelle says, his voice cracking, during an interview Tuesday, May 24, less than a week before Memorial Day 2022. When Rodgers stepped off a path he set off a ground mine, according to Brunelle. Brunelle was a stones throw away from his friend that day, in mid-conversation when the mine exploded. One minute they are walking and the next Brunelle and others were thrown back at least 20 feet. He stepped on the mine and then boom, Brunelle says. I get up and see nobody else is moving, so I had to get down the mountain and across the valley to get help. I fell down at least 25 to 30 times along the way, and I'd get up and say, Ive got to keep going, otherwise I'm gonna die. My buddies are gonna die.' Story continues He was badly burned and had shrapnel embedded under his skin across his entire left side. He lost his hearing, and nearly lost his left limbs, his ear and his life. When he finally reached a Corpsman, he remembers collapsing. They took turns carrying him up the mountain to the first aid station, where he would get the first of many operations. The chaplain came and read me my last rites, Brunelle recalls, noting that was when the seriousness of his injuries sunk in. I remember being unsure if I wanted to live at that point. I knew I was hurt and burned badly, I wasnt sure I wanted to come home as disfigured as I thought I was. That day changed his life. Its the closest he has been to death, he says, adding few doctors thought he would make it. He had gangrene in his leg and arm. In fact, Brunelle recalls, he was so close to death, he was set aside in the pile of deceased soldiers assumed dead for a short time. "I woke up and the nurse said, 'Oh my God, you're alive!' I thought 'Yeah, of course I am alive' and I'll never forgot when she said, 'You're supposed to be dead,'" Brunelle says. "They thought the shrapnel in my chest nicked my heart." Brunelle says he spent two years and 25 days in hospitals across the country recovering from his injuries. He underwent dozens of surgeries in that time. Those initial surgeries helped save his reconstructed ear, his sight and his left limbs. His watch took on shrapnel, saving his wrist. Due to the extent of his injuries, he was honorably discharged as a disabled veteran at age 20. A prisoner of war Two months before the land mine explosion, Brunelle was briefly captured by the Chinese in North Korea in March 1952. When he arrived in Korea, it was snowing heavily in the hilly terrain with temperatures well below zero. He was separated from his unit, when he was taken captive. He was taken to bunkers hidden in a mountain. He resisted for much of the journey, until he was told to cut it out before you get shot by a Chinese soldier. He complied, opting to wait for the right moment to strike. Ray Brunelle, a Korean War veteran, describes May 24, 2022 being temporarily blinded due to injuries from a land mine that took the life of his best friend during the war in 1952. All I could think was, 'Thank God it was the Chinese that got me,' because the Koreans werent taking prisoners at the time, Brunelle says. It was so cold, it was just awful. Despite being in the crosshairs of a shootout between the Chinese on the mountain and the forces in the valley, Brunelle knew it was his chance to get away. There were two soldiers, each restraining one of my wrists, Brunelle says. Were heading up the mountain and its slippery. The soldier in charge was in front of us, he wasnt paying attention. I gave a quick jerk backwards. They went flying by me and lost their rifles. I turned around and dove, rolling down that mountain. By the time they would get up, get their rifles and shoot at me, I made it to the bottom of the mountain. I was so shaken up, but ran as fast as I could. He managed to escape, and while he was met with a lot of gunfire in the process, he made it back to his infantry safely. For most of his life, Brunelles service records were incomplete. It wasnt until a family member found a 59-year-old newspaper clipping from an April 1952 Foster's Daily Democrat edition in an old scrapbook in 2011 that he was formally recognized as a prisoner of war. It remains the only documented proof of his capture at the hands of the Chinese. After the article came to light, Brunelle was honored in a ceremony at Pease Tradeport for the 2011 National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Korean War POW formally recognized: Closure comes to vet after old article surfaces Remembering the good things Born in 1933, Brunelle grew up in Somersworth and Rollinsford in New Hampshire, and South Berwick, Maine. He was 17 when he joined the Army. He wasnt old enough to sign up himself, so his mother had to come to sign and show her blessing. He was enlisted as a private first class. He was excited to join, but he had no idea of the harsh reality he was walking into overseas after training ended. I was only 17, the youngest in my outfit, Brunelle said. Ray Brunelle is a Korean War vet originally from Somersworth. He tells the story of when he was held captive by the Chinese and how he escaped and got back to his unit. He still has a great sense of humor despite the tragedy he has suffered. Some of the worst days of his life made way for some of the best. While home in between hospital stays, he met his wife Barbara, who also now lives at Watson Fields. They met through a mutual friend. His high school buddy introduced them, stopping by where she worked to ask if shed like to go to the school dance. She couldnt go, but later that night Brunelle slipped away from the dance to knock on her door to ask her on a proper date. They met a few times during his week of leave, and they became pen pals when he was sent away for more surgeries and recovery. This led to a life together. Brunelle remains as involved in the veteran community as he can. For years, he led support groups for POW veterans and attended numerous ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day and Veterans Day tributes. He was a longtime Pease Greeter and was a recipient of an Honor Flight of New England, which takes veterans to the war memorials in Washington D.C. He says despite all the terrible things he witnessed and all the horrific stories hes heard from fellow POWs, he tries to focus on positive memories. He thinks about how lucky he is to have survived through those traumatic years. Local news: Download the Seacoastonline mobile app and the Fosters.com mobile app and never miss a story After his time in the service, he spent some time working in a shoe shop on Central Avenue in Dover, and he later worked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard before becoming an electrician. The couple raised two daughters and lived a quiet life, he says. Ray Brunelle is a Korean War veteran originally from Somersworth now living in Dover. He has numerous memories of atrocities from the war that nearly took his life, but says May 24, 2022 he tries to focus on positive memories. I try to think of good stuff so I dont get all upset because it used to bother the hell out of me, Brunelle says. Ive gotten better about it and can talk about it. Ive lost a couple of real good buddies along the way. Medals don't matter to me. I dont consider myself a hero. I can say Ive had a good life though. Brunelle's daughter Deborah Melitus grew up being proud of her father's service, but it took many years until he was able to open up about his experiences overseas. She says his involvement as a Pease Greeter was the turning point in him finally telling his story. "He went through hell," Melitus said. "He never talked about his time in the service when we were kids, but I grew up patriotic and very proud of of him. I was a member of the junior auxiliary at the American Legion my dad was involved in. We marched alongside my father in Memorial Day parades. It gave me an entirely different perspective and a deep respect for men like my dad." This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Korean War vet and POW Raymond Brunelle urges 'never forget' LAS CRUCES - KRWG Public Media is set to broadcast KRWGs Beer Confidential Live! at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5. After the last several years of COVID, people are now getting out more and are visiting our local microbreweries, said Edmundo Resendez, producer of KRWGs Beer Confidential Live! To celebrate, we are producing a live on-stage show at the Rio Grande Theatre where the audience will be able to participate in the discussion on the science of beer with local brewing experts. What impact did COVID have on home brewing and craft beer enthusiasts? According to KRWG Beer Confidential Live! guest Catherine Brewer of New Mexico State University, it gave microbreweries an opportunity to scale up their operations. We have noticed a few trends. First, more breweries have invested in or scaled up in their packaging options such as Crowler machines and even canning lines which means that craft beer enthusiasts have more options to drink local beers at home," said Brewer, director of NMSBrew in the university's department of chemical and materials engineering. Some people have started homebrewing and reinvigorated previous homebrewing efforts. However, we expect that more people are just buying their beers in cans and bottles instead of going out. The increase in at-home production is probably nowhere near that of sourdough. As with all social activities, people see each other less, including their fellow homebrewers and beer enthusiasts. NMSBrew's Stephen Taylor said that, in New Mexico, the success of microbreweries is the variety of visions of the brewers in our area. More Cinco de Mayo events: 'Hometown shows are the best': Frank Ray, Bri Bagwell return home for Cinco de Mayo concert Quality products from a variety of brewers with a variety of visions for what their beer should be each brewer is unique, and that uniqueness encourages people to want to try what the brewers offer, Taylor said. Many local breweries have spaces that enable social gatherings in a safe and comfortable environment. Many local breweries also serve really good food with their beers. Story continues KRWGs Beer Confidential Live! at the Rio Grande Theatre is open to the public with free beer samples from Ex Novo Brewing Company in Corrales, New Mexico. The show will be broadcast live on 90.7 FM in Las Cruces, 91.3 KRXG-FM in Silver City and krwg.org. In addition, the show will be livestreamed on KRWG Public Medias Facebook page. Audience members will get a chance to ask questions of the guest beer experts. Doors open at 5:30 PM, the live show is between 7 and 8 p.m., and beer sampling is available until 9. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: KRWG's Beer Confidential explores rise in mircrobreweries, home brewing BATON ROUGE The House Committee on Education advanced a bill Tuesday that would require behavioral assessments before students could be expelled, placed in an alternative school or suspended. House Bill 222, sponsored by Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, would require that a student be administered an assessment chosen by the Louisiana Department of Health before being removed from a school. The bill also would prevent schools from suspending students for dress code violations and allow schools to use discretion when punishing students in elementary and middle school for possession of a gun or a knife over 2.5 inches. Present law requires an automatic suspension for any student to be found in possession of a knife or gun. More: Should Louisiana ban corporal punishment in schools? Lawmaker wants spanking stopped The proposal would only allow students in grades K-8 to be suspended if they acted in a way that is intended to cause significant bodily harm or emotional distress to another person. The bill was advanced on a 5-4 vote, with two Republicans, Rep. Barbara Freiberg of Baton Rouge and Rep. Vincent St. Blanc of Franklin voting in favor of the bill. It actually requires that they do an assessment of the students prior to to see if we can intervene and figure out why they're getting expelled, whether that's issues relating to their home, whether they're safety reasons, whether that's abuse, or whatever's going on, Marcelle said. We have too many of our students walking the streets during school time that are expelled and not knowing what's going on with them. Alma Stewart-Allen, president of Louisiana Center for Health Equity, joined Marcelle as she presented the bill. Stewart-Allen said that rather than having schools take a punitive approach, she would like to see students who experience trauma be assessed and referred to services to address the source of their behavioral problems. While the bill would leave the choice of the assessment to the Department of Health, Marcelle and several committee members mentioned that the Adverse Childhood Experiences Assessment might be used. Story continues Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, took issue with that assessment, arguing that the questions are too intrusive. Amedee read some of the questions from the questionnaire to the committee. Were your parents ever separated or divorced? Amedee said. Do you live with anyone who has a problem with drinking or alcohol or who use street drugs? Was a household member depressed or mentally ill or did a household member attempt suicide? More: Louisiana House advancing bills to ban vaccine mandates in schools, cities, Constitution Stewart-Allen argued against Amedees interpretation of the assessment. Sometimes intrusive is not really bad if you're going to get to save the child, Stewart-Allen said. Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, asked whether parents would have the right to opt their children out of the assessment. Marcelle clarified that parents would have the right to decline having their children assessed. Owen also echoed some of Amedees concerns about privacy. Marcelle responded: I certainly want to protect people's rights and privacy for their kids but not at the cost of a kid dying or suicide or any of that. She pointed out that most parents will not report themselves for child abuse. Jennifer Kerrigan, a representative of Louisiana Save our Schools, a conservative group, spoke against the bill, raising concerns about the ACE assessment. ACE is a study that was done in Southern California in 1995 and 1997, Kerrigan said. It was done in two waves. It was done by Kaiser Permanente in conjunction with the CDC. This was done on adults. ACE is now extrapolated out to be used for children. Experts say subsequent studies have validated the original findings, and ACE assessments are commonly used throughout the United States. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana students may be tested before being expelled, suspended SACRAMENTO, Calif. Congress failed to impose gun restrictions after the school massacres in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and theres little confidence that 21 deaths at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, will change matters now. But states arent waiting. In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy urged lawmakers to advance firearms safety measures, including raising the age to 21 for purchases of long guns and exposing gun-makers to lawsuits. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times In New York where an 18-year-old in Buffalo was charged two weeks ago with committing a racist mass shooting Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would seek to ban people under 21 from purchasing AR-15-style rifles. And in California where a politically motivated mass shooting erupted at a luncheon of older churchgoers this month legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom fast-tracked tougher controls on firearms. We are getting a lot of inquiries even though a lot of state legislatures are out of session, Nico Bocour, director of government affairs for anti-gun-violence group Giffords, said after the Uvalde shooting. In the wake of a lot of inaction by Congress, states want to step up and keep people safe. In Republican-controlled statehouses, however, the moves evoked an equal and opposite reaction. A day after Uvalde, rural conservatives in Pennsylvania and Michigan beat back Democratic attempts to force votes on long-blocked gun safety legislation. And in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican officials blamed the school massacre on a gunman with mental health problems, not gun laws. They accused Democrats of politicizing the situation with calls for gun control. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period, Abbott said a day after the Uvalde shooting. The state actions come as hope for congressional consensus has waned to a flicker, not only on gun violence, but also on an array of American social issues. As polarized politics repeatedly trump compromise in a narrowly divided Congress, liberal and conservative states have enacted disparate and often opposing agendas, erecting a patchwork of policies on a range of issues, including abortion and civil rights. Story continues Since 2019, federal legislation to expand criminal background checks for gun purchases has twice passed the House only to languish amid Senate Republican opposition. On Thursday, a small, bipartisan group of senators said they would work through the weekend in a search for common ground. We beg you, a group of school principals who survived past campus shootings wrote in a letter that was expected to appear as a full-page ad in The Washington Post on Sunday. Do something. Do anything. But as they publicly mourned the tragedy in Uvalde, Republican senators showed scant signs that they had budged. And few believe that gridlocked Washington will accomplish much after seeing the same script play out before. The one modest proposal that seemed to show promise would kick decisions to statehouses: It would offer incentives for states to pass red flag laws aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. Roughly 3 in 5 state legislatures are Republican-controlled, but calls for action on gun violence have run high in the aftermath of Uvaldes devastation. In Texas, where the National Rifle Association went ahead with a scheduled convention three days after the school shooting, the issue surfaced almost immediately in the governors race. As authorities were still processing the crime scene, former Democratic Rep. Beto ORourke who is challenging Abbott interrupted the governors news conference to charge that the Republican had done nothing to protect Texans from gun violence. Somebody needs to stand up for the children of this state, ORourke called to audience members as he was escorted from the gathering, or they will continue to be killed. Last year, Texas passed a law allowing virtually anyone over the age of 21 to carry a handgun without a permit, making it the most populous among nearly a dozen states that have shunned most restrictions on the ability to carry handguns. Abbott was scheduled to appear at the NRA convention in Houston before deciding instead to send a video address and travel to Uvalde. But the states Republican officials seemed disinclined to tighten gun laws. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested that, instead of restricting guns, school security and mental health care should be improved. But there remain serious questions about whether popular school-based security measures work against mass shootings, particularly when the attacker uses high-powered weapons. And in the Uvalde shooting, the school district had its own police force and school shooting plan, while the gunman was apparently never flagged for mental illness. Nationally, a majority of Americans have supported stricter gun laws for decades, polls show. A Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted this past week showed overwhelming support among Americans for background checks, a ban on assault-style weapons and other gun restrictions. But spikes in demand for gun control that occur after mass shootings also tend to revert to the partisan mean as time passes. The same poll also reported that a slim majority of Americans support arming teachers a solution touted this past week by the Gun Owners of America. Americas long, bitter fight over guns has hardened lines to the point that refusing to compromise on the Second Amendment has become part of the identity of the Republican Party. The U.S. Supreme Courts rightward shift on hot-button cultural issues has further emboldened Republican legislatures to pass conservative social policies once viewed as too extreme by courts and Congress and prompted Democratic-led states to respond in kind. After the Supreme Court in December preserved a Texas law encouraging private lawsuits against anyone who helps terminate a pregnancy after six weeks, Californias governor proposed parallel legislation to incentivize lawsuits against anyone who traffics in banned firearms. At the time, Newsoms social media call was seen as an impulsive retort that lawmakers werent sure whether to take seriously, as it came on a Saturday evening and ran counter to his previous view of the Constitution. It is now the foundation for the California bill that has drawn the most attention this past week. Also this past week, a federal court upheld a New York law the first of its kind in the nation allowing lawsuits to be filed against firearm manufacturers and dealers. Passed last year, it is aimed at circumventing the broad immunity long enjoyed by gun companies. Other states have expressed interest, including New Jersey, where Murphy called for a similar law last month. But Republicans may look to other courts, particularly the Supreme Court, to block state laws on gun control after former President Donald Trump appointed a wave of conservative federal judges. This month, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a state ban on sales of semi-automatic rifles to adults under 21 was unconstitutional. Despite that decision, Hochul announced Wednesday that she would seek to prevent people not old enough to buy a legal drink from purchasing AR-15-style rifles. We are not only leaning heavily on state legislatures now, but we have been for the past 10 years, particularly since the Sandy Hook massacre, said Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, referring to the 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown that killed 26 people. Strategically, we understood as advocates that we needed to be working with our state legislators to see real change, and that is where there has been most meaningful change. Research indicates that Californias approach has constrained gun deaths. The states rate of firearm mortality is among the nations lowest, with 8.5 gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2020, compared to 14.2 per 100,000 in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A more recent analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California found that Californians were about 25% less likely to die in mass shootings, compared to citizens of other states. Even so, New York and other states pursuing strict gun laws are, in many ways, hampered by the lack of a coherent gun policy from Congress and the flow of illegal firearms from states with looser laws. Research shows that gun crimes in states with tough restrictions are often committed with firearms from more permissive states. California leads this national conversation, Newsom said in the state Capitol alongside Democratic state lawmakers. When California moves, other states move in the same direction. 2022 The New York Times Company You are the owner of this article. Starting at 0600 hours Saturday, Shawn Marceau will set off from his home in Harrah and walk 17 grueling miles to the Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima to visit the grave of his late son, Lance Cpl. Joe M. Jackson. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form I never would have known a thing about the town of Newtown, Connecticut, if it hadnt been for the senseless slaughter of school children in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary. Now, here in 2022 and for the same reason I get to learn about the town of Uvalde, Texas, and its ordinary-sounding (up until today) Robb Elementary School. I suppose this is how America gets a small town on the map these days for the rest of us, they have a mass shooting there. So, how does stupid America solve the problem? The same way its always solved the problem (but not really) by throwing more guns into the equation. More guns for the good guys. If this wasnt so tragic, it would be a comedy. And, if America was a fire brigade, it would bring gasoline to every house fire. So, when the teachers and administrators are packing to end school shootings, well need to do the same for our doctors and nurses. Why? Because inevitably, the blood-thirsty, fringe element of the gun-owners and NRA hiding behind the Second Amendment will be coming for the hospital nurseries. Thats right, you heard it here first. And if the hospital nurseries are too secure, theyll go after the elder living facilities. And after that, family reunions, weddings, funerals any place that's a soft target. Get used to it. This is Stupid America. Morgan Tyree Powell, Wyoming Love 14 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. After a hiatus of over two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Agartala-Kolkata bus service via Dhaka will resume from June 10, an official of the Tripura government said on May 28. The bus service was initially planned to restart from April 28 but postponed owing to "some technical reasons", he said. State transport department principal secretary LH Darlong has written letters to Bangladesh's Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian High Commission to the neighbouring country, apprising them of the proposed resumption of the international bus service. Tickets for the bus service will be available at the Tripura Road Transport Corporation counter at Krishnanagar from June 1. Passengers need to have a valid passport and visa to board a vehicle, a transport department official said. In a separate letter to the joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, state additional secretary S Chowdhury informed all concerned about the resumption of the cross border bus service. Also read: Watch: Noida Police arrests 3 youngsters for performing Shaktimaan inspired stunts on motorcycle The fare from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka will be Rs 2,300 per passenger, including travelling tax, while it will be Rs 1,000 from Tripura capital to Dhaka. The international bus service will benefit people amid soaring air fares and suspension of long-distance trains due to landslides in neighbouring Assam. The bus will cover a distance of around 500 km from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka in around 19 hours. A train journey between the two destinations via Guwahati takes around 35 hours, another official said. The bus facility on this route was suspended in March 2020 after the pandemic struck. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV #mute A small plane went off radar on May 29 after taking off from the Adriatic Sea coast town of Split. Croatian police say the search for the plane has begun. The Cessna 182 plane disappeared from the radar around 0925GMT while flying in the direction of Germany, said a police statement. Also read: Nepal plane crash: Thane couple, their two kids among 22 on board; kin asked to contact embassy Authorities have dispatched rescue teams and are searching the area with drones, police added. The statement did not specify how many people were on the plane. It's a developing story, more inputs awaited. (With inputs from AP) Live TV #mute A plane operated by a private airline, Tara Air in Nepal went missing on Sunday (May 29) with 22 people on board, according to airline and government sources. The Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted about their emergency hotline number as Nepal plane with Indians go missing. "Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people on board, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. A search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number: +977-9851107021," the Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted. Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number :+977-9851107021. https://t.co/2aVhUrB82b IndiaInNepal (@IndiaInNepal) May 29, 2022 The Twin Otter 9N-AET plane belonging to Nepal's Tara Air took off at 10:15 am from Pokhara, and lost contact with the control tower 15 minutes later, according to an airline spokesperson. Four members of a family from Mumbai are among 22 people on board a small plane of local airlines that went missing on May 29 in the mountainous region of the Himalayan nation minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara, officials said. There are four Indian nationals, two Germans, and 13 Nepali passengers besides a three-member Nepali crew, said Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson at the airlines. The three-member crew of the aircraft was led by captain Prabhakar Prasad Ghimire. Utsav Pokhrel is the co-pilot while Kismi Thapa is the air hostess, My Republica newspaper reported, quoting Pokhara Airport Information Officer Dev Raj Adhikari. The airline has issued the list of passengers which identified four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Dhanush Tripathi, Ritika Tripathi, and Vaibhawi Tripathi. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Jomsom Airport in the Western mountainous region at 10:15 am. The aircraft lost contact with the tower from the sky above Ghorepani on the Pokhara-Jomsom air route, aviation sources said. According to an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport, they have an unconfirmed report about loud noise in Ghasa of Jomsom. It is suspected that the aircraft crashed in the Dhaulagiri area, the paper quoted DSP Ram Kumar Dani of Mustang as saying. Also read: Plane with 22 onboard, including 4 Indians, goes missing in Nepal; search operations on A helicopter that flew from Pokhara in search of the missing aircraft has returned without any success due to bad weather. The weather condition at the Pokhara-Jomsom route is currently cloudy with rainfall, affecting the search, according to the airline's sources. The Nepal Army and police personnel have been dispatched to carry out searches through land routes. Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand has directed authorities to intensify the search operations for the missing aircraft. Mustang Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma said that following the instruction from the home minister, security officials of five districts adjoining the Dhaulagiri Peak have been urged to stay alert. The aircraft was last tracked taking a turn toward the Dhaulagiri Peak, officials said. An MI-17 chopper has also been dispatched from Kathmandu to Lete to help in the search operation. Tara Air is the newest and biggest airline service provider in the Nepalese mountains, according to the airline website. It started its business in 2009 with the mission of helping develop rural Nepal. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV #mute UPDATE: Burnt our wreckage of Tara Air flight found at Kowang of Mustang Valley. The Nepal Army has started search and rescue operations for 22 passengers, who were onboard the small plane travelling from Pokhara to Jomson. Among the 22 passengers were four Indians, all from the same family, belonging to Thane, Maharashtra. Top officials in Nepal earlier said inclement weather affecting search and rescue operations at the possible crash site. A plane operated by a private airline in Nepal went missing on Sunday with 22 people on board, according to airline and government sources. #UPDATE | Aircraft found at Kowang of Mustang. The status of the aircraft is yet to be ascertained: Tribhuvan International Airport chief ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2022 The Twin Otter 9N-AET plane belonging to Tara Air took off at 10:15 am from Pokhara, and lost contact with the control tower 15 minutes later, according to an airline spokesperson. The missing plane was carrying four Indians, two Germans and 13 Nepalese nationals, with 3 crew members. The remaining passengers were Nepalese citizens and among a total of 22 passengers, including the crew. The missing plane lost contact with the airport tower shortly after take-off at 9.55 am, a Tara Air official was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post newspaper. "The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang district and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn't come into contact," Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma told ANI Tara Air flight 9NAET that took off from Pokhara at 9.55 AM today with 22 people onboard, including 4 Indians, has gone missing. Search and rescue operation is on. The embassy is in touch with their family. Our emergency hotline number :+977-9851107021. https://t.co/2aVhUrB82b IndiaInNepal (@IndiaInNepal) May 29, 2022 According to an air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport, they have an unconfirmed report about a loud noise reported in the Ghasa region of Jomsom, according to the Post report. Also read: SpiceJet's Mumbai-Gorakhpur flight makes emergency landing, suffers windshield crack The officer also announced that the search operations for the plane are underway, "We are deploying helicopter to the area for the search operation, Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, Mustang, told ANI. The last contact was made in Lete Pass region. An airline official said the plane was carrying four Indians and two other foreigners, though their nationality was not known. Nepal, home to the world`s highest mountain, does have a record of accidents on its extensive domestic air network, with changeable weather and airstrips in difficult mountain locations. The airline has issued the list of passengers which identified four Indians Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Dhanush Tripathi, Ritika Tripathi, and Vaibhawi Tripathi. They are all the members of the same family from Mumbai. Heavy rains have been reported in the region over the past couple of days, but flights have been operating normally. It is a popular route for tourists and Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple, which is situated on the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang. With inputs from agencies NEW DELHI: Actor Kangana Ranaut, on Sunday, headed to Delhi for the recce of her upcoming political dram 'Emergency'. She was spotted at Mumbai airport wearing a beautiful saree. She accessorised her airport outfit with a pearl necklace. 'Emergency' is based on the life of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Kangana will not only act as the lead in the film 'Emergency' but she will also direct and produce it. The is Kangana's second film as a director. Earlier, she wore the director's hat for 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi'. The actress revealed that the project will be penned by Ritesh Shah, who has films like 'Pink', 'Kahaani', 'Kahaani 2', 'D-Day', 'Rocky Handsome' among others to his credit. He has also written Kangana's another film 'Dhaakad'. In an earlier statement, Kangana Ranaut had clarified that Emergency is not a biopic, but a political drama. She had said, It is not the biopic of Indira Gandhi. It is a grand period film. To be precise, it is a political drama that will help my generation to understand the socio-political landscape of current India. Apart from Indira Gandhi's biopic 'Emergency', Kangana is also coming up with 'Tiku Weds Sheru', which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur in the lead roles. She will be seen in 'Tejas' in the role of an Air Force pilot. Live TV New Delhi: Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, on Sunday (May 29), pointed out that there is a need to regulate 10-minutes deliveries. Taking it to the microblogging platform Twitter, she said that the 10-minutes deliveries put the lives of driver-partners at risk. No civilised society can be incentivising delivery executives to break traffic rules & put own & others lives at risk. All for a quicker pizza, she said in her tweet. Moitra also said that she is going to raise the issue in Parliament. "10-minute deliveries need to be regulated/outlawed...am going to raise this in parliament," she said in a tweet posted on May 29, 2022. Moitra, who is a Member of Parliament Lok Sabha, comes from the All India Trinamool Congress. Zomato is the only big player in India that is aiming to deliver food in 10 minutes. The public listed company had announced the 10-minutes delivery in March 2022. At that time, it received mixed responses from netizens, with most questioning the need for such a thing. Zomatos cofounder Deepinder Goyal, at that time, had clarified the safety of delivery partners with the 10-minutes delivery. He said that the 10-minute service is safe for delivery partners, adding that the 10-minute delivery service "will be for specific nearby locations, popular and standardised items only." He also explained that there wont be any penalties for late deliveries and drivers wont get incentives for on-time deliveries. Also, the company doesnt update the drivers about promised delivery time. Also Read: It's official! PM-KISAN 11th installment to be released by PM Modi on May 31 Besides food delivery in 10 minutes, several companies in India are offering 10-minute grocery delivery. From time and again, many users have called out such brands, saying that they can wait for their grocery orders. Also Read: Want to change photo on Aadhaar Card? Update your Aadhaar details in simple steps, check how Ather Energy recently got its name added to the list of EV fire incidents after a fire broke out at the electric scooter manufacturers centre in Chennai. However, Ather Energy has blamed an "extremely rare" phenomenon for a fire at its experience centre in Chennai, saying a structural breach allowed water to find its way into the battery pack of the scooter, which triggered a thermal runaway event resulting in smoke and fire. The EV maker said the scooter in question had been brought to the Nungambakkam facility for service after an accident. The service crew apparently subjected the Ather 450 electric scooter to a high-pressure wash to remove dust and mud that had accumulated on the scooter over time. The crew later "discovered a crack on the top casing of the battery pack", which, the company believes, was due to the accident of the scooter. Heres an update on yesterdays incident in Chennai pic.twitter.com/OcHN3avo5F Ather Energy (@atherenergy) May 28, 2022 "A structural breach allowed water to find its way into the battery pack of the scooter, which triggered a thermal runaway event," the company claimed. The EV maker said such an incident has never happened with neither its test vehicles nor any scooters it has sold to date. "The crack in the casing allowed water into the battery pack - which is both IP67-rated as well as AIS 156-compliant - that made its way to the 224 cells in the pack," said the company, adding it was an `impossible to solve` scenario in terms of saving the battery pack. The EV maker also said that the scooter in question had a number of `non-standard parts` in place of the stock screws surrounding the battery pack, adding that it is increasing the pre-checks for accident cases to avoid such incidents in the future. The company had earlier said in a tweet that there has been a minor fire incident on its premises in Chennai. Also read: Is new Ambassador electric vehicle really making a comeback? Here's the truth "While some property and scooters got affected, thankfully all employees are safe and things are under control. The experience centre will be operational shortly," the EV company said. This was the first time Ather Energy came in news for a fire incident as several top EV players are facing government inquiry over battery explosions and fire incidents across the country. A Hero Photon Electric scooter in Odisha caught fire this week while it was being charged. The incident left the scooter partially damaged. EV makers such as Ola Electric, Pure EV, Jitendra EV Tech, and Okinawa have been involved in earlier EV fire incidents. A government panel probing EV fire incidents is set to submit its report next week. (With inputs from IANS) Live TV #mute Casper will host a rally by former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Here's what to know, from parking to politics, ahead of the visit. Hindustan Motors is a nameplate that still resonates in the Indian market for its iconic sedan - Ambassador. In the recent reports, it has been confirmed that the Hindustan Ambassador is ready to make a comeback as an all-electric offering. If the aforementioned statement holds any ground or not, it remains a grey area for now. Recently Times of India reported - the automaker is eyeing allying with a European electric vehicle manufacturer to produce e-scooters at its manufacturing unit. On the other hand, HT Bangla reports - the manufacturer of the legendary Ambassador is also exploring the opportunity to produce electric cars at its plant. However, in a recent statement to TOI, Director of Hindustan Motors, Uttam Bose claimed that the Mechanical and design work for the new engine has reached an advanced stage. The statement hints that an electric-powered Hindustan Ambassador is still some time away from the Indian market. An ICE-powered iteration of the sedan will make its way to us by 2024 instead. The development work on the all-new Hindustan Ambassador will be done by the Groupe PSA, as it owns the rights of the Ambassador brand currently. For the patrons, the arrival of the Ambassador will be nothing more than their biggest dream coming true. Since back in the days, the sedan enjoyed a strong following in the Indian market. In 1970, Hindustan Motors contributed almost three-fourths of the total sales of the Indian automotive market. It was only after the arrival of the cheaper and frugal Maruti 800 that the Hindustan Motors Ambassador began facing the backlash. Also read: Here's how the upcoming new HM Ambassador electric car can look like: IN PICS Also, the Amby failed to match pace with the modern-age saloons, as they offered increased creature comforts like power steering, air conditioning, and most importantly - reliability. The brand thus fell apart, and it was only in 2014 when the last unit of the Hindustan Ambassador was built. In 2017, Groupe PSA bought the Ambassador nameplate from Birla Group-owned Hindustan Motors. Paris: Triangle of Sadness, a film by Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, won the Palme d`Or for Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, the festival announced. "When we started to make this film I think we had one goal - to really, really try to make an exciting film for the audience and bring thought-provoking content," Ostlund said. "We wanted to entertain them, we wanted them to ask themselves questions, we wanted them to go out after the screening and have something to talk about," he added. Exploring notions of beauty and privilege, the film sends two models on a luxury cruise -- only to leave them stranded on a deserted island with a handful of the staff and billionaire guests. The toilet attendant proves to have the best survival skills and social structures are upended. "The thing about Ostlund is that he makes you laugh, but he also makes you think," said Variety in its review of the film. "No matter what sphere he tackles, we`re bound to see the world differently." Ostlund won the Palme d`Or in 2017 for his film "The Square", a satire about a prestigious art curator. The festival awarded two films the Grand Prix: "Close", a film by Belgian director Lukas Dhont about friendship and masculinity, and "Stars at Noon," which is set in modern-day Nicaragua, by French auteur filmmaker Claire Denis. The jury prize also went to two films, "The Eight Mountains" by Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch and "EO", by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, which is told through the eyes of a donkey. "Thank you, my donkeys," said Skolimowski, in his acceptance speech. South Korean star Song Kang-ho picked up the best actor award for his role in "Broker" while South Korean director Park Chan-wook won the best director prize for his romantic thriller "Decision to Leave." Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who won best actress for her role as a journalist tracking a serial killer in "Holy Spider," was visibly moved. "Maybe having me here tonight is just a message -- especially for women, Iranian women," she told a press conference directly after the ceremony, when asked about an apparent outpouring of support of her on social media, which she said she hadn`t seen. French actress Carole Bouquet announced a surprise 75th anniversary prize to mark the festival`s birthday. It went to Belgian directing brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for "Tori and Lokita." For its 75th anniversary edition, the festival resumed its traditional calendar in May following two years of pandemic disruptions and marked the return of parties and kissing -- both of which were not permitted last year due to strict COVID protocols. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has "crossed the red line" by criticising the judiciary for ordering CBI investigations, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday, asserting that constitutional authorities in the state are under attack, PTI reported. Stating that he is taking a serious note of the comments made by Banerjee, Dhankhar called upon the state's chief secretary to urgently initiate appropriate action."Constitutional institutions in the state are under attack, the attack on judiciary is reprehensible," Dhankhar said on arriving at Bagdogra airport here on the way to Darjeeling. The comments came in response to remarks made by Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee against the court order that directed a CBI probe on him for the alleged recruitment scam. "In a public meeting, attacking a judge who ordered CBI inquiry into SSC scam is most condemnable," the governor said, adding, "the honourable Member of Parliament crossed the red line". The Calcutta High Court has ordered CBI investigations in a number of cases in the last year, including post-poll violence and recruitment of teachers by the School Service Commission (SSC). TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, at a rally in Haldia on Saturday, lashed out at "1 per cent of the judiciary" for ordering CBI investigation in "every case" in the state. "I feel ashamed to say that there are one or two people in the judiciary who are in hand in gloves and have a tacit understanding and are ordering CBI investigation in every case. This is just 1 per cent of the judiciary," Banerjee had said, without clarifying the allegations. "If you think you will take action against me for speaking the truth, then I will speak the truth a thousand times," he had said. The development seemed to have opened another front in the turf war between the TMC government and the governor, which has been on since he assumed office in July 2019. New Delhi: An activist of the All India Students Association (AISA) has been accused of sexually harassing a woman inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, a statement said on Saturday. "The survivor faced sexual harassment by the accused touching her inappropriately without consent and grabbing her forcefully from behind and continued this disgusting act. "The survivor is also being conveyed through classmates about conspiracies to defame and slut shame her and her credibility from the grapevine," the 'Concerned Women of JNU' said in the statement. The date of the incident was not mentioned in the statement. Meanwhile, AISA said the complaint has been forwarded to its Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment for enquiry and the activist in question has been asked not to participate in organisation activities. The statement further mentioned that the victim has complained to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to take "prompt action to save her from any more mental trauma and intimidation". When contacted by PTI, JNU ICC presiding officer Poonam Kumari refused to divulge any details about the incident. "We receive many complaints. We cannot reveal anything about these complaints as it is against the rule," she said. JNU Dean of Students Welfare Sudhir Pratap Singh also said he is not aware of any such incident. In a statement, AISA acknowledged that an "unsigned" public statement has been issued regarding a complaint of sexual harassment against an AISA member. The student organisation also expressed solidarity with the complainant in her pursuit of justice. "The organisation had come to know about the complaint of sexual harassment a few days back. As soon as we got to know about the complaint against one of our members, we immediately acknowledged it and started the process of redressal available within our organisation," it said. JNU AISA secretary Madhurima Kundu said she sent a message to the complainant and assured her justice. Live TV It is as if Kuber's wealth has been found in Bihar! 44% of the country's gold reserves are in this area. This is what is being demanded from various quarters of the government. This time, the Bihar government has decided to allow the mining of the 'country's largest' gold mine. This was reported by the media quoting a senior official of the state. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has a survey of about 230 million tonnes of gold in Bihar's Jamui district. Along with the gold, they have also reported about 37.6 tonnes of mineral ore. In this context, the Nitish Kumar government has recently decided to launch a gold search in that area of Jamui district. Discussions are reportedly underway with the Centre on the issue. Bihar Chief Secretary Harjot Kaur told PTI that the central agency had held discussions with the Bihar state mines and geology department on mining. Officials of the Geological Survey of India have also been consulted in this regard. In which parts of Bihar did this gold mine found? 1. It is learnt that the mines have been found in Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono areas of Jamui district. 2. Union minister Pralhad Joshi had raised the issue of gold mining in Bihar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha last year. 3. The Union minister told the Lok Sabha that 44 per cent of the country's total gold can be found in the mines in Bihar. 4. The total amount of gold could be about 230 million tons. The Bihar government is likely to sign an MoU with the central agency in the next one month before embarking on the exploration of this huge gold mine. This is according to sources in the Nitish Kumar government. It is learnt that the Bihar government may enter into an agreement with the central agency at the initial stage or G-3 level for exploration of gold. How was this gold found? 1. No one has ever realised that such a huge gold reserve is hidden under the red soil of the Maoist-dominated Jamui. 2. It has taken 40 years to find the gold reserves here. That's also possible for ants. 3. Legend has it that forty years ago, there was a huge banyan tree in the area. To escape the heat and heat of the sun, ants start building nests under the banyan tree. 4. When the ants began to lift the soil from the bottom, the locals saw tiny particles of yellow shingles mixed in the soil. At that moment, the news spread among the people of the area. That's the beginning of the search. The highest number of gold in India is found in the state of Karnataka. Kolar gold mine in this state is one of the oldest and major gold mines in India. In 2001, however, the gold mine was closed. Other Gold Mines Found In India 1. GSI had earlier found a gold mine in Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh. It was said that 3,500 tons of gold was found there. 2. In 2020, there was an uproar across the country over the news of the gold discovery fair in Sonbhadra. Central leaders tweeted about it. But the GSI later issued a statement saying that this was not the case at all. 3. According to the Geological Survey of India, the last survey was conducted in Sonbhadra in 1999. At that time, 160 kilograms of gold was found. 4. They said the news of the discovery of 3,500 tonnes of gold was rumored. 5. The joke started on the net. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are flooded with memes about gold in Sonbhadra. Now The Bihar government is looking for gold in Bihar. This is being heard from sources in the Nitish government. However, GSI has not yet given any detailed information on this. New Delhi: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Saturday (May 28) appreciated India for its success in the vaccination drive against Covid-19 and said the use of technology by India to drive health outcome is a lesson for the world. Gate's statement came days after his meeting with union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the form of a reply on Twitter to latter's tweet. Mansukh Mandaviya on May 25 shared a picture of him with Gates from a meeting at the World Economic Forum 2022 with the caption "A pleasure to interact with BillGates. He appreciated India's success in COVID-19 management and mammoth vaccination efforts." A pleasure to interact with @BillGates at #WEF22. He appreciated India's success in #COVID19 management & mammoth vaccination efforts. pic.twitter.com/ZO2mxrvbK1 Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) May 25, 2022 Replying to the Union Minister's tweet days after the meet, Gates wrote, "It was great to meet Dr Mansukh Mandviya and exchange perspectives on global health. India's success with the vaccination drive and the use of technology to drive health outcomes at scale offers many lessons for the world." It was great to meet Dr @mansukhmandviya and exchange perspectives on global health. India's success with the vaccination drive and the use of technology to drive health outcomes at scale offers many lessons for the world. Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 28, 2022 Mandviya in another tweet said that they "discussed a wide range wide range of subjects relating to healthcare including the promotion of digital health, disease control management, creation of mRNA regional hubs, and strengthening the development of affordable and quality diagnostics and medical devices, etc." India launched the worlds biggest vaccination drive against Covid in January last year. Since then, nearly 88 per cent of the adults have been fully vaccinated, the health minister said in an update on Saturday. The country has largely relied on the Serum Institute of Indias Covishield and homegrown Covaxin for inoculation against the virus. Live TV New Delhi: With 2,828 new Covid-19 infections being reported in the last 24 hours, India's total tally of cases rose to 4,31,53,043, according to Union health ministry data updated on Sunday (May 29, 2022). The active caseload stands at 17,087. #COVID19 | India reports 2,828 fresh cases, 2,035 recoveries, and 14 deaths, in the last 24 hours. Total active cases are 17,087. Daily positivity rate 0.60% pic.twitter.com/8dUi4o7kGt ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2022 India recorded 14 new deaths in the last 24 hours. The country also reported 2,035 recoveries in a day. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,26,11,370, while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.22 per cent. An increase of 779 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The ministry also informed that the active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.74 per cent. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.60 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was 0.56 per cent, according to the ministry. The cumulative doses administered under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 193.28 crore on Sunday at 8 am. The last 24 hours saw a total of 4,74,309 Covid-19 tests being conducted in the country. Meanwhile, Shanghai announced further steps towards returning to more normal life and lifting a two-month COVID-19 lockdown this week, while Beijing reopened parts of its public transport, some malls, gyms and other venues as infections stabilised. The painful coronavirus curbs in major Chinese cities run counter to trends seen in the rest of the world, which has largely moved towards co-existing with the virus even as infections spread. Shanghai, China`s most populous city, will ease testing requirements from Wednesday for people who want to enter public areas, said city government spokeswoman Yin Xin, adding these tweaks should encourage work resumption. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday (May 29, 2022) spoke on the removal of loudspeakers from religious places and said that the people must have seen how the unnecessary noise was got rid of. While addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's one-day state executive meeting in Lucknow, Adityanath stated that there has been no communal riot in the state. He also mentioned recent festivals and said that for the first time in the state, the namaz on the last Friday before Eid was not held on roads. "Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti were held peacefully. This was the first time that the last Friday namaz before Eid was not held on the streets. For namaz there is a place of worship, the mosques where their religious programs can be held," the PTI news agency quoted Yogi Adityanath as saying. After Ram temple in Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura appear to be 'waking up' Adityanath said that after the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the temple town of Kashi appears to be "waking up", as are Mathura, Vrindavan, Vindhyavasini Dham and Naimish Dham. Referring to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, he said, "After the beginning of the construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, the waking up ('angadai') of Kashi is before us." "All pilgrimages centres like Mathura Vrindavan, Vindhyavasini Dham, Naimish Dham are once again waking up ('angdai li'). In this situation we all have to move forward once again," the UP CM said said. His remarks came amid legal proceedings over the temple-mosque disputes in Mathura and Varanasi, also known as Kashi. One lakh devotees visit Kashi every day Adityanath referred to the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor and said that one lakh devotees visit Kashi every day and the place is proving the significance of its name in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision. Start preparing for 2024 Lok Sabha polls During the first state executive meeting of the BJP after the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Yogi Adityantah asked the party workers to start preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and move forward with the target of winning 75 out of the state's 80 seats. "With people's help and by dint of our hard work during Covid, we got better results in the assembly polls. In the 2024 general elections, under the leadership of PM Modi, we have to march ahead with the target of winning 75 seats in Uttar Pradesh," he said. In 2019, the BJP had won 62 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while its ally Apna Dal(S) bagged two seats. Congratulating PM Modi for completing eight years as prime minister, Adityanath said with the 2024 roadmap, the BJP will succeed in its achieving its target. Adityanath said the perception about the state changed after 2017 while asserting that Uttar Pradesh is leading the country in over four dozen schemes. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: A drone coming from the International Border side was shot down on Sunday (May 29) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, PTI reported. The drone bomb disposal squad, which inspected the drone's payload, discovered seven magnetic bombs and seven grenades compatible with Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGL) attached to it, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu, Mukesh Singh informed. Singh said a police search party discovered the drone at the border in Talli Hariya Chak area in the morning. The Pakistani drone was shot down after being hit by the ground fire at the border in Talli Hariya Chak area, Singh said, as per PTI. "Rajbagh Police Station team was on a normal search when info about the drone was received. The drone was shot down and 7 magnetic type Bombs IEDs and 7 UBGLs (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher) were recovered. We have averted a major incident by recovering this material," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kathua, RC Kotwal said, as per ANI. J&K | Rajbagh PS team was on a normal search when info about the drone was received. The drone was shot down & 7 magnetic type Bombs IEDs & 7 UBGLs (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher) recovered. We've averted a major incident by recovering this material: SSP Kathua, RC Kotwal pic.twitter.com/xkajYgO9jy ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2022 The surveillance has been increased and police search parties were being regularly sent to the area in the wake of the frequent drone activity from across the border. This comes as Jammu and Kashmir is all set to host the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine, in view of which security has been strengthened in the union territory. Moreover, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags have been made compulsory this year for those undertaking the yatra for security reasons. (With agency inputs) Dakshina Kannada: Following a statement by Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh that only uniforms are permissible inside classrooms, authorities at a college in Dakshina Kannada district on Saturday sent back hijab-clad students home. The incident took place in Mangaluru's University College. The college had banned the wearing of hijab as per the decision of it syndicate. Though majority of the Muslim students attended classes on Saturday without hijab, 12 students came in wearing them. They insisted on allowing them to attend classes with hijab. However, the college principal stopped them from attending classes and were also denied permission to go to the library, after which the students returned home. As the hijab row is resurfacing in the district, the College Development Committee has decided to allow students to take it off in rest rooms and then attend classes. Live TV BERLIN (AP) Finland declared Sunday that it wants to join NATO and a new era is underway, while Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope that Ukraine could win the war as Russian military advances appear to be faltering. President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement that Finland would seek membership of NATO during a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The previously neutral Nordic country shares a long border with Russia. This is a historic day. A new era begins, Niinisto said. The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in the coming days. A formal membership application will then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels, most likely at some point next week. The announcement came as top diplomats from the 30 NATO member states met in Berlin to discuss providing further support to Ukraine and moves by Finland, Sweden and others to join NATO in the face of threats from Russia. Russias war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned, Stoltenberg said by video link as he recovers from a COVID-19 infection." They failed to take Kiev. They are pulling back from around Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives. Ukraine can win this war," he said, adding that NATO must continue to step up its military support to the country. Sweden has also already taken steps toward joining the alliance, while Georgia's bid is again being discussed despite dire warnings from Moscow about the consequences if its neighbor becomes part of NATO. Nordic NATO member Norway said it strongly welcomed Finlands decision to seek membership. Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt described Helsinkis move as a turning point for the Nordic region's defense and security policies. Finnish membership in NATO will be good for Finland, good for the Nordic region, and good for NATO. Finland has Norways full support," Huitfeldt said in comments emailed to The Associated Press. Huitfeldt said the Norwegian government would facilitate a swift consent to ratification by the Norwegian Parliament for Finland's accession into NATO. We are now seeing unprecedented unity in NATO. With the Finnish membership, we will further strengthen the Nordic flank of the military alliance, Huitfeldt said. Stoltenberg said he was confident the accession process for Finland and Sweden could be expedited in the existing member states. In the meantime, the alliance would increase its presence in the Baltic region to deter Russian threats, he said. All allies realize the historic magnitude of the moment, Stoltenberg added. That sentiment was echoed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Sweden and Finland, if youre ready, were ready, she said. But NATO member Turkey has raised concerns about the two countries joining, alleging they support Kurdish militants that Ankara considers terrorists. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984 and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. Turkey has also been infuriated by U.S. support for PKK-linked Syrian Kurdish militants to fight the Islamic State group. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Berlin on Sunday that Finland and Sweden had also imposed restrictions on defense sales to Turkey that he called unacceptable. Its not because we are against the expansion of NATO but because we believe countries who support terror and follow such policies against us should not be NATO allies, Cavusoglu said. Denmark's foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, dismissed suggestions that objections from Russian President Vladimir Putin could hinder the alliance from letting in new members. Each and every European country has a fundamental right to choose their own security arrangement," Kofod told reporters. We see now a world where the enemy of democracy number one is Putin and the thinking that he represents, he said, adding that NATO would also stand with other countries, such as Georgia, which he said were being instrumentalized by Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence that NATO members would support the bid. I heard almost across the board, very strong support for Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, if thats what they choose to do, and Im very confident that we will reach consensus, he said after the meeting in Berlin. On the sidelines of the meeting, Blinken met earlier Sunday with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss the impact of the war and how to get Ukraines grain to international markets. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken underscored the United States enduring commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russias unprovoked war. Britain's top diplomat said NATO members would also discuss security issues beyond Europe during their meeting Sunday a reference to growing unease among democratic nations about the rise of China. "As well as protecting Euro-Atlantic security, we also need to watch out for Indo-Pacific security, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said. The meeting follows a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies on Germany's Baltic Sea coast this week. Officials there expressed strong support for Ukraine and warned that Russia's blockade of grain exports from Ukrainian ports risks stoking a global food crisis. Jari Tanner reported from Helsinki. Matthew Lee in Berlin, and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Aranmula residents Jasmine and Haneefa were making arrangements for their long-cherished dream of going on haj and were prepared to sell their land to raise funds for the trip when they had second thoughts. Instead, the couple, married for over three decades, decided to donate its 28-cent ancestral land to LIFE Mission, the State government's flagship housing scheme for the landless. The couple's decision came after it saw the plight of a neighbour-family living on rented premises and found it difficult to cremate the body of a family member who died recently. "We were planning to sell our property and use the funds for haj pilgrimage. But, in the past couple of months, we saw some incidents in which certain families find it difficult to cremate their family members as they don't own a property. Such incidents made us rethink our Haj plans," Haneefa told PTI. He said recently, a person passed away in his locality and a community leader donated his four cents of land to that family to conduct last rites and cremation. "After that incident, we decided to make use of the land to help the needy instead of going for haj," Haneefa said. Local Self-Government Minister M V Govindan hailed the decision of the couple and said it was an inspiration to society. Minister Govindan said the couple was an inspiration to the forward journey of society which needs to embrace every human being. "People like Haneefa and Jasmine have set an example of humanity and are role models for society," Govindan said. Health Minister Veena George on Sunday visited the house of 57-year-old Haneefa and received the agreement to hand over the property for the Life Mission from the couple on behalf of the Aranmula Grama panchayat. The land, owned by 48-year-old Jasmine, was received under the 'manasodithiri mannu' campaign of the Left government, Govindan said. "Till now, the government has received 926.75 cents of land in 13 locations for the Life Mission scheme. Also in 30 locations, 830.8 cents of land have been assured for the Life Mission. The project has also received a sponsorship of Rs 25 crore to construct 1,000 houses," the Minister said. Govindan said he hopes more people would come forward to help the poor and draw inspiration from the couple. The Left government has till now handed over 2,95,006 houses to beneficiaries under the Life Mission scheme, he said. He also added that 34,374 houses are currently under construction. There are 27 housing complexes that are also under construction, he said. New Delhi: A middle-aged man who was diagnosed with West Nile fever reportedly died in Thrissur district in Kerala. Joby (47), a native of Puthur Asarikode, died while undergoing treatment for fever as reported by Zee News Malayalam. He was admitted to the Medical College Hospital two days ago with a fever. After his death, the health department has issued a warning and precautionary measures about West Nile Fever. Meanwhile, all the three people who came in contact with him are undergoing treatment for their symptoms and more people are being tested. A team led by the District Medical Officer visited the Thrissur district area yesterday (May 28). The presence of disease-causing Culex mosquitoes has been detected in the area. An emergency meeting was held under the leadership of the panchayat and the health department to assess the situation. The deceased was diagnosed with the disease on the April 17. He was admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital two days ago after seeking treatment at various hospitals. To mourn his demise, a dry day has been declared in Panancherry panchayath today. West Nile Fever is a zoonotic disease caused by West Nile virus transmitted to people through bites of infected mosquitoes. Birds are natural hosts of the virus but humans, horses and other mammals can also be infected as per the National Health Portal. Live TV Mandla: Ninety seven children suffered from food poisoning after eating 'pani puri' at a fair in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district, a health official said on Sunday. All the victims consumed the spicy snack from the same shop on Saturday evening at the fair organised in the tribal-dominated Singarpur area, 38 km from the district headquarters, where people from various nearby villages had come to make purchases, he said. Around 7.30 pm, the children complained of vomiting and stomach pain, the district hospital's civil surgeon, Dr K R Shakya, told PTI. "Ninety seven children have been admitted to the district hospital for food poisoning. They are out of danger," he said. The 'pani puri' seller was detained and samples of the snack were sent for testing, a police official said. Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, the parliamentarian from Mandla, met the children undergoing treatment at the hospital on Saturday night. Live TV New Delhi: Sharing the experience of his recent visit to Japan Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 29) talked about his meeting with Atsushi Matsuo and Kenji Yoshi in the 89th edition of the monthly radio programme, 'Mann Ki Baat'. PM Modi in the programme said Matsuo and Yoshi are associated with TEM Production Company that is related to the Japanese Animation film 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama', which was released in 1993. PM Modi further said, the animation was related to very famous Japanese film director Yugo Sako who came to about the Ramayana nearly 40 years ago in 1983 and it left a great impression on him. Sako started in-depth research on the Ramayana and read 10 Japanese versions of Ramayana and he put it into an animation film. Indian animators also helped Sako in making the film and guided him was guided about the Indian customs and traditions shown in the film, PM added. He was informed about the traditional Indian attires and the family values of children in Indian families, PM Modi said. A Japanese animation film - Ramayan! Do read this beautiful story shared by PM @narendramodi in #MannKiBaat. pic.twitter.com/TDhipwqmF3 Mann Ki Baat Updates (@mannkibaat) May 29, 2022 PM also informed that the animated film is now being remade in 4k and the project will be completed soon. Appreciating the Japanese people's efforts PM said, "Thousands of kilometers away from us in Japan, people who do not know our language, who do not know much about our traditions, their dedication and respect to our culture is very much appreciated." Live TV Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 89th episode of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat on Sunday (May 29, 2022). PM Modi expressed concern on the garbage dumps in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand. Devotees in Kedarnath are upset over the litter spread by some piligrims. It is not right that we go to a holy pilgrimage and find heaps of litter there," PM Modi said. PM Modi urged the 'Mann Ki Baat' audience to find out about the Women Self Help Groups working in their area, gather information about the products made by them and use these products as much as possible. He also shared an inspiring story of women empowerment from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. PM Modi had also shared a booklet based on last months episode of Mann Ki Baat containing interesting articles on the topics discussed in the programme. Speaking about start-ups and unicorns in the country, he said, "On 5th May, the number of Unicorns in India reached the 100 mark". Live TV New Delhi: As the threat of Monkeypox virus looms, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday (May 29) urged people arriving from overseas including European and African countries to report to the local health officer if they detect any symptoms of the disease. Health Department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan said that no cases of monkeypox have been reported in the country yet and stressed on being vigilant to check the virus. "We have received the interim guidelines from the Centre on the monkeypox disease. That is people arriving from African countries or Europe, Australia, Canada, and the USA, though did not show any symptom at the airport, but developed some symptoms within 21 days of their arrival, they have to report it to the local health official," PTI quoted him as saying. "We have been told that the disease will not be severe, but we have to be careful to prevent it. So far, no cases related to monkeypox have been reported in the country," the official said after inspecting the district government hospital in Tiruchirappalli. What is Monkeypox? Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that initially shows flu-like symptoms and later leads to rashes on the body. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health defines it as "Monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes and progresses to a rash on the face and body. Most infections last 2-to-4 weeks. In parts of central and west Africa where monkeypox occurs, people can be exposed through bites or scratches from rodents and small mammals, preparing wild game, or having contact with an infected animal or possibly animal products. Monkeypox symptoms to watch out for Fever Headache, muscle aches, backache Swollen lymph nodes Exhaustion Rashes ICMR's warning On May 27, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) warned that children are more at risk of being detected with the Monkeypox virus. Dr Aparna Mukherjee, ICMR scientist asked people not to panic as the virus spreads by "very close contact". She said symptoms including body ache, rashes, high fever, large lymph nodes should be kept a close watch on. Global Monkeypox outbreak More than 200 Monkeypox cases have been reported in over 20 non-endemic countries so far. Mexico on Saturday (May 28) reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox, Reuters reported. A 50-year-old permanent resident of New York is the first case in Mexico detected with the zoonotic virus. Argentina had become the first Latin American country to report a case of Monkeypox on Friday. The outbreaks have triggered dread as the virus which was first found in monkeys, is usually reported in West and Central Africa, and rarely spreads elsewhere. (With agency inputs) Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur Sunday presided over a review meeting ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Shimla visit, informed the officials on Sunday. The meeting, headed by Thakur, was conducted between the senior state government officials with an agenda to take note of the preparedness of PM Modi`s visit slated for May 31. Thakur stressed the government`s focus on PM Modi`s visit to Himachal Pradesh on completion of his 8 years as the Prime Minister. "I held a meeting with officials of the state government regarding the Prime Minister`s event. Took note of the arrangements. Tourist season is at its peak and no one should face difficulty due to traffic. We had a detailed discussion to make the event successful," Thakur told ANI. He also highlighted that the people in the northern state await PM`s visit and directed the officers to ensure that all possible arrangements are made to make the event a historic one. CM Thakur on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually interact with all the Chief Ministers of the states on May 31 from Himachal Pradesh on the occasion of the completion of eight years of the BJP-led Central government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government will complete eight years at the Centre on May 30, which the party plans to celebrate from May 30 to June 14 at a grand level across the country by holding various events. New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday (May 29, 2022) condoled the death of its Punjab candidate Sidhu Moose Wala and called it a "terrible shock". Taking to Twitter, Congress' official handle said that "the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala, Congress candidate from Punjab and a talented musician, has come as a terrible shock to the Congress party and the entire nation." "Our deepest condolences to his family, fans & friends. We stand united & undeterred, at this time of extreme grief," the tweet said. The murder of Shri Sidhu Moose Wala, Congress candidate from Punjab & a talented musician, has come as a terrible shock to the Congress party & the entire nation. Our deepest condolences to his family, fans & friends. We stand united & undeterred, at this time of extreme grief. pic.twitter.com/v6BcLCJk4r Congress (@INCIndia) May 29, 2022 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed that he is "deeply shocked and saddened" by the murder of "promising" Congress leader and talented artist Sidhu Moosewala. "My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and fans from across the world, he said in a tweet. Deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of promising Congress leader and talented artist, Sidhu Moosewala. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and fans from across the world. https://t.co/j1uXBfPLlS Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 29, 2022 Moose Wala was seriously injured after unidentified persons opened fire at him in Punjab's Mansa district on Sunday, a day after the state government withdrew his security cover. Moose Wala, 28, was in his jeep at village Jawahar Ke when he was attacked. He was then taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. Sidhu Moose Wala had unsuccessfully fought on the Congress ticket from the Mansa assembly seat in the 2022 Punjab assembly election. Bahraich: Seven people, including three women, were killed and nine grievously injured when a tourist bus collided with a truck on the Bahraich-Lakhimpur highway in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, police said. The bus carrying 16 people from Karnataka was going to Ayodhya when the incident occurred at Naniha market in the Motipur area as it entered the opposite lane, Additional Superintendent of Police, Ashok Kumar told PTI. While five, including the bus driver, died on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital, the police officer said, adding nine people were seriously injured and were hospitalised. Uttar Pradesh | A few people from Karnataka were on their way for an Ayodhya tour & met with an accident. A total of 7 people died. The rest have been brought to the hospital. We are trying to save the injured with proper treatment: Bahraich DM Dinesh Chandra pic.twitter.com/h0VUIODjhU ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 29, 2022 The victims were identified after one of the injured passengers, Bhoomika (16), connected the police officials with the family members through a video call and by sharing photos. The deceased have been identified as Shiv Kumar Pujari (28), Jagdamba (52), Manmat (36), Anil (30), Santosh (35), Shashikala (38) and Saraswati (47) -- all residents of Gandhiganj in Karnataka's Bidar district, police said. The truck driver managed to flee after the incident. A probe into the matter was on, the ASP said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has condoled the deaths and directed the officers concerned to ensure the injured get good medical treatment. ALSO READ: Road Accident in Karnataka: 7 dead, 26 injured in Hubli, probe underway New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday (May 28, 2022) said that even as half the country is receiving pre-monsoon showers, the plains of northwest India and large parts of central India are set to witness a rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius in maximum temperatures. "Gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 2-3 degrees Celsius is very likely over most parts of northwest India during next three days while gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 2-3 degrees Celsius is very likely over most parts of central India during next two days," the weather department said in its bulletin. "No significant heat wave conditions are very likely over the country during next five days," IMD added. IMD also said that conditions are becoming favorable for onset of Southwest Monsoon over Kerala during next 2-3 days. The southern peninsular region is already in the countdown mode to welcome the southwest monsoon while east and Northeast India too are witnessing rainfall. Advancement of Southwest Monsoon: The Northern Limit of Southwest Monsoon continues to pass through pic.twitter.com/WYciQrv501 India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 28, 2022 Rainfall predictions: - Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Kerala and Mahe till June 1 and over Lakshadweep on May 30. ALSO READ | Delhi weather update: IMD predicts light rainfall for national capital, heatwave conditions unlikely - Under the influence of westerly winds from Arabian Sea over the south peninsular India in lower tropospheric levels, widespread light/moderate rainfall with thunderstorm/ lightning is very likely over Kerala, Mahe, and Lakshadweep Islands and isolated rainfall over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal during next five days. - Under the influence of a trough in westerlies and southwesterly winds from Bay of Bengal to northeast India at lower tropospheric levels, scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is very likely over northeast India and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and isolated to scattered rainfall with isolated thunderstorm/ lightning/ gusty winds over Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal next five days. - Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on May 30 and 31, over Arunachal Pradesh on June 1, over Assam and Meghalaya till June 1 and over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura on May 29, 31, and June 1, the IMD said. Strong wind predictions: - The IMD warned that squally weather (wind speed 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph) is very likely over southwest Arabian Sea during next five days, over southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area along on May 29 and 30. - Strong Surface Winds with speed reaching 20-30 kmph also likely over Rajasthan on 28 and 29 May. Hailstorm prediction: - Hailstorm activity is also likely over Jammu and Kashmir on 28 May and over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on 29 May. Heatwave prediction: - The weather department said that no significant heat wave conditions are very likely over the country during next five days. (With agency inputs) In a recent study published in the scientific journal of Neuroscience, a group of scientists regale their journey to try and use CRISPR gene editing technology to bio-engineer an extra-friendly and extra-chill hamster. Like a good bad sci-fi film, this went horribly, horribly wrong (emphasis mine): We produced Syrian hamsters that completely lack Avpr1as (Avpr1a knockout [KO] hamsters) using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to more fully examine the role of Avpr1a in the expression of social behaviors. We confirmed the absence of Avpr1as in these hamsters by demonstrating 1) a complete lack of Avpr1a-specific receptor binding throughout the brain, 2) a behavioral insensitivity to centrally administered AVP, and 3) an absence of the well-known blood-pressure response produced by activating Avpr1as. Unexpectedly, however, Avpr1a KO hamsters displayed more social communication behavior and aggression toward same-sex conspecifics than did their wild-type (WT) littermates. In other words, the researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 to remove a naturally occurring hormone (vasopressin, and its receptor, Avpr1a) that is typically expected to regulate things like teamwork and bonding. Their hypothesis was that, by removing this hormone, the hamsters would stop regulating their friendliness, and just give in to being cuddly and adorable bosom buddies all the time. But in fact, in had the opposite effect: they were incredibly aggressive, territorial, and violent towards other hamsters of the same sex. Oops. CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the argininevasopressin V1a receptor produces paradoxical changes in social behavior in Syrian hamsters [Jack H. Taylor, James C. Walton, Katharine E. McCann , Alisa Norvelle, Qian Liu, Jacob W. Vander Velden, Johnathan M. Borland, Michael Hart, Chengliu Jin, Kim L. Huhman, Daniel N. Cox, and H. Elliott Albers / Neuroscience] Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda will visit West Bengal in the first week of June where he would hold meetings with the party workers to deliberate on the strategy for the 2024 General Elections. This comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the state this month for two days. The repeated visits of the BJP top leadership are seen as the party`s effort to strengthen the Bengal unit, where Trinamool Congress enjoys massive public support. The party had won 18 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in 2019 out of the 42 seats while the ruling TMC had won 22. Speaking to ANI, West Bengal BJP vice president, Saumitra Khan said that the visits by the Central leadership to the state motivate the party workers to defeat the ruling Mamata Banerjee government. "When the Central leadership would visit Bengal, the workers of the state unit will get a big morale boost. The workers were motivated after the visit of the Union Home Minister. They have been working better since then," he said. "The people of West Bengal also want to remove Mamata Banerjee. The party workers will get further motivation for the purpose after JP Nadda`s visit," Khan added. Elaborating on Nadda`s plans after visiting Bengal, the BJP leader said that he will hold a number of meetings with the party workers. "Nadda will hold important meetings with the party workers for the upcoming 2024 General elections. He is likely to visit the state on June 7 and 8," he said. Khan informed that each MP of the party would work on at least 100 booths where the party had lost in 2019 and 2021 while the MLAs would work on at least 25 booths. When asked about many BJP leaders leaving the party and joining the TMC including Arjun Singh recently, Khan said that such moves by the leaders do not make the party weak. I don`t know why did Arjun Singh join the TMC. The TMC had lodged many false cases against him. Although, the party does not become weak with the exit of such leaders. Nearly six Union Ministers have been given the responsibility to strengthen the organisation in Bengal. All these Ministers would soon visit the state including leaders like Smriti Irani, SP Singh Baghel, and others. New Delhi: After winning the state assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has now set his eyes on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Sunday (May 29), the UP CM directed them to begin preparations for the 2024 General elections and set a target of bagging 75 out of UPs 80 Lok Sabha seats, PTI reported. "We have to prepare the ground for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from now only. We should move ahead with the target of winning 75 seats," Adityanath told workers at the BJP's one-day state executive meeting. Further, the UP CM said that honest implementation of the central and state government's schemes and the work done by the government during Covid-19 helped the BJP secure better results in the recently-concluded assembly polls. "In the 2024 general elections, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have to march ahead with the target of winning 75 seats in Uttar Pradesh," Adityanath added. The CM made the remarks during the first state executive party meeting after the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, in the 2019 general election, the BJP had won 62 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and its ally Apna Dal(S) gained two seats. As per ANI, the meeting was conducted to discuss the preparations for celebrations of 8 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government, while the strategy for the upcoming by-polls to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha biennial elections, and the Legislative Council polls was also chalked out. As many as 600 BJP officials including Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, State President and minister Swatantra Dev Singh, State General Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Sunil Bansal, and National Vice-president of BJP Radha Mohan Singh were present at the meeting. (With agency inputs) MUMBAI: Actress and social media sensation Shehnaaz Gill looked every inch gorgeous as she shared a picture dressed in all whites. Flaunting her calmer side, Shehnaaz posted a motley of pictures on Instagram dressed in an all-white salwar kameez. 'Feeling serene,' she wrote alongside the image, where she is seen posing in a car. The picture in just an hour got over 2,46,294 likes on the photo-sharing website. On the work front, Shehnaaz is all set to make her Bollywood debut with superstar Salman Khan's 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali'. She will be paired opposite Jassi Gill in the film, whereas Salman will be paired opposite Pooja Hegde. The Farhad Samji directorial will also star Siddharth Nigam and Raghav. Details about her role or about the film are still under wraps. However, her look from the film surfaced online last week, where she was seen wearing a saree and sported a gajra on her hair. Live TV New Delhi: Tech billionaire Elon Musk said that his aerospace company SpaceX will soon accept Dogecoin as a payment option for merchandise, joining Tesla. The electric vehicle company started accepting the cryptocurrency in January, reports Teslarati. Musk, a frequently vocal supporter of some cryptocurrencies, announced on Twitter, first reiterating that Tesla merch could be bought with the crypto. "Tesla merch can be bought with Doge, soon SpaceX merch too," Musk wrote on the microblogging site. Musk, nor SpaceX, announced a concrete date of when it would begin accepting Dogecoin for the merchandise. Currently, SpaceX`s merchandise shop still only accepts credit card payments. Shop items are also only listed in dollars by default in the US, and no cryptocurrency conversions or prices are available for any items in the shop, the report said. Also Read: iPhone 14 first image leaked? Apple Pay ad shows phone with a new notch design: Watch Musk also stated that "maybe one day" Starlink users would be able to pay for their subscriptions to the internet service with Doge. Musk did not detail a specific date for this, either. Also Read: WhatsApp Reactions to get BIG update! More emojis, new features to make conversations more engaging New Delhi: Tesla and spaceX CEO Elon Musk has topped the list of the most highly compensated CEOs on the Fortune 500 in 2021. After Musk, the 10 most highly compensated Fortune 500 CEOs of 2021 are all tech and biotech CEOs, including the heads of Apple (Tim Cook), Netflix (Reed Hastings), and Microsoft (Satya Nadella). In 2021, Musk "realised" compensation worth almost $23.5 billion, from exercising some Tesla stock options awarded in a 2018 multiyear "moonshot" grant. That was -- by far -- the biggest CEO payday in 2021, according to Fortune. Tesla ranked 65 on this year`s Fortune 500. The company had a blockbuster in 2021, bringing in $53.8 billion in revenue, up 71 per cent from 2020. Meanwhile, the Apple CEO earned $770.5 million in 2021 alone, mostly as a part of a 10-year grant of shares worth $1.7 billion. The tech giant ranks 3 on the Fortune 500. The company faced challenges because of the global chip shortage, but successfully began manufacturing the equipment in-house, the report said. Also Read: India heading towards another power crisis in July-August: Report Hang, the co-founder of NVIDIA, and Reed Hastings of Netflix bagged third and fourth spots, respectively. Also Read: Aadhaar card update: Centre takes back statement advising cardholders against sharing photocopies New Delhi: It's possible that Apple won't be able to release all four iPhone models in September this year. According to Nikkei Asia, at least one of the iPhones set to be released this year has "fallen behind schedule" due to China's rigorous, month-long lockdowns aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19. According to the report, Apple has already told suppliers to speed up the development process to make up for the time lost due to lockdowns. In the worst-case scenario, the delay might have an influence on the next iPhone's manufacturing schedule and early sales numbers. So, how does this affect consumers? Apple will release the new iPhone 14 series on schedule if the suppliers buckle down and create sufficient volumes. However, if the suppliers are unable to make the deadline, Apple may be forced to reschedule its October launch event. The Cupertino-based tech company had already stated that the Chinese lockdowns would have an impact on existing iPhone models. According to 91Mobiles, the development delay is due to the engineering verification test, which is performed once the parts and processes required to build an iPhone have been finalised, right before production begins. The vendors must finish the engineering verification test by the end of June in order for Apple to deliver all four iPhone models in September this year, which appears difficult at the present. According to reports, the iPhone 14 Max is three weeks behind schedule. Given the current state of affairs, a separate launch event for the iPhone 14 Max, the delayed model, appears to be a distinct possibility. Apple may not cancel the full iPhone 14 announcement event, which traditionally takes place in September. This is, however, simply speculation, and readers should remember that Apple has not acknowledged the delay in the manufacture of an iPhone model. Ian Zeibo and well-known tipster Jon Prosser recently shared renders of the iPhone 14 Pro. The renders appear to be gorgeous at first glance. They show the rumoured iPhone 14 Pro in a rich colour scheme. Furthermore, the models confirm earlier rumours and leaks regarding Apple, including the presence of a pill-shaped notch on the front panel. The power button is visible on the right panel of the iPhone 14 Pro, as it is on current models. New Delhi: The zoonotic virus Monkeypox has paralysed the world with fear as cases climb across the world climb rapidly. It is mainly present in countries in Europe where earlier cases were not usually found. According to the World Health Organization, 200 cases of infection have been reported so far. Although India has not reported any cases of monkeypox, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon release prevention and treatment guidelines for spreading awareness among people. The ICMR also assured that India is prepared in view of increasing infections in the non-endemic countries. Many states have also taken specific actions to prepare for possible cases of Monkeypox. In addition, the Uttar Pradesh health department recently issued an advisory for health officials to follow the standard operating procedures when dealing with monkeypox infection. #Monkeypox | Uttar Pradesh Chief Medical Officer issues advisory for to higher health officials of the state and District Magistrates to remain alert. The advisory directs that information on patients with fever and rashes be shared with the office of the Chief Medical Officer. pic.twitter.com/tYlPKY91wl ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 28, 2022 Until the ICMR releases its guidelines, take a look at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) comprehensive prevention and treatment guidlines for monkeypox. Prevention: 1. Avoid contact with animals that could be infected with the virus such as sick animals, animals found dead in areas where the disease occurs. 2. Avoid contact with bedding, towels, clothes, etc which has been in contact with an infected animal or person. 3. Isolation of infected persons is important to prevent the spread of the virus. 4. After contact with infected animals or humans, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser. 5. Wear a Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) suit when caring for infected people closely. In case a person is infected with Monkeypox, the disease will take its course and last for 2-4 weeks. Children are more susceptible to the virus and may face more severe symptoms according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) guide. Treatment: 1. Patients with exensive lesions or respiratory symptoms should be isolated in a room or area separate from other family members and pets. 2. Infected humans should wear a surgical mask and so should the other household members. 3. Skin lesions should be covered to the best extent possible with long sleeves, long pants, bandages to minimize contact with others. 4. While the patient is in home isolation, disposable gloves should be worn when directly contacting with lesions. 5. Bedding, towels, clothing of the infected person may be handled with car while washing to avoid contact with contaminated material. 6. Dishes and utensils should not be shared with other non-infected people at home. 7. Maintaining hand hygiene is important by infected humans and household contacts as well after touching lesion material, clothing, other surfaces. Live TV Kramatorsk: As Russia asserted progress in its goal of seizing the entirety of contested eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin tried Saturday (May 28, 2022) to shake European resolve to punish his country with sanctions and to keep supplying weapons that have supported Ukraine's defence. The Russian Defense Ministry said Lyman, the second small city to fall this week, had been completely liberated by a joint force of Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists, who have waged war for eight years in the industrial Donbas region bordering Russia. Ukraine's train system has ferried arms and evacuated citizens through Lyman, a key railway hub in the east. Control of it also would give Russia's military another foothold in the region; it has bridges for troops and equipment to cross the Siverskiy Donets river, which has so far impeded the Russian advance into the Donbas. Ukrainian officials have sent mixed signals on Lyman. On Friday, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian troops controlled most of it and were trying to press their offensive toward Bakhmut, another city in the region. On Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar disputed Moscow's claim that Lyman had fallen, saying fighting there was still ongoing. In his Saturday video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as very complicated'' and said that the Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result'' by focusing its efforts there. The Kremlin said Putin held an 80-minute phone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons to Ukraine and blamed the conflict's disruption to global food supplies on Western sanctions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellor's spokesperson, and called on Putin to engage in serious, direct negotiations with Zelenskyy on ending the fighting. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin affirmed the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue. The three leaders, who had gone weeks without speaking during the spring, agreed to stay in contact, it added. But Russia's recent progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas, could further embolden Putin. Since failing to occupy Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, Russia has set out to seize the last parts of the region not controlled by the separatists. If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion, the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Russia has intensified efforts to capture the cities of Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, which are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk. Luhansk Gov. Serhii Haidai reported that Ukrainian fighters repelled an assault on Sievierodonetsk but Russian troops still pushed to encircle them. He later said Russian forces had seized a hotel on the city's outskirts, damaged 14 high-rise buildings and were fighting in the streets with Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said the previous day that some 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died, including from a lack of medicine or diseases that could not be treated. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, AP reporters saw older and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs Friday in Bakhmut. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to persuade reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sievierodonetsk, returned home. I have to know he is alive. That's why I'm staying here, said Lvova, 66. On Saturday, people who managed to flee Lysychansk described intensified shelling, especially over the past week, that left them unable to leave basement bomb shelters. Yanna Skakova left the city Friday with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old sons and cried as she sat in a train bound for western Ukraine. Her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. It's too dangerous to stay there now, she said, wiping away tears. Russia's advance raised fears that residents could experience the same horrors seen in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which endured a three-month siege before it fell last week. Residents who had not yet fled faced the choice of trying to do so now or staying. Mariupol became a symbol of massive destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. Mariupol's port has reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia entered the port early Saturday. In the call with Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said, Putin emphasized that Russia was working to establish a peaceful life in Mariupol and other liberated cities in the Donbas. Germany and France brokered a 2015 peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would have given a large degree of autonomy to Moscow-backed rebel regions in eastern Ukraine. However, the agreement stalled long before Russia's invasion in February. Any hope that Paris and Berlin would anchor a renewed peace agreement now appears unlikely with both Kyiv and Moscow taking uncompromising stands. Ukrainian authorities have reported that Kremlin-installed officials in seized cities have started airing Russian news broadcasts, introduced Russian area codes, imported Russian school curriculum and taken other steps to annex the areas. Russian-held areas of the southern Kherson region have shifted to Moscow time and will no longer switch to daylight saving time, as is customary in Ukraine, Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Krill Stremousov, a Russian-installed local official, as saying Saturday. In his address Saturday, Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of preventing Kherson residents from leaving, saying they effectively try to take people hostage'' in a sign of weakness.'' The war has caused global food shortages because Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations over which side bears responsibility for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage and Ukraine citing a Russian naval blockade. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said two Russian vessels capable of carrying up to 16 missiles were ready for action in the Black Sea, adding that only shipping routes established through multilateral treaties may be considered safe. Ukrainian officials have pressed Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems. Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Antonov, said Saturday that such a move would be unacceptable and admonished the White House to abandon statements about the military victory of Ukraine. Moscow is also trying to rattle Sweden and Finland's determination to join NATO. Russia's Defense Ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The Zircon, described as the world's fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead and is said to be impossible to stop with current defense systems. Last week Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the country's west in response to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO. There is growing concern around the world about the transmission of MonkeyPox (Moneypox). In Argentina (Argentia), two people have been infected. Monkey pox has spread mainly to countries in Europe and North America. According to the World Health Organization, 200 cases of infection have been reported so far. They have been found in countries where monkeypox infections are not usually found. Here are 10 points: * Monkeypox is endemic in 11 countries in the West and central Africa. * As per reports, Nigeria had asked for global help in 2017 for an unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox virus. * The virus was first seen in monkeys kept for research in 1958. The first human case of monkeypox was detected in 1970. * The common symptoms of the disease in humans are fever, muscle ache, lesions and chills. The fatality rate of monkeypox is 3-6 %. * WHO has warned that the cases detected in recent weeks could be just the beginning. * Spain has reported 98 confirmed cases of monkeypox so far. Portugal has meanwhile registered 74 confirmed cases, health authorities said Friday, adding that all the occurrences are in men, mainly aged below 40. * There is no treatment for monkeypox as of now. Only the general symptoms can be treated. I*CMR has said that people who have travelled to countries where monkeypox cases have beem detected should get tested upon arrival. * The UK had its first reported case of monkeypox case in early May. The virus has now spread rapidly in the country. Live TV Law enforcement officers are investigating whether a retired federal agent had about 30 minutes advance notice of a white supremacist's plans to murder Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, two law enforcement officials told The Buffalo News. Authorities believe the former agent believed to be from Texas was one of at least six individuals who regularly communicated with accused gunman Payton Gendron in an online chat room where racist hatred was discussed, the two officials said. The two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation stated these individuals were invited by Gendron to read about his mass shooting plans and the target location about 30 minutes before Gendron killed 10 people at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue on May 14. The News could not determine if the retired agent accepted the invitation. These were like-minded people who used this chat group to talk about their shared interests in racial hatred, replacement theory and hatred of anyone who is Jewish, a person of color or not of European ancestry, said one of the two law enforcement officials with close knowledge of the investigation. What is especially upsetting is that these six people received advanced notice of the Buffalo shooting, about 30 minutes before it happened. The FBI has verified that none of these people called law enforcement to warn them about the shooting. The FBI database shows no advance tips from anyone that this shooting was about to happen. Agents from the FBI are in the process of tracking down and interviewing the six people, including the retired agent, and attempting to determine if any of them should be charged as accomplices, the two sources with close knowledge of the probe told The Buffalo News. The two sources did not identify the agent by name and could not confirm what federal agency he worked for. The Buffalo FBI Office declined to comment on the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo declined through a spokeswoman to comment. Buffalo civil rights attorney John V. Elmore said it will be outrageous if it turns out that a former law enforcement officer had advance notice of the shooting and did nothing to prevent it. If he had advance notice, he had a moral obligation to get on the phone and try to notify someone about it, said Elmore, who represents the family of Andre Mackniel, who was shot dead when he went to Tops to buy a birthday cake for his 3-year-old son. Attorney Terrence M. Connors, who is representing several families who lost loved ones in the shooting, said: As outrageous as this may sound, based upon what we are finding in our investigation, it is not surprising. He declined to reveal the evidence his law firm has collected. The New York Times reported May 17 that Gendron invited a small group of people into a private chat room on the messaging platform Discord to review his plan about 30 minutes before the massacre at Tops. The Washington Post reported two days later that 15 people accepted Gendron's invitation into the Discord chat room and were able to review his plan and watch his live stream video as he committed the killings. Federal authorities are investigating if the retired agent provided information to Gendron before he went on his shooting spree, the two law enforcement officials told The News. In addition to law enforcement sources, two other individuals with knowledge of the mass shooting investigation have also confirmed that federal authorities are looking into the former agents relationship to the shooter. The Sandman FBI agents are also trying to determine the identity of an individual Gendron calls Sandman, and Saint Sandman in his lengthy social media diary that appeared on Discord 30 minutes before the attack, the sources said. In the diary, Gendron indicates Sandman counseled him on manufacturers of AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and their quality. The shooter purchased and allegedly used that type of assault rifle in the rampage, which local authorities have said was fueled by his racial hatred. In the document Gendron posted on Discord just prior to the shooting, he references Sandman three times. In a passage dated May 2, he quoted Saint Sandman as saying: "When the time finally comes to deal decisively with a whole host of society's problems, and not go to prison for it, you'll know. Just be ready. You have spent your entire life, from the day you were born, right up to this very moment, reading this sentence, coming to where you are right now. Look around you. Are you content with where you are right now? Are you where you want to be? If so, continue to march. If not, what are you going to do? What's your plan? Get and keep your mind, body, and spirit right. Pray. Lift. Run. Read. Shoot. And teach your kids to do those things. A third law enforcement source told The News they are aware of Gendrons writings involving the quality of different rifles. The shooter ended up using a Bushmaster X-15, a version of the AR-15 rifle, police have reported. Staff reporter Caitlin Dewey contributed to this report. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Lou Michel reporter I am a member of The Buffalo News' watchdog team, coauthor of New York Times bestseller, American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and The Oklahoma City Bombing. I'm also a proud graduate of Buffalo State College where I met my wife who is my editor in life! Follow Lou Michel Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Vice President Kamala Harris came to Buffalo Saturday intending to quietly pay respects to the late Ruth Whitfield but ended up strongly reiterating her support for something she said could prevent mass shootings like the one that claimed Whitfield's life: an assault weapons ban. Speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Greater Buffalo International Airport after Whitfield's funeral service, Harris said: "I will say, as I've said countless times, we are not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like. You know, we're not looking for a vaccine. We know what works. ... It includes: let's have an assault weapons ban." Assault weapons are semi-automatic rifles that can shoot multiple rounds of bullets quickly like the AR-15, which was used both in the May 14 racist attack that claimed 10 lives in Buffalo and the shooting 10 days later that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers at a school in Texas. "You know what an assault weapon is? You know how an assault weapon was designed? It was designed for a specific purpose: to kill a lot of human beings quickly," Harris said. "An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in a civil society." Thinking that, the Democratic Congress of 1993 banned assault weapons, only to lose control of Congress in the next election. Ten years later, a Republican Congress let that assault weapons ban lapse and with gun enthusiasts increasingly zealous about buying assault weapons, recent Democratic Congresses have shied away from trying to ban them. Jacobs proposes gun safety measures after Buffalo massacre: 'This has been a profoundly impactful event' Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park on Friday made a surprising about-face on gun control issues, becoming perhaps the first congressional Republican to call for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. But the twin massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, may be changing some minds. Harris' comments came a day after Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park a Republican endorsed by the National Rifle Association only two years ago announced his support for an assault weapons ban. Speaking to reporters, Harris also stressed that she supports increasing the age limit for purchasing weapons and strengthening background checks. She made those comments on a quick visit to Buffalo in which she at first did not plan to speak at all. At Whitfield's funeral service at Mount Olive Baptist Church on East Delevan Avenue, the Rev. Al Sharpton said he talked Harris into coming to Whitfield's funeral after a conflict prevented her from joining President Biden when he traveled to the city three days after the shooting. "She said she just wanted to come and sit through the service," Sharpton said. "Isn't that wonderful?" But then Sharpton said: "I'm going to break from protocol. I think we should insist that we hear from the vice president." 'Ruth did not die in vain': Shooting victim's memorial urges change, shares memories "We're not going quietly into the night," Garnell Whitfield Jr. said to a packed Mt. Olive Baptist Church Saturday. "My mother deserves more than that." The service for Ruth Whitfield was the final funeral of the 10 victims of the May 14 massacre. Harris then rose from her seat in the front pew of the church and spoke for about three and a half minutes, mixing her condolences for Mrs. Whitfield with a call to action. Addressing the Whitfield family and the nine others who lost loved ones in the attack, Harris said: "I cannot even begin to express our collective pain in this nation for what you are feeling in such an extreme way, to not only lose someone that you love, but through an act of extreme violence and hate." Harris said the Buffalo massacre is part of "an epidemic of hate" that's plaguing the nation an epidemic that people of good will must fight. "I think we all know that a true measure of strength is not based on who you beat down, it's based on who you lift up," she said. "And it means, then, also in that strength, understanding we will not allow small people to create fear in our community, that we will not be afraid to stand up for what is right, to speak truth even when it may be difficult." Connecting the racist massacre on Blacks in Buffalo with previous mass shootings targeting Hispanics, Jews and gays, Harris said Americans need to be clear that they won't let bigotry explode into violence. "We are stronger than those who try to hurt us," she said. "We are strong in our faith. We are strong in our belief about what is right and our determination to act to ensure that we protect all those who deserve to be protected, that we see all those who deserve to be seen, that we hear the voices of people and then we rise up in solidarity, to speak out against this and to speak to our better angels," she said. After the funeral, Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, traveled to the memorial outside the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue where the shooting took place. The vice president emerged from a black SUV bearing a huge bouquet of white flowers. After a few moments of observing the memorial, she laid her flowers on the ground next to countless other bouquets. Harris and Emhoff then paused to pray for several minutes. Both seemed somber, almost to the point of tears. Harris and Emhoff traveled to Buffalo on Air Force Two, accompanied by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both New York Democrats. They arrived at 9:45 a.m. early enough to give Harris and her husband time to meet with families of the shooting victims and other public officials. Zaire Goodman, 20, a Tops employee who was shot in the neck but survived, was among those Harris met. Afterward, his mother, Zeneta Everhart, said it was great that Harris took the time to visit Buffalo and meet with her son and others touched by the tragedy. "She said she was sorry for what happened and that she wanted to work to make things better in dealing with domestic terrorism," Everhart said. "And Zaire said he wants to help." The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Buffalo police seized a number of dirt bikes whose drivers had them revving around the Elmwood District on a dry and picturesque Sunday afternoon. While a Buffalo police spokesman did not return a message seeking comment, residents on a Facebook page called Residents of the Elmwood Village said they saw clusters of dirt bikes and ATVs on Elmwood Avenue, Delaware Avenue and St. James Place. One person reported seeing police pursuing the ATVs at potentially dangerous speeds. Its not uncommon to see unregistered dirt bikes which are illegal to operate on city streets charging through Buffalo, apparently for amusement. Officers at the Buffalo Police Department D District referred The Buffalo News to City Hall spokesman Michael DeGeorge, who did not respond to a message seeking comment. A check of the police scanners Sunday indicated officers had stopped and were impounding at least three of the vehicles. Roughly one year ago, in June 2021, police launched a weekend crackdown on dirt bikes and ATVs being ridden on city streets. By the end of that weekend, police had impounded 31 vehicles and issued 40 traffic summonses. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The homegoing service for Ruth E. Whitfield, who at 86 was the eldest of the 10 victims in the May 14 racially motivated shooting at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue, was more than an occasion for remembrance. It was a collective plea to ensure no one else ever meets the same fate. "We're not going quietly into the night," Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. said to a packed Mt. Olive Baptist Church Saturday. "My mother deserves more than that." "Ruth did not die in vain," echoed Rev. Al Sharpton, a vocal civil rights advocate who attended several of the victims' funerals. "Enough is enough," said Vice President Kamala Harris, urging a stop to the violence that's taken place in Buffalo and Texas the last two weeks. Saturday's memorial was the final funeral of the 10 victims of the May 14 massacre, and Harris' attendance along with second gentleman Douglas Emhoff made it the highest-profile. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James were among the other major figures to attend. During Buffalo visit, Vice President Kamala Harris touts assault weapons ban "An assault weapon is a weapon of war, with no place, no place in a civil society," Harris told reporters. Before the service, the Whitfield family, including Garnell, his brother Raymond Anthony and two sisters Robin Harris and Angela Crawley, met with the vice president privately, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown told reporters. Not only did Harris console the Whitfield family, Brown said, but also the youths among Ruth Whitfield's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Family members of the other nine shooting victims also met with the vice president, the Buffalo mayor confirmed. In an impassioned eulogy, Sharpton spoke about a dire need for change, especially in regard to gun laws. The founder of the National Action Network demanded more stringent identification required for purchasing guns and background checks before purchasing assault weapons like AR-15s. Adams, following the memorial, urged more accountability for and attention to what's posted on social media after the gunman livestreamed his act. Mourners also spoke about who Ruth Whitfield was: a God-fearing woman who overcame a lack of formal education and financial stability in her childhood to become "an intelligent, articulate, proud, strong Black woman who unapologetically advocated for her family and for 'the least of these,' " according to an obituary written by her children. Ruth Whitfield's grieving family says a tragedy like this shouldn't happen again Even though they did not pull the trigger, they did load the gun, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said of the pundits, politicians and social media managers he says played a role in shaping the gunmans actions. She had style too. Whitfield loved to shop at thrift stores and had a sharp sense of fashion, recalled Peoples-Stokes and Rev. George Woodruff, previously the pastor of Durham Memorial AME Zion Church that the Whitfield family attended. "I always remember her as always sharply dressed, impeccably dressed," said Peoples-Stokes. Whitfield was born in Jackson, Miss., but spent much of her life in Buffalo. She was married to Garnell Whitfield Sr. for 68 years and worshipped at Durham Memorial her entire married life. "Her children were the joy of her life," her obituary read. She enjoyed cooking Southern staples like macaroni and cheese, collard greens and homemade syrup and biscuits for them. Her dedication to her family was infinite: she visited her husband in the nursing home every day for the last eight years, including the day she died. Garnell Whitfield Jr., Ruth Whitfield's son who is a retired Buffalo fire commissioner, described the final time he saw his mother, the day before the shooting. He'd visited her house to work on a raised planter box he was going to give her for Mother's Day. She watched him build it briefly and said she'd buy seeds to plant in the dirt he was laying. "Mom knew something that I didn't know," he said. "She wasn't trying to grow seeds in that box. She was tending her seeds all her life. She knew her fruit had ripened, that it was mature." Ben Tsujimoto can be reached at btsujimoto@buffnews.com, at (716) 849-6927 or on Twitter at @Tsuj10. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WASHINGTON The mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas left Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer long the leading light for gun safety advocates in Congress both horrified and hopeful. It's obvious why he would be horrified. Ten people died in Buffalo in a racist attack on May 14, leaving Schumer mourning with President Biden and other public figures at a memorial on Jefferson Avenue three days later. Then, only a week after that, 19 fourth-graders and two teachers were shot to death in their Uvalde, Texas, classroom. Taking to the Senate floor the next day, Schumer said: "Last night I looked at the pictures of each of those kids online, and I wept." It's hard to find hope in such tragedies, but Schumer, a New York Democrat, managed to do it. Consulting with the gun safety groups he's long worked with, they concluded together that maybe the twin terrors of Buffalo and Uvalde would move congressional Republicans to inch toward gun safety measures they have long opposed. "There's a very strong consensus in the gun safety community that we've got to give this a chance," Schumer said in an interview on Friday. "Maybe, maybe, maybe this time we can get something done." The first concrete signs of that possibility came clear late last week. At least two bipartisan working groups emerged in the Senate to try to hammer out compromises that Republicans long opposed to any gun control measures would accept. Then, Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park stepped farther out of the party line than any other Republican in Congress, endorsing an assault weapons ban and several other gun safety measures. "Chris Jacobs is showing that people are feeling the heat," Schumer said. "Republicans are feeling the heat." In that environment, Schumer is giving those bipartisan working groups some time although he won't say how long to hammer out a deal. Asked what kind of deal he would like to see, Schumer said he wants a measure mandating more comprehensive background checks for gun buyers. People who currently buy weapons at gun dealers have to undergo a background check, but those who buy them at gun shows or online don't, and Schumer has long pressed to close those loopholes. In addition, Schumer said he'd like to see a federal "red flag" law that would allow authorities to take guns away from people deemed to be posing a threat to themselves or others. And while he would prefer an assault weapons ban which few Republicans other than Jacobs favor Schumer said a good compromise would be a federal law limiting the purchase of semiautomatic weapons to people over the age of 21. "The fact is that what happened in Buffalo and in Uvalde where 18-year-olds, almost the minute they turned 18, bought AR-15s just cries out for legislation," Schumer said. Of course, comments like that are nothing new coming from Schumer. He's been fighting for stricter gun safety measures since early in his congressional career. And while serving in the House in the early 1990s, he won twin victories: the "Brady Bill," which mandated background checks on firearms purchasers, and an assault weapons ban. But Republicans took control of Congress in the election after those two measures passed, fueled in part by the anger of gun owners who flocked to the polls to back the GOP. Congressional Republicans let that assault weapons ban expire after a decade, and ever since, the GOP has drawn an increasingly hard line on gun safety issues. Since the back-to-back massacres of recent weeks, most Republicans in Congress have either maintained a silence or urged stronger security measures at the nation's schools as a substitute for stronger gun safety legislation. Still, Schumer sees signs of change. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN on Thursday that he had authorized Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to work with Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona both Democrats to see if a compromise can be struck in response to the recent shootings. "I met with Senator Cornyn this morning," McConnell said on Thursday. "As you know he went home yesterday to see the family members and begin the fact finding of this awful massacre and I have encouraged him to talk with Senator Murphy and Senator Sinema and others who are interested in trying to get an outcome that is directly related to the problem. I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution." If senators can't do that within a reasonable amount of time Schumer won't say exactly how long he said he plans to bring to the Senate floor legislation already passed by the House that would strengthen the background check system for gun purchases. While pressing for legislation, Schumer has also been tending to matters back home. He keeps mentioning "the beloved City of Buffalo" in his remarks on the shootings, and he returned to the city unannounced which is uncharacteristic for Schumer on May 22 for a "day of service" in which he handed out meals to people on the East Side. Later that same day, Schumer attended a birthday party for Zaire Everhart, who was wounded in the shooting. Schumer may be doing such things all around the state this week, since the Senate is out of session. But he said he's hoping the Senate can return to the hard business of addressing gun safety issues when it returns the following week. The sheer horror of one mass shooting after another many targeting individuals based on their race or their faith may finally lead to action, he said. At the very least, he said, Congress is confronting gun safety issues in a way it hasn't since 2013, after a 21-year-old with an assault weapon killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. "Sandy Hook was not enough to shake Republicans out of their paralysis," Schumer said three days after the Uvalde massacre. "Maybe this will be." The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. I took a walk a few days ago to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park on the waterfront, only a couple of minutes from my desk at The Buffalo News. The place is beautiful, lined with stone monuments to so many who gave their lives in American wars. Some of the names I recognize, and there is a power to pausing before them as the gulls cry and the river keeps rhythm against the wall. In ways I never expect, this is sometimes how columns come to be. On that quiet evening, while I was walking through, I noticed a group of people setting down small American flags near a monument called The Battle Within an extraordinary statement of remembrance intended to honor veterans who took their own lives after coming home, and to offer solace to those who loved them. The monument also provides ways to seek help for anyone who is struggling such as by calling the Buffalo Crisis Services hotline number of 716-834-3131. I watched as a couple of children named Mikaela and Evie joined their dad in carefully setting down flags in a design set up by grown-ups, who rolled out taut strings. The father told me he works at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and he explained he showed up for one reason: Just here to help my brothers, he said of the veterans. Curious, I wandered over to a bench where another guy had settled in near containers that held thousands of flags. He introduced himself as Mark Donnelly, president of the Battle Within Foundation, an effort he began after a fellow member of a Masonic Lodge, a veteran and a friend, took his own life. Memorial Day, veteran suicides and a monument to hope A half-century is enough to extinguish many memories, images blurring into colors and echoes, but Casimiro Rodriguez can still reach into childhood and find his big brother. In a family of 13 children, Gabriel was older by seven years, one of a group of Rodriguez boys who slept in one big room. Within that close bond, there was something Donnelly did some research, and learned of the thousands of veterans who take their own lives each year. He found plenty of allies with the same concern in the veterans and military communities, and the result was the monument, which went up three years ago. Many families have left photographs on the monument of veterans they loved who were lost to suicide, images protected by plastic from the snow and rain. I told Donnelly I will have to do that myself someday in memory of my uncle, George Innes, who took his own life after surviving Naval warfare during World War II. He was my mother's brother, a Buffalo guy a few years older than she was. He is buried in the old military section at Forest Lawn, beneath a stone that I can always find among thousands because it is diagonal from a flag pole. As for Donnelly, he spoke of a moment last year, as he was removing the flags after Memorial Day, when a little boy approached with his father and asked with reverence if he could have a flag. "Sure," Donnelly said, "but each flag has a name," a point he said the child contemplated, then understood. We drifted into silence, watching the kids doing their task and listening to the river, thinking of the thousands who die each year by suicide, and then Donnelly asked: Did I get his email? I had not, and Donnelly told me this story. It turns out he is also coordinator of the annual Memorial Day service and remembrance at the military park, set for 10 a.m. Monday. The speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter, 78, a Syracuse native arriving with a message whose full impact Donnelly could never have anticipated in late winter, when he made the invitation. A year ago, on Memorial Day, Kemter received unexpected international attention after beginning what he thought was a simple speech on the history of Memorial Day during an American Legion ceremony in Hudson, Ohio. His goal was relating the true history of the holiday, an idea that came to him in the middle of a sleepless night. He got up to do some research, where he learned of the earliest and most remarkable Memorial Day, as historian and author David Blight described it in the New York Times. It occurred in May 1865 in Charleston, S.C., just after the Civil War. At that time, Blight wrote, appreciative Black citizens liberated finally from a life as enslaved people reburied hundreds of Union soldiers who had died in brutal captivity in a prison camp. They then erected a high fence, Blight wrote, and built an archway over an entrance on which they inscribed the words, Martyrs of the Race Course. Their efforts were followed by an emotional parade led by 3,000 Black schoolchildren carrying armloads of roses and singing the Union marching song John Browns Body, which Blight described as the earliest American incarnation of what we know now as Memorial Day. This was the history, last spring, upon which Kemter built a speech. Yet when he tried to say it out loud in Ohio, his microphone was suddenly muted for the two minutes he needed to explain the Black roots of Memorial Day. It was no accident. An organizer told the Akron Beacon Journal that particular section was not relevant to our program for the day. Kemter was startled but he had no doubt why his speech was interrupted, and this attempt to suppress a piece of Black history transformed his talk into an international story. Donnelly, reading of it in Buffalo, said he went absolutely berserk. He made his decision a year ago: Kemter was his first choice for a 2022 Memorial Day speaker. The invitation went out earlier this year, months before the deaths of 10 Black shoppers and workers at the Jefferson Avenue Tops market. Investigators say the accused killer was an 18-year-old white supremacist, poisoned by the fantasy that Black Americans are somehow trying to "replace" whites. That delusion gives the piece of history Kemter will relate a reminder that Black citizens, finally awarded a taste of freedom, played a central role at the beginning of one of the most sacred and solemn of national holidays a keener and even more aching importance. Sean Kirst: How do you carry on Aaron Salter's legacy? Through life Three friends of Aaron Salter, the retired police officer killed in the Tops Markets massacre on May 14, are at the center of a scholarship at Hutchinson Central Technical High School, where Salter graduated almost 40 years ago. The annual award will go to a student mechanically inclined and interested in improving upon existing technology in such a way that would make life easier and better for future generations, someone whose work ethic and civic passion echo Salters. Kemter, who retired from the Army in 1995, did a little more research after being asked to speak at our military park. He learned of what Donnelly is doing for veterans struggling with depression and other mental health issues, leaving Kemter to think both of so many soldiers he has known who could use that support, and of efforts to bolster mental health by the family of Kemter's wife, Suzanne Morgan. Six communities offered Kemter the chance this year to give his speech. He chose Buffalo. Looking back on it, Kemter said the brushoff in Ohio had an effect exactly opposite to what the censors intended, because it caused the tale to rocket around the country. He said he received a burst of calls and notes from people especially Black Americans wanting to tell him with pride about relatives who served. The story of that early version of Memorial Day in Charleston is now well-known by a legion of people who might never have heard it otherwise including more than 1 million viewers who watched the speech on YouTube. Kemter left Thursday for Buffalo, where he spent the weekend relaxing and preparing for Monday's ceremony, which Donnelly said will end in this way: The names of the 10 women and men who died at Tops will be read out loud, followed each time by the ringing of a bell. As a closing tribute, Switch a longtime and well-known local band will perform He Aint Heavy, Hes My Brother, the old Hollies song. They all lived lives of importance, lives that deserve to be remembered, Donnelly said of the 10 people lost at Tops. Theyre no longer here to carry us, so well try to do our best to carry them. He finished his thought, shook my hand and hurried over to help the children set up flags, before it rained. Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Buffalo News. Email him at skirst@buffnews.com. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. There is, not inappropriately, uneasiness about the role of social media in the racist shooting that took 10 lives in Buffalo this month. The accused killer absorbed some of the worst impulses of humankind through its channels, which he also used to livestream his murderous assault. Yet the First Amendment protects social media, as surely as it does speech, religion or the press. Combine those factors with Second Amendment excuses that routinely thwart efforts to restrict the spread of high-capacity weapons, and the ability to respond to an obvious public threat can seem beyond addressing. Its not. All our constitutional rights have limits; the challenge is identifying where they lie and then summoning the political will to write them into law. Plainly, there is something to be concerned about. The internet and social media, in particular, are tremendous resources that have benefited billions of people, but they are also enablers of human trafficking, facilitators of exploitation and purveyors of hatred. They are, in a word, neutral unconcerned, at root, with ideas of right and wrong. Like language, itself, they can be forces of light or darkness, depending on the intentions of their users. That, in its extremes, is what social media companies need to come to terms with in the aftermath of the May 14 shooting in Buffalo and similar crimes. If they dont, governments must. In Albany, that work is already underway. Only days after the tragedy, Gov. Kathy Hochul asked Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the online platforms used to broadcast and amplify the acts and intentions of the suspect. Among those James announced she would investigate are Twitch, 4chan, 8chan and Discord. Twitch is owned by Amazon. In traditional private sector media, owners are responsible for what goes out in print, on the air or over the internet. Its called editing, an essential intervening step between writing and publishing. But with social media, there are no intermediaries. The writers are the editors and, with the permission of the platforms owner, they are also the ones to click the button to publish. The only recourse for error or horror is after the fact. Thus, the shooter in Buffalo had no trouble posting a hateful screed about Blacks and Jews and could easily attach a camera to his helmet and livestream his killing spree. Indeed, he knew it was possible, based on the livestreamed murders of 51 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, three years ago. That attack, he said, was an inspiration to him. Plainly, the existing patterns and practices of social media could make tougher standards difficult to implement, but maybe something in its current configuration needs to change. One way to influence that change is to rethink part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Section 230 of that law shields internet companies from liability for users postings, granting them legal protection for good faith efforts to remove in appropriate content. That may have been workable in 1996, but needs to be reviewed, at least as it applies to social media platforms. The Constitution allows room for reasonable regulation. The Constitution protects free speech, for example, but it famously excludes the right to yell Fire! in a crowded theater. It protects freedom of the press, but doesnt permit the publication of child pornography. It enshrines freedom of religion, but not if it violates other laws. Slander and libel can both cost their practitioners, regardless of constitutional guarantees. Limits exist. It would be odd and irresponsible if social media were exempted from them, especially given the demonstrably heightened risk they pose. The same concept, as we noted in a recent editorial, applies to firearms. So concluded one of the Supreme Courts most conservative recent members, the late Antonin Scalia in a 2008 ruling. Its a reflection of the difficulties involved to observe that, while Twitch claims to have taken down video of the Buffalo attack within two minutes, it was still enough time for it to be shared over other social media platforms. It was quickly seen more than 3 million times. Hochul said the stream should have been taken down faster. It should certainly be the goal. In the meantime, social media owners such as Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg and Amazons Jeff Bezos are billionaires many times over. No one need begrudge them their success. What they can do is to demand there are better controls and accountability. Americans like to think of themselves as problem solvers. Social media has shown itself to be a problem. So is mass murder. We can't continue to simply throw up our hands. Conservatives and liberals both should be able to acknowledge that obvious truth. But they need to do something about it. Looking away can no longer be an option. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. Health officials are investigating the mystery cause of the global hepatitis outbreak in children (PA Wire) Three children in Indonesia are thought to have died from a mysterious global outbreak of hepatitis. If confirmed, this would bring the global death toll of the liver inflammation disease to four. The countrys health ministry announced the children died of suspected acute hepatitis last month, all of whom were in Jakarta. Their symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, jaundice, seizures and loss of consciousness. Indonesian officials have issued advise to parents warning them what to look out for. The ages of the children have not been revealed, and it is not known if they had underlying health conditions. More than 200 cases of hepatitis of unknown origin have been confirmed worldwide since the outbreak started. However, experts say this is just the tip of the iceberg. Most have been detected in the UK and US, but countries including Israel, Ireland Japan and Canada have all reported cases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has previously confirmed one death, although it did not reveal the location. Meanwhile, at least 18 children have required liver transplants. In what is a mystery for scientists, none of the cases showed signs of having the normal hepatitis-causing viruses, leaving experts stumped over the origins of the disease. Last week, during a technical briefing, WHO expert Professor Philippa Easterbrook, said: The causes of the cases remains under active investigation, looking at a rane of possible underlying factors. The cases do not feature the viruses typically responsible for acute liver inflammation - hepatitis A, B, C, D and E, she added. Profesor Easterbrook said there was a possible link to adenovirus, a common infection found in children. She continued: It is unusual for an adnovirus to cause this type of severe symptoms and so this is what is being actively investigated at the moment. Scientists are urgently looking into what is causing the global outbreak, with public health officials in the UK saying lockdown could be a factor. Story continues The number of investigated cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children under the age of 10 has risen to around 145 cases, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Public health officials said a lack of exposure to common infections during childrens formative years, due to social distancing and lockdown restrictions, may explain the global outbreak in cases of the disease that has killed one child worldwide. Dr Meera Chand - who is leading the UKHSAs investigation into the rise in cases - told a briefing that children were not being exposed to the virus in their early years due to lockdown restrictions. A lack of social mixing could be a factor in why it was hitting their age-group the hardest. The outbreak has seen as many cases detected in the past three months as we would normally expect to see in a year. Cases are mainly in children under five who have displayed initial symptoms of diarrhoea and nausea, followed by jaundice - a condition in which the skin and eyes yellow, tell-tale signs the liver is struggling. Dr Easterbrook however played down any causal link between lockdown and the global hepatitis outbreak in children. She told reporters: I think this is very much a hypothesis and I think we need to systematically work through this with planned investigations and a number of countries looking at this in much more detail. So I think it is an interesting assessment of the data but it really needs to be followed up with more investigations. Two brand-new Land Adventures featuring first-ever Adventures by Disney experiences in Sicily and Northern Ireland, along with returning Private Adventures, round out the leader in family travel's global lineup of 2023 itineraries CELEBRATION, Fla., May 3, 2022 /CNW/ -- Beginning May 2023, families will explore even more of the world when they travel with Adventures by Disney on two, brand-new itineraries to Sicily and the British Isles. Also in 2023, 11 Private Adventure vacations return, providing families and friends with the convenience of traveling with their preferred party of up to 12 guests to some of the world's must-see destinations. During the all-new Adventures by Disney Sicily itinerary, guests will experience ancient Greek and Roman wonders, including visits to the famed Valley of Temples, Villa Romana del Casale, Neapolis Archaeological Park and Taorminas Teatro Greco. (Adventures by Disney) Bookings for the full lineup of 2023 Land Adventures and Private Adventures open to the public on May 13. More details can be found on adventuresbydisney.com. Discovering the Old-World Charm of Sicily and Enchantment of the British Isles The two distinct Land Adventures celebrate the storied legacy, diverse culture and world-renowned traditions of their respective regions with curated experiences sure to appeal to the history buff, foodie and adventure-seeker alike. Led by a team of specially trained Adventure Guides, these itineraries will be brought to life with immersive, authentic experiences marked by signature Disney service. An Unforgettable Tour of Sicily Ancient Sites, Local Charm and Natural Wonders Offering a diverse lineup of activities with something for every member of the family, the Adventures by Disney Sicily Land Adventure invites families to explore the ancient wonder, breathtaking landscapes and culinary delights characteristic of this captivating Mediterranean island. With tailor-made experiences designed to connect families with the people and culture of the region and stops at five out of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites found in Sicily the eight-day, seven-night itinerary takes guests on a grand tour through Palermo, Monreale, Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone, Siracusa, Mount Etna and Taormina. Story continues Families traveling on the Sicily Land Adventure will discover: The vibrant culture and history of the 2,000-year-old province of Palermo with a privately guided tour of the 12th-century Monreale Cathedral; a behind-the-scenes visit to the largest theater in Italy the Teatro Massimo and sampling of mouth-watering delicacies. The old-world charm of a small Sicilian village, visiting artisan shops and sharing a traditional village-style lunch alongside locals. Ancient Greek and Roman wonders , including visits to the famed Valley of Temples, Villa Romana del Casale, Neapolis Archaeological Park and Teatro Greco. A hands-on ceramic painting activity in Caltagirone , learning about this time-honored Sicilian tradition and getting a chance to channel their inner artisan. The art of puppetry at Teatro dei Pupi , with a private show, a backstage look at the master puppeteers at work and a rare workshop visit where guests will be able to customize their own puppet. The grandeur of Mount Etna , taking in the impressive terrain surrounding Europe's highest active volcano by off-road vehicle. The beauty of Isola Bella, embarking on a privately charted boat ride through the Ionian Sea to swim and snorkel in the sparkling crystal waters and discover the blue cave of Taormina. Adventures by Disney will offer 10 Sicily departures in 2023, three of which are reserved for adult guests. Adult-Exclusive departures feature a scenic sunset cruise around the Island of Ortigia. The Best of the British Isles Celebrating History, Folklore and Tradition Combining all-time guest favorites from England, Ireland and Scotland adventures with brand-new experiences thoughtfully curated by the travel experts at Disney, the 10-day, nine-night British Isles Land Adventure offers a one-of-a-kind tour through Dublin, Belfast, Antrim Coast, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London and marks the first time Adventures by Disney takes guests to Northern Ireland. Surrounded by history and tradition at every turn, guests will be immersed in the rich storytelling of the isles. Ireland : During their two-day adventure in Dublin, guests explore the story of the Irish people through an interactive museum experience, observe the art of crafting Irish whiskey at a local distillery and enjoy traditional fare at one of the oldest family-owned pubs in Dublin. Northern Ireland : Families try their hand at making traditional Irish soda bread, take a panoramic tour of the famed sites of Belfast, and enjoy a scenic drive along the Antrim Coast where they find mythical legends, picturesque seaside villages and the geological wonders known as the basalt columns at the Giant's Causeway. Scotland : After crossing the North Channel via ferry, guests discover the important heritage of the bagpipes and try their chanter-playing skills in Glasgow. A royal welcome awaits in Edinburgh as families enjoy private access to the Royal Yacht Britannia; explore the historic Royal Mile; and visit the resplendent Edinburgh and Floors Castles. England: After a scenic train ride through the English countryside, families arrive in London where they take part in one of Britain's famous pastimes, afternoon tea. Later, they embark on a high-speed boat ride along the River Thames. On the final full day of the adventure, guests visit some of city's must-see attractions, including a private viewing of the Royal Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and a tour of Westminster Abbey. Adventures by Disney will offer nine British Isles departures in 2023, four of which are reserved for adult guests. Adult-Exclusive departures include a privately guided tour through the underground vaults of Old Town Edinburgh, exploring the underground labyrinth filled with spine-tingling tales and mystery. Private Adventures Return Even More Ways to Adventure Together Offering yet another way to visit popular destinations with Adventures by Disney, Private Adventures return with 11 itineraries in 2023: Australia; Costa Rica; Egypt; England and France; Greece; Ireland; Italy; New Zealand; Peru; South Africa and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Led by a Private Adventure Guide, these trips are designed for a smaller group of guests and offer flexible booking dates. When traveling on a Private Adventure, guests experience: A private group vacation alongside their select family and friends (up to 12 guests). More time to discover destinations at their own pace. Flexible booking dates giving them the choice of when they want to travel, pending seasonality and availability. A dedicated Private Adventure Guide connecting them with the culture and bringing each destination to life through engaging storytelling. Unique experiences designed for small groups, such as a guided tour of Te Puia geothermal park in New Zealand, a full-day sailing excursion along the outer reef in Australia or a privately guided tour of Robben Island in South Africa. More details can be found on the Private Adventures page on adventuresbydisney.com. The Disney Difference A Different Kind of Magic With specially trained Adventure Guides, engaging activities, VIP experiences and personal touches and magical moments throughout, Adventures by Disney vacations are crafted to excite and delight everyone in the family. Guests create cherished memories and meet new friends as they experience the wonder of the real world in an authentic, immersive and hassle-free adventure made possible by Disney. To learn more about Adventures by Disney or to book a vacation, guests can visit adventuresbydisney.com, call 1-800-543-0865 or contact a travel agent. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-ways-to-discover-real-world-magic-adventures-by-disney-introduces-itineraries-to-sicily-and-the-british-isles-in-2023-301538508.html SOURCE Adventures by Disney Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2022/03/c3173.html Abortion rights protesters gather around the stairs of the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday evening to condemn a leaked ruling that suggests the U.S. Supreme Court may be poised to overturn the landmark Roe V. Wade decision. Supreme Court leaked opinion political implications: Abortion decision leak a 'wakeup call' for Florida Democrats, a 'moment' for Republicans Florida abortion access: Florida's constitution protects abortion access for now End of Roe? DeSantis' abortion views could get renewed attention in post-Roe landscape The protest drew multiple speakers ranging from Florida State students to local officials speaking to the crowd of about 300. 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: Abortion rights protest held at Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee May 4JEFFERSONVILLE An upcoming event will combine exercise, fundraising and family fun. The American Heart Association is presenting CycleNation on Saturday, May 14 at the Clark County YMCA in Jeffersonville. This is the second year of the Southern Indiana event, but it is the first time it has been presented in-person, since it took place virtually last year due to the pandemic. Whitten Montgomery, heart challenge director for the American Heart Association in Louisville, said attendees will be "riding together to promote heart and brain health." CycleNation will feature two hours of cycling on stationary bikes with teams of four to eight. Those on teams of eight will ride for periods of 15 minutes, and those on teams of four will ride 30 minutes. "It's a basically all about continuous motion and promoting healthy ways we can get the community to move together," Montgomery said. The event also acts as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Last year, about $84,000 was raised virtually for the event. So far, about $74,000 has been raised for this year's campaign, and the goal is to raise at least $10,000 more. The money raised for the American Heart Association will support research for cardiac care. Martin Padgett, president and CEO of Clark Memorial Health, is the chair of the CycleNation event. The event brings awareness of preventive measures to address issues such as heart disease, and he notes the importance of "having individuals change their lifestyles, whether it's eating habits or whether it's exercise." "These types of events really emphasize making our communities healthier, whether it's cardiac research or overall living a better, healthier lifestyle," he said. CycleNation will feature a tricycle race for kids ages 2 to 8, and the event will offer a variety of games and activities.Clark Memorial Health will provide health screenings, and University of Louisville Health will raise awareness by sharing stories from survivors. Story continues After the cycling is complete, there will be an afterparty at Upland Brewing Company in Jeffersonville, where attendees will receive "pedals of honor" awards featuring categories such as "most miles traveled" and "most spirited." Montgomery said many people do not know about the organization's efforts with the American Stroke Association, which is connected to the American Heart Association, and the event will include information on topics such as ways to identify a stroke. She wants the event to help people realize "how healthy lifestyles make a huge improvement." "I hope everyone will come out and learn a little bit more and see how we can have fun together with athletic things that keep the body moving," Montgomery said. "We can embrace knowledge with the community together, so we can all try to help each other in the future," Montgomery said. The only item on the May 3 ballot in Chippewa County was a Pickford Public Schools bonding proposal, and according to unofficial results it has passed. The only item on the May 3 ballot in Chippewa County was a Pickford Public Schools bonding proposal, and according to unofficial results it has passed. Pickford Township is the only township in Chippewa County that belongs to Pickford Public Schools and the only one affected by the election results. According to unofficial results issued by the Chippewa County clerk, the proposal received 271 yes votes and 179 no votes. The bonding proposal was as follows: "Shall Pickford Public Schools, Chippewa and Mackinac Counties, Michigan, borrow the sum of not to exceed Three Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($3,500,000) and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds therefor, for the purpose of: Erecting an addition to the school building, Remodeling the school building and Preparing, developing, and improving the site? The following is for informational purposes only: The estimated millage that will be levied for the proposed bonds in 2023 is 1.17 mills, $1.17 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation, for a 0.50 mill net increase over the 2021 levy. The maximum number of years the bonds may be outstanding, exclusive of any refunding, is 24 years. The estimated simple average annual millage anticipated to be required to retire this bond debt is 1.57 mills, $1.57 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation. The school district does not expect to borrow from the State to pay debt service on the bonds. The total amount of qualified bonds currently outstanding is $8,450,000. The total amount of qualified loans currently outstanding is $0. The estimated computed millage rate may change based on changes in certain circumstances. Pursuant to State law, expenditure of bond proceeds must be audited and the proceeds cannot be used for repair or maintenance costs, teacher, administrator or employee salaries, or other operating expenses." This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Chippewa County voters pass Pickford school proposal Extend OSHA to public sector workers Did you know that every hour, 11 workers die as a result of a catastrophic workplace injury or an occupational disease? This translates to 275 preventable deaths a day. More than 50 years ago on April 28, 1970, Workers Memorial Day the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect. OSHA created workplace safety standards to reinforce the fundamental right of workers to have the safest worksites possible. Unfortunately, federal OSHA protections do not cover public sector workers in Pennsylvania. This means that hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania's public sector workers today are still not afforded the same rights and protections as their private sector counterparts in the same jobs. Example: Private sanitation workers (Waste Management) are covered by OSHA. Public sanitation workers (Plymouth Township) are not covered by OSHA. The pandemic exposed weak laws that have prevented workers from organizing in their workplaces to demand safer working conditions. It has also uplifted awareness of weak job safety laws and the lack of resources that would ensure OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration can adequately protect workers. Events all over our commonwealth were held last week to remember those workers who went to work and never made it home. These events remembered those lost on the job this year, while spreading awareness around the lack of worker safety standards in Pennsylvania. Additionally, we call for legislators to take action in support of House Bill 1976 (PA Rep. Patrick J. Harkins, D-1, Erie) and Senate Bill 310 (Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione, D-2, Philadelphia), which will extend OSHA protections to public sector workers. Tom Tosti, director AFSCME District Council 88 Middletown Township Gubernatorial debate a disquieting bellwether Yes, the debate demands of Lou Barletta, Jake Corman, Bill McSwain and Dave White may in some ways smack of white male fragility, and their supposed inability or (more likely) unwillingness to field hard questions may seem absurd, but do not be fooled. What may appear to be something easily mocked is in reality something to be watched and of which to be wary. Story continues These Republican gubernatorial candidates are seeking a debate format that is intended to silence voices of dissent while allowing them to indulge in their own personal political theater without inconvenient truths, pesky facts or difficult questions. This contrived debate is a bellwether of how these candidates would govern. Facts dont matter. Hard questions are to be eliminated. Any voice that doesnt fall into the Republican line? Fuggetabouttit. At face value, this debate seems silly, little more than a stage for Ted Cruz-like grandstanding. But make no mistake, there is method to this debate madness. The signs are there, the seeds of censorship are being sown. It is up to the rest of us to pay attention, to vote, to make sure these bad seeds do not take root and strangle anyone who would dare to voice an opposing point of view. Deborah DiMicco Newtown Fitzpatrick isn't for all of us Many of Congressman Brian Fitzpatricks signs placed along Route 413 include the statement that he is For All of Us, which is patently false. How the congressman can make such a claim when he does not support womens freedom to control their own bodies is beyond my comprehension. Fitzpatrick has stated time and again that he is against womens right to choose an abortion, a right decided by Roe v. Wade 49 years ago. A right that is, as we speak, being cut to shreds in states like Texas, Florida, and Mississippi and could be completely overturned by the Trump-stacked Supreme Court. This is not O.K. I demand that Congressman Fitzpatrick take down these signs. He is not for his constituents who support a womans right to choose. He is not for all of us. Gayle Share-Raab Newtown Township Why dogs need Goldie's Act Dogs hold a special place in our lives; they are true and loving companions that many of us count as family. We can no longer allow them to suffer in federally licensed puppy mills, so we need Goldies Act (H.R. 6100) now. This bill is an important piece of federal legislation aimed at ensuring that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fulfills its mandate to protect dogs in USDA-licensed puppy mills. The USDA is required to inspect commercial breeders to ensure compliance with the Animal Welfare Act a law that gives USDA authority to enforce bare minimum standards of care for these animals. Yet the agency fails to act, allowing horrific cruelty to unfold in large scale operations. Last year an Iowa breeder surrendered over 500 dogs and puppies after racking up more than 190 AWA violations documented by inspectors. Dogs were suffering and dying at this puppy mill while the USDA sat idly by. To date, the agency has still levied no penalty for this treatment of vulnerable dogs and puppies. Goldies Act would ensure the USDA does its job to prevent the suffering and death of dogs trapped in the commercial breeding industry. Congress must pass Goldies Act to ensure that the USDA honors its responsibility to these vulnerable animals. I sincerely thank Representative Brian Fitzpatrick for cosponsoring Goldies Act, and urge readers to contact their own lawmakers to support this vital bill. Adele Rizzuto Yardley More guns = more deaths Unsurprisingly news reports last month week show that the leading cause of death among children and young people now is guns. The direct result of the increase in gun purchases since 2019 is the surge of gun violence across the country. The purpose of guns is death and they do it very efficiently. Remember that the operative clause in the Second Amendment is well-regulated. We need to stand up to the gun promoters. No one is safe. The bottom line is that more guns equal more deaths. Bill Brosius Sellersville A new appreciation for constituent services So grateful for the huge help I received from Dan at State Senator Steve Santarsieros Doylestown office. I had no idea what constituent services were, let alone the important role they play. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of our elected officials. From now on I will participate in every single election and encourage others to do the same. Many thanks to Senator Santarsiero and his awesome staff. Lisa Doherty Doylestown This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Letters: OSHA should cover public sector; GOP debate demands worrisome FILE PHOTO: The female gender symbol is seen displayed on the Ernst and Young Building on International Women's Day in Times Square in New York City, New York By Chris Taylor NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to the status of women in the workplace, there are decades of talk and not enough action. The gender pay gap is still enormous, and CEOs are still overwhelmingly male, as are corporate boards. Stacey Vanek Smith says we should look to an unlikely source to help solve this stubborn problem: Niccolo Machiavelli. Most people remember the Renaissance-era Italian statesman from his iconic book on high-school reading lists, The Prince. But Smith, the NPR host and author of the new book Machiavelli for Women, says his insights about power and survival can be just as critical for navigating the modern workplace. I hated that book back in college, but when I re-read it, it helped me understand why the numbers (of women in leadership positions) have been stuck for so long," says Smith, co-host of NPRs The Indicator from Planet Money. "It offers real suggestions and effective advice about how to gain power and hold onto it, even though its 500 years old. To be sure, the connotations of the name Machiavelli are quite negative and brutal. His advice to Florences ruler Lorenzo de Medici derived from the historical context of regions constantly warring with each other, where the prospect of being taken over and wiped out by rivals was a very real possibility. If you can get past the sometimes harrowing nature of his counsel, these clear-eyed strategic principles about how to evaluate threats, overcome obstacles and survive in positions of leadership can be helpful tools in your arsenal. ARM YOURSELF WITH INFORMATION Machiavelli may not have been a military warrior, but as a diplomat he did place a high value on another power source information. The more you have of it, the more you can use it to advance your career. Thats the ultimate advice, especially for women or marginalized workers, Smith says. Find out what the typical salary range is for the position, what your colleagues are paid, and how much experience they have. Having those facts in a game changer, because most success in negotiating comes before you even open your mouth. Story continues ASK FOR MORE Part of what is holding women back in the workplace is systemic, like discriminatory attitudes. But women also do not advocate for themselves as forcefully as men do. If youre not even asking for what you want in the first place, then any negotiation is dead on arrival. Men ask for raises and promotions at five times the rate that women do, Smith says. There is so much stuff that is out of your hands but this is a significant part of the equation that you do have control over as an individual. DEMONSTRATE 'CRAZY CONFIDENCE' Even more than actual competence, the best predictor of career success is confidence, Smith says. Its free but its definitely a skill you have to develop, since it may not come naturally. Try to be a little like James Spaders Robert California character from the sitcom The Office, Smith advises who despite little relevant experience, applies at Dunder Mifflin and ends up being appointed CEO of the entire company within days, purely thanks to his extreme confidence. NEGOTIATE WITH A NEW MINDSET The reason why some women shy away from asking for raises and promotions, Smith says, is that such situations are often perceived as hyper-aggressive, zero-sum games. Instead, reframe such discussions as a win-win: It is obviously in the companys interests that you feel valued and produce at your highest level, so work together to figure out how to make that happen. This is tricky for women, because there can be a backlash to too much aggression, says Smith. So when I started to think about negotiations in a more collaborative way, that was the most useful shift in mindset for me. SEIZE THE MOMENT The pandemic has been horrible so many ways, but it also shifted the power dynamic of the modern workplace: It is now much more acceptable to work remotely and to be dealing with home and family issues at the same time. Previously, that lack of flexibility kept some women out of leadership positions, so now that work-from-home is the new reality for many, there are new pathways to corporate power, Smith says. There is a new openness about how work gets done, she says. Ive never seen a moment where workers have more power than they do right now. (Editing by Lauren Young and Lisa Shumaker; Follow us @ReutersMoney or at http://www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance.) Panel moderator Doris Williams, right, leads a discussion Saturday on how to live life and stay safe with COVID-19 at the One in a Million Resource Center in Springfield. [Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register] Public health officials and community leaders heard feedback regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Saturday during a "community conversation" at the One in A Million Resource Center in Springfield. The community group, along with Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams, Jr. sponsored the event, which saw officials from Memorial Health and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health team up with state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder and Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Gill to speak on how the pandemic has affected and continues to affect everyday life in the city. Doris Williams, chairwoman of the One In A Million group, said the purpose of the event was to remind people that COVID remains a factor for many people in society and particularly those of color and those with pre-existing conditions. "I was talking to my boss at SIU (Medicine) and I was telling her about this and what she said was, 'You know, just because we're done with COVID doesn't mean COVID's done with us," Williams said. "I told her then, 'I'm stealing it, I'm using it,' and if you saw our fliers (for this event), you saw (it) on our fliers." More: Wet, cold weather causes hit or miss planting season for central Illinois farmers The panelists used the event to reflect on how the pandemic has changed the way they do business while also focusing on key issues that COVID has brought to the forefront, from air quality to politics to mental and physical health. Gill said District 186 has made strides in improving the quality of air that people breathe inside all of the district's buildings, purchased a wide array of personal protective equipment facemasks, shields, etc. to assist students, parents and especially nurses, along with hiring more nurses and custodial staff. . She also pointed out that the district was placing a greater emphasis on social-emotional learning for both students and parents as they navigate the ever-changing world brought on by the virus. Story continues Lingling Liu, community health and equity diversity and inclusion coordinator for Memorial Health, speaks during the panel discussion Saturday at the One in a Million Resource Center. [Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register] "When they were home on a computer not interacting with their friends, not being able to see and talk with their teachers one-on-one it was really hard," Gill said. "It was hard on families to find the space to do the online learning. We provided technology and hot spots for internet connectivity, but we know that it was a hard year. "As we came out of that year, we knew that bringing everybody back together again was going to be really difficult, so continuing (to) focus on peer relations, social-emotional learning, rebuilding the relationships with families as a whole as well as individually was really important to us." Turner lamented how the response to the pandemic evolved over the last two years to be the kind of political tribalism seen in many less-important venues. She shared the thoughts of those sponsoring the event regarding the need for continued caution despite a desire to move further away from the pandemic. "We don't hear so much about COVID anymore, but just know that we are not out of danger," Turner said. "There were 4,700 new cases Thursday in the state. We are not out of this, so I would continue to implore people to be very cautious." While the continued caution was a key theme of the event, the medical experts present made efforts to educate people on the importance of mental health as it relates to the pandemic. Cassie Delaney of Memorial Behavioral Health said the need for mental health became even more vital during the pandemic, as she cited a study saying that half of those surveyed had worsening mental health due to COVID. "That's a lot of us that are going through negative feelings based on COVID," Delaney said. "One in five adults and one in six children have a diagnosed mental illness (and) we also know that there's many people that go untreated. "Let's start having more conversations. Let's have conversations around the dinner table, let's talk about how we're feeling more (often). It's okay to not be okay." More: Voting UIS faculty members express 'no confidence' in provost Her colleague, Lingling Liu, pointed out how more needs to be done to heal community scars brought on through the pandemic. An overarching factor that influenced much of the event came from the disparities of outcomes from the pandemic, with those of color receiving the brunt of it. "Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian and Alaskan Native citizens in the U.S. experience higher rates of COVID-related hospitalization and death compared with white Americans," Liu said. "Even though Black Americans make up 12% of the population, 34% of COVID deaths are of that population. We're seeing a huge disparity in that community." For everyone in attendance, a big emphasis was placed on getting vaccinated and boosted, with SCDPH promoting the ongoing vaccination campaign. With 64% of the population vaccinated, the department pointed out how many doses people can receive. "The studies have shown that it is safe and effective," said Jen Withers of SCDPH. "Maybe after 4-6 months, that immunity is waning. That's why they recommend getting boosters to stay protected. Right now, you're only allowed to get a second booster." For the mayor, he spoke of the continued need to focus on the issues that have developed as a result of the pandemic, while also building on the many things that Springfield has to offer to people looking for a pandemic-friendly place to work and live. "Our actions proved correct," Langfelder said. "Now you're seeing what we need to take a look at is the entire picture, how the pandemic has affected not only those that are ill, but those who would go into the hospital. I knew someone who passed away (that) didn't get health care. I knew someone who lost their job and it didn't go well. They're no longer with us. "History will show the impact that we've had." This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Community leaders connect with public on ongoing COVID issues Lead Organizer Jaysin Saxton poses for a photo after the votes are tallied on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Young has worked at Starbucks for three years. This story has been updated with a statement from Starbucks. Starbucks employees at an Augusta location voted on Thursday to unionize, becoming the first in Georgia to do so. "The key goals we are going for is better pay, better benefits, better training, better working conditions all around," said Jaysin Saxton, the lead organizer for the store. "We all love working for Starbucks, but we just want it to be better." The store at 228 Robert C Daniel Jr. Parkway had 37 eligible voters and they voted 26-5 to unionize. The ballots were counted by a representative of the National Labor Relations Board after the poll closed at 5 p.m., following two days of voting. Representatives of the union and Starbucks stood by during the count. Another Starbucks coming: Salted caramel, cold foam latte comes to Augusta's medical district Original Starbucks store unionizes: Flagship Seattle Starbucks store approves union Representatives of Starbucks at the election on Thursday declined to comment. We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country," said Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges in a statement provided to the Augusta Chronicle on Friday. "From the beginning, weve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. We respect our partners right to organize and are committed to following the NLRB process. Saxton said he has worked at the Augusta location for three years. He even met his wife at the coffee shop. When they had a child, though, he found the 6-8 weeks of parental leave too short. The training was too short, also, he felt, and the wages too low. In January, Saxton sent a message to Workers United over Twitter and started discussing unionization with coworkers. Workers United is the union organizing Starbucks employees across the country. Later, local workers filed with the National Labor Relations Board for a formal union election on March 10. Story continues Field Examiner Alexander Hajduk counts the union votes for Augusta's Starbucks off Robert C Daniel Jr. Parkway on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Across the country, workers at 247 Starbucks stores have filed to hold elections on whether or not to unionize, according to a tracker from the pro-union nonprofit media outlet More Perfect Union. While two stores in Atlanta had filed before Augusta, disputes about how many stores would have to vote in that area held up those elections, according to Chris Baumann, Southern region director for Workers United. Employees at a Starbucks in Covington also filed on April 15. "This is really a partner-led movement," Baumann said, rereferring to Starbucks' employees. Alexis Young celebrates with coworkers after the votes are tallied on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Young has worked at Starbucks for three years. Baumann said his region had seen workers at 25 outlets file for an election, but only two such elections so far have been held one where workers voted for the union in Tennessee, 8-7, and one where they rejected unionization in Florida. "The anti-union fight has been really tough here in the South," Baumann said. The Augusta victory was decisive, even with ballots set aside by the NLRB administrator and despite opposition from Starbucks. "(Starbucks opposition has) basically been a constant presence of like, district manager, regional manager, our new store manager," Saxton said. "It's been trying to get us to say that our previous manager was inefficient and that we'd be losing more than we'd be getting. Of course, it didn't work." Now that the union has won, Saxton said he is excited to begin bargaining for a contract with Starbucks. "I want to make this a better place for my child and for the people I work with, because they're my family as well," he said. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Starbucks becomes first Georgia store to unionize Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty With Top Gun: Maverick debuting in theaters this week, Tom Cruise is available to the press again, which explains why I was seeing video of James Corden at 5 a.m. on a tarmac waiting to join Cruise in his personal jet aircraft. The Late Late Show hosts antics on Cruises plane delivered the intended effect: Tom as cooler-than-you pilot really is like the superheroes he plays in the movies. But for me, it had another connotation. Seeing Cruise pilot his aircraft, I couldnt help thinking of something Marc Headley told me several years ago. Headley joined Scientologys Sea Org as a child, signing a billion-year contract before working 365 days a year, cloistered at one of the organizations secretive compounds known as Int Base near Hemet, California. Around 1990, Headley explained in his excellent book about that period, Blown for Good, Cruise had come to the base to learn Scientology auditing, its version of counseling, and Headley was chosen to be his guinea pig. Years later, in 2009, the FBI began an intense investigation of conditions at the base, interviewing dozens of former Sea Org workers, including Headley, who by that time had escaped. The FBI was so serious about its investigation of the slave-like conditions at the base, Headley and other former Scientologists told me, that in the summer of 2010 the agency was making detailed plans for raiding the compound, rescuing workers, and seizing documents. Headley says the special agents assigned to the investigation told him one of their main concerns was that Scientology leader David Miscavige, who lived at the base, would slip through their grasp. So, planning for any eventuality, they tried to seal off all escape routes Miscavige might try to useincluding, Headley said, the airplanes of his best pal, Tom Cruise. The FBI agents told him they had taken the step of recording the tail numbers of Cruises planes that were at his private hangar in Burbank, California, just in case Miscavige tried to make an escape using them. Story continues Ultimately, the FBI changed its mind about raiding Scientology and the investigation was dropped, for mysterious reasons. (Headley and former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder told me their version of what happened for a piece I wrote years ago. Also, even though Ive published the full FBI investigative file at my website, Scientology continues to claim that there was never an investigation at all. The Church of Scientology did not respond to request for comment for this story.) Leah Remini: Tom Cruise Personally Punished Fellow Scientologists Even if the raid was cancelled, Ive never forgotten that the FBI figured that David Miscavige and Tom Cruise were so tight the Top Gun actor might use his piloting skills to jet his two-time Best Man to safety from law enforcement. That isnt something youre likely to hear in all of the press celebration of Cruises new movie. Top Gun: Maverick is getting almost universally positive reviews (a notable exception that is worth a look) and is poised to be Cruises biggest movie opening ever. Well be seeing a lot of him on our screens in the coming weeks. And it couldnt come at a better time for Scientology, which, all signs indicate, has been hit hard by the pandemic. It isnt the first time that Cruise has come to the churchs rescue at a crucial time. In 1986, when actress Mimi Rogers began dating Cruise and first introduced him to Scientology, the controversial organization was at a critical juncture: Its founder and source of all its written scriptures, science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, had died on Jan. 24 that year. For a group so focused on one figure, the death of that person can be an extreme challenge. Would Scientology survive it? Complicating things was that the person exerting himself to push aside others and take over the reins of Scientology was a 25-year-old who was known only to a small minority of the movement. David Miscavige had joined the organization as a child, and had quickly become a favorite of Hubbard, but for years he had amassed power in the rarefied upper reaches of Sea Orgaway from view of the vast majority of Scientologists. So, when Miscavige stepped forward on the stage at the Hollywood Palladium to announce Hubbards death to the hastily gathered crowd of Scientologists on Jan. 27, 1986, many of the people who were in the audience that night had never even heard of him. Miscavige was still consolidating control of Scientology later that year when Mimi Rogers began bringing Tom Cruise around to a North Hollywood Scientology satellite office. Cruise was already a movie star, with films like Risky Business and All the Right Moves under his belt, and the first Top Gun had hit theaters that summer. Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Cruise must have taken to Scientology pretty quickly, because he and Rogers tied the knot a few months later, on May 9, 1987. May 9 happens to be one of the most sacred days on the Scientology calendar, because it was on May 9, 1950, that Hubbard published the book that started everything: his turgid, bizarre look at the human mind called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. After its publication, Hubbard turned its popularity into a self-help empire that grew in fits and starts. In 1955, Hubbard announced Project Celebrity, telling his followers that there would literally be a bounty on the head of famous actors and actresses brought into what by then he had decided was the Church of Scientology (so much for a modern science). Hubbard knew that attracting celebrities might help the organization seem more mainstream, and he encouraged members not to talk publicly about what was actually going on: Scientology was past-life therapy that promised godlike superpowers to those who could retrieve memories from millions or billions of years ago on other planets. How Tom Cruise and Scientology Exploited 9/11With Help From Trump There had been some victories for Project Celebrity since then, with John Travolta (1975) and Kirstie Alley (1979) being among the most well-known bought into the church. But Mimi Rogers had outdone the rest by bringing in a star of Cruises stature, marrying him on Dianetics Day 1987, and right when Scientology was on shaky ground following the death of Hubbard. Just a few years later, Rogers was repaid by being told by Scientologys leaders to walk away from her marriage to Cruise so he could pursue his new obsession, Australian actress Nicole Kidman. Kidman wasnt a Scientologist, but she tried to fit in. Her former Scientology auditor, Bruce Hines, told me that in only a couple of years she was able to rocket up to an auditing level known as OT 2, which is pretty astonishing and suggests Kidman was probably putting in daily work to go up the Bridge to Total Freedom. But by 1992, Kidman changed her mind. She soured on Scientology, and not only pulled away from it but pulled Cruise with her. We only found out about this years later, but from 1992 to 2000, former high-ranking executives tell me, Cruise kept Scientology at arms length. Mike Rinder has spoken about how much this bothered Miscavige, especially while Cruise and Kidman spent November 1996 to June 1998 filming Eyes Wide Shut in London with Stanley Kubrick. During this period, Miscavige kept an eye on Cruise with a spy in his household. In 1998, Cruise made a brief return to the Hollywood Celebrity Centre to take a course which had him sitting in a grocery store parking lot with Scientology official Tommy Davis, judging the tone level of people walking by, which Lawrence Wright wrote about in his excellent history of Scientology, Going Clear. But it wasnt until Cruise broke up with Kidman in 2000 that he made his real return to Miscaviges orbit. Over the next three years, re-indoctrinating Cruise became Miscaviges chief mission. And by 2003, Miscavige was ready to test out his newly-zealous celebrity minion. That summer, Cruise traveled to Missouri to help Scientology hold a grand opening for a new headquarters for one of its numerous front groups, Applied Scholastics, which works to get L. Ron Hubbards materials into public schools. Cruise continued to grow into the role of highly visible Scientology ambassador. The next year, in September 2004, he made his first and only appearance at the grand opening of a new Scientology Ideal Org in Madrid, Spain. The year before, Miscavige had begun a program of replacing older orgs (Scientology's word for churches) with gleaming new and very expensive ideal cathedrals, a project that continues today. Although he had broken up with Spanish actress Penelope Cruz earlier that year, Cruise was invited to help Miscavige open the new Madrid building, and he even gave a brief speech in Spanish, which you can watch here. And it was also at this event that Cruise reportedly told Miscavige that he was having some trouble finding a suitable new girlfriend. The church leader then put his wife, Shelly Miscavige, in charge of a program that fall to audition actresses, some who were Scientologists and some who were not, without telling them that it was actually a tryout to be Cruises new mate. How Nicole Kidman Almost Got Tom Cruise to Leave Scientology By this time, October 2004, Miscavige was thrilled with how dedicated Cruise had become, and that he was willing to be the public face of Scientology. So that month he rewarded Cruise by giving him special recognition at the annual gala held in England each October when a few exemplary church members are bestowed Freedom Medals. For Cruise, Miscavige made a special showing, with a 30-minute video extolling Cruises qualitieswhich included a 9-minute interview with the actor talking about the privilege of being a Scientologist. At the conclusion of the video, Miscavige gave Cruise the unique, larger medallion hed had made just for him, the Freedom Medal of Valor. Four years later, video from the event would be leaked to the public in one of Scientologys most embarrassing PR disasters. But for now, Cruise was being celebrated as the most gung-ho Scientologist in the world. Meanwhile, Shelly Miscaviges project had produced a winner: An attractive British-Iranian Scientologist-actress named Nazanin Boniadi was selected from the auditions, and she dated Cruise from October 2004 to January 2005, when, Alex Gibney reported in his HBO documentary Going Clear, things soured. Nazanin admitted she was having a hard time understanding David Miscaviges thick New Jersey accent, and it was giving her headaches. Scientology had Tommy Davis break up with her for Cruise. Only a few months later, in April 2005, Cruise and Katie Holmes announced that they were dating, and it happened to coincide with Toms most visible (and most disastrous) attempts to be promote Scientology. After firing his longtime publicist and hiring his own sister, a Scientologist, Cruise was doing the rounds for Steven Spielbergs film War of the Worlds. He openly clashed with interviewers in the U.S. and Australia over Scientology, most notably with Matt Lauer during an episode of Today, appearing arrogant and unhinged as he lectured Lauer about the deleterious effects of psychiatric drugs. (Scientology opposes modern mental health treatments with a white-hot fury.) And while it didnt appear to have any connection with Scientology, Cruises antics jumping on Oprahs couch declaring his love for Holmes was seen by the public as a sign that the Scientologist actor had lost his marbles. Mike Rinder and other former executives tell me that Cruises bizarre acts during 2005, with his attempt to so aggressively promote Scientology, was pure Miscavige. And it backfired badly. Cruise has never since been so vocal about his involvement in the church. Like Kidman, Katie Holmes had no experience in Scientology but she was determined, at first, to be involved in it for Cruises sake. The couple welcomed a daughter, Suri, twelve months after they announced they were dating, in April 2006, and then were married that November in a castle in Italy. It was at that wedding that King of Queens actress Leah Remini, who had grown up in Scientology, noticed that Miscavige, who was once again Cruises best man, was there without his wife, Shelly. When Remini asked about it, she was told by Tommy Davis that she didnt have the fucking rank to ask such a question. It turned out that a year earlier, at the end of the summer of 2005, Shelly Miscavige had vanished from Int Base, the secretive compound near Hemet, and was no longer appearing with her husband at Scientology events. Katie Holmes, meanwhile, was such a dedicated Scientologist at that point, she wrote up a Knowledge Report complaining about how Remini had disrupted the wedding. Like Kidman, Holmes tried her best initially to immerse herself in Scientology, only to grow away from it, and in the meantime the church experienced several very public disasters. The video of Cruise talking bizarrely about what it meant to be a Scientologist (which was prepared for the 2004 awards ceremony) was leaked to the internet in January 2008 and became a sensation. When Scientology tried to suppress the video, it motivated the internet collective known as Anonymous to target the church with months of high-profile protests and trolling. In early 2011, New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright revealed that the FBI had investigated Scientology in 2009-2010. And the next year, 2012, Holmes decided shed had enough of both Cruise and Scientology. At that point, with Suri turning 6 years old, she would have been old enough to begin early Dianetics courses. And Katie would also have seen Cruises older children, Isabella and Connor, going through Scientology auditing and interrogations. How Tom Cruises Wedding to Katie Holmes Changed Scientology Forever Katie then made her famous escape from marriage in June 2012 while Cruise was in Iceland shooting scenes for Oblivion, his first collaboration with Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski. Eleven days later, she and Cruise had worked out a settlement to end their marriage. Katie got primary custody of Suri, and Cruise got generous visitation rights. But in recent years he seems to have largely cut her out of his life. People often ask me if Tom Cruise is being groomed to take over Scientology from Miscavige, or if hes the No. 2 figure in the church. But that ignores the basic structure of the Scientology movementthat it is run by the Sea Organization. The Sea Org is not a legal entity, but it has ultimate control of the church, and the captain of the Sea Org is David Miscavige. If Miscavige left, another Sea Org official would take his place. But in order to qualify for the Sea Org, a Scientologist has to sign a billion-year contract and work around the clock for the organization for pennies an hour, a commitment that Tom Cruise is not likely to make. Tom Cruises value to Scientology is not as an executive, its as an ornament. Thats always what the celebrities have been: symbols. But hes the most important celebrity, and an incredibly important symbol for the church. There are plenty of secretive, high-pressure groups that some people call cults, but there is only one Scientology. Why? Because of its celebrities, and primarily because of Tom Cruise. He is Scientology, as far as most of the public is concerned. And if he were to leave and speak out like Leah Remini has? I doubt Scientology could survive it. Thats how important he is to it. The tabloids, every few months, publish stories claiming that Cruise is leaving, but it is never backed up with any evidence. In fact, in 2019, Cruise for the first time since Ive been watching attended not one but two of those international events, both the LRH Birthday Event in Florida in March and the IAS gala in England in October. And there was evidence that suggested he took his children Isabella and Connor with him to the IAS event, again for the first time ever. So, based on that, my feeling was that as of 2019, Cruise was more dedicated to Scientology than ever. It was harder to get information out in 2020 and 2021 because Scientology had to stop holding its international events owing to the pandemic. People often ask me if Cruise is only staying in Scientology because the church is blackmailing him with information he has given up in auditing sessions. But again, that misinterprets the facts. The real situation appears to be that Tom Cruise is a true believer. He really does believe that L. Ron Hubbard was the greatest human being who ever lived, and that David Miscavige is the greatest human being living today. In the words of John Brousseau, who worked closely with both men for many years, Tom Cruise worships David Miscavige like a god. I see no reason to change that assessment today. Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Finally, Suri. Theres no doubt that the way Katie Holmes left Cruise in 2012 caused a huge public relations disaster for Scientology. That would make it possible that David Miscavige might have declared her a suppressive person, which would make Suri a potential trouble source because shes connected to her SP motheras is common among those whove defected. We dont know for sure if Miscavige made this determination. However, its pretty obvious that if Tom Cruise were not a celebrity, he would probably be instructed by the church to cut off contact with his ex-wife and Suri. However, Tom is a celebrity, and the most important celebrity, and celebrities get to ignore those rules if they want. As Scientologys most important celebrity, he could continue to be a part of Suris life he wanted to. But for now, hes once again the most successful movie star on the planet, and he will face only highly-controlled interviews where none of this history will be raised. His popularity will be a huge boost for individual Scientologists, who will see the success of Top Gun: Maverick as a vindication of Scientology, even if the movie has nothing to do with it. They love it when a Scientology celebrity gets positive press. And Miscavige will be beside himself. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. PROVIDENCE A 76-year-old woman killed in a hit-and-run accident just before 5 p.m. Saturday was the aunt of two prominent Black women, one a state representative and the other the president and founder of the R.I. Black Business Association. The driver of the car that struck her and kept going turned himself in about three hours later, police said. Providence Police Cmdr. Thomas Verdi said police were called to Union Avenue at the Route 10 ramps at 4:49 p.m. for a fatal hit-and-run. Witnesses said a blue GMC Sierra pickup with Massachusetts plates was going fast when it came off the Route 10 off-ramp, crossed both directions of Union Avenue on a green light and sped onto the Route 10 north on-ramp, striking the pedestrian who was crossing that ramp The truck kept going on Route 10 toward the Westminster Street exit, Verdi said. Two vehicles followed the pickup, and witnesses in two vehicles that had been waiting at the red light described the collision to police. Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, D-Providence The victim, Violet Barracks, 76, who lived next to the intersection, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was the aunt of state Rep. Marcia R. Ranglin-Vassell and Lisa Ranglin, CEO and founder of the R.I. Black Business Association. They and other family members are calling for the restoration of a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection. At about 8 p.m., Verdi said, the driver of the pickup, Domingo Grave-Castro, 40, of Providence, turned himself in to Providence police. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, death resulting. He appeared in District Court, Providence, on Monday. Lisa Ranglin Police are continuing to investigate, Verdi said. dnaylor@providencejournal.com (401) 277-7411 On Twitter: @donita22 More: 'Warren man charged in 'road rage' crash that killed Newport man This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Victim's nieces include a state representative and RIBBA founder May 4A grant will be used by West Chester Twp. this spring and summer for traffic enforcement targeted at curbing serious crashes. The department received the $6,422 grant to fund 100 hours of personnel for traffic enforcement from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, according to Police Chief Joel Herzog. "Traffic safety is a priority all year long, but during the summer months when there are more celebrations and more people on the road this grant comes at the perfect time," Herzog said. This grant program provides federal funds administered through the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Ohio State Highway Patrol and Ohio Traffic Safety Office to eligible agencies to be used for projects such as traffic safety education, enforcement and engineering. Specifically, the grant will be used in West Chester Twp. to reduce fatal crashes and alcohol-related traffic crashes and to increase safety belt. The grant program allows for enforcement time for at least one summertime event: Annual Click It or Ticket Blitz, May 23 to June 5; Independence Day Holiday, July 1 to 5 and Annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. Aug. 19 to Sept. 5. Several residents objected to a rezoning of two homes from residential to commercial as part of a busy Farmington City Council meeting held this month at Long Memorial Hall. The rezoning of the homes located at 501 and 505 Memorial Place, across from the Memorial Methodist Church, went through public hearings and first readings to be changed from R-3: residential to C-2: general commercial. Development Services Director Tim Porter said the Planning and Zoning Committee gave the proposed change an unfavorable recommendation. Several residents opposed the measures citing increased traffic and loss of property value concerns. A second reading will be held at a later date where the council will vote on whether to pass it. During the council meeting, a public hearing and first reading was held on modifying rules relating to bed and breakfasts in the city. Porter told the council that they are becoming increasingly popular across the country. There are some stipulations that would mirror what our special use permit is, he said. The requirements would be not causing a parking or traffic problem or fire hazards. One thing we are going to tweak on this before you vote on this in a couple of weeks is a provision related to some safety features. We are going to make sure that what we have is not less restrictive than what the existing residential building code requires. Mayor Larry Forsythe reported on his recent trip to Branson to accept an Outstanding Community Service Award for the city given by the Missouri Community Action Network, as recommended by East Missouri Action Agency. A public hearing and first reading was held to change the zoning from R-3: Single Family to C-3: Neighborhood Commercial on property at 310 Potosi Street. A public hearing and first reading was also held to approve a final record plat at Martin Creek Subdivision Phase I. During committee reports, Councilman David Kennedy reported that Police Chief Rick Baker gave the committee the Country Days schedule. The committee and the council approved the hiring of Ryan Miller, Ethan Wadlow and Pierce Wynn as patrol officers. The committee and council also approved continuing the current policy regarding the Emergency Access Key Box Requirements (Knox Boxes). Councilman Wayne Linnenbringer reported that the Public Works Committee approved the acceptance of the stormwater basin near 1591 Henry Street. The council also gave its approval. In the city administrator report, Greg Beavers informed the council that the city is looking at the possibility of applying for grants to fund two electric vehicle charging stations one at Long Memorial Hall and the other at the courthouse annex. He also discussed TAP grant applications for various sidewalks. In new business, the council passed Resolution R14-2022 approving an assignment of an airport ground lease from Black Knight Air to First State Bancshares. Resolution R15-2022 was approved for an abatement order on consent by and between the city of Farmington and the Missouri Department of Natural Resource (DNR). The city will compensate the DNR for the death of some fish downstream from a stormwater overflow from the Water Park in 2020. Resolution R16-2022 was approved for a street festival agreement for Country Days 2022. In legislation, Bills 08052022 and 09052022 were passed authorizing state block grant agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration. A first reading was held on Bill 10052022 amending the municipal code regarding permit fees for excavations. Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (434) 422-7398 Bernard Hairston doesnt mind stirring the pot. Ive never been a traditional person in thinking and doing, so it gets me in trouble, said Hairston, the assistant superintendent for school community empowerment in Albemarle County who is retiring next month. For more than 40 years, Hairston has worked to improve outcomes for historically marginalized students. In Albemarle County, hes spearheaded the implementation of the divisions anti-racism policy and championed culturally responsive teaching, among other initiatives and programs. He started working in Albemarle County in 1992. Hairston said in a recent interview that hes retiring now because he feels that a strong foundation has been laid for continued progress. Oftentimes, others with a similar vision can have a greater impact on expanding the foundation that has been established, he said. That foundation includes a team of equity specialists, policies that ensure equity is part of School Board decisions, and a division-wide requirement that teachers earn either a certification or micro-credential in culturally responsive teaching. Culturally responsive teaching practices teach to and through the educators and students backgrounds, Hairston has said. For a teacher, this can look like one-on-one conferences with students or communicating regularly with parents in whatever form works best for them. Administrators who have gone through the credentialing process have encouraged asset-based conversations among their staff. The asset-based approach is focused on students strengths and areas where they can improve. To be certified, educators must apply culturally responsive teaching practices in their classrooms and demonstrate how their strategies improved student performance and reduced achievement gaps. The micro-credential in culturally responsive teaching is an introduction to CRT practices and characteristics but is not as in-depth as the certification process. Albemarle was one of the first school divisions in the state to create and offer a CRT certification, and the program was recognized by state officials in 2020. The requirement for teachers is the result of years of work from Hairston and his team to show the value and impact of culturally responsive teaching. When the program started in the 2015-16, four teachers were certified. Last school year, 69 educators completed the program. Scores on the states Standards of Learning (SOL) tests have increased for many students taught by teachers who have earned either a micro-credential or certification, the division said in the news release announcing Hairstons retirement. Leslie Wills-Taylor, an equity education specialist, was part of the first group to earn a CRT credential and is now part of the team reviewing the submissions from teachers who have gone through the program this year. She said the team saw a record number of submissions. I think that its really ironic that this is Dr. Hairstons retirement year because hes getting to see the submissions nearly doubling, if not more, she said. Hes starting to see some really exponential growth of a seed of an idea from over a decade ago. Hes been extremely perseverant, and he really has an unwavering belief in the impact that teachers can make in the lives of Albemarle County Public School students. Wills-Taylor, who has known Hairston for nearly a decade, said that without his vision, the culturally responsive teaching likely wouldnt have the traction it does now. Personally, shes also benefited from Hairstons support, she said. I have grown so much as a result of the leadership opportunities that hes helped to create within the office of community engagement, she said. Shes learned from Hairston to never stop learning along with the value of having teachers teach teachers. The main thing that hes taught me is that culturally responsive teaching can be fun, she said. You can expand your practice. But the bottom line is that its not effective until we see increases and academic engagement and academic growth. Wills-Taylor said that even though Hairstons retiring, his wisdom is embedded into the CRT credentialing process and his departments work. Th division has not yet announced who will be replacing Hairston, but Hairston said that person should be willing to challenge the status quo and make sacrifices. The person following me will not have the challenges that I had in order to navigate the institutional inertia thats in place that doesnt allow you to address issues around equity, diversity and race, he said. So the door is open. You just have to keep it open, and its gonna take a strong individual whos committed to the work. Hairston is leaving at a time when much of the work he has championed is facing criticism from staff officials and parents. For example, the anti-racism policy that he worked with students to draft and has helped to implement was challenged in court with a group of parents alleging it discriminates against students. An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge recently dismissed that lawsuit, though the defendants have said they will appeal. I dont have a problem with walking away right now, because what my mama has always shared with me is you deal with right and wrong, he said. ... The folks that we have been training up in Albemarle County Public Schools, if they can easily frame whats right and whats wrong, they will continue this work. He added that those who see things differently will continue with what theyre doing, and pointed to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education to show that progress takes time. We are eventually going to get it right, he said. With me and the work that Ive done, the foundation has been set. People understand the need for this work. They value this work, and theyre going to keep on doing the work because they believe in right versus wrong, and right will always supersede wrong long-term. Burley and M-Cubed Howard Witt first met Hairston at a breakfast recognizing the academic achievements of local high school students. His first impression was that he was a tornado of a man. Hes so full of energy and inspiration and motivation, Witt said. Hes just this irrepressible force in motivating the kids, advocating for them and praising them. Following that breakfast, Witt talked with Hairston and learned more about 100 Black Men of Central Virginia a local organization that Hairston helped to start. Witt ended up joining the organization, which annually puts on a two-week summer academy known as M-Cubed. The program, which began in 2009, is geared toward Black boys in middle school. The three Ms stand for math, men and mission, and the academy aims to help students improve their algebra skills so they can take Algebra I by eighth grade. That allows the students to access more advanced math classes in high school. Its using algebra as a gateway subject to improve the quality of life and experiences of being a successful student, Hairston said of M-Cubed. The program has increased the number of middle school black males who succeeded in advanced math classes, according to the division, and was named a grand prize winner of the Magna Award from the National School Boards Association in 2013. Hairston created M-Cubed following his experience as principal of Burley Middle School, where he worked for nine years from 1997 to 2006. He had a strong group of Black boys in sixth grade and he wanted them to be ready for Algebra I. So, he set up a summer school program. I recruited a high school algebra teacher from Monticello High School to teach one semester of Algebra I in a six-week summer school class to prepare Burley students, but primarily that cluster of African-American males, for algebra in the eighth grade, he said. Becoming principal of Burley wasnt part of Hairstons plan. He had originally planned to become a college professor to teach future educators. But, once he started at Burley, he didnt want to leave. Im just telling you just how special this place was, he said. It took me nine years to even consider leaving. This included building relationships with the schools alumni who attended Burley when it was a high school for Black high schools. That included working with Burley alumni to share the schools history, commissioning a new painting of Jackson P. Burley and meeting Burleys daughter in 1997. After meeting with Burleys daughter, Hairston started coming up with plans for the hallway that today serves as a walk of fame to the former high school. Looking back, Hairston said he and Burley were meant to be. When he started at the school, he said Burley was in the bottom quartile of student achievement, but when he left, Burley students were excelling in several areas. Thats because of the focus and the commitment of the teachers who really just got behind some of those crazy ideas that I had and just accepted them and started doing things differently than they had always done, he said. Hairston grew up in Martinsville and was part of a group of students who integrated the high school, an experience he said helped him better understand race relations. After graduating from Norfolk State University, he earned a masters degree from Virginia State University and developed a curriculum that integrated space technology and the industrial arts The National Aeronautics and Space Administration paid for his masters degree and his first teaching job was to pilot the curriculum he developed. Five years later, Hairston was named Virginias Industrial Arts Teacher of the Year, which he said is one of the top accomplishments in his career. That was a proud moment for his mother. To be a first-generation college graduate who became a teacher of the year meant so much to my mother, he said. That was probably the first time that Id been recognized for something that big. The relationships with students and his workers also have been a highlight. His secret to his success, he said, is to surround himself with better who are much smarter and more charming. Its been a very engaging, enlightening and enjoyable experience because of the collegial relationships that Ive been able to establish with so many educators who are sincere and committed to working with students to make life experiences better, he said. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Americans have always had the ability to control gun violence like the slaughter of 19 fourth graders and two adults that occurred last week in an elementary school in Uvalde Texas. What Americans have always lacked is the will. The failure to find the guts to do what it takes rests with regular Americans as surely as it rests with members of the U.S. Senate and House. Voters hold the ultimate power in this country. They just have to choose to use it. The simplicity of that notion belies complications caused by money and influence. A loud minority of this country profits financially by insisting it is unconstitutional to ban access to weapons designed expressly to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Weapons manufacturers and retailers can still buy the votes of officeholders as they did in 2012 after the horrific killing of 20 youngsters and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. That exercise in the maintenance of muzzle flash led to the shocking, sickening defeat of a 2013 law that did nothing more than expand background checks of gun purchasers. The sons of the Second Amendment will doubtless ply their strategy of legal mumbo-jumbo and fear in the coming weeks and months. The focus on mental illness has already deflected attention from guns. Soon enough we will hear about the need to arm school teachers. Or maybe it will be to hire more armed cops to patrol school hallways. How about metal detectors at the doors? That wont scare kids much. Keep listening, fellow Americans, you will hear everything from the pro-gun forces but the truth. Three things have to happen to get where this country found itself last week in Uvalde, Texas and the week before in Buffalo, N.Y. with 10 dead in an attack that targeted Black people in a supermarket. You need homicidal rage, a weapon that kills fast, and enough ammunition to build a body count. That is the recipe for mass shootings. The recipe for controlling them rests in removing all the ingredients. Anger management, conflict resolution and mental health awareness cannot work without required background checks, bans on assault weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines. Congress and state legislatures may make the laws that control access to guns, but voters control Congress and state legislatures. The men and women in political bodies are supposed to serve their constituents. It falls to those constituents to hold them to that standard. Columbine, Virginia Tech, Parkland, Oxford, Mich., the Orlando nightclub, the church in Charleston, S.C. and dozens of earlier mass shootings spanning decades have not been enough. Until a certain number of politicians see that retaining power depends on controlling gun violence, nothing will change. Once a few of those politicians are sent home by the majority of Americans who favor firearms checks to keep their kids and loved ones alive, other officeholders will get the message and fall into line. This will not be easy. It will take years. Those who want to stem the killing of innocents and innocence must adopt the discipline and determination of the parents of the Sandy Hook victims. They spent a decade fighting to win a civil lawsuit that held accountable the manufacturer of the assault weapon used to execute their kids. The Sandy Hook parents also drove the businesses of conservative gun nut and talk show host Alex Jones into bankruptcy. The moms and dads of Connecticut sued Jones for lying that the slaughter of their little ones was staged in order to justify government seizure of Americans guns. Democracy is the only weapon capable of defeating this senseless bloodshed. The gun lobby cannot buy the votes of individual Americans who refuse to sell. Americans cant be easily harrassed or intimidated, because Americans, unlike politicians, cast ballots in secret. Of course, it will require a herculean effort. But collectively, ballots really can overcome bullets. Just understand that it is, as it always has been, a matter of will. So buck up, America. Its way past time for a gut check. RTHK: Biden visits Uvalde as shooting probe launched US President Joe Biden on Sunday sought to comfort families in the Texas town of Uvalde following the nation's deadliest school shooting in a decade as federal officials announced they would review law enforcement's slow response. Fury has mounted over the decision by law enforcement agencies in Uvalde to allow the shooter to remain in a classroom for nearly an hour while officers waited in the hallway and children inside the room made panicked 911 calls for help. The president and first lady Jill Biden wiped away tears as they visited memorials at the Robb Elementary School where the gunman killed 19 students and two teachers, laying white roses at the school's sign. At the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, all the pews were filled as the Bidens attended mass. The Bidens will meet victims' families, survivors and first responders. Police say the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, entered the school on Tuesday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle after earlier killing his grandmother. Official accounts of how police responded to the shooting have flip-flopped wildly. The US Department of Justice on Sunday said it would review local law enforcement response at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin. Julian Moreno, a former pastor at Primera Iglesia Bautista and great-grandfather of one of the girls killed, said police made a huge error but that he felt "sorry for them because they have to live with that mistake of just standing by." The Uvalde shooting has once again put gun control at the top of the nation's agenda, months ahead of the November midterm elections, with supporters of stronger gun laws arguing that the latest bloodshed represents a tipping point. Biden, a Democrat, has repeatedly called for major reforms to America's gun laws but has been powerless to stop mass shootings or convince Republicans that stricter controls could stem the carnage. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-05-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. One man was killed and two others were rescued following a rock fall and avalanche near the Dreamweaver Couloir on Mount Meeker in Rocky Mount Your morning rundown of the latest news from overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Cher Scarlett, a software engineer, has a history of being misidentified by face-scanning technology, including one instance that may have surfaced a distant ancestor in a photo. So when she was introduced to an online facial-recognition tool she hadn't heard of, she wanted to see whether it would mistake photos of her mom or daughter for her. On February 1, Scarlett uploaded some images of her teenage daughter and her mom to PimEyes, a facial-recognition website meant to be used to find pictures of yourself from around the web ostensibly to help stamp out issues such as revenge porn and identity theft. She didn't get any images of herself in return pictures of her daughter yielded other kids, she said, while one of her mom led to some pictures of her mother, plus images of other, similar-looking women. She decided to try something else. Scarlett next uploaded a couple pictures of herself, curious if they would lead to pictures of her relatives. They didn't, but the results stunned her anyway: tucked under some recent images of herself and mistaken matches showing photos of Britney Spears and the pop star's sister, Jamie Lynn, were pictures of a younger version of Scarlett. They were pictures of a dark time she didn't totally remember a time at age 19 when, she said, she traveled to New York and was coerced into engaging in humiliating and, at times, violent sexual acts on camera. "I'm looking at these pictures, and all I can think is that somebody has photoshopped my face onto porn," Scarlett told CNN Business in an interview. Scarlett, who is known for being a former Apple employee who founded the worker organizing movement known as #AppleToo, has been open online and in the media about her life and struggles, which she has said include experiencing sexual abuse as a child, dropping out of high school, battling addiction, and having nude pictures of herself shared online without her consent. What happened to her in New York in 2005 was so traumatic that she tried to take her own life in the weeks that followed, she said, and in 2018 she began going by the last name Scarlett (she officially changed her name in December 2021). She's worked hard to overcome past trauma. Based in Kirkland, Washington, she's spent years working as a software engineer. She's raising her daughter, and she's a recovering drug addict. Since leaving Apple in late 2021 she has pending complaints against Apple that are being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (Apple did not respond to a request for comment) she began a job as a senior software engineer at video game developer ControlZee in March. But with a few clicks of a mouse, PimEyes brought back a real-life nightmare that occurred nearly two decades ago. She has since tried and failed to get all of the explicit photos removed from PimEyes' search results, despite the site saying it would scrub images of Scarlett from results. As of this week, sexually explicit images of Scarlett could still be found via PimEyes. Giorgi Gobronidze, who identified himself to CNN Business as the current owner and director of PimEyes (he said he bought the company from its previous owners in December), said he wishes nobody would experience what Scarlett went through, which he acknowledged as "very, very painful." "However, just simply saying, 'I don't want to see images' or 'I don't want to see the problem' doesn't make the problem disappear," he said. "The problem isn't that there is a search engine that can find these photos; the problem is there are the photos and there are people who actually uploaded and did it on purpose." A 17-year-old died by suicide hours after being scammed. The FBI says he was targeted in 'sextortion' scheme. Law enforcement calls the scam "sextortion," and investigators have seen an explosion in complaints from victims leading the FBI to ramp up a campaign to warn parents from coast to coast. It's true that the discovery of unknown images may be useful for some people who are attempting to stamp out such pictures of themselves online. But Scarlett's saga starkly shows how easily facial-recognition technology, which is now available to anyone with internet access, can lead to unexpected harms that may be impossible to undo. The technology has become increasingly common across the United States in the past several years, and there are no current federal rules regulating its use. Yet it has been blasted by privacy and digital rights groups over privacy and racial bias issues and other real and potential dangers. More people will "undoubtedly" have experiences like Scarlett's, said Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University. "And we know from experience that the people who will suffer first and suffer the hardest are women and people of color and other marginalized communities for whom facial-recognition technology serves as a tool of control over." As Scarlett put it, "I can't imagine the horrible pain of having that part of my life exposed not by me - by somebody else." "You may find this interesting" Scarlett's discovery of the stash of photos on PimEyes was my fault. I've long been familiar with her work as a labor activist, and follow her on Twitter. Because I write often about facial-recognition software, I contacted her after she posted a confounding tweet in late January related to an experience she had on Facebook in October 2021. Scarlett had been tagged in an old-looking black-and-white picture of a woman and man a photo that had been posted to Facebook by a friend of a friend, to whom she said she is distantly related. She said at the time she had been "auto-tagged" via Facebook's facial-recognition software, which was disabled after the photo had been posted; she now believes the tag was a suggestion enabled by the software. Stranger still: Some sleuthing on Ancestry.com led her to believe the woman in the photo was her great-great-great grandmother. (Facebook said it never automatically tagged users in images prior to turning off the facial-recognition feature it could, however, suggest that a user be tagged in an image if that user had the facial-recognition setting turned on, and would notify a user if they appeared in an image on Facebook but hadn't been tagged.) Scarlett and I talked, via Twitter's private messages, about the strangeness of this experience and the impacts of facial-recognition software. That's when I sent her a link to a story I had written in May 2021 about a website called PimEyes. Though the website instructs users to search for themselves, it doesn't stop them from uploading photos of anyone. And while it doesn't explicitly identify anyone by name, as CNN Business discovered by using the site, that information may be just clicks away from the images PimEyes pulls up. Its images come from a range of websites, including company, media and pornography sites the last of which PimEyes told CNN Business in 2021 that it includes so people can search online for any revenge porn in which they may unknowingly appear. PimEyes says it doesn't scrape images from social media. "You may find this interesting," I wrote, introducing my article. Minutes later, Scarlett told me she had paid $30 for PimEyes' cheapest monthly service. (PimEyes shows users a free, somewhat blurred preview of each image that its facial-recognition software determines is likely to include the same person as in the photo that the user initially uploaded; you have to pay a fee to click through to go to the websites where the images appear.) Shortly after that, she sent me a message: "oh no." Processing the results It took Scarlett time to process what she was seeing in the results, which included images related to the forced sex acts that were posted on numerous websites. At first, she thought it was her face pasted on someone else's body; then, she wondered, why did she look so young? She saw one image of her face, in which she recalls she was sitting down; she recognized the shirt she was wearing in the photo, and the hair. She sent me this photo, which appears benign without Scarlett's context it shows a younger version of herself, with dark brown hair parted in the center, a silvery necklace around her neck, wearing a turquoise tank top. She saved a copy of this image and used it to conduct another search, which she said yielded dozens more explicit images, many aggregated on various websites. Some images were posted to websites devoted to torture porn, with words like "abuse," "choke," and "torture" in the URLs. "And it was just like," Scarlett said, pausing and making a kind of exploding-brain sound as she described what it was like to stare at the images. In an instant, she realized how memories she had of her brief time in New York didn't all match up with what was in the photos. "It's like there's this part of my brain that's hiding something, and part of my brain that's looking at something, and this other part of my brain that knows this thing to be true, and they all just collided into each other," she said. "Like, this thing is no longer hidden from you." Adam Massey, a partner at CA Goldberg Law who specializes in issues such as non-consensual pornography and technology-facilitated abuse, said for many people he's worked with it can feel like "a whole new violation" every time a victim encounters these sorts of images. "It's incredibly painful for people and every time it's somewhere new it is a new jolt," he said. Not only did Scarlett see more clearly what had happened to her, she also knew that anyone who looked her up via PimEyes could find them. Whereas in past decades such imagery might be on DVDs or photos or VHS tapes, "it's forever on the internet and now anybody can use facial-recognition software and find it," she said. Opting out Scarlett quickly upgraded her PimEyes subscription to the $80-per-month service, which helps people "manage" their search results, such as by omitting their image results from PimEyes' public searches. Scarlett got help in sending out DMCA takedown requests to websites hosting images she wanted taken down, she said. She isn't the copyright owner of the images, however, and the requests were ignored. Scarlett is angry that people don't have the right to opt in to PimEyes. The website doesn't require users to prove who they are before they can search for themselves, which might prevent some forms of use or abuse of the service (say, an employer looking up prospective employees or a stalker looking up victims). Gobronidze said PimEyes operates this way because it doesn't want to amass a large database of user information, such as photographs and personal details. It currently stores facial geometry associated with photos, but not photos, he said. "We do not want to turn into a monster that has this huge number of people's photography," he said. Users can opt out of PimEyes' search results for free, but Scarlett's story shows this detail can be easy to miss. Users first have to find the link (it's in tiny gray text atop a black background on the bottom right of PimEyes' website); it requires filling out a form, uploading a clear image of the person's face, and verifying their identity with an image of an ID or passport. "It's definitely not very accessible," said Lucie Audibert, legal officer with London-based human rights group Privacy International. Gobronidze said the option to opt out will become easier to find with a website update that's in the works. He also shared a link that anyone can use to request PimEyes take data pertaining to specific photos of their face out of its index, which he said will become easier to find in the future as well. He also wants users to know they don't need to pay to opt out, and said the company plans to publish a blog post about the opt-out process this week. Scarlett did opt out, saying she asked PimEyes to remove her images from its search results in mid-March. She hadn't heard anything from PimEyes as of April 2, when she chronicled what she went through on Medium a decision she made in part because she was hoping PimEyes would respond by honoring her request. It was about more than that, though, she said. "We need to look at facial recognition software and how it's being used, in terms of [how] we're losing our anonymity but also the far-reaching consequences of losing that anonymity and letting anybody put in a picture of our face and find everywhere we've been on the internet or in videos," she said. Also in early April, Scarlett upgraded to PimEyes' $300 "advanced" tier of service, which includes the ability to conduct a deeper web search for images of your face. That yielded yet more explicit pictures of herself. On April 5 three days after publishing her Medium post and tweeting about her experience PimEyes approved Scarlett's request to opt out of its service, according to an email from PimEyes that Scarlett shared with CNN Business. "Your potential results containing your face are removed from our system," the email said. Gobronidze told CNN Business that PimEyes generally takes no more than 24 hours to approve a user's opt-out request. "The images will resurface" But as of May 19, plenty of images of Scarlett including sexually explicit ones were still searchable via PimEyes. I know because I paid $30 for one month's access to PimEyes and searched for images of Scarlett with her permission. First, I tried using the recent picture of Scarlett that appears in this article a photo she took in May. PimEyes reported 73 results, but only showed me two of them: one of Scarlett with bleached hair, which led to a dead link, and another of her smiling slightly, which led to a podcast episode in which she was interviewed. Below the results, PimEyes's website encouraged me to pay more: "If you would like to see what results can be found using a more thorough search called Deep Search, purchase the Advanced plan," it read, with the last four words underlined and linked to PimEyes' pricing plans. Next, I tried an image of Scarlett from 2005 that she instructed me to use: the one of her in a sleeveless turquoise top with a necklace on, which she said was the same image she sent to PimEyes to opt her out of its search results. The results were far more disturbing. Alongside a handful of recent photos of Scarlett from news articles were numerous sexually explicit images that appeared to be from the same time period as the image I used to conduct the search. This shows the opt-out process "sets people up to fight a losing battle," Hartzog, the law professor, said, "because this is essentially like playing whack-a-mole or Sisyphus forever rolling the boulder up the hill." "It will never stop," he said. "The images will resurface." Gobronidze acknowledged that PimEyes' opt-out process doesn't work how people expect. "They simply imagine that they will upload a photo and this photo will disappear from the search results," he said. The reality is more complicated: Even after PimEyes approves an opt-out request and blocks the URLs of similar-seeming photos, it can't always stamp out all images of a person that have been indexed by the company. And it's always possible that the same or similar photos of a person will pop up again as the company continuously crawls the internet. Gobronidze said users can include multiple pictures of themselves in an opt-out request. Scarlett still has questions, such as what PimEyes plans to do to prevent what happened to her from happening to anyone else. Gobronidze said part of this will come via making it clearer to people how to use PimEyes, and through improving its facial-recognition software so that it can better eliminate images that users don't want to show up in the site's search results. "We want to ensure that these results are removed for once and all," he said. Scarlett, meanwhile, remains concerned about the potential for facial-recognition technology in the future. "We need to take a hard stop and look at technology especially this kind of technology and say, 'What are we doing? Are we regulating this enough?'" she said. *** The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Foreign companies doing business in Southeast Asia or considering it are attracted to Vietnams skilled labor force, a survey by HSBC has found. The survey polled over 1,500 key decision-makers in companies running businesses with a turnover of at least US$5 million in six countries -- China, France, Germany, India, the U.K. and the U.S. -- in March. Three in 10 said Vietnams skilled workforce is the most attractive feature. The countrys optimistic economic outlook, competitive wages and resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic were all also seen as attractive, with 27 percent of respondents mentioning them. Thirty six percent of U.S. companies were attracted by the opportunity Vietnam offers to test and develop new products or solutions, and 33 percent liked the countrys favorable regulations. Indian firms were attracted by Vietnams supportive government and regulatory environment (49 percent) and infrastructure (39 percent). German companies were attracted by supply chain ease and social and political stability, with a quarter of the respondents mentioning them. Thirty percent of the French were particularly attracted by the optimistic outlook of the economy. Tim Evans, general director of HSBC Vietnam, said the country is on its way to becoming one of the worlds manufacturing centers, thanks to its solid fundamentals and attractiveness for international investors. Global businesses shifting to Vietnam is "not a temporary, but a long-term strategy," he added. But the disruptive impact of the pandemic, and the challenges in adapting to contemporary sustainability requirements were the top issues faced by international businesses with operations in Vietnam. Interestingly, despite the geological proximity, Chinese companies were over twice as likely to raise culture as an issue for operating in Vietnam than those from the U.K. Some 31 percent of respondents said they worry about new regulations and rules on carbon reduction following Vietnams commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Three in 10 firms said they need to improve their internal sustainability expertise, but 36 percent flagged the difficulty of hiring employees with the suitable sustainability credentials and knowledge. A tiger carcass and wildlife products from the residence of Do Van Lan in Thanh Hoa Province. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Son A couple from central Thanh Hoa Province and two others from central Nghe An Province have been arrested for trading a tiger carcass and making bone glue. Police busted the tiger trading ring on May 28 and are now preparing to take Do Van Lan, 48, and his wife Nguyen Thi Oanh to court from breaking wildlife protection laws. Hoang Van Hien, 48, and Nguyen Van Lieu, 55, both from Cau Giat Town in Nghe Ans Quynh Luu District, have also been detained to clarify their roles in the deal. On April 15, police caught Lan and some people preparing to cut a dead tiger at his home before cooking it. The seized a 145-kilogram tiger carcass being kept frozen, 5 kilograms of animal bones, six claws and 10 kilograms of bone glue, believed by many to be an effective medicine for certain ailments. Lan and his wife said they bought the tiger for over VND130 million. In mid-May, knowing the police had learned about the trading ring, Hien turned himself in and said that he had sold tigers to Lan. Lieu was assigned to transport tigers from Nghe An to Thanh Hoa. According to the law, those who arbitrarily keep tigers in captivity to butcher or make tiger bone glue or skin will be fined between VND500 million and VND2 billion and/or imprisoned for 1-5 years. If the number of captive tigers is more than 12, violators can face 10-15 years in prison. Tigers are endangered animals listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Their population is threatened by poaching for illegal wildlife trade. As of last year, there were around 360 tigers licensed to be raised in Vietnam, according to IUCN data. Vietnamese workers going to Japan as trainees receive minimum wages and cannot change jobs. Despite graduating with honors in pedagogy from the University of Da Nang, 34-year-old Phan Van Huy from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak could not find work in Vietnam. Huy decided to work abroad after working at three different companies that paid him a maximum monthly salary of VND7 million (over $301). The Suleco Specialist and Labor Export Service Jsc in HCMC helped Huy go to work in Japan through a welding skills trainee program. "By the time I got on the plane, I had borrowed more than VND200 million to pay for training courses, lodging, language learning and other things," Huy said, recalling what had happened eight years ago. Phan Van Huy works at a factory in Japan. Photo by VnExpress/Uy Van He was hired by an Osaka-based company and sent to Tochigi Prefecture through a Japanese labor union. He was paid 877 ($6.9) per hour, which is the regional minimum wage. After the Japanese government made adjustments to the minimum salary, he was able to earn 963 for every hour worked by the third year. Employees will have approximately 20 percent of their base salary deducted each month to cover accident, medical, social, unemployment, and trainee insurance. Taxes, house rent, meals, and union dues are also deducted from the salary. To have a monthly surplus of VND20-27 million to send back to his family back home to pay his debts and care for his wife and children, Huy has to work very hard, be willing to work overtime, and watch his spending very closely. During his first year in Japan, he only had instant noodles for breakfast and dinner every day. Huy was required to return home at the end of his three-year contract but applied for a two-year extension, at which point his basic salary was raised to 1,000 per hour. He took the exam to get a certificate of vocational skills after five years as a trainee and continued to stay under the specified skills program. Huy's hourly wage is currently 1,150. "While regular welding workers with six years of experience are paid 1,300-1,700 yen per hour, trainees must receive a lower rate. The reason for this is that the first five years are considered apprenticeship," Huy explained. Phan Viet Anh, a three-year trainee in Japan who returned home in 2020 and wrote an autobiography called "Toi Di Nhat" (I Went To Japan), said that in theory, the workers participating in the trainee program will be trained by the Japanese side in order to benefit from transfer of knowledge and technology. However, the jobs that are "taught" to trainees are very simple, such as driving an excavator, inspecting goods, compacting soil... all of which require good health and physical strength. Not to mention that many jobs in Japan are not available in Vietnam, and techniques and machines are incompatible, making it difficult for workers who return to find jobs back home. "In the end, the ones that suffer the most are Vietnamese workers sent abroad," Anh said. Employees are not permitted to change jobs on their own during the three-year period. Underground work Vietnamese workers are rarely permitted to work overtime, working conditions are difficult, and they are not permitted to change jobs. This spurs many workers to work "underground" for other businesses in order to augment their income. Workers going to Japan attend language classes under the trainee program of Saigon International Service Co., Ltd. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong Nguyen Dinh Giang, deputy head of the Market Development Department of Suleco Specialist and Labor Export Service Jsc, said many people signed up for the trainee programs going to Japan because they do not have degree requirements and there are a wide range of professions to choose from. "Because it requires almost no qualifications and skills, the receiving enterprises only pay the regional minimum," Giang said. After deducting all insurance and fees, trainees can still earn approximately VND20 million per month, he added. However, Giang acknowledged that the trainee program has some flaws. Employees, for example, are not permitted to change factories unless the previous one is closed. Vietnam plans to send 90,000 workers abroad this year. Japan remains the top destination, with approximately 60,000 people, primarily trainees, followed by Taiwan with nearly 13,000 people, South Korea with 7,000 and other countries such as Australia and Canada with fewer applicants. Two men turn a motorbike upside down to force the water out of the muffler. According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Cau Giay District received nearly 170 mm of rain in two hours, followed by Tay Ho (150 mm) and Hoang Mai (120 mm). More than 100 mm of rainfall was recorded in the districts of Nam Tu Liem, Thanh Xuan, Ba Dinh and Thanh Tri. The rain was caused by the impact of a low-pressure trough passing through northern Vietnam, which has been causing rain in the northern region for several days, meteorologists said. Nguyen Hung hasn't eaten at home in the last half month. His family eats out for lunch and supper, and his wife orders food for dinner. Hung is content with the family's income. But, the sole concern of the 34-year-old employee for a tech firm in Hanoi's Cau Giay District, is that his wife, a staff from a local bank, is uninterested in doing the dishes. She employs someone to do everything for her, from picking up the kids to cleaning the house. She does yoga, goes out with friends, and cuddles her child to sleep at night when she is not working. Stories like Hung's are quite common in many young Vietnamese families. Most men prefer their wives to do housework and care for their children, but if they tell their husbands to do it, "99 out of 100 men will be concerned," according to master of psychology Nguyen Thi Tam from Ho Chi Minh City. Women nowadays are active in the labor force. "How can they have the strength if they are forced to work and take care of the household at the same time?" Tam said. Tam's remarks are in line with the findings of the Institute for Research and Social Development's 2020 research on "Men and Masculinity in a Globalizing Vietnam," based on a poll of more than 2,500 men of the Institue for Social Development Studies. A total 95 percent of males believe that doing housework benefits women. Almost 83 percent of males believe that women should put up with housework in order to make their families happy. "In essence, these ideas strengthen men's superiority and privilege over women, limit women's prospects to develop economic autonomy, and legitimize gender discrimination at work, in the household, and in society," according to the report. Working pressure in the banking profession, according to Thu Hong, is quite intense. She's busy with contracts that are about to expire, debt checks, and so on as the year draws to a close. "With my salary, I can hire three helpers to work for the whole month, why do I have to bend my back to do the manual work that I am not familiar with and good at either," she said. Hung continued to feel that Hong shirked her duty and neglected her family despite their numerous arguments. "People in my husband's hometown often criticize me for being lazy, but I didn't care," she added. This is the cause of their family squabbles. Tam said: "Parents nowadays urge their girls to study hard and pursue a career. Women prefer education over housekeeping, so they are no longer confined to the kitchen." Vong Phoi, 29, from the southern province of Dong Nai is an example. She is the only daughter in the family but has been earning money since she was 17 years old. Her mother devoted herself to doing all the housework so that she could invest time in her studies and career development. When in love, she frankly told her boyfriend that she "didn't know and didn't want to do housework." Her lover considers it a normal thing, as long as there is enough money to hire a maid. But for seven years in a row, her boyfriend's mother did not support their relationship because she saw that Pho "cannot do anything in the house." Psychologist Kim Thanh said less housework-for-women will become a social norm as women contribute to the family and society's economy. However, if women like Thu Hong or Vong Pho know how to do less housework while still teaching their children and caring for their husband and relatives, then that sense of "chill" could bring more benefits and happiness to themselves, families and society. Experts advise husbands and wives to discuss housework arrangements. Husbands need to share housework with their wives since they also contribute to the household income. In comparison to the old division of work, the ISDS study demonstrates that there has been a favorable shift. Accordingly, younger men (18-29 years old) tend to share housework with women. Youth in urban areas (38.8 percent) share more housework with their wives than youth in rural areas (29.4 percent). If both husband and wife work, Kim Thanh recommends adjusting their schedules and acquiring more resources for housework and childcare. Thu Hong felt she needed to rearrange her job schedule so she could spend more time with her husband and kids. She also wants her spouse to understand and share her housework responsibilities. "I'm planning on inviting some of my friends over to show him how their families handle housework. That way, he will understand that washing dishes is not a chore," she said. Press Release U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo Reestablishes the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE) 32 Leaders in Technology, Innovation, Workforce Development, and Academia Appointed to Council WASHINGTON Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced the appointment of 32 leaders and experts to the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE). NACIE will be charged with developing a National Entrepreneurship Strategy that strengthens Americas ability to compete and win as the worlds leading startup nation and as the worlds leading innovator in critical emerging technologies. We must invest further in our entrepreneurs and innovators so that America continues to lead the world in discovering and commercializing critical technologies. At the same time, we must better ensure that more communities throughout the country are included in the ecosystems that will generate these critical innovations. The Biden Administration looks forward to tapping the expertise of the new NACIE members to build a better America and further strengthen our competitiveness on the global stage, said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. I applaud these individuals leaders in their respective fields of industry, workforce development, academia, technology and innovation for their commitment to serve. The new NACIE members are an impressive group of individuals from diverse backgrounds, regions and industries, said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo, who will serve as one of NACIEs two federal ex-officio co-chairs. We have plenty of challenges and opportunities to tackle. I'm eager to get to work to ensure our tech and innovation economy prospers equitably for everyone across the nation. The technological, societal and economic challenges that we face as a Nation today require even stronger bridges between discovery, innovation, and commercialization, said National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, who will serve as a federal ex-officio co-chair. Im excited to work with the NACIE to help advance the highly integrated research and innovation ecosystem, with a particular focus on expanding the geography of innovation by engaging with diverse communities all across the country. NACIE is charged with identifying and recommending solutions to drive the innovation economy, including growing a skilled STEM workforce and removing barriers for entrepreneurs ushering innovative technologies into the market. The council also facilitates federal dialogue with the innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development communities. NACIE is a federal advisory committee managed by the U.S. Economic Development Administrations Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. More than 260 nominees were received. Members will serve two-year terms. The newly appointed NACIE members are: Non-Voting Federal Ex-Officio Co-Chairs Alejandra Y. Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, National Science Foundation Voting Non-Federal Co-Chairs Steve Case, Chairman/CEO, Revolution; Co-Founder, AOL Chairman/CEO, Revolution; Co-Founder, AOL Kristina M. Johnson, President, The Ohio State University Voting Members Byron G. Auguste, Co-Founder/CEO, Opportunity@Work Co-Founder/CEO, Opportunity@Work Patricia Beckmann, Founder/Managing Director, BioStrategy Founder/Managing Director, BioStrategy Melissa Bradley, Founder/Managing Partner/General Partner, 1863 Ventures Founder/Managing Partner/General Partner, 1863 Ventures Allie Burns, CEO, Village Capital CEO, Village Capital Christopher Chung, CEO, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina CEO, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina Sherrese Clarke Soares, Founder & CEO, HarbourView Equity Partners Founder & CEO, HarbourView Equity Partners Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University President, Arizona State University Lisa Feria, Managing Partner/CEO, Stray Dog Capital Managing Partner/CEO, Stray Dog Capital Annette Finsterbusch, President/CEO, EnPower, Inc. President/CEO, EnPower, Inc. Brit Fitzpatrick, Chief of Staff, Stark Chief of Staff, Stark Aziz Gilani, General Partner & Managing Director, Mercury Fund General Partner & Managing Director, Mercury Fund Orin Herskowitz, Executive Director, Senior VP of Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer, Columbia Technology Ventures Executive Director, Senior VP of Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer, Columbia Technology Ventures Neil Kane, Director, Curriculum and Capstone Advising, ESTEEM (Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Master's) Graduate Program, University of Notre Dame Director, Curriculum and Capstone Advising, ESTEEM (Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Master's) Graduate Program, University of Notre Dame David Kenney, President & Executive Director, VertueLab President & Executive Director, VertueLab Wendy Lea, Co-Founder & CEO, Energize Colorado Co-Founder & CEO, Energize Colorado Ian McClure, Associate VP for Research, Innovation & Economic Impact, University of Kentucky Associate VP for Research, Innovation & Economic Impact, University of Kentucky Senofer Mendoza, Founder/General Partner, Mendoza Ventures Founder/General Partner, Mendoza Ventures Rachel Meyers, Chief Science Officer, Faze Medicines Chief Science Officer, Faze Medicines Nate Mook, CEO, World Central Kitchen CEO, World Central Kitchen Bill Provine, CEO Delaware Innovation Space CEO Delaware Innovation Space Ryan Ramkhelawan, Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Lasting Machine Ventures Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Lasting Machine Ventures Aimee Rose, Executive Managing Director, Activate Boston Executive Managing Director, Activate Boston Laura Sachar, Co-Founder/Managing Partner, StarVest Partners Co-Founder/Managing Partner, StarVest Partners Peter Scher, Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Liz Shuler, President, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations President, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Grace Simrall, Chief of Civic Innovation & Technology, Louisville Metro Government Chief of Civic Innovation & Technology, Louisville Metro Government Dug Song, Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco Security Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco Security Tamara Steffens, Managing Director, Thomson Reuters Venture Fund For more about the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE), visit https://www.eda.gov/oie/nacie/. Throughout its history, NACIE has presented recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce along the research-to-jobs continuum, such as increasing access to capital, growing and connecting entrepreneurial communities, fostering small business-driven research and development, supporting the commercialization of key technologies, and developing the workforce of the future. Several of these recommendations have been implemented through legislative action, federal grant programs, or Commerce-led research and have spurred action and collaboration between the public and private sector. About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov) The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth. ELKO Southwest Foodservice Excellence, known as SFE, has been awarded a five-year contract to provide food service to Elko County School District after scoring higher than the current provider, Chartwells K12, on an evaluation of their proposals. School trustees voted in favor of the change at the recommendation of Superintendent Clayton Anderson with one nay vote from the board president, Teresa Dastrup, who thanked Chartwells for the companys service. Ive been here long enough to know Chartwells really worked and worked to try to work through the challenges of our district, she said on May 24, but she added that she would support the boards decision. Anderson said the district put out a request for proposals, and SFE scored the highest in evaluations completed by a special committee. Despite the positive interaction Ive always had with Chartwells employees, thats how the scores came out, and that is where the recommendation comes from, he said. The committee studying the proposals from Chartwells and Scottsdale, Ariz.-based SFE gave a score of 92 out of 100 to SFE and a score of 83 to Chartwells. The categories covered cost; method of approach and implementation plan; experience, expertise and reliability; and evaluation of 21-day menu samples. SFE scored 28 points on cost, Chartwells, 24. On implementation of a plan to meet the needs of the district, SFE scored 24, Chartwells, 20. On experience, expertise and reliability, Chartwells scored 20, SFE, 18, and on the menu sample, SFE scored 18, Chartwells, 16. SFEs proposed cost rates included a management fee of 7.24 cents per meal and an administrative fee of 15.62 cents per meal, according to the school district. Chartwells proposal was 15 cents per meal and an annual administrative fee of $150,000. The Chartwells executive chef for the district, Jeff Tobias, said in public comment earlier in the meeting that Chartwells employees are disheartened at the possibility of losing the contract after serving the district eight years. I believe Chartwells has done a great job keeping employees on with the pandemic and keeping children fed during the pandemic. I know the competition is making great promises, but we know what Chartwells has done a good job, Tobias said. Chartwells K12 and the school district provided meals through hand-out stations in Elko, Spring Creek, West Wendover, Wells, Jackpot, Carlin and Owyhee during the pandemic when the public schools were shut down and children were going to school remotely. Monty Staggs, chief executive officer of SFE, said on March 25 that SFE is honored to partner with Elko County School District to bring healthy and delicious meals to students. We are excited to bring our fresh-from-scratch approach and focus on local partnerships to students plates across the district. We look forward to working with the talented Elko team and support their individual growth through hands-on, best-in-class training. In answer to a question from Trustee Matt McCarty, Anderson said that some of the employees in the food services are Chartwells employees and certain ones are school district employees, and those employed by the district will maintain that status. Chartwells employees will no longer be employed, but he said it is anticipated that SFE will be looking to employ the majority, other than management. Staggs said in the emailed statement that the company is thrilled to welcome the Elko County School District team to SFE. District employees will remain Elko County School District employees and non-management employees of the former food service management company will be offered their same position with SFE. We cant do it without them, and we are excited to work together to bring great meals to Elko students. McCarty thanked Tobias, and he said that after looking at the scores he felt the board should accept the superintendents recommendation to outsource the school program to SFE. Trustee Jeff Durham said that there was a pretty significant gap in the rubrics for the two companies, but Chartwells scored higher on experience and reliability and that jumped out at me. He said, however, that the rest of the percentage differences cant be ignored. Trustee Dr. Joshua Byers praised the committee for the work in going through the lengthy proposals, and he said I dont make this decision lightly when jobs are at stake, but the district has to make the best decision for students and the district itself. The proposals were available for viewing in the district office, but the only viewers were trustees Byers and Susan Neal, according to Anderson. Chartwells began providing meals for schools in Elko County in 2015, after the school board decided to outsource food distribution services, and the contract was renewed in 2016. The company has operated under that contract until expiration on June 30. A food service request for proposals is required every five years. COVID-19 resulted in extensions for many states, including Nevada, which is why our last RFP was more than five years ago, said Chief Financial Officer Julie Davis. SFE serves 160 school districts nationwide, according to the company. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 LAS VEGAS (AP) A high school honors student in Nevada said in federal court that hes being bullied by students and harassed by campus administrators who search him for a gun every time someone identifies him on a state hotline that invites anonymous reports of school threats. Im a student, not a threat, Reno High School junior Lucas Gorelick, 16, told The Associated Press on Friday. I have rights. I want people to know what is happening, and I want to ensure safety for all future students. A lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Reno argues school district officials have violated his constitutional rights to equal protection and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. He said his backpack and pickup truck were searched five times in two weeks based on anonymous tips, but no weapon was found. Gorelick is identified by his initials in the lawsuit. The teen, his father, Jeff Gorelick, and their attorney Luke Busby agreed in separate telephone interviews to allow AP to report his name. Jeff Gorelick characterized a state Department of Education hotline called SafeVoice established in 2017 after approval from the Legislature as an unthinking system that grants anonymity to bullies. The father compared using the system to say his son has a gun on campus to swatting, or hoax police calls that send authorities to an innocent persons home. It was not immediately clear Friday whether students in other states with similar tip hotlines have been targeted in the same way. Relying on anonymous calls "gives people free rein to do abusive things to other people, Jeff Gorelick said. If the purpose is to provide safe schools, which I think was the intended purpose, having a little bit of control on abuse would have been a good idea. In a Wednesday court hearing the day after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a rural Texas school shooting, U.S. District Chief Judge Miranda Du in Reno declined to issue an immediate order telling school administrators to stop the searches. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1985 in a case from New Jersey that school officials need only reasonable suspicion that a student has violated the law or school rules to initiate a search. The Fourth Amendment requires probable cause or a warrant. Gorelick's lawsuit remains active, although he will graduate next month, a year early. Du referred in comments from the bench to school violence, saying the Washoe County School District need not stop the searches even if prior threat reports were proved false, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. School district attorney Neil Rombardo told the judge that campus administrators had a duty to take tips seriously to protect the safety of the 1,600 students at Reno High, and that SafeVoice had not determined tips about Lucas Gorelick were an abuse of the system, the newspaper said. Which one do we not believe? Rombardo asked, referring to tips received. Rombardo did not immediately respond Friday to messages from AP. Lucas Gorelick said he has been the target of other incidents he termed bullying situations that he traced to his Jewish heritage, his work with Democratic party candidates and his school achievements. He said his home and truck have been vandalized and swastika graffiti has been left on his vehicle. Gorelick campaigned for President Joe Biden; is a campaign finance intern for U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto; and is involved in the campaign of school board trustee Adam Mayberry. He served on a school safety committee, has spoken at school board meetings, and is a member of Students Demand Action, a national group aiming to end gun violence in schools. He said he intends to attend college. He did not specify which one. The Nevada Department of Education said in written statements that every SafeVoice tip is processed, taken with all seriousness and viewed as valid. Department spokeswoman Allegra Demerjian declined additional comment Friday. SafeVoice data is confidential under state law, the statement said, but a continuing false tip sequence can trigger a Nevada State Police investigation and disclosure of the identity of the reporting person. If you continue to misuse the system you may no longer be anonymous and there are potential consequences, the statement said. It did not say if there was an investigation of Gorelicks case. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected on Thursday various environmentally friendly development projects in Sharm El-Sheikh in preparation for Egypt hosting the 27th session of the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) in the Red Sea city in November. Israeli police arrested dozens of Palestinians but no Jews during a nationalist march through Jerusalem this week in which crowds of Jews chanted racist slogans, assaulted Palestinians and vandalized Palestinian property, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday. Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, which won the Eurovision this year, has auctioned its trophy for a $900,000 donation to a foundation that helps the Ukrainian army. The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries including Russia will raise production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, offering modest relief for a global economy suffering from soaring energy prices and the resulting inflation. More than 1,500 Egyptian journalists have since Wednesday signed a statement condemning the Israeli killing of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, and called for an international probe into Israeli other war crimes against journalists in Palestine. Abu Akleh, a widely respected Palestinian on-air correspondent who spent a quarter century covering the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule, was shot dead while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday. Abu Akleh was a widely respected on-air correspondent who spent a quarter century covering the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule, which is well into its sixth decade with no end in sight. Abu Akleh's fellow journalist Ali Al-Samoudi was also injured in the incident. The statement, which is open to additional signatories, reads that the Egyptian journalists "express their strong condemnation of the full-fledged crime of the Zionist occupation forces, which resulted in the martyrdom of Palestinian journalist Sherine Abu Akleh and the injury of her fellow journalist Ali Al-Samoudi while they were performing their duty covering the bloody raid into Jenin." The signatories affirmed their solidarity with their colleagues in Palestine in face of the crimes of the occupation against them and the Palestinian people, the statement added. The signatories also sent their condolences to the family and colleagues of Abu Akleh and all the journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories. They demanded the international community and all institutions concerned with freedom of the press "investigate the killing of Abu Akleh, the attack on the headquarters of more than 23 media outlets, and all the crimes of the Israeli occupation against journalists and the Palestinian people as being war crimes against humanity." On Wednesday, the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate condemned Abu Aklehs assassination by the Israeli occupation forces while performing her journalistic duties. In an official statement, the syndicate urged the international community and relevant international organisations to hold the Israeli state accountable for Abu Aklehs death. It also urged opening an expanded international investigation into Israel's repeated violations against Palestinian journalists, calling for relevant United Nations bodies to protect Palestinian journalists from the aggression of the Israeli forces. The syndicate stressed support for the journalists working in the occupied Palestinian lands, hailing them as the worlds eye on the truth regarding what is happening in Palestine, urging them to exercise caution while performing their duty. The statement stressed the need to maintain adherence to the previously adopted decisions by the General Assembly of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate's that condemn the Israeli crimes and ban all forms of personal, professional and union normalisation with Israel. Abu Akleh's name has been trending across social media worldwide, with a great deal of supporters condemning the attack against her. Search Keywords: Short link: One of Libyas rival prime ministers said Wednesday he would seat his government in the central city of Sirte after clashes forced him to abort his attempt the previous day to bring his Cabinet to the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha announced that he has chosen the city of Sirte, along Libyas Mediterranean coast and halfway between the countrys east and west, serving as a link between them. Oil-rich Libya has been wracked by conflict since the NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and has for years since been split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments. Bashagha, a former interior minister, was named prime minister by the countrys east-based parliament in February. But his rival, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, based in Tripoli, in the countrys west, has refused to step down, insisting he will hand over power only to an elected government. Dbeibah was appointed last year in a U.N.-led process, mired in allegations of corruption and bribery, to lead the country through elections in December that never took place. Bashagha attempted Tuesday to seat his government in Tripoli, in a move that resulted in clashes with militias allied with Dbeibah just hours after Bashagha and his Cabinet ministers entered the Libyan capital. At least one man was killed and five others wounded in the clashes, authorities said. Both prime ministers blamed each other for provoking the violence, which raised fears that the country could once again return to civil war after more than a year of tense calm. Libya will not be stopped by a city or region, Bashagha told reporters from Sirte late Tuesday, describing Tripoli as a kidnapped city held by his rival, Dbeibah. Bashagha said he would return to Tripoli once he makes sure that there will no bloodshed. Sirte is also the gateway to the countrys major oil fields and export terminals. The crucial and strategic city is controlled by east-based forces of military commander Khalifa Haftar, an ally of Bashagha. Bashaghas move to Sirte is likely to deepen the political split in the already divided country and intensify the crisis. The idea of seating the Libyan government in Sirte was floated in the 2020 talks that ended the latest major bout of fighting in Libya. More recently, influential Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh also an ally of Bashagha called for him to operate from Sirte rather than attempt to set up his government in Tripoli. Search Keywords: Short link: Fears are growing that Russia may withdraw its forces from southern Syria, leaving the area to the growing influence of Iran, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus. On 18 May, Jordans King Abdullah II said the Russian presence in southern Syria was a stabilising factor and the void that would occur if it withdrew would be filled by Iran and its proxies. In an interview with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in the US, the Jordanian monarch added that his country was facing possible escalation on its border with Syria now that Moscow was distracted by the Ukraine war. King Abdullahs statements came amid reports that Iran is taking advantage of Russias preoccupation with the war in Ukraine to expand into south and central Syria. Russian troops have partially withdrawn from the area, including the mercenary Wagner Group and 200 members of the Fifth Corps, an ally of Russia which includes Syrian opposition members that have made their peace with the Syrian regime. Russias distraction owing to the war in Ukraine could divert its attention from Syria or at least cause it to suspend operations there. If this happens, it would be a gift to Iran, which would not hesitate to replace Russia and tighten its grip on areas once under Russian control. Russias withdrawal from southern Syria is still not certain, but it seems probable, especially since Russia will not want to be involved in two wars at the same time. Moscow is primarily concerned with its naval and air bases on the Mediterranean Sea, not deep inside Syria in areas it oversees but where the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is in charge of military operations. Russia is also concerned with Israels security and military coordination between the two countries, something it can guarantee using its air rather than ground forces. Iyad Barakat, an officer who has defected from the Syrian army, told Al-Ahram Weekly that there had as yet been no real Russian military withdrawal, however. The Russians are present in southern Syria, but they do not have military bases or camps there. Their troops are essentially deployed at observation posts and in patrols, and there are no military bases or camps, Barakat said. However, this does not mean that Iran is not slowly expanding and taking advantage of every possible opportunity to do so. Two years ago, its militias controlled 65 military posts. Today, it has 150, some of which are only hundreds of metres away from the border with Israel. Iran is expanding in southern Syria not to confront Israel, but as part of an expansionist plan to control the area right up to Saudi Arabias doorstep, he added. There has been no official comment from either Moscow or Damascus about reports of a possible Russian withdrawal from Syria. However, the Israeli website Debka has confirmed the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria to redeploy in Ukraine. It said that Russia had started to transfer control of some areas to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG) and Lebanese Hizbullah group, though this has not been confirmed. Since its military intervention in Syria in 2015, Russia has blocked Iran from gaining control of southern Syria, formed armed groups outside the influence of the IRG and Syrian regime, and blocked pro-Iranian generals from controlling the Syrian army. Meanwhile, Iran has been trying to assert its control over Syria both militarily and politically since the uprising against the Al-Assad regime began in 2011. Tehran has sent in military experts and soldiers, recruited sectarian militias to help the Syrian regime, and supported the intervention of Hizbullah. It would not hesitate to fill any void left by a Russian withdrawal. Irans presence in southern Syria represents three main threats, the first being a threat to the Syrian opposition since Iran would use excessive force to suppress any protests at its presence. The second threat is to Israel, which does not want Iran to neighbour it in Syria. The third threat is to Jordan, whose king warned in 2004 about the Shiite Crescent that Iran wants to achieve in the Middle East. Jordan sees an Iranian presence in southern Syria as an imminent danger on its northern border, and the Jordanian army is mobilising along the border with Syria to combat drug and arms smuggling. At the end of January, Jordan reported the deaths of 27 drug smugglers that it said had attempted to cross the border into Jordan. It announced a change in its rules of engagement, meaning that it will pursue smugglers inside Syrian territory. On the possible Russian withdrawal from Syria, Russian reserve officer Viktor Litovkin said in a statement that it is not possible to talk about indications of any strategic move by Russian forces in Syria without official confirmations, statements, and clarifications from the Russian Ministry of Defence. Theoretically, a partial withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria could be possible, on the condition that Russia has accomplished its main tasks eradicating the Islamic State (IS) group and helping government forces gain control of most of the country, he said, adding that there is no longer a need to maintain Russian military forces in large numbers in Syria, especially ground forces. Russian expert on Arab affairs Andrei Ontikov doubted that a withdrawal is likely. There will be no withdrawal of Russian military forces under current circumstances, Ontikov said in a statement, especially of the forces deployed in southern Syria, given the nature of that area which could become explosive if Iranian forces and Hizbullah reach the outskirts of the Golan Heights and deploy on the frontlines close to Israel. Speculation about a Russian withdrawal from Syria in favour of Iran came after a visit by Al-Assad to Tehran on 8 May. As well as the economic aspects of the visit, some political and strategic analysts believe Al-Assad could have asked Iran to bolster its presence in his country if the Russians begin to scale back their presence in some areas due to their preoccupation with the war in Ukraine. Saeed Moqbel, a Syrian opposition analyst, told the Weekly that it is unlikely that the Russian army needs the few hundred Russian fighters that are present in Syria for the war in Ukraine. This is an exaggeration when we look at the immense number of active and reserve Russian military forces of about one million troops. Neither Syrian regime forces nor the opposition forces have the ability to militarily control the south of the country, and Russia is aware of this. It is a safety valve there. If Russia withdraws, it will leave the area to chaos, and Iran will be the first to further entrench itself, he said. At the same time, Al-Assad needs Arab support in his efforts to engineer Syrias return to the Arab League. Any further takeover by Iran in Syria would undoubtedly affect Syrias attempts at rapprochement with the Arab countries and its receiving Arab Gulf money to save the country from economic collapse. No matter how much coordination there is between Russia and Iran in Syria, Moscows role contradicts that of Tehran in the country. Israel will also never trust Iran to deploy its forces just metres away from its borders. The Syrian opposition, Jordan, and others should be concerned about Russias possible withdrawal from southern Syria. Iranian groups are present in the area, and should the Russians leave, the area would spiral out of control with the increased smuggling and movement of arms. This scenario is unlikely, however, especially with the presence of US bases in Jordan and Syrian opposition forces in the south who are ready to cooperate with the US. All the parties stand to benefit from stability in southern Syria, and Russias role should be to continue to maintain it, at least for the time being. *A version of this article appears in print in the 26 May, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: One of Libya's rival prime ministers told The Associated Press that he has no immediate plans to rule from the capital of Tripoli, after his attempted move there last week sparked clashes and fears of a return to widespread civil strife. In an interview late Wednesday, Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha said that his government will work from its headquarters in Sirte, a city on the Mediterranean coast about halfway between the country's east and west. Rival administrations from each end of Libya claim to be its legitimate rulers until elections are held. Describing last week's events, Bashagha said he had entered Tripoli in a civilian car and that those escorting him were unarmed. A young man was killed during the incident. Bashagha identified him as Ahmed Alashabab, calling him a supporter who was defending him from militiamen. ``We do not blame ourselves for having entered the city,`` he said. ``I had said that I would not enter the capital unless conditions were 100% favorable.'' Oil-rich Libya has been wracked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. It has been split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments. The establishment of Bashagha's government in Sirte is likely to further cement the political divide. Bashagha, a former interior minister and air force pilot, was named prime minister by the country's east-based parliament in February. But his rival, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, based in Tripoli in the country's west, has refused to step down, insisting he will hand over power only to an elected government. Last week's fighting in Tripoli was the most serious there since 2020, when east-based commander Khalifa Hafter and his forces waged a yearlong campaign to try to take the city with backing from Russian mercenaries. They eventually failed to do so, after Tripoli forces were bolstered by Turkish military help. Since then, UN mediators have tried to get the country on a path towards elections. Dbeibah's appointment last year, as part of the UN-led process, was clouded by allegations of corruption and bribery. As an interim prime minister, Dbeibah was to have led the country through elections in December, but the vote never took place. Both Dbeibah and Bashagha hail from the western city of Misrata, a base of influential militias. Lawmakers have argued that Dbeibah's mandate expired after Libya failed to hold presidential elections on schedule. The failure was a major blow to international efforts to end a decade of chaos in Libya. The country reverted to its long-running political impasse, with rival governments claiming power. Dbeibah has repeatedly promised to hold elections soon. Bashagha said he doubts his rival can unite the country and organize orderly voting, claiming Dbeibah does not command enough loyalty outside of the capital. ``He will only be able to hold them in Tripoli,'' he said, adding that his own government is looking at holding nationwide elections within 14 months. The impasse worsened over the past two months, resulting in the closure of oil facilities, including Libya's largest oil field, in areas controlled by Hafter's forces. Bashagha said he was not behind the stoppage of oil production, but that local tribes had decided to take matters into their own hands, not wanting to fund Dbeibah's government. Bashagha said Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, a Tripoli militia leader, was part of the effort to attack him after he entered Tripoli. Al-Kikli was previously implicated in war crimes by global rights groups, but has headed a nebulous body called the Stability Support Authority that reports to the Tripoli government since 2021. Bashagha also addressed criticism that in areas under his control when he was interior minister under a previous Tripoli-based government, the situation remained abysmal for migrants setting out from Libya on Mediterranean crossings to Europe. After being intercepted, many are kept in squalid detention centers where they face torture, assault, and deprivation. Bashagha said he couldn't be held responsible, claiming he didn't have enough funding or staff to improve the situation. In a message to the country's war-torn Central Bank, Bashagha called on it to pay out his government's budget that was passed by the east-based lawmakers. The bank is the repository for billions of dollars annually in oil revenue as well as foreign reserves. In 2014, it splintered along the country's broader political fault lines. Search Keywords: Short link: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly is set to participate in a tripartite meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh and a number of senior Emirati officials to launch an industrial partnership initiative with the UAE and Jordan. The Integrated Industrial Partnership Initiative aims to achieve economic sustainable development and contribute to supporting industrial integration between the three Arab nations, a statement by the Egyptian cabinet said. Madbouly is accompanied by a high-level ministerial delegation, including the Ministers of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Planning and Economic Development, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Trade and Industry, as well as a host of senior officials. The PM is also set to hold a meeting with a number of UAE investors to brief them on promising investment opportunities in Egypt and incentives offered by the government to attract further business. In April, the Egyptian, Emirati, and Jordanian heads of state held a meeting in Cairo in which they tackled means of promoting cooperation between the three nations. During the meeting, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged moving towards broader horizons of a strategic partnership that establishes extended relations, achieves common interests, and boosts joint Arab action. The Egyptian president also highlighted the significance of cooperation and partnership in light of the challenges facing the region as well as the economic and social crises resulting from multiple regional and international developments. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed recent Israeli provocations in the Palestinian territories with Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub in Cairo , the Egyptian foreign ministry announced. Tensions rose in East Jerusalem Sunday as Israel allowed its controversial flag march celebrating the full capture of the city in the 1967 Six Day War with thousands of Israelis marching through the Palestinian quarters carrying the Israeli flag. Also on Sunday, groups of Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place for Muslims around the world. From his side, Minister Shoukry stressed the necessity of suspending any procedures or practices that target the Muslim and Christian Arab identity of the city of Jerusalem and change the historical and legal status of the city, warning that the escalation impacts the stability of the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian presidency issued a statement condemning the Israeli actions saying that Israel was playing with fire by allowing the settlers to desecrate the holy sites in East Jerusalem. The Egyptian FM also warned that the expansion of settlement activity, whether through building new settlements, expanding current settlements or confiscating land from Palestinians, undermines the opportunity to reach a two-state solution in Palestine. Sameh Shoukry asserted in the meeting with the Fatah official Egypts continuing support to the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Egypt has reiterated its full support for the two-state solution and an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 5 June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt is expected to release a group of prisoners via a presidential pardon within around 24 hours, said Mohamed Abdel-Aziz a member of the countrys newly reactivated Presidential Pardon Committee. In a post on his Facebook account, Abdel-Aziz who is also deputy chairperson of the Human Rights Committee in the House of Representative said: Praise be to God... Within 24 hours or so, a new group of imprisoned youths will be released. He also revealed that other groups will be released afterwards, expressing his thanks to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and all concerned parties. The committee, which was first formed in 2016, was reactivated by the president in late April during the annual Egyptian Family Iftar Banquet. The re-activated committee started its work in late April, receiving the names of prisoners to be considered for presidential pardoning from various parties and political forces, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives, and families, as well as directly through its own official website. The scope of the work of the re-activated committee has been expanded to include imprisoned male and female debtors. According to the Egyptian constitution, the president can issue pardons for prisoners that received final court rulings. Egyptian presidents traditionally issue pardons several times a year, usually on major national and religious holidays. The pardon committee now comprises Abdel-Aziz, MP Tarek El-Kholy, former member of the 2016 committee Karim El-Sakka, human rights lawyer Tarek El-Awady, and Egypts former minister of manpower Kamal Abu Eita. More than 4,000 prisoners were granted presidential pardons in April and May on the occasion of Eid El-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day. Among those were prominent Egyptian political activist and Karama Party member Hossam Mones, who was released on Sinai Liberation Day. Search Keywords: Short link: A Cairo Supreme State Security Court sentenced on Sunday acting Muslim Brotherhood guide Mahmoud Ezzat and former presidential candidate and leader of the Strong Egypt Party Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh along with 16 others to 15 years in prison on charges of leading an illegal group and spreading false news. The court also sentenced 15 others to life in prison and two other defendants, including Mohamed El-Kassas, the vice president of Strong Egypt Party, to 10 years in prison. The high state security prosecution had accused Abul-Fotouh and Ezzat as well others in the trial of several charges, including leading the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organisation that attempted to topple the regime by force and carrying out terrorist attacks against judges, army and police personnel, and attacks on public institutions. Abul-Fotouh was also accused of spreading false news in an interview with Qatari-based Al-Jazeera news agency about the regime. The 71-year-old physician was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood since his university years in the 1970s, however, he left the group in the late 2000s over organisational disagreements. In June 2012 following the 25 January Revolution Abul-Fotouh ran an independent presidential campaign in the first presidential elections after Mubaraks ouster, finishing fourth with 18 percent of the votes in the first round of the election. The elections was eventually won by the Muslim Brotherhoods Mohamed Morsi in a run-off against Ahmed Shafiq. Shortly after the 2012 presidential elections, Abul-Fotouh established the Strong Egypt Party. Abul-Fotouh was arrested in February 2018 hours after his return from a visit to London, during which he was interviewed by Al-Jazeera and reportedly criticised government policies. Meanwhile, Acting Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahmoud Ezzat was arrested in a hideout in Eastern Cairo in 2020 and was sentenced in April 2021 to life over charges of murder and terrorism in a case known in the media as the Guidance Bureau Case. He was also sentenced in December of last year to life for collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas and other foreign organisations and disclosing information pertaining to Egypts national security. Moreover, he was sentenced to life in prison in April in the Storming of the Eastern Borders Case that goes back to 2011. The Muslim Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government since December 2013. Search Keywords: Short link: The UAEs government announced on Sunday that it is allocating an investment fund of $10 billion for joint projects with Egypt and Jordan as part of a newly launched partnership industrial initiative meant to achieve sustainable economic development among the three countries. The fund will be run by Abu Dhabi Development Holding (ADQ) to support and accelerate the projects arising from the initiative, according to Emirati Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, who made the announcement during the launch of the tripartite partnership. Earlier on Sunday, Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan launched a joint initiative of integrated industrial partnership for sustainable economic development in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi. The initiative focuses on several strategic sectors, most importantly pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food, petrochemicals, metals, minerals, and textiles with the aim of achieving economic sustainable development and contribute to supporting industrial integration between the three Arab nations. The partnership aims to achieve self-sufficiency in the three countries and ensure food and health security, he noted, expecting that it will provide industrial opportunities with added economic value estimated at billions of dollars in the near future. The combined GDP of Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan is approximately $800 billion, the minister said, adding that the three countries are rich in different resources that can be promoted through this new partnership. Furthermore, he indicated that the three countries enjoy a wealth of human resources amounting to 60 million youths; the world-class advanced infrastructure of the Suez Canal in Egypt, through which about 13 percent of the worlds trade passes; and a number of the largest commercial ports, such as Jebel Ali Port, Khalifa Port, and Aqaba Port. They also possess key resources of oil, gas, renewable energies, and minerals such as gold in Egypt and phosphates in Jordan, in addition to ultra-modern capabilities in the food, pharmaceutical, fertiliser, and textile industries. It is also worth noting that Al-Jaber indicated that this partnership opens the door to increasing the production of wheat and corn in the three countries to about 30 million tonnes annually, up from the current 16.5 million tonnes. Additionally, he explained that the minerals within the trinity notably aluminium, iron, silica, and potash can be utilised in projects worth $23 billion to manufacture high-value products such as glass, electrical wires, car components, and solar panels. As for the petrochemical industry, he said that the sectors contribution to the aforementioned combined GDP added up to about $16 billion in 2019, suggesting that new opportunities brought about by this partnership can foster growth in this sector and other related industries to over $21 billion. The launch of this tripartite agreement was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, in addition to number of senior officials from the three countries. Ahead of the launch event, a document outlining the sectors of cooperation between the three nations was inked by Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea, Jordanian Minister of Industry Trade and Supply Yousef Al-Shamali, and Al-Jaber. For his part, PM Madbouly thanked the UAEs president for his decision to establish the ADQs $10-billion-fund to implement the initiatives projects. He also called for expediting the implementation of the initiatives projects according to the specified due dates, according to a statement by the Egyptian Cabinet that was issued following the event. Such a step, Madbouly noted, will promote integration and interdependence among Arab countries, representing an inspiring example for how to optimally allocate resources to create opportunities amid the current unfavourable economic and geopolitical conditions. He added that this measure seeks to achieve economic integration between Arab countries, which was a goal that the founding fathers of the League of Arab States have aspired to since the 1940s. In terms of the partnerships goals, it seeks to develop internationally competitive industries to lure investments and achieve flexibility, self-sufficiency, and economic diversification in the three countries. It also focuses on securing flexible supply chains to improve economic security and spare the three countries the price fluctuations, a separate statement by an Egyptian cabinet said. Furthermore, it seeks to achieve sustainable growth by capitalising on renewable and low-carbon energy sources, using natural resources more efficiently including water and raw materials and creating a circular economy to recycle waste. Additionally, it aims to promote growth and integration of value chains and trade among Egypt, UAE, and Jordan in a way that is flexible, self-sufficient, and develops local and external trade, added the statement. A high tripartite committee co-headed by the signatories of the initiatives document will be established to follow up on the progress of the partnerships and help achieve the agreed-upon goals. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has condemned Israeli authorities for allowing extremist groups under police protection to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a Sunday statement against the negative consequences of these developments, which herald further tensions and escalation, on the stability of the situation in the Palestinian territories. The ministry stressed the necessity of stopping any violations targeting the Islamic and Christian Arab identity of Jerusalem city and its sanctities or aiming to change the historical and legal status quo. Al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy site for Muslims, the ministry said. In this regard, the ministry urged the Israeli authorities to shoulder their responsibilities in accordance to the rules of the international law and intervene to stop these provocative practices that inflame the feelings of Muslims. Tensions rose in the occupied East Jerusalem Sunday as Israel allowed a controversial "flag march" by thousands of Israelis to celebrate the full capture of the city in the 1967 Six Day War. Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Sunday the necessity of suspending any procedures or practices that target the Muslim and Christian Arab identity of the city and change its historical and legal status. In a meeting with Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub, Shoukry warned that the escalation impacts the stability of the Palestinian territories, the ministry said in a statement. The Egyptian FM also warned that the expansion of settlement activity, whether through building new settlements, expanding current settlements or confiscating land from Palestinians, undermines the opportunity to reach a two-state solution in Palestine. Shoukry asserted Egypts continued support to the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. He also highlighted the necessity of reviving the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to establish an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 5 June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. Rajoub hailed Egypts supportive role to the Palestinian cause and its people in the face of various challenges, as well as Egyptian efforts to achieve national reconciliation among Palestinians, the statement read. Search Keywords: Short link: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has hailed Egypts recent decision to resume flights between Cairo and Yemens capital Sanaa after years of suspension due to the conflict in the country. On Twitter, Blinken said he thanked Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry for the step during a "productive call" on Saturday. "We hope to see the first flight very soon," he added. Direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa had been halted in the past few years due to the conflict in Yemen. The Egyptian flagship airline, EgyptAir, has not yet announced a schedule for the resumption of direct flights between the two capitals. Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Egypts decision to allow direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa in a phone call with Shoukry. Guterres thanked President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for the decision, which comes within the framework of the UN-brokered truce in Yemen, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. For his part, Shoukry expressed hope that this step will help consolidate the truce in Yemen and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, the statement said. A United Nations-brokered truce that took effect on 2 April the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has offered a glimmer of hope in the conflict, which has triggered what the UN is calling the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Search Keywords: Short link: Ten terrorists were killed, and one more was arrested during a raid on a hideout in North Sinai governorate as part of ongoing anti-terror operations, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced on Sunday. The Armed Forces recovered a number of small arms, hand grenades, explosive belts, rocket launchers and wireless devices, as well as a quantity of ammunition and high explosives. The statement added that an injured terrorist was arrested while attempting to escape the hideout. The Egyptian Army added that legal measures are being taken against him by investigating authorities following his arrest. This is the latest in a series of raids launched by the Egyptian Armed Forces in North Sinai against terrorist hideouts in May. On 7 May, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced the death of an officer and 10 soldiers as well as the injury of five others after foiling an attack launched by a group of terrorists on a water lifting station in western Sinai. A branch of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) that was formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the 7 May attack, which was the first major terrorist attack in North Sinai in recent years. A day after the attack, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the Armed Forces during a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to continue purging North Sinai of terrorists. In 2018, the Armed Forces launched a major counter-terrorism drive dubbed Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 that succeeded in almost eradicating terrorism from North Sinai as well as the Nile Delta and desert areas. As a result, the rate of terrorist attacks in North Sinai has declined in the past few years following massive and successive security and military operations. Search Keywords: Short link: Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Moselhi told the Senate on Sunday that Egypt is doing its best to achieve greater self-sufficiency in wheat production, aiming to meet 65 percent of domestic needs by the year 2024. Responding to questions on the impact of the current global food crisis on Egypt, El-Moselhi said the government's policy of preparing a six-month stock of basic commodities was highly successful in absorbing this crisis. "We moved on different fronts to absorb this crisis, such as diversifying the sources of our wheat imports, building a big number of wheat silos and opening hundreds of retail markets to make sure that citizens get their food needs at reasonable prices," said Moselhi. Moselhi said that while the Russia-Ukraine war had disrupted food chains worldwide, including Egypts, the fact that we had enough stockpiles led us to absorb the crisis," said El-Moselhi. However, he admitted that the government had to intervene for a limited period at some "critical times" to enforce price controls on bread and other commodities like sugar and rice to stabilise prices and prevent monopolistic practices on the market. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian authorities have ordered the release of several pretrial detainees, including a journalist, who have been detained for more than two years pending investigation in different cases. The detainees included in the decision are researcher Kholoud Said, activist Sameh Saudi and journalist Khaled Ghoneim, said lawyer Tarek Elawady, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, on his Facebook page Sunday. Authorities also ordered the release of lawyer Hassan El-Sayad, who has been in pretrial detention pending investigation since 2019, said human rights lawyer Khaled Ali in a Facebook post today. Said, a researcher and a department head at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, has been detained since 2020 over spreading false news and joining a terrorist group. Saudi has been detained since 2019 over charges including joining a terrorist group, while Ghoneim has been detained since 2020 over spreading false news and misusing social media platforms. These orders come a month after Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called for a national political dialogue with all forces without exception or discrimination and ordered the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee. The committee, first formed in 2016, is assigned to review the cases of those imprisoned for political crimes and others who meet certain other conditions, such as families who have more than one relative in jail. The scope of the committee, which started work immediately upon reactivation, has been expanded to cooperate with state institutions and NGOs and to include imprisoned debtors. Batches of detainees who have been granted presidential pardons will be released on Monday and Thursday, Elawady said earlier today. The committee is working on a list of pardon requests for 2,418 detainees and prisoners made by a group of human rights groups on 23 May, Elawady said. The list includes 2,164 prisoners held in cases with a political nature, 142 people in criminal cases, and 112 forced disappearance cases sent by a group of human rights groups, according to the letter obtained by Elawady. On 10 May, the committee announced that it would issue a list of dozens of prisoners for presidential pardons soon, but the list has not yet been released. More than 4,000 prisoners were granted presidential pardons in April and May on the occasion of Eid El-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day. The restructured committee has said it will receive pardon requests through many avenues, including through the National Youth Conference website. The committee will also receive requests through the complaints committee of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and via email to the human rights committees in both the House of the Representatives and Senate. Pardon requests can also be submitted directly to the members of the pardon committee, according to the statement. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it had named a senior diplomat as its first climate envoy, as officials vow to ramp up oil production while pursuing ambitious goals for emission cuts. The appointment of Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, to the envoy role was announced as part of a series of royal orders decreed by King Salman. The announcement did not include details about the envoy's mandate. Jubeir, who previously served as foreign minister and ambassador to Washington, will continue in his role at the foreign ministry. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has been cashing in on the spike in energy prices resulting from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. In early May, the kingdom announced that economic growth in the first quarter had risen 9.6 percent compared to the same period in 2021, which the statistics authority said represented "the highest growth rate in (the) last 10 years". It has resisted US entreaties to raise oil output in an attempt to bring prices down in the wake of the Ukraine war, instead stressing its commitment to the OPEC+ oil alliance, which Riyadh and Moscow lead. Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said earlier this month that the country expected to ramp up its daily oil production capacity by more than one million barrels to exceed 13 million barrels by 2027. Yet last year, Saudi Arabia pledged ahead of the COP26 climate change summit to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, sparking scepticism from environmental campaign group Greenpeace. With increasing urgency to limit global warming, experts warn of the need to reduce fossil fuel use. Speaking on a panel last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Saudi economy minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim disputed the notion that his country's policies were in conflict. "We will continue to advocate increased capacity. We will also continue to advocate... reducing emissions," he said. "These two points do not contradict each other. The last thing we want is focusing on climate change without focusing on energy security." Search Keywords: Short link: Russia claimed to have overrun a key rail hub while its troops fought Ukrainian defenders in the streets of another city in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said the railroad center Lyman had been ``completely liberated'' by a joint force of Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists. Meanwhile, nearly 40 miles (60 kilometers) to the east, Russian troops on Saturday sought to encircle Ukrainian defenders in the manufacturing center of Sievierodonetsk, where the fighting cut power and cellphone service and terrorized the civilians who hadn't fled. Having failed to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early in the 3-month-old war, the Russians set out to seize parts of the eastern industrial region Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. They made grinding progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas. Control of Lyman would give Russia's military another foothold in the region. It has bridges for troops and equipment to cross the Siverskiy Donets river, which has so far impeded the Russian advance into the Donbas. Ukrainian officials have sent mixed signals on Lyman. On Friday, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian troops controlled most of it and were trying to press their offensive toward Bakhmut, another city in the region. On Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar disputed Moscow's claim that Lyman had fallen, saying fighting there was still ongoing. In his Saturday video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the east as ``very complicated'' and said that the ``Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result'' by focusing its efforts there. As his offensive pushed ahead, Russian President Vladimir Putin pressured European leaders to stop arming the embattled Ukrainians and blamed Western sanctions for an emerging global food crisis. The Kremlin said Putin pressed his case in an 80-minute phone call Saturday with the leaders of France and Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellor's spokesperson, and called on Putin to engage in serious, direct negotiations with Zelenskyy on ending the fighting. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin affirmed ``the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue.'' The three leaders, who had gone weeks without speaking during the spring, agreed to stay in contact, it added. But Russia's recent progress in eastern Ukraine could further embolden Putin. ``If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion,'' the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Russia has intensified efforts to capture the cities of Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, which are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk. Luhansk Gov. Serhii Haidai reported that Ukrainian fighters repelled an assault on Sievierodonetsk but Russian troops still pushed to encircle them. He later said Russian forces had seized a hotel on the city's outskirts, damaged 14 high-rise buildings and were fighting in the streets with Ukrainian forces. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the city's bus station. A humanitarian center couldn't operate due to the danger, Striuk said, and cellphone service and electricity were knocked out. And residents risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, he said. Some supply routes are functioning, and evacuations of the wounded are still possible, Striuk said. He estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died from the fighting as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that couldn't be treated. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, Associated Press reporters saw older and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs Friday in Bakhmut. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to persuade reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sievierodonetsk, returned home. ``I have to know he is alive. That's why I'm staying here,'' said Lvova, 66. On Saturday, people who managed to flee Lysychansk described intensified shelling, especially over the past week, that left them unable to leave basement bomb shelters. Yanna Skakova left the city Friday with her 18-month-old and 4-year-old sons and cried as she sat in a train bound for western Ukraine. Her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. ``It's too dangerous to stay there now,'' she said, wiping away tears. Russia's advance raised fears that residents could experience the same horrors seen in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which endured a three-month siege before it fell last week. Residents who had not yet fled faced the choice of trying to do so now or staying. Mariupol became a symbol of massive destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. Mariupol's port has reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia entered the port early Saturday. In the call with Macron and Scholz, the Kremlin said, Putin emphasized that Russia was working to ``establish a peaceful life in Mariupol and other liberated cities in the Donbas.'' Ukrainian authorities have reported that Kremlin-installed officials in seized cities have started airing Russian news broadcasts, introduced Russian area codes, imported Russian school curriculum and taken other steps to annex the areas. Russian-held areas of the southern Kherson region have shifted to Moscow time and ``will no longer switch to daylight saving time, as is customary in Ukraine,'' Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Krill Stremousov, a Russian-installed local official, as saying Saturday. In his address Saturday, Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of preventing Kherson residents from leaving, saying they effectively ``try to take people hostage'' in a ``sign of weakness.'' The war has caused global food shortages because Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations over which side bears responsibility for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage and Ukraine citing a Russian naval blockade. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said two Russian vessels ``capable of carrying up to 16 missiles'' were ready for action in the Black Sea, adding that only shipping routes established through multilateral treaties may be considered safe. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems. Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoliy Antonov, said Saturday that such a move would be ``unacceptable'' and admonished the White House to ``abandon statements about the military victory of Ukraine.'' Moscow is also trying to rattle Sweden and Finland's determination to join NATO. Russia's Defense Ministry said its navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea that struck its target about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The Zircon, described as the world's fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead and is said to be impossible to stop with current defense systems. Last week Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the country's west in response to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO. Search Keywords: Short link: Ambassadors from the 27 European Union member states will on Sunday examine a compromise that could enable them to break the deadlock on a sixth round of economic sanctions against Russia, including a landmark halt to Russian oil imports, EU sources told AFP. The latest round of proposed sanctions has been blocked by landlocked Hungary, which has no access to seafaring oil cargo ships and is dependent for 65 percent of its oil needs on Russian crude supplied via the Druzhba pipeline. Budapest has rejected as inadequate a proposal to allow it two years longer than other EU states to wean itself off Russian oil. It wants at least four years and at least 800 million euros ($860 million) in EU funds to adapt its refineries to process non-Russian crude and boost pipeline capacity to neighbouring Croatia. The compromise solution put to national negotiators on Sunday consists in excluding the Druzhba pipeline from a future oil embargo and only imposing sanctions on oil shipped to the EU by tanker vessel, the sources said. The Druzhba pipeline accounts for a third of all EU oil supplies from Russia. Maritime cargos account for the remaining two thirds. The compromise was tabled by France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and by the European Council, which represents the governments of the EU nations. Its aim is to break a stalemate that has, since early May, prevented the EU from imposing a sixth round of sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. It would end the purchases of Russian crude within six months and Russian petroleum products by the end of the year. It would also impose additional sanctions on Russian banks and expand the list of Russian individuals blacklisted by the bloc. Another option under consideration would be to postpone the entire package of new sanctions until a solution can be found to provide Hungary with alternative oil supplies, the sources said. The search for a compromise has accelerated in recent days to avoid divisions over Russia clouding the summit of EU heads of state and government due to take place in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to address the summit by video link when it begins on Monday afternoon. If EU ambassadors succeed on Sunday in reaching a compromise on an oil embargo, it will still need to be approved by their governments before it can be put to the summit. Search Keywords: Short link: Tensions rose in East Jerusalem Sunday as Israel allowed its controversial flag march celebrating the full capture of the city in the 1967 Six Day War with thousands of Israelis marching through the Palestinian quarters carrying the Israeli flag. Also on Sunday, groups of Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place for Muslims around the world. From his side, Minister Shoukry stressed the necessity of suspending any procedures or practices that target the Muslim and Christian Arab identity of the city of Jerusalem and change the historical and legal status of the city, warning that the escalation impacts the stability of the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian presidency issued a statement condemning the Israeli actions saying that Israel was playing with fire by allowing the settlers to desecrate the holy sites in East Jerusalem. The Egyptian FM also warned that the expansion of settlement activity, whether through building new settlements, expanding current settlements or confiscating land from Palestinians, undermines the opportunity to reach a two-state solution in Palestine. Sameh Shoukry asserted in the meeting with the Fatah official Egypts continuing support to the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Egypt has reiterated its full support for the two-state solution and an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 5 June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. KYODO NEWS - May 29, 2022 - 11:49 | Arts, All, Japan, World South Korean actor Song Kang Ho was named Best Actor at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for his role as a baby broker in Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's "Broker." The Palme d'Or top prize went to Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's "Triangle of Sadness," while "Plan 75" by Japan's Chie Hayakawa received a special mention although it missed the Camera d'Or award for best first feature film. Song, 55, became the first South Korean male to win an acting prize at Cannes, according to local media. He starred in "Parasite," which won the 2019 Palme d'Or and 2020 Academy Award for Best Picture. "I'm so grateful and honored. I would like to thank director Koreeda, who is a great artist," Song said in his acceptance speech. "Broker" is about characters brought together by "baby boxes" where parents can leave their infants anonymously to be raised by others. Song played one of two men who steal and try to sell the babies. The film marks Koreeda's second foray into working with a non-Japanese cast, after his 2019 feature "The Truth" starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke. Koreeda is familiar with Korean culture, Song told a press conference after the award ceremony, adding it was not too difficult for them to understand each other. When the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or in April, Koreeda said it was made through "collaboration that transcends language and cultural differences." On the diplomatic front, Japan and South Korea have been struggling to improve their relations that have soured over disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, Hayakawa's "Plan 75" depicts a near-future Japan where people aged 75 and over are encouraged to choose euthanasia amid the country's rapidly aging population. "I appreciate that I was invited to Cannes for my first special and important movie," Hayakawa said. Related coverage: Japan's Kitano gets lifetime achievement award at Italy film festival Japan's Hamaguchi wins Cannes Best Screenplay for "Drive My Car" Japan's Koreeda wins Cannes Palme d'Or for "Shoplifters" KYODO NEWS - May 29, 2022 - 12:15 | All, Japan Four Japanese national universities plan to apply for a 10 trillion yen ($79 billion) fund established by the government to bring institutions up to par with the world's top universities, a recent Kyodo News survey showed. Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nagoya University and Osaka University intend to apply for the funds, established as part of the government's efforts to promote science and technology in Japan. Twenty-seven other institutions, including the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, said they were considering applying, but the number may rise after further details of the selection process are released. Applications are set to open this fiscal year, and the fund will begin dispensing money as early as fiscal 2024. A related bill was passed and enacted at a House of Councillors plenary session on May 18. Universities that receive funds will be required to establish decision-making bodies with authority on management and achieve approximately 3 percent in business growth per annum. Meanwhile, many regional universities and teachers colleges have said they will not apply for the funds due to the qualification criteria. There are concerns that leading universities may receive preferential treatment, with some calling for more support for universities that fail to make the cut. The 10 trillion yen fund will provide tens of billions of yen per year to a selected number of national, public and private universities in Japan recognized as possessing world-class research standards, with the aim of bringing them up to par with distinguished U.S. and British universities. Tohoku University, one of the schools intending to apply, said the fund "will create an environment where we can fulfil the social expectations of universities," while Nagoya University expressed hope that financial support would help it to become a world-class research facility. Osaka University, which has yet to make a final decision on whether to apply, stressed that raising the level of Japanese universities "will contribute to the further development of higher education in Japan." But Kobe University and the University of Toyama both remained uncertain about applying, saying, respectively, that the system had yet to be made clear and that qualifying would be difficult. Among the 42 universities not intending to apply, the University of Miyazaki expressed concern about what may end up being an exclusive fund for certain universities, saying it could "weaken regional universities." Naruto University of Education in Tokushima Prefecture said the government should acknowledge the diversity of universities and less distinguished universities should also receive support. The survey of 82 national universities in Japan, excluding graduate schools, garnered 73 responses between March and April 25. Related coverage: Universities collaborate to improve Japanese skills of foreign workers FEATURE: Use of tablets on the rise for truant, sick children Japan has lowest share of women studying science: OECD report KYODO NEWS - May 29, 2022 - 10:58 | All, World Around 193 million people worldwide experienced acute food insecurity in 2021, a new high, with Russia's war in Ukraine expected to aggravate the situation, a report by international humanitarian and development groups says. Calling for urgent international assistance, the annual Global Report on Food Crises, released May 4, looked at 53 countries and territories. The main drivers were conflicts, weather extremes, and macroeconomic shocks, mainly caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of people whose lives or livelihoods were in immediate danger due to inadequate food soared by 25 percent or nearly 40 million since 2020, the last record high year. The Global Network Against Food Crises has compiled the data since 2016. In 2021, 570,000 people required urgent action to prevent the widespread collapse of livelihoods, starvation and death in four countries -- Ethiopia, South Sudan, Yemen and Madagascar -- according to the group, which includes the European Union and the U.N. World Food Program. Around 139 million people in 24 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity mainly due to conflicts. Weather extremes and economic shocks were the next main drivers for others, the analysis showed. Almost 70 percent of the total number was concentrated in 10 countries and territories, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Looking toward 2022, the report expects Russia's war against Ukraine, launched in February, to exacerbate global food insecurity, with at least around 180 million people in 42 countries and territories expected to suffer an acute food crisis. The war, especially if protracted, would compound the difficulties of some countries in dealing with food crises because of "their high dependency on imports of food, fuel and agricultural inputs and/or vulnerability to global food price shocks." Countries in regions as diverse as the Middle East and Africa depend on imports of staple foods like wheat and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia. In 2020, 38 countries and territories hit by food crises imported 34 percent of Ukraine's total wheat and maize products exports. Food-crisis countries also accounted for 73 percent of Russian export of wheat. Among these were Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia, which are consistently among the world's largest food-crisis countries, the report said. Reduced access to fertilizers coupled with energy price hikes is also expected to lead to a steep drop in crop production. Humanitarian food organizations will also feel price hikes on items such as wheat, according to the report. Related coverage: Japan gov't warns of risks to stable food supply amid Ukraine crisis Russian war threatening global food supplies: G-7 farm ministers Japan vows 300 bil. yen in nutrition-related aid over next 3 years KYODO NEWS - May 29, 2022 - 20:53 | World, All, Coronavirus COVID-19 movement restrictions were lifted in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang Sunday, weeks after the first novel coronavirus case was reported in the country, an informed source in Beijing said. Earlier in the day, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the ruling Workers' Party of Korea had decided at its key meeting that it would coordinate "the anti-epidemic regulations and guidelines given the current stable anti-epidemic situation." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired the gathering, but KCNA did not report on his remarks. North Korea Sunday reported over 89,500 new fever cases, bringing the total number to more than 3.44 million since late April, amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the nation with a population of 25 million. The total number of COVID-related deaths over the past month stood at 69. At least 186,000 people were being treated, and over 3.26 million people have recovered, according to KCNA. On May 12, North Korea reported its first COVID-19 case since the pandemic began in 2020, prompting Kim to instruct officials to lock down all cities and counties across the country thoroughly. Related coverage: North Korea's Kim chairs state funeral for military official amid virus Japan's foreign minister hints readiness to aid North Korea over COVID North Korea's fever cases top 2 million amid COVID-19 spread KYODO NEWS - May 29, 2022 - 19:52 | All, Japan The Japanese government will fight a 156 million yen ($1.23 million) damages lawsuit filed by relatives of a Sri Lankan woman who died last year while in custody at an immigration center in central Japan, sources close to the matter said Sunday. The family of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, who alleges she was illegally detained and died due to a lack of necessary medical care, filed the lawsuit at the Nagoya District Court in March, two days before the first anniversary of her death. The first oral proceedings will be held at the court on June 8, with details of arguments to be presented by the state expected to be revealed subsequently. Wayomi, one of Wishma's younger sisters, returned to Japan on Saturday, joining Poornima, another sister, in the country to get to the bottom of what happened. Wishma died at the age of 33 on March 6 last year at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau following a month of medical complaints, including vomiting and stomachaches. Her family claims that the government refused to grant her provisional release despite her deteriorating health to pressure her to return to Sri Lanka, resulting in her death. Wishma arrived in Japan on a student visa in 2017 to study the Japanese language but overstayed her visa, with her asylum application denied by immigration authorities. Her immigration status was discovered after seeking police protection in Shizuoka Prefecture for domestic abuse in August 2020, and she was sent to the Nagoya immigration center to await deportation. She had complained of poor health since January 2021, but her request for provisional release, which supporters say could have helped her, was denied. The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said in an investigative report issued last August that the immigration center staff lacked awareness on handling crises but that it could not determine the precise cause of Wishma's death. Her relatives have also filed a criminal complaint with the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office against the immigration center's senior officials, accusing them of causing her death by failing to provide appropriate medical care. Related coverage: FOCUS: Sri Lankan's dying agony disregarded in Japan immigration center Memorial service held for Sri Lankan 1 year after death in detention Kin of dead Sri Lankan detainee file 156 mil. yen damages suit with Japan U.S. citizens home and abroad have repeatedly expressed their concerns about security in the United States before and after the mass shootings. Unfortunately, their voices have been repeatedly ignored. #GLOBALink Produced by Xinhua Global Service BOGOTA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The Colombian government has deployed armed forces to ensure the safety of voters during the first round of presidential elections, which will take place on Sunday, the ministry of defense said on Saturday. About 80,000 soldiers have been deployed across the country to guarantee the security of the elections, and the navy has positioned 7,000 sailors in maritime areas, the ministry said. The security of the capital city of Bogota was reinforced with 1,700 more soldiers, besides 11,200 police officers and 1,800 soldiers. Authorities said that from Saturday afternoon, alcohol sales will be halted throughout the country until noon on Monday. Polling stations will be open from 8:00 a.m. (1300 GMT) to 4:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday, when millions of Colombians are expected to exercise their right to vote. A day of turmoil and grief gripped America's public schools Thursday, as thousands of students staged walkouts across the country to protest the Uvalde shooting in Texas that killed 19 elementary school children and two adults on Tuesday. Some observers say that the U.S. government's inaction on gun control has led to the recurrent gun violence in the country. Produced by Xinhua Global Service During the inauguration of Mekanisa Abo Link Road in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, Yasmin Wohabrebbi, Deputy Mayor of the Ethiopia's capital, commended Chinese companies for their corporate social responsibility endeavors in the East African country. The project was financed and constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). According to local district administration, the newly inaugurated Mekanisa Abo Link Road would serve about 30,000 residents, improving connectivity and livelihood. Produced by Xinhua Global Service A villager takes part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Aerial photo shows villagers taking part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers take part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers take part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Aerial photo shows villagers taking part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Aerial photo shows villagers taking part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers take part in a barrel rowing competition in Baoguo Village, Donglin Township of Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 28, 2022. More than 30 contestants from nearby villages attended the competition ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of barrel is a traditional tool used by the locals to conduct agricultural activities on water including fishing, water chestnuts and lotus seedpods picking. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) AMMAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned Israeli authority for allowing "extremists" and an Israeli lawmaker to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of the Israeli forces. The ministry warned against aggravating the situation in light of permitting a provocative march by "extremists and settlers" in occupied Jerusalem, according to its statement. Jordan's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abu Al-Foul stressed that the actions of Israeli "extremists" constituted a violation of international law and the existing historical and legal status quo. He reaffirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of "worship for Muslims only," adding that the Jordan-run Department of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs is the only institution for administering the affairs of the mosque. Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Niue's Premier and Foreign Minister Dalton Tagelagi via video in Suva, Fiji, May 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing) Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and Niue have seen their relations develop smoothly with mutual respect and support since establishing diplomatic ties, noting that they have forged bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and signed documents on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. SUVA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Niue's Premier and Foreign Minister Dalton Tagelagi met via video on Sunday, with both sides pledging to deepen bilateral cooperation including on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Wang is in Fiji for a visit and to chair the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting scheduled for Monday, which is part of the agenda for his current tour of Pacific island countries. During the virtual meeting, Wang said that China and Niue have seen their relations develop smoothly with mutual respect and support since establishing diplomatic ties, noting that they have established bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and signed documents on jointly building the Belt and Road. China has become Niue's second largest trading partner, with the bilateral extensive, practical cooperation playing an active role in enhancing Niue's socioeconomic development and Niue people's wellbeing, Wang said. Their friendship saw a lift in jointly fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic with mutual support and help, Wang noted. The Chinese state councilor said China supports Niue sticking to a development path in line with its own national conditions, and will strengthen policy coordination with Niue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, boost the cooperation on infrastructure and broadcasting, and at the sub-national level, and expand the blue economy and the biopharmaceutical cooperation, so as to help Niue enhance its sustainable development capabilities. The Chinese side will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the Pacific island country, Wang said, adding that China expects to welcome Niue's active participation in the China International Import Expo, displaying its quality and specialty products. For his part, Tagelagi expressed during the meeting his gratitude for China's selfless assistance and strong support to his country in promoting independent development and people's livelihood. Since they established diplomatic ties, the two countries have witnessed effective cooperation based on mutual respect and benefit, the premier of Niue said, adding that the Chinese side has paid a constant attention to Niue's needs and lent a helping hand in time to Niue in its fight against COVID-19. Niue values the friendly Niue-China relationship and the close friendship between the two peoples, he said. While pledging continued commitment to the one-China principle, the premier noted that his country expects to deepen cooperation with China in various fields and work together to promote peace, development and prosperity. During the virtual meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, and agreed to jointly work to ensure the success of the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Wang said that China has been promoting cooperation with Pacific island countries with openness. China respects Pacific island countries' traditional relations with other countries in the region, and is willing to further enhance its friendship and cooperation with Pacific island countries on the basis of bilateral consensus, he said. China is committed to peace and development, and stands ready to make its contribution to peace, development and prosperity for the mankind, Wang said. He said that China, as a long-term reliable partner for Pacific island countries in their national development, is willing to work with all sides to build consensus of cooperation, elevate cooperation to a higher level and form greater synergy to help Pacific island countries develop better. Noting that China's support is of great significance to the development of Pacific island countries, Tagelagi expressed hope that the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, based on mutual respect, will complement the existing strategies in the South Pacific region so as to jointly boost the regional development and prosperity. GUANGZHOU, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday gave a briefing on the trip of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to China in an interview with the press. Ma said that at the invitation of the Chinese government, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited China from May 23 to 28. This is Bachelet's first visit to China since she took office as well as the first such visit by a UN human rights chief in 17 years. President Xi Jinping met via video link with High Commissioner Bachelet on May 25. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Commissioner Bachelet, and senior officials from the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Women's Federation held talks with the High Commissioner respectively. The two sides had extensive, in-depth and candid discussions in the spirit of mutual respect and openness, Ma said, adding that the Chinese side gave the High Commissioner a comprehensive introduction on the path, philosophy and achievements of China's human rights development. The two sides exchanged views on global human rights governance, multilateral human rights work, China's cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other issues of common interest. In Guangzhou, High Commissioner Bachelet visited projects that reflect China's community-level democracy, poverty alleviation, judicial safeguard, environmental protection, people's well-being, rights protection of specific groups, and human rights education, he said. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, High Commissioner Bachelet was presented with the measures taken and achievements made in the region on counter-terrorism and deradicalization, social and economic development, ethnicity and religion, and labor rights protection. She also had field trips in Kashgar and Urumqi where she had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors, Ma said. He said with the joint efforts of both sides, the visit achieved positive concrete results: First, it enhanced understanding on China's path on human rights development. Since its 18th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people to achieve on schedule the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and made outstanding achievements in human rights development. In his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet, President Xi expounded on major issues regarding China's human rights development in the context of China's history and culture, and reaffirmed the principled position of the CPC and the Chinese government in upholding and protecting human rights in all areas. He stressed that, on day one of its founding, the CPC identified as its mission the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and has been working hard for the people's interests over the past century. The people's aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for. After decades of strenuous efforts, China has successfully found a path of human rights development in keeping with the trend of the times and China's national reality. We have been advancing whole-process people's democracy, promoting legal safeguard for human rights and upholding social equity and justice. The Chinese people now enjoy fuller and more extensive and comprehensive democratic rights. In Guangzhou's countryside, High Commissioner Bachelet had a close-up view of China's whole-process democracy at the community level. At the elderly care center and rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities, she saw how high technology helps facilitate the rights protection of specific groups. At Guangzhou Internet Court, she learned about world-leading practices of the judicial protection of human rights in the digital world. In the Fushan Circular Economy Industrial Park, she learned about examples of Chinese enterprises fulfilling social responsibilities such as promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. During her speech at the Guangzhou University, she discussed with the faculty and students on respecting and safeguarding human rights. The Chinese side stressed that the historic achievements testify to the success of China's path of human rights development. We remain committed to this path which we believe will lead to an even more promising future. Second, it set forth China's proposition for global human rights governance. Under the combined impacts of major changes in the world situation and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, hegemonism, racism, protectionism and parochial nationalism are on the rise. This has dealt a heavy blow to global human rights governance as manifested by numerous practices of double standards. President Xi pointed out at his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet that at present, it is most important to work on the following four priorities: First, putting people front and center. It is important to take the people's interests as the fundamental purpose and goal and strive to deliver a better life to the people. Second, respecting different countries' paths of human rights development, and supporting countries to explore suitable paths of human rights development in light of national realities and people's needs. Third, following a holistic approach to all categories of human rights with integrated and systematic measures. More efforts are needed to achieve development of higher quality, efficiency, equity, sustainability and security, so as to provide strong safeguards for the advancement of human rights. Fourth, stepping up global human rights governance. It is important to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, advocate humanity's common values, and steer global human rights governance toward greater fairness, justice, equity and inclusiveness. The Chinese side gave a comprehensive briefing to Bachelet on China's active engagement in global human rights governance. China has earnestly fulfilled its international obligations in the area of human rights. China has signed 29 international human rights instruments and is widely recognized as a role model in implementing conventions. China has served as a member state of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) five times, one of the most among all the countries. We put forward a series of proposals on promoting human rights through development, promoting human rights through cooperation, addressing the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights, rejecting racism and racial discrimination, promoting the fair distribution of vaccines and rejecting unilateral coercive measures. This has received wide support from the international community, especially the developing countries. The Chinese side pointed out that the promotion and protection of human rights is a common cause for humanity. Global human rights governance must be conducted through dialogue and consultation, and the achievements of human rights development must be shared by the people of all countries. China will continue to uphold true multilateralism, stand on the right side of history, and continue active human rights dialogue and cooperation with all parties to expand consensus, reduce differences, and promote mutual learning and common progress. Third, it has strengthened China's cooperation with the OHCHR. China attaches great importance to the UN human rights affairs and stands ready to contribute to advancing the international human rights cause. During the visit, the Chinese side and the OHCHR had thorough exchange on deepening cooperation and reached broad consensus. The two sides have agreed to establish an Annual Senior Strategic Meeting, to discuss national, regional and international human rights issues of common interest. And the two sides have agreed to establish a working group to facilitate human rights cooperation in such areas as development, business, poverty reduction, counter-terrorism, minority groups, digital space, and judicial safeguard. China is willing to provide greater support to the human rights work of the United Nations. Such concrete measures not only are conducive to the cooperation between China and the OHCHR, but also represent China's new contribution to the international human rights cause. Over the recent years, there has been a tendency of politicizing and instrumentalizing the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral human rights institutions. China made it very clear that, some Western countries, while having no self-reflection on their own notorious misdeeds, yet driven by political motives, abused multilateral human rights platforms to spread rumors and lies, using human rights to interfere with others' domestic affairs and recklessly attacking and smearing others, turning multilateral human rights institutions into arenas of "naming and shaming" and "bloc confrontation." These behaviors have gravely poisoned the atmosphere of international human rights cooperation, and must be taken seriously, and must be changed. Fourth, it provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand a real Xinjiang. For a period of time, certain Western countries and anti-China elements, under the disguise of human rights, have fabricated many sensational palpable lies on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues, only to fulfill their political motive of using Xinjiang to contain China. The Chinese side pointed out that essentially, Xinjiang is not at all a human rights issue, but a major issue concerning upholding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. All ethnic groups of Xinjiang belong to the family of the Chinese nation. A few years ago, in response to the serious challenge of terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang, we have adopted lawful measures to combat violent terrorism, protecting lives and property for all, and safeguarding human rights of all ethic groups across the region. Through unremitting efforts, the region has enjoyed security, stability, development, and prosperity, and there has been no violent terrorist attack in Xinjiang for five consecutive years. People that have visited Xinjiang all found that the Xinjiang they saw is completely different from the one demonized in the Western media. Ma said during High Commissioner Bachelet's visit in Xinjiang, the authorities of the Autonomous Region has made comprehensive presentation on China's policies on ethnic and religious affairs, as well as the measures and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization. High Commissioner Bachelet visited the Kashgar Ancient Town, and made a trip to the cotton fields, experiencing the progress that has been made in preserving and promoting ethnic minority traditions and in improving people's livelihood. He said High Commissioner toured an exhibition on counter-terrorism and de-radicalization, learning in detail the legal and policy frameworks, practices, and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization in Xinjiang. High Commissioner Bachelet had face-to-face conversation with religious personnel on the rights of religious freedom of Muslims respected and guaranteed by law. High Commissioner also had the opportunity to hear from representatives from different social sectors, including women, health, judiciary, and labor. Clouds cannot overshadow the sun, and truth will debunk all lies. China has made clear its stern position on the so-called Xinjiang report, and resolutely opposes smearing and attacking China with lies and disinformation, Ma said, adding that it needs to be pointed out that certain Western countries, out of ulterior motives, went to great lengths to disrupt and undercut the High Commissioner's visit, their plot didn't succeed. Ma stressed in the end that in terms of human rights protection, no one can claim perfection and there is always room for improvement. China will unswervingly follow the human rights development path that suits its national conditions, and advocate the shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. "China stands ready to cooperate with the OHCHR and others on the basis of equity and mutual respect, to actively carry out international human rights exchange and cooperation, enhance participation in global human rights governance, and jointly contribute to the sound development of international human rights and to the community with a shared future for mankind," he said. BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- On Friday afternoon, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presided over the 39th group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to further a national research project on tracing the origins of Chinese civilization. Chinese civilization is extensive and profound, and has a long history stretching back to antiquity. It is the cultural identity of the Chinese nation, the foundation of the contemporary Chinese culture, the cultural bond holding all Chinese around the globe together, and it is the treasure trove inspiring cultural innovation, Xi stressed. Over the long course of history, the Chinese nation, with perseverance and determination, has endured hardships and traveled extensively and has ventured a course of development different from other civilizations. We should gain an in-depth knowledge of Chinese civilization's development over more than 5,000 years and extend research into its history, so that all members of the Party and society at large will develop a keener awareness of our history, build up cultural confidence, adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and work together to build a socialist modern country in all respects and realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi noted. Wang Wei, director and researcher with Academic Division of History under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, gave a lecture on this issue and proposed suggestions. After the lecture, members of the Political Bureau conducted a discussion. Xi made a speech while chairing the study session. He stressed that our Party has always viewed the history of the Chinese nation from the standpoint of historical materialism and has inherited and carried forward fine traditional Chinese culture. Through the continuous efforts of several generations of scholars, the research results of major projects, such as the project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization, proved that China's history includes million years of humanity, 10,000 years of culture, and more than 5,000 years of civilization. The project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization has made marked achievements, but there is still a long way to go. It should be continued and furthered. Xi stressed that the project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization has provided a clear knowledge of the origins and formation of Chinese civilization, the history of its development, the process of the formation and development of its pluralistic and integrated pattern, and its characteristics and why it was formed in such a way. At the same time, he added, the results that have been achieved so far are still preliminary and phased, and that there are still many historical mysteries to be unraveled and a number of major issues, on which consensus is yet to be reached through evidence and further study. Xi noted that the latest technologies of such frontier subjects as biology, molecular biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics have been used on the analysis of our country's ancient historical remains, which has provided the origin-tracing of Chinese civilization with solid scientific base, and broadened our knowledge of the country's 5,000-plus-year history. Tracing the origins of a civilization and research on its formation is a complex, time-consuming, and systematic project. Archaeological exploration and literature research should be combined with tools and methods of natural sciences. Factors including material and cultural conditions and forms of social relations should be comprehensively studied, so as to gradually restore the development path of a civilization from its birth to prosperity. Overall planning and sound arrangements should be strengthened so that experts in archaeology, history, humanity studies, and natural sciences can make joint efforts to make breakthroughs. Endeavor jointly made by different disciplines, from different angles, on different levels, and with different approaches will expand the coverage and range of such studies. As a result, questions will be answered concerning the origins and formation of Chinese civilization, the path of its development, its internal mechanisms, and the evolution paths of all regional civilizations. Xi stressed that the project has put forward its own definition of civilization and its solution to develop a more civilized world, which has made creative contributions to the research on tracing the origins of the world civilization. A good job must be done as far as the promotion, publicity, and transformation of the research results of China's theory on ancient civilizations and the project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization are concerned. Research, interpretation, display, and dissemination of unearthed cultural relics and sites should be strengthened to advance the influence and appeal of Chinese civilization. Xi noted that over the past more than 5,000 years, the Chinese people have created a splendid civilization and made significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. We should link the study on the origins of Chinese civilization with that on other major issues including the features and forms of Chinese civilization and, through the interpretation on the origins of Chinese civilization, we will explore and explain how a sense of community among the Chinese people has been developed and how the Chinese people of all ethnic groups are united in diversity. We should carry out researches on the essential characteristics and the development pattern of Chinese civilization, which features benevolence, emphasis on people's lives, respect for justice and integrity, righteousness, and universal harmony, and elaborate on the profound cultural resources on which the Chinese path is based. With regard to traditional Chinese culture, Xi noted that we should make the past serve the present, break new ground from the old, and carry forward its fine elements. We should establish discipline, academic, and discourse systems with Chinese characteristics, style, and flair for the study of civilizations, so as to provide strong theoretical support for new forms of human civilization practice. Xi stressed that China's fine traditional culture represents the wisdom and essence of Chinese civilization, is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, and serves as the foundation for China to gain a firm footing amidst global cultural interaction. We have integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with China's actual conditions and with China's fine traditional culture, constantly adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times and promoting the creative transformation and development of our fine traditional Chinese culture. We should continue innovating on the basis of past experience, adapting China's fine traditional culture to socialist society and displaying the unique symbol of the Chinese nation so as to bolster the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength. We should adhere to Marxism as the fundamental guiding ideology, carry forward our revolutionary culture, develop advanced socialist culture, and extract vitality from China's fine traditional culture. We should make full use of achievements from studies such as the ones on the origins of Chinese civilization to develop a more complete and accurate historiography of ancient China and make history a book for people to learn from. Since ancient times, Chinese civilization has been known for its openness and inclusiveness, and it has gained new vitality through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. We will uphold and promote civilization concepts that emphasize equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness and understand different civilizations' recognitions of their own value connotations with an open mind, Xi said. We should respect different countries' and peoples' exploration of their own development paths. We should remove civilization misunderstandings through cultural exchanges, avoid civilization clashes by learning from each other, and replace civilization supremacy with coexistence of civilizations. We should carry forward the common values of humanity that Chinese civilization epitomizes and promote the development of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said. We should keep a foothold on the ground of China, tell stories of Chinese civilization well, and present a credible, lovable, and respectable image of China to the world. We should state clearly what kind of civilization and country China is, and tell clearly about Chinese people's outlook on the universe, the world, society, and their morality. We need to do whatever we can to exhibit the long history and cultural heritage of Chinese civilization, and encourage the world to better understand China, the Chinese people, the CPC, and the Chinese nation, Xi said. Xi stressed that cultural relics and cultural heritage carry the genes and blood of the Chinese nation, and they are China's nonrenewable and irreplaceable cultural resources. We need to make cultural relics and heritage play their own role in cultural development and create a social atmosphere that facilitates efforts to carry on our fine traditional culture. We should actively promote the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, explore the multiple values of cultural relics and heritage, and promote cultural products and value symbols that embody Chinese culture and spirit. Xi pointed out that officials at all levels should attach importance to the protection of cultural relics and inheritance of cultural heritage, and provide more policy support for historical and archaeological researchers to conduct research, study, and exchanges. We should foster an atmosphere for imparting and inheriting China's fine traditional culture and widely publicize research results of those projects that aim to explore the origins of Chinese civilization. We should also educate and guide people, especially young people, to better understand and identify with Chinese civilization, and enhance Chinese people's aspiration, moral integrity, and self-confidence. File photo taken in 2021 shows a safflower field in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua) GUANGZHOU, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday gave a briefing on the trip of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to China in an interview with the press. Ma said that at the invitation of the Chinese government, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited China from May 23 to 28. This is Bachelet's first visit to China since she took office as well as the first such visit by a UN human rights chief in 17 years. President Xi Jinping met via video link with High Commissioner Bachelet on May 25. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Commissioner Bachelet, and senior officials from the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Women's Federation held talks with the High Commissioner respectively. The two sides had extensive, in-depth and candid discussions in the spirit of mutual respect and openness, Ma said, adding that the Chinese side gave the High Commissioner a comprehensive introduction on the path, philosophy and achievements of China's human rights development. The two sides exchanged views on global human rights governance, multilateral human rights work, China's cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other issues of common interest. In Guangzhou, High Commissioner Bachelet visited projects that reflect China's community-level democracy, poverty alleviation, judicial safeguard, environmental protection, people's well-being, rights protection of specific groups, and human rights education, he said. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, High Commissioner Bachelet was presented with the measures taken and achievements made in the region on counter-terrorism and deradicalization, social and economic development, ethnicity and religion, and labor rights protection. She also had field trips in Kashgar and Urumqi where she had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors, Ma said. He said with the joint efforts of both sides, the visit achieved positive concrete results: First, it enhanced understanding on China's path on human rights development. Since its 18th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people to achieve on schedule the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and made outstanding achievements in human rights development. In his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet, President Xi expounded on major issues regarding China's human rights development in the context of China's history and culture, and reaffirmed the principled position of the CPC and the Chinese government in upholding and protecting human rights in all areas. He stressed that, on day one of its founding, the CPC identified as its mission the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and has been working hard for the people's interests over the past century. The people's aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for. After decades of strenuous efforts, China has successfully found a path of human rights development in keeping with the trend of the times and China's national reality. We have been advancing whole-process people's democracy, promoting legal safeguard for human rights and upholding social equity and justice. The Chinese people now enjoy fuller and more extensive and comprehensive democratic rights. In Guangzhou's countryside, High Commissioner Bachelet had a close-up view of China's whole-process democracy at the community level. At the elderly care center and rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities, she saw how high technology helps facilitate the rights protection of specific groups. At Guangzhou Internet Court, she learned about world-leading practices of the judicial protection of human rights in the digital world. In the Fushan Circular Economy Industrial Park, she learned about examples of Chinese enterprises fulfilling social responsibilities such as promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. During her speech at the Guangzhou University, she discussed with the faculty and students on respecting and safeguarding human rights. The Chinese side stressed that the historic achievements testify to the success of China's path of human rights development. We remain committed to this path which we believe will lead to an even more promising future. Second, it set forth China's proposition for global human rights governance. Under the combined impacts of major changes in the world situation and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, hegemonism, racism, protectionism and parochial nationalism are on the rise. This has dealt a heavy blow to global human rights governance as manifested by numerous practices of double standards. President Xi pointed out at his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet that at present, it is most important to work on the following four priorities: First, putting people front and center. It is important to take the people's interests as the fundamental purpose and goal and strive to deliver a better life to the people. Second, respecting different countries' paths of human rights development, and supporting countries to explore suitable paths of human rights development in light of national realities and people's needs. Third, following a holistic approach to all categories of human rights with integrated and systematic measures. More efforts are needed to achieve development of higher quality, efficiency, equity, sustainability and security, so as to provide strong safeguards for the advancement of human rights. Fourth, stepping up global human rights governance. It is important to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, advocate humanity's common values, and steer global human rights governance toward greater fairness, justice, equity and inclusiveness. The Chinese side gave a comprehensive briefing to Bachelet on China's active engagement in global human rights governance. China has earnestly fulfilled its international obligations in the area of human rights. China has signed 29 international human rights instruments and is widely recognized as a role model in implementing conventions. China has served as a member state of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) five times, one of the most among all the countries. We put forward a series of proposals on promoting human rights through development, promoting human rights through cooperation, addressing the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights, rejecting racism and racial discrimination, promoting the fair distribution of vaccines and rejecting unilateral coercive measures. This has received wide support from the international community, especially the developing countries. The Chinese side pointed out that the promotion and protection of human rights is a common cause for humanity. Global human rights governance must be conducted through dialogue and consultation, and the achievements of human rights development must be shared by the people of all countries. China will continue to uphold true multilateralism, stand on the right side of history, and continue active human rights dialogue and cooperation with all parties to expand consensus, reduce differences, and promote mutual learning and common progress. Third, it has strengthened China's cooperation with the OHCHR. China attaches great importance to the UN human rights affairs and stands ready to contribute to advancing the international human rights cause. During the visit, the Chinese side and the OHCHR had thorough exchange on deepening cooperation and reached broad consensus. The two sides have agreed to establish an Annual Senior Strategic Meeting, to discuss national, regional and international human rights issues of common interest. And the two sides have agreed to establish a working group to facilitate human rights cooperation in such areas as development, business, poverty reduction, counter-terrorism, minority groups, digital space, and judicial safeguard. China is willing to provide greater support to the human rights work of the United Nations. Such concrete measures not only are conducive to the cooperation between China and the OHCHR, but also represent China's new contribution to the international human rights cause. Over the recent years, there has been a tendency of politicizing and instrumentalizing the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral human rights institutions. China made it very clear that, some Western countries, while having no self-reflection on their own notorious misdeeds, yet driven by political motives, abused multilateral human rights platforms to spread rumors and lies, using human rights to interfere with others' domestic affairs and recklessly attacking and smearing others, turning multilateral human rights institutions into arenas of "naming and shaming" and "bloc confrontation." These behaviors have gravely poisoned the atmosphere of international human rights cooperation, and must be taken seriously, and must be changed. Fourth, it provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand a real Xinjiang. For a period of time, certain Western countries and anti-China elements, under the disguise of human rights, have fabricated many sensational palpable lies on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues, only to fulfill their political motive of using Xinjiang to contain China. The Chinese side pointed out that essentially, Xinjiang is not at all a human rights issue, but a major issue concerning upholding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. All ethnic groups of Xinjiang belong to the family of the Chinese nation. A few years ago, in response to the serious challenge of terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang, we have adopted lawful measures to combat violent terrorism, protecting lives and property for all, and safeguarding human rights of all ethic groups across the region. Through unremitting efforts, the region has enjoyed security, stability, development, and prosperity, and there has been no violent terrorist attack in Xinjiang for five consecutive years. People that have visited Xinjiang all found that the Xinjiang they saw is completely different from the one demonized in the Western media. Ma said during High Commissioner Bachelet's visit in Xinjiang, the authorities of the Autonomous Region has made comprehensive presentation on China's policies on ethnic and religious affairs, as well as the measures and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization. High Commissioner Bachelet visited the Kashgar Ancient Town, and made a trip to the cotton fields, experiencing the progress that has been made in preserving and promoting ethnic minority traditions and in improving people's livelihood. He said High Commissioner toured an exhibition on counter-terrorism and de-radicalization, learning in detail the legal and policy frameworks, practices, and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization in Xinjiang. High Commissioner Bachelet had face-to-face conversation with religious personnel on the rights of religious freedom of Muslims respected and guaranteed by law. High Commissioner also had the opportunity to hear from representatives from different social sectors, including women, health, judiciary, and labor. Clouds cannot overshadow the sun, and truth will debunk all lies. China has made clear its stern position on the so-called Xinjiang report, and resolutely opposes smearing and attacking China with lies and disinformation, Ma said, adding that it needs to be pointed out that certain Western countries, out of ulterior motives, went to great lengths to disrupt and undercut the High Commissioner's visit, their plot didn't succeed. Ma stressed in the end that in terms of human rights protection, no one can claim perfection and there is always room for improvement. China will unswervingly follow the human rights development path that suits its national conditions, and advocate the shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. "China stands ready to cooperate with the OHCHR and others on the basis of equity and mutual respect, to actively carry out international human rights exchange and cooperation, enhance participation in global human rights governance, and jointly contribute to the sound development of international human rights and to the community with a shared future for mankind," he said. A contestant performs during the "Chinese Bridge" competition in Bucharest, Romania, May 28, 2022. The Romanian edition of the 21st "Chinese Bridge," an annual Chinese proficiency competition for foreign college students, was held on Saturday. (Xinhua/Lin Huifen) BUCHAREST, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The 21st "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Romanian College Students, the first offline edition since the COVID-19 pandemic, was held here on Saturday. A total of 17 contestants from across the country competed in the event, with Martin Sharma, a sophomore from the University of Bucharest winning the Grand Prize. He will represent Romania in the "Chinese Bridge" global final. The students competed in three segments featuring keynote speech, knowledge quiz and talent show, explaining their understanding of "One World, One Family", the theme of the competition, from various perspectives such as language learning, literature, film, music, and delicious food. Zhao Li, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Romania, said in an opening speech that the bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchanges have never been interrupted over the past seven decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Romania. Expressing her appreciation that many Romanians are enthusiastic on learning Chinese and understanding Chinese culture, the counselor voiced hope that the young Chinese learners in Romania will contribute to the promotion of friendship between the two countries from generation to generation. Mugur Zlotea, who once studied Chinese in China and is now Pro-rector of the University of Bucharest, delivered a speech in fluent Chinese, praising the teachers and volunteers of the four Confucius Institutes in the country for their efforts in Chinese teaching, and encouraging students to learn Chinese well. The 15th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Romanian Secondary School Students was held last Saturday in the Black Sea coastal city of Constanta. Mara Mereanu from the Confucius Classroom in the western city of Arad stood out from the 17 contestants and won the qualification to represent her country in the "Chinese Bridge" global final for secondary students later this year. Spectators look on during the "Chinese Bridge" competition in Bucharest, Romania, May 28, 2022. The Romanian edition of the 21st "Chinese Bridge," an annual Chinese proficiency competition for foreign college students, was held on Saturday. (Xinhua/Lin Huifen) Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai (R) and Myanmar's Union Minister for Health Thet Khaing Win attend the handover ceremony of China-donated mobile laboratory vehicles at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, May 29, 2022. (Xinhua/U Aung) YANGON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China has donated 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines along with 13 million COVID-19 vaccine syringes and two mobile laboratory vehicles to Myanmar, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in Myanmar on Sunday. The Chinese embassy handed them over to Myanmar's Ministry of Health at the Yangon International Airport on Sunday. The China-donated COVID-19 vaccines and syringes arrived in Myanmar in separate batches starting from May 18 to May 29. China has been continuously providing medical supplies to Myanmar in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and has helped Myanmar in filling and packing COVID-19 vaccines to boost the country's vaccination rate, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said at the handover ceremony. Myanmar's Union Minister for Health Thet Khaing Win expressed thanks for China's donation. The currently-donated COVID-19 vaccines will be used in the inoculation of children aged five to 12 years old, and the two mobile laboratory vehicles will be used at the country's border checkpoints, Thet said. The friendly cooperation between Myanmar and China will contribute to epidemic prevention and control as well as the socio-economic development of both countries, Thet said. Myanmar has already administered vaccination to more than 92 percent of its adult population aged 18 years and above, Thet added. As of May 24, Myanmar has fully vaccinated more than 26.11 million people, or roughly 47 percent of the population, against COVID-19 in the country, official data showed. As of Saturday, Myanmar confirmed 613,298 cases of COVID-19 and 19,434 related deaths, official data showed. Photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows China-donated COVID-19 vaccines at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar. (Xinhua/U Aung) Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai (R) and Myanmar's Union Minister for Health Thet Khaing Win attend the handover ceremony of China-donated medical supplies in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, May 29, 2022. (Xinhua/U Aung) Photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows China-donated COVID-19 vaccines at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar. (Xinhua/U Aung) NICOSIA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus and Israel on Sunday kicked-off their "biggest ever" joint military exercise in the Cypriot air, sea and land territory, a Defense Ministry statement said. The statement added that the exercise, codenamed "Agapinor 2022", which will be held largely on Cypriot territory, with the participation of "land, air and sea forces from both countries," will be concluded on Thursday. Defense Ministry sources were quoted by Cypriot media as saying that judging from the military units taking part, the exercise will be the biggest ever so far. "The maneuver is part of the agreed Bilateral Military Cooperation Program between the two countries and depicts the excellent relations of the two countries in the field of defense and security," the Defense Ministry statement said. Israeli media said that Israel's Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz will watch part of the exercise, but did not elaborate. They also said that Israeli special forces units and "many military aircraft" will take part in the exercise. The Chinese-built Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train service, launched five years ago, has brought convenience to Kenya's working class, as it's fast, reliable, comfortable and affordable. NAIROBI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- As a veteran insurance sales agent, Farahana Mghoi, a mother of two, used to dread bus rides from her hometown of Voi in southeastern Kenya to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to meet a potential client. Thanks to the Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train service that was launched on May 31, 2017, Mghoi has found respite from tiresome, slow and often unreliable public service vehicles that she previously used to attend to business and personal matters. Since 2018, Mghoi has been shuttling between Nairobi, where she currently resides, and Voi, with a distance of about 328 km, on weekly basis using the modern passenger train, in her quest for more business opportunities. During a recent interview with Xinhua ahead of the 5th anniversary since the launch of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR passenger train service, Mghoi said it had boosted her career growth thanks to efficient, reliable and affordable mobility it has always guaranteed her whenever she travels to meet new clients. Farahana Mghoi takes the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, May 23, 2022. (Photo by Eric/Xinhua) "Before the launch of (the) SGR passenger train, I used to travel between Nairobi and Voi using public service vehicles locally known as matatus but they were tiresome and slow," said Mghoi. "However, my experience of using the SGR train has been satisfactory. It is very convenient and affordable. I am able to reach my destination on time and negotiate for a potential business opportunity with ease." It takes an average of four hours for Mghoi to travel from Nairobi to Voi to negotiate a business deal using the SGR commuter train as opposed to up to seven hours using a bus. She disclosed that while inside the modern train, she enjoys reading books or listening to music, adding that its punctuality has cemented trust and confidence with her clients, including small business owners. Mghoi has traveled more than 70 times between Nairobi and Voi using the modern train service while looking for business opportunities. During holidays, she brings along her children, amid guarantee of their safety and comfort. She belongs to a growing army of Kenyan skilled labor force, entrepreneurs and adventure-seekers who have embraced the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR passenger train service, in their quest for seamless mobility along its 480-km corridor. Francis Gachari, a 60-year-old father of two who lectures physics at the Technical University of Mombasa, said he started using the modern train service since its launch five years ago and has reaped benefits including arriving on time at his workplace. "I travel from Mombasa to Nairobi where my family stays every weekend using the SGR passenger train and return to Mombasa Monday. The train is punctual, safe and affordable," said Gachari. He noted that the skilled workforce based in towns along the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR corridor has gained immensely from the seamless mobility that was unleashed by the modern train service. The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, which is later expected to reach Malaba town on Kenya's western border with Uganda, is a critical component of China's Belt and Road Initiative whose overall goal is to enhance regional connectivity, trade and integration. Also, the 120-km Nairobi-Suswa SGR line, a critical section of the Nairobi-Malaba SGR project, that was launched in October 2019, has been instrumental in opening north-western Kenyan counties to trade and investments. Frequent users of the Nairobi-Suswa SGR passenger train service like Patriciah Muyoma Imbayi, a mother of two who works at a private firm on the southern edges of the Kenyan capital, praised its efficiency and affordability. She boards the train at the Ngong station adjacent to her home and about 25 km north of Nairobi for commuting to her workplace near the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR terminus. Imbayi's monthly transport expenditure has reduced from 9,000 shillings (about 77 U.S. dollars) to 6,000 shillings, saving her 25.73 U.S. dollars, thanks to the use of the modern train service. George Bosire, a 33-year-old commerce major and an employee of a solar company based near the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR terminus said the passenger train has enabled him to report to work on time. Bosire, a resident of Ngong, Nairobi, has used the Nairobi-Suswa passenger train more than 160 times since 2021 and hailed its convenience, affordability, safety and reliability when compared to other public service vehicles. As of May 26, 2022, more than 7.7 million passengers have used the SGR passenger trains between Mombasa, Nairobi and Suswa, according to Afristar, the SGR operator. Aerial photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being towed from Maoming to Luodousha sea area, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) An engineer works in a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in south China's Guangdong Province, May 26, 2022. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 27, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being towed from Maoming to Luodousha sea area, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the blades of a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being assembled in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the a blade of a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the blades of a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being assembled in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being assembled in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 27, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 29, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" being towed from Maoming to Luodousha sea area, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 27, 2022 shows an engineer working on the top of a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Aerial photo taken on May 27, 2022 shows a deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province. China's first deep-sea floating wind power equipment "Fuyao" was towed in Maoming, south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. It will be tested in Luodousha sea area where the average water depth is 65 meters. "Fuyao" wind turbine is equipped with 6.2 megawatt typhoon-resistant wind power generating units. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) ANHA correspondent confirmed that the citizen Fadi Khalawi was wounded this morning as a result of Turkish occupation army bombardment, with light weapons, on the village of Mua'allaq, western countryside of Ain Issa district. Sh-S ANHA RAMALLAH, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Sunday rejected the remarks of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in which he said that "Jerusalem is a unified city." Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a press statement that "East Jerusalem and all its holy sites will remain the eternal capital of the state of Palestine under the United Nations resolutions and international law." "Security and stability would never be achieved in the region as long as Israel continues its war on the Palestinian people and their land," he said. Abu Rudeineh added the only way to achieve stability and everlasting peace is "to gain the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, mainly establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." "The Israeli remarks will never give legitimacy to the occupation of the city of Jerusalem," he noted, adding that the U.S. is requested to bear its responsibilities "to stop the Israeli violations and stop its double-standard policy." On Sunday, the Israeli media reported that Bennett pledged at a ceremony in memory of the Ethiopian Jews who died attempting to reach Israel that "Jerusalem would remain a united city forever." "On Jerusalem Day, we mark not only the unity of our capital, but also the unity of our people," said Bennett. FREETOWN, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Beginning June 1, mining companies and other commercial end-users of fuel in Sierra Leone will have to import their own fuel or buy it from oil marketing companies (OMCs) under a foreign currency-denominated contract, the Finance Ministry has said. The policy directive is part of the government's approach to mitigating the ongoing crisis in the country's petroleum downstream sector, which has largely been attributed to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Finance Minister Dennis Vandy was quoted as saying in a statement issued late Thursday. The new policy is part of "strategic decisions" being taken following discussions with stakeholders in the sector, including petroleum importers, necessitated by the need to reduce pressure on the Central Bank of Sierra Leone from providing foreign currency to the oil marketing companies, the statement said. According to the finance ministry, out of a total of 61,545,694 liters of diesel fuel uplifted by the OMCs between January and March, mining companies and other end-users uplifted 32,539,167, accounting for around 53 percent. "This implies that while the government provides concessions to these agencies, they also enjoy non-pass-through costs as they are also heavily subsidized by the meager resources of foreign support by the Bank of Sierra Leone with the aim of cushioning the retail market," Vandy said. "The situation could get serious with evidence that mining companies were stockpiling diesel fuel with limited supply to ordinary consumers," the finance minister added. According to finance ministry data, the central bank provided an estimated 24 million U.S. dollars in foreign exchange support in the first quarter of this year for the importation of petroleum products. The central bank is said to be considering an additional 35 million U.S. dollars to support the OMCs. ADDIS ABABA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Africa's fight against terrorism is reduced to the minimum due to a lack of strong support from the international community, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has said. Mahamat made the remarks as African leaders on Saturday convened the AU Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa that was held in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea. The meeting envisaged strengthening the collective security of African countries facing terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government. Mahamat said terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government feed each other, with intertwined causes which provide fertile ground for military coups and terrorist attacks on the continent. Mahamat said Africa's fight against terrorism is slowed down by the lack of strong commitment from the international community. He further expressed concern over the resurgence in military coups across Africa, as he emphasized the need to abolish unconstitutional changes of government in Africa as it promotes terrorism and armed violence. Mahamat said the sustainability and stability of democratic institutions is a guarantee of the economic and social development of African countries. Conversely, the untimely ruptures of the democratic process in progress constitute obstacles to the continent. He said terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government are indisputably reversing Africa's development priorities and hampering the continent's march towards progress and development. The high-level gathering was convened under the framework of the AU Extraordinary Summit running from Wednesday to Saturday. According to the AU's African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT), several structural factors are responsible for the spread of terrorism. Among the factors include transnational organized crimes and financing of terrorism and the proliferation of arms; resurgence of the role of foreign fighters and mercenaries; political instability; chronic governance deficits and the resultant worsening poverty and inequality; deliberate misinterpretation and misrepresentation of religion; weak defense and law enforcement response capacities. UN Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, who heads the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, on his part told the African leaders that terrorism remains a significant global threat, affecting the lives and well-being of millions of people. "This threat has been felt particularly in the five regions of Africa, where terrorist activities have regrettably increased," he said. According to the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, approximately half of all deaths attributed to terrorism globally last year were recorded in the African continent. Voronkov said terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida and Da'esh, as well as their affiliates, have intensified their attacks across Africa, promoting chaos, killing innocent civilians, exacerbating intercommunal tensions, and contributing to humanitarian catastrophes, undermining state authority, and upending development. In West Africa and the Sahel, they continue to exploit limited governing capacities, socioeconomic fragilities and local grievances, he said. He said the challenge is further compounded by the intricate relationships between terrorists, armed groups and criminal networks, and the political upheaval caused by the recent wave of coups. He said terrorist activities have exacerbated ongoing conflict dynamics, aggravating instability and human suffering in several African countries. Voronkov said reports of an increased influx of foreign terrorist fighters in some of these countries are also gravely concerning. African leaders attending the meeting, among other things, assessed the persistent threats, and evaluate current response mechanisms. The meeting is expected to decide on the specific actions and measures necessary to strengthen the collective security of AU member states facing terrorism and violent extremism, according to the AU. DAR ES SALAAM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities have renovated 2,000 kilometers of roads in 22 national parks as the country braced for an influx of tourists following the slackening of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on Sunday. Francis Michael, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said the renovation of the roads was financed by funds released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2021. On Sept. 7, 2021, the IMF approved 567.25 million U.S. dollars in emergency financial assistance to support Tanzania's efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing the urgent health, humanitarian, and economic costs. In releasing the funds, the IMF said Tanzania's economic outlook had deteriorated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael said apart from the renovation of the roads, the government has also rehabilitated eight airstrips in national parks and other protected areas in the East African nation. He told tourism stakeholders, including tour operators and hoteliers that the tourism sector in Tanzania is recovering fast after it was impacted by the pandemic. According to official statistics, 1.4 million tourists visited Tanzania in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic that hugely affected the tourism industry. Only 620,867 tourists visited the country in 2020, the year that the pandemic was first reported in Tanzania and across the world. YAOUNDE, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian army said on Sunday its troops have killed three separatist fighters including a commander in the country's war-torn English-speaking region of Southwest. Troops launched an offensive on Saturday in Afab village of the region where separatist fighters had set up a camp and killed a key separatist commander, the army said. Two of his fighters were also killed during the clashes. There was no news about casualties on government forces. Last week, the commander imposed a lockdown in the region, blocking a major highway that links Cameroon to neighboring Nigeria for one week. The army said he was notorious for countless attacks on civilians and the military. Clashes between government forces and separatists began in 2017 after separatists declared the "independence" of Cameroon's two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest. KAMPALA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A Yemeni national has been arrested at Uganda's Entebbe International Airport with rhino horns concealed in food items to hide their identity. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the state-run wildlife conservation agency, said in a statement that the Yemeni national was arrested on Sunday as he attempted to depart the east African country. The rhino horns were 26 pieces weighing 15 kilograms. "We urge the public to desist from wildlife crimes. UWA will continue to make Uganda a dangerous place for anyone involved in wildlife crimes," the statement said. CAIRO, May 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 "extremely dangerous" terrorists were killed in a military raid in North Sinai province in northeastern Egypt, the Egyptian armed forces announced on Sunday. "A terrorist outpost was discovered in which some terrorist elements were holed up, where they were besieged and raided," said Egyptian military spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez in a statement, without revealing the exact date of the raid. The forces also arrested an injured terrorist while attempting to run away. The terrorists had guns and ammunition in their possession, in addition to hand grenades, explosive belts, and a number of wireless devices. The Egyptian military said that it is determined "to uproot the remaining roots of terrorism and extremism and to continue construction and development in all parts of Egypt." Egypt has been fighting terrorism in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula over the past decade and the country managed to greatly limit terrorist activities in the peninsula. The terrorists in Sinai are mostly loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group. Earlier this month, at least 11 Egyptian soldiers were killed in clashes with terrorists attacking a water pumping station east of the Suez Canal. A few days later, the army announced killing 23 terrorists in raids that led to the death of five soldiers. ADDIS ABABA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Sunday disclosed 1,167 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in Sudan in recent days. The UNHCR in its latest situation update report said the vast majority of the new arrivals were from Ethiopia with 1,130 crossing over to Sudan's Blue Nile state from Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region. "The remaining 37 new Ethiopian refugees' arrivals entered Sudan through border crossings in Sudan's Geadref state," the UNHCR report disclosed. Tensions have been high for years in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region, with periodic outbreaks of ethnic strife leaving scores dead and tens of thousands fleeing to other parts of Ethiopia as well as to neighboring Sudan. The violence is mainly over access to power and land resources. Benishangul-Gumuz region, located along the Ethiopia-Sudan border, hosts Ethiopia's largest development project - the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is under construction on the Blue Nile River with a construction cost of close to 5 billion U.S. dollars. Separately, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have also crossed to Sudan since the start of the military confrontations between the federal and regional forces in the Tigray region broke out in November 2020. DAR ES SALAAM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's Zanzibar authorities on Sunday launched a massive tree planting campaign aimed at making the Indian Ocean islands green in the wake of impacts caused by climate change. Othman Masoud Othman, Zanzibar's First Vice-President, launched the campaign as part of celebrations to mark the World Environment Day on June 5, the United Nations' flagship day for promoting worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Massive planting of trees will not only help to control deforestation but it will also contribute toward controlling the impacts of climate change which is affecting social and economic development on the islands, he said. "Trees are also important source of medicines," said Othman when he launched the campaign at Mwera school on Unguja Island. He urged members of the public and the private sector to support the government in its mission of re-greening Zanzibar's twin Islands of Unguja and Pemba. NAIROBI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China has maintained economic resilience despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, a Kenyan expert said on Sunday. Beatrice Matiri-Maisori, a senior economics lecturer at Kenya's Riara University told Xinhua that Beijing's resilience is underpinned by growth in domestic consumption that is driven by an expanding middle and high-income population segment. "The domestic consumption focus has also been on technology development, through the use of robotics, artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution," Matiri-Maisori said. She revealed that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, several Chinese industries were affected in terms of meeting their supply chain demands due to logistical disruptions. "But we all know that towards the end of 2020-2021, we saw China re-emerge greater and stronger than they were during the COVID-19 period," she added. According to the expert, the development and uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations reinvigorated China's economy. Matiri-Maisori added that the renewed focus on climate action and environmental protection in China has resulted in more high-end value chain productivity as more budgets are allocated towards research, development and technological advancement. She said the theme of the just-concluded World Economic Forum is in line with China's culture and values. She added that China is leading the way in terms of togetherness and engaging everybody around the world in multilateralism and inclusive growth and is also committed to maintaining trust by doing what it promised to do. "So in my view, I think they are really at the front, leading whatever is the requirement for multilateral action around the world," she said. The development expert said that there is currently a desire for some countries to really pull together for their self-benefit. "And you have heard, the terminology around decoupling, as opposed to multilateralism and really countries looking inwards in terms of safeguarding what they have built over the years," she observed. Matiri-Maisori said that the message that has come out so clearly post COVID-19, is that, if there is a disease that affects one nation, the whole world will eventually be impacted. "I really like the way the world went ahead to ensure that there was vaccination for all, sometimes you tended to see Africa lagging behind, but you really saw some nations, especially China committing to donate vaccines to African countries," Matiri-Maisori said. She noted that the international community should unite to combat the negative effects of climate change so that the planet can move towards carbon neutrality. " Fighting for unity and fighting for oneness is really what is important, as they say, no one is safe until all of us are safe," Matiri-Maisori said. NEW DELHI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Local government in the eastern Indian state of Bihar has decided to grant permission for exploration of its gold reserve, an official said Sunday. The gold reserves, believed to be country's largest, are said to be in Jamui district, about 170 km southeast of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. "The state mines and geology department is in consultation with agencies engaged in exploration, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Mineral Development Corporation, for tapping the gold reserves in Jamui," senior Bihar government official Harjot Kaur Bamhrah told media. "The consultation process started after an analysis of the GSI findings which indicated the presence of gold in areas such as Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono in Jamui district," Bamhrah said. She said the local government is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding with a central agency or agencies for G3 (preliminary) stage exploration within a month's time. Last year, federal mines minister Pralhad Joshi told the Indian parliament that Bihar holds the highest share of India's gold reserves. DHAKA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers was observed on Sunday in Bangladesh as Bangladeshi President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made separate statements to commend the UN peacekeeping force. Hasina said Bangladesh is ready to send more peacekeepers to the UN peacekeeping missions as the country is committed to playing a stronger role in establishing world peace. "We're ready to send more peacekeepers in response to the call of the UN," she said while speaking at a program through a videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka. As part of the celebrations, relatives of martyred peacekeepers and injured peacekeeping members were given a reception at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center, which is also known as the Bangladesh-China friendship conference center in Dhaka. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed on May 29 every year. BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he had discussed defense support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We talked about strengthening defense support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted, adding that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis. - - - - Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the global food security. Putin informed Macron and Scholz of the latest developments of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, noting that the Russian armed forces strictly observe the norms of international humanitarian law, the Kremlin said in a press release. Macron and Scholz called on Putin "to agree on direct dialogue" with Zelensky, and underscored "the urgent need for the blockade of Odessa to be lifted to allow the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea to avert a global food crisis," according to the Elysee. Putin said the difficulties in food supplies are caused by the erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries as well as their anti-Russian sanctions. As for the peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Putin confirmed that the Russian side is open to resuming the frozen dialogue. - - - - Ukraine is receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles and ground-based launchers, the country's Defense Ministry said Saturday on Facebook. "The latest weapons are provided by Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Other countries will join this process," the ministry said, adding that the missiles will be used to defend Ukraine from Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Three types of 155-mm artillery, namely the M777 howitzers, FH70 howitzers and CAESAR self-propelled howitzers, have already arrived in Ukraine and are working on the frontlines, Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexiy Reznikov said in a separate statement. KIEV, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he had discussed defense support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We talked about strengthening defense support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted. The Ukrainian leader added that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis. Earlier this month, Johnson announced that the British government will provide 1.3 billion pounds (about 1.64 billion U.S. dollars) in military aid for Ukraine. TEHRAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) announced in a statement that the crew members of the two Greek oil tankers seized by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf have not been detained and are in full health, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday. The statement said the two tankers have been impounded due to committing maritime violations, noting that the issue is under investigation based on the available evidence and documents. It gave the assurance that the required judicial measures will be taken following the completion of the investigations and collection of the needed evidence. According to the statement, all crew members onboard the ships are being protected in accordance with international law. The IRGC seized on Friday two Greek oil tankers in the Gulf days after a Russian-operated ship was captured by Greece in its territorial waters and its Iranian crude cargo was confiscated by the United States. Earlier in the day, Iran's Nour News, affiliated with the country's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reported that the country was going to take "punitive action" against Greece over the tanker's seizure. On Wednesday, the PMO issued a statement, describing the U.S. seizure of the Iranian oil cargo from the ship in Greece's territorial waters as an "act of piracy" that was "in violation of international standards." MOSCOW, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that his country will continue to supply natural gas to Serbia uninterruptedly, during a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Putin and Vucic discussed bilateral relations in detail, including "steps to expand mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation," and exchanged views on the "situation in Ukraine and developments around Kosovo," the Kremlin said in a statement. It added that the leaders reaffirmed their common position to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia. Lithuanian TV presenter raises EUR 5 m for Bayraktar UAV for Ukraine, but his father dies during the effort 29 May, 02:47 PM Lithuanian TV presenter and public figure Andrus Tapinas (Photo:LaisvesTV / YouTube) UAV for Ukraine, but his father dies during the effort Lithuanian TV presenter and public figure Andrus Tapinas raised EUR 5 million to buy a Bayraktar TB2 military drone for the defenders of Ukraine in just three days, but suffered a personal tragedy at the same time the death of his father. Read also: 35 lung ventilators purchased with funds raised via United 24 fundraising initiative arrive in Ukraine The fundraising campaign started on May 25 and by the evening of May 28, during a special broadcast, the journalist announced he had already raised the required amount by the end of the broadcast, 5,074,037 euros had been raised. The journalist wrote on Facebook that the special broadcast on May 28 was the most difficult in his life, as during it he had got news of his fathers death. I will probably never have a more difficult live broadcast, Tapinas said. Like the last days, waiting for the inevitable. Life is a master of irony. When, at the moment of our triumph, the phone next to me rings, and I can't answer the call, although I know what it means... My dad left tonight after an unbelievable fight he said enough and went on his last journey. Ambassador of Ukraine in Lithuania Petro Beshta said that this is the first case in history when the general public had raised enough money to buy something like a Bayraktar, news agency Reuters reported. Tapinas earlier agreed with the Lithuanian and Turkish authorities to buy a Bayraktar, which he called a terrible killer of the Russian military. He said that in this way Lithuania was not only buying a drone but also attracting the attention of the international community and setting an example raising the fighting spirit of Ukrainians and demonstrating how Lithuanians support the Ukrainian people. Russian invasion of Ukraine goes into its fourth month. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Putin's Russia might repeat the fate of the USSR 29 May, 11:39 AM The war of aggression, which was supposed to be a piece of cake, turned into a real hell for both parties. Mass resistance to the invaders. Mass killings of civilians. The condemnation of aggression by Western democracies has led not only to economic sanctions but also to the supply of weapons that have helped beat the occupiers. This is what the Soviet war in Afghanistan looked like. The war became one of the main triggers that led to the collapse of the communist empire and its disappearance from the political map of the world. Putins Russia, which has declared itself the successor state of the Soviet Union and said this was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, has every chance of repeating the fate of the Soviet Union. Once again, the trigger for the destruction of the empire will be the war of aggression launched by it. The war in Ukraine. When in December 1979, an 80,000 Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, things seemed to be going according to plan. But it soon became clear that capturing cities and several roads did not mean conquering the country. Armed resistance unfolded more and more. The whole country hated the occupiers and they responded accordingly. Responded to the mass killings of civilians. Soviet aircraft and artillery wiped out towns and villages along with their inhabitants, and shootings and torture took place at every turn. At least one million Afghans died during the Soviet intervention. But this did not break popular resistance. The free world was outraged by the barbaric Soviet attack on an independent state and the horrific crimes against Afghan citizens. The attitude toward the Soviet Union, already not very friendly, became openly hostile. 65 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan and even China, boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States banned supplies of grain and machinery to the Soviet Union. And most importantly, they began to help the Afghan insurgents, including giving them modern weapons. It was the American Stingers that enabled the Mujahideen to shoot down Soviet planes and helicopters. Save their wives, parents, and children. The war cost the aggressor more and more financially and with manpower. The so-called limited international contingent grew. More than 600,000 Soviet soldiers passed through Afghanistan. According to official figures, 15,000 of them died and more than 50,000 were injured. Despite all the Kremlins propaganda efforts, dissatisfaction with the war grew in the Soviet Union. People did not understand why their relatives were dying or crippled and how long it would last. Dissatisfaction and then open demands to end the war eventually forced Moscow to retreat. In February 1989, after 9 years of war, the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan. But in the USSR itself, along with this bloody war, the irreversible process had begun and a year and a half later led to its collapse. Russias war against Ukraine is in many ways similar to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. But there are many differences. And these differences do not favor the invaders. In that war, Ukrainians fought in the occupying army, and now they are defending their state from aggressors. Other former republics of the USSR, now independent states, are no longer fighting for Russia. Instead, Moscow uses primarily mobilized troops from Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Dagestan as their cannon fodder in Ukraine In Afghanistan, the invaders quickly seized the capital and all the major cities, assassinated the president, and installed their own puppet government. The Afghan army was put at the service of the occupiers, and the resistance was carried out by guerrilla methods. In Ukraine, neither the capital nor other key targets were captured by the enemy. The president, parliament and government still run the country. And the Armed Forces are not only repelling the enemy, but have already liberated a significant part of the occupied territories. The losses of the Russian occupiers in Ukraine in a single month exceed the losses of the Soviet Union in all the 9 years of war in Afghanistan. In addition, this war is not happening somewhere far away, but in Europe. Both Europe and the entire civilized world are unanimous in supporting Ukraine. Sanctions against Russia are much stronger than the sanctions against the USSR, and this just the beginning. The heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people will multiply the flow of coffins and cripples to Russia, and Western sanctions will destroy the economy of the evil empire. Sooner or later, it will undermine the empire from within. This time: finally and forever. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News During the armed conflict, the then CPN-Maoist used to say that over 80 per cent of Nepals rural area was under its control although their presence was negligible in urban Nepal. But, a few years later, the Maoists agreed to a peace treaty. They dropped their bullets and picked up ballot papers. Since then, they have taken part in four elections. Apart from the 2008 elections, in which the Maoists did well, their performance in urban Nepal has been dire. And, this is a major problem for the party that wants to create a good image in Nepals major cities. The problem got manifested in recent local elections also. Kathmandus case File: A view of the Kathmandu valley Himal Sharma, a central member of the CPN-Maoist Centre, says even though its presence in the cities is good, election results say otherwise. We want to change this. Were always talking about how we can win the trust of the urban crowd, says Sharma. In Kathmandu, the number of votes the party got has increased, but the results have not been positive. When the Maoists contested the elections in 2008, the story was different. The party did well in the rural areas, but their performance in urban Nepal was quite promising too. Out of Kathmandus 10 constituencies, they had won five of them. Jhakku Prasad Subedi, a nobody, even beat Madhav Kumar Nepal shocking everyone. But after that, things have not been good. During the 2013 elections, The party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal himself lost as no Maoist leader won in Kathmandu valley. In the 2017 local elections, the situation was similar as the Maoists could secure victory in only one municipality in the valley despite the party forming a coalition with the CPN-UML. They did, however, win the posts of vice-chairman of Lalitpurs Bagmati and Mahankal rural municipalities and deputy mayor of Madhyapur Thimi municipality this time. But even these were thanks to the coalition it formed with the Nepali Congress and the Unified Socialist. The Maoists that had won Laltipurs Konjyosom rural municipality on its own in 2017 were not able to win this year even though they had a coalition. What was embarrassing was its inability to win the deputy mayor election in Lalitpur even though it got a lot of support from the Nepali Congress. The CPN-Maoist Centre also failed to win the deputy mayor election in Kathmandus Tarakeshwar, Kageshwari Manohara and Gokarneshwar municipalities. In Tokha, Budhanilakantha, Shankarapur, Nagarjun and Kirtipur, they contested alone but was not able to win. Outside Kathmandu This map shows seven provinces of Nepal Away from the valley, the partys performance is similar as far as urban Nepal is concerned. The only city where it did well is Bharatpur where Pushpa Kamal Dahals daughter Renu Dahal won the mayoral election. There are other municipalities it has won, but almost all of them are in the countrys rural areas. In Biratnagar, it did not win a single ward as it got fewer votes than it did in 2017 despite the number of voters increasing. In Dharan sub-metropolitan city, it did win the deputy mayoral election thanks to the coalition but could not win a single ward. Its number of votes also went down compared to last time. In Butwal, it only won one ward. Thanks to the coalition, the Maoists won the mayor of Jitpur-Simara sub-metropolitan city but only won four wards compared to the 10 they won in 2017. They also lost in the Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city. Whats wrong? CPN-Maoist Centre central office, Paris Danda, Kathmandu Political commentator Hari Roka says that the reason for the lack of support for the party in urban Nepal is that the Maoists forgot the poor people who live in the cities. The city elite didnt vote for them, the poor did. Why? Because the Maoists raised their concern, which led to an increment in wages and other facilities, says Roka. He argues that since then the Maoists have not had a proper agenda for urban Nepal as he feels that the party has lost its core values. What they want and aim to do isnt clear anymore. They couldve pushed for policies for smaller industries to make things easier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). But, they did nothing and the low number of votes from urban Nepal is an example of this, says Roka. He says even though the party had won the hearts of some people in urban Nepal, that was only temporary as the party could not maintain its positive image amongst the people in the cities for long. It should have come up with a long-term plan, but a lack of vision and proper programmes meant it could not do as well as it had hoped for, says Roka. Maoist leaders know this too. DP Dhakal, a central member of the party, agrees that they have not been able to fulfil their promises made to the people in urban Nepal, and hence they do not believe in them anymore. We couldnt take advantage of what we were able to do in 2008. Rather than putting our focus on this, we spent time quarrelling with each other and split. This was our biggest mistake, he says. Is a revival possible? File: A general convention of the CPN-Maoist Centre in December 2021 Maoist leader Himal Sharma says they will talk about the partys poor performance in urban Nepal in the forthcoming central committee meeting. We will review this and talk about how we can move forward in cities, says Sharma. We will take a new approach; thats for sure. Dhakal says that a revival is possible if the party does a few things. First, he says the party needs to do away with its initial political ideology. Second, he says the party needs to improve its management and focus on marketing so people know what it is doing. Lastly, he says it needs to focus on creating jobs and opportunities. People in urban Nepal will vote if they believe we can create change. Now, we need to work hard on it, says Dhakal. This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length. FILE PHOTO: The logo of AGL Energy Ltd, Australia's no.2 power retailer, adorns the building of their head office in Sydney, Australia By Sonali Paul and Harshita Swaminathan MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia's top power producer AGL Energy on Monday ditched plans to split the company and said its chairman and CEO would step down, caving in to opposition from billionaire climate activist and top shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes. AGL's capitulation comes as the country's biggest carbon emitter faces growing calls to speed up the closure of its coal-fired plants and invest in renewable energy, while under pressure to drive down electricity prices. AGL shares fell as much as 4.6% in early trade on the uncertainty unleashed by the board's backflip. "Unfortunately for shareholders now, they have no chairman, no CEO and no strategy," Barrenjoey analyst Dale Koenders said. The firm maintains demerging its coal-focused generation business was the best way forward following a 75% slump in its shares over the previous five years, but resistance from Cannon-Brookes meant it would not be able to secure the required majority in a shareholder vote, AGL said. AGL would have needed approval from 75% of shares voted to split into AGL Australia, an energy retailer, and Accel Energy, a power producer, but with Cannon-Brookes owning 11.3% and only around half of the group's shares typically voted at an annual meeting, the vote was set to fail. AGL said it would undertake a strategic review, with a focus on potential decarbonisation initiatives and also engage further with Grok Ventures, Cannon-Brookes' investment vehicle. "Wow. A huge day for Australia. Had to sit down & take it in," Cannon-Brookes said in a post on Twitter. "We embrace the opportunities of decarbonisation with Aussie courage, tenacity & creativity. Lots of work but we CAN do this." Grok said it had requested a meeting with AGL's two board members appointed to run the review, adding the company must be kept together and have a decarbonisation plan aligned with the Paris climate agreement. Story continues "We will be seeking assurance from the co-chairs that the 'strategic review' is not code for selling off AGL's assets piece by piece," a Grok spokesperson said in an emailed statement. AGL said it had spent A$160 million ($114 million), out of the A$260 million it had estimated for demerger-related costs. HEADWINDS AGL's board said it was committed to working with all stakeholders to decarbonise AGL's business at the fastest rate possible "while ensuring energy system stability, energy affordability for retail and industrial customers, and appropriate shareholder value outcomes". AGL said CEO Graeme Hunt will step down, but will stay in his role until a successor is named. A search for an independent chairperson is also underway, after which the incumbent Peter Botten will resign, it added. Its strategic review will include new approaches for alternate transactions, AGL said. In March, AGL rejected a A$5.4 billion buyout offer from Cannon-Brookes and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management. AGL now has a market capitalisation of about A$5.92 billion. "There is the opportunity for someone to come in and snap up AGL, but I don't think AGL should focus on that," said Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments at Van Eck, among AGL's top 15 shareholders. "I think they should firmly focus on their long-term strategy for moving to renewables and decarbonising the electricity grid," Hannah added. Australia's wholesale power prices have spiked this year due to outages at several coal-fired units, including at AGL's Loy Yang plant, as well as soaring global coal and gas prices. Prices are expected to stay high for the next few years. However, AGL is unlikely to benefit fully from those until 2024 when its price hedges roll off, Barrenjoey's Koenders said. "There's definitely value over the next couple of years. But it might just be a tough 12 months to get to that value," Koenders added. ($1 = 1.3980 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan in Bengaluru and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Himani Sarkar) In a different era, the word "atrocity" was used mostly in wartime situations, be it Babyn Yar in Kyiv, the Katyn Forest massacre in Poland, the Andersonville Prison during the American Civil War, or My Lai in Vietnam. But since 1999 following the first modern mass school shooting at Columbine High School, I've been using words like "atrocity" and "massacre" to describe everyday American places: Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the Pulse night club in Orlando, the FedEx facility here in Indy, Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, and now Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. America, obviously, has a gun problem, as well as a mental health dilemma. School massacres have gone from about 25 annually in 2000 to 236 in 2021 and more than 135 so far this year. Since the pandemic hit in 2020, Americans have bought 40 million guns. Pew Research reports that the U.S. murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 the largest single-year increase in more than a century, according to data published this month by the CDC. There were 7.8 homicides for every 100,000 people in the United States in 2020, up from six homicides per 100,000 people the year before. According to the FBI, there were 21,570 murders last year, up 29% from 16,669 in 2019 and the highest annual total since 1995. Sheriffs guard people from visiting the memorial outside of Robb Elementary School Wednesday, May 25, 2022. At least 19 students and two adults died in a shooting at a Robb elementary school Tuesday, marking the deadliest school shooting in the state's history. A majority of the of these school rampages were done with AR-15s, a gun designed for military combat. The 18-year-old Uvalde terrorist legally purchased two AR-15s, though he wasn't old enough to buy a beer. The Wall Street Journal editorial board observed: The recent proliferation of mass shootings suggests a deeper malady than gun laws can fix. Firearm laws were few and weak before the 1970s. Yet only in recent decades have young men entered schools and supermarkets for the purpose of killing the innocent. That a teenager could look at a nine-year-old, aim a gun, and pull the trigger signals some larger social and cultural breakdown. Story continues The leading cause of death among American children is now guns, according to Axios. Indiana ranks 7th in the U.S. with 8.7 deaths per 100,000. Nearly two-thirds of the 4,368 U.S. youths up to age 19 who were killed by guns in 2020 were homicide victims (car crashes killed less than 4,000). How should we respond? A recent CBS News poll found 54% of Americans want laws covering the sale of guns; 30% believe gun laws should be kept as they are, and 16% want them to be less strict. A Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted entirely after the Uvalde massacre found 88% support requiring background checks for all gun sales (22% of guns are acquired without one); 75% back a national database; 67% favor banning assault rifles; 84% back blocking gun sales to those documented to be mentally ill. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday that the focus should be on school safety, even though the Uvalde and Buffalo atrocities were perpetrated with security guards on the premise. We have the means and we have the financial wherewithal to make sure that our schools maintain their integrity. That means one port of entry. Thats why we make sure they have wands, if needed, he said. You might call it hardening them when children are in the classrooms. Were not going to, I believe, in the State of Indiana, take steps to restrict individuals who lawfully can purchase a gun, for sport or defense for themselves." There are some common sense policy and manufacturing steps. If I lose my cellphone, it's useless to anyone who finds it. Why can't we make guns requiring a fingerprint? Or banning gun purchases for those under age 21? Or prohibit those guilty of domestic violence from legally purchasing a gun? Or require background checks for those buying ammunition? Brian Howey While the new Indiana congressional maps have created nine uncompetitive districts, there is a race for the U.S. Senate. Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young reacted to the latest Texas atrocity, saying, I am deeply saddened by the horrific shooting at an elementary school in Texas. Our nation mourns the innocent lives taken in this senseless tragedy, and my heart breaks for everyone who lost a loved one. They deserve answers on how and why this terrible event took place. All children and teachers deserve a safe and welcoming environment in our schools. While we dont yet know if it could have had an impact in this situation, enforceable red flag laws give local law enforcement a better chance at stopping senseless attacks." His Democratic opponent, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., said, Todd Young has done nothing since Sandy Hook. Young has done nothing since Pulse, Parkland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and now Uvalde and thousands of Americans have lost their lives. As we grieve the loss of our students and teachers in Texas, Todd Young is sitting in his office collecting donation after donation from the NRA to keep the status quo all while wishing for thoughts and prayers in hollow statements. Senator, its time to act or get out of Washington for those like me who do want to stop this violence and save our loved ones lives. It's time for this debate, as we await the next (inevitable) American atrocity. The columnist is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com. Find Howey on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Brian Howey column: The dilemma of the modern-day American atrocity MONTREAL, May 28, 2022 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has awarded the prestigious Charles Bury Award to the legends of Canadian lawyers who have generously provided pro-bono legal services to help uphold journalists' rights to report on matters of significant public interest. "Over the past four decades, there have been dozens and dozens of lawyers who have answered late-night calls from CAJ presidents, who've gone above and beyond in their tireless support of the CAJ's public-interest advocacy work," said CAJ president Brent Jolly. "In a time when press freedom is under attack in Canada, this award pays homage to those exceptional individuals who stand with journalists and help them ensure their constitutionally-protected rights, freedoms, and liberties are upheld." The critical work performed by lawyers in defending media freedom against encroachment by government and law enforcement agencies was brought into clear focus, again, this past year. In July, for example, the CAJ, in partnership with a coalition of news organizations and press freedom groups, won a case at the B.C. Supreme Court that required the RCMP to grant media full access to the blockades at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island. Then, in November, the CAJ decried the illegal arrest of two Canadian journalists reporting on the construction of a contentious natural gas pipeline in Wet'suwet'en territory in northern British Columbia. With assistance from counsel, charges against both were later dropped. "In many cases, lawyers have swept in to protect journalists from arbitrary arrest and against charges that should never have been laid in the first place," Jolly said. "Too often, police and governments have disproportionately targeted freelancers and small media organizations who would not otherwise be able to afford counsel. We are deeply grateful to lawyers who took on that duty to help uphold the public's right to know." Sean Hern, a Victoria, B.C.-based lawyer who represented the CAJ and coalition in the Fairy Creek case, accepted the Bury Award, on behalf of all lawyers being honoured, at the CAJ's annual awards gala dinner tonight in Montreal. Story continues This marks the second time in the CAJ's history that media lawyers have earned recognition for their work. In 2009, lawyers Paul Schabas, Peter Jacobsen, Jason Gratl, John Norris, and others, were acknowledged for their pro-bono work. The Charles Bury Award, formerly called the President's Award, is given under circumstances of exceptional merit to people or organizations that have made a significant contribution to Canadian journalism. The award was renamed in honour of veteran journalist and long-time CAJ board member Charles Bury, who died in February 2014. Last year, the CAJ's Bury Award recognized investigative data journalists, and professors, Fred Vallance-Jones and David McKie for their pioneering work in the field of computer-assisted reporting/data journalism in Canada over the past several decades in both newsrooms and classrooms across the country. Other former winners include the late Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi (posthumously), Journal de Montreal crime reporter Michel Auger; Radio-Canada investigative reporter Marie-Maude Denis, the Aboriginal People's Television Network, J-Source, and Massey College. The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organization with over 1200 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members. www.caj.ca | www.facebook.com/CdnAssocJournalists | www.twitter.com/CAJ SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2022/28/c3572.html Concept map along the Woodward Avenue and Columbia Street corridors in District Detroit. Real estate billionaire Stephen Ross and the Ilitch organization, who are collaborating on the University of Michigan's planned Detroit Center for Innovation, released conceptual renderings Thursday showing new retail, housing, hotel and office developments in and near downtown. The projects in the renderings, which include new construction and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, would be located in Detroit's sports venue district, known as The District Detroit. In a phone interview Thursday, Ross said he considers the Detroit Center for Innovation as the catalyst for the new developments. People want to live in downtown areas, and I dont think theres a site anywhere in the country that has the opportunity that this has," Ross said. Ross's New York-based real estate firm, Related Cos., expects to break ground sometime in 2023 on the $250 million Detroit Center for Innovation, or DCI, which would be an academic research center for U-M. The 200,000-square-foot center will be built on a surface parking lot situated west of the Fox Theatre, and be part of a three-building campus. The Ilitch organization is donating the land for the DCI campus. More: New location of Detroit Center for Innovation revealed More: Joe Louis Arena site tower could be finished in spring 2024 The new plans follow earlier proposals from the Ilitch organization that haven't fully come to fruition. In 2014, the Ilitch group released a series of colorful renderings of anticipated new construction and redevelopment around Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Red Wings and Pistons, showing lots of housing and a new hotel. The organization later faced criticism after the arena opened in 2017 and numerous buildings in the renderings were unbuilt. More recently, some developments in the earlier renderings have been completed, including the 92-unit Eddystone apartments and a new five-story office building next to LCA. Story continues Ross told the Free Press that the visions in this latest batch of renderings are serious development projects. I dont think wed be involved in trying to accomplish something if we didnt think they were going to be built," he said. One of the renderings shows an all-new office tower near Comerica Park. Ross said he believes there will be a market for all that new office space, even though some office tenants in general have been reevaluating their space needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and work-from-home setups. "Absolutely. Were very excited about that," Ross said of the office tower. "When we show people what were doing in that site, they really love that." Related Cos. would leverage its national relationships to find some tenants from outside Detroit to help fill the new tower, as well as the other developments. Were looking to bring in a lot of tenants from the outside," Ross said. "I think there will also be some (local) companies that see what were doing, and will want to relocate there. Construction of the new hotel depicted in the renderings, as well as the office tower near Comerica, could begin at about the same time as work on the DCI, or shortly thereafter, he said. As we continue to envision the amazing possibilities for Detroits future, today is another important step forward in making The District Detroit a signature live, work and play neighborhood that improves lives in our community, Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, said in a statement. The new renderings show: A future hotel on Henry Street, next to Little Caesars Arena: A conceptual rendering for a hotel next to LCA A future office tower with ground-floor retail space along Woodward Avenue next to Comerica Park: A conceptual rendering of a new office building with retail space Future residential, retail and office development along Park Street in downtown: Conceptual rendering for development along Park Avenue in downtown Detroit Future office, retail and residential along Columbia Street in downtown: Future rendering for Columbia Street in downtown Separate projects Just outside the district, the Related Cos. still plans to build an 83-unit, all-affordable apartment development near the Masonic Temple, called 3rd & Charlotte. Its partners on the project are Detroit-based The Platform and Olympia Development. Groundbreaking for that three-story, L-shaped building is dependent on the developers obtaining Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which could happen later this year. An early design rendering for 3rd & Charlotte that was shared at a public meeting on Dec. 21, 2021. The Ilitch organization also plans to soon rehab a block of six old apartment buildings near LCA along Cass and Henry Street. That project would create 170 newly renovated units, half of them reserved at below-market rents for lower-income individuals. It is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2023, a spokesperson said. In downtown, the Ilitch organization recently renovated the old Women's City Club building, 2110 Park Ave., for flexible office and coworking space. And the Ilitch-owned United Artists Theater Building, a vacant 18-story building at 150 Bagley St., is being rehabbed into 148 apartments to be called Residences @150 Bagley. That project is to finish in late 2023. Contact JC Reindl at 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stephen Ross, Ilitches release renderings for new Detroit projects (Bloomberg) -- Most Read from Bloomberg European Union leaders intend to give their political backing to a ban on Russian oil, paving the way for a possible agreement next month on a sixth package of sanctions targeting Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. EU leaders are working to enshrine their support for the plan in a joint statement, which could still change before its issued during their two-day summit in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. The sanctions proposal would halt seaborne imports by early next year, while pipeline supplies would be banned only once the concerns of several landlocked countries are satisfied, according to people familiar with the talks. The leaders political support doesnt mean a deal is imminent and several substantial hurdles remain to any accord. Hungary has so far refused to back a compromise despite proposals aimed at ensuring its Russian oil supplies, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Budapest wants further assurances that it can continue to import Russian oil if its pipeline supply is hindered. I dont think we are going to reach an agreement today, Estonian Prime Minster Kaja Kallas told reporters on Monday. So well try to reach an agreement by the summit in June. Druzhba Pipeline The EUs latest proposal would ban seaborne oil from Russia by early next year while delaying restrictions on imports through the giant Druzhba pipeline, which is Hungarys main source of crude imports, the people said. Hungary had previously suggested that an exemption to pipeline deliveries would secure its support. EU sanctions require the backing of all member states. Several nations had previously opposed distinguishing between seaborne and pipeline deliveries over a concern that such a split was unfair as it would disproportionately hit their supplies, the people said. Others were worried that the proposed compromises would soften the package too much. Story continues A measure to ban Russians from purchasing real estate in the EU was dropped from the latest version of the text following pressure from Cyprus, according to the people. Haggling over the terms of the EUs oil embargo has also led other member states to seek exemptions to the proposed package. If the EU cant get Hungary on board with the sanctions plan, it would be a significant blow to the blocs united stance against Russia and an embarrassment to the European Commission, which announced the oil embargo plan several weeks ago. Russia shipped about 720,000 barrels a day of crude to European refineries through its main pipeline to the region last year. That compares with seaborne volumes of 1.57 million barrels a day from its Baltic, Black Sea and Arctic ports. However, the bulk of the pipeline deliveries are to Germany and Poland, which have signaled they will wean themselves off Russian supplies regardless of any EU action. The package also includes a ban on insurance related to shipping oil to third countries, but it wont take effect until six months after the adoption of the measures, from the previously proposed three-month transition, the people said. That adds to a longer list of concessions since the proposal was originally put forward by the European Commission in May. Bulgaria would get a transition period until June or December 2024 and Croatia could get an exemption for imports of vacuum gas oil. Other measures in the proposed EU sanctions package include: Cutting three more Russian banks off the international payments system SWIFT, including Russias largest lender Sberbank. Restricting Russian entities and individuals from purchasing property in the EU. Banning the ability to provide consulting services to Russian companies and trade in a number of chemicals. Sanctioning Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast who is closely associated with President Vladimir Putin, according to an EU document; and Patriarch Kirill, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church and has been a vocal supporter of the Russian president and the war in Ukraine. Hungary, however, is opposed to sanctioning Kirill, the people said. Sanctioning dozens of military personnel, including those deemed responsible for reported war crimes in Bucha, as well as companies providing equipment, supplies and services to the Russian armed forces. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. A special master appointed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court has proposed small changes to the states existing U.S. House district lines, a potential solution to a months-long stalemate between Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and his fellow Republicans who control the state legislature. In an opinion published Friday, Stanford Law professor Nathaniel Persily proposed moving just five small towns from New Hampshires 1st District into its 2nd District, creating two districts with almost identical populations. Persilys proposal would shift 8,973 people from one district to the other, he said in the filing, a shift that is nearly identical to maps proposed by two sets of state legislators and one that is far less disruptive than a plan by the state legislature that would have shifted about a quarter of the states population. The new district lines leave largely in place districts held by both Reps. Chris Pappas (D), who will lose the five towns, and Annie Kuster (D), who will gain the new constituents. Both districts are seen as competitive, though Democrats have held both since 2016. Pappass old district favored President Biden by a 6-point margin in 2020, backed former President Trump by almost 1.6 percentage points in 2016, and favored then-President Obama by a virtually identical margin over Mitt Romney in 2012. Kusters seat tilts more toward Democrats, favoring Biden by nearly 9 points in 2020, Hillary Clinton by two points in 2016 and Obama by almost 10 points in 2012. New Hampshires existing district lines have been largely in their present form plus or minus a few border towns that flip between districts based on population shifts for a century and a half. In recent decades, both parties have been able to win both seats. But last year, the Republican-controlled legislature proposed a substantial change that would have created one largely safe Democratic seat in Kusters district, and one that favored Republicans in Pappass district. Story continues Sununu vetoed that map, and squashed several subsequent revisions, because he said they were unnecessarily disruptive. Later, he wondered why Republicans would surrender the chance to win both seats for the security of knowing they would win one. The delay meant that New Hampshire has become the last state in which the decennial redistricting process is still ongoing, though several other states are still litigating their new maps in court. Both Pappas and Kuster face challenges from Republican rivals this year. GOP voters will pick between state Rep. Tim Baxter (R), realtor Gale Huff Brown the wife of former Sen. Scott Brown (R) and Trump White House aides Karoline Leavitt and Matt Mowers in the race against Pappas. In the other district, Kuster will face the winner of a primary between former Hillsborough County Treasurer Robert Burns (R), state Sen. Harold French (R) and state Rep. Jeffrey Greeson (R). The state Supreme Court must now approve the map lines and order their implementation, though that is likely a formality. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Paramount+ Illuminates Sydney Harbour With The Southern Hemisphere's Largest Ever Drone Light Show at Vivid Sydney Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show SYDNEY, May 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With 600 drones, history was made last night (AEST) over Sydney's magnificent Harbour. For one night only, Paramount+ partnered with Vivid Sydney 2022 to dazzle audiences with the largest drone and light show ever seen in the Southern Hemisphere. Vivid Sydney is the annual festival of Light, Music and Ideas that will transform Sydney into a fusion of creativity, innovation and technology from Friday 27 May to Saturday 18 June. With the help of SKYMAGIC, Paramount+ transformed the wintery evening sky into a sprawling canvas, as a fleet of 600 perfectly choreographed LED-equipped drones shape shifted and synchronised into enormous 3D images and sequences, illustrating some of the premier streaming service's most iconic stars and scenes. Illuminating the Sydney skyline, the drones painted quintessential scenes and objects including a Mission Impossible countdown clock, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' U.S.S Enterprise, SpongeBob SquarePants himself, HALO's Master Chief and Cortana's voiceover, PAW Patrol's Chase, Top Gun's fighter jet, South Park's orange-clad Kenny, and the brand-new logo for the highly anticipated, crime-fighting local production, NCIS: Sydney. Wondering what it takes to create the biggest drone show in the Southern Hemisphere? Keep an eye out on our Paramount+ social media channels to find out. For more information and to purchase tickets to Vivid Sydney events go to www.vividsydney.com Join the conversation: www.ParamountPlus.com.au @ParamountPlusAU www.vividsydney.com @vividsydney #vividsydney Media contacts: Karina Jurisic - Senior Publicist kjurisic@networkten.com.au M: +61 421 576 794 Wayne Mitcham - Destination NSW wayne@amio.nz M: +64 21 499 550 Related Images Image 1: Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show Photo credit - Destination NSW Story continues Image 2: Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show - Top Gun Fighter Jet Photo credit - Destination NSW Image 3: Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show - Sponge Bob Photo credit - Destination NSW Image 4: Vivid Sydney 2022 Drone Light Show Credit - Destination NSW This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment ZeroAvia has raised $115 million from United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways and Amazon on a promise to fly a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell regional passenger plane as soon as next year. Now the startup has set itself a slightly less high-flying goal: building a hybrid aircraft. This new experimental plane, which is under construction in California, is a 19-seat Dornier 228 that will have a hybrid engine configuration that incorporates both the company's hydrogen-electric powertrain and a conventional engine, according to a recent press release. ZeroAvia declined to tell TechCrunch why it had altered its plans. A hybrid system could reassure regulators that the Dornier can fly safely for tests, while the company continues to develop the worlds largest aviation hydrogen fuel cells. The decision to build a hybrid plane follows a previously unreported statement from the U.K.s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) into the April 2021 crash of the moonshot project that caught the attention of investors: a smaller fuel-cell and battery-powered prototype near Cranfield Airport. The AAIB found that the crash near Cranfield airport occurred after the five-seater Piper Malibu lost power when its battery was turned off, leaving the electrical motors powered by the hydrogen fuel cell. The subsequent forced landing severely damaged the plane, although its pilot and passenger escaped injury. TechCrunch revealed last year that the Piper Malibu relied heavily on batteries, using them throughout what ZeroAvia called an historic first flight of the Malibu in September 2020. The companys only other flying prototype, another Piper Malibu, was damaged during the installation of a hydrogen fuel tank at ZeroAvias U.S. base in Hollister, California in 2019 and has not flown since. Following the crash at Cranfield, ZeroAvia relocated its U.K. operation to Kemble airfield in Gloucestershire, which provided financial incentives to the startup. ZeroAvia now has two Dornier 228 aircraft, one at Kemble and one at Hollister. ZeroAvia previously said it would power the Dorniers using a newly developed 600 kW hydrogen fuel cell. Story continues ZeroAvia has received over 14 million ($17 million) in grants from the U.K. government to build its aircraft there, as part of a flagship Jet Zero net zero carbon aviation pledge by 2050. The crash of its smaller prototype ended any chance of ZeroAvia fulfilling a commitment to fly that specific aircraft 300 miles using hydrogen. ZeroAvia received 1.6 million ($2.02 million) to go toward that goal. ZeroAvias latest 8.3 million project in the U.K., HyFlyer II, promises to operate a similar 300-mile zero-carbon flight by February next year, powered by the 600 kW fuel cell. It is unclear whether the Kemble Dornier will now also be a hybrid. ZeroAvia declined to answer detailed questions about its progress, and spokesperson Sarah Malpeli told TechCrunch that the company could not comment on the Cranfield crash until the final AAIB report is published later this summer. The U.K. funding body, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), provided this statement: The ATI does not comment on the progress of live projects due to commercial confidentiality. We continue to work closely with ZeroAvia and look forward to the contribution of HyFlyer and HyFlyer II to the understanding and development of zero-carbon emission aircraft technologies in the U.K. The construction of a hybrid aircraft with a conventional engine is a big change for the company, as ZeroAvia has always called its systems zero emission. As recently as last week, ZeroAvias CEO Val Miftakhov told a U.S. House Transportation subcommittee that even a hybrid powertrain using batteries was too incremental. Other companies however, including Airbus, are pursuing hybrid solutions for hydrogen aviation. There are many challenges to developing a purely hydrogen-powered aircraft, ranging from the storage of fuel, to cooling the system so that it does not overheat during flight. The most advanced hydrogen fuel cell aircraft to date is likely the H2Fly. This four-seat experimental aircraft completed a 124-kilometer flight last month between Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen, at an altitude of over 7,300 feet. Earlier this year, ZeroAvia released a video showing a complete propulsion system mounted on a HyperTruck ground vehicle and powering a propeller. That configuration had two fuel cells and a number of batteries and is likely around one third the size of the system needed for the Dornier to take off. It did not include a conventional engine. The companys ultimate aim is to build a fuel cell capable of generating between 2,000 and 5,000kW (2 to 5 MW). Earlier this year, ZeroAvia received a $350,000 economic development grant from the state of Washington to start work there on a 76-seat De Havilland Dash-8 Q400 aircraft from Alaska Airlines. The company hasnt always been successful in landing public money though. ZeroAvia is suing the U.S. government, in a previously unreported case filed at the U.S. Federal Claims court. Most filings in the case are sealed, but it appears to relate to a failed bid by ZeroAvia for a federal contract. Fuel cell future In the immediate aftermath of the crash, ZeroAvias path still seemed solely focused on fuel cells. For instance, the company spent over 23 million Swedish kroner (about $2.2 million) on fuel cells since the accident, according to press releases from PowerCell Sweden AB, the manufacturer of the fuel cell used in the aircraft that crashed. This likely equates to between 10 and 13 100 kW fuel cells. ZeroAvia is also evaluating a fuel cell from New York startup Hyzon. ZeroAvia does not have an operational aircraft powered by hydrogen. However, the company continues to forge new commercial partnerships and promise evermore ambitious projects and timelines. Miftakhov, who is at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, posted a blog that claims the U.K.-based Dornier plane is on the verge of flying and would go into service in 2024. ZeroAvia claimed this week that the larger Dash would fly by 2026 and announced new plans to convert a regional jet to hydrogen fuel-cell operation as early as the late 2020s. May 3NEW LONDON Nurses and other staff at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital have rallied behind a co-worker who launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking to defray the cost of her relatives' relocation from war-torn Ukraine to western Massachusetts. For Madalyn Izoita Circosta, a registered nurse who works on an L+M cardiac unit, the response has been life-affirming. "GoFundMe signs are posted all over the hospital," she said last week as she carried a box full of donated household items from the unit. "They've collected three garbage bags of kids' clothing, toys, a stroller and a crib, gift cards to Walmart. ... I'll take anything." Circosta said her dad, Victor Izoita, spent $11,000 on airfares alone to fly his cousin Vika Prilutska and Vika's three children Karina, 12, Kamila, 10, and baby Kristina, 16 months to the United States. "My family's not rich," she added. Circosta and her family are planning to bring as many as 10 more relatives to the states, some of them displaced by recent shelling in Odesa, Ukraine. Two relatives are en route, awaiting a flight out of Poland. "We need to figure out where they can go," Circosta said. "They're leaving Ukraine, but we don't know if they're coming here or to be with other relatives in Missouri." Vika's husband, Alex, a police officer, had to remain in Ukraine because of a government edict requiring adult males to stay and fight the Russians who invaded Ukraine in February. Millions of Ukrainians have fled the country since then. Thousands have traveled to America. Circosta, 24, married Geoffrey Circosta in November, having taken the job at L+M 10 months ago. Her husband works at Electric Boat and the two commute to southeastern Connecticut from Enfield, which is on the western Massachusetts border. They grew up in Agawam, Mass. Circosta said her relatives' "long journey" began with them huddling in a bunker in Ukraine until a supply truck could take them to Poland, where they were able to stay for four nights at no cost. They stayed in a gymnasium until Circosta's father could get them flights out. They flew to Mexico, crossed the U.S. border into California and flew to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Story continues The family of four carried all their worldly possessions in two suitcases. Circosta is the oldest of eight children, all born in the United States. She has never been to Ukraine. Her father, his four siblings and their mother immigrated from Ukraine in the 1990s in search of a better life. Her father met his wife in the United States. Since their arrival, Circosta's cousins have taken to American ways, marveling at what they consider the "lap of luxury" in which Americans live, Circosta said. To them, she said, shampoo is liquid gold. A cellphone video captured Karina, the 12-year-old, struggling to release whipped cream from a can, then succeeding, joyfully spraying the cream into her mouth and passing the can around. The kids can be "sobbing messes they miss their friends," Circosta said. "Ukrainians have a different mentality. They don't talk about themselves and don't like being complimented. There's no such thing as boasting." There's no asking for help either, she said. Sometimes there's no need to. To contribute to Madalyn Circosta's GoFundMe campaign, log on to https://gofundme/12f3f8ea b.hallenbeck@theday.com The UKHSA has confirmed 14 new monkeypox cases in England bringing the nationwide total to 70. Despite further cases being detected, the risk to the UK population remains low, the UK Health Security Agency added. As of 23 May, no cases have so far been identified in Wales or Northern Ireland. One infection has been detected in Scotland. In total, 71 cases of the rare viral infection have been reported across the UK. It comes as Health officials in Washington state say they have detected a suspected Monkeypox case in a man who recently returned from travelling overseas. Washington is now the fifth US state to report a confirmed or suspected case of the Monkeypox virus. Officials in King County, which covers Seattle, say the man did not require hospitalisation and is isolating at home. Meanwhile in France, health authorities have recommended rolling out a monkeypox vaccine programme Monkeypox latest 14 new cases recorded in England bringing UK total to 71 Washington becomes the fifth US state to detect monkeypox Sexual activity at raves could be behind current global outbreak, WHO advisor says Superspreader events likely behind global surge in cases, expert says UN warns against enabling homophobic and racist stereotypes At least 131 cases of monkeypox outside of Africa, WHO confirms NEW: Washington becomes fifth US state to report suspected Monkeypox case 15:50 , Thomas Kingsley Health officials in Washington state say they have detected a suspected Monkeypox case in a man who recently returned from travelling overseas. Officials in King County, which covers Seattle, say the man did not require hospitalisation and is isolating at home. Washington is the fifth US state to report a confirmed or suspected case of the Monkeypox virus. Read the full report below: Washington becomes fifth US state to report suspected Monkeypox case BREAKING: 14 new cases identified in England bringing total to 70 15:43 , Thomas Kingsley A 14 further monkeypox cases have been identified in England, bringing the nationwide total to 70, health officials say. Story continues Despite further cases being detected, the risk to the UK population remains low, the UK Health Security Agency said. As of 23 May, no cases have so far been identified in Wales or Northern Ireland. One infection has been detected in Scotland. In total, 71 cases of the rare viral infection have been reported across the UK. Read the full story below: ICYMI: World cannot take eye off the ball over infectious diseases, Oxford vaccine chief warns 15:30 , Thomas Kingsley The world cannot take its eye off the ball in preparing for the next pandemic, a leading scientist behind the Oxford jab has warned as the latest monkeypox outbreak continues to spread. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, insisted the rise in monkeypox infections really isn't a Covid-like scenario, but said it was yet another reminder of the need to invest in pandemic preparedness and vaccine development for infectious diseases. The failure to do so really puts the human population at risk, he told The Independent, adding that future diseases which go on to spread throughout the world could be much more deadly than Covid-19 or monkeypox. Read the full report from our science correspondent, Sam Lovett: World cannot take eye off the ball over infectious diseases as monkeypox spreads Watch: Does the UK have monkeypox vaccines? 15:10 , Thomas Kingsley Germany orders 40,000 vaccine doses as precaution against monkeypox spread 14:50 , Thomas Kingsley Germany has ordered 40,000 doses of a Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) vaccine to be ready to vaccinate contacts of those infected with monkeypox if an outbreak in Germany becomes more severe, but officials are banking on other precautionary measures for now. Speaking at a press conference, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Tuesday that measures such as an isolation period of at least 21 days recommended for infected people would suffice for now to contain the outbreak. "If infections spread further we will want to be prepared for possible ring vaccinations that are not yet recommended at this point but might become necessary," said Mr Lauterbach, referring to the strategy of vaccinating contacts of an infected person. (REUTERS) French health authority recommends targeted monkeypox vaccinations 14:26 , Thomas Kingsley France's health authority (HAS) said on Tuesday it recommended starting a targeted vaccination campaign to fight monkeypox. The HAS said it recommended that as soon as a confirmed case of monkeypox has been discovered, a vaccination should be given to adults who have been in contact with the patient and who are considered to be at risk. Health staff who have been exposed to the patient without individual protection should also receive a jab, the HAS added. How worried should you be about monkeypox? 14:00 , Thomas Kingsley Speaking in South Korea, US president Joe Biden was asked how much of a concern the disease was and answered: It is a concern in that, if it were to spread, it would be consequential They havent told me the level of exposure yet but it is something that everybody should be concerned about. Qualifying his answer later, he said: I just dont think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with Covid-19. In Britain, both Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, and Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, likewise dismissed the idea that its spread should be met with the same degree of concern as the arrival of the coronavirus in spring 2020. Read the full story below: How worried should you be about monkeypox? Watch: WHO doctor explains how monkeypox spread among humans 13:30 , Thomas Kingsley Moderna testing potential monkeypox vaccines 13:00 , Thomas Kingsley Moderna Inc is testing potential vaccines against monkeypox in pre-clinical trials as the disease spreads in the United States and Europe. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday there have been 131 confirmed monkeypox cases and 106 further suspected cases since the first was reported on 7 May outside the countries where it usually spreads. Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the monkeypox vaccines. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the government was in the process of releasing doses of a smallpox vaccine Jynneos, made by Bavarian Nordic A/S, for use in monkeypox cases. Czech Republic detects its first case of monkeypox 12:34 , Thomas Kingsley The Czech Republic confirmed its first case of monkeypox on Tuesday, the head of the Czech Infectious Medicine Society (SIL) said. Today, a case was confirmed by a laboratory, SIL chairman Pavel Dlouhy told Reuters, confirming a report by news website Seznam Zpravy. Dlouhy said the patient was being treated at the Central Military Hospital in Prague, but he did not give further details. Signs and symptoms of Monkeypox: What to look for and how it spreads 12:03 , Thomas Kingsley According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not. The virus can be difficult to diagnose without the aid of laboratory analysis because of its superficial similarity to other afflictions that result in a rash, such as chickenpox, measles, scabies and syphilis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has traced the sickness to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa and defines it as a viral zoonotic disease meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans with the first case recorded in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. Read the full explainer here ICMYI: CDC warns LGBTQ community about greater chance of exposure to monkeypox 11:21 , Thomas Kingsley Anyone can get or spread monkeypox, but a "notable fraction of cases" in the latest global outbreak are happening among gay and bisexual men, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. "Some groups may have a greater chance of exposure right now, but by no means is the current risk of exposure to monkeypox exclusively to the gay and bisexual community in the US," said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. "Anyone, anyone, can develop [and] spread monkeypox infection, but ... many of those affected in the current global outbreak identified as gay and bisexual men." Unclear if the cases were the tip of the iceberg, expert warns 10:49 , Thomas Kingsley Monkeypox is a usually mild viral infection that is endemic in parts of west and central Africa. It spreads chiefly through close contact, and until the recent outbreak has only rarely been seen in other parts of the world. The majority of the recent cases have been reported in Europe. "We encourage you all to increase the surveillance of monkeypox to see where transmission levels are and understand where it is going," said Sylvie Briand, WHO director for Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness. She said it was unclear if the cases were the "tip of the iceberg" or if the peak in transmission has already passed. Speaking at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Ms Briand reiterated WHO's view that it is unlikely that the virus has mutated but said that transmission may be being driven by a change in human behaviour, particularly as people return to socialising as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted worldwide. Many, but not all, of the cases have been reported in men who have sex with men, and Briand said it was particularly important to try to prevent sexual transmission. NEW: Slovenia reports first case of monkeypox 10:23 , Thomas Kingsley Slovenia on Tuesday reported its first case of monkeypox infection in a traveller who had returned from the Canary Islands in Spain, Slovenian N1 television reported. The man was reportedly not hospitalised because he was infected by a mild version of the viral disease. WHO says monkeypox cases now 131 09:50 , Thomas Kingsley The World Health Organisation has said the monkeypox outbreak is containable. There have been 131 confirmed monkeypox cases and 106 further suspected cases since the first case was reported on May 7 outside the countries where it usually spreads, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The WHO added that while it remains "containable", the organisation is convening further meetings to support member states with more advice on how to tackle the outbreak. What countries have reported monkeypox cases so far? All we know amid fears over superspreader events 09:31 , Thomas Kingsley Superspreader events are likely behind the rise in global monkeypox cases, a leading scientist has warned, with infections detected in 15 countries so far. Austria, Israel and Switzerland and are the latest countries to confirm cases of the rare viral infection. Switzerland and Israel both said they had identified one infected person who had recently travelled abroad, while the latter is investigating other suspected cases. More than 90 cases have been confirmed in the recent outbreak in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia, according to the World Health Organisation. Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of Wellcome, said we have never seen anything like this before, with such a number of cases in so many countries. Read the full story below from our science correspondent, Sam Lovett: All the countries reporting monkeypox cases amid fears over superspreader events UN criticises homophobic reporting of virus outbreak 09:10 , Thomas Kingsley The UN has warned against news reports that enable homophobic and racist stereotypes over the recent monkeypox outbreak, in a call for more sensitive coverage. Evidence has shown people are most at risk of contracting monkeypox after having close physical contact with someone who has the disease. This is not limited to the male LGBT+ community, the UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) has said in a statement, citing the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that some reports of the global outbreak could reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma. Urging for a rights-based and evidence-based approach from the media, governments and communities, Matthew Kavanagh, a top UNAids official, said stigma and blame undermine trust and capacity to respond effectively during outbreaks like this one. (PA Wire) Where is monkeypox in the US? 08:29 , Thomas Kingsley The United States now has five presumed cases of Monkeypox after patients in Florida and Utah were suspected of contracting the disease. Health officials in Salt Lake County said on Monday that two adults who had recently returned from international travel were isolating after showing symptoms of the infectious disease. On Sunday, a presumptive case was also detected in a patient in Broward County, Florida. A New York City patient tested positive for a virus related to the infection on Friday two days after a man in Massachusetts became the first confirmed case in the country this year. Read the full story here Watch: 'Anyone can get it': WHO health official dispels myth around monkeypox as 'gay disease' 08:11 , Thomas Kingsley World Health Organization official confirms that anyone can get the monkeypox virus dispelling the myth of gay disease. WHO expert Andy Seale stressed the importance to remember that monkeypox is not an illness that affects only one community more than others. Mr Seale suggested that an elevated proportion of UK cases in gay or bisexual men could be due to an increased awareness of sexual health amongst the community. However, he stressed that the virus could be transmitted to anyone, regardless of the community they belong to. Watch the full clip below: Anyone can get it: WHO official dispels myth around monkeypox as gay disease NEW: Monkeypox fears hit Canary Islands as British tourist tested for virus on Fuenteventura 07:46 , Thomas Kingsley A British tourist visiting Fuenteventura in the Canary Islands is feared to have monkeypox. Health chiefs in the holiday isle are currently looking into five suspected cases of the virus. A spokesman for the Canary Islands Health Service said in a short statement: A suspected case of monkeypox in Fuerteventura corresponds to a British tourist. Spain has so far confirmed around 40 cases of monkeypox and said another 67 people are being tested. How is monkeypox different from chickenpox? 07:20 , Thomas Kingsley As further cases of monkeypox are announced across the world, concern continues to mount over the spread of the disease. Many of the symptoms of the illness appear initially similar to chickenpox. However, there are several key differences between the two. First, the diseases are caused by different viruses. Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus, while chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes shingles. Read the full story here Covid pandemic fuelling monkeypox fears 06:55 , Namita Singh Fears surrounding monkeypox are fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, a psychiatrist said. Everyone has been so intimately intertwined with the pandemic that something new coming on is frightening for a lot of people, and so they just dont really know what to think, Dr Sashalee Stewart, the Medical Director of Avance Care Psychiatry, told Queen City News. When something new comes along, there is going to be that thought in the back of the mind, What if this is similar to that and if this affects me in that way? WHO says no evidence monkeypox virus has mutated 06:40 , Namita Singh The World Health Organization does not have evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, a senior executive at the UN agency said on Monday, noting the infectious disease, that had previously been endemic to west and central Africa, has tended not to change. Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat that is part of the WHO Emergencies Programme, told a briefing that mutations tended to be typically lower with this virus, although genome sequencing of cases will help inform understanding of the current outbreak. The apex global health agency also does not believe that the outbreak outside of Africa requires mass vaccinations as measures like good hygiene and safe sexual behaviour will help control its spread. Richard Pebody, who leads the high-threat pathogen team at WHO Europe, said immediate supplies of vaccines and antivirals are relatively limited. ICYMI: UN criticises homophobic reporting of monkeypox outbreak 06:25 , Namita Singh The UN has warned against news reports that enable homophobic and racist stereotypes over the recent monkeypox outbreak, in a call for more sensitive coverage. Evidence has shown people are most at risk of contracting monkeypox after having close physical contact with someone who has the disease. This is not limited to the male LGBT+ community, the UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) has said in a statement, citing the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that some reports of the global outbreak could reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma. Read the details in this report by Arpan Rai: Monkeypox: UN criticises homophobic reporting of virus outbreak Monkeypox in the US: Where is the disease and will it spread? 06:08 , Namita Singh The United States now has five presumed cases of Monkeypox after patients in Florida and Utah were suspected of contracting the disease. Health officials in Salt Lake County said on Monday that two adults who had recently returned from international travel were isolating after showing symptoms of the infectious disease. On Sunday, a presumptive case was also detected in a patient in Broward County, Florida. A New York City patient tested positive for a virus related to the infection on Friday two days after a man in Massachusetts became the first confirmed case in the country this year. Read the details in this joint report by Gino Spocchia and Rachel Sharp: Where is Monkeypox in the US? Monkeypox outbreak may have been sparked by sex at raves 05:45 , Namita Singh Calling the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries a random event, a leading adviser to the World Health Organisation said it might have been sparked by sexual behaviour at raves. We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission, said Dr David Heymann, chair of the WHOs Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential. Test tubes labelled Monkeypox virus positive are seen in this illustration taken 22 May 2022 (Reuters) That marks a significant departure from the diseases typical pattern of spread in central and western Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents and primates and outbreaks have not spilled across borders. Keep an eye on monkeypox, warns PM 05:18 , Namita Singh Boris Johnson has said monkeypox is a rare disease but it is important to keep an eye on it. The prime minister told reporters in London: Its basically a very rare disease and so far the consequences dont seem to be very serious, but its important that we keep an eye on it and thats exactly what the new UK Health Security Agency is doing. Asked whether there should be a quarantine for visitors or the use of the smallpox vaccine, Mr Johnson said: As things stand the judgment is that its rare. I think were looking very carefully at the circumstances of transmission. It hasnt yet proved fatal in any case that we know of, certainly not in this country. Boris Johnson Meanwhile, Downing Street said there are no plans to hold a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee over monkeypox or to impose any travel bans. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at at 10 Downing Street on 23 May 2022 in London, England (Getty Images) The prime ministers official spokesman said that while vaccines are being offered to close contacts, there are no plans for an at scale vaccination programme. ICYMI: What are monkeypox symptoms and how does it spread? 05:11 , Namita Singh Monkeypox, a rare tropical disease spread by wild animals in Africa, has unexpectedly spread abroad this month, posing questions about what precisely it is and how dangerous it might be. A relatively mild viral infection, the disease has a six-to-16 day incubation period and sees patients first suffer fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness in its opening stages. Once that passes and the fever breaks, the sufferer will experience a skin eruption, in which a rash spreads across the face, followed by the rest of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The blemishes evolve from lesions into crusted blisters, which can then take three weeks to heal and disappear. While it would have initially been transmitted to humans by contact with the blood or bodily fluids of contaminated primates, or via intermediary rodents such as tree squirrels and Gambian rats, it is much more likely to be caught from fellow humans. Because the virus spreads through close contact, we are urging everyone to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service if they have any symptoms. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA Monkeypox symptoms: What to look for and how it spreads Experts warn against misinformation, stigma and discrimination surrounding monkeypox 04:59 , Namita Singh The WHO has warned against misinformation, stigma and discrimination around monkeypox. Speaking during a question and answer session, Andy Seale, strategic adviser with the WHOs HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections programme, said: There are ways that we can work with communities to learn from really decades of experience around tackling stigma and discrimination with HIV. We want to apply that lesson, those lessons learned, to this experience. A child affected by monkeypox receiving treatment in Zomea Kaka, in the Lobaya region, in the Central African Republic on 18 October 2018 (AFP via Getty Images) ICYMI: Monkey pox cases in UK rise to 57 04:46 , Namita Singh The number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK has gone up to 57. There are 56 confirmed cases in England, while Scotland reported its first case on Monday, revealed the figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Northern Irelands Public Health Agency and Public Health Wales, each said they have had no confirmed cases. But health officials warned the residents that even though the outbreak is significant and concerning, the risk to the UK population remains low. The government has stocks of the smallpox vaccine which is being offered to very close contacts of those affected. Those at the highest risk of contracting the disease are being directed to self-isolate at home for 21 days and monitor the symptoms. US health officials releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for monkeypox 04:35 , Namita Singh US health officials are in the process of releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for use in monkeypox cases, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday. The US approved the use of more than 1,000 doses of the vaccine from the national stockpile, said the CDC officials, adding they expect this to ramp up quickly in the coming days. We dont need to panic, public health officials say 04:00 , Josh Marcus Monkeypox will not cause the same kind of world-shaping disease outbreak as Covid, according to public health officials. "We have vaccines squirreled away by our government," Blossom Damania, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, told NBC. "I dont think people need to be alarmed. Monkeypox is a serious disease. We need to respect it and take it seriously, but we dont need to panic." There are also two FDA-approved therapeutic drugs for smallpox that will likely treat the rare condition. LGBTQ+ people notable fraction of monkeypox cases, CDC says 03:30 , Josh Marcus Public health officials are quick to note that people of all identities can catch and spread monkeypox, but they have said that a notable fraction of cases during this years outbreak are among gay and bisexual men. "Some groups may have a greater chance of exposure right now, but by no means is the current risk of exposure to monkeypox exclusively to the gay and bisexual community in the US," Dr John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDCs Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, said on Monday. "Anyone, anyone, can develop [and] spread monkeypox infection, but ... many of those affected in the current global outbreak identified as gay and bisexual men." US considered mass vaccinations that couldve stopped monkeypox 02:45 , Josh Marcus After the 9/11 attacks, US officials considered immunising the entire population against smallpox, a treatment that wouldve also protected against monkeypox. However, the decision was ruled out because older smallpox vaccines carry a small risk of severe side effects, meaning mass vaccination campaigns would inevitably put some at risk. In the end, it was decided no, because of the negative consequences of vaccinating lots of people, Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told The New York Times. Vaccine side effects are rare, he added. But once you start giving it to millions of people, then they will start to add up. Washington identifies first likely monkeypox case 02:00 , Josh Marcus King County, home to seattle, has identified its first likely case of monkeypox, according to state health officials. The patient was identified as a only man who recently traveled to a country where other cases have been identified. County health leaders said theres no suspected health outbreak, and that less than a dozen people had close contact with the man. The CDC will continue monitoring the situation, along with King County. A new term for your public health vocabulary: ring vaccination 01:28 , Josh Marcus When it comes to monkeypox, there are some notable differences with Covid, which make the former much less likely to spread in mass numbers than the latter. The disease requires prolonged in-person or fluid-to-fluid contact, and can be treated with multiple existing vaccines and therapeutic treatments. As a result, public health officials are considering ring vaccination a likely approach going forward. Using this methodology, rather than conduct mass vaccination campaigns, doctors will instead be more targetted, giving vaccines to close contacts of confirmed cases until an outbreak is stopped in its tracks. US will release monkeypox vaccine from national stockpile for high risk people Tuesday 24 May 2022 00:33 , Josh Marcus As monkeypox cases crop up unexpectedly in countries across the globe, the US is releasing vaccines from the Strategic National Stockpile for high-risk patients. The US has a good stock of smallpox vaccines, which are also effective and licensed for treatment against monkeypox, Dr Jennifer McQuiston of the CDC said on Monday. I can report that there has been a request for release of the Jynneos vaccine from the National Stockpile for some of the high-risk contacts of some of the early patients, so that is actively happening right now, she said. A helpful thread on what we know and dont know about the monkeypox outbreak Monday 23 May 2022 23:50 , Josh Marcus Have a lot of questions about monkeypox? Youre not alone. As public health officials around the world analyse what to do next about the unexpected outbreak of the rare disease, this thread by University of St Andrews virologist Muge Cevik is a great place to start. It has detailed analysis of some basic questions on spread, severity, and whats new about this outbreak. As the monkeypox virus (MPX) outbreak continues, a lot of data emerging in real-time & being rapidly disseminated (as well as misinformation). I complied the unfolding scientific data (with direct links to papers and threads) on what we (dont) know so far. #IDTwitter (1/n) Muge Cevik (@mugecevik) May 21, 2022 Authorities tracking 200-plus contacts for Massachusetts monkeypox patient Monday 23 May 2022 23:09 , Josh Marcus The only confirmed monkeypox case in the US so far was located in Masachusetts, and officials there are tracking more than 200 people who have come into close contact with the man, according to the CDC on Monday. Most of those are health care workers involved in treating the individiual through the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health. The patient, who recently visited Canada, where another cluster has been reported, remains isolated in Massachusetts General Hospital. So far, cases have been reported in the UK, Spain, and Portugal, far outside the normal range of the condition, which is endemic to parts of Africa. The CDC worked really quickly to sequence the virus from the Massachusetts patient and within 48 hours, we had determined that it closely matched the sequence being reported from a Portugal patient, Jennifer McQuiston of the CDC, told The Boston Herald. However, officials note the disease doesnt spread as readily as Covid and shuoldnt be considered an equivalent concern. A reminder: Theres already a vaccine for monkeypox! Monday 23 May 2022 22:34 , Josh Marcus We shouldnt be as worried about monkeypox as we are about Covid, according to health officials. And one reason why is simple: theres already a vaccine that works against the disease, which is rarely found outside of Africa. Vaccine makers like Denmarks Bavarian Nordic A/S are ramping up production of existing smallpox vaccines. They are shown to be highly effective against the rare condition, which is akin to a much less severe version of smallpox. Two more suspected cases of Monkeypox detected in Utah Monday 23 May 2022 21:10 , Joe Middleton Health officials in Utah are investigating two suspected cases of Monkeypox, the fourth US state to report infections. Two adults who live in the same house in Salt Lake City and recently returned from overseas are showing mild symptoms for the disease, officials said. Salt Lake Health said the infected pair were isolating and there was not thought to be any risk of exposure to others. Bevan Hurley reports. Two more suspected cases of Monkeypox detected in Utah Monkeypox spreads through 'close physical contact', says WHO health official Monday 23 May 2022 20:21 , Joe Middleton First Covid, now monkeypox will we ever learn? Monday 23 May 2022 19:52 , Joe Middleton We need to stop thinking of animals as commodities, and instead as communities with which we share the planet, writes Julia Baines. Opinion: First Covid, now monkeypox will we ever learn? 'Anyone can get it': WHO health official dispels myth around monkeypox as 'gay disease' Monday 23 May 2022 19:15 , Joe Middleton Monkeypox: UK cases more than double to 56 Monday 23 May 2022 18:58 , Eleanor Sly Monkeypox cases have more than doubled in the UK as the disease continues to spread globally. Public health officials have announced a further 36 cases of monkeypox in the UK, up from 20 on Friday. It comes as Scotland health authourities announced on Monday morning a first case had been identified. In an update on Monday afternoon, Dr Sue Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said: Alongside reports of further cases being identified in other countries globally, we continue to identify additional cases in the UK. Read more here: 36 new cases of monkey pox found in UK How worried should you be about monkeypox? Monday 23 May 2022 18:15 , Eleanor Sly The monkeypox outbreak that has struck the UK, US and continental Europe over the last week appears to be continuing to spread. There are now 21 confirmed cases in England, one in Scotland, potentially three in the US and as many as 23 in Portugal and 40 in Spain while France, Germany, Italy and Sweden have all reported first cases. In all, there have been more than 100 confirmed or suspected infections around the world at this early stage but the public are being reassured. Joe Sommerlad reports: How worried should you be about monkeypox? Monkeypox v chickenpox differences Monday 23 May 2022 17:56 , Joe Middleton Many of the symptoms of monkeypox appear initially similar to chickenpox, our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas writes. However, there are several key differences between the two. More here: What is the difference between monkeypox and chickenpox? Florida health officials investigate third presumptive monkeypox case in US Monday 23 May 2022 17:36 , Joe Middleton Health officials in Florida are investigating a presumptive monkeypox case, the third reported in the United States. The monkeypox case was reported in Broward County and appears to be linked to international travel, officials said. Cases of the infectious disease have also been reported in New York City and Massachusetts. President Joe Biden addressed the growing international outbreak on Sunday, warning everybody should be concerned about the spread of monkeypox. Bevan Hurley reports. Florida health officials investigate third presumptive monkeypox case in US WHO doctor explains how monkeypox spread among humans Monday 23 May 2022 17:15 , Joe Middleton UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) records 36 additional cases of monkeypox Monday 23 May 2022 16:53 , Joe Middleton The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday that it had detected 36 additional cases of monkeypox in England. This takes the total number of confirmed cases since May 7 to 56. 36 new cases of monkey pox found in UK World cannot take eye off the ball over infectious diseases as monkeypox spreads Monday 23 May 2022 16:47 , Joe Middleton The world cannot take its eye off the ball in preparing for the next pandemic, a leading scientist behind the Oxford jab has warned as the latest monkeypox outbreak continues to spread. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, insisted the rise in monkeypox infections really isnt a Covid-like scenario, but said it was yet another reminder of the need to invest in pandemic preparedness and vaccine development for infectious diseases. The failure to do so really puts the human population at risk, he told The Independent, adding that future diseases which go on to spread throughout the world could be much deadly than Covid-19 or monkeypox. Our science correspondent Samuel Lovett reports. World cannot take eye off the ball over infectious diseases as monkeypox spreads No plans to hold Cobra emergency meeting over monkeypox, says No10 Monday 23 May 2022 16:34 , Joe Middleton Downing Street said there are no plans to hold a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee over monkeypox, or to impose any travel bans. Asked about travel restrictions from affected countries, the prime ministers official spokesman said: No, no considerations of that kind. What were seeing at the moment is community transmission not linked to travel. He said vaccines are being offered to close contacts but no plans for an at scale vaccination programme. We do have vaccines procured at significant numbers but given the nature of this and how we know its spreading, its thought to be no clinical requirement for that sort of at scale campaign, he said. ICYMI: Education secretary says Sajid Javid has bought Monkeypox vaccine Monday 23 May 2022 16:13 , Joe Middleton Germany set to release quarantine guidelines Monday 23 May 2022 15:59 , Zoe Tidman Germanys health minister has expressed concern about monkeypox outbreaks and said the country was due to release quarantine guidelines on Tuesday after reporting three cases. Karl Lauterbach said that men who have sex with unknown partners were currently a risk group and should be warned about monkeypox without any stigmatisation. ICYMI: Scotland records first confirmed case of monkeypox Monday 23 May 2022 15:35 , Zoe Tidman Scotland has recorded its first case of monkeypox, as more UK cases are set to be announced, Liam James reports. The person infected in Scotland is being managed and treated in line with nationally agreed protocols and guidance, according to Dr Nick Phin, a director of Public Health Scotland. First case of monkeypox detected in Scotland Latest monkeypox tally around world Monday 23 May 2022 15:05 , Zoe Tidman Here is the latest situation around the world: Asia-Pacific Australia on 20 May reported its first case in a traveller who recently returned from Britain. Another suspected case was also identified Europe Austria confirmed its first case on 22 May Belgium detected two cases on 20 May Denmark confirmed its first case on 23 May France reportedly confirmed a first case in the Paris region on 20 May Germany has confirmed three cases, with the first registered on 20 May Italy confirmed two cases in Rome on 20 May, bringing the countrys total to three The Netherlands reported its first case on 20 May and has since confirmed several more patients, without giving an exact number Portugal reported 14 new confirmed cases on 23 May, bringing the total to 3 Spain confirmed four more cases in the Madrid region on 23 May, raising the total to 34, with another 38 suspected cases in Madrid Sweden confirmed its first case on 19 May Switzerland reported its first confirmed case on 21 May The UK detected 11 new cases in England on 20 May to bring the total there to 20, while Scotland confirmed its first case on 23 May Middle East Israel confirmed its first case on 21 May Americas Argentina reported its first suspected case on 23 May Canada confirmed two infections on 19 May, with Quebec authorities saying they were investigating 17 suspected cases The US has confirmed two cases, the first on 18 May, and a third was suspected on 23 May Monkeypox v chickenpox differences Monday 23 May 2022 14:47 , Zoe Tidman Many of the symptoms of monkeypox appear initially similar to chickenpox, our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas writes. However, there are several key differences between the two. More here: What is the difference between monkeypox and chickenpox? No cases yet in Northern Ireland Monday 23 May 2022 14:30 , Zoe Tidman A multidisciplinary incident management team has been established in Northern Ireland to prepare for any risk to the population from monkeypox. The Public Health Agency said there are currently no confirmed cases of the virus in the region, but added that it is in regular contact with UK-wide authorities. PA LIVE: World Health Organisation answers questions on monkeypox Monday 23 May 2022 14:25 , Zoe Tidman Watch here as experts answers questions live on the virus spreading across the world: LIVE: The WHO responds to questions on monkeypox https://t.co/8RFNPhLavA Reuters (@Reuters) May 23, 2022 Where has monkeypox been detected so far? Monday 23 May 2022 14:22 , Zoe Tidman Superspreader events are likely behind the rise in global monkeypox cases, a leading scientist has warned, with infections detected in 15 countries so far. Which nations are affected? Samuel Lovett, our senior news correspondent, takes a look: All the countries reporting monkeypox cases amid fears over superspreader events Important we keep an eye on monkeypox, Boris Johnson says Monday 23 May 2022 13:54 , Zoe Tidman Boris Johnson has said the government is looking carefully at the circumstances surrounding the transmission of monkeypox. It is basically a very rare disease and so far the consequences dont seem to be very serious but it is important that we keep an eye on it, he told reporters. Each time a police siren wailed or an airplane whirred overhead, Olena Raczkiewycz would relive the terror of her last few days in Ukraine, when Russian tanks and bombs besieged her country. This sensation lasted for the first month or so after her late February escape from Kyiv. The everyday innocuous sounds that might mimic an air raid alert or rockets launching could plunge her into a state of turmoil. Although shes now in Chicago and safe, the trauma of fleeing her home amid war still lingers. I feel panic inside, said 43-year-old Raczkiewycz, closing her eyes and shaking her head as if to rid the brutal images from her mind. Im strong. I can try to control it. But it impacts your psychological and emotional state. On March 10, she arrived here with her husband, two young sons and a few pieces of clothing and possessions, the only vestiges of their old life. The family is among the more than 6.7 million Ukrainians estimated to have fled their country since Russia invaded in February, spurring an ever-increasing diaspora in Europe and overseas. President Joe Biden has pledged to welcome 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression to the United States, as the war continues into its fourth month. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has also vowed to support those seeking refuge in Chicago. Its unclear how many Ukrainians have already settled in the Chicago area since the war began, in part because there are various paths to enter the country. Some have come on visas, reuniting with family and friends. Others have arrived through Mexico, seeking asylum at the southern border. Raczkiewycz recounted her familys perilous two-week journey from Kyiv, speaking in a mix of English and Ukrainian, with the help of an interpreter. You live all your life, your beautiful life, in the same city, she said. You have your friends. You have your relatives. You go to your job and now some country decided to bomb your city. What do you do? You have one hour to run away. What do you do? Its horrible. Horrible. Story continues Escape, uncertainty Blasts from Russian missiles rocked the Ukrainian capital on Feb. 24. Air raid sirens blared at daybreak. Go to the bath, Raczkiewycz recalled screaming at her sons. The boys ages 11 and 6 jumped in their apartments bathtub and covered the back of their heads with their hands, she said. The family tried to evacuate that day, but the streets and trains were so congested because everyone else was trying to escape at the same time. They initially returned home. You dont know what you must do, she said. Run? Where run? In which direction do you run? Stay? With kids? The next day, she read social media posts from a neighbor who spotted tanks on the street. Russian tanks. The family got into their car and left for good, with bombs exploding behind them at a distance. They saw a tank up ahead. Then another. And another. Raczkiewycz recalled holding her breath, wondering which side the military vehicles were on. This was Ukrainian tanks, she realized, relieved, though the site of the caravan still frightened her sons in the back seat. They drove for 22 hours to Lviv in western Ukraine a trip that normally takes a third of that time arriving around 7 a.m. on Feb. 26. At first, they thought they might be able to stay there in the apartment of a friend or perhaps soon return to Kyiv. They hadnt planned to go to the United States. But after a little over a week, there were no signs the fighting would dissipate. It was too unpredictively terrifying, she said. A friend drove them to Ukraines western border. They left their car in Lviv. On foot, they traveled five or six hours, walking into Poland on March 8. It was cold, Raczkiewycz said. With kids. It was all women and children. Two days later, they flew into Chicago, where they have extended family. She entered the United States on a visa approved prior to the invasion. Her husband is an American citizen and was born and raised in Chicago; the two met while he was serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, near the university she attended. His grandparents like many Ukrainian immigrants came to the United States as refugees after World War II, Raczkiewycz said. She made a circular motion with her finger, indicating that history is repeating itself through the current war and refugee crisis. A lot of people remember World War II and what happened, she said. So, they have this genetic memory. Its the same, all over again. The White House last month announced a streamlined process for displaced Ukrainians to apply for humanitarian parole, allowing them to travel here with a sponsor and, if their case is approved, stay for up to two years. The U.S. also plans to accept more refugees from Ukraine, a separate immigration process and status. Jims Porter of RefugeeOne, a resettlement agency in Chicago, said his organization has assisted 134 displaced Ukrainians since the Feb. 24 invasion . We dont really know at what level well be welcoming Ukrainians right now, he said. But we are bulking up our staff. After staying with relatives for a few weeks, the Raczkiewycz family recently moved into their own small apartment in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, where yellow and blue Ukrainian flags wave outside so many of the homes, businesses and churches. Theyve had tremendous help from relatives and strangers alike, Raczkiewycz said. But starting a new life is still hard. Mentally, we are in Ukraine, she said. Only a child In the middle of the night, Tamara Kachala logs onto her computer and lectures a class of Ukrainian university students remotely. The economics professor fled Ukraine with her 14-year-old daughter in late February and arrived in Chicago on March 6. Theyre staying in the downtown home of Kachalas older daughter, who attended Roosevelt University and has been living here for about seven years. By day, Kachala cooks for her family, learns English and is trying to get the proper documents approved so she can work in the United States, and has been searching for a job in anticipation. Shes also raising money to buy protective gear to send back to her city, Cherkasy, in central Ukraine. By night, she does her best to hold classes online , lecturing while everyone else in her household sleeps due to the eight-hour time difference. Some of her students are still in Cherkasy, which has been safer than other areas of Ukraine so far. But her courses are often disrupted by the blast of air raid sirens there, which also interrupt the internet signal. Students cant study when theres an air raid alert, she said, also with the aid of an interpreter. They can hear all of the missiles and the rockets. ... They run to shelter and take cover. Many of her students are scattered in countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and others. My first concern, on an emotional level, is are all my students there? she said. Have they survived? Are they alive? Kachala and Raczkiewycz met in Chicago and became friends while taking their children to St. Nicholas Cathedral School in Ukrainian Village, which has become a haven for kids who have escaped the war. The elementary school has enrolled more than five dozen children from Ukraine since late February, said Principal Anna Cirilli. Before the Feb. 24 invasion, about 80% of students were of Ukrainian ancestry and many spoke the language, she said. The school quickly devised a buddy system where each new arrival from Ukraine could be paired with another student, who serves as an interpreter and helps with acclimation. Staff offer extra English classes after school, to give Ukrainian students additional help, she said. The school will also be hosting a special summer camp for Ukrainian students, with a focus on English language learning. A parent group assists arriving families with finding housing and furniture; students from Ukraine are also provided school supplies, she said. The focus is on providing an environment thats stable, Cirilli said, adding that the children from Ukraine are regularly communicating with people who are in bomb shelters. Theyre regularly communicating with their dads who are in trenches. The school has had to be flexible in some situations. For example, cellphones arent typically permitted. But when one of the kids walks into the building and theyre FaceTiming with their dad who is dressed in fatigues, you let them finish the conversation, she said. And maybe take a moment to pray with them that their dad and their family will be safe. Cirilli noted that many Ukrainian families are trying to live dual lives starting anew here while simultaneously maintaining connections abroad. Kachalas daughter is an eighth-grade student at Cirillis school. During spring break, her mother tried to have her log on to remote classes at her school in Ukraine, an attempt to keep up with lessons there. But air raid sirens kept going off, the same way they impede Kachalas lectures. Thats what the reality is of Ukrainian life today, Kachala said. Even for people who dont live where the fighting is. Its stress. Raczkiewyczs younger son is in kindergarten at St. Nicholas Cathedral School. She described him as older in his mind than this age. His teacher once commented that hes such a serious child, and that he frequently talks about politics, bombings and the war. The mother said when they first arrived, the boy drew all his pictures in black. Now hes using an array of colors once again. Hes only a child, Raczkiewycz said. No child should have to live through this. Return to Ukraine To help alleviate stress and anxiety, Kachala and Raczkiewycz have started painting. They meet at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Ukrainian Village, turning blank canvases into artwork that reflects their war experiences and survival. Raczkiewycz painted blue and yellow flowers shaped in the likeness of the coat of arms of Ukraine. One of Kachalas paintings depicts silhouettes of her and her daughter holding hands as they leave Ukraine. We paint so we dont have to cry, Kachala said. They recently attended a local protest against the Russian invasion and were appreciative of the thousands of Chicago-area residents who came out to support their country. Around 200,000 people of Ukrainian descent are estimated to have lived in Illinois before February, according to Chicago Sister Cities International. Chicago and Kyiv have been Sister Cities since 1991, when Ukraine gained its independence. Both Kachala and Raczkiewycz said they long to return to Ukraine. One night during class, a female student asked Kachala when they would be able to go home. The question brought tears to the professors eyes. Of course, well go back, she recalled responding. But right now, you need to go to the university, take your papers, your documents and enroll in the university and matriculate. Yes, you will go home. But right now, you have to keep your life going. It is important in the moment. Yet Raczkiewycz sometimes wonders what will be left when the fighting is over. Our apartments still there but Im scared to talk about it, she said. Because I dont know how it will be tomorrow. Her husband is a journalist and wants to go back soon to cover the war. She understands that he needs to do his job but worries about remaining in a foreign country with two children, without him. Despite the devastation of war, Kachala and Raczkiewycz said they believe their country will prevail. We still have hope that Ukraine will be OK, Kachala said. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine and the USA. eleventis@chicagotribune.com Higher education has taken a beating over the last two years of the coronavirus pandemic, including a decline in student enrollment and concerns over college affordability. As a result, it's forced the industry to rethink what it contributes to the younger generation, according to the CEO of a major education company. "The value of education has to be redefined," Chegg (CHGG) CEO Dan Rosensweig told Yahoo Finance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. "What's the cost? "What's the curriculum? What's the value? What's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you do it?" Taylor Swift delivers the commencement address to New York University graduates, in New York on May 18, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) College enrollment took a serious toll as a result of COVID-19 and continues to see declines, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In the fall of 2021, college enrollment dropped 2.7%, which was steeper than the 2.5% drop schools saw the previous year. The drops aren't a drop in the bucket nearly one million students have not enrolled in a higher education institution since fall 2019. Enrollment numbers matter to a college because the more students that enroll, the more tuition they pay, which is a key revenue driver for schools. College affordability is another factor at play here, as it's deterred some students from even going to college. Yahoo Finance previously profiled one software engineer who chose this alternative route and managed to land a well-paying job without incurring any educational debt. However, many still believe in the value of a college degree. According to the New York Fed, outstanding student loans stand at $1.59 trillion as of the first quarter of 2022. That's a $14 billion increase from the previous quarter. Only 5% of student loans are seriously delinquent or in default, due to the CARES Act that has suspended reporting on the current status of student loans. Title IV schools derive revenue from these student loans that are taken out by students as "financial aid." Companies are also inadvertently exacerbating this trend of prioritizing work before college due to the tight labor market. A survey of 1,250 hiring managers by ResumeBuilder.com found that one in five companies are dropping education requirements to keep up with hiring, with only 43% of jobs only requiring a high school diploma or below for entry-level jobs. Story continues More and more employers are eliminating college requirements for entry-level roles. (Chart: ResumeBuilder) Just over half of the hiring managers surveyed said they had reduced or eliminated requirements for entry-level jobs, and a majority of them 66% said they were doing so specifically due to difficulties attracting applicants amid the labor shortage. For a company like Chegg, which provides textbook rentals among other services, enrollment declines also mean bad news: Declines translate into fewer customers. Rosensweig is still bullish on his industry, though, and said that the business has pivoted based on the trends in higher ed. "For the case of Chegg, who provides academic support and skills, as our skills business continues to evolve and students are taking different pathways towards careers, we have plenty of opportunities to grow," he said. More Yahoo Finance coverage of WEF 2022: Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Viaplays next Norwegian original series The Fortress is currently shooting in Bergen with a cast including Tobias Santelmann (Kon-Tiki), Selome Emnetu (Luka and the Magical Theater) and British star Russell Tovey (Years and Years). Directed by Cecilie Mosli (Mammon,Greys Anatomy) and Mikkel Brnne Sandemose (State of Happiness), the ambitious eight-part dystopian drama is set in 2037 in Norway. The country has decided to build an enormous wall around its borders to isolate itself and its citizens from the rest of the world. When a deadly pandemic breaks out, the inhabitants soon realize that the wall intended to protect them is instead holding them prisoner. More from Variety The show was written by Linn-Jeanethe Kyed (B) and author John Kare Rake (The Quake). It will launch on Viaplay in 2023. Cecilie has directed most of the scenes involving my character, and she is talented, generous and committed, said Santelmann. My experience is that both Mikkel and Cecilie have great respect for each other, and collaborate and complement each other well. The situation in the world today means that The Fortress feels uncomfortably close to home. Filippa Wallestam, NENT Groups CCO, said this next Norwegian Viaplay Original might be set 15 years in the future, but is relevant to audiences everywhere today. History repeatedly shows us that what starts as a wall, ends as a prison, added Wallestam, who described the series as a unique and compelling production illustrating Viaplays commitment to Nordic storytelling that goes beyond borders in this case, literally. The series is produced by Synnve Hrsdal and Ales Ree for Maipo Film, and Kari Moen Kristiansen for Viaplay. The Fortress is distributed globally by TrustNordisk. Story continues . - Credit: Lukas Salna- Maipo Film-Viaplay Lukas Salna- Maipo Film-Viaplay . - Credit: Lukas Salna-Maipo Film-Viaplay Lukas Salna-Maipo Film-Viaplay . - Credit: Lukas Salna-Maipo Film-Viaplay Lukas Salna-Maipo Film-Viaplay Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. For the first time in three years, University of Mary Washington will host hundreds of alumni for Reunion Weekend, which will be held Thursday through Sunday. Eagles who graduated over the span of eight decades will return to the nest for learning opportunities, art exhibits, musical performances, class photos, family activities, trolley tours to Carls ice cream and more. Most importantly, the highly anticipated event is a chance for grads of all ages to reconnect in person with Mary Washington friends and facultyincluding Associate Vice President and Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker 81, who retires in Juneand with the UMW campus. This year, Mary Wash alumni have the unique opportunity to celebrate with friends who graduated in the years before and after them, said Executive Director of Alumni Relations Mark Thaden 02, whose team has planned more than 85 events for attendees. Billed as the Mother of All Reunions, its the largest in Mary Washington history, he said. An entire day has been added, devoted exclusively to graduates who have celebrated their 50th reunions, including the classes of 70, 71 and 72, Thaden said, so theyll get the VIP treatment they deserve. More than 1,000 alumni and their loved ones are expected to stroll Campus Walkand memory lanevisiting former residence halls, academic buildings, and favorite hang-out and study spots. For many, it will be the first opportunity to explore the renovations of Seacobeck, Virginia and Willard halls, taking in the carefully preserved features and modern touches that help meet the needs of todays students. Class gatherings will be held on Friday night for alumni who graduated in years ending in 0, 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7. But all UMW grads can relive their glory days at this weekends events, which include a Ball Circle picnic, an all-class party at the Anderson Center and a Welcome Reception at Brompton with President Troy Paino and wife Kelly. Paino will also present a university update and alumni awards on Saturday afternoon in Dodd Auditorium. Register for Reunion Weekend at alumni.umw.edu, and download the Reunion Weekend app for event details, schedule updates and announcements. Search Mary Washington Alumni in your iOS or Android app store and use the code UMW2022. EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS Stafford County Early Childhood Education Center will continue to accept online and paper applications for Head Start, and the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program for the 20222023 school year. For more information about Head Start or the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program, call 540/368-2559. Early Head Start classes will continue through the summer. COLONIAL FORGE HIGH SCHOOL Alec Amador, a 2022 graduate of Colonial Forge High School, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year by the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Amador will study Korean in the Republic of Korea from September 2022 through May 2023 before returning to Virginia to commence an engineering program at Virginia Tech in the fall of 2023. Amador, competitively selected out of thousands of applications from across the United States, is one of 15 students who will study Korean this coming academic year. Amador will receive formal language instruction at Hanyang University in Seoul, live with a host family, visit culturally significant sites, and experience the local culture as part of an immersion environment. STAFFORD HIGH SCHOOL Norah Iona Sutton, a 2022 graduate of Stafford High School, has been named a Park Scholar at North Carolina State University. Sutton is one of 42 students in the class of 2026 to receive the scholarship valued at approximately $116,000 for in-state students and $208,000 for out-of-state students. As a Park Scholar, Sutton will have access to opportunities for innovative enrichment activities such as grants for undergraduate research and study abroad. Sutton plans to major in chemical engineering. After reaching the point in his career that he knew the ins and outs of veins and arteriesand how to treat problems related to themDr. Victor DAddio wasnt sure he wanted to try any new stuff. Then, the 55-year-old read about a stroke-prevention procedure that combines the best of current practices. Its a huge game changer and its a very cool procedure, said the vascular surgeon whos dealt with everything from aneurysms to varicose veins and lived through the whole MASH thing as a combat doctor in Iraq. DAddio is referring to transcarotid artery revascularization, or TCAR for short, a relatively new way of removing plaque from the carotid arteries. Theyre the main blood vessels that carry oxygen and blood to the brain, and when the flow gets blocked, a stroke can result. But sometimes the act of unclogging arteries loosens fragments which then travel upstream to the brain and may cause a strokethe very thing the process is meant to prevent. TCAR reduces that risk by reversing the blood flow, sending it downstream to the femoral vein through a tube, according to the Society for Vascular Surgery. The tube connects with a filter outside the body, which captures any loosened particles. Picture a wire screen over a bathtub drain, but much smaller. You do get stuff in there about 50% of the time, DAddio said about the filter, which traps pieces of pink tissue, no bigger than grains of sand, that have come loose from artery walls. Those are things that would have gone up to the brain. DAddio and Dr. Larry Koenig are the only vascular surgeons in the Fredericksburg area performing TCARs. They started in January and have done about 25 procedures, with all but one taking place at Stafford Hospital. The surgeons are with Virginia Interventional & Vascular Associates, a subset of Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg. They will offer the TCARs at Mary Washington Hospital in June and Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center later this summer after a third surgeon, Dr. Sadaf Ahanchi, joins the group. In addition to reducing the risk of a stroke, the procedure also requires a smaller incision than the traditional process, known as carotid endarterectomy, or CEA. A small cut is made near the collarbone for the new procedure, instead of the longer incision along the neck for the CEA. Most people are monitored overnight in the intensive care unit afterwards, then go home, DAddio said. Suzanne Sutton, a 75-year-old who moved from the Northern Neck to Stafford County five years ago to be closer to medical offices, appreciates the advancements in modern medicine. It is absolutely amazing, the procedures they can do now with no massive invasion of the body, she said. I have been very lucky, very fortunate because I spend my life going back and forth between doctors. Sutton has had four operations since July. She had a TCAR done in January after a visit to one specialist led to the need to see another. A heart murmur shed had for years worsened last fall and a cardiologist decided it was time to replace her aortic valve. Tests done at the time showed she also had a blockage in her left carotid artery so Sutton scheduled an appointment with DAddio. Sutton had to wait a few months, after a stent was implanted and later, the heart valve replaced, to have the blockage corrected in her carotid artery. All went well, even though Sutton admits how apprehensive she was about messing with the vessel so close to the brain. If something goes wrong, thats the main artery to the brain, and I thought, I could have a stroke, she said. It is a possibility, of course, but everything went well and I was very pleased. Its all been good. The stroke rate from TCAR is lower than with other procedures because the blood flow is reversed during the process, DAddio said. That means the artery involved is not supplying blood to the brain because its clamped off for 8 to 10 minutes, the surgeon said. But the three other arteries that feed the brain take over and supply the needed blood. Currently, TCAR is approved only for high-risk patients, whom DAddio described as those age 75 and over, with poorly controlled diabetes and bad heart disease. Surgeons will continue to treat others with blocked carotid arteries with traditional procedures until the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approves TCAR for all patients. DAddio believes that change is coming. Over the next five to 10 years, I would expect all carotids will be done this way, he said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. South Africa: Government welcomes humanitarian aid from Qatar Government has welcomed much-needed humanitarian aid from the State of Qatar, as it is expected to bolster efforts in response to the devastating floods that recently hit KwaZulu-Natal. The humanitarian aid delivered by the State of Qatar on Sunday comprised,among other things, foodstuff, clothing, generators, water purifiers, ventilators, tents and medical supplies. Addressing a media briefing on interventions and the much-needed humanitarian aid from the State of Qatar following the devastating floods, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said government has prioritised finding shelter for people who have been displaced. We have started moving some of them to temporary residential units and the process has been a bit slow because we need to get new land. We cant put them on the floodplains where their houses were washed away by the floods, she said at a briefing in eThekwini on Sunday. To date, 459 people have lost their lives in the floods that took place in April and April. According to police, 88 people are still reported missing. KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, said more than 131 temporary residential units have been constructed. The province has started building temporary residences for affected families on State-owned land parcels that have been identified in KwaZulu-Natal for possible resettlement. Our rebuilding does not only involve the construction and repair of major infrastructure but also the construction of houses and damaged infrastructure. Houses will be rebuilt within suitably located areas. We are implementing measures to protect residents from such adverse weather events in the future, Zikalala said. Critical infrastructure like schools, bridges and roads were also destroyed, with damage to public infrastructure currently standing at R25 billion, whilst businesses incurred damage estimated at R7 billion. These costs exclude new ones emanating from the May floods. Some areas of our province have been transformed by the floods into inaccessible islands, the Premier said. He said the humanitarian aid will help lighten the burden of meeting the humanitarian needs of the over 4 000 citizens housed in community care centres. About 45 000 working people are temporarily out of employment because their places of employment are temporarily not operational, as they were affected by the floods. Government is providing burial assistance, death certificates, identity documents, post mortems, health services and psychosocial support, the Premier said. Extensive work is underway to restore basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and waste removal. The N2 towards uMgababa, which was damaged and made it difficult to access areas in the South Coast, was re-opened on Friday. We successfully constructed an emergency lane in a period of seven weeks. [With regards to] the recovery of the full width of the N2 north of Durban after the Gateway interchange, construction is progressing well and we anticipate to open the closed lane in the next two weeks or earlier. More work to rebuild infrastructure and secure suitable land for housing is being done, Zikalala said. The Premier recognised the growth and strengthening of the bilateral and trade relations between Qatar and South Africa, which continue to yield positive results for both countries. We also salute the transnational humanitarian work of the Red Crescent in bringing relief to the vulnerable and desperate in their greatest hour of need. The personal protective equipment (PPE) and disaster relief equipment will be of enormous value to us. Beyond this, the expertise of the technical team of the Red Crescent will enhance our own capacity in dealing with disasters, he said. Ambassador of Qatar, Tariq Ali Faraj, wished a quick recovery to South Africa. We hope this plight will be over soon. Our team will be here on the ground for a couple of weeks to participate and assist with the distribution as well as the management of the disaster response, he said. Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, welcomed the donation from Qatar. What we are experiencing today is true international friendship from the people and government of Qatar, and we are most excited because this is an expansion of a relationship that has existed over a number of years. I am excited that a team will be in KwaZulu-Natal for just over two weeks. I think this is incredibly important. It is not just bringing an aeroplane load of humanitarian aid. Its also carrying out an assessment on what the needs on the ground are, what further support might be needed or rendered by the State of Qatar to South Africa, Pandor said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-05-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Illustration comparing rocky exoplanets LHS 3844 b and 55 Cancri e to Earth and Neptune. Both 55 Cancri e and LHS 3844 b are between Earth and Neptune in terms of size and mass, but they are more similar to Earth in terms of composition. The planets are arranged from left to right in order of increasing radius. Credits: ILLUSTRATION: NASA, ESA, CSA, Dani Player (STScI) With its mirror segments beautifully aligned and its scientific instruments undergoing calibration, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is just weeks away from full operation. Soon after the first observations are revealed this summer, Webb's in-depth science will begin. Among the investigations planned for the first year are studies of two hot exoplanets classified as "super-Earths" for their size and rocky composition: the lava-covered 55 Cancri e and the airless LHS 3844 b. Researchers will train Webb's high-precision spectrographs on these planets with a view to understanding the geologic diversity of planets across the galaxy, and the evolution of rocky planets like Earth. Super-Hot Super-Earth 55 Cancri e 55 Cancri e orbits less than 1.5 million miles from its Sun-like star (one twenty-fifth of the distance between Mercury and the Sun), completing one circuit in less than 18 hours. With surface temperatures far above the melting point of typical rock-forming minerals, the day side of the planet is thought to be covered in oceans of lava. Planets that orbit this close to their star are assumed to be tidally locked, with one side facing the star at all times. As a result, the hottest spot on the planet should be the one that faces the star most directly, and the amount of heat coming from the day side should not change much over time. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Observations of 55 Cancri e from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that the hottest region is offset from the part that faces the star most directly, while the total amount of heat detected from the day side does vary. Does 55 Cancri e Have a Thick Atmosphere? One explanation for these observations is that the planet has a dynamic atmosphere that moves heat around. "55 Cancri e could have a thick atmosphere dominated by oxygen or nitrogen," explained Renyu Hu of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who leads a team that will use Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to capture the thermal emission spectrum of the day side of the planet. "If it has an atmosphere, [Webb] has the sensitivity and wavelength range to detect it and determine what it is made of," Hu added. Or Is It Raining Lava in the Evening on 55 Cancri e? Another intriguing possibility, however, is that 55 Cancri e is not tidally locked. Instead, it may be like Mercury, rotating three times for every two orbits (what's known as a 3:2 resonance). As a result, the planet would have a day-night cycle. "That could explain why the hottest part of the planet is shifted," explained Alexis Brandeker, a researcher from Stockholm University who leads another team studying the planet. "Just like on Earth, it would take time for the surface to heat up. The hottest time of the day would be in the afternoon, not right at noon." Brandeker's team plans to test this hypothesis using NIRCam to measure the heat emitted from the lit side of 55 Cancri e during four different orbits. If the planet has a 3:2 resonance, they will observe each hemisphere twice and should be able to detect any difference between the hemispheres. In this scenario, the surface would heat up, melt, and even vaporize during the day, forming a very thin atmosphere that Webb could detect. In the evening, the vapor would cool and condense to form droplets of lava that would rain back to the surface, turning solid again as night falls. Somewhat Cooler Super-Earth LHS 3844 b While 55 Cancri e will provide insight into the exotic geology of a world covered in lava, LHS 3844 b affords a unique opportunity to analyze the solid rock on an exoplanet surface. Like 55 Cancri e, LHS 3844 b orbits extremely close to its star, completing one revolution in 11 hours. However, because its star is relatively small and cool, the planet is not hot enough for the surface to be molten. Additionally, Spitzer observations indicate that the planet is very unlikely to have a substantial atmosphere. What Is the Surface of LHS 3844 b Made of? While we won't be able to image the surface of LHS 3844 b directly with Webb, the lack of an obscuring atmosphere makes it possible to study the surface with spectroscopy. "It turns out that different types of rock have different spectra," explained Laura Kreidberg at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. "You can see with your eyes that granite is lighter in color than basalt. There are similar differences in the infrared light that rocks give off." Kreidberg's team will use MIRI to capture the thermal emission spectrum of the day side of LHS 3844 b, and then compare it to spectra of known rocks, like basalt and granite, to determine its composition. If the planet is volcanically active, the spectrum could also reveal the presence of trace amounts of volcanic gases. The importance of these observations goes far beyond just two of the more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets in the galaxy. "They will give us fantastic new perspectives on Earth-like planets in general, helping us learn what the early Earth might have been like when it was hot like these planets are today," said Kreidberg. These observations of 55 Cancri e and LHS 3844 b will be conducted as part of Webb's Cycle 1 General Observers program. General Observers programs were competitively selected using a dual-anonymous review system, the same system used to allocate time on Hubble. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. Astrobiology Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. In Louise Lawlers earliest memory of her dad, Col. James Randall, she was 4 and proudly announcing to him she had learned to spell her name. The decorated fighter pilot and Tuskegee Airman waited for his daughter to demonstrate the new skill, then looked down and said, Thats outstanding. Those were the words I heard all my life from my dad, Lawler said at a Thursday memorial service at Shove Memorial Chapel on the Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs. Thats outstanding. Randall, a warrior in spirit and heart, died Dec. 9 at age 93. A father of four, Randall was a father figure to too many to count. Because you didnt have to be family to earn his ardent and enduring encouragement. One by one, some of the people whose lives he touched took the mic to share memories of him Thursday. Stories of how he inspired their military careers and taught them to dream big, or drive a stick shift, or offered the right words at the exact moment they were most needed. At church we called him Brother Randall. Not out of disrespect for his rank, but because we knew him as brother, said the Rev. Lonzie Symonette, of Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Randall was a longtime member and trustee. Randall grew up in Roanoke, Va., and as soon as he was old enough, in 1945, joined the Army Air Corps and the first black military pilots who were training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. Pilot training was canceled after the war, and Randall was discharged and headed to college, but in 1948, a letter from the War Department lured him back into service as a member of the newly integrated Air Force. He graduated from fighter pilot school in 1950 and was deployed to Korea, where he flew 75 combat missions. I got lucky. There were guns all over, but I was never shot down, Randall said in a 2013 interview with The Gazette. I just love flying. I never wanted to do anything else. In Vietnam, he was part of Operation Rolling Thunder, and on Oct. 13, 1965, was shot down while flying his 44th mission, to destroy a bridge near the border. He deployed the explosives before his plane went down, ejecting and parachuting to the ground, where, despite his injuries, he managed to avoid capture and radio for help. A rescue party retrieved him, but his gear and helmet were gone. Randall recuperated and ultimately moved to Colorado Springs, where he retired from the military in 1980. He never forgot about what hed lost, though. He even considered going back to Vietnam to look for it after the war, but decided the odds of finding it were too slim. The Vietnam vet who helped reunite him with that helmet, 48 years after it was lost, traveled from Lincoln, Neb., to attend his funeral. The story of how the helmet found its way to Gary Paco Gregg and then back to its original owner, 8,000 miles and almost a half-century away, reads like a Hollywood screenplay. In 2013, it brought Gregg not only to the end of his quest but to an unexpected, and abiding, friendship. Ive never known a man of such high caliber, Gregg said, choking up as he addressed the crowd Thursday. Randalls youngest daughter, Patricia Rotenberg, said she believes of all her fathers many accomplishments, his greatest rewards were being a member of the Tuskegee Airmen and getting that helmet back. Those achievements and moments, however, were only part of what defined him. My dad was a fabulous son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, she said. He lived an adventurous, wonderful, rewarding, long life. And I embrace his homecoming because hes now resting with the Lord. Col. Randalls many awards and decorations include the Congressional Gold Medal, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal. The two Republicans vying for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat squared off at a country music bar on May 21 in their only scheduled debate, held just over two weeks before ballots go into the mail ahead of next month's primary election. Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. By Trend Thanks to the support of the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan, the world famous technology festival TEKNOFEST is being held in Azerbaijan this year, President of the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) Serdar Huseyin Yildirimtold Trend. According to him, this support of the heads of both states is essential for the development of technology. He noted that, Azerbaijan - the fraternal country was the first that came to mind first when planning to hold TEKNOFEST outside of Turkey. "This is a second Motherland for us. TEKNOFEST was held in Turkey with great success. I am sure that we will achieve the same success in Azerbaijan. The support of festival from both Presidents is also a very important step. Despite the fact that today is the last day of the festival, people still come here with great interest," he said. TEKNOFEST International Aviation, Space and Technology Festival is being held in Azerbaijan from May 26 through May 29. TEKNOFEST in Baku is held by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the TEKNOFEST production office operates in Baku. The full staff of the office consists of Azerbaijani specialists. The event has been held annually since 2018, with the joint organization of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, which is managed by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology and the technical director of Baykar Makina, in partnership with more than 60 Turkish state institutions, universities and private companies. The goal is to popularize such areas as aviation, space industry and digital economy, to encourage entrepreneurship in these areas, to identify the knowledge and skills of young engineers through competitions organized within the framework of the festival, as well as to present national technologies to the general public. Trend News Agency, Day.Az, Milli.Az, Azernews, Eastweststream, Today.Az and Turkic.World are official media partners of TEKNOFEST. FILE PHOTO: An orca swims in the Seine river at Duclair in Normandy, after straying into the river from the sea and swimming from Le Havre to Rouen, France, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo A self-propelled howitzer 2S1 Gvozdika of pro-Russian troops fires a leaflet shell in the direction of Sievierodonetsk to disperse information materials from their combat positions in the Luhansk region, Ukraine May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. John Graham is a father of five, retired US Marine, and president of School District 49 Board of Education. Write him at jgraham@d49.org. The city of Colorado Springs first homelessness prevention specialist has been tapped to become the first to fill a similar position in the governors office. Andy Phelps will leave his job of nearly five years on June 3 as the homelessness prevention and response coordinator for Mayor John Suthers and start June 6 as special adviser on homelessness and housing to Gov. Jared Polis. In the same way that Phelps has acted as the citys liaison with homeless shelters, soup kitchens, housing agencies and other service organizations that help move people from homelessness back into housing and stability in life, Phelps will work as the states liaison with local communities, Polis said in a phone interview. One reason Phelps was selected for the post, the governor said, is that Colorado Springs is one of the few cities in the state where homelessness has decreased in recent years. Homelessness has become a much bigger issue across the state, and we wanted to learn from cities like Colorado Springs, Polis said. One of Colorado Springs biggest accomplishments is that the number of chronically unsheltered people living outside, in cars or empty buildings has dropped by nearly half since Phelps joined the city staff in 2017. That goes to show when a community comes together and is focused on working on a problem, great things can happen, Phelps said. Without the leadership of Mayor Suthers and former City Council President Richard Skorman, we would not have seen the success of our homeless initiative. Former Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach created a plan in 2014 to reduce homelessness, and Phelps rolled out a new initiative in 2019, which he said has met every goal. New programs such as a community housing fund for homeless veterans, street outreach by the citys fire department, giving homeless people jobs cleaning street medians through the city's Public Works Operations and Maintenance department, and providing regular video court sessions for homeless who have minor legal cases are among the new projects. Colorado Springs also in recent years has added more low-barrier shelter beds for a total of nearly 750; streamlined and expanded assistance programs; created more transitional and affordable housing units; fortified the Police Departments street outreach; enacted ordinances banning camping on public property and along rivers; coordinated continual cleanups of illegal camps; enforced a no-loitering policy; and ticketed people panhandling on medians, which is considered a safety hazard. City leaders think the steps have helped decrease the count of unsheltered people who sleep outside, in cars or empty buildings, which dropped by 19% to 358 in 2020 over 2019, the most recent statistic available for that population. The unsheltered, or what are considered chronically homeless people, also decreased by 13% in 2019 over 2018. People staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing units in El Paso County also is declining. During an annual head count for Department of Housing and Urban Development funding purposes, the city saw a decrease of 14% in January 2021 over 2020 for a total of 1,156 people. Conversely, the number of first-time homeless people in metro Denver nearly doubled last year over 2020, the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative reported in January. Results from this years homeless count that was conducted in February in Colorado Springs have not yet been released, but Suthers alluded to the city's downward trend continuing, particularly of chronic homelessness, during a recent tour of an affordable housing complex under construction. I think Colorado Springs has had a more successful approach to reducing homelessness than Denver and other cities, having someone familiar with best practices, Polis said. Thats not to say Colorado Springs has solved homelessness, by any means, he said. It has a long way to go, Polis said. But it hasnt gotten any worse, and we want other cities to emulate that. Concerns related to homeless people remain one of the top complaints Colorado Springs receives from residents, according to the reduction plan. While city and county leaders set policies on issues of homelessness in their communities, the state can play a role in helping decrease its prevalence, Polis said. Colorado ranked poorly in the nation in the 2021 Annual Report on Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Colorado had the largest percentage increase in the nation of chronically homeless people since 2007, according to the report, and also registered the second-largest increase in homelessness among families with children between 2020 and 2021. Polis said he wants to see more drug and alcohol treatment programs across the state, along with more beds for homeless residents and not allowing unsafe conditions on streets. State lawmakers passed a three-bill package Polis announced in April to allocate $200 million of federal pandemic relief funds to create a statewide grant program for homeless services and build two homeless recovery campuses in the metro Denver area. Phelps will work on those projects, Polis said. The governor said he decided to add the new position that Phelps is filling in his office because of the availability of COVID-relief money. We want to reduce homelessness and make Colorado safe, Polis said, adding that his goal is for Colorado to become one of the 10 safest states in the nation over the next 10 years. Phelps said it's time for a change in his life. After five years at the city and the progress we've made, I am ready for a new challenge and excited to work with the team at the governors office, he said. At a May 20 membership meeting of Pikes Peak Continuum of Care, a consortium focused on homelessness, Phelps thanked local leaders who work in the field for their assistance and support in helping Colorado Springs achieve its goals. Hes done a lot of great things and assisted the city with many homeless initiatives, said Alison Gerbig, Colorado Springs program manager for Rocky Mountain Human Services Homes for All Veterans and the continuum of cares board chair. A big shout out to him for serving us and now moving on to work with the governor, she said. By Trend Events similar to TEKNOFEST, which promote the development of technologies and innovations in Azerbaijan, will continue in the coming years, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev told reporters, Trend reports. According to him, over the past four days, we have seen how events like this can spur technology development across all industries. "The holding of the TEKNOFEST international aviation and space festival in Azerbaijan will stimulate the development of technologies in the field of science," he said. TEKNOFEST International Aviation, Space and Technology Festival is being held in Azerbaijan from May 26 through May 29. TEKNOFEST in Baku is held by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the TEKNOFEST production office operates in Baku. The full staff of the office consists of Azerbaijani specialists. The event has been held annually since 2018, with the joint organization of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, which is managed by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology and the technical director of Baykar Makina, in partnership with more than 60 Turkish state institutions, universities and private companies. The goal is to popularize such areas as aviation, space industry and digital economy, to encourage entrepreneurship in these areas, to identify the knowledge and skills of young engineers through competitions organized within the framework of the festival, as well as to present national technologies to the general public. Trend News Agency, Day.Az, Milli.Az, Azernews, Eastweststream, Today.Az and Turkic.World are official media partners of TEKNOFEST. The weather hasnt felt much like summer yet, but for my children summer vacation has indeed begun. Like many kids in North Iowa, theyve had their last day of school and are settling into the lazy days of summer. As glorious as it is, the end of a school year is always a little bittersweet. Bitter to see another school year come and go, but sweet to welcome summer and all the fun it brings. It was especially bittersweet for my daughter this year as she finished her last year in the elementary building and will go to middle school next fall at the high school building. In the preceding weeks, Amaya took a tour of what will be her new school, practiced how to unlock a locker and learned other new things about middle school. Amaya had enjoyed all of it and was excited about the move. But when class dismissed on the final day, she was sad about leaving the only school shes known thus far. She wasnt the only one. After school that last day, Amaya and some of her friends gathered at the playground, saying they didnt want to go. They were lying on the lawn and didnt want to leave the elementary for the last time. One friend said she might camp out on the grass and sleep there. Almost two hours later, Amaya was the first to leave. It was really quite sweet to see the girls sentimental and clinging to their childhood for a moment, when they are more and more at an age when they want to act a little older all the time. Of course, I was having the same twinges of sadness about Amaya leaving the elementary, as well as seeing another year pass by for both my kids. But like any good parent, I shoved those feelings deep down inside of me so all my kids saw was positivity and excitement. My son isnt changing schools but was still sad to say goodbye to his teacher. Max is definitely excited about summer, but he had a fabulous teacher and is bummed not to see her anymore. On the Eve of the last day of school, I found him drawing a picture and writing a thoughtful note to his teacher. I was completely shocked he decided to do this all on his own. Clearly, she made an impact on him. In the days since, both my kids have warmed up to summer break. Of course, it didnt take long. When what would have been the next school day rolled around, they were beyond happy not to report to class. But it still brought to light an interesting realization for me. Exceptional teachers have the incredible ability to make children feel a little melancholy about the end of the school year. When you stop to think about it, isnt that unbelievable? Of course, kids are always thrilled about summer. But to also feel sadness about leaving their teacher is proof of an outstanding educator and human being. What an extraordinary gift! Every year, both my kids have been blessed with amazing teachers, so these feelings are a common theme for our family at this time. As a parent, I couldnt ask for anything more. Knowing my children are spending the day with a teacher who truly cares about them and wants them to succeed and enjoy school is priceless. So to all the great teachers out there, thank you for all the time you dedicate in and outside of class, the kindness and care you give your students daily and all the ways you support them academically but also emotionally. Enjoy your summer. You certainly deserve it. But know this There are many students out there with whom you made a lasting impression and will remember you forever. Addie Rugland is a freelance writer who lives in Northwood with her husband, daughter and son. better justified justified in a hypothetical situation calling into question usually false calling into question the motives of those presenting certain information [quote="rs47"]Columnist: If you received an unsigned letter, you would likely have some doubts about the truth of its contents. But news stories often include statements from anonymous sources, and these are usually quoted with the utmost respect. It makes sense to be skeptical of these sources, for, as in the case of the writer of an unsigned letter, their anonymity makes it possible for them to plant inaccurate or slanted statements without ever having to answer for them.The columnists argument proceeds by(A) pointing out that a certain attitude would presumably be adopted in one situation, in order to support the claim that a similar attitude would be justified in an analogous situation - CORRECT. POE but otherwise as well if passage is understood correctly, though it is difficult on the higher side.(B) drawing an analogy between an attitude commonly adopted in one situation and a different attitude commonly adopted in another situation, and establishing that the latter attitude isthan the former - WRONG. No comparison is inferable from the passage.(C) inferring that an attitude would be justified in all situations of a given type on the grounds that this attitude isof that type - WRONG. No hypothetical situation is identifiable.(D)a certain type of evidence by drawing an analogy between that evidence and other evidence that the argument shows is- WRONG. Problem is more about usage of 'usually' though 'false' is also not an absolute.(E), and concluding for this reason that the information is likely to be false - WRONG. If someone is not concretely sure about identifying or not certain about 'calling into question' then 'motives of those presenting' should certainly raise a red flag to them.Answer A._________________ Re: During his research on modern production systems, workers at a leading [ #permalink (A) During his research on modern production systems, workers at a leading automobile manufacturing firm told Professor Roberts that these systems end up encouraging temporary or contract employment and reducing their quality of life. Wrong because pronoun "his" cannot be used for workers. (B) Modern production systems were encouraging temporary or contract employment and reducing their quality of life was told to Professor Roberts by the workers at a leading automobile manufacturing firm. Wrong because told to is incorrect usage. (C) Professor Roberts was told by workers at a leading automobile manufacturing firm that these systems ended up encouraging temporary or contract employment and reducing their quality of life, during his research on modern production systems. Wrong because modifier during his research on modern production systems should come after Professor Roberts. (D) During his research on modern production systems, Professor Roberts was told by workers at a leading automobile manufacturing firm that they were meant to encourage temporary or contract employment at the same time reducing their quality of life. Wrong because it is not clear as to what "they" refers to. (E) Professor Roberts, during his research on modern production systems, was told by workers at a leading automobile manufacturing firm that these systems ended up encouraging temporary or contract employment and reducing their quality of life. Bunuel wrote: The British hospitality industrys cost to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is projected at $2 billion by the end of the decade. (A) The British hospitality industrys cost to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is projected at $2 billion by the end of the decade. (B) The British hospitality industrys cost by the end of the decade to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is estimated at $2 billion a year. (C) By the end of the decade, the British hospitality industrys cost of addressing issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is projected at $2 billion a year. (D) It is estimated that by the end of the decade the cost to the British hospitality industry of addressing issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations will be over $2 billion a year. (E) To address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations, the cost to the British hospitality industry is estimated at over $2 billion a year by the end of the decade. This Month's Questions are Sponsored by Experts' Global for the GMAT Club SC Butler (A) The British hospitality industrys cost to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is projected at $2 billion by the end of the decade.(B) The British hospitality industrys cost by the end of the decade to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is estimated at $2 billion a year.(C) By the end of the decade, the British hospitality industrys cost of addressing issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations is projected at $2 billion a year.(D) It is estimated that by the end of the decade the cost to the British hospitality industry of addressing issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations will be over $2 billion a year.(E) To address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations, the cost to the British hospitality industry is estimated at over $2 billion a year by the end of the decade. Project SC Butler For SC butler Questions Click Here Official Explanation: Meaning + Modifiers + Idioms + Redundancy/Awkwardness The simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future. The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. D. Correct. D is the best answer choice. The intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that it is estimated that by the end of the decade it will cost the industry $2 billion per year to address certain issues.A. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present tense verb is projected at to refer to an action that will take place in the future, as indicated by the modifying phrase by the end of the decade.B. This answer choice expresses the idea of certain costs incurred by an industry reaching a certain level by the end of the decade by modifying the noun phrase industrys cost by the end of the decade with the present tense phrase is estimated at $2 billion a year; this is an awkward method of conveying this idea, as the same meaning can be conveyed more efficiently by referring to the cost in the future tense.C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present tense verb is projected at to refer to an event that will logically take place in the future, as indicated by the modifying phrase by the end of the decade.This answer choice conveys the intended meaning of the sentence that it is estimated that by the end of the decade it will cost the industry $2 billion per year to address certain issues. Further, Option D correctly uses the simple future tense verb will be to refer to a future event. Additionally, Option D is free of awkwardness and redundancy.E. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase to address issues related to the new and more stringent visa regulations to modify the clause the cost to the British hospitality industry is estimated at over $2 billion a year, incorrectly implying that the action of estimating the cost was taken for the purpose of addressing issues caused by visa regulations. The intended meaning is that it is estimated that by the end of the decade it will cost the industry $2 billion per year to address certain issues._________________ The editor of a local newspaper found that his paper's readership was declining because most articles did not address issues that directly impact readers' lives. To increase readership, the editor decided to print more articles about issues facing the local public school system and contentious school board budget meetings.Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest reason to expect that articles focusing on local public schools and the school board budget will succeed in attracting readers?A. One of the core missions of the local newspaper is to inform local residents about the school board and the public school system.B. In order to make informed voting decisions, local residents need to be informed about the school board budget and its impact on the public school system.C. School board meetings are open to the public and make the minutes of every budget meeting readily available to the public.D. The number of local residents who read newspapers today is smaller than it was ten years ago.E. The vast majority of the local paper's readership is either employed by the local public school system or has children who attend local public schools._________________ DANVILLE Both the victim and the suspect in the May 17 shooting at Purdum Woods had dated the same woman who was a witness to the incident, according to a search warrant filed in Danville Circuit Court last week. However, the Danville Police Department said Monday morning that the incident was not a love triangle turned deadly. The details of the morning of the killing will have to play out in court, but I can tell you it was not a love triangle, said Danville Police Department Capt. Steve Richardson. The victim, 29-year-old Brandon Alexander Gore, and the witness were not dating each other at the time of the shooting, Richardson said. They were not in a physical relationship at the time... he said. The suspect, Andrew Jovanni Menjivar, 24, was arrested Friday afternoon in North Carolina and faces a second-degree murder charge. He will be extradited back to Danville to face trial. The search for Menjivar was a team effort between Danville Police Department investigators with both the Greensboro and Winston Salem Police Departments since Tuesday, officials wrote in a news release Friday afternoon. The search was aided with the help of concerned citizens throughout the investigation, who should be applauded. The shooting was reported at 9:31 a.m. May 17 and marked the third homicide in Danville this year. Police responded to Purdum Woods for a call about a man being shot outside an apartment. Gore was found suffering from a fatal gunshot wound in the breezeway of the K building, police reported. Menjivar had fled the scene on foot after the shooting. The next day, a Black Dodge Charger registered in North Carolina as belonging to Menjivar was located abandoned and covered on Old Quarry Road in Pittsylvania County, according to search warrants. On Wednesday, police said the suspect had a reported address in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and associations in other areas including Greensboro, North Carolina. Menjivar had left his cellphone behind when he fled from Purdum Woods, but used a citizens cell phone and remained in contact with a witness through a blocked number, according to a search warrant. At one point while police were interviewing the witness who was reported to be in a relationship with the suspect, Menjivar called her, according to a search warrant. No other individuals are facing any charges in this incident, Richardson said. Much investigative work and tracking was done for evidence as well as the location of the suspect. EMS practices with mass-casualty drill Rockingham County is home to 128 emergency service personnel and on May 19 the training staff hosted two shift crews and Rockingham Community College medical students in a SMART Triage and Mass Casualty training. Along-side this, AirLife Virginia flew in a helicopter and assisted with the days events. Training began at 9 a.m. with EMS Assistant Training Officer Brian Ward leading the crews in triage protocol. The Emergency Service participants then were given a scenario in which they had to safely and efficiently carry out a mass casualty situation. Participants read cards with different symptoms and identified which course of action was needed for that card or patient. Once the patients were separated into their proper triage station, crews then had to properly direct each to the correct medical facility to ensure proper care. Before the participants began the hands-on triage training, AirLife Virginia dropped in one of their helicopters and presented the crews with an award. AirLife Virginia then sponsored lunch for those in the training. For information, visit www.facebook.com/RockinghamCountyNC/photos_by. Soullettes celebrate 42nd anniversary The Soullettes of Danville, Va., will celebrate their 42nd anniversary at 5 p.m. June 11 at The Cherrystone South Center in Chatham Va. The address is 19115 South U.S. 29. The free event will feature Eric Mckenzie and The HiLite Jrs of Patterson, N.J. along with The Stephens Family of Danville and others. For information, email James Tarpley at jeimzeltarp1957@gmail.com. Rage room, ax parlor to open in mid-July A few popular outdoor pastimes that have been all the rage nationwide have come to Rockingham County. Robinsons Recreation Farm, located at 716 Sandy Cross Road in Reidsville, is building axe-throwing lanes that will be ready in time for their Grand Opening event on July 16. The farm currently operates an escape room for those who want to try to solve a murder mystery and beat the clock. And later this year the farm will open a rage room for patrons who need to relieve a bit of stress or just have the urge to smash things. Such rooms are full of easy and safe-to-break items and sledge hammers. The escape room costs $10 per person per 30-minute game. Each game holds a maximum of five people. For more information, contact: https://robinsonsrecreationfarm.com. EMS lifesaving statistics Since Jan. 1, 2022, Rockingham County Emergency Medical Services has seen 24 patients experience cardiac arrest and regain their pulse. These lifesaving actions were a team effort of 911, first responders and EMS. Rockingham County EMS uses a Team Focused CPR method which increases previous survival rates by more than 35%. This approach means crews provide lifesaving resuscitations without leaving the scene. Here are the Rockingham County EMS workers that made the 24 resuscitations happen: Three or more pulses regained: Brianna Bolden, Misty Lucas, Dean Matthews, Jimmy Nance, Steven Peterman, Sierra Shreve, Justin Stewart, Carl Sutton Two pulses regained: Anna Apple, Jessica Easter, Robin Garner, Eden Lindstrom, Elvia Medina, Chris Minor, Jordan Neal, Britany Russell, Timothy Shelton, Michael Stanley At least one pulse regained: Daniel Austin, Natasha Bullins, Alyson Coley, Don Cross, Micheal Fickel, Keith Garner, Ronnie Hill, Avery Howerton, Christina Illiano, Jessica Norwood, Steve Rich, Kristen Rudd, Christian Rush, Roger Smith, Billy Williams, Randy Young Prior to the use of Team Focused CPR, Rockingham Countys EMS survival rate for CPR Saves was less than 1%. By using this approach, Rockingham County has surpassed the North Carolina cardiac arrest survival rate. Send press releases to people@greensboro.com. GREENSBORO UNCG serves more than 1,300 military-affiliated students a number that includes service members, veterans, and their dependents. To celebrate Military Appreciation Month, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Bob Shea, a veteran, had a conversation with Daysha Evans, an active service member serving in the U.S. Navy and a public health education student at UNCG. Shea retired in 2007 after 25 years in the U.S Navy as an aviator with the rank of captain. Evans, a Raleigh native, has been in the Navy for seven years, serving in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Lemoore, California; Naples, Italy; and now, Bahrain. Shea: How long have you been in Bahrain? How are you adjusting to the weather? I know its hot as can be over there. Evans: Ive only been here for two months, so Im pretty new here. It is pretty hot the sun beams down making it 90 degrees as early as 6 a.m. Shea: Yeah, Bahrain is headquarters to what the Navy calls Fifth Fleet. So all of the Navy operations in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf report there, making it a very important geopolitical region for the United States and the Navy. How long is your tour? Evans: Eighteen months. Shea: And whats your rating or specialty? Evans: I am a yeoman first class petty officer, YN1 for short. My job entails all things administration, drafting letters, legal documents, travel arrangements, planning events such as retirements, Naval ceremonies and more. However, when I joined the Navy, I was an undesignated airman. I was attached to VFA-136 during this time where I worked in the line shack as a plane captain for a short time. Shea: Ah, yes, thats an F/A-18 squadron. How is your experience here at UNCG helping you in your naval career or vice versa? Evans: My major is public health education, it doesnt directly relate to what Im doing in my current job, its what I want to pursue once I get out of the Navy, and the skills that Im building during my time are setting myself up for a successful career once I do decide to depart. What drew you to the Navy? Shea: A lot of different things. When I was 7, my dad took me to the Boston Harbor when the John F. Kennedy carrier made its inaugural cruise, and I was very intrigued by that. I thought, Hey, I think thats something I would like to do. And then when I got into high school, I realized that service was important to me. And probably close to the top of the list of reasons was that it was a way for me to pay for college. I came from a working-class family. So I was on my own to pay for college. So the Navy helping to pay for college and for your ROTC scholarship was very appealing to me. Initially, I thought I would do my minimum obligated service, and then I would leave. But I ended up liking it so much that I stayed for 25 years. Its hard to believe, but my wife and I did it one tour at a time. I started out driving ships, and then I went to flight school. I got married shortly after I got my wings, and then it became a joint decision. With my wife and I, we loved moving around the country. We moved 12 times over the course of my 25 years in the Navy. Like you, I was deployed all over the world the only place I havent been is Australia. So it was a combination of service, idealism, and pragmatism a way to have college paid for. And I think, to a large extent, thats what motivates people to serve today. Its that combination of service and the fact that the Navy and the military in a broader sense invest in their people with tuition assistance, the GI Bill, and giving people the time to pursue a higher education while theyre on active duty like yourself, Daysha. Evans: You said you drove ships. Did you come into the Navy as a QM, a quartermaster (the person at the helm)? Shea: No, I came in as a surface warfare officer. I got commissioned as an ensign (O-1) right out of college and then retired 25 years later. I started out as a SWO I did that on two ships. Then I became an aviator, and flew P-3s, and had command of a P-3 squadron. Then, the Navy sent me to business school, and I became a budget person at the Pentagon. Thats what led to my second career in higher education. I was on the faculty at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, when I retired from the Navy. I transitioned into higher education within administration and finance but the Navy laid the groundwork for all of that. Evans: Sounds like an interesting career. What would you say are the best character traits you develop whilst serving that have been beneficial in the civilian world? Shea: People always tell me, Boy, the military and higher education seem so different. And I guess to outsiders, it might appear that way. But theyre really not. Think about whats at the core of what UNCG does, and what is at the core of what the Navy or any military service does. They take a young adult from disparate locations around the state and the country from all different kinds of socioeconomic groups, and they give them training and education. And its an opportunity for that individual to grow and accept that challenge, opportunity, and responsibility and blossom into productive citizens. So there are a lot of similarities. The character traits, I think, that everybody in the Navy and across the military is inculcated with is that we all go through that formative time earlier in our careers during boot camp. That was a shock when you got off that bus, right? And what do they do? They tear everybody down, right? They take away all your individuality, and they build you back together as a team. They foster hard work, teamwork, patriotism, and integrity. And that is the Navys core values honor, courage, and commitment. And those are qualities I still hold today as a finance leader at UNCG. If my credibility is damaged, my value to the chancellor is not very high. So I always have to operate with transparency and tell the truth. Evans: Can you share some of your fondest memories or stories from the time you served? Shea: My biggest takeaway from my time in the Navy was the relationships I fostered. I still have those relationships today. My longest and best friends are three guys that I served with in my first squadron, VP-45. We remain friends to this day, and our wives have become great friends, and our kids have become great friends. Im still in touch via Facebook with my command master chief when I was a training officer in VP-66 and my senior chiefs. A story I will share with you is when I was deployed and my oldest son was born. The commanding officer wouldnt let me leave. So I missed the birth of my eldest son, but the executive officer called me and another guy whose wife was due around the same time as mine and said, Im sending you home today. And to me, that was a sign of real leadership and taking care of your people. He never told me this, but Im sure he got ripped by the commanding officer. But you talk about an organization of 400 people who saw that act, and said, That guys a real leader. And we were near the end of deployment anyway, so the fact that he let us go home a couple of days early, really had no impact on the mission. But boy, it did have a great impact on morale. Daysha, how much more time do you have in the military and how many more credits do you have left until you get your UNCG degree? Evans: At UNCG, I have six more classes remaining, I am scheduled to graduate May of 2024. In the military, my current contract takes me up to 2025, but I intend to reenlist for another term. What advice would you give a student looking to pursue a military career? Shea: Thats a great question, and its something that Im passionate about. Im the chair of our local congresswomans service academy selection panel. Thats one way I give back to the community by allowing kids here from the North Carolina sixth congressional district to have the opportunities to go to Annapolis or West Point or the Air Force Academy. I think a solution to all the partisanship in our nation is to have people serve in the military serve an organization thats greater than individual goals. It was my experience in the military that we were one big team it didnt matter who you were or where you came from. The thing that mattered was the mission, and people came together to achieve that mission. The military isnt perfect, but its an organization that brings people of diverse backgrounds together and forges them into a team. One of the great things about the military is that you cant be political and it brings people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives together. Its a great melting pot and way to bring people together. I think thats the real benefit of serving in the military. And if you dont want to be in the military, you can join the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. I believe giving back and serving the nation is great for citizenship and for our democracy. By Trend The interest of the Azerbaijani people in TEKNOFEST was greater than in Turkey, Selcuk Bayraktar, technical director of the Turkish Baykar Makina company told Trend. He noted that the slogan "One nation, two states, one festival" was once again confirmed here. "Our youth, who participated in technological competitions, demonstrated their skills, and their awards were presented by the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan. I believe that these young people will sign big things in the future. We intend to hold more festivals in this format. Indeed, the Azerbaijani people, including children, show great interest in science and technology. I would even say that the interest of the Azerbaijani people in TEKNOFEST was greater than in Turkey," he said. TEKNOFEST International Aviation, Space and Technology Festival is being held in Azerbaijan from May 26 through May 29. TEKNOFEST in Baku is held by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the TEKNOFEST production office operates in Baku. The full staff of the office consists of Azerbaijani specialists. The event has been held annually since 2018, with the joint organization of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, which is managed by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology and the technical director of Baykar Makina, in partnership with more than 60 Turkish state institutions, universities and private companies. The goal is to popularize such areas as aviation, space industry and digital economy, to encourage entrepreneurship in these areas, to identify the knowledge and skills of young engineers through competitions organized within the framework of the festival, as well as to present national technologies to the general public. Trend News Agency, Day.Az, Milli.Az, Azernews, Eastweststream, Today.Az and Turkic.World are official media partners of TEKNOFEST. Check out these five hacks to help reduce your screen time, how to talk to your kids about school shootings, and more videos to improve your life. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. BLUFF CITY, Tenn. It was 1965 and a German-born 17-year-old from Oregon had run away from home again. It took authorities six months to find him, but when they did Wolfgang Bauder decided to join the Army to get away, he said. Three months after turning 18, Bauder found himself in the middle of the Vietnam War. I said lets go over there and see what its all about, so I volunteered, Bauder said. I was going to be a ground pounder, but when I got there they were begging for gunners for helicopters. Tasked with manning an M60 machine gun aboard a Huey helicopter, Bauder had the misfortune of being shot down a half dozen times within his first year in Vietnam. Fortunately, he survived, but some of his pilots and fellow comrades werent as lucky. Each Memorial Day, Bauder remembers those lives lost. [Memorial Day] kind of brings back memories of friends youve lost things youve seen happen that you never thought could happen, but did, Bauder said. Its amazing some of the stuff you live through and walk away from, and you wonder why didnt that touch me? Two memories that stick out in Bauders 74-year-old mind are when he was shot down twice in the span of about a month. In October 1966, Bauder escaped death when more than a dozen bullets entered his aircraft right next to where he was seated. Ive had a guardian angel all my life, Bauder said. A month later, his helicopter crashed into a big field. He ended up alone, fending for himself while pinned down for hours behind a stump with his machine gun. Its an episode he says earned him the Army Commendation Medal. When his first tour in Vietnam ended after a year, Bauder went home to the United States, but ended up asking to go back to Vietnam as an advisor with the Military Assistance Command. His wish was granted, and he went back to Vietnam and specialized in security and intelligence work. After serving a total of three years in Vietnam, Bauder was honorably discharged from the Army as a sergeant after four years in the service. Following stints working for a chemical company and driving trucks, Bauder joined the Navy and became a recruiter, a job that took him to Bristol, Tennessee, where he lives today. In all, Bauder logged nearly two decades of active service in the U.S. military, serving in the Army, Navy and National Guard, and flew on hundreds of combat missions in Vietnam. In more recent years, the aging, yet spry, and hard-nosed Bauder, known as Wolf, has found solace at Bristols Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter #39, headquartered in Bluff City. There he serves as 2nd Junior Vice Commander and runs the nonprofits food pantry. The camaraderie shared with other veterans at the DAV has been a difference-maker for Bauder. I found a home with all my buddies (here), Bauder said. We can communicate with each other, and know what we are talking about. What Bauder found at the DAV, he feels, is something all veterans should have. Its helped me a lot just being with these guys, instead of being at home, Bauder said. I can come here, and I can talk about whats bothering me, and I can listen to whats bothering them, [and] we can get it off our chest. This Memorial Day, Bauder a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient plans on helping the DAV raise funds in their biggest fundraiser of the year, which is held through community engagement at Food City stores in Bristol, Blountville and Piney Flats. Although his life story consists of much more than his military service, those days Bauder spent in Vietnam dodging bullets and risking death will forever be a part of who he is. Its been one heck of a life, but Ive had a guardian angel, Bauder said. I went through a lot, and Im still here. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After 32 years as an educator, I retired from teaching in 2020. I taught young children: first, second and third grades. When parents put their children on buses or dropped them off at school, it was with a mutual knowledge and understanding that I was responsible for their childrens safety and well-being. That was a huge responsibility. I was always worried about a school shooting. My school conducted lockdown drills, but I dont know how we would have reacted if faced with the reality of gunshots echoing throughout the building, knowing that people were being killed. Too often, this reality is being faced by teachers and students in our country. I am heartbroken for the people in Uvalde while still thinking of the people in Buffalo. Mass shootings shouldnt be happening at all anywhere and certainly not in schools, grocery stores and places of worship. By Tuesday, there had already been more than two dozen school shootings in the United States this year. I am sickened by the fact that gun violence in U.S. schools happens so frequently that Uvalde is labeled the deadliest shooting at a U.S. school since Sandy Hook. This alone tells us that something needs to change. Gun laws in this country need to be stricter. It shouldnt have been that easy for a person just turning 18 years old, or anyone who is mentally unstable, to purchase weapons of that caliber. What if lawmakers were as dedicated to making the changes to gun laws that would aid in preventing existing children from being shot and killed in schools as they are to making laws for those not yet conceived? LENOIR The Coffey Foundation held its annual scholarship awards dinner May 23 at Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir. Ten seniors from Caldwell Countys South Caldwell, West Caldwell, Hibriten and Caldwell Early College High Schools and the Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements and leadership qualities. The total of scholarships awarded was $260,000. In addition to the scholarship, each student received a framed certificate and a DVD of the Coffey Foundation history. Recipients are: Kathryn Whisnant is a graduate of Hibriten High School and will attend UNC Chapel Hill. Katherine Clark is a graduate of Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy and will attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Mary Catherine Ford is a graduate of West Caldwell High School and will attend UNC Wilmington. Addyson Thomas is a graduate of Hibriten High School and will attend UNC Chapel Hill. Quinten Curtis is a graduate of South Caldwell High School and will attend UNC Chapel Hill. Mason Lewis is a graduate of South Caldwell High School and will attend NC State University. Jacob Norwood is a graduate of Hibriten High School and will attend Appalachian State University. Jacqueline Zelaya is a graduate of Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy and will attend Western Carolina University. Mollie Church is a graduate of Caldwell Early College High School and will attend UNC Wilmington. Rachel Kripner is a graduate of South Caldwell High School and will attend UNC Chapel Hill. The Coffey Foundation has an extensive history of providing college scholarships to Caldwell County students. In addition to these scholarships, the Foundation continues to provide numerous scholarships to students attending Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Not all of wars casualties happen on the battlefield. Marty Combs is one such example. Combs had been out of the Army for more than a decade when he took his life at age 37. His death came after years of what his sister Marcia Hubbard describes as isolation and mental illness tied to his time in service. Hubbard, Combs and their family are from Wilkes County, but Hubbard lives in Hickory. During her time in Hickory, Hubbard has started a group called Volunteer Outreach in Community Efforts or VOICE. The groups work includes support for veterans, particularly homeless veterans, by providing supplies such as shoes, socks, sleeping mats and backpacks. Hubbard said her desire to help veterans grew out of her experiences with her brother. Combs came from a military family and looked to carry on that tradition of service by joining the Army at 19. He spent nearly four years in the military and served in the Persian Gulf War. Combs provided a glimpse into his time at war through letters to his family. He wrote at one point about being part of a unit that destroyed a division of the Iraqi Republican Guard. He expressed his desire to return home and attend college. Sgt. Bernhard Weston wrote a letter to Combs parents praising Combs for his honesty and curiosity. I am glad to have him in my foxhole, Weston wrote. Combs letters and medals are included in an exhibit at the Hickory Museum of Art that is running through Sept. 11. Hubbard recalled Combs struggling in the years after he left the Army, saying he suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. It was hard, Hubbard said. Things were really different. He was real isolated and tried to internalize and deal with things on his own. Hubbard shared her hope that other veterans struggling with some of the same problems her brother faced will be able to realize that asking for support is not a sign of weakness. Its OK to ask for help, Hubbard said. Kevin Griffin is the City of Hickory reporter at the Hickory Daily Record. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sid Teague knew the name Garland Hendrix from the time he was small. Hendrix was his uncle after all. Whenever his name was mentioned, it was Garland, Normas husband who was killed in the war, Teague said. But not much else. Hendrix, the pilot of a B-24 bomber, was one of more than 400,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines killed during World War II. He was 22. His family back home in (and around) Winston-Salem was given a barebones synopsis of Hendrix death he was killed Dec. 17, 1944 while flying over eastern Europe but never a complete accounting. Those details were hard to come by during the war. Besides, in the days when sacrifice was shared widely across American society, they werent often discussed. Decades later, inspired in part by hearing his 90-year-old father open up about his own experiences aboard a warship during World War II, Teague set out on a years-long journey to find out about an uncle he never met and make sure his sacrifice would neither be lost nor forgotten. Preserving the history Twelve years ago, long before anyone had heard of COVID-19 or dreamed that Russia might threaten European stability, Teague went with his father to Gods Acre just before Memorial Day. Theyd brought with them a small American flag and sought out Garland Hendrix headstone. This is the first time anybodys put a flag on his grave in a long, long time, Teague said in 2010. A few feet away, the elder Sidney Teague wiped a few tears that had welled up. He explained that hed been thinking about the Marines killed on Iwo Jima. As an electricians mate on the U.S.S. Stern, a destroyer escort, the elder Teague had been involved in several of the biggest battles in the Pacific. You never forget, he said. You just cant. Sidney Teague died a few years later in 2014. But the memory of that one shared moment stuck with his son, a dentist not too far from retirement. An active man not prone to sitting still a tractor and log-splitter parked in his barn next to his barn attest to that Teague decided to start pulling together a definitive account of Garland Hendrix service. He interviewed family members and recorded their memories. He became the trusted keeper of various mementos and artifacts saved from Hendrix time in the U.S. Army Air Corps 461st Bombardment Group. They knew that I was sort of the family historian, Teague said while standing near some of those items. They knew Id take care of it. It helped that my (relatives) didnt throw anything away ever. In an attic in his barn a finished apartment, really Teague keeps photographs, maps, unit patches and Hendrix Purple Heart citation which carries the signature of President Harry Truman. He has a hand-written letter Hendrix sent to his aunt, too, while sailing across the Atlantic on his way to deployment. Several items have been lovingly preserved under glass in a large matted frame and displayed in a place of honor. Among those, a pair of black-and-white photos stand out. Two photos, the one with the crew in front of the plane, I think was shot stateside before they left, he said. The other was in Foggia complex (a U.S. airbase in southern Italy). Their expressions dont look as happy. I think theyd been shot at a few times. A final run Through conversations, correspondence and military records dug up online, Teague learned more about his aunt and uncles short time as a married couple. Hendrix was born in Davie County but moved to Ardmore as a youngster. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but spent a great deal of time scheming to get back home. I think Garland just wanted to be with her as much as he could, Teague said. The world beyond Winston-Salem was engulfed in conflict, and Hendrix was swept up in it the same as hundreds of thousands of other young Americans. He was drafted in 1942, and after showing an aptitude for flying, was sent to the Army Air Corps for flight training. Hendrix learned to fly the B-24 known as the Flying Box Car. He married Norma on Feb. 8, 1944, in Tennessee and was allowed time home following the death of his father. In September, his unit (and their planes) headed for Italy. By then, he knew that a child was on the way. All the fellows seem to think we will be home before long I sure hope theyre right, Hendrix wrote in a letter dated Sept. 15. I would give anything if I could be at home when Little Jim is born. If Im not there when he or she is born you tell (him or her) about its dad and Ill apologize to him or her when I get home for not being there OK? Once in Europe, Hendrix and his crewmates flew more than 20 missions before his last. They were among 30 planes ordered to bomb a German oil refinery in occupied Poland. Their plane was among 10 that went down over Czechoslovakia; the rest made it back safely. A handful of crew members from the downed B-24s were able to get out and were taken prisoner; Hendrix did not. His family learned via telegram on New Years Day. It took them two weeks to determine he was MIA, Teague said. Only later were they told hed been killed and buried in Europe not uncommon amid the chaos. The family originally thought his plane had been downed by artillery fire but learned much later that itd been taken out by a German fighter plane. All of that information is available online now, Teague said. Hendrix came home in 1950 and his family, dutiful Moravians, laid him to rest that August in Gods Acre at Old Salem. Lasting impact Hendrix death, Teague said, carried a lasting impact. Little Jim in fact a boy was born a month early, a fact family members attributed to Normas grief. Little Jim he lacked a father, Teague said. My dad was kind of the one who had to give him discipline. Dad had to do that with me, too. It was a lot. Jim Hendrix, Teagues cousin, fell out of touch once he reached adulthood and hasnt been heard from in years, Teague said. Norma remarried later in life and eventually moved to Florida. We just dont know (about Jim), Teague said. Norma, well, it just seemed like Garlands death traumatized her. Garland Hendrix was 22 when he died, which also contributed to Teagues desire to learn as much as possible about him. An aunt, Alice Teague, provided a lot of help and firsthand information. I just think thats tragic, he said. At 22 he had his whole life ahead of him and it was cut so short. The same applies, of course, to more than 418,000 other Americans. That knowledge pushed Teague to want to honor Garland Hendrix and his dad for that matter once he retired and had time to devote to it. My father didnt talk about the war. A lot of those guys didnt, Teague said. His brother served, too. I remember asking him one time about what he and Jim did. He said, He carried a gun. I carried an oil can. For that reason the service of his father and the sacrifice of his uncle Garland Teague makes certain to honor those lost in Americas wars on Memorial Day exactly as intended when Congress in 1968 declared it a national holiday after years of being observed as Decoration Day, created a century earlier in memory of the Civil War dead. I think we owe a lot to those guys, Teague said. They didnt come back and ask to be congratulated or patted on the back. They just went back to work and built this country. Paying chief executives $1 million in annual base salary became more passe for corporate America during 2021. Of the chief executives of publicly traded corporations with a major Triad presence, half were paid at least $1 million in base salary. Yet, for all 17 of those chief executives, their base salary ranked second and often third in their compensation categories behind stock and stock-option award, and incentive pay. The Winston-Salem Journal takes a look each May at the compensation packages paid primarily in the previous year. The 10th-annual review puts a spotlight on 35 publicly traded corporations and 15 non- and not-for-profit organizations. Topping the list is Amazon chief executive Andrew Jassy, whose 2021 total compensation of $212.66 million still trails Discovery Inc.s David Zaslav by $34.34 million. Stock and stock-option awards represented $211.93 million of Jassys compensation. Corporations are required to report in annual shareholder proxy filings the base salary, bonus/incentive pay, stock and stock-option awards, deferred compensation (typically pensions), and perks of their five highest-paid executives. Although federal regulators require corporations to declare the value annually, executives typically are required to wait a specified amount of time often one to three years to receive those shares or exercise the options. The prevailing theory is that executives will be more inclined to be prudent with shareholder value, potentially taking less risk, if their own compensation is weighted primarily toward share-price performance. Meanwhile, compensation for the heads of five large not-for-profit health care systems and 10 nonprofit community agencies are based on annual company bondholder filings and their most recent IRS filings, most of which are from 2019 and 2020. Those IRS filings typically are first seen on Guidestar.org. Amazon and Truist Financial Corp. have two executives listed because they had a top-level transition during 2021. Six other chief executives with Triad ties had $10 million-plus stock and stock-option award compensation: Caterpillar Inc.s Jim Umpleby ($17.5 million); Krispy Kreme Inc.s Mike Tattersfield ($16.14 million); Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings Adam Schechter ($15.04 million); Raytheon Technologies Corps Gregory Hayes ($14.5 million); Wells Fargo & Co.s Charlie Scharf ($13.48 million); and Lowes Cos. Inc.s Marvin Ellison ($10.84 million). In fact, only four corporations provided their chief executives with less than $1 million in stock and stock-option awards. Incentive-based stock awards and grants have become a massively disproportionate component of total executive compensation, said Tony Plath, a retired finance professor at UNC-Charlotte. Since the lions share of these awards and grants belongs to senior executives, the reported Dodd-Frank Act CEO-to-median employee compensation multiples arent just high this year theyre up there in nosebleed territory. There was a business-as-usual attitude toward corporate executive compensation even during the pandemic, said Bowman Gray IV, a local independent stock broker. On balance, there was little to no impact, Gray said. In many cases, pay at the top continued to rise just as it has in the previous years even in the face of weakened balance sheets. However, Gray said there has been a level of shareholder pushback recently against skyrocketing compensation packages, particularly with high-profile examples at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel. Eight-figure compensation A Fortune 500-esque list the Equilar 100 that measures Top 100 CEO pay by annual revenue shows eight- and nine-figure compensation becoming commonplace. The 2022 list had to go to No. 91 before reaching a chief executive whose total compensation was below $10 million. Equilar cuts off consideration for its list on March 31 each year, which it calls the halfway point of annual proxy filings. That means corporations filing a proxy in April and May are not included. The Equilar list contains five chief executives with Triad ties, led by No. 32 Raytheons Hayes at $21.79 million, along with No. 35 Wells Fargos Scharf at $21.35 million, No. 79 FedExs Frederick Smith at $14.32 million, No. 90 Truists William Rogers at $10.01 million and No. 92 Tyson Foods Inc.s Donnie King at $8.99 million. Because of how the Equilar list is compiled, it does not include another 19 chief executives with Triad ties who received more than $6.4 million in total compensation since those corporations didnt rank in the top-100 for revenue. Two years after the start of the pandemic, the early data from 2021 shows that CEO pay appears to be back on the rise, Equilar said in its presentation. Equilar said that while salaries and perks increased incrementally, over the last two years many companies elected to award their CEOs for staying on board and guiding their organizations through turbulent times through bonuses and stock awards. The trend, coupled with the fact that the economy roared back in 2021, is likely contributing to the spike in overall pay for CEOs at the largest U.S. companies. Share repurchases Another key executive compensation factor has been the resumption of massive share-repurchase programs particularly by national and super-regional banks that had been shelved during the first few months of the pandemic. Where share repurchases fit into chief executive compensation is that a corporation typically buys back its stock from the marketplace to reduce the number of outstanding shares. Because there are fewer outstanding shares, the remaining shares tend to become more valuable, driving up their price, and thus executive compensation tied to stock and stock-option awards. In 2015, American Airlines eliminated chief executive Douglas Parkers annual salary and qualifications for incentive pay in lieu of stock awards. Just in 2021, the trade-off for Parker was worth $7.2 million even as the pandemic continued to limit domestic and international passenger demand. Making the stock-awards strategy even more lucrative was the corporate tax-rate cut from 35% to 21% that the then-Republican-controlled Congress approved and former President Donald Trump signed into law in late 2017. The majority of corporations have used those tax savings on corporate share repurchases. If stock awards and options are properly designed, the benefits received by the corporation will exceed the compensation that is offered to the executive, said Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi, an economics professor at Winston-Salem State University. He cited as an example if an executive increases the value of a company by $100 million over and above what would be expected if the executive had merely reached the benchmark that other companies in the industry have realized. It is not unreasonable that the executive might receive $50 million in deferred compensation since the benefits to the stockholders in terms of additional stock value exceed the costs of giving the stock grant. Where some corporations have misfired, Madjd-Sadjadi said, is when the stock awards are not properly designed. This is why a superior method is to require corporate executives to own at least 1% of the companys common stock, and require them to purchase it with their own money and hold onto it for the entire time they are an executive. Plath said a significant factor is the explosion in the number of different kinds of equity-based executive compensation. There are a plethora of incentive grants and awards in the form of traditional options and grants, stock-appreciation rights, phantom shares, restricted share grants and performance shares that have been newly created in the last few years. Plath said that although more non-top-level executives are benefiting from the stock awards strategy, rank-and-file employees who hold company stock in their 401(k) plans have gained as well. Not just corporations A comparison of executive compensation for most not-for-profits and nonprofits can be challenging because they declare those payments primarily in annual IRS filings. Some of the latest compensation figures may be as much as three years old for some local nonprofits. Yet, its clear that the trend of ever-increasing compensation isnt limited to just corporations. In February, Atrium Health disclosed that chief executive Eugene Woods total compensation jumped 24.3% to $9.83 million in fiscal 2021. He received a 7.1% raise in salary to $3 million, a 38.5% jump in bonus to $3.81 million, $1.3 million in incentives and $1.73 million in all other compensation that was not itemized in the annual report. Woods 2022 compensation is likely to be even higher if Atrium completes a proposed merger with Advocate Aurora Health of Downers Grove, Ill., creating the fifth largest not-for-profit health care system in the United States. Woods and Advocate president and chief executive Jim Skogsbergh would serve as co-chief executives for the first 18 months, after which Skogsbergh would retire and Woods would remain as chief executive. The total compensation for four other health care chief executives exceeded at least $2.5 million: Novant Health Inc. (Carl Armato at $4.06 million); Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. (Babatunde Sotunde at $4.02 million); Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag at $3.5 million); and Moses Cone Memorial Hospital Operating Corp. (Terry Akin at $2.5 million). Hot-button issue Health care management pay has become a hot-button issue in recent years. Critics say health care systems use their nonprofit status for tax advantages and public-relations purposes, while compensation committees have sought to justify corporate-level wages and benefits to top executives. Some critics of paying not-for-profit executives more than $1 million in annual compensation challenge the notion of the skill level needed to run a health care system. Wake Forest Baptist has more than 21,000 employees overall. It is the largest employer in Forsyth County at about 14,000. Novant has 28,092 employees overall in its four-state network, including about 8,145 in Forsyth County. Both Novant and Wake Forest Baptist say executive compensation is based in large part on there being few individuals with the skills needed to manage a large health care system or academic medical center. Wake Forest Baptist said academic medical centers are very complex organizations that require a special set of skills and experience to manage relationships with patients, students, clinical staff, educators, researchers, Wake Forest University, community leaders, employers and health care innovation partners. The changing legislative and regulatory environment requires hospital executives to forecast future patient needs and determine how to meet those needs cost effectively, while navigating often conflicting expectations of patients, insurers, regulators, medical staff and businesses. The Novant Board of Trustees has repeated previous language that executive compensation is designed to be competitive and to help recruit and retain leaders. The system says a significant part of executive compensation is based upon the performance of the organization and achieving goals that are challenging, balanced and focused on improving the services we provide to patients and communities. The executive team performs in the top quartile nationally. Compensation debate Dr. Roy Poses, a clinical associate professor of medicine at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and a former physician at three academic medical centers, writes a blog called Health Care Renewal in which he frequently tackles the issue of executive compensation. So much so that there are 221 blog postings with references to hospital executives compensation by far the most. Poses wrote that for years, the US consistently has had the most expensive health care system of any developed country. For that exorbitant price, it provides at best mediocre access to and (mediocre) quality of care. We have long contended that a major reason for health care dysfunction is perverse incentives, including those that allow top health care leaders to become rich by putting money ahead of patient care. We have presented case after case supporting this point. Poses said that when health care organizations are asked to justify their executives compensation, they invoke the same talking points: that these payments are necessary to retain executives; that the executives are brilliant and doing extremely hard jobs; and the compensation is set by the market. All three points have been debunked, at least when used to justify the compensation of executives in big, for-profit companies, Poses said. Poses has argued that the escalation of health care chief executives compensation has come with some of the same root causes as corporations through making acquisitions or having non-health care officials in the top role. Exalted pay of hospital managers occurred after managers largely supplanted health care professionals as leaders of health care organizations, Poses said. This is part of a societal wave of managerialism. Most organizations are now run by generic managers, rather than people familiar with the particulars of the organizations work. Rather than putting patient care first, paying generic managers enough to make them rich now seems to be the leading goal of hospitals. I postulate that managerialism is a major reason the US health care system costs much more than that of any other developed country. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Azerbaijani and Turkish Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan respectively have held a meeting, Azernews reports. Underscoring the successfully developing bilateral friendly and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, they expressed confidence that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Azerbaijan will contribute to further strengthening of the bilateral ties. The presidents also ascribed their 28 May meeting on Independence Day to brotherhood and described the importance of the TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan festival as a good sign of high-level relations. They underlined that the bilateral cooperation will continue to expand, and discussed issues related to prospects for the bilateral ties. Then, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva had dinner with President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan. A Winston-Salem man was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges connected to a 2020 crash that killed a 27-year-old woman. Rafael Marroquin, 41, was on trial last week in Forsyth Superior Court. He faced several charges, including second-degree murder. But the Forsyth County jury did not convict Marroquin of second-degree murder. The jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, felony death by motor vehicle, misdemeanor hit-and-run and several other charges. He was sentenced to a minimum of six years, one month and a maximum of eight years, four months in prison. Joel Leath had a good idea of what he was stepping into when he started student-teaching as part of his education studies at UNC Greensboro. It wasnt This is my first time in a classroom. I dont know what to do, Leath recalled. He learned what to do while enrolled in Teacher Cadet classes at East Forsyth High School. A statewide program that Stephanie Wallace has led at East Forsyth for more than 20 years, Teacher Cadets learn the ins and outs of teaching and get experience in the classroom in preparation for a possible future in education, a field that is losing people at alarming rates. Under Wallace, the Teacher Cadet program has turned into a pipeline, connecting students with eventual jobs in the classroom. Of the 266 who have gone through the program, more than 180 are teaching in North Carolina, with almost 100 of those teaching in the local district, including Leath, who is in his fifth year teaching science at East Forsyth Middle School where he was the schools Teacher of the Year for 2022. In addition, a handful of Wallaces former cadets, such as Amanda Frederico, are now her colleagues at East Forsyth. Im passionate about growing our own teachers, said Wallace, the Teacher of the Year for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in 2020. Its been the heart of my advocacy work. Wallaces work has gotten attention at the district and national level. Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the country with 3 million members, visited East Forsyth recently to learn more about the program, participating in separate roundtable discussions with local educators and current cadets. We heard of some incredible things happening here, Pringle said. The program lost funding from the N.C. General Assembly in 2011 and is now sustained through grants and funding from the N.C. Foundation for Public School Children. Superintendent Tricia McManus was impressed enough with the program to push for its eventual expansion into every high school in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools using some of the $13 million grant that the district was recently awarded from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Educations Effective Teacher Division, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Now in East Forsyth, Mount Tabor and Walkertown high schools, Teacher Cadet programs will expand in the 2022-23 school year to Glenn, Winston-Salem Prep, Reynolds and North Forsyth high schools. By the following year, there will be Teacher Cadet programs in all of the districts high schools. If were going to build the pipeline we have to put these programs into schools, Leslie Alexander, the interim Chief Human Resources Officer for the school district told the school board in March. One goal of the expansion is to build a more diverse workforce. The racial makeup of the student body is nearly evenly split among whites, Blacks and Hispanics; however 74% of teachers are white compared with 21% Black and about 4% Hispanic, Alexander said. The Teacher Cadet program is growing across the state, said Wallace, who trains teachers across the state on how to implement the program. Some of the growth could be in reaction to the dwindling number of people interested in pursuing careers in education. According to Public Schools First N.C., the number of students enrolled in education programs in the UNC system between 2012 and 2021 dropped 35% while enrollment in masters programs dropped 9%. Aware of such numbers and how they may impact the local school district, McManus surveyed the cadets at last weeks roundtable with Pringle and declared: Every one of you has a job. She was particularly taken by the enthusiasm the cadets showed as they talked to her and Pringle about what they enjoy about the program. Its heaven sitting among high school students who want to go into teaching, she said. Pringle mostly listened and took notes as some of the cadets talked about what they learned in the program, which covers a range of topics from the history of education to the role of the state legislature to how to make a lesson plan. Students spend time at elementary, middle and high schools so they can get a feel for what grade level they would like to teach and some get the chance to spend time with school counselors and psychologists. Former cadets praised the program for giving them a head start in college. I had to take an education psychology class at UNCG, and I already knew it. I had seen it in practice, Leath said. Some of the cadets said some family and friend members questioned why they wanted to go into teaching. I normally get the reaction because of pay. We need to change the mindset of going into a career for a paycheck, said Amaya Matthews, a junior, who wants to teach high-school English. The way that Matthews and other cadets see it, educators play a huge role in the lives of children. Educators can tell you when something is wrong with your child. People think all they do is teach, she said. I wish there were a way to pull back the curtain. For me, its Yes, Im a teacher, but Im going to help you be the person I know you can be. The program is geared for students who are interested in careers involving children, not just teaching. One cadet in Wallaces class wants to work with youth groups in churches and thought the program would give him insight into working with children. McManus said the program should be given the same support as other district programs that promote a career pathway. They get to see great teaching in action in our schools, so what greater place to recruit the future of our profession than right here in our schools? she said. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sid Teague knew the name Garland Hendrix from the time he was small. Hendrix was his uncle after all. Whenever his name was mentioned, it was Garland, Normas husband who was killed in the war, Teague said. But not much else. Hendrix, the pilot of a B-24 bomber, was one of more than 400,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines killed during World War II. He was 22. His family back home in (and around) Winston-Salem was given a barebones synopsis of Hendrix death he was killed Dec. 17 , 1944 while flying over eastern Europe but never a complete accounting. Those details were hard to come by during the war. Besides, in the days when sacrifice was shared widely across American society, they werent often discussed. Decades later, inspired in part by hearing his 90-year-old father open up about his own experiences aboard a warship during World War II, Teague set out on a years-long journey to find out about an uncle he never met and make sure his sacrifice would neither be lost nor forgotten. Preserving the history Twelve years ago, long before anyone had heard of COVID-19 or dreamed that Russia might threaten European stability, Teague went with his father to Gods Acre just before Memorial Day. Theyd brought with them a small American flag and sought out Garland Hendrix headstone. This is the first time anybodys put a flag on his grave in a long, long time, Teague said in 2010. A few feet away, the elder Sidney Teague wiped a few tears that had welled up. He explained that hed been thinking about the Marines killed on Iwo Jima. As an electricians mate on the U.S.S. Stern, a destroyer escort, the elder Teague had been involved in several of the biggest battles in the Pacific. You never forget, he said. You just cant. Sidney Teague died a few years later in 2014. But the memory of that one shared moment stuck with his son, a dentist not too far from retirement. An active man not prone to sitting still a tractor and log-splitter parked in his barn next to his barn attest to that Teague decided to start pulling together a definitive account of Garland Hendrix service. He interviewed family members and recorded their memories. He became the trusted keeper of various mementos and artifacts saved from Hendrix time in the U.S. Army Air Corps 461st Bombardment Group. They knew that I was sort of the family historian, Teague said while standing near some of those items. They knew Id take care of it. It helped that my (relatives) didnt throw anything away ever. In an attic in his barn a finished apartment, really Teague keeps photographs, maps, unit patches and Hendrix Purple Heart citation which carries the signature of President Harry Truman. He has a hand-written letter Hendrix sent to his aunt, too, while sailing across the Atlantic on his way to deployment. Several items have been lovingly preserved under glass in a large matted frame and displayed in a place of honor. Among those, a pair of black-and-white photos stand out. Two photos, the one with the crew in front of the plane, I think was shot stateside before they left, he said. The other was in Foggia complex (a U.S. airbase in southern Italy). Their expressions dont look as happy. I think theyd been shot at a few times. A final run Through conversations, correspondence and military records dug up online, Teague learned more about his aunt and uncles short time as a married couple. Hendrix was born in Davie County but moved to Ardmore as a youngster. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but spent a great deal of time scheming to get back home. I think Garland just wanted to be with her as much as he could, Teague said. The world beyond Winston-Salem was engulfed in conflict, and Hendrix was swept up in it the same as hundreds of thousands of other young Americans. He was drafted in 1942, and after showing an aptitude for flying, was sent to the Army Air Corps for flight training. Hendrix learned to fly the B-24 known as the Flying Box Car. He married Norma Feb. 8, 1944 in Tennessee and was allowed time home following the death of his father. In September, his unit (and their planes) headed for Italy. By then, he knew that a child was on the way. All the fellows seem to think we will be home before long I sure hope theyre right, Hendrix wrote in a letter dated Sept. 15. I would give anything if I could be at home when Little Jim is born. If Im not there when he or she is born you tell (him or her) about its dad and Ill apologize to him or her when I get home for not being there OK? Once in Europe, Hendrix and his crewmates flew more than 20 missions before his last. They were among 30 planes ordered to bomb a Germany oil refinery in occupied Poland. Their plane was among 10 that went down over Czechoslovakia; the rest made it back safely. A handful of crew members from the downed B-24s were able to get out and were taken prisoner; Hendrix did not. His family learned via telegram on New Years Day. It took them two weeks to determine he was MIA, Teague said. Only later were they told hed been killed and buried in Europe not uncommon amid the chaos. The family originally thought his plane had been downed by artillery fire but learned much later that itd been taken out by a German fighter plane. All of that information is available online now, Teague said. Hendrix came home in 1950 and his family, dutiful Moravians, laid him to rest that August in Gods Acre at Old Salem. Lasting impact Hendrix death, Teague said, carried a lasting impact. Little Jim in fact a boy was born a month early, a fact family members attributed to Normas grief. Little Jim he lacked a father, Teague said. My dad was kind of the one who had to give him discipline. Dad had to do that with me, too. It was a lot. Jim Hendrix, Teagues cousin, fell out of touch once he reached adulthood and hasnt been heard from in years, Teague said. Norma remarried later in life and eventually moved to Florida. We just dont know (about Jim), Teague said. Norma, well, it just seemed like Garlands death traumatized her. Garland Hendrix was 22 when he died, which also contributed to Teagues desire to learn as much as possible about him. An aunt, Alice Teague, provided a lot of help and firsthand information. I just think thats tragic, he said. At 22 he had his whole life ahead of him and it was cut so short. The same applies, of course, to more than 418,000 other Americans. That knowledge pushed Teague to want to honor Garland Hendrix and his dad for that matter once he retired and had time to devote to it. My father didnt talk about the war. A lot of those guys didnt, Teague said. His brother served, too. I remember asking him one time about what he and Jim did. He said, He carried a gun. I carried an oil can. For that reason the service of his father and the sacrifice of his uncle Garland Teague makes certain to honor those lost in Americas wars on Memorial Day exactly as intended when Congress in 1968 declared it a national holiday after years of being observed as Decoration Day, created a century earlier in memory of the Civil War dead.. I think we owe a lot to those guys, Teague said. They didnt come back and ask to be congratulated or patted on the back. They just went back to work and built this country. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A sheriffs office program to reduce gang-related crime will get an early start thanks to recent action by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners to speed up the start of a Juvenile Intervention and Investigation Team. Commissioners approved other law enforcement measures during their May 19 meeting, including the purchase of stab-proof vests for officers in the county jail and the co-location of city and county dispatching on the second flood of the Forsyth County Public Safety Center. The anti-gang effort, known as JIIT from its acronym, is being paid for out of funds the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed by Congress to offset the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The county approved $2.2 million for the program from ARPA funds on March 3, but the thought then was that the program would start on July 1 with the start of the next fiscal year. Last Thursday, county commissioners approved moving up the start of the program to this month. We are ready to begin as soon as possible, Randy Hunsucker, the business manager of the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office, told county officials recently. The JIIT program involves the hiring of nine people in the sheriffs office, including a sergeant, a corporal and six detectives, along with an administrative staffer for office duties. The duties of the team would include law enforcement and investigation around gang activity, but also intervention efforts designed to keep young people from becoming involved with gangs in the first place. Another aspect of the mission is to reduce gun-related violence among young people, officials said. Officials said team member hiring could begin next week. Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough recently gave members of the county board statistics that he said illustrated the need for action on youth crime. Those numbers included a jump in incidents taking place on school property from 367 in 2020 to 1,284 in 2021. Life-saving vests Commissioners on Thursday approved spending $88,000 to buy 145 stab-proof vests for detention center officers, which Maj. Robert Whitaker called critical equipment for the people who work at the jail. The residents are creative about making shanks, or makeshift knives, Whitaker said. In a memo to the board of commissioners, officials said inmates make shanks by filing down toothbrushes, pieces of furniture or building materials and other items. Whitaker cited no instances where an inmate has stabbed a detention officer, but did note that many larger jails have already added the stab-proof vests to their inventories. The vests are made by Safariland LLC and distributed by Lawmens Distribution LLC. Joint dispatching Following through on recent action by the Winston-Salem City Council, the board of commissioners approved an agreement with the city that will put city police dispatchers in the same area as county sheriffs office dispatchers in the Forsyth County Public Safety Center building at 301 N. Church St. During the same meeting last Thursday, commissioners also approved the consolidation of city and county fire dispatching services. Although the co-location of law enforcement dispatching is not a merger, officials say it could lead to that one day. For now, the city will be leasing space at the county Public Safety Center for its dispatchers, who will be working near the sheriffs office dispatchers. The move comes about in part because the county Public Safety Center is rated to withstand earthquakes to a degree required for dispatching services. But officials believe city and county law enforcement coordination can be improved by having the dispatchers for the two agencies in the same place. The fire dispatching merger brings together dispatching operations for emergency medical service calls and city and county fire dispatching calls. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A unique tolerance On Monday, May 30, most of us will take at least a moment to express or reflect upon our gratitude to the members of the armed forces who have served and even died to preserve and protect our freedoms and way of life. But, I wonder how many of those service members thought they were serving to protect the gun rights of 18-year-olds to buy assault weapons and use those to kill grocery shoppers and small children and their teachers. Having served in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1970s, I can answer that question for myself. That is not why I served. I never imagined that we would be a country that restricted the liberty of those under 21 to buy and consume alcohol but leave them unfettered rights to purchase weapons that can be used to kill multiple men, women and children in a matter of a few minutes. I hope our senators and House members are jarred enough by these senseless killings to do more than express their sympathies and prayers to the stricken families and friends. Minimum purchase ages, background checks and waiting periods seem like a reasonable start to prevent some senseless killings. As our laws stand today, we clearly demonstrate to the world and ourselves that we have a unique tolerance for human carnage. Paul M. Wiles Winston-Salem Too harsh? Is this too harsh, too one-sided? the Journal asks in the May 26 editorial, Again and again and again, as it lays the blame for the latest mass murder by assault weapon in Texas at the feet of Republican legislators. Not by half. The Republican Party is gun-crazy. It will limit everything the books you can read, the medical procedures you can undergo, your sexuality, your ability to vote it will limit everything except guns. Dont politicize guns, they say as they air political ads in which they shoot guns to dramatize how theyre going to legislate. I dont think every Republican is gun-crazy, but most of them go right along with the program, ordained by the holy NRA. Theyre not bold enough to buck their own party. But the politicians arent listening to their constituents. Its not the rank-and-file thats tossing them multi-million-dollar donations. Its the holy NRA. Theyre bought, every single one of them, and our children pay the price. Youre right our children will continue being murdered until Republicans are voted out of office. Unfortunately, because of the current tribalism that plagues the party, that means that our children will continue being murdered. Pro-life? Like hell. James T. Fuller Winston-Salem Guns Your May 26 editorial Again and again and again is correct. It didnt take Republican legislators long to start blaming mental illness, the school, the police, an unlocked door everything except the guns they insist everyone should have access to. Sen. Ted Cruz hiked down to the elementary school in Uvalde just so he could complain that a school door was unlocked. Yeah, if we just lock school doors there will be no more mass shootings. In October 2015, then gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott tweeted, Im EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Lets pick up the pace Texans. @NRA Is he happy with the pace now? As I write, Democratic senators are begging Republican senators: Agree to something. Anything. Give us a crumb. But after the murder of 19 children, they will still do nothing. Every thoughts and prayers statement is a lie when they refuse to do anything. Taz Russell Winston-Salem A high price As I write, President Biden is scheduled to go to Uvalde, Texas, to comfort the families of those whose children were killed by an assault weapon. And former President Trump is scheduled to go to Houston, Texas, to comfort those who fear their access to assault weapons may be at risk. Im currently paying almost twice as much as usual to fill my car up with gas. I would pay four times as much to keep Trump out of office. He is a disgrace to this country and I am still disgusted by people who voted for him. As decency declines, it becomes more important than ever to have a president who exhibits it. Bobby Fields Winston-Salem Familiar Scott Sextons May 26 column School shooting follows a familiar script is thoughtful and true, of course. And familiar. Could he perhaps try instead to report some answers from legislators in that gun-fixated underworld? Those politicians who by their sins of inaction are abetting killers how do they sleep knowing theyre enabling unthinkable death? How can they be against background checks? Do they have children or grandchildren or have they ever been uplifted by the sweetness of a child, ever? These arent rhetorical questions were stupefied by how oblivious they are. Could campaign money really be more important than keeping kids safe? Bebe Kern Somerville Winston-Salem Well regulated Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Well regulated. Get it yet? April Reaves Winston-Salem Other issues I understand that there are other issues besides gun control. But when you vote Republican, youve accepted the slaughter of children and adults at school, at church, at the movies, at the grocers, at a club, everywhere and anywhere across America, as a trade-off for your other issues. Youve made a Faustian bargain. So save your thoughts and prayers, Republican voter. Jill Krecker Lang Winston-Salem Gun and knife show I was reading the Journal before I headed to Wiley Middle School at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when I noticed that directly beside the lengthy article regarding the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school was an advertisement for the gun and knife show at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds this weekend (A7). I seriously hope the city is not contributing to or making any money off this event! Stephanie Ingram Winston-Salem The salesman Erin Rodell spoke to at the door sounded very convincing. He spun quite the yarn: His solar energy company was endorsed by Lincoln Electric System and was collaborating with Creighton University. Rodell said he even had a Creighton logo on his shirt. The salesman also spouted all kinds of claims about the benefits of installing solar panels. Rodell said he told her that once the panels were paid off, she'd never see another electric bill. It all sounded so good that Rodell was hooked, and she signed a contract for a solar array. "He had me very, very convinced," the Lincoln woman said. But it turns out it was all too good to be true. A couple of days after signing the contract, Rodell said she wanted to learn more about the benefits of solar and started doing some research. On the LES website, she learned that the utility has a list of authorized solar companies that it works with, almost all of them based locally. The company she signed a contract with, Everlight Solar, wasn't on the list. Rodell has since canceled her contract, filed a police report because the person who came to her home did not have a peddler's permit and contacted the Nebraska Attorney General's Office. "Just incredibly blatant lies" is how she described her experience with the salesman. Everlight Solar, which is based in Wisconsin, did not comment specifically about Rodell's allegations. But it did say in a statement that its representatives do not use high-pressure sales tactics "because those tactics do not work, sully our name and would result in high cancellation rates." "We want our customers to be happy, to be excited that they are going solar, and excited to work with our company," the statement said. Whether Rodell's experience with Everlight is an outlier for the company, the problem of solar companies misrepresenting the benefits of residential solar programs appears to be widespread. Omaha Public Power District has had similar issues with solar companies using aggressive and often misleading sales tactics. "OPPD has experienced several customer complaints about business practices and false claims by solar companies," said Kirk Estee, the utility's customer alternative energy solutions manager. He suggested that customers check out the list of solar and customer-owned generation trade allies on OPPD's website before signing a contract. In Minnesota, the state's attorney general filed a lawsuit last month against four solar companies that allegedly scammed homeowners by using deceptive sales tactics. Marc Shkolnick, manager of energy services at LES, said none of the companies named in the Minnesota complaint appear to be operating locally, but he has heard plenty of concerns about other companies using similar tactics in Lincoln. He said one company, which he declined to name, has sold more than $1.5 million worth of solar panels to local customers. "I think it's a fairly significant problem," Shkolnick said. According to LES, deceptive tactics local customers have encountered include quoting inflated electric rates and unreasonable electric rate increase projections that overstate cost savings and payback of initial investments, pressuring customers to sign a purchase agreement, suggesting that they will no longer receive an electric bill and providing misleading information about incentives or signing bonuses. People who choose to install a solar array qualify for a federal tax credit that as of this year is 26%. LES also provides a per-kilowatt credit of $375 for south-facing solar panels and $475 credit for west-facing ones, but only to customers who work with an approved solar installer. Kevin O'Neill didn't find out until after he'd signed a contract with ADT Solar that the company wasn't on the approved list. O'Neill said the company had accurately represented the benefits in its sales pitch, but afterward, he couldn't get ahold of anybody for weeks. He said he eventually found out that the company was still trying to negotiate with LES to qualify for solar panel credits. O'Neill said he eventually got LES to agree to give him the credits, but he ultimately wound up canceling his contract and going with another company, which will save him $10,000. "It worked out better for us," he said. ADT Solar could not be reached for comment. Shkolnick said he believes the situation is "a combination of willful deception and rampant ignorance." Most companies know what they are doing, he said, but in some cases, poorly trained sales reps may be giving out bad information. "It certainly puts a black eye on the whole solar business, which is unfortunate, because there are some very reputable dealers in the space that operate in good faith," Shkolnick said. LES now only works with companies that go through training it offers and sign an agreement attesting that they will accurately represent the benefits of solar installations. "It's not 100% due diligence and vetting for the customer," Shkolnick said, "but at least they're going on record saying they will actually represent facts." Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Longtime Nebraska prosecutor Steven Russell has been named the acting U.S. Attorney to take over following the retirement of interim U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp. Russells appointment will be effective Saturday. A 1982 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law, he has been with the U.S. Attorneys Office since 1985. Prior to joining the Attorneys Office, Russell worked in private practice and as a Deputy Hall County Attorney. Russell is originally from Indiana. During his tenure with the Department of Justice, Russell has handled a wide variety of cases, both civil and criminal, and currently serves as the District of Nebraskas first assistant U.S. Attorney. Russell will serve until a new U.S. Attorney is appointed by President Biden. Sharp served as a prosecutor in Nebraska for 40 years, taking over as interim Nebraska U.S. Attorney in 2021 following the resignation of Joe Kelly. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It's not every day that a prosecutor joins in a defense motion for a new trial. This year, it happened not once, but twice, in Lancaster County District Court in the cases of two people convicted and sentenced on unrelated drug charges later discovered potentially to have been tainted by an evidence breach at the Nebraska State Patrol. In a rare twist despite both sides being in agreement that the convictions should be undone and the cases dismissed a District Court judge denied the move. Now, both cases are on appeal. It started back in November, when the attorneys for Samantha Blocher and Gabriel Muratella received an email from the Lancaster County Attorney's Office with a letter attached, disclosing that their clients' cases had been identified as part of a State Patrol drug-related investigation that resulted in a conviction and sentence. The letter said: "You are advised that it is possible that during the time any drug-related evidence in this case was in the custody of NSP, it may have been directly or indirectly maintained by or otherwise subject to the oversight of the former evidence technician," referring to Anna Idigima, who now is facing federal charges for allegedly conspiring to sell drugs taken from the State Patrol's evidence room. Blocher's case, which was over a Nov. 6, 2018, traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Lincoln that turned up two baggies totaling about 20 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale, had been on the docket at the Nebraska Court of Appeals. She had been found guilty at the end of a two-day jury trial in July 2021, had gotten probation and appealed. But with the news of the evidence breach, her attorney, Matt Catlett, withdrew the appeal so the case could go back to district court, where the County Attorney's Office agreed to join in his request for a motion for a new trial "and thereafter motion the court to dismiss the case with prejudice," the deputy county attorney wrote in a letter. A joint motion and stipulation for new trial followed, citing newly discovered evidence. In an order last month, Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret overruled the motion, pointing to the Nebraska Supreme Court's two-prong test requiring a defendant to show that the evidence couldn't have been discovered earlier with reasonable diligence and probably would have led to a different verdict if known at trial. "The defendant and the county attorney argue that the court must grant the defendant a new trial because they have stipulated to one," she wrote. "It is well-established, however, that parties cannot stipulate to legal conclusions." Maret said Catlett and Deputy County Attorney Morgan Smith hadn't stipulated to any facts concerning Idigima's alleged misconduct. Had they, she said, she could have decided whether the facts showed it couldn't have been discovered before trial "and whether the evidence was so substantial that a different verdict would probably have been reached." Under well-established precedents, their stipulation must be disregarded, she said. Maret said she believed it was significant that Blocher had been convicted after a jury trial, that 12 people had spent time away from their families, jobs and whatever else is important to them to decide the charge. "Now, without any apparent investigation into whether Idigima's misconduct actually involved the evidence in the defendant's case, the parties are willing to stipulate that the conviction should be tossed," she wrote. Maret said it wasn't clear why the defense attorney and county attorney haven't tried to determine the facts, but the jurors' time and efforts shouldn't be flippantly disregarded. Smith, the prosecutor, had argued in his brief that had the NSP misconduct been known at Blocher's trial, the state couldn't have laid the foundation necessary to admit the results of the lab test that confirmed it was meth, because the woman accused would have asserted her right to remain silent. But Maret said even if the laboratory results weren't allowed to go before the jury, Blocher still could've been found guilty based on her statement to the trooper that she knew there was meth in the vehicle. "The outcome in this matter may be frustrating for the defendant, but it is the result of her own impatience or strategic miscalculation," the judge said. Blocher has asked for the Court of Appeals to review the decision. My client is disappointed, but looks forward to an appeal, Catlett said. Maret issued a similar order in Muratella's case. His attorney at the time, Matt Kosmicki, argued that Muratella wouldn't have pleaded no contest to attempted possession with intent to deliver, a charge for which he's now serving an eight- to 12-year sentence, if he'd known of the misconduct. His case involved an employee at a UPS shipping facility in Lincoln in 2018 finding an earbud case containing about 18 grams of meth on the floor and Muratella returning for it. According to Maret's order, Muratella cannot ask for a new trial under Nebraska law because he didn't have a trial, he pleaded no contest. She said the Constitution doesn't require the government to disclose material impeachment evidence prior to a plea agreement, like it does prior to a trial. "Thus, even if the defendant could move to withdraw his plea, he has not shown that his constitutional rights were violated," the judge said. In October, Idigima and George Weaver Jr. were indicted for conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, a detectable amount of fentanyl and marijuana. Both have entered not guilty pleas but haven't yet been set for trial because of the complexity of the case. At a hearing Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Fullerton said an expert currently is reviewing a number of overdose cases to provide her medical opinion on the possible causes. If convicted, Idigima and Weaver would face 10 years to life in prison. In August, Lincoln Police and the State Patrol announced the pair's arrest and the theft of more than $1.2 million worth of narcotics from the patrol's evidence facility, including $329,800 worth of cocaine. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The story of Lincoln High's 150-year history was originally told in just six minutes. A group of students had interviewed staff, students and alumni and combed archives for a short film to be shown at an open house celebrating the school's sesquicentennial on a Sunday in April. Voices of change The LPS Scholar Equity Cadre has empowered diverse students to use their voice to advocate for others and inspire change. Throughout the school year, the Journal Star has shared stories from diverse students in a series of profiles. Senior Riek Bol had spent the entire Saturday before editing the footage to six minutes, but he walked away feeling as if the project could be something more. "Riek really saw something special there and was like, 'We should expand this,'" said Jordyne Vanselow, his digital art teacher. So he borrowed some camera equipment from the school district and began firing off emails. He wanted a wide array of voices to tell the story of the city's oldest high school. From former principal Mike Wortman to Antwan Wilson, a Lincoln High graduate and former superintendent in California and Washington, D.C. Even a World War II veteran from the Class of 1937. Diverse voices. "When you walk into the school, you see flags all around, you see all these people covering all these countries, speaking all these languages," Bol said. "The Lincoln High community, even though you're from classes from decades apart, there is still something keeping us connected." The history of the school is unparalleled by any other in the city, boasting such alumni as JFK speechwriter Ted Sorensen and talk-show host Dick Cavett. It's the only high school in Lincoln to maintain its own archive, too. A fellow student, Alanis Roldan, helped Bol sort through the old letters and newspaper clippings, photos and programs from different events, such as Joy Night, the school's long-running talent show. "I'm not doing this for a grade or for any sort of compensation," he said. "I'm doing this because being at Lincoln High and creating this video is important to me, and I want to share that with other people, how significant it is and how rich its history is." That history began in the basement of an unused church at 12th and K streets, where the first classes were held in 1871. Two years later, the school moved to a building where Pershing Center now stands. Then in 1915, it moved to its current location at 22nd and J streets, a neo-classic palace of brick, limestone, terracotta and marble. With a drone supplied by the district, Bol took bird's-eye shots of the building which slowly expanded to the south over the years capturing things that he'd never noticed before, like the terracotta lions that line the roof. "The architecture, it's insane," he said. "It's crazy how well-maintained the building is." Some classmates have pitched in on the project, but Bol has done the bulk of the work filming interviews and editing footage. His teacher, Vanselow, has been key in helping him see the project through, Bol said, coming in on her own time just so he can continue to make progress. "He is just so dedicated and willing to see something through and making sure it can be the best it can be," she said. Last summer, Bol worked as a communications intern with Lincoln Transportation and Utilities through the mayor's youth employment program, where he crafted social media posts and produced videos. "That's where I really learned and where I really sparked my interest," he said. In addition to being a documentarian, Bol emerged as a leader on the Lincoln Public Schools' Scholar Equity Cadre, a diverse group of students who work to advocate for their underrepresented classmates. Pete Ferguson recruited him to the group following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. He quickly emerged as one of the group's leaders, taking part in town halls with the mayor and LPS Superintendent Steve Joel. But this year, he's stepped back, Ferguson said, to help push others forward. "He's an individual who's committed to making sure that his voice is elevated, but he makes space for others, too," Ferguson said. Bol is also a member of Lincoln High's student equity team, which works directly with administrators and staff on advancing educational equity. 'Life at the High' WHAT: Screening of "Life at the High: 150 years of Lincoln High School," a documentary on the school's history produced by senior Riek Bol. WHEN: 7 p.m. June 6. WHERE: Ted Sorensen Theater, Lincoln High School, 2229 J St. Admission is free. "Riek is just an amazing kid," said Principal Mark Larson. "As a principal, it's really cool when you have one of your biggest leaders as a student who is so proud of where they went to school, and they're willing to go above and beyond to tell the story." Even though he graduated this weekend, Bol is still putting the finishing touches on the documentary, which will be about a half-hour long. It already has a title: "Life at the High: 150 years of Lincoln High School." He plans to hold a screening in the school's Ted Sorensen Theater on June 6 at 7 p.m. Admission will be free. The hardest part, Bol says, is cutting down the hours of footage into a concise piece, one that tells a compelling story about a school that has graduated thousands of students, including a budding documentarian. "It's a lot of work," he said, "but I think it will be worth it." -- Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @HammackLJS Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Azernews By Orkhan Amashov A year and a half on from the November 2020 ceasefire deal, Baku and Yerevan remain at loggerheads on the mode of unblocking communications. The former resolutely propounds what it calls the "Zangazur Corridor" project, aimed at ensuring unobstructed movement between its western territories and Nakhchivan, whereas the latter vehemently opposes the idea, seeing it as an encroachment on its sovereignty, with fateful consequences to come. Connectivity, collectively referring to the reopening of economic and transport links and the building of new ones, as envisaged in Article 9 of the 2020 trilateral declaration, is a perfectly plausible notion, and there is no generic objection to this. Individual protestations boil down to specific principles and the nature of the proposed unblocking steps. Both Moscow and Brussels, two key platforms driven by their own geopolitical interests, support this. The latter views rewired connectivity as a mode for reshaping the South Caucasus in a way that will strengthen its ties with Russia. From the EU perspective, the more integrated the region, the more profound Brussels' capabilities to penetrate it economically and thereafter influence it politically. Azerbaijan views connectivity as essential in the context of post-conflict normalisation and key to a future peaceful order. Armenia is perfectly cognisant of the benefits offered by the unblocking of communications, but worried about Baku's objectives. The most vexatious subject for Yerevan is the "Zangazur element" of the connectivity agenda. Actively promoted by Baku and Yerevan, the term and its practical application have, for the past 18 months, been a source of continuous concern for Yerevan. There are two dimensions to the debate concerning the corridor. The first one is what was originally meant by virtue of Article 9 of the 10 November ceasefire deal, a foundational document of the currently evolving post-conflict normalisation architecture. The second part relates to what the parties could realistically agree on, when the matter is looked at through the prisms of bargaining chips and practical ends. Original intent The bona fide meaning of Article 9 is a starting point for any sensible inquiry into the Zangazur Corridor. It states that that "all economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked". It goes on to specify that "Armenia shall guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan in order to arrange the unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions". In the view of the provision in question, not only existing but nonfunctional routes will be revived, but also new arteries will be built to connect Nakhchivan with western Azerbaijan. Very importantly, the Border Guard Service of Russia's Security Service will be responsible for overseeing the transport connections. Article 9 was included in the trilateral statement upon the insistence of Baku, and the original design aims to ensure an overland passage, uniting Azerbaijan's mainland territory with its exclave. The primary intent is based, inter alia, on three linchpins, which are (i) unobstructed connection, (ii) the absence of border or customs checkpoints, and (ii) the provision that Russian - not Armenian - service personnel shall provide security along the route. The Armenian side believes that Baku deliberately overlooks the pervasive precept of Article 9, expressed in its first sentence, which mandates that all communications must be unblocked, not just the shortest link passing through Southern Armenia. Baku is not against the reopening of the Yerevan-Ijevan-Gazakh route, which is circuitous, it is just that by specifically incorporating the transport connection between Nakhchivan and Western Azerbaijan in the text of the trilateral deal, it has set the primacy in favour of its priority. The whole purpose behind Article 9 is to achieve an obstructed passage via the Syunik province of Armenia. Plus, the Azerbaijani view is that the Zangazur Corridor will seamlessly weave into a larger web of communications, benefitting Armenia and other regional actors. Armenian fear In Yerevan's view, the proposed terms for the corridor mean that it will be unable to control this portion of its territory. The Armenian side is convinced that Baku's plan is tantamount to the bisection of the Syunik province and the effective violation of the nation's sovereignty. In December 2021, President Aliyev stated that if Yerevan insists on rejecting the corridor project, Azerbaijan will revise the terms pertinent to the Lachin corridor. One contrived, but nevertheless consequential, concern preying on the minds of some Armenians is that, by agreeing to Baku's "corridor" plan, the Syunik region could entirely be lost. Some fearmongers have gone so far as to suggest that, after "the loss of Karabakh", Yerevan is facing the danger of being compelled to cede half of Armenia itself. This doomsday streak in Armenian society, despite its ludicrous propensity, seems to be influential and not in short supply of creativity. Grigoryan Ayvayzan, for instance, a flamboyant Yerevan-based pseudo-historian with bombastic and imaginative ideas that have long been a source of amusement for the Azerbaijani public, stated that Armenia is already an enclave inside the Turkic world, and the Zangazur project will only formalise this sorry fact. Latest developments On 22 May, Charles Michel, the European Commission President, in his post-trilateral meeting statement, declared that on the subject of connectivity, the leaders agreed on "the principles governing transit between western Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan" and "between different parts of Armenia via Azerbaijan", as well as "international transport through the infrastructures of both countries". Three separate, yet interconnected, elements can be discerned here. The first corresponds with the route identical to the Zangazur Corridor in terms of its geography. The second is commensurate with a transport chain involving Yerevan, Ijevan and Gazakh and possibly other routes on which Armenia has been insistent. The third element entails the opening of communications in the context of the East-West transportation network. In line with the self-same statement, the parties also agreed "on the principles of border administration, security, land fees, but also customs, in the context of international transport". What is clear is that the parties have concurred on a certain set of precepts, the content of which is yet to be revealed. The question is if the cumulative effect of the principles thereby established would amount to a regime which is going to be commensurate with what one may conditionally call a corridor - a link providing unobstructed and unimpeded access.. If not, how obstructed is this link going to be? Will it be a half-corridor of some sort? Or will it be an international transit zone? The truth is, at this stage, there is no crystal-clear answer. This ranges from the wide interpretation approach advocated by Baku to the narrow reductionism of Armenia. Connectivity, as one of the critical components of interstate normalisation, is far from a finished article. In fact, it is just beginning to acquire a discernible shape. Armenia is still in the clutches of parochial crudity, afraid of widely opening the windows of its decrepit abode. Being the winner of the war, strongly supported by Ankara and tacitly, but not unreservedly backed by Moscow, which has reservations about the corridor logic, Baku finds the bargaining chips in its favour. Simultaneously ,Azerbaijan, despite its determination to make the corridor an outcome of the current process, is measurably pragmatic, exercises realpolitik and is ready to consider sensible and equally acceptable alternatives. Union Bank and Trust's Andy Kafka, never thought his daily endeavors would bring him to Warsaw, where thousands of Ukrainians have sought refuge. Then again, the bank's vice president HAS always preached to his children that community boundaries extend far beyond Lincoln. Kafka, along with 10 other Union Bank and Trust bankers and President Angie Muhleisen, recently traveled to Warsaw to figure out the needs of Ukrainian refugees there. On the morning of Feb. 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Several cities were destroyed by Russian troops as peaceful residential areas were bombed, leaving several children orphaned. Although Kafka and his wife have always lived in Lincoln, they've tried to teach their children to be engaged in global issues because not everyone is as fortunate as they are. Aside from making a donation to help the people of Ukraine, there wasn't much else he thought he could do. However, once Muhleisen heard of Steve Glenn's Operation Safe Harbor -- a project that is raising money and sending volunteers to help Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw -- an opportunity opened up for Kafka. While Muhleisen always wanted to make a big donation to help refugees, she wanted the donation to go toward a specific need. After two weeks in Warsaw, talking with countless refugees, they kept coming back to a need that is sometimes overlooked: the mental health care of those displaced people. From the beginning, Muhleisen partnered with Operation Safe Harbor to provide additional funding for their efforts of helping Ukrainian refugees, but she wanted to help them on the volunteer front as well. Through conversations at work, she knew how much her employee's also cared about the cause. On April 12, Muhleisen announced to her team that she was going to Warsaw to volunteer and intended to take some employees with her. Although dozens of employees were eager to be a part of this effort, only a few would be chosen to go. All bank employees that wanted to join Muhleisen were instructed to write a one-page essay stating why they wanted to volunteer and why they should be selected. Kafka wrote that he wanted to set an example for his children to do more. Although he knew this meant being away from his family for some time, he felt a responsibility to help those in need. Three days later, after reading through more than 50 essays, Muhleisen made her decision. She sent out an email with a list of those bank employees selected for the trip. "She stated that this was a big commitment and that if anybody changed their mind, she'd understand. But nobody changed their mind -- we all wanted to help," Kafka said. After meeting with Glenn and getting all the logistics of the trip sorted out, Muhleisen along with seven employees, left for Warsaw on May 13. To ensure they left enough rooms for refugees, the bankers were split into two groups of volunteers. Seven left with Muhleisen, and the other four left for Warsaw on May 17. During their two weeks, Muhleisen and her team helped refugees with medical needs, groceries, paperwork and organized activities for the children to do. Some of the activities organized for the children were trips to the park, waterpark and zoo. Through building relationships with the refugees, the need for more mental health resources for them became more apparent to Muhleisen and her team. One worried mother spoke with Kafka about her concern for her 10-year-old daughter's mental health. "After being close to the bombings and having to leave her father behind who had to stay to fight, the daughter became very withdrawn," Kafka observed. While some UBT volunteers spent time entertaining the children, others partnered with adults to help them find more permanent housing and figure out the finances of it all. Despite what these families have gone through, theyre positive for the most part and theyre appreciative of what were doing here through operation safe harbor," said Jason McCowen, who also made the trip for Union Bank and Trust. In the aftermath of their trip, Muhleisen said Union Bank and Trust's donation will go toward mental health care and subsidizing more permanent housing for refugees. She also said she'll continue to work with Operation Safe Harbor. Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or emejia@journalstar.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Don Walton Political reporter/columnist Don Walton covers politics and the Legislature along with writing a weekly column. Follow Don Walton Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today It's going to be a new ballgame at the State Capitol in 2023. A new governor and at least 15 new state senators, perhaps as many 16, 17 or 18 depending on current contested bids for higher office. That's a huge turnover, hovering at one-third of the 49-member Legislature, and it's coupled with changes in perhaps the two most powerful and influential leadership positions, namely Speaker of the Legislature and chairperson of the state budget-writing Appropriations Committee. Eleven senators will be term-limited out of office; two decided to not seek reelection; Sen. Rich Pahls of Omaha died in April; and Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln does not have a Democratic challenger in the general election contest for attorney general after winning the Republican nomination in May. Three senators who will not be term-limited out of office at the end of the year are party nominees for higher office: Mike Flood of Norfolk, 1st District House seat; Tony Vargas of Omaha, 2nd District House seat; Carol Blood of Bellevue, governor. Flood is matched against a fellow senator, Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, who will be term-limited out of office. Bottom line: at least 15 new senators, perhaps more. That means a gap in legislative experience along with an opening for new leadership on major issues, especially in appropriations with the departure of Sen. John Stinner of Gering and criminal justice with Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha deciding not to seek reelection. Those are two huge losses. Looking ahead: A new governor feeling his, or her, way in the first year and a new Legislature with a shift of leadership and an array of newcomers getting their feet on the ground. Change at the Capitol is on its way. * * * Kids are a lot more important than the 2nd Amendment. And it's not even close. But we can protect both of them. Let's see what the U.S. Supreme Court says: "Like most rights, the 2nd Amendment right is not unlimited. "It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose." There is established U.S. Supreme Court precedent supporting "the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons," the court's opinion says. Note "dangerous and unusual weapons." Who wrote those words? That majority opinion was written by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in June of 2008 in the judgment that struck down a DC law banning possession of handguns and it opened the door to the flood of hundreds of millions of guns that are held by Americans today. Nearly 400 million of them in non-law enforcement hands in our country, an astonishing figure. Justice Scalia, a conservative icon, clearly stated in his opinion that the Constitution permits responsible and reasonable gun control. The AR-15 semi-automatic rifle reportedly used in the attack in the Texas classroom last week was the same weapon used at Sandy Hook in 2012 to kill schoolchildren who were 6 and 7 years old. An estimated 20 million or more of those deadly guns, which were designed as weapons of war that essentially tear their victims apart, are in circulation in the country today. Responsible members of the National Rifle Association -- and I think most members probably could fit into that description -- are the Americans who can best help us try to end this ongoing slaughter of school children by overruling the gun manufacturers and dealers who currently dominate the NRA and have their way with Congress in preventing any meaningful gun control today. Those gunowners joined the National Rifle Association, not the National Assault Weapons Association. NRA members have children and grandchildren, too. Kids should not be placed in danger or traumatized by the simple act of going to school, which ought to be a joyful place. And a safe place. Isn't it far past time to protect them? * * * Too early to know, but last week's election results may have marked the beginning of the political decline of Donald Trump. That might even have started in Nebraska with results of the Republican gubernatorial primary race earlier this month, but the big blows were struck in Georgia with overwhelming numbers last week that rejected Trump's choices for governor and secretary of state. If Trump is in decline, and it's still a big if at this point, there's going to be room for everybody in the 2024 GOP presidential race. Republicans have been there, done that before -- in 2016 when 17 GOP candidates participated in the earliest presidential debates. If the field is that big at the beginning in 2024, there would be room for Sen. Ben Sasse and/or Gov. Pete Ricketts on the debate stage if they chose to take a shot at it or at least decided to raise their national profile. Sasse already appears on a number of speculative Republican presidential lists. * * * A couple of the reactions from foreign friends who do not understand why we continue to allow the gun slaughter, especially in our schools, to go on and on and on: * "Only in the U.S. do children who only just learned to ride a bike have to practice hiding under school desks in case a bad man with a gun comes," wrote a Danish public radio correspondent who works in the United States. * "America is killing itself," Le Monde, the French daily newspaper, declared. * * * Finishing up: * Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy will hold a fund-raising event for Rep. Adrian Smith in Beatrice on Thursday evening in advance of Friday's fund-raiser in Lincoln for 1st District GOP congressional nominee Mike Flood. Smith will be competing for chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee if Republicans gain control of the House in November. * Gov. Pete Ricketts, talking to students at the University of Chicago about the need to take risks while suggesting that failures can be "the springboard" to the next success: "If you can't tell me about a failure, you're not trying hard enough." Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A suspect in a Scottsbluff shooting died Saturday after being killed by Cheyenne Police. Davin Darayle Saunders, 38, had been sought in the Tuesday, May 24, shooting death of a 60-year old woman, Karen Cooper, of Loveland, Colorado. He had reportedly last been seen in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Tuesday night after being involved in a domestic disturbance. According to information released by Cheyenne Police Department, Saunders died after a Cheyenne Police and Laramie County Joint SWAT Team responded to a home and had an encounter with Saunders. Information released by the department reports that Saunders had been located at a residence near the 2500 block of E. 11th St. in Cheyenne. The CPDs joint SWAT team was notified and responded to the area to conduct surveillance. A warrant was issued for officers to enter the residence. While on scene, the SWAT team attempted to communicate with Saunders, asking him to exit the residence, but he refused. Officers deployed gas in an attempt to safely lure Saunders out of the home, but he pulled a firearm and officers fired on Saunders, killing him. No further injuries were reported. According to the Cheyenne Police Department, the scene is still active and it has been turned over to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As the incorporated villages that surrounded Lincoln were annexed, they brought their own schools with them. As they were assimilated, new buildings followed, often on their old sites, while a few disappeared. University Place, annexed to Lincoln in 1926, added its population of 5,450 to the capital city and, though few now realize it, brought two, not one, high schools with it. When Nebraska Wesleyan opened in September of 1888 in University Place, whose post office was briefly named Athens, the campus was devoid of trees and shrubs. To accommodate elementary school graduates, an academy was opened that October in the south end of Old Mains basement. While some classes were also held above a drug store on Warren Avenue (now 48th Street), the city of University Place built a 2-story, frame building at about todays 47th and Adams streets. The eight rooms, four per floor, hosted the first class of nine girls and two boys in 1891, while the Wesleyan Academy continued in the colleges teacher training department. The original University High School building was soon outgrown and replaced in 1911-12 with a two-story-plus sunlight lower level, brick building with 219 students in the high school. Elementary and kindergarten classes were on the lower floor, with junior and senior high classes on the upper two floors. Still crowded, a wooden-beamed gym of a temporary type was constructed just south of the school for use of the students, as well as the community, in 1919. That year also saw publication of the first Ecalpinu yearbook. Neither Latin nor Greek, the mellifluous word Ecalpinu was simply Uni Place spelt backward. A house was then purchased across the street from the school for home economic classes. The Annex was considered an uneconomical use of district funds and abandoned a short time later. In its May 1926 meeting, the Lincoln School Board minutes highlighted two discussions. Construction of Irving Junior High School was awarded to Rokahr & Sons for $293,700, and considerable time was given to the imminent annexation of University Place and its effect on the Lincoln school system. With University Places annexation, University Place High School was renamed Jackson High in 1927. The school was named for William Robert Jackson, who graduated from the University of Nebraska. Jackson went on to become a high school teacher, high school principal, city school superintendent, county superintendent, state schools superintendent then dean of Nebraska Wesleyans teachers' college. At Wesleyan, Professor Jackson established a summer normal school curriculum in the new Conservatory building. Almost concurrent with the new Jackson High School, and with the closure of Nebraska Wesleyan High School in 1931, Jacksons enrollment of just less than 300 made it one of the largest high schools in Nebraska. By 1935 Jacksons enrollment reached 560 in a building originally designed to accommodate 500. The Lincoln Public School survey of 1935 noted Huntington Elementary School, across from Jackson on the same school grounds, with an average enrollment of 344, had an annual operating cost per 100 students of $713, the lowest of all Lincoln elementary schools. That compared with $7,780 at Lake View School, the highest. Then, in late November of 1939, the gym, which held some classes, sporting events, banquets, plays and musical programs, burned to the ground. The pressure on student capacity at Bethany and University Place high schools forced plans for a new building to incorporate them and Havelock. A well-drained, 30-acre tract at 63rd and Adams, equidistant from all three existing schools, was purchased and would house a new school to serve all pupils in grades X, XI and XII. With the opening of Northeast High School in 1941, Jackson High School held its last commencement for 117 seniors. Jacksons principal, Robin S. Mickle, along with several teachers and staff, including Mabel Thompson, Jocy Carter and Myrtle Clark, moved to the new consolidated Northeast. Wesleyan closed its elementary school in 1942, with students transferred to Huntington, named for Nebraska Wesleyan Chancellor D.W.C. Huntington. Jackson Highs building was boarded up but then temporarily converted into a mens dormitory for Wesleyan in 1946. The following year, as Huntington became crowded, the old Jackson buildings first floor also was used for elementary school classes until 1950, when Wesleyans dorms were completed, allowing Huntington Elementary to take over both buildings. In 1998, the new Huntington School building was completed, and the old structure razed, with the 1912 cornerstone salvaged and built into the new buildings entry hall. Huntingtons current enrollment is 490, with 42 teachers and staff. Bricks from Havelock, Bethany and Jackson high schools are likewise built into a wall at Northeast High. Historian Jim McKee, who still writes with a fountain pen, invites comments or questions. Write to him in care of the Journal Star or at jim@leebooksellers.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1872: Indictments were returned against 14 people in Palmyra on a charge of burning the dwelling of a man over a disputed homestead claim and turning his wife and children out on the prairie. The woman later died of exposure, it was asserted. 1882: A special train arrived here from Denver over the Burlington's new track. The run was made in just 15 hours, a remarkable feat. 1892: Nebraskans celebrated the 25th anniversary of the state's admission to the Union. 1902:Lincoln bicyclists were getting ready for a road race, one of the big events of the year. 1912: Guy E. Reed and Louis Anderson were selected to go to Evanston, Ill., to represent the University of Nebraska in the Olympic tryouts. 1922: One of the biggest fruit crops in years was expected. The Railroad Labor Board announced a wage cut of about $40 million a year. Lincoln railroad workers were going to feel the cut. 1932: Robert J. Greene, 70, prominent Lincoln attorney since the late 1800s, died at his home at 2121 Washington St. 1942: The cornerstone of a $200,000 addition to the YWCA at 15th and N streets was laid. It was announced that 60 percent of the 22,154 children born in Nebraska in 1941 had made their debut in a hospital. 1952: Nebraska state highways would cost $8.3 million to maintain in 1952, up from an estimated $7.5 million. The increase was blamed on "continuing increases in maintenance cost and more rapid deterioration of bituminous pavements,"State Engineer Harold L. Aitken said. 1962: "I'm hungry!" That was the comment of 9-year-old Deborah Elaine Garmann, who had been the object of an intense police search for nearly 10 hours in Lincoln. She was found sleeping on a porch. 1972:Four daughters of Mr. and Mrs. N.J. Mrzik of Columbus were married in two double ceremonies the same day at St. Bonaventure Church in Columbus. 1982:Irrigation reservoirs in southwest Nebraska were near or above capacity. 1992: Rod Burnett of Hastings was the first paraplegic to ride with 500 cyclers in the annual BRAN ride across Nebraska. Burnett designed his three-wheeled, 15-gear cycle himself. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Grocery costs are up by 10% in the last year and there's no sign prices will go down anytime soon. Host Teri Barr is talking with Kimberly Palmer, a Personal Finance Expert with NerdWallet, to get some ideas you can try right now to help you save on your food budget. Previous Pennywise episodes featuring Kimberly: Worried about interest rate increases? Try these quick money-saving tips! Going to any weddings? Here are tips to keep your costs down! 5 easy steps to strengthen your finances for Financial Literacy Month! Four great tips for buying used cars online. Environmentally conscious updates and your tax credits! The latest from Kimberly How to Deal With Rising Prices and Interest Rates To Fight Inflation, Take Down Food Expenses Spring-Clean Your Finances With Some Automation How to Put Your Tax Refund to Work for You Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. BURLINGTON Police agencies are tightening public access to records and information about public safety matters in Burlington and other communities, under the guidance of the top law enforcement officer in the county: District Attorney Tricia Hanson. The Burlington Police Department has imposed a near-total blackout on information about crime reports and investigations that either could result or have resulted in ongoing prosecution of suspects. That means residents could be left in the dark about occurrences as serious as assaults or robberies until after a suspect has been charged and gone through a trial a process that often takes several months and sometimes years. The new policy in Burlington was developed in consultation with the Racine County District Attorney's Office. Other police departments in the county say they, too, have been advised by the DA to withhold public disclosures on any case headed to court. That means that the public will not be allowed any information about criminal cases until trial, unless law enforcement officials choose to release information. The approach comes on the heels of numerous police-involved shootings and other incidents across the country including the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha in August 2020 and the shooting death of TyRese West in Mount Pleasant in June 2019 that stirred protests and have put the actions of law enforcement officers under an increasingly intense microscope. Sgt. Kristi Wilcox of the Racine Police Department said the district attorney "doesn't want anything released" to the public in cases that have not yet been decided by a judge or jury. "We're going to go with what the district attorney asks," Wilcox added. "We work hand in hand that way." Other police departments and prosecutors in Wisconsin, on the other hand, say they are continuing to provide greater transparency for the public and have not imposed an across-the-board policy of nondisclosure like officials have in Racine County. The state's open records law requires police departments and other government agencies to ensure public access to records under most circumstances, although police can withhold materials that are part of ongoing criminal investigations. With increasing regularity, this law has been interpreted locally to keep police reports regarding crimes from being publicly reviewed until long after the reports have been filed. The open records law, in setting out strict requirements for disclosure, sets out the state policy as follows: "All persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government." Open government advocates say Racine County's standing policy of withholding public police records and information is an overreach. It constitutes a misinterpretation, those advocates say, of a state law designed to protect sensitive police intelligence in isolated and limited cases. New rules called 'reckless' On Feb. 11, The Journal Times included a short report of a sexual assault that had been reported at Burlington High School. Details of the incident were sparse at the time, and police and prosecutors refused to disclose anything more including whether a suspect was in custody. After that, the blackouts started. The Burlington Police Department has since blacked out, or "redacted," from public scrutiny information on 94 police calls more than one a day, on average including information showing when the calls were received, where police were sent, and what sort of crime or other incident was reported. Burlington Police Sgt. Robert Jones later told the Journal Times that all such information would be redacted in the future from regular police-blotter reports available to the public. "We are redacting all police reports that are still under investigation or have yet to be adjudicated in court," Jones told a reporter. He cited a provision in the state's open records law, which establishes limited exceptions to the requirements for maintaining records for public inspection. One of those exceptions includes records that involve "a complaint, investigation or other circumstances that may lead to an enforcement action, administrative proceeding, arbitration proceeding or court proceeding." Jones said the department consulted with the Racine County District Attorney's Office in establishing the new policy. Bill Lueders, president of Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, called it "reckless" for police to keep the public uninformed about any case not yet decided in court. Lueders said state law does not allow police departments to categorically exempt all records in all cases from public scrutiny that are still awaiting a court decision. The law, he said, requires law enforcement officials to consider each such record individually and to apply a balancing test to gauge whether public transparency outweighs concerns about future prosecution. Certainly, Lueders said, by the time police records have been shared with defense attorneys as part of pre-trial discovery, there can be little argument that sharing the same records with the public would jeopardize a prosecutor's case. "Why should others not be able to see it?" he said. "To create a blanket policy runs a risk of running afoul of the law." Prior to February, rarely if ever the police blotter The Journal Times receives from the Burlington Police Department would have any incidents blacked out. The blotter would list a brief description about each incident the police department responded to: assaults, drunk driving incidents, minor traffic violations, noise complaints, bar fights, etc. Now, only non-criminal incidents are listed, with seemingly all others blacked out; if something non-criminal is blacked out, it is impossible to find out what it was. There are often months and sometimes years between when an investigation is effectively over and when a court case actually concludes. On May 16, a Milwaukee man George Pearson-Robb was sentenced for kidnapping two children and their pregnant mother overnight before stealing more than $40,000 from the Wells Fargo on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive where the mother was the bank manager. The bank robbery occurred on June 29, 2019; criminal charges were filed on July 11, 2019; and Pearson-Robb was found guilty by a jury Dec. 17, 2021. That leaves a 902-day gap between the initial crime and the jury actually finding Pearson-Robb guilty; and a 1,052-day gap between the initial crime and the case being officially considered closed. DA Hanson, who was elected in 2016, said she interprets the "court proceeding" exemption in the open records law to mean that police reports can be withheld from the public as long as a prosecution is either being contemplated or still in progress. Even after a suspect has been charged with a crime, Hanson said, the investigative work sometimes continues, allowing police records to remain under wraps. "That's exactly what the state law says," she said. Going dark Another barrier to public insight of police activity locally in recent years came in spring 2020. That's when Racine Police Department radios began to transmit on digital channels encrypted from the public, leaving public scanners silent. Handheld scanners and scanner apps available on most smartphones are no longer able to receive transmissions, leaving the general public deaf to unfolding events. The public can still listen to the scanner for other area departments, just not the RPD. 'That's not the DA's call. Those are not the DA's records' Criminal complaints also contain much more sparse information than actual police reports. Criminal complaints typically include somewhat brief recaps of the allegations and are rarely more than 10 pages. Police reports, however, can be dozens or more than 100 pages long. The complaints also frequently are not issued until days or weeks after police have detected and investigated alleged criminal activity. Hanson said she does not dictate how police departments handle their public records, but said she is involved in those decisions. She said she contacted Burlington police after The Journal Times reported on the Feb. 11 sexual assault report at the high school, which her office was still reviewing for possible charges. Saying that police should not have disclosed the sexual assault report to the public, Hanson said: "I can't have stuff like that going out. I contacted the chief and said 'This has to stop.'" The district attorney has since disclosed that she elected not to press any charges against a Burlington High School student accused of sexual assault. Other police department officials said they, too, withhold public records about police activity at the district attorney's direction. Wilcox, the RPD's public information officer, cited concerns about tainting future jury pools by releasing information and having news media coverage of sensitive details that could make it difficult to seat impartial jurors in criminal cases. Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke said his department similarly keeps a lid on public records when police uncover something that could result in prosecution. Marschke said he checks with the district attorney's office before disclosing information in such instances. "We always check with them," he said of the DA's office. "They will advise whether it's to be released." The district attorney's office routinely discloses most of its criminal complaints, as new charges are announced against defendants. Those complaints typically provide brief summaries, but are not as detailed as police records. The complaints also frequently are not issued until days or weeks after police have detected and investigated alleged criminal activity. Some police departments distribute press releases as a way of alerting the public to significant or unusual incidents. The frequency of such releases, however, can vary greatly from department to department. Burlington city archives show five police press releases in the past five years, addressing a police officer's death in 2017, a small plane crash in 2020, a sex crime arrest in 2021, and two in the past week one for a child pornography arrest and another for a student having a mental health crisis who was taken into custody at Burlington High School. Burlington police currently average about 35 calls for service daily, or 13,000 a year. The department's annual report for last year shows reports of eight sex offenses, 44 assaults, six burglaries, two car thefts, 66 other thefts, 136 drug offenses, 31 frauds and one robbery. In contrast, the Racine County Sheriff's Office regularly issues releases about arrests and other critical incidents. On May 12, for example, the sheriffs office publicly released video of a man accused of OWI failing field sobriety tests. Burlington police officials sometimes invoke a need for a "DA authorization of release" when asked about such criminal activity. Hanson's office in the recent past has not responded to Journal Times requests for such authorization, and police have withheld records and information. There is nothing in state law that says police departments should not release information unless a prosecutor approves it. Another expert on Wisconsin's open records law said police departments should not be taking direction from an outside agency such as a district attorney's office on disclosing public records or information about police business. "That's not the DA's call. Those are not the DA's records," said Tom Kamenick, president of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, a law firm dedicated to combatting government secrecy. Kamenick called it "bizarre" that police departments in Racine County have adopted a policy of withholding public disclosure on criminal matters until a case is decided in court. Referring to the state's policy of open government, he said: "That's not how it works." School sex assault case cleared BURLINGTON A 17-year-old boy at Burlington High School will not face charges, after a female student accused him of sexually assaulting her. Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson said she declined to press charges in the incident, which occurred Dec. 16 under a stairwell at the school, 400 McCanna Parkway. The girl, whose age was not disclosed, reported the attack Feb. 11 after police and school officials questioned her about it. Hanson issued her no-charge decision on April 8, but she did not disclose it until Tuesday, after The Journal Times had requested information repeatedly about the matter. Burlington police also had refused to release records or disclose information about the incident without the district attorney's approval. The Journal Times reported on the incident in March based on limited information disclosed in a public police department blotter-style summary of calls for service. According to police records released Wednesday with the DA's approval, the girl student told police that the suspect grabbed her by the wrist about 11 a.m. Dec. 16 and pulled her under a stairwell where there were no security cameras inside the school. The suspect then grabbed her neck, forcibly kissed her and shoved her hand down inside his pants, she said. The suspect denied the accusations and told investigators that the two went under a stairwell together only to have a conversation while other students were in class. Police reports indicate that school surveillance video showed the girl walking out from under the stairwell, followed by the 17-year-old boy, and that the boy "appeared to briefly touch his pants as he walked away." Police recommended a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child. In deciding against charging the suspect, Assistant District Attorney Diane Donohoo told police their investigative reports did not provide enough information to justify a charge. "Reading the reports, it is not clear what actually happened," she wrote. In an email disclosing the no-charge decision Tuesday to The Journal Times, Hanson copied Burlington police and told police that "reports can now be released" on the incident. Other communities Outside of Racine County, other prosecutors who spoke with The Journal Times said they do not practice withholding police records until a judge or jury reaches a verdict. "That is absolutely not my policy," said Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Karen Loebel. Loebel acknowledged that prosecutors often worry about public disclosures in pending cases and the possible effect of harming a victim's rights or tainting potential jurors. But she said police officials should conduct a balancing test that includes the public's right-to-know about crime in their community, and each such case should be decided separately. The Milwaukee County DA does not have an across-the-board policy, nor does the DA try to influence whether police withhold public records, Loebel said. "That's a law enforcement decision," she said. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne agreed that police departments should be mindful of both the importance of protecting the integrity in ongoing cases and honoring the public's need to know. Ozanne said he, too, leaves it to police officials to decide their own approach to transparency. "This is a tough area," he said. "That's a balance that we have to strike." Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RACINE The county is investing approximately $150,000 to hopefully prevent Lake Michigan drownings, following a deadly summer 2021 when five people lost their lives to the tides. The county is working with North Beach and Zoo Beach lifeguards as well as first responders to provide training and new technology with the goal of making water activities safer for citizens. First responders include the Racine Fire Department, Racine Police Department and Racine County Sheriffs Office. New technology includes enhanced signage, remote control buoys, breakwater gates and railings, enhanced buoy lines, ring buoys, a radio directional finder, an overboard rescue recovery device, water-activated GPS strobes for the dive team, sonar systems for the boat patrol and dive team with search, and rescue software and a rescue crane and basket for Boat No. 1, the dive teams largest boat. The county is also spreading the word about water safety, starting this weekend. Materials are being distributed throughout the county at YMCA locations, community centers, libraries and more. A 17-minute video about swimming safety will be shown to students and parents of Racine Unified School District and Siena Catholic Schools. The county is additionally planning on reaching out to area Lutheran schools. I think I told you last fall that we were done messing around with drownings in Lake Michigan and I come before you with a plan to move forward, County Executive Jonathan Delagrave told the County Board at its Tuesday meeting. We are moving forward on a quite ambitious plan, something that we all should be proud of Its a multi-pronged approach. He said the water safety efforts were done by Public Works and Development Director Julie Anderson, the executive branch and the Racine County Sheriffs Office. Am I sitting here saying that well never have a drowning? Absolutely not. Am I sitting here saying were doing everything we can to mitigate that? We are. I really commend you for taking this effort, District 4 Supervisor Melissa Kaprelian told Delagrave. Not only do I live right near North Beach but I know a lot of us here, when there is a loss of someone, especially through the drowning, we all feel it. Enhanced signage When visitors arrive at the beach, they will see a large electronic sign signifying any water hazards in a red, yellow or green light format. You wont be able to miss it, Delagrave said. The sign is to be connected to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite radio, which will automatically update the sign and will not require staff to manually change it. The NOAA signage will be on county property; the county has communicated its plan with the City of Racine and the city is scheduled to review some of the signage that will go on the beach area. Remote control buoys Lifeguards are to be trained on how to use an Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard, or EMILY, which is a remote control buoy. These buoys can zoom out to a swimmer in peril must faster than a human can, at a speed of 23 mph. The fastest unassisted human swimmers are known to reach maximum speeds of 5 to 6 miles per hour, according to livestrong.com, a health brand. The buoys cost about $9,000 each. The intention is to have two EMILYs with lifeguards, one with boat patrol and one with the county dive team. When someones struggling in the water, this gives them something to hang onto before we can save them, said RCSO Capt. Brad Friend, who is commander of the countys dive team. Maybe they could kick back into shore, but maybe not. This provides a cushion in time, to ensure the dive team can get them safely to shore. More info For more information, including a video of an EMILY in action, to go emilyrobot.com. Drones and jet skis Lifeguards at North and Zoo Beach are to have radios to alert the Sheriffs Office water patrol of issues so the Sheriffs Office can send out drones, and potentially jet skis. Drones may be sent out to the swimmer and drop a water-activated personal floatation device. The swimmer will be able to hold on until help arrives. Drones have a limited use though, with heavy rain or other harsh weather conditions, the drones cant fly. Friend said he was a part of a team testing the drone and he reported that otherwise, it works really well. We can do it from a distance, or we can do it from shore, he said of sending out the devices. Lifeguards might not be able to swim that far out. The drone provides a birds eye view. Its neat. While the jet skis have not been obtained yet, the RCSO dive team is looking into getting a larger 3-person jet ski. Jet skis dont have a moving propeller and thus allow the operator to get close to a swimmer without worry of hurting them, Friend said. The jet ski could be stationed right outside of the harbor, so if someone is away from the shore and is in danger, rescue personnel could quickly arrive with a personal water craft. Hopefully it becomes another tool in our tool belt, Friend said. We want to leverage as much technology thats out there, as well as work together. Friend said with these new water safety efforts, hes most looking forward to collaborating with lifeguards because the RCSO hasnt done that before. He said hes excited to teach lifeguards the new technology. Nothing is more difficult than helping a panicking person in the water, Friend said. When we all work together, it really, really, provides a high level of professionalism that our county expects. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RACINE For many, talking about race is uncomfortable. People tend to avoid what makes them uncomfortable. The Racine Women for Racial Justice doesnt want it to be that way. The group has developed a program to remove the barriers to effective communication in order to allow a diverse group of women to talk about race. The American Association of University Women Racine Branch thought that was such a good idea, the group decided to support it. Kelly Scroggins-Powell, executive director of RWRJ, said Woman2Woman Courageous Conversations About Race is designed and implemented by women from Racine County for women in Racine County. The organization presented the program twice in 2020 before the pandemic. We know that everything starts with communication, Scroggins-Powell said. And if we dont get the communication portion of relationships, if we dont take care of that, than everything else is going to be an uphill battle. The next Woman2Woman Courageous Conversations About Race will take place on Saturday, June 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St. A virtual presentation will take place on Thursday, June 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Expansion Kelly Scroggins-Powell, executive director of Racine Women for Racial Justice, said that in addition to the upcoming two events, the organization plans to make the program available to corporations and businesses as part of their training package. To register for the June 4 event: eventbrite.com/e/woman-2-woman-courageous-conversations-about-race-tickets-332485141007 Getting AAUW involved More than two years ago, members of the AAUW Racine Branch began expanding its program to include education on issues of racial justice and equity. Margaret Tungseth, the previous president of the organization, formed a committee in 2020 to discuss what an organization such as AAUW which has a majority white membership locally could do to promote more racial equity. We decided, based on various advice, that first we had to change ourselves and understand racial differences, she said. They read books and discussed the issues. Tungseth sought out and attended training on issues of racial equity. Additionally, AAUW Racine sought out local organizations to support that would be compatible with the mission of the AAUW, which is gender equity for women. It was through this process that AAUW found RWRJ. I was impressed with what they were doing, Tungseth said. She added that she went to trainings offered by the RWRJ and also participated in book readings. I just had a good feeling about the group, and I thought maybe we could do something to support them. Background When RWRJ first began to organize in 2019, Scroggins-Powell said it was evident there was a communication problem between women of diverse backgrounds. Prior to 2020, prior to the George Floyd murder, conversations about race were extremely difficult and probably even more difficult than they are now, she said. This was evident on the RWRJ Facebook page, which began as a way for members to communicate. Women in the group had many questions but it was sometimes difficult for women of color to answer those questions, in part because it required them to relive their own personal racialized trauma. Additionally, conversations were sometimes contentious. White women had questions, she explained, but when black women attempted to answer the questions, they were often met with disagreement and contention; it often came from, according to Scroggins-Powell, white women not seeing themselves as having more privilege in American society than women of color. Ultimately, white women shut down and black women felt unheard. As an organization, we realized we had to create space for women from diverse backgrounds, diverse lived experiences, and diverse socio-economic backgrounds to come together and do the difficult task of talking about one of the most difficult topics in history, especially American history, she said. Scroggins-Powell said the root of the problem is that the American people rarely want to discuss race. According to a 2019 survey from Pew Research Center, 27% of black Americans say they talk about race often with friends and family; no other race answered often more than 15% of the time. Likewise, white Americans responded that they discuss race with family and friends rarely 38% of the time, the highest percentage among the races surveyed. Black Americans answered rarely 24% of the time, Hispanic Americans answered rarely 32% of the time and Asian Americans 29% of the time. We have denied there is a race issue. And, as a result, we continue to have racialized experiences that are true only to people of color, she continued. Format To eliminate the barriers that kept women from effectively talking to one another about race, RWRJ created Woman2Woman Courageous Conversations About Race. The program began with about five women from the group who developed the program using techniques they learned from training, from books, and from research conducted by those studying issues of racial equity because the committee felt it was important the program be data driven. Scroggins-Powell and others from RWRJ were trained at the Racial Equity Institute, which helped inform the program. The conversations take place in facilitated small groups, in panel discussions, and through personal storytelling. Scroggins-Powell said the program centers the voices of black women without apology. She said one of the goals of the program is to move people away from what they believe and what they think to what is real, what is true and what is factual. Feedback RWRJ has facilitated the Woman2Woman Courageous Conversations About Race twice before and the feedback has been pretty positive. Participants were asked to rate the ease and comfort of engaging in conversations with women who did not necessarily look like them. White women rated their experience of engaging with women of color and vice versa. Our participants rated everything from the actual opening engagement activities that broke the ice and helped them to be comfortable, to the closing portion of event that gave participants real tools and real strategies to incorporate everything they learned in that session in their personal lives, their professional lives, in their faith, at their churches, and in the community, Scroggins-Powell said. On that scale, there were less than 1% who described the experience as uncomfortable and less than 1% felt the experience was not valuable to them, according to RWRJ. So 99% of women thought this was a very effective way to break down barriers, a very effective way to engage, and the level of comfort due to the format eased their discomfort and fears, Scroggins-Powell said, adding that participants walked away with a greater understanding of the need to center the voices of women of color. Additionally, participants walked away with tools and strategies for action they could take in order to make the community a bit more equitable, she added. Work Many white people are raised with the idea that they should not be racist, that they should not use the N-word, and they should perhaps have some diversity in their friend circle by including a person of color. Scroggins-Powell said that is really not enough. The trainings RWRJ and other groups offer really opens up a dialogue that helps white people examine all of their interactions with people of color and helps them to understand that we live in a racialized society. She continued and said through conversations people begin to see their communities in a different way and begin to understand that racism isnt something far away or long ago, but is built into the systems and institutions of the community. Tungseth added, Its clear white people have to do the work also. In fact, its our work to do, too, just as much as people of color. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. There are certain luxuries heated automobile seats leap to mind of which I have been condescendingly dismissive until I tried them. Ohhhh..., I remember thinking, the first time I fetched the Cadillac of an elderly acquaintance from a frozen parking lot and felt a warm glow rise from below. Currently only one of our family vehicles is equipped with heated seats and when it comes time to choose for the commute, elbows may be thrown. When my wife installed a slow-close seat on our toilet a few years ago, I was similarly skeptic. Who cant just close a toilet seat?, I thought, well aware that the answer overwhelmingly includes me in its demographic. In my defense, I like to think I am a lesser offender than most in my cohort, due in part to three years spent in nursing school, where as a matter of sheer numbers leaving the seat up was not only discouraged but pretty easily pinned on one of we three men in a class of 95 students. I further cemented my dedication to defensive seat-lowering at my first hospital job when a veteran nurse with a twisted sense of humor perhaps no longer allowable by todays workplace standards would dip into the staff restroom after I departed and raise the seat I had lowered. She would then wait for another nurse to complain and with the face of a disingenuous angel ask if she hadnt seen me in there recently. When the pattern repeated itself too many times to be ignored, I set a trap for her, circling back and catching her in the act. A-HA! I said. I can still see her silver-dollar-sized eyes as her head snapped around. It was a close call as to which of us laughed harder. She went on to become one of my prime mentors. Fast-forward, and it wasnt long before I came to appreciate the slow-close seat my wife installed. What a twee civilized luxury, to tip the lid an inch or two forward, no need to bend at the waist, and exit knowing everything was settling to a silent conclusion. Then this spring our toilet failed. Not completely, but in a way I can only describe in terms of an old-school slot machine, where youd hit the handle and hope. Guests required an instruction manual. So we got a new toilet. But we forgot to order the slow-closing seat. Instead it arrived with an old-school slammer, as we discovered the first few times we tipped it closed out of habit. My wife is not one to complain, but she did express some regret regarding this oversight. Fortunately, last weekend it was her birthday. And so while she was away on a day-trip, I purchased and installed a slow-close seat. We were all in bed by the time she returned, so she was alone in the bathroom when she found her gift tied closed with a blue satin bow and ribbon. Happy Birthday, said the handwritten note I taped to the seat, which closes softly and gently and definitely qualifies me for husband of the year, specific category yet to be determined. An original Roughneck Grace column exclusive to the Wisconsin State Journal. Audio versions may air on Tent Show Radio (tentshowradio.com). Read more from Michael Perry at www.sneezingcow.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Trend The visit of a delegation led by the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye Mr. Hulusi Akar to Azerbaijan ended on May 29, Trend reports citing the press service of Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. As part of the visit, the delegation, which included the Chief of the General Staff and the commanders of the forces of the Republic of Turkiye, visited several military units. The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, and the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye Mr. Hulusi Akar got acquainted with the military equipment available in the armament, as well as with the conditions created in classrooms and other military facilities. The military leaders of both countries met with servicemen and wished them success in their future service. The Azerbaijan Minister of Defense saw off the guests at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Syreeta Robinson had just gotten done with work in late 2020 when she saw an email pop up on her phone from Gov. Tony Evers office. She burst into tears of joy and relief. Robinson ran into the other room to her two sons, but she was so excited they could hardly understand what she was trying to tell them. "I was screaming," Robinson recalled with a laugh. "They looked at me with the bug eye, like, 'Whats wrong with you, Mom?' It took me awhile to get it out, and then ... I was able to tell them, 'I got my pardon! I got my pardon!'" Since that day, Robinson, 40, said the pardon for her long-ago conviction of identity theft has broken down barriers. She was able to get a job as a probation officer a position she was previously denied, likely because of the crime she committed when she was in her early 20s. "I wanted to be in a space where I could mentor someone and lead them after they made a bad decision because one bad decision is not the end of your life," Robinson said of her wish to become a probation officer. "If I can reach just a few people in my life, in my career, hopefully we can make a change in the system." Robinson is one of nearly 500 people who Evers, a Democrat, has pardoned the most pardons of any Wisconsin governor in at least 40 years. But while many like Robinson have gotten new opportunities since their pardons, others have found a sometimes decades-old conviction is still a hurdle, despite being forgiven by the most powerful person in the state. Some have not been able to attain the professional positions or licenses that prompted them to seek the pardon in the first place. "Pardons remove all of the formal legal consequences of criminal conviction," UW-Madison associate law professor Cecelia Klingele said. "Its sort of like its the magic wand that erases all of the consequences (of) that conviction except the informal ones. No pardon can make people not be biased against you, unfortunately." A pardon is an official grant of forgiveness that restores legal rights such as the ability to vote, own a gun, serve on a jury, hold public office and hold certain professional licenses. The conviction still shows up on background checks, but recipients say having a pardon on their record can open up opportunities and make them more attractive to employers. In Wisconsin, pardons are only given to those who completed their sentences for a felony conviction at least five years earlier and have taken significant steps to make amends and contribute to their communities. Sex offenders and those with pending criminal cases are not eligible. Evers predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, did not issue any pardons during his eight years in office, carrying to an extreme the practice of his GOP predecessors to limit their use of pardons, including Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who issued 238 pardons over 14 years. Evers reopened the spigot in October 2019 and has since been using his constitutional power of clemency at a record-breaking pace. This month, Evers' office announced that he pardoned another 49 people, bringing the total to 498. That's still just a portion of those seeking clemency. More than 2,000 people had applied for pardons as of March 31, according to Evers' office. Nearly 538 of those applications were rejected after an initial review found them incomplete or ineligible. Another 231 applications were denied by the Pardon Advisory Board, Evers or both. Most go to the board first, but some applicants with nonviolent felonies from long ago can go straight to Evers' desk. In a February 2020 interview, Evers said pardoning people who have "picked up the pieces and learned from their mistakes" is "the right thing to do," especially for those whose crimes were many years ago. "Its been like 20, 30, 40 years later" for some applicants, Evers said. "Its about time to recognize that theyre full citizens of the state of Wisconsin and deserve the respect that they have engendered because of their hard work." Tethered to past But some have faced challenges even after getting pardoned. Kathryn Morrow, 39, who lives in Hartford, applied for clemency in large part because she wanted to pursue a career in health care. But it's unclear whether she could get certified to be a nurse. Morrow was pardoned in November 2020 for a burglary and theft conviction when she was 23 and struggling with a drug addiction. She relapsed and broke into her parents' house to get her belongings after they said she couldn't come home. They pressed charges. Morrow said she is grateful because the conviction was "the catalyst" for her making changes in her life. Morrow completed probation, went through extensive rehabilitation and got her bachelor's and master's degrees. She now works as a drug and alcohol prevention specialist, trying to help prevent children from going down the path to addiction. She sought clemency to advance her career in the health care industry. But after earning the pardon, nursing school admissions counselors said her conviction would likely bar her from becoming certified even if she completed nursing school. Morrow said she spent about six months going back and forth with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services trying to figure out whether her pardon could open that door, but had no luck. "I just never got an answer," she said. "I guess the fault lies in myself for just kind of giving up." Fear of people's perceptions also held her back, she said. Around the same time, she saw an article about a state that allowed a "drug-stealing nurse" to keep practicing. Even though Morrow's conviction was more than 15 years ago, she was afraid of being painted that way. "That mistake has and will follow me for the rest of my life, pardon or no pardon," Morrow said. Career setbacks Eric Pizer, 41, also said his pardon didn't have the impact he thought it would. A decorated Iraq War combat veteran, Pizer wanted a pardon to pursue a career in law enforcement. He was convicted of a felony after throwing one punch that broke a man's nose on a night of drinking when he was 23, only two days back from being deployed in Iraq. Pizer was trying to break up an argument between his friend and a jealous husband when he heard the husband say, "I'm going to ... kill you." Pizer said the punch was a "knee-jerk reaction" after coming back from a war zone. Pizer was one of the first to get a pardon from Evers. But in the more than two years since, Pizer said he "could not get anywhere" when applying to jobs at local police departments. He's not sure what he was doing wrong. Pizer, who now lives in Baraboo, said his pardon did help him get a recent job at a railroad services company. He's currently working as a mason at Bear Creek Masonry in Lone Rock. While Pizer hasn't achieved his career aspirations, he said getting the pardon was still "extremely meaningful" to him. "Just mentally for myself, Im not carrying that weight anymore," Pizer said. "Its just a longtime battle and stress thats finally over." Similarly, the Rev. Mwangi Vasser, 43, said he's been doing well since he was pardoned alongside Pizer in October 2019, but "there are still some hurdles here and there." Vasser was pardoned for cocaine possession when he was 19. He went on to earn a bachelors degree in biblical studies, a master's in theology and a doctorate in theology and divinity. He's been a counselor, minister, barber and certified nursing assistant for hospice care. He sought the pardon to pursue his dream of becoming a military chaplain. Vasser has accomplished half of that goal: He's now a chaplain, just not in the military. He works in Georgia as a hospice chaplain, helping provide spiritual comfort to those who are dying. He believes his pardon helped him get the job. But he wasn't successful in his attempts to enlist in the military. Vasser said he applied to be a chaplain in the National Guard and the Army, but he was rejected. He said he had conversations with recruiters for the Air Force and Navy and was told his application would not be successful. Vasser said he still feels privileged to have become a chaplain. "For the most part, Im happy where I am as a hospice chaplain. Its great income. Its solid work," he said. "I'm doing what I wanted to do." Wisconsin National Guard spokesperson Joseph Trovato said having a criminal record doesn't prohibit someone from joining the guard, but it would require a waiver seeking an exception to policy. Certain serious felonies or domestic violence convictions are not eligible for waiver consideration. Trovato said he couldn't say whether someone who was pardoned would be able to join the guard because "all recruitment occurs on a case-by-case basis." Informal impacts Klingele said employers, licensing boards, recruiters and other organizations may not restrict someone with a criminal record outright, but those groups have discretion when making decisions. So a conviction can play a role, even if someone has a pardon, she said. "People need to be held accountable when they commit crime, but the general social contract is supposed to be that once they serve their sentence then ... they get to be part of the community fully," Klingele said. "They have hopefully repaired the harm that was done to the best of their ability, at least and they get to move forward. What is problematic is all of the formal and informal ways that we have made that almost impossible for a lot of people." Anthony Cooper Sr., 44, is the CEO of Focused Interruption, a local organization that aims to prevent and address violent crime, and the vice president of reentry services and strategic partnerships for the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, a group that works to strengthen Madison's African American community. He was pardoned in February 2021 for dealing drugs and fleeing police more than 20 years ago. Within the first month of being released from prison, Cooper said he applied for roughly 480 jobs and got rejected from all but one. He caught a break at Papa John's Pizza. Robinson had a similar experience when applying for jobs after serving her sentence for using the store credit of another person. "I didnt want to try to apply for certain jobs because (of) that question: Have you been convicted of a felony?" Robinson said. "Every time I told the truth, I never got the job." While getting her bachelor's degree in social work, Robinson said she got an internship at a domestic violence shelter and ended up getting hired full time as a case manager, even with her record something she's extremely grateful for. 'Change is possible' Now that Robinson's been pardoned and has become a probation officer, she feels she can advance her career without her felony holding her back. "I felt like a weight was lifted. I felt more confident about myself," Robinson said. "It made me feel resilient." Cooper said news articles written about his years of community work helped him overcome barriers even before he was granted clemency. But now his pardon is another way to "explain who I am to people who dont know me," he said. Having the pardon already helped when he was looking for a new apartment recently. But Cooper said his pardon is about more than just making life easier to navigate. It's also for his wife, sons and grandchildren. It's a document that shows "change is possible." "Me getting a pardon, it's not just about me," Cooper said. "It's about ... being able to show generations to come that we all make bad choices in our lives, but its about how we come from that." Even though she didn't become a nurse, Morrow said getting her pardon was still "a really wonderful experience." Morrow said she was always embarrassed by having a felony conviction "hanging over my head." Now she feels relief. "It just meant so much to have the state of Wisconsin say that they recognize that Ive made amends and have turned my life around," she said. It's unclear how long that opportunity will remain. Evers is running for reelection this fall, and the top Republican candidates running against him have not stated a position on pardons. Cooper said that worries him. "It gave me a restart that I never thought would come true," Cooper said. "Im forever thankful for that." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1. Yes. General Cavazos was an outstanding leader and a true role model for soldiers. 2. Yes. As the first Hispanic four-star general, the choice of Cavazos would be historic. 3. No. There are plenty of other Army leaders who deserve the honor just as much. 4. No. It doesnt matter what name wins approval; the post should remain Fort Hood. 5. Unsure. No matter what name is chosen, its bound to be controversial. Vote View Results Killeen, TX (76540) Today A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. By Trend The ministers as part of the Turkish delegation had fruitful meetings with their Azerbaijani counterparts, which will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the future, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this when speaking about the results of his visit to Azerbaijan. Emphasizing that Turkey will continue to support the establishment of transport links in Karabakh, the urbanization and reintegration of Karabakh into production, Erdogan said that the relevant bodies of the country will continue to work with their Azerbaijani counterparts on the revival of agricultural land. "Thus, we will contribute to the return of our Azerbaijani brothers to their native lands," he said. KEARNEY The Nebraska Sandhills stand apart as one of the largest, intact grasslands and most unique biophysical ecosystems in North America. Its 20,000 square miles comprise the largest area of stabilized sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere and the porous soils make the Sandhills the main area of recharge for the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer, the key source of groundwater for Nebraska and multiple surrounding states. Documentary filmmaker and Creighton University professor John OKeefe explores this vitally important and breathtaking region in The Last Prairie. Completed in November, the film offers an intimate portrait of the Sandhills, presented through the voices of three different communities: ecologists who study the regions biodiversity; people who live and work there; and Native Lakota people whose ancestors were killed to make way for American westward expansion. A screening of The Last Prairie is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 9 at The World Theatre, 2318 Central Ave. in downtown Kearney. The event, which is free and open to the public, includes question-and-answer sessions with OKeefe before and after the film. Its sponsored by the University of Nebraska at Kearney Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Tye Family Foundation. The Last Prairie was created as part of On the Range, a place-based initiative launched by OKeefe and fellow Creighton University faculty members Mary Ann Vinton and Jay Leighter, who came together to study the Nebraska Sandhills as an interdisciplinary team. OKeefe is a professor of theology and director of the Center for Catholic Thought at Creighton. His current research focuses on environmental theology and rethinking Christian attitudes toward nature. Since 2010, he has produced or directed seven films, several of which have won national awards. Work on a major expansion and remodeling project thats expected to be completed in early November began last week at the Blains Farm & Fleet store at 9438 State Road 16 in Onalaska. The project includes a 6,500-square-foot warehouse space addition, a new store facade, a new two-lane drive-thru and interior remodeling, said Jane Blain Gilbertson, who is president, CEO and sole owner of the Janesville, Wis.-based retail chain. The company was founded in 1955 and has 43 Blains Farm & Fleet stores in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. The addition will increase the stores merchandise capacity, Gilbertson told me after Thursdays groundbreaking ceremony. The new facade will be similar to that of the companys newer stores and will be basically kind of a nod to a farm building its more of a barn front, Gilbertson said. The big functional piece for customers that will really enhance their experience is the addition of an actual drive-thru, Gilbertson said. We have for years had the ability for people to drive up and pick up merchandise. But with the new two-lane drive-thru, she said, Customers will come around the back of our building and then there will be two drive-thru lanes with an overhang so theyre protected from the weather while merchandise is loaded into their vehicle. The Onalaska stores customers also will like the planned changes in how the stores merchandise is arranged, Gilbertson predicted. Because the project wont be finished until the busy holiday shopping season is about to begin, a grand opening celebration will be held at the end of March, she said. For more information, visit www.farmandfleet.com or the Onalaska stores Facebook page. Eddy Nix, who operates one of Wisconsins largest used bookstores, Driftless Books & Music, in a former tobacco warehouse in Viroqua, will open a second bookstore Metaphysical Graffiti on Friday at 119 W. Court St. in downtown Viroqua. And Scott Klimek, who started his Bad Axe Music store last September in a room inside Driftless Books & Music, will open it Friday in its new, larger location in another part of the Court Street building. Klimeks store specializes in selling used vinyl records and also sells new vinyl records, CDs and cassette tapes with all genres of music. Both Court Street stores will hold a grand opening celebration Friday and Saturday, and area musician Lou Shields will perform from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday at Bad Axe Music. Joseph Huber with Pat Ferguson and Christian Staehly will perform from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday on Court Street as part of the Live in Viroqua free outdoor music series. Store hours at both downtown businesses tentatively will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closed Monday. Driftless Books & Music at 518 Walnut St. has somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million used books, Nix estimates. It also sells some new books by Wisconsin authors, as well as vinyl records, CDs and sheet music. Nix started the business in Viola in 2004 and moved it to Viroqua in 2009. There are so many books in this (former tobacco warehouse) building, Nix said of his decision to open a second bookstore. And we wanted to allow people to see some of the nicer collections. The new store will focus on Wisconsin history; metaphysics; homesteading, everything from permaculture to how to raise goats; and different political books. So it will be a little more focused than his original store. For more information about Nixs new store, visit its Facebook page. Klimek said Bad Axe Music will have much more space in its new location about 800 square feet of space, up from 256 square feet at its first spot. That will allow him to carry more merchandise. For more information about Bad Axe Music, call 805-709-2832 or visit its Facebook page. Billed as La Crosse Countys first new veterinary hospital in 30 years, Onalaska Animal Hospital will open Tuesday at 984 12th Ave. S. in Onalaska. The new business is owned by Nicole Azene, doctor of veterinary medicine, and her husband, Dr. Ezana Azene, an interventional radiologist at Gundersen Health System. The facility was built on a vacant lot across from Mistys Dance Unlimited. Its a full-service veterinary hospital with services such as vaccinations, dental care, radiology and surgery and has an in-house lab and pharmacy services. Nicole Azene is a Fear-Free Certified Professional who treats pets emotional and physical well-being simultaneously. The new 5,000-square-foot facility was designed to her specifications to maximize comfort and healing for pets and their owners and has distinct waiting rooms, exam rooms and hospital wards to separate cats and dogs, as well as background music and scents/pheromones intended to calm pets. The heating and air conditioning system is zoned to mitigate sounds such as barking, and keep odors in the source room or moving them toward the rear until cleaning occurs. The animal hospital also has a comfort room where pet owners can spend time with their pet while dealing with heart-wrenching situations. My vision was to build a hospital with state-of-the-art technology to allow best medical practices and combine it with the compassionate care that fosters optimal healing, Azene said. Two additional veterinarians, Dr. Steve Timm and Dr. Rita Miller, serve as referring specialists. Michelle Hemp is the practices manager. For more information, call 608-668-6777 or visit www.onalaskaanimalhospital.com or Facebook. Steve Cahalan can be reached at stevecahalan.reporter@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Fran Swift was in her 50s when she began working at the Parenting Place in La Crosse, but her childlike enthusiasm and wonder were still very much intact, so much so that a humble twig could spark her interest. One of her strengths as an educator was reminding parents what kids need is simplicity they need your attention, they need your love, they need simple ways to explore the world, recalls Nell Saunders-Scott, a former patron and then staff member at The Parenting Place. She loved sticks. She would tell people, Just go on a walk with your kids. Theyll pick up a stick, theyll throw it in a puddle, theyll dig it in the dirt. I loved that she also would occasionally just pick up a good stick. She just kind of carried that joy of childhood through life. Swift, 76, died of a stroke May 13 during a visit to see her children and grandchildren in Massachusetts. She retired from The Parenting Place just last fall. Born Frances Mary Proferes, Swift graduated from Bay Path College and met her husband, Dick, a photographer, while working as a flight attendant. Swift went on to teach elementary school students in Winona and then Connecticut, and settled in La Crosse in 1991 with Dick and their children, Aimee and Henry. Swift began working at The Parenting Place, formerly called Family Resources, in 1998, serving as a parent educator, organizing the weekly Play Shoppe and running the annual Childrens Festival. She authored the childrens book Old Blue Buggy and was a firm believer in imaginative play, even when it meant getting a little messy. At The Childrens Place, Saunders Scott recalls, glitter was not off limits, and Henry, father of three with wife Sophie, says presents for the grandkids sparked creativity. Last Christmas she shipped us a junk box full of various pieces of paper, egg cartons, jar lids and old household items shed carefully collected, Henry says. She knew the kids would get more fun out of that than any other present, and she was right. She had faith that children would find a creative way to play with simple things, and that was her philosophy behind Play Shoppe and the Childrens Festival. With the Childrens Festival, Aimee adds, Swift attempted to show people how simple things can delight children and that this is so good for them in this complicated world. A big pile of dirt can be endlessly entertaining, for example. Swift let the inventor emerge from children, Aimee says, helping to spark their dreams and be proud of their achievements. Swift knew how to truly listen to the youth she encountered, with an understanding of their needs and recognition of their feelings. She could set limits yet still allow them to feel heard, Aimee says. The heart and soul of The Parenting Place Jodi Widuch, executive director of The Parenting Place, worked with Fran for over two decades, and calls her the foundation, the touchstone, the heart and soul of that agency. She had a presence about her, and a warmth. She was able to connect with anybody and everybody. She was a fast friend, Widuch says. She had a great, deep understanding of children, and she had a deep joy for parenting. During her 23 years at The Parenting Place, Swift saw the face and challenges of parenting evolve, with the rise of the new technology and social media. But no matter the question or obstacle, simple or complex, Swift found a way to offer support, Widuch says, and she truly loved her work. When Saunders-Scott first came to The Parenting Place, she instantly taken with Swifts welcoming presence She was so encouraging to parents. She just had this way of listening (and an) understanding of the challenges parents go through, Saunders Scott says. Shed share little bits of wisdom. Mike Scott, parent educator at The Parenting Place, worked with Swift for 5 years prior to her retirement and was a family friend of over three decades. Like Aimee, Henry and Saunders-Scott, he fondly recalls Swifts gift for finding potential in a box, a milk jug, a dandelion, and her championing of free play. She would set scenes in our playroom that would invite curiosity and play but never saying to a child you should do it this way or that way, Scott says. If a child engaged through their own direction and initiative, then they would be swept off to world of their own imagination. You could actually see it physically. You would look at them and you could tell they had left our grown up reality and were now in a world constructed entirely of their own vision. Swift, Scott says, was a combination of wise, gentle and playful Everything about her was soft, welcoming and benevolent and she knew the ins and outs of child development. Fran understood that a tantrum was not disobedience but an outward expression of a child who was frustrated about not knowing how to act in a situation or how to deal with strong emotions, Scott says. That teaching would have to come later but, for now, the only thing needed is compassionate understanding. Scott likens Swifts philosophy to that of Mr. Rogers: Love your child the way they are, for who they are, without conditions. Sometimes new parents would arrive at a program and confide in her that they were worried that their child was weird or socially awkward, Scott says. And Frans response was always, Perhaps, but isnt it wonderful? When Saunders-Scott became a colleague to Swift, in many ways she saw her the same way inviting, warm, spirited but also got to know her on more personal level, sharing stories about their own lives. Swifts approach to children and parenting, Saunders Scott says, not only shaped the way she raised her children but has impacted generations of our community ... who will always be influenced by her and remember her. So great was the impression she made on the La Crosse community, Swift was selected as the Tribunes Person of the Year in 2009. In Swifts profile article, Widuch is quoted as saying, I cant think of another person who makes others feel better about being a parent. Swift told the Tribune, I know how much the parents I work with love their children. Im filled with compassion for the parents I see and try to reach out to them. The Parenting Place, Widuch says, is really fortunate our parent educators were able to learn from her. Her legacy will really continue in a lot of different ways. Of Swifts decision to work well beyond the traditional retirement age, Widuch says, There was a place for her here and she had purpose, and the parenting community continued to value her and learn so much from her. Memories of Mom In her Person of the Year profile, Swift told the Tribune, Our children have been central in our lives. We are still learning from them every day. Aimee, born in 1969, and Henry, born in 1985, describe her as compassionate, genuinely interested in others and a lover of good food. Her first thought, Henry says, was always of others, and she didnt rest until everyone was comfortable, fed and tended to. Swift went out of her way, Aimee notes, to make people feel special and to show recognition for their contributions to the world. Dick passed away in September 2021, and Swift was in Massachusetts for Mothers Day weekend with her family when she suffered a fatal stroke. She had spent time with Henrys three children and gone for a drive with Aimee around the area her kids hoped she might move there, knowing while she loved La Crosse and her memories there with her husband, her friends and The Parenting Place, Swift also wanted to be near family. Throughout the day of driving, dining and listening to music, Swift and Aimee talked about all the possibilities. This was something we often did on our daily calls talk about all of the possibilities in our lives, which breed of dog to get, which path to take at work, anything, everything. When I dropped her off at my brothers house seven hours later and gave her a hug goodbye, I had no idea it was the last time we would talk of these things, Aimee says. I miss her every day. Invited to name a favorite memory, Aimee shared not an event but the way her mom made her feel each and every day. Its more a feeling of constant love and support, her always being there to talk and to listen, to remember and to celebrate, all the big and especially little moments of each day, each year, and my whole life up until now, Aimee says. That is what I remember of her the most. To share a favorite memory or parenting tip from Fran, visit https://www.theparentingplace.net/fran-swift/#commentform. Condolences to Frans family can be sent to The Parenting Place, 1500 Green Bay St., La Crosse, WI. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. UW-La Crosse art professor Jennifer Williams is drawn back to Murphy Library each September to recollect feelings around 9/11. I recall one painting with profound, lasting impact depicts the horror of 9/11, says Williams. Painted by Kim Van Someren-Berg, I still visit it each September, reminded of how she began the work in a fury of creativity and grief as we watched those horrific events unfold in real time. Its that kind of impact William sees taking place in UW-Ls Murphy Library thanks to a new program promoting student artwork. The program is led by Murphy Library staff Amber Leibundgut-Peterson and Marc Manke, both eager to promote the work of student artists and create a more vibrant, creative learning environment in the library. In spring 2021 and 2022, students in Williams 300/400 level painting courses drafted proposals for a large-scale work 4-feet by 4-feet that connects with the mission of the library and reflects current time. The course-embedded, high-impact exercise involves weeks of planning and creating. Student artists discover how to construct the stretcher from the ground up, thanks to wood shop demonstration and mentoring by Manke. It culminates when the finished work is delivered to the library during finals week. I hope these new paintings will have a lasting impact with enduring messages of hope and creativity, says Williams The canvas paintings are installed at the library for at least two years, after which students may take them. The students received full funding and support for canvas stretcher construction and all other materials. Special course fees cant support work of this scale, so private funding gives students an opportunity to work on a large canvas without undue financial burden. They keep any leftover funding for future art projects. Williams says whats particularly interesting about the most recent work delivered May 11, is its overall emphasis on healing and positive emotional impact during unprecedented challenging times. Any time a work of art mingles with the existing collection of an institution like a museum or library, history is made, and new contexts are created, she notes. As a professor and an artist, it gives me great hope that UW-L values creative endeavors enough to support student art in this meaningful way. The artwork ranges stylistically from subtle, abstract color field paintings to mandala-like forms and figurative work. The pieces are installed on the ground floor. Katie Erdahl, a May 2022 graduate who majored in psychology and minored in art therapy, says an opportunity to paint on a 4-foot by 4-foot canvas was challenging and exciting. In her painting, the Plymouth, Minnesota, native sought to capture the relationships between a mother and her child. I really wanted to emphasize the love that this mother has for her baby, explains Erdahl. She is reading to her baby before the baby is born to help her baby start recognizing her voice and promote early literacy. It was important to me to show the importance of being read to in early childhood as a jumping off point for future literacy. Erdahl is especially excited that the painting will hang in the library to inspire many in the next couple of years. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A string of deadly shootings carried out by teens has left the country in a state of unease, and parents and educators are grappling with how to address the devastation and fears. Most recently, in a Uvalde, Texas, classroom 19 young children and two teachers were slain by an 18 year old in a brutal gun attack, the most deadly school shooting since Sandy Hook. The heinous act followed the racially motivated gun murder of 10 again by an 18 year old at a Buffalo grocery store, and a shooting at a Michigan school, carried out by a 15 year old who left four dead. According to Education Week, in 2022 there has already been 27 school shootings which resulted in injuries or deaths. Since 2018, there have been 119. In total, the Gun Violence Archive has recorded 212 mass shootings incidents where at least four individuals, not counting the perpetrator, were shot and/or killed so far this year. In La Crosse, some schools and colleges undergo active threat training, and in late 2021 a series of threats against Coulee Region schools materialized, leading one high school to close for a day and others to increase police presence on the premises. Isolated incidents of gun violence have also impacted the area, with a Logan High School student shot and killed just a week ago. Another victim was hospitalized with injuries. On Thursday, La Crosse School District Superintendent Aaron Engel in an email to families expressed the districts shock and sadness at the recent shootings, saying of the Uvalde tragedy, We share in the heartbreak we are all feeling for the families who have lost a loved one due to this senseless act of violence. This, along with the awful racially-motivated violence in Buffalo, NY, and our own tragic loss of a student here in La Crosse have made this week challenging for so many of us. Engel shared counselors are available at all district school buildings, and students are strongly encouraged to visit the counseling office at any time. Additionally, we are continually working with the La Crosse Police Department and our school resource officers to ensure the ongoing safety of our schools and our community, Engel said. Dangers of gun access In an interview with the Tribune last December, following the local threats, Dr. Emily Rae, psychiatrist and behavioral health specialist at Gundersen Health System, and Greg Head, therapist at Gundersen and part of the behavioral health team, stressed the dangers of keeping firearms in the home, and the crucialness of keeping them locked up at all times. While some of the school shooters were old enough to purchase guns on their own, others have used those owned by parents or relatives. Guns in the home should be unloaded, with ammunition and the gun itself locked up separately. As youth may know where keys to a gun safe are stored, a combination lock with a random code not a birthdate or other easily guessed sequence is safer. Locks which go directly on the gun can also be affixed prior to storing and locking it. Parents might hide the gun, but most kids know where the gun is hidden, Rae said. Adults should always be in charge of the firearm, even if the child has had hunter safety or other gun handling courses. Head emphasized the importance of checking if homes visited by youth have guns on the premises, and making sure children understand the dangers of guns and threats. Most of us go through life just assuming those things wont happen. And unfortunately, what we are asking people to do is to change that and assume the worst. Assume that you may not always know whats going on with your child because that could be a fact. Assume that their friends and media are very influential because thats a fact. And so it is better to take every precaution and and not need it, then not to take precautions and regret it later, Head said. We tend to think if we bury our heads in the sand, the best will happen or it wont happen to us, Head continued. Be proactive. It wont increase the risk. We know that a responsible conversation with your children about gun safety will decrease the risk of an unintentional shooting. The unfortunate reality is guns can be easily brought into many public places, and not all schools are locked during the day or have security points or metal detectors. When a shooting is carried out, for survivors the mental health consequences can last a lifetime, and youth everywhere may develop anxiety around going to school for fear of it happening to them. Starting the conversation Dr. Lauren Baker, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic Health System, says acknowledging what is happening is important, as there are likely conversations already happening with peers. Parents and guardians should ask what information their child is hearing, or what the discussions are like. That can give you a sense for where theyre coming from, and they may even share with you what their concerns are before you have to decide how far into it to go, says Baker. I would say something like, You know, there have been some scary things happening at other places recently. Is that something youre hearing about? and then asking, What did you hear? What are you thinking about it? How deep a conversation, and how much detail to discuss, is dependent on age, Baker says, who notes some level of transparency is better than avoiding the topic. Middle and high school students, she says, probably have a little bit more range of understanding and are probably hearing more information than, say, elementary schools. Its normal to have big emotions, especially right after upsetting news like this, Baker says, and both adults and children should allow the time to process those feelings. When youth express feeling concerned for their safety or hesitance to go to school, Baker says to consider how long the worry lasts. I really differentiate between having those emotions in the moment when this news is new and is really in a flurry of discussion, versus those concerns that last over a longer period of time, Baker says. These types of tragedies, she says, are associated with increased school absences for kids, even in settings not the location where an incident has happened. ... Being able to invite kids to share what emotions theyre having and express those emotions can be a good place to start so that they can move forward and be able to talk about a problem, solve some of their specific concerns. Baker suggests asking open ended questions and, for young children, offering up words that might fit what they are experiencing. (They) may not have language thats as developed as adults have, and so they may not know what words really describe (a) feeling on the inside, she says, adding that a prompt such as asking them what makes them feel safe and unsafe can be a starting point. For teens, Baker advises not limiting what they know about these shootings but rather the time spent following the news. We dont want to be watching news for hours and hours and hours, even as adults. That can get us to be really worked up about the information, probably more than we need to because its upsetting information. (It likely) only takes 30 minutes to an hour to get what information is really available out there, Baker says. Watching the news together can be an opportunity to have deeper discussions. Touching on social media is an additional consideration, with two of the recent shooters live streaming their attacks or posting about their guns or intentions online. All threats, Rae said, should taken seriously. Challenges, such as a Tik Tok dare to call in threats to schools, have also circulated. And misinformation the Uvalde shooter was misidentified by some as a transgender illegal immigrant is rampant, as are diverse opinions about gun ownership and rights. There are going to be a lot of different opinions about what happened and what we should do about it, and sometimes there can even be differences in opinion between kids and adults in the same home, Baker says. So try to facilitate open conversations about how that affects people individually what they are feeling emotionally is a good place to stay in neutral ground. Parents, perhaps even more so than their children, may also experience heightened fears and stress in light of the recent school shooting, and Baker encourages talking to other adults to process feelings and find support. Children read and feed off their parents emotions, and while it is good for children to see adults express their feelings including being sad or crying openly sobbing or acting frantic can increase their stress level. Baker suggests stepping away to calm down. When it comes to keeping children safe, some situations are out of your control, she notes. Everyday our choices carry risk, and it is important to consider the spectrum of risk/reward. Keep routines as normal as possible to help with sense of security. We want our kids to be going to school, we want them to get the social benefits of being at school, we want them to be getting the learning and the intellectual and academic benefits of that, Baker says. Being able to talk with kids about how those things are important and valuable, and that we want to keep living our life, is really relevant. And then talking about what actual (things) we can do to make it feel safer, being aware of what feels out of the normal and knowing who to talk to when something doesnt feel right. The La Crosse Police Department asks anyone with school safety concerns to 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The planned elimination of several liberal arts programs at Saint Marys University of Minnesota has been met with concern from students, alumni and other educators, leading to open letters to the administration and hundreds of online messages. The university, a private Lasallian institution in Winona, announced the elimination of 11 programs May 10. The cuts include theology, art, history, English and theater majors, and 13 tenured faculty positions. More than 160 current and incoming students are enrolled in these majors. Concerns from community members include the elimination of tenured faculty positions, the impact on the arts and theater community in Winona and how students in these majors will finish their degrees. I was angry for a little bit about the way Saint Marys handled this and talked about the programs being cut, said Lindsay Stussy, a current Saint Marys student studying history, art and health humanities. They said they dont hold great promise and that was a punch in the face to know your college doesnt believe in you. The University will now focus on its science, technology and business offerings, said Ann Merchlewitz, senior vice president and general counsel at Saint Marys. We had a committee that had academic administration and faculty representation that looked at also what majors to choose for about eight weeks and looked at where we saw opportunities in terms of future jobs, Merchlewitz said. We want to try to match our enrolled majors with what we saw employers were going to need in the future. Financial stress placed on the university, declining numbers of high school students who may attend college and shrinking enrollment numbers at Saint Marys factored into this decision, Merchlewitz said. In a column for the Winona Daily News, university President Father James P. Burns said he acknowledged that change is upsetting and said the decision was being felt by our entire community. While some said the changes were a departure from Lasallian values, Burns said the Universitys mission as a Lasallian Catholic institution is to remain committed to practical, Christian and human education. It is a sensitive balance between paying close attention to enrollment, which drives our financial picture, and fulfilling our mission, Burns wrote in the column. Although eliminated faculty will remain at the university through spring 2023, Stussy said it will take time for her to process the loss of the professors impacted by the cuts. Saint Marys prides itself on being a close knit community and having good relationships with professors, she said. Weve spent the last three years building relationships and the cuts are going to impact the types of classes you can take and the help we can get. Other educators and alumni are also taking action in response to the program cuts. The Winona State Faculty Association hosted a forum last weekend with more than 50 attendees to discuss the decision and craft questions for the Saint Marys administration. A group of Saint Marys alumni also sent an open letter to the University with 288 signatures from other former students. Nicole DeBace-Rech and Dan Rech, who both graduated from Saint Marys and helped write the open letter, said they are want to see more information from administration on how these cuts will work long-term. They have made this announcement, I think, without actually doing any of that planning, Rech said. You havent put a plan in place yet to tell us how youre going to make sure that this isnt just another nail in the coffin on the demise of the Winona campus. Merchlewitz said the university created implementation work groups to plan the phasing out of majors and how liberal arts will be incorporated into general education requirements, among other responsibilities. Most of the working groups will begin meeting in June. Liberal arts ideas will likely be incorporated into general education requirements or offered through extracurricular activities. For example, theater and choir courses will not be offered, but students can participate in a choir or theater club, Merchlewitz said. Other course requirements may be fulfilled through teach-out programs, where courses from eliminated majors are taught by other faculty at the university or by professors from outside institutions. The Winona State Faculty Association, led by President Jenna Chernega and Vice President Patrick Clipsham, said they are circulating a letter among WSU faculty stating their intention to decline participation in a teach-out program. We are not interested in being adjuncts for Saint Marys. If students end up coming to Winona State we will welcome and serve, but we arent interested in making this easier for the administration to do, Chernega said. Other community members raised concern over the future of status of Saint Marys Page Theatre and the University-affiliated Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA). Merchlewitz said there will be no impact on the MCA, and the Page Theatre will continue to showcase student and faculty work on campus. The theater has not shown professional work since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. Looking ahead, students, alumni and other stakeholders said they want to see more transparency from the universitys administration when making changes and a clear plan for the future of Saint Marys. Right now Im feeling determined to show my degree does have skills that will provide me with a job in the future, but I dont have a clue what thats going to look like now at Saint Marys, Stussy said. My biggest fear is that they dont have a clue either. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ISTANBUL (AP) Turkeys president told journalists that Ankara remains committed to rooting out a Syrian Kurdish militia from northern Syria. Like I always say, well come down on them suddenly one night. And we must, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his plane following his Saturday visit to Azerbaijan, according to daily Hurriyet newspaper and other media. Without giving a specific timeline, Erdogan said that Turkey would launch a cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers a terrorist group linked to an outlawed Kurdish group that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. That conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, has killed tens of thousands of people. However, the YPG forms the backbone of U.S.-led forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. American support for the group has infuriated Ankara and remains a major issue in their relations. Turkey considers the PKK and the YPG to be one and the same. The YPG and its affiliated political party have controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad withdrew in 2012. All coalition forces, leading with the U.S., have provided these terror groups a serious amount of weapons, vehicles, tools, ammunition and they continue to do so. The U.S. has given them thousands of trucks, Erdogan said. He warned that Turkey wouldnt need anyones permission to fight terror. If the U.S. is not fulfilling its duty in combating terror, what will we do? We will take care of ourselves, he declared. While acknowledging Turkeys security concerns, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has voiced concerns about Turkeys plans, saying a new offensive could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Ankara has launched four cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and controls some territories in the north with the goal of pushing away the YPG and establishing a 30-kilometer (19-mile) deep safe zone where Erdogan hopes to voluntarily return Syrian refugees. In 2019, an incursion into northeast Syria against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting Finland, Sweden and others to restrict arms sales to Turkey. Now Turkey is blocking the two Nordic countries' historic bid to join NATO because of the weapons ban and their alleged support for the Kurdish groups. Turkey has stepped up military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where they are based. The PKK is considered a terror group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Just as we are conducting operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and PKK's offspring, the same situation applies even more to Syria and is much more important, Erdogan said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. "On the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency and to the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago, our two countries have built friendly ties of partnership in a wide range of areas. I hope to further advance the relations between our two countries and promote friendship of our peoples. Please accept, Your Excellency, my best wishes for your good health and continued success in all your endeavors, as well as for the everlasting prosperity of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the letter said. Sunday, May 29, 2022 From The Straits Times: Couples wanting to adopt a child must be married under laws recognised by Singapore under new adoption rules, said Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli. The new laws governing child adoption, passed in Parliament on Monday (May 9), aim to provide more clarity and tighten rules to ensure adoptions are in line with Singapore public policy. As a matter of public policy, the Government does not encourage planned and deliberate single parenthood as a lifestyle choice. Under the new law, public policy will be taken into consideration when determining a couple's suitability to adopt. The new law also tightens the eligibility criteria to adopt. For example, those convicted of serious crimes such as sexual abuse and drug consumption offences cannot adopt. Also, applicants with stronger ties to Singapore such as Singaporeans and permanent residents will be given priority to adopt. Under the new rules, prospective adoptive parents must attend a disclosure briefing, which will help them through issues linked to telling a child the truth about his birth. However, adoptive parents are not mandated to tell the child that he is adopted. The new rules will introduce offences and regulatory measures and aim to strike the balance between the interest of the child and the birth parents. Read more here. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family_law/2022/05/new-rules-change-the-eligibility-criteria-for-adoption-in-singapore.html Memorial Day is a national holiday observed in the United States on the last Monday in May. This year, Memorial Day falls on May 30. It is a day when Americans honor the men and women who have died fighting in Americas wars. For most Americans, it also marks the unofficial start of summer. It is a popular weekend for vacationing. Even with rising gas prices, the American Automobile Association expects as many as 39 million Americans to travel this year for Memorial Day weekend. Many will head to the nearest bodies of water or beaches. In the American state of Delaware, people often call the beach town of Rehoboth The Nations Summer Capital. Many people who live in Washington, D.C., the nations actual capital, spend time along their beaches. The town also happens to be a favorite summer getaway spot for U.S. President Joe Biden, who is from Delaware. This week, officials in Rehoboth and the nearby towns of Lewes, Dewey, and Bethany have had to do a lot to help repair the summer capital and prepare for visitors. Just days before Memorial Day, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, DNREC, was still working to repair beaches that were damaged by strong storms in early May. Secretary Shawn M. Garvin of the DNREC said, Were working on making the states beaches accessible and in shape for the summer. Memorial Day tradition Back in the nations capital, Memorial Day traditions include the observance at Arlington National Cemetery. It is the most famous burial place in America. Before the pandemic, more than 4 million people visited the cemetery every year. The tradition began on May 30th, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers in the cemetery. It was called Decoration Day back then. Since 1948, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, soldiers from the 3rd US Infantry, The Old Guard, have placed small American flags in front of every headstone in the cemetery. Lines of simple white headstones mark the soldiers' graves. But the 80-hectare cemetery also serves as a burial place for people of national and historical importance. Two presidents are buried there: William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy. Other well-known people buried at the cemetery include world champion boxer Joe Louis, North Pole explorer Robert E. Peary and the seven astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. Nearly 4,000 former slaves are also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. One of them is James Parks. He dug the first graves in the cemetery. Other well-known memorials The best-known memorial in the nations capital, however, is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which opened in 1982. In 1980, a group of former soldiers announced a competition to design a memorial. The winner was Maya Lin, a 21-year-old student at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Lin designed a memorial formed by two walls of black stone about 76 meters long. The walls meet to form a V. The names of more than 58,000 Americans killed or declared missing-in-action are cut into the stone. Almost any time of day, you can see people looking for the name of a family member or friend who died in the war. Once they find the name, many rub a pencil on paper over the letters to copy it. Many people leave remembrances at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. After the success of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Congress approved a memorial to the Korean War veterans which opened in July of 1995. The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953. The memorial honors those who died. It also honors those who survived. One of the lesser-known memorials on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is often called "the temple." The round stone structure honors people from the District of Columbia who died in World War I. The war was fought from 1914 to 1918. Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument on the National Mall is the World War II Memorial. The U.S. entered the war after Japan bombed the Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7th, 1941. Sixteen million men and women served in the American military between 1941 and 1945. More than 400,000 died. The World War II Memorial is built of bronze and granite. In the center, at ground level, is a round pool of water. When the sun is just right, rainbows of color dance in the air. Fifty-six stone pillars rise around the pool. They represent each of the American states and territories, plus the District of Columbia, at the time of the war. There are not yet memorials for soldiers who died in Americas most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldiers are buried in Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery. The section is often called the saddest place in America. On Memorial Day, Americans will stop for one minute at three o'clock local time for the National Moment of Remembrance to honor the soldiers who have died in service to the country, no matter what wars they served in. Im Ashley Thompson. And Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Shelley Gollust, Jerilyn Watson, Christopher Jones-Cruise, and Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story getaway - n. a short vacation cemetery - n. a place where dead people are buried decoration - n. a medal or award champion - n. someone that has won a contest in sports By Trend U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on May 27 hes confident Turkeys objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO can be overcome swiftly, possibly in time for a summit of alliance leaders at the end of next month, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News. At a news conference in Washington with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Blinken said the U.S. has no reason to believe Turkeys concerns cannot be addressed. His comments came after Turkeys top diplomat said Finland and Sweden would have to take concrete steps before Ankara could support their membership. The United States fully supports Finland and Sweden joining the alliance and I continue to be confident that both will soon be NATO members, Blinken said. "We look forward to being able to call Finland and Sweden our allies." Haavisto said his country and Sweden had held good negotiations with the Turks over their concerns in recent days and said those discussions would continue with an eye toward resolving them before the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. We agreed to continue to those talks, Haavisto said. We think that these problems can be solved that Turkey has been raising. We hope that some results could be achieved before the NATO summit. Japan is asking its universities to better investigate their foreign students and professors. The request is part of an effort to prevent technology leaks to places like China. The issue is important for Japans national security and for protecting exchanges with the United States and European universities. Many Western countries have expanded security measures to prevent spying at their universities. Japanese officials say a series of arrests in the U.S. of Chinese academics created a sense of urgency. "Around the world, export controls are getting more stringent on foreign nations like China," said a Japanese trade ministry official who did not want to be identified. The official works with universities on ways to keep better watch on students and high-risk technology data. "We want Japanese universities to be trusted for their security and trade controls so that joint research with the United States or Europe can continue," the trade ministry official said. Last year, Japanese media reported that nine Chinese researchers had left Japan to work in the defense industry back home. They had studied missile technologies. New guidelines Under the new guidelines, effective this month, universities are being asked to investigate and flag students, professors and researchers who have ties to foreign governments or the defense field. In the past, such investigation had been limited to cases of people trying to send sensitive information and goods overseas. The U.S. embassy in Japan said it welcomed the new security measures. In an emailed statement to Reuters, it said the United States would look for new ways to help Japan protect against what it called "real and serious" research security problems in both countries. Japanese government data shows that Chinese students made up 44 percent of Japan's 279,597 foreign university students in 2020. The United States was the top destination for Japanese researchers, followed by China, in 2019. Effectiveness But questions remain over how effective the new system will be. And, some academics are opposed to it. Takahiko Sasaki oversees export controls at Tohoku University. He said it will seek signed agreements from professors. By signing, the teacher promises not to teach sensitive technology to people with ties to foreign governments, unless specially permitted. That would be on top of an existing policy asking foreign faculty and students to submit a promise in writing to follow Japanese export control regulations, he said. Sasaki added, "We are not intelligence operators. Checking resumes and academic records - that should be the extent of our job as a university." Im John Russell. Ju-min Park and Kaori Kaneko ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story academic n. a person who is a teacher in a college or university stringent adj. very strict or severe resume n. a short document describing your education, work history, etc., that you give an employer when you are applying for a job Researchers say they have discovered a chemical found in sea corals that could be effective in treating cancer. Scientists had been searching for the compound for more than 25 years after early studies in the 1990s suggested it could slow cancer cell growth. A researcher finally discovered the substance in a common kind of soft coral off the coast of the American state of Florida. A research team from the University of Utah has confirmed the discovery. The team said their results could lead to widespread production of the substance for use in cancer drugs. The researchers recently described their findings in a study in the publication Nature Chemical Biology. The use of natural substances to treat disease is not new, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports. Compounds from all kinds of organisms including sea life, snakes, spiders and other animals have long been studied and tested as possible treatments for many health conditions. Since many corals stay in one place, they have developed chemical defenses to protect against other forms of sea life that could threaten them, NOAA reports. Scientists study such chemicals in an effort to find effective medical uses. But a major barrier to these efforts has been the difficulty of gathering enough of these compounds to carry out effective research. The chemical used in the latest study is called eleutherobin. It was discovered in soft corals near Australia. Scientists reported in the 1990s that the chemical had cancer-fighting properties. Researchers involved in the study said the chemical can play a part in breaking down important cell structures. It is used by soft corals as a defense against predators. But scientific studies have suggested the compound also shows promise in reducing cancer cell growth. The studies led scientists to keep searching for large amounts of the chemical that would be necessary to carry out additional testing and possibly develop new cancer drugs. But those efforts were unsuccessful for many years. Then, a scientist working on the University of Utah team, Paul Scesa, found a soft coral in the ocean off the Florida coast that contained eleutherobin. The team sought to find out whether the corals made the chemical themselves or whether it was produced by symbiotic organisms living inside the corals. Scesa said in a statement it did not make sense to him that the compound would only be produced by other organisms. His team knew, for example, that some soft corals do not have symbiotic organisms and yet their bodies contain the same collection of chemicals. To test their theory, the researchers attempted to find out how the corals were producing the compound. To do this, they needed to study the corals genetic code to learn whether it included instructions on how to produce the chemical. This process is possible through modern methods for studying the DNA of organisms. DNA is present in nearly all living things and is the carrier of genetic information. The next step was difficult because the scientists did not know what the instructions for making the chemical should look like. But they reported they were able to identify parts of DNA in the coral that were very close to genetic instructions for similar compounds in other species. They were then able to provide those instructions to bacteria grown inside a laboratory. The team reported that the bacterial microorganisms were able to copy the first steps of making eleutherobin. This is the first time we have been able to do this with any drug lead on Earth, said lead researcher Eric Schmidt. He is a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah Health. The researchers say their experiments demonstrated that it should be possible to manufacture the chemical in the laboratory. This could lead to possible widespread production of new anti-cancer drugs. Scesa said he hopes to one day be able to hand over the medicine to a doctor. I think of it as going from the bottom of the ocean to bench to bedside, he said. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from the University of Utah Health, Nature Chemical Biology and NOAA. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Scientists Discover Compound in Corals Shown to Fight Cancer Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story coral n. a hard or soft, usually pink or white substance produced by a type of very small sea animal predator n. an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food symbiotic adj. involving two kinds of animal or plant in which each provides the conditions necessary for the other to exist genetic code n. information from DNA or RNA that is used to create an organism's proteins species n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants bench n. a long table for doing work on No matter where Ukrainians live, the 3-month-old war never seems to be far away. Those in towns and villages near the front lines hide in basements from constant shelling. They are struggling to survive with no electricity or gas, and often no running water. But even in areas out of the range of big guns, frequent air raid alarms sound. They are a reminder that a Russian missile can strike at any timeeven for people living in cities like Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv. City residents are trying to return to regular life, but with every step, they stumble upon either a crater or a ruined house or a grave, said Andriy Pustovoi. He spoke by phone to The Associated Press from the northern city of Chernihiv. Chernihiv was in the way of Russian forces as they moved toward Kyiv early in the war. It was heavily attacked. Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said about half of its buildings were damaged or destroyed. At least 700 residents were killed, and part of a city park now holds a cemetery, where some of them are buried. Its streets are mostly empty now, half of the shops have not reopened, and public transportation is not working at times, said Pustovoi. Few people are seen on the streets of Kramatorsk, as well. The eastern city has been hit several times. The worst attack came on April 8, when a missile struck near its train station where about 4,000 people had gathered to be evacuated. A total of 57 people were killed, and over 100 wounded. Kramatorsk is one of the largest cities in the industrial Donbas that Russian forces have not taken over. The Donbas has seen battles between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces since 2014. Elsewhere in the Donbas, the situation is even worse. Ryisa Rybalko fled the village of Novomykhailivka. She lived there first in a basement and then in a bomb shelter at a school. We havent been able to see the sun for three months. We are almost blind because we were in darkness for three months, she said. After Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv in the opening weeks of the war, they withdrew to the east. Residents have started to reenter the capital. The nightly curfew has been reduced by an hour, and public transportation started running longer. They face long lines at gas stations. And the economy is greatly weakened. But the National Opera started performances again last week in Kyiv. And some restaurants, cafes and shops in cities like Odesa and Zaporizhzhia have reopened. Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, has received more than 300,000 people fleeing other conflict areas. About 1,000 arrive at its train station daily. Hotels, campgrounds, universities and schools ran out of space for them long ago. The city has built temporary housing that looks like shipping containers in city parks. In cities and towns of southern Ukraine, the war continues regularly. In the village of Velyka Kostromka, the remaining residents try to go on with life despite the occasional attacks. At least 20 houses were damaged on a recent morning, including three that were destroyed. A woman and her three children barely survived. Hours later, a farmer was back in his potato field, looking at a small crater left behind. He quickly moved to rake over it. Im Dan Novak. Elena Becatoros and Yurus Karmanau reported this story for The Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story resident n. someone who lives in a particular place stumble v. to hit your foot on something when you are walking or running so that you fall or almost fall crater n. a large round hole in the ground made by the explosion of a bomb or by something falling from the sky cemetery n. a place where dead people are buried evacuate v.to leave a dangerous place curfew n. an order or law that requires people to be indoors after a certain time at night rake v. to use a rake to gather leaves, break apart soil, make ground smooth, etc. RTHK: Clashes as right-wing Israelis march in Jerusalem Thousands of flag-waving Israelis on Sunday marched through Jerusalem's Old City during a nationalist procession that regularly stokes Palestinian anger, a year after Jerusalem tensions exploded into war. About 70,000 Jewish Israelis paraded through the streets, police said, for an annual "flag march" marking Israel's 1967 capture of east Jerusalem. Some marchers chanted "death to Arabs", as a number of Palestinians hurled projectiles from the rooftops. Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid described far-right Jewish groups who taunted Arabs specifically the Lehava and La Familia extremist organisations as a "disgrace", saying they "aren't worthy of holding the Israeli flag". Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered police to show "zero tolerance" towards Jewish extremists who planned to "incite" tensions, singling out La Familia. More than 3,000 police officers were deployed across Jerusalem, reporting more than 60 arrests over "disorderly conduct". The Palestinian Red Crescent said 79 Palestinians were injured in and around the Old City. Around annexed east Jerusalem, many Palestinians flew flags, with police clashing with the protesters carrying them. Above one of the Old City gates, a Palestinian flag was flown from a drone, which police shot down, an AFP photographer said. During the march, thousands of Jewish Israelis overwhelmingly men, and many of them youths poured through Damascus Gate, the main Old City thoroughfare used by Palestinians and of huge symbolic importance. "This is our country, and that's it," 18-year-old Jewish Israeli Ofer Amar said at Damascus Gate. "The Palestinians are guests in our country." Most of the international community does not recognise Israeli control over east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of a future state. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-05-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend The European Union proposed banning seaborne oil from Russia while delaying restrictions on imports from a key pipeline in an effort to satisfy Hungarian objections and clinch an agreement on a stalled sanctions package that would target Moscow, Trend reports citing Bloomberg. The European Commission, the EUs executive arm, sent a revised proposal to national governments on Saturday that would spare shipments of oil through the giant Druzhba pipeline, which is Hungarys main source of crude imports, according to people familiar with the matter. By Trend Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday that the upcoming visit of Tajikistans president to Tehran is of paramount importance for developing relations in different fields between the two countries, Trend reports citing IRNA. Tajikistans President Emomali Rahmon is set to begin his two-day visit to Iran on Sunday. The top Iranian diplomat was speaking in Tehran in a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Muzaffar Huseynzoda. Amirabdollahian said that the two countries share many commonalities, including cultural ones, and this provides ground for the further development of their relations. Huseynzoda, for his part, said that Tajikistan is ready to expand relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields. Brent Ridge worked for years just a few hundred yards from a nuclear waste storage site at the Columbia Generating Station near Richland, Washington. Because he was vice-chairman of the Nuclear Safety Review Board for Columbia, Ridge was confident he wasnt putting his health in danger by working that close to radioactive material. Today, as the chair and CEO for Wisconsins Dairyland Power Cooperative, Ridge is convinced the far bigger health danger facing him, his utility customers and the world is climate change and he thinks more nuclear generation of electricity can help avoid irreversible damage. The bottom line is: If we are for a less-carbon future, if you are against carbon, you need to be for nuclear. I dont know a simpler way to put it, Ridge said during a May 24 Wisconsin Technology Council luncheon in Madison. If you want there to be less carbon, and you want a reliable, safe, economic grid that will keep together our economic 24/7 engine, nuclear is part of that future. There are still those who cringe at the thought of nuclear power coming back into vogue, largely out of safety concerns but also over questions of cost per kilowatt-hour. However, Ridge and the Dairyland proposal to build a small-module reactor in its La Crosse-based service territory represent a rapidly emerging shift in industry, political and public attitudes. The type of reactor envisioned by Dairyland isnt your grandfathers nuclear power plant or Homer Simpsons, for that matter. It would have independently operating modules that provide emissions-free energy as demand rises and falls, helping to smooth out the peaks and valleys of solar and wind power. Rather than a replacement for solar, wind and other renewables, next-generation nuclear is being touted as a reliable supplement that can help meet peak demands in a transmission grid that must stop burning coal, sooner rather than later. Paul Wilson, the Grainger professor of nuclear engineering and chair of the UW-Madison Department of Engineering Physics, told the group nuclear power can plug gaps as society scales back its reliance on fossil fuels over time. Wilson said more wind and solar development will come first, but those are intermittent sources that come with their own drawbacks. When we get down to those really low decarbonization levels, and we really want to get close to zero, then you need to have something thats providing what we today call baseload ... and you need some sort of low-carbon, firm, dispatchable power source, he said. The only (source) that is really ready right now is nuclear. Without that, the system gets a lot more expensive and a lot less reliable. Some environmental groups remain firmly opposed to nuclear power. The Sierra Clubs Wisconsin chapter says nuclear energy is not the answer to the climate crisis, citing sustainability, pollution and safety risks, and economics. However, there is a growing legion of people and groups that worry shutting down existing nuclear plants Wisconsin has one remaining plant at Point Beach, north of Manitowoc will make it much harder to reach climate goals by 2030 and beyond. Nuclear power accounts for 20% of the nations electricity today. In fact, four states New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois have reversed course on efforts to close plants. The Biden administration has voiced support for small-module plants, such as the one that NuScale could build for Dairyland. With one nervous eye on Russia and its supply of oil and natural gas, many European Union countries are rethinking their opposition to nuclear power. Some nations, most notably France, never backed off nuclear as a power source and have leapt ahead with technologies that recycle used fuel. Such fuel removed from reactors contains 96% of the energy needed to produce new fuel. The Washington Post reported this week that some activists who opposed construction of Californias Diablo Canyon reactor decades ago are now urging the state to keep it open. Its not a case of them turning their backs on solar and wind but recognizing society needs a range of generation options, especially at a time when electricity use is expected to climb. Will others Wisconsin utilities follow Dairylands lead? Jeff Keebler, the president and CEO of Madison Gas and Electric, told the May 24 group the utility will continue to track a mix of low-carbon sources. In a regional grid that covers much of the Midwest and part of Canada, he noted, electrons can and will come from various generation sources. Nuclear energy need not compete with renewables, but it can augment them in a world that needs both climate remedies and reliable power. Tom Still is the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Email: tstill@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com. More than 100 people gathered Sunday on the King Street corner of Capitol Square, on the 174th anniversary of Wisconsin becoming a state, to rededicate a statue of Civil War Union Army Col. Hans Christian Heg. Dozens of his descendants joined the celebration. The refurbished statue of Heg torn down by protesters at the state Capitol on June 23, 2020 honors the Norwegian immigrant who died fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War. The 1st Brigade Band, a group affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society and representative of 18 men from the Brodhead Brass Band who enlisted in the Union Army in 1864, engaged the crowd with Civil War-era music, as bandmaster Jon Condon provided historic insights to each piece that was played at the start of the ceremony. Speakers noted Hegs life and work as a staunch opponent to slavery and an abolitionist who died so that others might find freedom. Lori Coffey, one of 83 descendants of Heg and a third-great-granddaughter of the Civil War veteran, spoke to the crowd and introduced a number of her relatives who had careers in the military, U.S. Foreign Service, education and the news media in the years since the colonel was mortally wounded in the bloody Battle of Chickamauga. He was 33 years old when he died on Sept. 19, 1863. The State has sent no braver soldier, and no truer patriot to aid in this mighty struggle for national unity, than Hans Christian Heg, the State Journal wrote Sept. 29, 1863, reporting word of his death. The valorous blood of the old Vikings ran in his veins. The highest-ranking Wisconsin officer killed in combat during the Civil War, Heg commanded a regiment largely composed of other Scandinavian immigrants. I want you to think about the story of Heg and look at that statue through a different and wider lens, said Christopher Kolakowski, director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, as he delivered his keynote address to the crowd. Hans Heg is an exemplar for Norwegians in the Norwegian community for sure, but he represents much more than that. Kolakowski noted that Hegs story is a uniquely American one an immigrant who came to the United States in search of a better life who adopted his new countrys foundational principals, much like Hmong, Hispanic and Afghan immigrants, as well as folks from countless other nations of origin, after him. All of these communities here come here for a new life, to adopt this country and to build a new community, he said. They have done much to build this state, build this country, what it was and what it is and will continue to build it going on into the future. Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War took part in a wreath-laying ceremony as the crowd sang both The Star-Spangled Banner and the Norwegian national anthem. Deacon Dean Collins offered a benediction prayer and the ceremony concluded with a rifle salute and taps. The crowd dispersed about two hours after the start of the ceremony to the tune of the 1st Brigade Band as it played a closing concert of more Civil War-era songs. A mob tore down the statue the night of June 23, 2020, after the arrest of a Black activist earlier in the day in Downtown Madison. Protesters decapitated the Heg statue and dumped it into Lake Monona. The Heg statues leg also was taken off, but Hegs head was never found. The Forward statue at the Capitol also was toppled that night. Rodney A. Clendening, 34, of Beloit faces trial in October on a charge of felony theft in the Heg statue case, according to online court records. A criminal complaint said police identified him as the driver of a car into which the head of the abolitionist statue was placed. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Madison police are bracing for protests this weekend in support of abortion rights. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin plans to hold a rally at 4 p.m. Saturday at the state Capitol to support access to legal abortion services in response to the leaked memo published last week by Politico that indicates the Supreme Courts conservative majority intend to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would end nearly 50 years of federal protections. Organizers expect up to 20,000 people to attend, according to police. More than 1,000 people gathered outside the Capitol on Tuesday to protest the potential overturn of the landmark 1973 case. Police have scheduled extra officers, including department leaders, a special events team and officers on horseback to patrol the event. Chief Shon Barnes said the department is working with multiple agencies to protect the safety of those who join weekend demonstrations and supports First Amendment rights to free expression. Our hope is that all gatherings remain peaceful allowing participants to openly and safely stand-up for their beliefs, whatever they may be, Barnes said in a written statement. Local and federal authorities are continuing to investigate last weekends fire at the Madison office of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action. Remnants of two Molotov cocktails were found at the North Side office along with a spray-painted message If abortions arent safe then you arent either. An organization calling itself Janes Revenge claimed responsibility and warned of more violence to come if similar organizations dont disband nationwide. No arrests have been made, police spokesperson Stephanie Freyer said Friday. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) The Trump administration continues its assault on transgender rights. In July 2017, Trump sought to bar transgender people from serving in the military. Then, this past October, The New York Times obtained a memo indicating that the administration was considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth. Anyone wishing to challenge their officially assigned sex would have to have the matter resolved by genetic testing. Those opposed to recognizing gender identity sometimes call it a form of radical gender ideology or political correctness gone too far. But recognition of transgender identity is no recent phenomenon: Some doctors acknowledged gender-nonconforming people far earlier than most might realize. Perhaps the most important pioneer was German physician Magnus Hirschfeld, who was born 150 years ago, in 1868. As a historian of gender and sexuality in Germany, Im struck by how he paved the way for the legal recognition of gender nonconforming people. Hirschfelds sexual intermediaries In recent years, the medical and psychological professions have come to a consensus that sex assignment at birth is inadequate for understanding individuals sexual and gender identity and that failure to recognize this fact can have a devastating impact. Magnus Hirschfeld was the first doctor to openly research and advocate for people whose gender did not correspond with their sex assignment at birth. Hes often remembered today as an advocate of gay rights, and in the early 20th century, his activism played a major role in nearly overturning Germanys law criminalizing male same-sex relations. But Hirschfelds vision extended much further than homosexuality. He defined his specialty as sexual intermediaries, which included everyone who did not fit into an ideal type of heterosexual, cisgendered men and women. According to Hirschfeld, sexual intermediaries included many categories. One type was cisgendered people who were gay, lesbian or bisexual. Another consisted of transvestites: people who comfortably identified as their assigned sex but who preferred to dress in the clothing assigned to the other sex. Yet others were trans in a more radical direction, like those who wanted to live fully as their nonassigned sex or longed for sex-change surgery. A relentless advocate As a gay man, Hirschfeld was aware of the legal and social dangers sexual intermediaries faced. Since sexual intermediaries often turned to their doctors for help, Hirschfeld worked to educate the medical community. He published medical journals including the Yearbook on Sexual Intermediaries and the Journal of Sexual Science. In 1919, he founded the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin to promote further research. In court he gave expert testimony on behalf of men who had been accused of violating Germanys law banning male same-sex relations. He even co-wrote and made a cameo appearance in the worlds first feature-length movie featuring a gay protagonist: the 1919 silent film Anders als die Anderen (Different from the Others). Nor did Hirschfeld shy away from political engagement. In 1897, he founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee to advocate for gender and sexual rights. Then, from 1897 to 1898, Hirschfeld worked to decriminalize male same-sex relations in Germany. He collected over 5,000 signatures from Germans willing to be publicly identified with the effort, including such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann. A bill decriminalizing male homosexual acts gained only minority support when it was introduced in Parliament in 1898, but a new bill was reintroduced after the First World War. In the more progressive environment of the Weimar Republic, the bill advanced to parliamentary committee, only to stall when the Great Depression hit in 1929. Importantly, Hirschfelds advocacy extended well beyond the decriminalization of gay male sex. Like most European countries, Germany had and still has an internal passport, a government-issued ID that citizens are expected to carry with them. Germans whose passport indicated male but who dressed in female clothing were subject to police harassment or arrest for disorderly conduct. Together with a colleague, Hirschfeld in 1910 convinced the Berlin police to accept a transvestite certificate, signed by a doctor, to nullify such charges. After World War I, he convinced the Prussian judiciary to permit legal name changes from gender-specific names to gender-neutral names, which enabled trans people to present as the gender that was most true to themselves. Not all sexual minorities in Germany endorsed Hirschfelds views. Early 20th-century Germany was a politically and culturally diverse place, and that diversity extended to same-sex and gender-nonconforming people. Some gay men, for example, argued that far from being an intermediary sexual type, they were the most masculine men of all: After all, they didnt form close bonds with women. The vision of these masculinists had little room for lesbians, bisexuals or trans people. A lifes work goes up in flames By contrast, Hirschfelds approach was all-inclusive. In his view, all sexual intermediaries whether L, G, B, T, Q, or I in todays parlance were worth recognizing and protecting. He once calculated that there were 43,046,721 possible variants of human sexuality. That was simply another way of saying that the human species was infinitely diverse. Love, he said, is as varied as people are. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hirschfeld, who was Jewish, was on tour lecturing on sexual science. From abroad, he watched newsreels of his Institute for Sexual Science set aflame by Nazi storm troopers. Thousands of unique medical records, publications, photos and artifacts were destroyed. Hirschfeld died two years later, and materials confiscated by the Nazis became evidence against gender and sexually nonconforming people in the Third Reich. Male same-sex relations werent decriminalized in East Germany until 1968, and in West Germany until 1969. Full legal equality had to wait even longer. Nearly a century after Hirschfelds institute burned, only tentative progress has been made in ending discrimination based on gender identity. And that progress is at risk. Yet no bureaucratic definition of sex will change what Hirschfeld so clearly demonstrated over 120 years ago: Trans people exist. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/the-early-20th-century-german-trans-rights-activist-who-transformed-the-worlds-view-of-gender-and-sexuality-106278. Licenced as Creative Commons - attribution, no derivatives. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Whether its the Sandy Hook shooter or this weeks slaughter of 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school, or even Boises own shooter at the Boise Towne Square, the common thread is too-easy access to guns. People who have no business possessing guns had easy access to them, and went on rampages that killed innocent people. Many Americans seem to feel that democracy is a reward that society reaps by enabling free, individualized action, mostly unrestrained by the government. After all, its all about freedom, isnt it? But peace and happiness for all isnt just the sum of the well intentioned, purposeful behaviors of its citizens. As a student of democracy, I have studied Greek and Roman democracies, and written books about the Hebrew republic chronicled in the Old Testament and the American democracy. I have found there are a number of critical moving parts aside from individual behavior found in all of these successful democracies. Democracies virtually always enact education requirements for their young people in order to help them become good citizens. How helpful is empowering people if they dont know how to exercise power constructively? One example that brings this home is the fact that in democratic Athens, many public offices were decided by lottery, that is, by simple rotation from one citizen to another. How could that have worked if the entire citizenry didnt have some basic level of knowledge about life and society? Democracies also take care to minimize or abolish any trace of a privileged class, or nobility. In Rome, the common folk succeeded in winning the right not only to vote, but to hold offices that previously only the nobility could hold. In England, which successfully achieved a level of democracy for periods of time, the wealthy nobility had special political privileges, like a seat in the House of Lords (Senate). Common people had to struggle to obtain similar representation in Parliament. In America, a privileged class of titled nobility was abolished completely by our law. Another common curb on power and privilege is the concept of term limits for public office. Historically, this was aimed at preventing life-time power in the executive branch (kingship), as well as lengthy or lifetime power in the legislative branch (aristocracy). Simply speaking, democracies understand that power corrupts, so public servants must be put out to pasture before they get to thinking too much of themselves. The shorter the terms of office, the more democratic the nation. Democracies always make liberal use of an impeachment power, or power of removal of public servants from office due to bad behavior. Rome and Athens exercised this power frequently, and even constitutional monarchies like England impeached bad kings. Another necessary aspect of democracy is the existence of a written constitutional law document which organizes the government. Such a document virtually always contains either a ban or a severe limitation on the ability of the citizenry to modify the procedures and freedoms outlined in the document. Local policies may vary from place to place or according to the times, but the democratic structures and operations of the government must remain virtually the same if the nation is to remain a democracy. In the constitutional laws of democratic nations, there are historically three great government powers that are allocated to the legislative branch, which occupies the place of supreme authority at all levels of representative government: the law-making power, the revenue-raising power, and war-making power. The executive branch, or administrating power, simply implements the decisions made by the legislative branch in the three areas. When a nation starts allowing these three legislative powers to be shifted over to the executive branch or to be usurped by the judicial branch, the nation is rapidly heading toward autocracy or oligarchy (rule by a few judges). When the education system stops teaching the primary curriculum imperatives in a democracy, civics and history, democracy also loses its hold. When society begins to embrace special civil privileges for persons, organizations, or branches of government, aristocracy takes hold. When a society fails to enforce strict term limits, or shies away from impeaching bad behavior, the republic loses its strength. America is flirting with all of these breaches of our constitutional law and democratic way of life today. Robert Kimball Shinkoskey is a retired state government worker who writes about current events from a historical perspective. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Shepherd honored Sovah Health Chief Operating Officer Tory Shepherd was presented with the 2021 Outstanding Individual award from the Near Southwest Preparedness Alliance (NSPA) for her work with vaccine distribution during COVID. This award is given to an individual who exemplifies outstanding service in healthcare emergency management, knowledge and performance of the fundamentals of emergency management and high standards of cooperation and leadership with other community and regional emergency management partners, stated a release. Shepherd was recognized for organizing numerous partnerships to form a local vaccine coalition which led to a successful COVID-19 vaccination distribution for Martinsville and the counties of Franklin, Patrick and Henry. She was nominated for the award by Henry County Department of Public Safety Director Matt Tatum. Ms. Shepherds partnership, resulting in her personally serving in the cold, wind, rain, and yes, a few pleasant days, led to the administration of thousands of vaccines being administered throughout Henry County, Patrick County, and the City of Martinsville, Tatum said. In over 30 years of service in emergency services, I have never experienced a more extraordinary partnership, especially one led from the front, as demonstrated by Ms. Shepherd and her efforts to provide the COVID vaccine. Treatment center BrightViews seventh new outpatient addiction treatment center in Virginia has opened at 1836 Virginia Ave., Martinsville. BrightViews new center provides comprehensive outpatient treatment that includes medication assisted treatment, counseling, peer support and social services. BrightViews new Martinsville center accepts walk-ins until 3 p.m. on weekdays, offers same-day appointments and accepts all insurance. BrightView also helps people who are uninsured enroll in coverage.The companys outpatient model includes telehealth and virtual treatment options. Programs include medication assisted treatment (MAT), individual counseling, group therapy, peer support and social services. The centers case management services help people find safe housing, reliable transportation and access to food, and even prepare for jobs. Overdose visits to area hospitals increased by nearly 47% between 2019 and June 2020, according to a report from the Virginia Department of Health as stated in a press release. In Henry County alone, emergency centers reported a 55% increase. In addition to helping individuals and their families, effective outpatient addiction treatment reduces pressure on the criminal justice system and local hospitals. BrightView patients decrease time spent in jail by nearly 70% on average during their first 90 days in the outpatient program, the release stated. Patients also report a 33% reduction in emergency room visits in the first three months and a 50% reduction after one year. For more information, call 833-510-HELP (4357) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or schedule an appointment at brightviewhealth.com. Treatment often begins the same day. For patients in withdrawal, it takes less than 4 hours from the time they walk through the door to receive stabilizing medication and complete their first counseling session. With BrightViews expansion in Martinsville, local residents will have easy access to effective addiction treatment thats provided with respect and kindness, said Marsha Neal, Martinsville Center Operations Director. Brightviews ongoing expansion creates greater access to high quality, comprehensive, addiction services in Virginia, said Lance Woods, VP of Operations. Mental health This is National Mental Health Month, and Dr. Keshavpal Reddy, Medical Director of Behavioral Health of Sovah Health, recently shared mental health information. Our mental health has a tremendous impact on our overall health and well-being. Our mental health includes our thoughts, emotions, feelings and moods, he wrote. According to statistics published by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness, and one in 20 adults experience serious mental illness. He listed ways to improve mental wellness: Exercise can help burn anxious energy, prevent muscle tension, release endorphins that help you feel relaxed, and build strength and endurance which can boost your confidence. Avoid processed and high-fat foods, which give lethargic feelings and a lack of motivation, concentration and energy. Learn a new skill or engage in a new activity. Challenging your brain can result in positive and healthy stimulation and promote mental wellness. Build and maintaining healthy relationships. Get enough sleep to prevent fatigue and ensure you have the energy and mindset to navigate tomorrow. Meditate to relax your mind and body. Practice deep breathing, which gives your brain and muscles necessary oxygen and can help keep your mind and body healthy. Seek professional help as needed. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The active solidarity of King Mohammed VI of Morocco in the African Continent constitutes the basis of the path that structures Moroccos humanitarian commitment, underlined minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita. Mr. Bourita, who was representing the King in the African Union Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, underlined that the Kingdoms commitment is, in fact, commensurate with the challenges and can meet the humanitarian aspirations in Africa. The Kings active solidarity is the basis of the path structuring Moroccos humanitarian commitment. A solidarity commitment, but also a pragmatic one. It is indeed a commitment that is based on an approach integrating the several security, humanitarian and ecological challenges that weigh on Africa, he pointed out. It is a commitment that is always centered on the human element, never on hidden agendas, the Moroccan minister added. Even during the pandemic, he underlined, the King launched the Initiative of African Heads of State to support the efforts of the Continent in the various phases of the management of the pandemic, with a substantial medical aid sent to some twenty brotherly African countries. In this regard, the minister recalled the royal message sent to the participants in the 1st World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul on May 23, 2016, in which the Sovereign had underlined that in order to tackle the suffering and tragedies resulting from such situations, attention today should primarily be given to measures that are practical, using a rational approach and adopting proactive, forward-looking proposals that can help promote humanitarian action, without exploitation for political purposes. We are facing an emergencyThe humanitarian situation concentrates all the ills of Africa by making them a priority, he warned. Africa does not have a monopoly on crisesbut it concentrates a singular prevalence of them, as evidenced by over 36 million Africans who are internally displaced, refugees and asylum seekers in Africa. That is 1 out of 3 forcibly displaced persons in the world. Out of the nearly 60 million internally displaced people in the world in 2021, more than 80% are in sub-Saharan Africa, noted Mr. Bourita, warning that Africa will have some 86 million climate-displaced people by 2050. Nearly 282 million people are undernourished in Africa. In the Sahel, there are 18 million at risk of hunger in the coming months, including 7.7 million children aged less than 5 years. We know the factors underlying humanitarian crises only too well. They are political and security-related. They are also environmental. And in the Sahel, it is almost all of these at once!, stressed Mr. Bourita. Thus, he pointed out, Morocco, beyond the emergency response, is mobilized on all the factors exacerbating humanitarian crises, such as political and security instability, economic precariousness and climate vulnerability. The litany of challenges corners us, but does not immobilize us, said the Moroccan minister, stressing that our horizon is that of action. Immediate action. We strongly believe that this horizon must have, as a compass, respect for humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law and, as a line of sight, the vital interests of African citizens, he underlined. Hence the need to put the human being at the heart of humanitarian action. Everywhere and at all times, Moroccos commitment bears the mark of active solidarity. Mexican health officials have confirmed the country's first known case of monkeypox. Health officials in Mexico confirmed Saturday the country's first known case of monkeypox, in a 50-year-old US resident being treated in Mexico City. The man, a permanent resident of New York City, "was probably infected in the Netherlands," Hugo Lopez-Gatell, an undersecretary of health, said on Twitter. "Fortunately, he is stable and in preventive isolation," Lopez-Gatell said. "We hope he will recover without complications." He provided no information on the patient's possible contacts with other people. On Friday, health authorities in Argentina confirmed the first two known cases of the disease anywhere in Latin Americathose of a 40-year-old man who had returned to Argentina from Spain, and of a Spaniard who was visiting Buenos Aires. The two cases apparently were unconnected. The monkeypox virus can be transmitted to humans by infected animals. Person-to-person transmission is possible but rare. Monkeypox is related to smallpox but is much less severe. Initial symptoms include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a chickenpox-like rash. There is no specific treatment but vaccination against smallpox has been found to be about 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox. Factfile on the current oubreak of monkeypox as dozens of cases of the rare disease are detected in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Monkeypox was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970 and is considered endemic in around a dozen African countries. Its appearance in non-endemic countries has worried experts, although those cases reported so far have been mostly mild and there have been no deaths. There have been at least a half-dozen confirmed or suspected cases in the US. Explore further Argentina reports case of monkeypox; man traveled from Spain 2022 AFP Tucked away in an industrial business complex just off Reserve Street in Missoula are dozens of little frozen containers of breast milk for infants and children with dire medical needs. Mother's Milk Bank of Montana is a nonprofit that collects, screens, pasteurizes and distributes human donor milk to hospitals in the region. They also ship to individuals on a case-by-case basis if they have a prescription and fill out the proper paperwork. The milk does not fill in for the nationwide shortage of infant milk formula that's emptying grocery store shelves everywhere. Instead, it's for babies who need more than just an artificial supplement. After a serious shortage in the middle of last winter, donations have surged and now the freezers are filled with the lifesaving liquid, although they always want to have a big backup stockpile. "We were actually out of milk for most of January and February," said Taylor Pfaff, the director of operations. "And then we kind of did a big cry for help. And we had a lot of donors come in. So we have a lot more donors than we've had in years, which is great." The bank has been around for a decade, but they're not well-known in the community. "A lot of people don't know that we're here and don't know what we do," Pfaff explained. "And so I've kind of taken over the social media and just kind of getting our name out there and going to more baby fairs and expos and stuff so that people can see us and know that we're here." They have a rigorous screening regimen for donors so that the milk is extremely safe. For example, even the use of CBD (cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive chemical in marijuana and hemp) lotion or balm would get a donor disqualified. They also send it to a lab to test for bacteria before it's used. "Our main goal is (helping) sick babies and babies in the hospital," Pfaff explained. About 75% of their milk goes to 13 different hospitals. The rest goes to outpatients. "We have to prioritize sick babies," Pfaff emphasized. "So anyone with a diagnosis with a very specific formula prescription those are kind of top of the list. We serve some moms who have had or are going through cancer treatment or who just can't produce milk for some medical reason. Those usually get high priority." Hard to get Donor milk is extremely expensive, up to $4 or even $4.50 an ounce, so it's not really a long-term solution. The organization has a scholarship program. They gave away $10,000 worth of milk from March to the end of May. "Most milk banks scholarship about 5% to 7% of their revenue," Pfaff explained. "We scholarship about 10% of our revenue. We cover shipping, we cover the dry ice, the packaging and all of the milk." They offer milk on a sliding scale depending on a patient's income. "We don't turn people away based on their income," she said. "I think we've turned away three people ever and that was because we didn't have milk, not because of their income or something like that." Still, Pfaff cautioned that people who can't find formula on the shelves shouldn't call the milk bank. "That's where it's tricky right now, because again, we mostly cater to really sick babies," she said. "So it's hard with the formula shortage on making sure that we keep enough milk in-house to supply Neonatal Intensive Care Units in hospitals and those sick babies." But, they are trying to give out a lot more scholarship milk right now because of the nationwide formula shortage. "So the more donors we have, the more milk we have, which means we have more availability of scholarships," Pfaff said. "So again, you can't just walk in the door and get milk. It's a process. We need kind of background information on a baby and the situation." She said people have called asking to come pick up milk, and she's had to tell people they need to fill out paperwork first. Because donated milk is so expensive, Pfaff said it's really meant to be a short-term solution for babies who are really in need. "If you just need 20 ounces because you know, your family is mailing you formula from out of state, we can get you 20 ounces to cover you for two days," she said. "But we can't scholarship and feed a baby, every baby, for a year at a time. We can kind of do those short increments. I'm in a bind for even a week with the amount of milk we have right now." National priority The drastic undersupply of infant formula in the United States has gotten the attention of both of Montana's U.S. senators. On May 19, Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, introduced a bill that would temporarily waive tariffs on imported infant formulas, waive Food and Drug Administration regulations and allow access to alternative formulas for participants in the Women, Infants and Children food program. Over 40% of Montanas baby formula supply is out of stock, and Montana moms and dads are struggling to feed their babies because of it," Daines said in a statement. "This is a crisis for families in Montana, and we must prioritize the needs of these parents and children. It is critical that we combat this formula shortage and bolster the supply chain in order to get formula back on the shelves immediately. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, also strongly urged the head of the FDA to address the shortage. Pfaff said the shortage of donated milk her organization experienced this winter was mainly due to COVID pandemic concerns easing up. In spring, when people started going out more, moms were out doing things instead of staying home and pumping. The national shortage of milk formula brought in the surge of donations, but she anticipates another lull in the summer because people are out and about instead of pumping every hour. Recently, however, there's been an uptick in mothers coming in and asking how they can help. Pfaff often works with bereaved moms who just lost an infant but still need or want to pump. There's even a memorial in her office for those babies who have passed away. Breast milk is extremely important for sick babies because it's far superior to formula, she noted. "So it's really essential, especially in those first few days when a baby's born early, just to get them the best nutrition possible," she said. The organization pasteurizes about 1,200 to 2,000 ounces every week and sends out about half that, keeping the other half for emergencies. So far this year, they've processed 25,000 life-saving ounces. They're run by the Human Milk Bank Association of North America, which has a set of standards and guidelines for all its banks. Donors do not get paid, she said, but some milk banks in the country are able to do that. The donation process isn't simple, she noted, but she's been heartened by how many people want to participate. "Moms are really coming out of everywhere trying to help other moms," Pfaff said. For more information visit mothersmilkbankofmt.org. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By Trend Work within the construction of the Zangilan International Airport in Azerbaijan will be completed by the end of 2022, the representative of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) CJSC Valeh Amiraslanov told Trend. According to Amiraslanov, the construction of the airport began on April 26 last year, and in May the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action began clearing the airport area of ??mines and unexploded ordnances. "At the same time, AzVirt company carried out earthworks for construction of a 3.06-km-long runway in the demined area. Construction on a 600-meter-long taxiway on an apron with an area of ??60,000 square meters, designed for eight planes, has begun," he said. "In the past period, work has been done on the construction of a reinforced concrete structure of the terminal building with an area of ??5,000 square meters. Reinforced concrete work has already been completed, and roofing work is underway. Totally, the works have been completed by 80 percent." Besides, according to the companys representative, a 35 kV transmission line with a length of 10 kilometers was built to provide the airport with electricity, and the construction of a substation with a capacity of 1,000 kW/h was completed. "To ensure uninterrupted power supply, a generator with a capacity of 1,000 kW/h was purchased. All equipment was manufactured in Turkey, Germany and Italy. Currently, electrical, mechanical and finishing work is being carried out inside the terminal building. A boiler building has been built to supply the airport with heat," Amiraslanov noted. "The runway has a coarse-grained asphalt concrete pavement two kilometers long and 45 meters wide. At present, the process of laying an electric cable and communication lines between air navigation units is underway." According to him, Zangilan International Airport will be commissioned in two stages. "The first runway and the control tower will be commissioned in July. The airport is designed to take off 200 passengers per hour. By the end of 2022, all work at the airport will be fully completed," added Amiraslanov. CASPER, Wyo. (AP) When organizers earlier this year settled on a summer opening for a new women's health clinic in Wyoming, they felt upbeat about their plans even as they knew they would face opposition to what will be the only such clinic to offer abortions in the state. There were the expected protests and harassing messages. Things got more tense after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that, if finalized, would likely make abortions illegal in Wyoming and half of the states. Then last week, their building was damaged by a fire police believe was deliberately set. None of it has derailed plans to open the clinic a rarity in heavily Republican parts of the United States where most abortion providers at the moment are fighting just to stay in business, let alone expand services. We cant be bullied into submission, Julie Burkhart, the clinic founder, said as she watched from across the street as Casper police and firefighters investigated the blaze. For years, Wyoming prided itself on live-and-let-live Western conservatism that took a hands-off approach to setting social policy in government, abortion included. Thats changing, however. In March, Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, signed a bill that put Wyoming among the states that would outlaw abortion should the Supreme Court overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal nationwide. The only exceptions would be in the event of rape or incest, to save the mothers life or to save the mother from severe, non-mental health problems. Gordon, whos running for re-election this year, hasnt made abortion and other culture war issues a feature of his campaigns or time in office. But a recent rightward shift of both the Supreme Court and state Legislature has elevated abortion into an issue in Wyoming. The planned clinic stands in stark defiance of that trend. Its backers include Riata Little Walker, a Casper resident who recently spoke out at a rally in support of the clinic. In an interview, Little Walker described herself as pro-life until two years ago, when fetal heart and chromosomal abnormalities doctors said would likely cause her to miscarry prompted her to get an abortion five months into her pregnancy. Had she not been able to get an abortion at a hospital in Colorado, Little Walker said she may have had to face a traumatic miscarriage at home. Not all aborted babies are unwanted, Little Walker said. This needs to be available for people when they need it, even if they wanted their baby and they have to make the hardest decision that any parent could possibly make. Her opinion is probably not the majority view in Casper, a working-class city of 58,000 people that is Wyoming's second-biggest after the capital, Cheyenne. Known as the Oil City, Casper has a long history as a hub of oil drilling and cattle ranching, with more recent activity in uranium mining and wind energy. The city sprawls at the base of Casper Mountain with a skyline dominated by a 180-foot (54-meter) concrete spire built in the 1960s. After the clinic fire, one minister and clinic supporter, the Rev. Leslie Kee of the local Unitarian Universalist church, called for tolerance by all. All this does is fan the flames of division and fear and helplessness and sense that things are spinning out of control, Kee said. "Somebody's got to step up and call for calm and love and peace. That comes from the human heart. No one was injured in the blaze, which left the stucco house being renovated for the clinic with broken windows and smoke damage. Authorities are investigating whether the fire is linked to a person seen running away from the building carrying what appeared to be a gas can and a bag. After surveying the damage, Burkhart said she expects the previously planned mid-June opening to be delayed by at least several weeks. Burkhart has faced daunting odds against opening abortion clinics before. She worked closely with Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita, Kansas, abortion doctor who was assassinated at church in 2009. Four years after his murder, Burkhart helped to reopen Tillers clinic. The Wichita clinic, much like the one planned in Casper, enabled women to get abortions without driving hundreds of miles to other cities and states. Colorado, which codified the right to abortion in state law in April, has long been the primary destination for abortions for many Wyoming women. Colorado has been the saving grace for everyone, said one Casper woman who got an abortion in Boulder when she was a 17-year-old in foster care in a small Wyoming town in 1989. She declined to be identified, citing concerns for her safety and employment prospects that were shared by her daughter, a Casper woman who went to Colorado to get the drugs required for her own abortion 20 years later, at age 21. While abortions have continued in Wyoming there were 98 in the state last year and 91 the year before, according to state figures only a couple medical providers at most now do abortions regularly. The state doesn't track who the providers are and they seldom publicize their services. The Casper clinic will be far more open with its services, which in addition to abortions will include womens, family planning and gender-affirming health care. It will help fill a gap left when the citys Planned Parenthood clinic, which didnt provide abortions, closed for financial reasons in 2017. One outspoken local opponent of the clinic, Ross Schriftman, expressed disappointment about the fire. Still he said everybody should oppose abortion and noted the goal isn't necessarily to make abortion illegal but unthinkable." I don't have a uterus. But I do have a heart, a mind and a First Amendment. And I have every right to speak about how I feel about an issue, said Schriftman, a member of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation. Little Walker said her abortion was both heartbreaking and beautiful. At the Denver hospital, Little Walker and her husband, Ian, got to hold their daughter, whom they'd named Riana, after she died. They maintain her memory in a box with items including her ashes in heart-shaped container, prints of her tiny hands and feet and a baby blanket. I feel like it's Riana's legacy to share her story and help people understand that abortion is much bigger than what the propaganda would have you believe. It's much more complicated. It's very, very gray. And it can affect anybody, Little Walker said. When you find yourself in a difficult position, you just want to have choices. Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children's photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends, he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important." As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden answered, We will, as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. And we are committed to turning this pain into action, he said. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahna Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washington's sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC's This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting This story was first published on May 30, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022 to correct the spelling of one of the first name of one of the shooting victims. She is Eliahna Torres, not Eliahana Torres. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 For all of us who fought in our countrys Southeast Asian wars, we have stories; yet it is not easy to talk or write about them. For this Memorial Day, I will share a story about incredible bravery and compassion, a story most Montanans dont know about. This is the compelling account of Col. Fred Vann Cherry, the senior African-American Prisoner of War in Vietnam. Cherry, the first and the highest-ranking Black officer among POWs during the Vietnam War, had close ties to Montana, having served at Great Falls Air Force Base, marrying and beginning a family there. Raised near Hampton Roads, Virginia, young Fred Cherry was fascinated by military aircraft flying low over his home and performing aerial maneuvers. He attended segregated public schools in Virginia, determined to become a military aviator. After graduation from his segregated college just three years after the creation of the U.S. Air Force and the integration of the military, in 1951 he took the test for flight school at Langley AFBand passed with the highest score. Cherry was on his way to become one of the earliest Black pilots in the integrated air force. Commissioned second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings, he immediately deployed to Korea, flying F-84 combat missions. At wars end, Capt. Cherry reported for duty at Great Falls Air Force Base, where he flew F-84s with the 515th Strategic Fighter Squadron. He soon met Shirley Ann Brown, a hostess at a night club. Shirley, daughter of William R. and Pearl Lindsay Brown, was 22, with 10 siblings, and was looking for a ticket out of Great Falls. Her mother was the daughter of a long-serving Buffalo Soldier, and Shirley had heard family stories of military life. Cherry was a dashing, handsome jet fighter pilot, breaking racial barriers in the Air Force. The couple married in July 1954, and their first son was born a year later. Cherry became the favorite wingman of his commander, Col. Murray Bywater, flying to bases around the country. The Cherrys remained in Great Falls for three years, and by then the base had been renamed in honor of Col. Einar Malmstrom a story for another day. By the early 1960s, Cherry was serving with the 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Itazuke Air Base, Japan, flying F-100 Super Sabres on nuclear alert. While there, he transitioned to the air forces newest tactical aircraft, the F-105 Thunderchief, and with his squadron deployed to Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, one of the first air force units to fight in Southeast Asia. Relocating to Takhli AFB, Cherry served as a flight leader, exercising major control over the mission all this in an era when many still believed that Black service members were unfit to command in battle. Yet White officers coveted selection to fly in Cherrys flight. His nickname Chief connoted respect, and his senior officers gave him rave reviews. While the Navy launched aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Air Force operated, from bases in Thailand. Newly promoted, Maj. Cherry and his squadron flew F-105 tactical bombers against targets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to disrupt the flow of supplies from the North to the Viet Cong in the South. In February 1965, after Viet Cong attacks on an American compound and helicopter base in South Vietnam, bombing targets opened up in North Vietnam. One month later, the massive Rolling Thunder campaign brought thousands of sorties by both air force and navy aircraft over North Vietnam. In response, with aid from the Russians and Chinese, North Vietnam rapidly fielded a sophisticated air defense system. On Oct. 22, 1965, while leading his squadron on a low-altitude mission to attack a radar in North Vietnam, his F-105 was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Cherry described his ordeal: The plane exploded, and I ejected at about 400 feet at over 600 miles an hour. In the process of ejection, I broke my left ankle, my left wrist, and crushed my left shoulder. I was captured immediately upon landing by Vietnamese militia and civilians. I remember thinking, Damn, Ill be here a long time. Cherry was the 43rd American captured by North Vietnam and the first Black airman. Imprisoned in Cu Loc Prison, the Zoo, his captors assigned young Navy Ensign Porter Halyburton, a white southerner, to Cherrys cell in an effort to foster racial strife. For eight months, they would live together. Cherry, a virtual invalid at the time, would have died without Halyburton changing the dressings on his infected wounds, feeding him, bathing him and watching over him. In Cherrys words, I was helpless. He nursed me back to health. In turn, caring for Cherry rescued Halyburton from his own despair. Halyburton said, Id never seen somebody who was so tough. Once I was in with Fred, it gave me something important to do, a meaning in my life. Together, they were not men of conflicting races, but fellow Americans helping each other survive the brutal regime of their captors. The bond they made in that dark and dirty prison cell led to a lifelong friendship. On the night of July 6, 1966, Halyburton, with about 60 other POWs, was forced to march through the streets of Hanoi, barely surviving the vilification and physical abuse of Vietnamese mobs. Meanwhile, that same night, Cherry endure excruciating pain while undergoing a third operation on his severely infected shoulder without anesthetic. Five days later, the Vietnamese captors realized at last that their racial ploy had failed completely, and Halyburton was moved to another cell. As they parted, the Black American and the white American hugged, cried and said heartfelt goodbyes. Cherry wrote later, That was the most lonesome night I ever spent in my life. Halyburton considered their parting as one of the saddest days of my life, adding, I was in awe of him, and I had learned to love him. Cherry was captured just as the North Vietnamese cracked down on their American prisoners imposing what the prisoners called the Exploitation Era. Senior Navy POW Cmdr. James Bond Stockdale was shot down a month before this change of policy and bravely assumed leadership of all the prisoners. He later observed, By carrying out a new policy action (of extreme torture), North Vietnam had crossed a boundary. Henceforth, Americans were to be allowed to stay within the bounds of name, rank, serial number, and date of birth only at North Vietnamese sufferance. This change imposed the Exploitation Era. The North Vietnamese knew the critical importance of public opinion. Torture, the captors believed, would be the tool to extract prisoner confessions and statements that could be used to sway American and world opinion. Throughout his captivity, Cherry consistently and bravely resisted pressure from his captors to publicly comment on racism in the United States, for which he was repeatedly tortured and placed in solitary confinement. Cherry related, They wanted it from me more than anybody because I was a major, the senior black officer. They wanted it bad. In response, his line of resistence became, They will have to kill me. Im not going to denounce my government or shame my people. He spent 702 days in solitary confinement, with the longest period lasting 53 weeks. At one time he was either tortured or in punishment for 93 straight days. After spending 2,671 days in captivity, on Feb. 12, 1973, newly promoted Col. Fred Perry boarded the first flight from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base to join Operation Homecoming. There Cherry and Halyburton would reunite once more. Cherry and Cmdr. Halyburton remained in close contact over the years, and together they gave many talks at military institutions and colleges. In 2004, they toured to promote a book about their story, Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship that Saved Two POWs in Vietnam, by James S. Hirsch. Cherry was featured also in a public television documentary narrated by Tom Hanks, Return with Honor, about Vietnam fighter pilots held as POWs. Remaining on active duty, Cherry attended the National War College in Washington, D.C., and then commanded the Defense Intelligence Agency until retiring in 1981. Living in Silver Springs, Maryland, he worked as a technical consultant and manager for several businesses, while dedicating time as a member of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. to urge Black youth to study subjects leading to a career in aviation. President Ronald Reagan named him to serve on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board. On Feb. 16, 2016, Cherry died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 87. He was interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His legacy is continued by a college scholarship fund and the Col. Fred Cherry Middle School in his hometown, Suffolk, Virginia. Cherrys larger-than-life likeness in oil, Portrait of a Fighter Pilot, hangs in the POW Alcove of Honor in the Pentagon. This account was adapted from Ken Robisons "Cold War Montana." Other sources include: Hirsch, James S. "Two Souls Indivisible: the Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam"; Charlotte Observer, July 29, 1984. Robison of Great Falls is a historian, author and trustee of the Montana Historical Society. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Montanas magnificent wildlife populations are the envy of the nation, an important part of our economy and a tie that binds Montanans together across generations. But in April, a small front group, the United Property Owners of Montana filed a lawsuit whose goal is to take the public out of wildlife management decisions and to privatize the publics wildlife in the hands of a few powerful landowners. Claiming elk populations in central Montana are too high, UPOMs suit demands the immediate reduction of elk populations in much of the state, and further claims that all hunting regulations issued by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission are unconstitutional. As Montana legislators who sit on the House and Senate Fish and Wildlife Committees and who take seriously our oversight duties over how Montanas wildlife is managed, the UPOM lawsuit is of great concern. Not only is the foundation of professional wildlife management under assault, but so too is our hunting heritage of equal opportunity for all. UPOM was formed 15 years ago, and its agenda is to privatize public resources including public lands and water, and the fish and wildlife that lives there. They have sued over the states stream access law, sued to stop the reintroduction of native bison on public lands, and fought bills to increase the fine for gating public roads that lead to public lands. UPOM has always been secretive about its financial backers but there is little doubt that wealthy out-of-state landowners provide a big part of its bankroll. UPOMs extremism stands in stark contrast to how Montanans have long approached wildlife management issues. Most Montana farmers and ranchers value wildlife and recognize the need to work with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to solve management issues. Many landowners count hunters as good friends, and partner with conservation groups and FWP to provide hunting and fishing access and restore wildlife habitat. In Montana, there is legal precedent dating back decades that firmly establishes the public ownership of wildlife and we have confidence that the Montana courts will reject UPOMs legal argument and its extreme approach. We have less confidence over how Governor Greg Gianforte will respond. Two years ago, UPOM filed a suit against a very restrained bison restoration plan adopted by FWP. In a backroom deal, Governor Gianforte settled the case in UPOMs favor and unilaterally agreed that the state would not consider any bison restoration plan for the next decade. There was no advance notice of this deal, no opportunity for the public to comment and no input from FWPs professional wildlife managers. Given UPOMs weak legal arguments, there is good reason to believe that their actual strategy in the current suit isnt victory in court but another backroom deal with the Governor. Given the stakes of UPOMs suit over elk management, and the great interest of the public and Montana hunters in these issues, it is essential that Governor Gianforte is transparent in any settlement discussions, and that an opportunity for public review exists before any agreement is finalized. We recognize that many wildlife management issues are difficult, in part because Montanans care so deeply about them. But over decades, Montana has developed a process where every Montanan can participate in management decisions, including landowners, hunters and the public. This is as it should be for a resource that is so much a part of our heritage and so important to our future. Theres no room in this process for secret deals. Tom France represents Montana House District 94. Pat Flowers represents Montana Senate District 32. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 10 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Drane Field Road and Don Emergson Drive began on Sunday. All lanes of Drane Field Road will remain open throughout construction, expected to last through February 2023. LAKELAND Construction has started on what's to become Lakeland's third and largest roundabout to date. Drivers will discover a new single-lane roundabout is being built at Drane Field Road and Don Emerson Drive, which is the entrance to Lakeland Linder International Airport. The existing lanes of Drane Field Road will remain open throughout construction. "The area around the airport continues to grow and we have been discussing this roundabout for some time. The City of Lakeland and our partners at the Florida Department of Transportation are eager to see the construction of this project move forward to meet the increasing demands of the roadway," Ryan Lazenby, the city's civil engineer manager, said in a statement. "The roundabout will improve traffic operations, roadway safety, and will act as a gateway to the Lakeland Linder International Airport/Publix Super Markets corporate campus. Construction crews have begun work on a stretch of Drane Field Road leading to a new roundabout at the Lakeland Linder International Airport. 'An extra set of eyes and ears': Armed guard to patrol Downtown Lakeland 'Too close, too soon': Lakeland denies developer request to build self-storage facility Reduced size: Developer revises plan for controversial Lake Miriam apartments The project was approved by city commissioners in September 2019. Lazenby told The Ledger the finished roundabout will be larger than the one near Lake Hollingsworth. As Drane Field Road is part of the state's highway system, the circular junction is required to handle semitrucks up to 53 feet in length. The roundabout's design will shift Drane Field Road slightly to the north to allow adequate space for the roundabout. The individual lanes will curve slightly as they approach the junction to serve as a cue to drivers. FDOT is contributing $2.2 million toward construction of the roundabout through a Joint Participating Agreement with the City of Lakeland. The city has funded $750,000 for design and the construction engineering and inspection phases of the project. Story continues Construction has started in the area where the city's newest and largest roundabout is going - Drane Field Road and Don Emerson Drive, the entrance to Lakeland Linder International Airport. The anticipated completion of construction is February 2023. The date may be adjusted to account for weather-related delays. Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow at Twitter @SaraWalshFl. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Cones go up on Drane Field Road as roundabout construction starts Health Department of Northwest Michigan office in Charlevoix. GAYLORD Lisa Peacock will be paid $249,000 as part of her settlement agreement with the board of health for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. The board voted 7-0 on April 26 to approve the pact with Peacock, who resigned in February as health officer along with her health officer role with the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department. Her last day was April 29. The agreement releases all board of health members past and present, the staff of the Health Department of Northwest Michigan (HDNW), all HDNW entities, along with officials and staff from Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties, from any liability, claims or damages stemming from Peacock's departure. The agreement also calls on Peacock, board of health members, and the HDNW to refrain from making disparaging remarks about each other to the public or media. Both sides will pay their own attorney fees. "The parties have decided to compromise and settle their disputed issues, avoid litigation and move forward in the best interest of the health department. We believe this is also in the best interest of all concerned," the board of health said in a statement. More: 'I just can't stay': Peacock resigns as health officer of Health Department of Northwest Michigan Peacock resigned after saying she had endured a "hostile work environment created by some members" of the departments board of health. She faced criticism from some members of the board and the public due to a school mask mandate she ordered in August 2021, just a few days before the start of the school year. Peacock has over 28 years of experience in health care, both as a nurse and member of the health department. She had been employed at the department for 12 years, including more than six years as health officer. The board of health consists of two county commissioners from the four counties that make up the health department's jurisdiction: Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego. Those members are appointed by their respective county boards of commissions. The Gaylord Herald Times obtained the agreement between Peacock and the health board under the Freedom of Information Act. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Peacock will receive $249,000 via settlement with health board The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich at peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29, 2022. Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The West is considering allowing Russian oligarchs "to buy their way out of sanctions," AP reports. The plan entails oligarchs voluntarily donating funds to Ukraine, officials told the outlet. Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland pitched the idea at a G7 meeting last week. Western allies are considering a proposal that would allow Russian oligarchs "to buy their way out of sanctions," the Associated Press reports. The discussions include lifting sanctions on oligarchs who voluntarily give up their foreign assets or funds to be donated to Ukraine, according to the AP. Canada's deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, offered up the idea at a G7 conference in Germany last week, government officials familiar with the matter told the outlet. The meeting was attended by the the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Financial Stability Board (FSB). The Ukrainian prime minister and the Ukrainian finance minister attended virtually. A spokesperson for Freeland's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The Canadian deputy prime minister started out her career as a Ukraine-based freelance journalist for the Financial Times and later wrote the award-winning book "Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else." As a foreign correspondent, she was able to meet some of the now-sanctioned Russian billionaires one of whom she spoke with before pitching the proposal, an anonymous official told the AP. This isn't the first discussion of how Western governments could use the frozen funds and assets of sanctioned oligarchs to fund Ukraine's defense against Russia. The Biden Administration unveiled a plan in late April that would create a new system for selling the seized assets to fund Ukraine's defense. As of now, there are complex legal barriers that make it extremely difficult for the government to seize and sell an individual's private property, as Insider has previously reported. Read the original article on Business Insider I have been an educator my entire professional life. The last 20 years of my career were spent as a college faculty member and administrator in teacher education, and I have been in many K-12 classrooms to observe student teachers and talk with the classroom teachers who supervised them. I am motivated to write this out of frustration and anger with recent legislation that serves to undermine teachers and school leaders. I believe, as many do, that education has the power to transform students lives, and I also believe that teachers are an essential component of a childs education. As such, teachers must learn what they are to teach and how it can best be taught. They need to know how to assess students appropriately and differentiate instruction so that students of different proficiency levels can learn. They must be familiar with their students cognitive, emotional and physical development. They should know how to set up a classroom for optimum learning for their students and how to establish and grow a community of learners who trust that they are safe, and that they will be heard and respected. Good teachers know how to choose good books for their students, how to acquire them, and how to stay abreast of new standards, new curriculum and new resources. Pineview Elementary School off Lake Bradford Road unveiled Feb. 14, 2020, its new parent center, which contains a classroom, two sets of washers and dryers, and a food pantry. In short, teaching is a profession. It requires professional knowledge and time spent under the supervision of an experienced teacher before licensure, and yet many Florida legislators and the governor supported bills that will seriously undermine teachers and the teaching profession. More: Under new Florida law, activist requests 62 school districts to ban the Bible, including LCS More: Leon school district will offer summer school to students to combat COVID learning loss The non-issues recent legislation has addressed include blocking teachers from talking about LGBTQ issues; opening the door to lawsuits if teachers make students feel guilty or uncomfortable in conversations about racism, discrimination or injustice; restrictions for selecting and curating library books and textbooks; and censorship of books that teachers choose for their classrooms and/or libraries. Story continues To date, I have never seen a teacher try to indoctrinate a student into any type of lifestyle or sexual choice. I have never seen a teacher try to make any student or parent feel badly about themselves because of historical or civic events. I have seen them work hard to choose materials that are appropriate for their students, both academically and according to their ages and reading proficiencies. I have seen them work to communicate regularly with parents and make sure that parents know what their children are reading and learning and to keep them apprised of academic growth and how it can be supported at home. I have seen (and been a member of) committees of teachers who, after hours, read prospective textbooks in order to adopt the most appropriate books, those with content that met state standards, and were written in a way that students can best read and comprehend. 12-year-old girl wearing a reusable, protective face mask in classroom while working on school work at her desk. Furthermore, the pandemic of the last two years has required teachers to do their best to keep themselves, their classrooms and their students as safe and sanitary as possible, while many of us were able to continue work from the safety of our homes. In the blink of an eye they learned to teach virtually often at the same time they were teaching students face to face in their classrooms. What teachers have done for students and parents and our state is nothing short of heroic, and they have been repaid by the imposition of restrictions and censorship by anyone with an axe to grind. Enough. It is time to take educational policy out of the hands of legislators and give teachers, like other professionals, the power to guide and monitor themselves. We are going to continue to lose good classroom teachers if we allow our elected officials to denigrate the professionalism and worth of educators. We owe them respect and a debt of gratitude, and we should be ashamed of ourselves if we reelect the state leaders who supported this legislation. Susan E. Strauss, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus at Flagler College. Join the conversation Send a letter to the editor (up to 200 words) to letters@gainesville.com. Letters must include the writer's full name and city of residence. Additional guidelines for submitting letters and longer guest columns can be found at bit.ly/sunopinionguidelines. Journalism matters. Your support matters. Get a digital subscription to the Gainesville Sun. Includes must-see content on Gainesville.com and Gatorsports.com, breaking news and updates on all your devices, and access to the eEdition. Visit www.gainesville.com/subscribenow to sign up. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Susan E. Strauss: New Florida laws undermine teachers The John Lawson, Surveyor General Chapter, Daughters of the American Colonists held a marker dedication ceremony at Thyatira Presbyterian Church in Mill Bridge on May 7 at 2 p.m. Included in some information provided by the DAC, the marker recognizes the significance of the church and its cemetery to the history of the initial settlement of the area and its continued importance to the community. Placed on the side of the road for passersby to see, the sign shares history about the church cemeterys noting it was established by Dec. 10, 1750 and is the oldest ecclesiastical cemetery in the western half of North Carolina. The oldest surviving grave marker is that of John Nesbit, 1755. Other information on the sign included additional names and dates of noteworthy graves that are in the cemetery. Dianne Robinson, regent of the chapter, welcomed everyone to the special event and due to the rain at the time, shared they would be having the ceremony inside and thus pointed out the placement of the sign at the road. Its a beautiful, beautiful sign, and we are very proud of it, she said. The Rev. David Smith, pastor at the church, opened the meeting with prayer asking for Gods presence and that the Lord would remind them of the wonderful heritage we have and of the blessings that so many worked and fought and died and lived to bring us. Following the opening ritual of the Pledge of Allegiance, The Americans Creed and The Object of the Society, national and state representatives shared their greetings. These included Mary Ann Hepler, honorary national president; Sarah Martin, national vice president of the Blue Ridge Section; Frances Williams, national chairman of historic landmarks and memorials; Fredda Kimball, honorary North Carolina state regent; Jane Markley, North Carolina state regent; and Louise Chamberlain, North Carolina state vice regent. Each one expressed their thanks for the invitation to attend the special occasion as well as thanking each one present for attending. The history of the church and cemetery were presented during the program by church member Glenn McCorkle, beginning with how and when the church got its name. We are not actually sure when we became Thyatira. No one seems to know. One book says it was in 1764 it changed, he stated. It started out as Catheys Meeting House because Cathey was one of the early settlers, and then later on it was called Lower Meeting House. McCorkle shared that many think Thyatira was not named until around the late 1770s because you really werent supposed to have a church that you called a church, so they called them meeting houses instead of the other. I believe probably around the late 1700s, it became Thyatira. History about who named the church as well as the people that came to the area were also discussed after which his talk turned to the cemetery, noting that the oldest marked grave is that of John Nesbit. McCorkle said that Thyatira has been called the Westminster Abbey of Rowan County because of the many lawyers, judges and politicians buried there. He shared examples of the notable people buried there including John and Jean Knox and Thomas and Naomi Gillespie, the four great-grandparents of James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. Others of note, he said, are Joseph Kerr of Kerr Mill, Alexander Cathey, one of the earliest members of the congregation, Thomas Cowan and the cemetery also contains four pirate tombstones marked with skull and crossbones or just the crossbones. An opportunity for questions was provided after which Robinson thanked McCorkle and church member Ed Hall for all they had done, asking them to accept the marker on behalf of the church. In placing this marker, we as members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists rededicate ourselves to the purposes of our organization and to the Constitution of the United States of America, Robinson said. This marker is presented by John Lawson, Surveyor General Chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists. As regent of the chapter, it is my privilege to formally present this marker to Thyatira Presbyterian Church and in doing so, I dedicate it to the future generations of public Americans. Smith concluded the meeting with prayer and thanked everyone for coming and making this a joyful event. Following the ceremony, everyone went to the cemetery for some group photos to mark the milestone occasion. The objectives of the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, as was shared in a DAC brochure, is patriotism, historical and educational and is fulfilled in many ways. Members give thousands of volunteer hours to each of these committees. The national society, it noted, was founded in 1939 to train young people in leadership and patriotism. In information from the chapter, an organizational meeting for the John Lawson, Surveyor General Chapter was held Nov. 26, 2001, with the first official meeting held May 28, 2002, with 22 organizing members representing Iredell, Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. Al Salam Bank, a leading regional Islamic bank, has launched Al Salam Invest, a new investment platform available on the banks mobile application featuring a bi-lingual, intuitive user-friendly interface. Al Salam Invest has been released as the latest upgrade to the Banks mobile application, providing Private Banking and Al Ruwad clients with a seamless digital trading experience enabling access to global markets and equities through different asset classes. The digital trading platform provides users with instant digital access to global equities, exchange traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and mutual funds, all under a Sharia compliant umbrella. The fully integrated Al Salam Bank mobile application will now allow clients to conduct and view their investment trades in real-time, oversee their portfolios, as well as manage their daily banking transactions through the Banks mobile application with a few convenient clicks. Group Chief Executive Officer of Al Salam Bank, Rafik Nayed, said: Todays fast-moving sector demands innovation. Accordingly, we are investing heavily in our digital transformation strategy to develop new platforms that enhance the client experience. The launch of Al Salam Invest is a direct result of this approach and reflects our ongoing efforts to design services and products that meet client needs. Innovation is a key pillar in our ambitious growth plans, and we will continue to prioritize transformative solutions that reinforce our position as Bahrains fastest growing bank. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Banking at Al Salam Bank, Anwar Murad added: We are proud to launch Al Salam Invest, an advanced investment and trading platform designed with unparalleled confidentiality and security features. The digital trading platform, curated to serve Private Banking and Al Ruwad clients, provides convenient and instant access to global equities, ETFs, sukuk, and mutual funds empowering users to take control of their portfolio with access to real-time tracking of investments anytime, anywhere, directly from the Al Salam Bank app. Alongside the new investment platform, Al Salam Banks mobile application provides a full range of banking services including digital onboarding, Danat savings scheme, family accounts, financing facilities, card management, amongst others. The digital application also provides comprehensive control over personal accounts through a fully customizable experience. Al Salam Bank joined forces with one of the leading digital trading solution providers in the Middle East, GTN Middle East Financial Services (DIFC) Limited, to design Al Salam Invest, which is available on Al Salam Banks mobile application and website. TradeArabia News Service Every graduating class has a list of accomplishments that the schools administration is quick to boast about at their graduation ceremony. For Pine Lake Preparatorys Class of 2022, Andrew Moceri, the schools executive director, had no issue finding the things he would brag about. Each year, Im in the habit of suggesting that this graduating class is among the most accomplished, Moceri said. But, the fact of the matter is that this group IS the most accomplished we have ever had at Pine Lake. The PLP Class of 2022, which graduated at The Cove Church in Mooresville on Friday night, received more than $11 million in scholarship offers, an average of roughly $67,900 per student. The class of 162 also received more than 750 college acceptances and will attend 48 different schools across 18 states with over a quarter of the graduates planning to attend a college outside North Carolina. This is a special group, Moceri said. Im thankful to have had the opportunity to watch them grow up, first as the middle school principal, then as the the executive director. Pine Lakes Class of 2022 is just the fourth to have had the opportunity to spend their entire schooling life within the prep school, with kindergarteners starting at the school in 2006. One of those that was a member of the Pride for all 13 years, Sruthi Anil, got the chance to speak during the ceremony, something she claimed that a younger version of herself could have never imagined doing. I wouldnt have even entertained the thought of having to give a speech in front of hundreds of people, she said. But Pine Lake instilled a sense of confidence in me that helped me grow stronger as an individual, that helped me feel comfortable enough to stand here today. Every one of us has a personal growth story and a way that Pine Lakes loving and welcoming community that has helped us become the people we are today. Also speaking during the ceremony were Tatum King, Montgomery Case Maddox and Connor Hines. Maddox, the student body president, spoke about his experience learning to overcome failure. In the end, we all fail, but these struggles are not what defines us, Maddox said. The failures we face in everyday life are the building blocks necessary for us to find our paths in life. As you continue to fail countless times in life, always remember that your failure is never the end of the road because youve not truly failed until youve given up. Tatum King, who was elected the homecoming queen back in the fall, spoke about the family that had been built among the class of 2022. There was never an element that separated us as a student body, she said. Our never-ending pool of talent and drive have pushed us to the limits. Even through the pandemic, our relationships grew stronger. Theres not another group of individuals I would want to take this journey with. The senior class president, Connor Hines, used his speaking time to echo Kings sentiment, commenting on the hardships the Class of 2022 faced to get through high school. The last few years have not been easy on us, he said. Weve had to overcome challenges that no one in the last 100 years has facedWith the lessons we have learned at Pine Lake, there is no mountain too big or challenge too tough. The Burke County Public Schools Student Services Department has implemented a multi-tiered strategy to combat the effects of the nations student mental health crisis in Burke County. Since returning to face-to-face instruction full time, the mental health of our students and staff is not the same as before, said BCPS Assistant Superintendent Karen Auton. Autons observation is backed up by recent research, including a comprehensive study released by the CDC in March. According to the study, 44% of high school students reported they felt persistently sad and hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks at some point in the last year. Additionally, 5% of high school boys and 12% of girls reported attempting suicide at some point in 2021. One key to addressing the mental and emotional health challenges faced by BCPS students has been the Student Services Department. Created in 2017 under the leadership of current superintendent Mike Swan, the Student Services Department brings school counselors, social workers, school nurses and school resource officers together under one umbrella. According to BCPS Public Information Officer Cheryl Shuffler, this provides a variety of support and interventions with the goal of enhancing the overall well-being of students. We do a lot of community liaison work, a lot of partnerships with mental health agencies, the United Way and the Department of Juvenile Justice, said Sara LeCroy, who now heads the department. Really, what it all comes back to is student wellness. Everything we do comes back to student wellness. Auton said the last two years have reinforced the importance of student wellness. We recognized very quickly that we needed to feed them, make sure they were safe and taken care of and then they can learn once those basic needs are met, she said. In Burke County, mental health response works on three tiers of support, according to LeCroy. Tier one is a new social and emotional learning curriculum. While teachers and schools vary as to how they implement the program, all BCPS students are required to go through it. According to LeCroy, this curriculum meets the needs of approximately 80% of students and also gives teachers a chance to identify students who need extra support. In addition to the curriculum, LeCroy also pointed to several other methods used to identify students struggling with mental health. We really work with our staff and train our staff to always pay attention to students, she said. In the classroom or at lunch, who is sitting by themselves? Who doesnt have a group to be in? We get a lot of information from journal prompts and writings. They do a lot of writing in health. Once identified, a variety of interventions are used to help these students. Tier two would be the daily check and connect, she said. Theres a lot of mentoring, weekly individual counseling, weekly group counseling, parenting groups, those kinds of things. For students needing even more support, the district has entered into a memorandum of understanding with A Caring Alternative, Arrowood Counseling and Consulting, CTS Health, Focus Behavioral Health and Georgia Miles. These agencies provide mental health services for students in their schools and also connect families with available resources in the community. Its a great service because the parent doesnt have to have gas money and theyre not missing school, LeCroy said. It really takes away so many barriers for our kids. It has been really successful. The third level of intervention is the districts day treatment programs housed at Mull Elementary and Hallyburton Academy. These centers allow students to get some of the benefits of inpatient care while still being able to attend school in their home district. The most high level, in terms of mental health, is our day treatment programs, LeCroy said. Thats one step down from hospitalization, but its a way to keep our kids at home and still in our community and in our schools. According to LeCroy, the number of students in each day treatment program fluctuates but usually runs around 10 to 12. In addition to the three-tiered approach, BCPS is also pioneering other responses such as a Mindfulness Room at East Burke Middle School and the Say Something App. According to Shuffler, the mindfulness room is a cool down spot with alternative furniture and activities for students who need a little extra support during the day while the Say Something App allows students to report bullying, threats and mental health concerns anonymously. LeCroy also pointed to a wellness check given to every seventh grade student, suicide prevention instruction added to the ninth grade health curriculum and district-wide efforts to prevent substance abuse. Weve just entered into a contract with the Burke Substance Abuse Network; were going to add two more substance abuse counselors, LeCroy said. Weve really seen a big issue since weve come back, especially with vaping. According to CDC statistics, the nations student mental health crisis is felt most keenly among girls and LGBTQ students with 12% of girls and 25% of LGBTQ students self-reporting a suicide attempt in 2021. LGBTQ students are also more than twice as likely than their straight peers to self-report mental health challenges, with 76% saying they felt persistently sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks at some point in the last year. According to LeCroy, the district does not have any mental health services directed specifically toward LGBTQ students. At this point, I wouldnt say they stand out more than any other group, she said. LeCroy said staff training is critical to meeting the needs of the districts LGBTQ students and BCPS has made a concerted effort to train staff and faculty members to be sensitive to specific needs of LGBTQ students and unique challenges they face. We certainly have those students at every school, she said. I think were very in tune with those students and have training and work hard to meet their needs. Shuffler said the mental and emotional health of students, faculty and staff will continue to be one of the districts primary focal points in the 2022-23 school year and beyond. The focus in our strategic plan is that we are really trying to put people first, Shuffler said. Thats not just the students. Its the students and the staff and the parents and providing extra levels of support. Jason Koon is a staff writer and can be reached at jkoon@morganton.com. Most Wanted List Those who have a new or gently used copy of any of the Top 10 Titles and would like to donate it to the library, it would be most appreciated. To date, the library has received 948 of the most wanted books. Current BCPL Top 10 Holds 1. Sparring Partners by John Grisham 10 holds 2. 22 Seconds by James Patterson 9 holds 3. Nightwork by Nora Roberts 7 holds 4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 6 holds 5. Secrets by Fern Michaels 6 holds 6. Sound of Darkness by Heather Graham 6 holds 7. Every Doak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke 5 holds 8. Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson 5 holds 9. Summer Love by Nancy Thayer 5 holds 10. Wyoming Homecoming by Diana Palmer 5 holds Current New York Times Best Sellers and NC Cardinal Consortium Holds 1. Book Lovers by Emily Henry 148 holds 2. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover 191 holds 3. 22 Seconds by James Patterson 375 holds 4. The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner 207 holds 5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 77 holds 6. Verity by Colleen Hoover 70 holds 7. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 133 holds 8. Better Off Dead by Lee Child 17 holds 9. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover 27 holds 10. Dream Town by David Baldacci 428 holds Adult programming Participants, friends, and family may now purchase Big Little Art Show entries. Artwork will be priced at $5 each with proceeds donated to Friends of the Library to assist with future programming. Call 828-764-9269 for more information. Registration is now open for the Adult Summer Reading Program, Discover Wonderland @ your library, including individual program registration for June. Young adult programming YAS is taking a break and gearing up for Summer Reading Program 2022 this week. YAS SRP registration is now open. You can visit our website at bcpls.org/yas to see more information on all the programs coming this summer. Summer Reading Program kicks off on Monday, June13, and the Young Adult Services theme is Magic, Monsters and Muses @ your library. This program is geared toward rising middle, middle and high school students. Students who are finishing fifth grade this year can choose to either participate in YAS SRP or the Childrens SRP Oceans of Possibilities. Get registered today at bcpls.readsquared.com or using the READSquared app, for questions on YAS SRP contact Lizzie at 828-764-9273 or by email at lizzie.whisnant@burkenc.org. Childrens programming Dont forget to register for our childrens Summer Reading Program this year: Ocean of Possibilities. We have a program for all children from birth-fifth grade. Both programs (younger and older) will be tracking minutes spent reading via ReadSquared again this summer. ReadSquared can be used through a browser or by the mobile app. The program is really simple to use and makes it easy to track for all your children at one time. To access the browser link, visit http://bcpls.readsquared.com/. The mobile version may be downloaded from your phones app store. All participants wishing to participate this summer will need to register with ReadSquared even if you used the app last year. For more information, come see us or give us a call. Our storytime groups will resume meeting the week of June 13. Dont forget to sign up for the summer session if you would like to attend these fun weekly activities! eBooks @ your library There are 3,811 Burke County Public Library users registered to use the librarys digital collection available through the e-iNC consortium and NC Kids Digital Library. This digital collection includes eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video available to Burke County Public Library cardholders. Apps are available for download for a variety of devices including Kindle, iPhone, and Android phones. Go to http://omc.overdrive.com to see the apps. To access the collection and download items go to http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com and follow the instructions to set up an account. You will need to know your library card number and your PIN. Please contact the library if you need any assistance. Find us on the web Go to www.bcpls.org for a list of programs and events. Unless noted otherwise, all library programs are free. Some programs have pre-registration and age requirements. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, its officially a day to honor military personnel who died in service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. I was mistaken in a column I wrote in the past because I failed to mention that it differs from Veterans Day, which is a day to remember everyone who has served in the military whether or not they served in wartime. I apologize for that mistake. According to some research I did, the history of Memorial Day began in May 1868 when highly decorated Gen. John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Union veterans group known as the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a decree that May 30 should become a nationwide day of commemoration for the more than 620,000 soldiers killed in the recently ended Civil War. Logan dubbed the special day as Decoration Day and encouraged Americans to lay flowers and decorate the graves of the war dead whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. Logan chose May 30 because it was a rare day that didnt fall on the anniversary of a Civil War battle, though some historians believe the date was selected to ensure that flowers across the country would be in full bloom. For whatever reason, its a grand way for all Americans to pay their respect to those who have died fighting for our rights and freedom. Many believe that Logan adapted the idea from earlier events in the south. Even before the war ended, womens groups across much of the south were gathering informally to decorate the graves of the Confederate dead. In April 1886, the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia, resolved to commemorate the fallen once a year a decision that seems to have influenced Logan to follow suit, according to his own wife. However, southern commemorations were rarely held on one standard day, with observations differing by state and spread out across much of the spring and early summer. Nine southern states officially recognized a Confederate Memorial Day with events held on Confederate President Jefferson Davis birthday, the day on which Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson was killed, or to commemorate other symbolic events. On the first Decoration Day, Gen. James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there. Many northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years. By 1890, each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor the dead on separate days until after World War I. After the war, Logan, who had served as a US congressman before resigning to rejoin the army, returned to his political career, eventually serving in both the House and Senate and was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for vice president in 1884. When he died two years later, Logans body laid in state in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, making him one of just 33 people to have received the honor. Today, Washington, DCs Logan Circle and several townships across the country are named in honor of this champion of veterans and those killed in battle. For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. For almost as long as theres been a holiday, theres been a rivalry about who celebrated it first. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, bases its claim on an 1864 gathering of women to mourn those recently killed at Gettysburg. In Carbondale, Illinois, theyre certain that they were first, thanks to an 1866 parade led, in part, by John Logan, who two years later would lead the charge for an official holiday. There are even two dueling Columbus challengers (one in Mississippi, the other in Georgia) who have battled it out for Memorial Day supremacy for decades. Only one town, however, has received the official seal of approval from the US government. In 1966, 100 years after the town of Waterloo, New York, shuttered its businesses and took to the streets for the first of many continuous, community-wide celebrations, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation, recently passed by the US Congress, declaring the tiny upstate village the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Despite the increasing celebration of the holiday as a summer rite of passage, there are some formal rituals still on the books: The American flag should be hung at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, then raised to the top of the staff. I didnt realize this, but since 2000, when the US Congress passed legislation, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time. The federal government has also used the holiday to honor non-veterans, most notably being that the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day 1922. And today, cities and towns across the US host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans organizations. So, enjoy the rest of this three-day weekend with a barbecue or visit to family and friends, but please take a moment to say a silent prayer for those who have sacrificed their lives to maintain our freedom and strive toward the ultimate goal of world peace. Peg DeMarco is a Morganton resident who writes a weekly features column for The News Herald. Contact her at pegdemarco@earthlink.net. Peg DeMarco is a Morganton resident who writes a weekly features column for The News Herald. Contact her at pegdemarco@earthlink.net. Two NorthWestern Energy employees were honored in May with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Water Protection Bureaus Environmental Excellence award at the annual Storm Water Conference in Missoula. Sady Babcock, supervisor environmental permitting, and Beth Stimatz, specialist environmental compliance were presented the awards that recognize professionalism, collaboration and coordination, customer service and hard work to protect water quality. Your leadership, management, attentiveness and responsiveness to all situations helps promote positive outcomes for all parties involved, including water quality, said Montana Department of Environmental Quality Water Protection Bureau Lead Compliance Inspector Christopher Romankiewicz. Further, you always place value in working positively with Montana DEQ. Thank you for all that you do. It is an honor to be recognized by the Montana DEQ and NorthWestern Energy does value the positive working relationship, said Babcock, who joined NorthWestern Energy 2013. The support we have received from NorthWestern Energy management and environmental department staff has been instrumental in the development of the program. The responsiveness and professionalism of the Montana DEQ storm water program staff has been outstanding and has made our jobs easier. They are our partners with a common goal, protecting the environment for all Montanans, said Stimatz, who joined NorthWestern Energy Environmental Permitting and Compliance department in 2015 after 14 years in the Safety, Health and Environmental Service department. I can reach out to them with questions or for input and that helps improve our projects. I am really proud of our storm water program and it is a better because Sady and Beth have formed such good relationships with the DEQ staff, said NorthWestern Energy Director Environmental & Lands Permitting & Compliance Mary Gail Sullivan. They understand the needs of our company and that working with our regulators constructively is good for our customers, our communities and for the environment. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy If you or your loved ones enjoy the out of doors in southwest Montana and we figure that probably includes almost all of us here you have a very good reason to support 15-90 Search and Rescue. We are experiencing a dramatic increase in visits to our backcountry. While the pandemic certainly contributed, there are many other reasons why we have so many people enjoying the incredible country in and around the Summit Valley. Technology has made it easier for people to explore, whether in the form of e-bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles, navigation systems and technical gear. Our trail system has been expanded and improved. And we have more and more people taking advantage of all these things. When they get in trouble and a certain number inevitably do Search and Rescue volunteers need all the same gear to be able to find them and bring them back safely. And all that gear is just as expensive for rescuers as it is for recreationists. Every member of our great Search and Rescue unit is a volunteer, and might well be a friend or neighbor. We admire what they do and we are grateful for it. And we wholeheartedly endorse the very necessary one-mill levy measure for our countys search and rescue operations. Butte-Silver Bow County voters, The Montana Standard urges you to pass this reasonable and necessary levy. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Uvalde tells Biden to 'do something'; he pledges 'we will' UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday. He mourned privately for three hours with anguished families left behind when a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers. The president was met with chants of do something as he departed a church service and responded, we will. Biden and his wife, Jill, visited a memorial to those who were slain at Robb Elementary School and attended Mass at a Catholic church. Biden met privately with first responders before flying back to his home in Delaware. Justice Dept. to review response to Texas school shooting UVALDE, Texas (AP) The Justice Department says it'll review the law enforcement response to the Texas school shooting. It's an unusual federal look back that's been prompted by questions about the shifting and at times contradictory information from authorities that have enraged a community in shock and sorrow. Department spokesman Anthony Coley says the review will be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and the findings will be made public. The announcement came as President Joe Biden was visiting Uvalde, where he and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects at a memorial to the 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last Tuesday. Ukraine, Russia battle in the east as Zelenskyy visits front POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian and Ukrainian troops are trading blows in fierce close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city. Local officials reported Russian forces storming the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Sunday, a situation that the Ukrainian president described as indescribably difficult. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 90% of the buildings in Sievierodonetsk have been damaged. The city has emerged as an epicenter of Russias quest to conquer Ukraines industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where constant shelling was reported. Zelenskyy himself made a rare frontline visit to soldiers in Kharkiv. He declared I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom." Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns PITTSBURGH (AP) A movement known as Christian nationalism is making its presence known in many Republican primary races this year. Most prominent is the campaign of Doug Mastriano, who easily won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. He has made his faith central to his personal story and has woven his conservative Christian beliefs and symbols into his campaign. Mastriano and many other candidates reject the label of Christian nationalist. They say they're applying their values to their politics, just as any citizen would. But scholars say the label fits those who support a fusion of American and Christian values, symbols and identity. Wreckage of plane with 22 on board found in Nepal mountains KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) Nepal's army says the wreckage of a plane missing since Sunday in the mountains was located Monday. There was no word on survivors among the 22 people aboard. The army posted on Twitter an aerial photo of the wreckage site with parts of the aircraft scattered around the mountainside. No other details were given. The Tara Air plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight Sunday from the resort town of Pokhara to the mountain town of Jomsom. Contact with the airport tower was lost when the plane was close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops. Pelosi's husband arrested on suspicion of DUI in California NAPA, Calif. (AP) Police records show Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, has been arrested on suspicion of DUI in Northern California. An online booking report shows Paul Pelosi was taken into custody late Saturday in Napa County. He could face charges including driving under the influence. Bail was set at $5,000. A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi says she will not be commenting on this private matter. The House Speaker was in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday, where she delivered the commencement address at Brown University. Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married since 1963. Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans in Jerusalem march JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of Israeli nationalists, some of them chanting Death to Arabs, have begun parading through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalems Old City. Sunday's march was a show of force that risked setting off a new wave of violence in the tense city. The crowds, who were overwhelmingly young Orthodox Jewish men, were celebrating Jerusalem Day -- an Israeli holiday that marks the capture of the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians see the event, which passes through the heart of the Muslim Quarter, as a provocation. Last year, the parade helped trigger an 11-day war with Gaza militants, and this years march drew condemnations from the Palestinians and neighboring Jordan. Colombia presidential race to runoff; leftist vs businessman BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) A leftist former rebel and a populist businessman have taken the top two spots among the six candidates in Colombias presidential election and are heading to a runoff showdown in June, delivering a blow to the country's political class. Electoral officials say leftist Sen. Gustavo Petro led Suday's results with just over 40% of the vote, while independent real estate tycoon Rodolfo Hernandez finished second with more than 28%. The vote was held amid a polarized environment and growing discontent over increasing inequality and inflation. Petro has promised to make significant adjustments to the economy and to change how Colombia fights drug cartels. Hernandez has promised to clean up corruption in the South American nation. Agency: 1 dead, 7 injured in Oklahoma festival shooting TAFT, Okla. (AP) Authorities say a 26-year-old man has been taken into custody after one person was killed and seven people were injured in a shooting at an outdoor festival in eastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said that an arrest warrant was issued for Skyler Buckner and he turned himself in on Sunday afternoon. OSBI said those shot early Sunday at the Memorial Day event in Taft, located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, ranged in age from 9 to 56. OSBI said a 39-year-old woman was killed. The agency says the injuries of those wounded were considered non-life-threatening. Celtics reach NBA Finals, hold off Heat 100-96 in Game 7 MIAMI (AP) Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Boston Celtics held off a frantic rally in the final seconds to beat the Miami Heat 100-96 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. The Celtics face the Golden State Warriors in a series that starts Thursday in San Francisco. Jimmy Butler, who willed Miami into Game 7 by scoring 47 points on Friday in Boston, led the Heat with 35 points in what became their season finale. Bam Adebayo added 25 for the Heat, who were down 11 with under 3 minutes to go before trying one last rally. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 TIRANA, Albania (AP) Albania's Interior Ministry said Saturday that four Albanian women and nine children, all related to Albanians who joined Islamist extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, have been repatriated from a Syrian camp. The group, which landed at the Pristina Adem Jashari Airport in neighboring Kosovo, was joined by other Kosovar citizens leaving the hell camps, the statement said, without disclosing the number. At least one man's blurred face was seen in a video distributed by the ministry. Speaking at the airport, Albanian Interior Minister Bledi Cuci thanked U.S. authorities and Lebanese Gen. Abass Ibrahim, who has played a key role in the repatriation efforts. Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Zvecla did not give details on the Kosovar citizens repatriated but assured that specialized institutions would take care to rehabilitate and de-radicalize them. Cuci said 43 Albanian women and children whose husbands and fathers joined Islamic State group and most often have been killed in fighting have been brought back in four missions since 2018. Cuci said Albania had a list of citizens still in the camps and would continue efforts to bring them back. Kosovo has repatriated at least 121 people since 2019. I would like to assure Albanians that we are determined to bring back from those camps any Albanians who has remained there, every child and every woman, said Cuci. Hundreds of people from Albania and Kosovo joined the Islamic State and other groups fighting in Syria and Iraq in the early 2010s. Many were killed, and their widows and children are stuck in Syrian camps. Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) Russia asserted Saturday that its troops and separatist fighters had captured a key railway junction in eastern Ukraine, the second small city to fall to Moscow's forces this week as they fought to seize all of the country's contested Donbas region. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the city of Lyman had been completely liberated by a joint force of Russian soldiers and the Kremlin-backed separatists, who have waged war in the eastern region bordering Russia for eight years. Lyman, which had a population of about 20,000 before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, serves as a regional railway hub. Ukraines train system has ferried arms and evacuated citizens during the war, and it wasnt immediately clear how the development might affect either capability. Controlling the city would give the Russian military a foothold for advancing on larger Ukrainian-held cities in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas. Since failing to occupy Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, Russia has concentrated on seizing the last parts of the region not controlled by the separatists. If Russia did succeed in taking over these areas, it would highly likely be seen by the Kremlin as a substantive political achievement and be portrayed to the Russian people as justifying the invasion, the British Ministry of Defense said in a Saturday assessment. Fighting continued Saturday around Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, twin cites that are last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that the situation in the east was difficult but expressed confidence his country would prevail. If the occupiers think that Lyman or Sievierodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. Donbas will be Ukrainian, he said. On Tuesday, Russian troops took over Svitlodarsk, a small municipality south of Sievierodonetsk that hosts a thermal power station, while intensifying efforts to encircle and capture the larger city. The governor of Luhansk warned that Ukrainian soldiers might have to retreat from Sievierodonetsk to avoid being surrounded. The advance of Russian forces raised fears that residents would experience the same horrors as people in the southeastern port city Mariupol in the weeks before it fell. Sievierodonetsks mayor, Oleksandr Striuk, said Friday that some 1,500 civilians have died there during the war, including from a lack of medicine or because of diseases that could not be treated while the city was under siege. Before the war, Sievierodonetsk was home to around 100,000 people. About 12,000 to 13,000 remain in the city, where 90% of the buildings are damaged, the mayor told The Associated Press. Ukraines police force said Saturday afternoon that the city is under constant enemy fire and civilians were wounded, but did not specify the number. Just south of Sievierodonetsk, volunteers worked to evacuate people Friday amid a threatening soundtrack of air raid sirens and booming artillery. AP reporters saw elderly and ill civilians bundled into soft stretchers and slowly carried down apartment building stairs in Bakhmut, a city in northeast Donetsk province. Svetlana Lvova, the manager of two buildings in Bakhmut, tried to convince reluctant residents to leave but said she and her husband would not evacuate until their son, who was in Sieverodonetsk, returned home. I have to know he is alive. Thats why Im staying here, Lvova, 66, said. A nearly three-month siege of Mariupol ended last week when Russia claimed the city's complete. The city became a symbol of mass destruction and human suffering, as well as of Ukrainian determination to defend the country. More than 20,000 of its civilians are feared dead. Mariupol's port reportedly resumed operations after Russian forces finished clearing mines in the Azov Sea off the once-vibrant city. Russian state news agency Tass reported that a vessel bound for the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don entered Mariupols seaport early Saturday. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian navy said Saturday morning that Russian ships continue to block civilian navigation in the waters of the Black and Azov seas along Ukraines southern coast, making them a zone of hostilities. The war in Ukraine has caused global food shortages because the country is a major exporter of grain and other commodities. Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame over which is responsible for keeping shipments tied up, with Russia saying Ukrainian sea mines prevented safe passage. The press service of the Ukrainian Naval Forces said in a Facebook post that two Russian missile carriers capable of carrying up to 16 missiles were ready for action in the Black Sea. It said that only shipping routes which had been established through multilateral treaties could be considered safe. Ukrainian officials pressed Western nations for more sophisticated and powerful weapons, especially multiple launch rocket systems. The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a Friday CNN report saying the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that providing rockets that could reach his country would represent a most serious step toward unacceptable escalation. He spoke in an interview with RT Arabic that aired Friday. In Russia on Saturday, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that raises the age limits for Russian army contracts. Contractors can now first enter service until age 50 and work until they reach legal retirement age, which is 65 for men and 60 for women. Previously, Russian law set an age limit of 40 for Russians and 30 for foreigners to sign an initial contract. Russia's Defense Ministry said the Russian navy successfully launched a new hypersonic missile from the Barents Sea. The ministry said the recently developed Zircon hypersonic cruise missile had struck its target about 1,000 kilometers away. If confirmed, the launch could spell trouble for NATO voyages in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Zircon,, described as the worlds fastest non-ballistic missile, can be armed with either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, and is said to be impossible to stop with current anti-missile defense systems. Moscows claims, which could not be immediately verified, came a week after Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russia would form new military units in the west of the country in response to Sweden and Finlands bids to join NATO. Putin marked the annual Border Guards Day by congratulating the members of the Russian service. The tasks you are facing are particularly important now, given the unprecedented political, economic and information pressure on our country and the buildup of NATO military capacity right at Russias borders, Putin said. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Andrew Katell in New York and AP journalists around the world contributed. Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The UAE and Israel have signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in Dubai, thus beginning a new era of co-operation between the two nations. The CEPA deal is expected to advance bilateral trade beyond $10 billion within five years. Authorities say the weekend arrest of Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, on suspicion of DUI came after a minor two-vehicle crash with no injuries in California's wine country. Records show Paul Pelosi was taken into custody late Saturday in Napa County and released early Sunday on $5,000 bail. Police say he could face charges including driving under the influence. A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi says she will not comment on the matter because it is private. Nancy Pelosi on Sunday delivered the commencement address at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married since 1963. BOSTON (AP) Seaside communities in New England are providing free beach access to Native Americans as the summer season kicks off this Memorial Day weekend. Officials in Narragansett, Rhode Island, earlier this month approved free seasonal beach passes for anyone with a valid identification card from the Narragansett Indian tribe. On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the towns of Truro and Wellfleet are also extending a similar benefit to any Native American with proof of tribal affiliation when beach permits are required in late June. The moves come after Eastham, another Cape Cod town, began offering free seasonal stickers to indigenous people in 2020 as part of its efforts to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims aboard The Mayflower. Brian Weeden, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod that traces its ancestry to the Native Americans that encountered the Pilgrims, commended the towns for taking the symbolic steps to recognize the importance of the ocean to their tribe's heritage. In our creation stories, we say the first Wampanoag boy was actually made out of the foam of the sea and therefore we come from the land and the water, he said. We are sea-faring people and we need the ocean to survive. Its been our sustenance for hundreds and thousands of years. Jesse Pugh, the town council president in Narragansett, hopes his proposal sparks broader discussions between town officials and the town's namesake tribe. Were not acting like were doing the biggest favor to the tribe, he said. This is just something that we thought was right and that we can do. Hopefully it adds momentum to some kind of relationship with the tribe. Narragansetts new policy allows valid tribe members, regardless where they reside, to get a free seasonal pass. The passes otherwise cost $25 and are only available to town residents. The daily rate for non-resident beachgoers is $12 and are required for anyone over the age of 12. Tribe members looking to park at the beach lots would still have to pay the separate parking fees. Pugh stressed no other additional rights or exceptions to beach rules are conferred. Open fires, for example, remain prohibited. The policy is only in place for this season so far. During council meetings, some residents spoke up against granting the free passes to nonresidents and worried about the new policys impact on overcrowding at the beaches. Pugh said Narragansett beaches are funded by revenues generated from beach fees, so they arent covered by local taxpayers in the traditional sense. And less than a dozen tribe members have so far claimed the passes, which will be required starting May 28, according to the town's parks and recreation department. The tribe, which didnt respond to emails seeking comment this week, has roughly 3,000 enrolled members, but a significant number are likely children under the age of 12 who would already be free to enter town beaches, Pugh said. Weeden, of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, hopes Massachusetts and other states can take broader efforts to codify beach access rights for tribes, rather than piecemeal efforts by individual communities. He says securing beach access is a small way to make sure tribes aboriginal rights to waterways are respected. Its definitely appreciated after 400 years of colonization and gentrification, Weeden said. Its a step in the right direction, given what theyve done to our people. At the same time, we have a long way to go. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Mourners laid to rest the last of 10 Black people killed in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket with a service on Saturday that became a call to action and an emotional plea to end the hate and violence that has wracked the nation. The funeral for 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield the oldest of the 10 people killed in the attack two weeks ago included an impromptu speech by Vice President Kamala Harris. She attended the service at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo with second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Harris told the mourners this is a moment in time for all good people to stand up to the injustice that happened at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, as well as at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and in other mass shootings. This is a moment that requires all good people, all God-loving people to stand up and say we will not stand for this. Enough is enough, said Harris, who wasnt scheduled to speak and came to the microphone at the urging of the Rev. Al Sharpton. We will come together based on what we all know we have in common, and we will not let those people who are motivated by hate separate us or make us feel fear. Following the funeral, Harris and Emhoff visited a memorial outside the supermarket. The vice president left a large bouquet of white flowers, and the pair paused to pray for several minutes. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden had placed flowers at the same memorial on May 17 and had visited with the victims families. Biden is expected to head to Texas for a visit this weekend with the families of victim's of Tuesday's school shooting. Harris later told reporters that the administration is not sitting around waiting to figure out what the solution looks like to the nation's gun violence problem. We know what works on that, she said, reiterating support for background checks and a ban on assault weapons. Lets have an assault weapons ban, she said. An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in civil society. Background checks: Why should anyone be able to buy a weapon that can kill other human beings without at least knowing: Hey, that person committed a violent crime before, are they a threat against themselves or others?" Harris said the nation has to come together, as well. We have to agree that if we are to be strong as a nation, we must stand strong, identifying our diversity as our unity, she said. It's been a sad week of goodbyes for family and friends of the Buffalo shooting victims, a group that includes a restaurant worker who went to the market to buy his 3-year-olds birthday cake; a father and die-hard Buffalo Bills fan who worked as a school bus aide; and a 32-year-old sister who moved to the city to help a brother battling leukemia. Whitfield, a grandmother and mother of four, had been inside the supermarket after visiting her husband of 68 years in a nursing home when a gunman identified by police as 18-year-old Payton Gendron began the deadly onslaught. Authorities said Gendron, who is white, targeted the store three hours from his home in Conklin because it is in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who delivered a fiery tribute to Whitfield at the beginning of the funeral service, called for all accomplices who aided and abetted this monster who opened fire in the supermarket to be held accountable, from the gun manufacturers and distributors to the parents of the suspect. Crump said those those who instructed and radicalized this young, insecure individual should also be held to account for taking Whitfield from her family, the Buffalo community and the planet. He called her one of the most angelic figures that we have ever known. It is a sin that this young depraved man, not a boy, went and killed Ruth Whitfield and the Buffalo 10, Crump said, referring to the victims. Sharpton described being floored to learn the shooter live-streamed his assault on Twitch, noting how his mother had grown up in Alabama, where hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan once killed Black people. Today, he said, white supremacists are proud to practice racism. Sharpton made a pitch for gun control measures during his eulogy, saying all communities need to come together and disarm the haters. There is an epidemic of racial violence that is accommodated by gun laws that allow people to kill us, he said. You aint got to love us, but you shouldnt have easy access to military weapons to kill us. In all, 13 people were shot in the attack which federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime. Three people survived. Whitfield was the mother of former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield. Gendron is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail. His attorney has entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Pool reports were contributed to this story. Haigh reported from Connecticut. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 South Africas mobile network operators are hoping to shut down their 2G and 3G networks to keep up with the demand for data. However, decommissioning South Africas legacy networks will be no small task. With the United States major 3G networks all scheduled to be offline by the end of 2022, MyBroadband asked South African operators about their plans regarding legacy networks. MTN South Africa said it is aligned with global trends to shut down 2G and 3G. MTN SA plans to shut down its 3G in the medium term, followed by 2G, the operator said. The exact timelines are being determined, and this depends on several factors that MTN will monitor closely. Vodacom has also indicated its plans to turn off its 2G network by 2024. Vodacom previously told MyBroadband that machine-to-machine and IoT customers still rely on 2G networks to continue functioning. Cell C Chief Technology Officer Schalk Visser noted that prices of 4G and 5G-compatible devices were another significant barrier. A key consideration in moving from older technologies like 2G and 3G to newer, more efficient technologies like 4G and 5G is the availability of affordable consumer devices, he said MTN agreed that smartphones capable of supporting voice over LTE functionality are essential for a smooth transition. MTN explained that consumer education, including correct SIM and device settings, is important to successfully move customers over to newer network technologies. As South Africa sees an unprecedented surge of bandwidth-heavy applications and services, committing to 4G and 5G is crucial. The benefits of switching off 3G include the option to re-farm the spectrum to more spectrally efficient technologies, MTN said. Until recently, mobile operators only choice to increase network capacity was to build additional base stations. Vodacom said this was one of the biggest barriers to reducing mobile data prices. South Africas recent spectrum auction, where industry regulator Icasa released substantial bandwidth, will allow operators to increase network capacity at existing base stations. Shutting down 2G and 3G will additionally allow operators to redirect funds it was spending to maintain these networks to improve 4G and 5G coverage. Vodacom said that this, in turn, will improve customers experiences with voice and data services that use these modern technologies. Although Marchs spectrum auction might have relieved network capacity constraints somewhat, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita expects that operators will need even more spectrum soon. The spectrum auction helps a bit. What we secured now will help us for the next three or four years, Mupita said. Despite physical video game disc sales declining substantially over the past few years, South Africas video game retailers are confident their services will always have a place in the countrys gaming industry. With digital sales and video game subscription services like Microsofts Game Pass becoming increasingly popular, MyBroadband asked South African gaming retailers what they believe the future holds. Console game sales appear to have followed the path of PC games with the introduction of Steam about two decades ago now, with a steady decline in physical game disc sales, Raru director Neil Smith told MyBroadband. Microsofts Game Pass offering means there are hardly any Xbox physical game sales any longer. With the all-new PlayStation Plus launching in June, I expect the same will apply for PlayStation soon, Smith said. Gamefinity CEO Mario Dos Santos said gaming retailers still offer valuable products and services. Gamefinity distributes PlayStation products in South Africa and operates the online retailer Koodoo. According to Dos Santos, consumers tend to opt for digital stores and subscription services on launch day. There has indeed been a shift to subscription services and digital stores. However, it has primarily occurred on day one of software launches over time, the overall mix trends back toward the physical product. Dos Santos added that although there has been a double-digit move to digital sales, a games physical sales depend on genre, age classification, and the price difference between physical and digital versions. Although physical video game sales have declined, Dos Santos said gaming retailers have evolved. This includes selling content-relevant gaming merchandise and exclusive physical content offers, like collectors editions and figurines. Retailers will also continue to have a future selling hardware like consoles and PC peripherals, and vouchers for online services, said Dos Santos. While the PS5 stock shortage has been a thorn in gamers sides, retailers said at least they dont struggle to sell units when they land in South Africa. The continued scarcity of especially PlayStation 5 consoles means for the foreseeable future at least most of the available stock will be eagerly snapped up as they become available on the market, Smith said. Without exception, every console has been pre-sold, Dos Santos added. Gaming retail, whilst undoubtedly having to evolve to meet changing content consumption patterns, will continue to have a place in the gaming eco-system, he said. Now read: AMD announces Ryzen 7000 processors Hacking group SpiderLog$ has obtained the details of a loan President Cyril Ramaphosa took out from one of South Africas top four banks in the 2000s, the Sunday Times reported. SpiderLog$ said it was able to use data leaked by another group called N4ugtysecTU after it breached credit bureau TransUnion earlier this year. The dataset included Ramaphosas home address, ID number, and cellphone numbers. TransUnion disputed that leaked Home Affairs data came from its servers, saying that the attackers had obtained it from an earlier breach. Ramaphosa was not the only prominent figure whose data was allegedly exposed in the TransUnion breach. At the time, N4ughtySecTU threatened to leak to personal data of President Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema. SpiderLog$ used Ramaphosas data to draw attention to glaring vulnerabilities in South African security systems, especially those employed in government departments including defence and state security. South Africa is a playground for hackers because anyone is able to map your countrys digital infrastructure, the group told Sunday Times. According to the report, SpiderLog$ has supplied screenshots to the paper proving they could access sensitive military and intelligence data. Cybersecurity firms warned that the vulnerabilities discovered by a hacking group could lead to attackers intercepting sensitive military and intelligence information. In one of the screenshots, SpiderLog$ showed it could gain entry to the defence and state security departments webmail interface. The paper verified the groups claims with cybersecurity firms WolfPack Information Risk and Umboko Sec. WolfPack Information Risk consultant Johan Brider said the most troubling thing they saw in the screenshot was that they could run programs to harvest credentials that could give access to the department of defences emails. SpiderLog$ was also able to identify the private IP addresses of the governments servers, their domains, and Internet service providers. Cybersecurity provider Scarybytes strategy director told the paper that companies use proxy servers to hide IP addresses and that there isnt usually a good reason to disclose internal IP addresses. Umboko Sec director Bongo Sijora told Sunday Times their research showed a shortfall of at least R18 billion in government spending on securing national key points and departments from cyber threats. Several government entities have fallen victim to severe cyberattacks in the past year. In July 2021, Transnets port systems were taken down following a ransomware attack, leading to substantial delays in shipping at various points of entry to South Africa. The Department of Justice also suffered a ransomware attack in September 2021, which locked it out of its files and systems. That impacted the courts and the Masters Office, which had a knock-on effect on several critical services including maintenance payments and deceased estates. The department only managed to return some of its online services four weeks later and has had to recover data from physical records. It recently emerged that the attack occurred less than a week after the departments IT contracts had lapsed in August 2021, and its internal officials took over troubleshooting and reporting. More recently, the governments DigiTech app store illustrated its apparent inability to properly secure online systems. The websites developer had set up the site to allow anyone to register an account and upload a digital product with video links and images. Some South Africans discovered they could exploit the poorly-designed system and spammed the site with listings pointing to the Rickroll a YouTube video of Rick Astleys hit song Never Gonna Give You Up. However, a security researcher who spoke to MyBroadband warned the site used extremely outdated and insecure technology. The system also allowed anyone to upload arbitrary HTML, which attackers could have used for cross-site scripting exploits. This code would have been executed as soon as users clicked a listing, potentially infecting them with malware or launching other kinds of attacks. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov called on the world to recognize Russia as a terrorist state, and on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to show leadership and stop Russian propaganda. The head of the Ministry of Defense wrote about it on Twitter. "The whole civilized world must recognize Russia as a state that sponsors and carries out terrorism, commits genocide against the Ukrainian people. I also call on the members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to be leaders, to tell the truth about this war to your people. Stop Russian propaganda! , - the minister noted. It will be recalled that NATO fears that Russia may view the supply of tanks or warplanes to Ukraine as entering the war and taking retaliatory measures. There is no strict ban on supplies, but Allies prefer to adhere to informal arrangements. Earlier, Kuleba rebuked NATO for inaction and called it a weapon that Germany could actually provide. It will also be recalled that Reznikov supported the legalization of firearms in Ukraine. Read also: The pink Kalush Orchestra and the Eurovision statuette were sold at an online charity auction Kadyrovites "presented" ukrainian soldiers BMP-3 The United States has prepared a new batch of M777 howitzers for Ukraine Gunners of the 28th Brigade "chase" enemy vehicles on landings of Kherson and Mykolayiv regions The Russian army lost more than 30,150 soldiers and 1338 tanks Princely Dragons" bombed enemy vehicles from "Stugny-P" (VIDEO) Ukrainian paratroopers destroyed another Russian Ka-52 Alligator helicopter Maxar Technologies has published new satellite images from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the fighting continues During the day, the enemy's Russian army lost 250 soldiers and 17 units of equipment Ukraine has already received ACS M109 - Reznikov In Lithuania, 3.2 million was raised for Bayraktar for the Armed Forces. Former President Grybauskaite also dropped out A Ukrainian fighter shot down a Russian Su-35 over the Kherson region The Republic of China tested the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile from a coast guard ship. The Anping-class Coast Guard (CG-601) launches the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile. May 2022. Photo: Taiwan Military This is stated in the message "Taiwan Military". The anti-ship missile was launched by the Anping-class Coast Guard ( CG-601 ). The exercises were planned and conducted by the Navy of the Republic of China to study the use of coast guard ships as naval means in wartime. The Anping-class Coast Guard (CG-601) launches the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile. May 2022. Photo: Taiwan Military After test firing, Anping entered a naval base in southern Taiwan to remove missiles and other equipment. He then went to the port of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan to test the basis of the ship's structure after the missile launches. Anping CG601 Taiwan Coast Guard Patrol Ship Photo: Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Group The dock is managed by the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Company, which is building all 15 Anping-class ships. According to the Taiwan Coast Guard Fleet, the first test launch of an anti-ship missile from an Anping-class ship is of great importance to the Coast Guard and the Navy. Hsiung Feng II Hsiung Feng II is a subsonic anti-ship missile developed by the Chun Shan National Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan, which is roughly equivalent to the RGM-84 Harpoon. Development of the missile system began in the early 1980s, and it is reported to have been adopted in 1990. Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile. Photo: Mass Media of the Republic of China The missile is designed to hit targets both on land and at sea, and the latter is the main direction of the weapon and has a range of about 75 miles. HF-2's supersonic cousin, the HF-3 is Taiwan's latest addition to the Hsiung Feng cruise missile family. It can also be installed on an Anping class ship. 10,000 Degrees, an organization "dedicated to empowering students to enter and graduate college in seven Bay Area counties," hosted its annual fundraiser gala, ONE Amazing Community, on May 7 in Novato. ONE Amazing Community also included five satellite soirees in four of the seven regions 10,000 Degrees serves: Napa, San Francisco, South Bay and Marin. As the pandemic continues, never has the need been greater or more urgent to support our students from low-income backgrounds in pursuit of their college dreams, said Kim Mazzuca, 10,000 Degrees president and CEO. 10,000 Degrees students are 100% from low-income backgrounds and 89% people of color. These are Californians who may not have been provided the opportunity to reach their full potential without the extraordinary support of this organization, said Rhea Suh, Marin Community Foundation president and CEO. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) has received an award of Excellence from the California School Public Relations Association. Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. NCOE, in partnership with Napa County Public Health (NCPH), produced the guidance for public and private schools in Napa County in English and Spanish. NCOE and NCPH produced 25 versions of the guidance between June 2020 and March 2021 in an effort to keeps schools and families informed of frequently changing guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jabal Omar Development Company, a leading Saudi property developer, has announced a sharp decline in its accumulated losses for the FY 2021 which has fallen to SR1.18 billion ($314.2 million) from SR2.13 billion ($607 million), thus reaching 13% of the comoany's total capital. This was mainly due to the improvement in post-pandemic operations and the implementation of cost optimization initiatives, stated Jabal Omar in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul. It also benefited from gains recognized on the sale of two plots of land as well as the restructuring of a loan with the Ministry of Finance, it stated. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning for windy and dry conditions that may raise the risk of fires, Cal Fires Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit announced Sunday morning. The alert takes effect at 11 a.m. Memorial Day and will continue through 8 p.m. Tuesday. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. A combination of low humidity, high winds and warming temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior, Cal Fire said in a news release. Wind gusts in the region are forecasted to peak at 35 mph. The firefighting agency reported the greatest wildfire threat during the Red Flag warning is on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, mainly along and west of Interstate 5 north of Sacramento. At Napa County Airport, the weather service forecasts a Sunday high temperature of 78 degrees that will edge upward to 80 on Monday and 86 on Tuesday, with wind gusts up to 18 mph on Monday. You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com What a difference a week makes for the Napa Valley Youth Symphony. In a college auditorium seven days earlier, the ensemble of teenage string, brass and woodwind players presented a familiar menu of Beethoven and Bach and opera highlights, classical staples of its annual spring concert. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Saturday, on the other hand, saw the 40-plus members of the orchestra in the radically more relaxed environs of BottleRock the youth symphony, sporting jeans and T-shirts in place of their dress blacks, readily got with the spirit of the festival that has drawn legends of rock and pop, and legions of raucous fans, to Napa for nearly a decade. The same violins, trombones and flutes that had spun out the elegant melodies of Die Fledermaus just days before now ground out the pulsating rock rhythms of Lenny Kravitz Fly Away with a muscular backbeat to match. The familiar strains of Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven found new expression as a plaintive string serenade, and to close their show, the young symphonists replicated the pounding drums and growling guitars of Metallica's "Enter Sandman." BottleRock is an occasion unlike any other for the youth symphony, which began 20 years ago to give Napa Countys youth an opportunity to play in a classical and orchestral setting. The youth symphony presents three annual concerts locally, in the fall, winter, and spring, before taking to the road for a three-concert European tour in late June. But on BottleRock weekend when the orchestra shares the Napa Valley Expo with the likes of P!nk, the Black Crowes and Twenty One Pilots and even the hard-rock legend Metallica itself, which performed Friday night the orchestra entertains audiences with arrangements of rock hits, on instruments usually associated with composers of a century or two ago. Stars, Napa musicians take the stages for BottleRock's second day From headliners like Twenty One Pilots to hometown performers like the Silverado Pickups, the musical smorgasbord was open again in Napa. The youth symphonys connection to BottleRock dates to the events debut in 2013. This year, current conductor Alan Anibal Souza Ramos is continuing the annual ritual as an element of what he calls the ensembles effort to reach more diverse audiences. For this years festival set, he selected songs by Kravitz, who was born of a Jewish father and a Black mother and forged a distinctive rock-funk blend that boosted him to fame in the 1990s. He had a hard time at the beginning of his career trying to (get credit) for his music, Anibal, a native of Brazil, said of the choice. "(People were saying) Its not really rock, and its not really Black, so he didnt have the support he might have had in the beginning. Anibal closed out Saturdays performance with Enter Sandman, though he wryly understood the chances of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and company seeing the orchestras take on their hit was slim to none. I did think of writing Metallica through social media, to see if I could get some attention for the kids, he said amiably during a break in a pre-BottleRock rehearsal Sunday afternoon. I think it would be cool for them to meet them. Meanwhile, the decidedly unclassical festival that is BottleRock has become a unique treat for the ensembles teen and preteen performers, a change for budding musicians to relax and connect with fans who never or rarely set foot in a concert hall with their special takes on hits familiar to millions. I was really excited the first time, said the cellist and Napa High School junior Carlo Deianni of his first BottleRock appearance with the orchestra in 2019. It was a new opportunity, a new venue, and we had great music that year Bohemian Rhapsody, which was a really fun one to play. Youre performing for more people, youre trying to move a bit more and sound as best as you can, and also as loud as you can. I really enjoy it," he continued. "Its a unique experience, and you only get a few of them, so you enjoy them while you can. You can be more relaxed when youre not in the concert hall, added Vintage High sophomore Uma Adhye during the youth symphonys Sunday rehearsal for BottleRock. Im a violinist, and I get to stand up, move around a bit; its more casual. Taking on rock music with classical instruments has also led orchestra members into a more visceral style of performance than with their usual fare, according to Jasperina van Stuijvenberg, a Napa High senior who was playing her fifth and last BottleRock as a bassoonist before heading to the Berklee College of Music in Boston this fall. Its more listening and feeling the music, rather than focusing on what the conductor wants of you, she said of the experience. Its more fluid, so you want to be more relaxed when youre playing. Just the focus is different its hard for some people because theyre more used to the stricter rules of classical music, but its about loosening up. Toward the end of the orchestra's half-hour set on BottleRock's Allianz Stage, its musicians had seemingly loosened up convincingly, as the violinists' high-pitched, lightning-quick sawing captured the flavor of the swift-fingered guitar bridge of "Enter Sandman." Afterward, as about 100 early BottleRock arrivals cheered and hoisted aloft smartphones for quick video clips, Anibal, the conductor, amiably raised his own phone to capture the moment with his musicians and then launched them into a repeat of the Metallica song for an encore. However sharp the adjustment is from a classical stage to a rock one, the annual BottleRock date remains a juicy reward for the youth symphony, a rare chance for its up-and-coming performers to share a spotlight with stars. Its such a cool thing to be able to do, said van Stuijvenberg, and you dont normally get to do that, especially as a kid. You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The various costs associated with attending BottleRock Napa Valley 2022 can be hefty for some, but attendees at the festival said they were having a great time regardless. At a base level, a three-day general admission pass to the festival this year cost $409, according to the BottleRock website, and a one-day ticket cost roughly $200. Those willing to pony up about three times as much could receive VIP passes for the festival which featured several add-ons a special section of the festival adjacent to the main stage, up-close viewing at each stage, and more. Then theres a three-day Skydeck pass that comes at a cost of about $2,000 that gives access to elevated viewing platforms. And theres also a luxury platinum weekend pass that cost about $6,000 and offers on-stage or front-row seats, on-site parking, and many other perks. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Those ticket costs, of course, largely dont include the additional costs of food, parking, travel and lodging that attendees also pay for. Parking costs for the festival can vary wildly, but gas prices are currently at a record high of over $6 a gallon, and local lodging prices have risen considerably for this weekend. Most food options seen at the festival generally ranged from about $15 to $20. Several people at the festival on Saturday said the experience was all worth the extravagant price tags. Emily Mollet and Jackie McCormick who each had 3-day general admission passes said they took an airplane to California from Chicago to see the festival. McCormick said they were staying at a hotel in Fairfield that cost $400 a night, owing to the high cost of Napas hotels this weekend. The city of Napas hotels on average were charging about $200 per night earlier this year, according to previous reporting, but room prices for some of the citys hotels spiked to over $1,000 this BottleRock weekend. Mollet and McCormick both said the food and drinks at the festival were a little pricy, but theyd been enjoying the offerings. They were able to purchase their GA passes through a fan club for Sunday headliner P!nk, McCormick said, so they were primarily at the festival to see her. But even well before P!nks Sunday night performance, everything was going great. Everythings very well put together and very clean, McCormick said. McCormick said that, for her, the country coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic at least to some degree justified paying a little bit extra to attend the festival. She added she was attending her first BottleRock, and shes definitely interested in coming back in future years. Patrice and Frank Norton said they were also first-time attendees to BottleRock. They flew into the festival from Orange County. Patrice Norton said they were general admission admits for Saturday and Sunday, but wouldve signed up for VIP passes had those passes not sold out. Frank Norton added that they were staying at the historic Francis House hotel in Calistoga at a cost of roughly $1,500 a night, and the experience had been fantastic. He said theyd certainly be looking to visit Napa again soon. Menlo Park residents Gonzalo Rojas and Cara Bowman drove up to the festival early on Saturday with one-day passes. They arrived early enough to find free parking in downtown Napa, near the First Presbyterian Church, Rojas said. Rojas noted that the ticket price was relatively expensive, but thats also true for other musical festivals like the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival held in Golden Gate Park each year. Its the Bay Area," Rojas said. "It's expensive." Napa residents Devin and Kimberly Jinks said theyd previously attended the 2018 and 2019 festivals and were each attending the 2022 festival with a three-day pass. Devin Jinks said he thought BottleRock was great for locals. Because they lived in Napa and could make it to the Expo fairly easily, he said, they werent burdened by most of the additional costs that others have to pay for. Kimberly Jinks said the food seemed pricy at first glance, but shed received more and better food at that price point than what shed expect at a music festival. For instance, Jinks said, a waffle cone filled with chicken and other food had cost $19 and a big batch of French fries had cost $10, and the items had been sufficient to fulfil their hunger early on Saturday. Its also nice that they can try out food from local places like Coles Chop House at BottleRock, Jinks said. It feels like you get what you pay for, she said. You can reach Edward Booth at 707-256-2213. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. During June Napa Green and community partners will host Napa THRIVES, a series of six half-day events organized around the six pillars of sustainable winegrowing leadership: water efficiency, energy efficiency, waste prevention and green purchasing, integrated pest management and pesticide phaseout, social equity and diversity, all of which folds into climate action and regenerative farming. THRIVES stands for "transformation, health and resiliency initiatives in viticulture and enology symposium." The symposium takes place at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena June 7-27. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The symposium includes an innovative mentorship program. At the start of each event, an offsite workshop option will be offered, during which up to 40 guests can work with an industry expert and another leading grower or vintner. On June 7, this will kick off with Tod Mostero, director of viticulture and Winemaking at Dominus Estate, in a conversation with Pine Ridge Vineyards about transitioning their Dos Olivos vineyard to dry farming. On June 9, mentor Juan Moreno, facility manager at Rutherford Hill Winery, will share steps anyone in the industry can take to reduce energy use and maximize the use of solar renewable energy. The emphasis will be on cutting the bottom line wineries can save tens of thousands annually by improving efficiency, and slash emissions at the same time. Also a part of this Saving Energy and Energy Efficiency event, is speaker Bill McKibben, co-founder of Third Act and 350.org, who earlier this year wrote a piece for The New Yorker, titled In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things. McKibben said, Napa has been ground zero for climate destruction, but also climate action. I look forward to strategizing about how we make big changes, fast. Author of more than a dozen books, including the bestsellers "Falter," "Deep Economy" and "The End of Nature," McKibben is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and the winner of the Gandhi Prize, the Thomas Merton Prize, and the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the alternate Nobel. On June 21, the Social Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion event will launch with Philana Bouvier, president of Demeine Estates, kicking off her mentorship on recruiting and increasing diversity. Not only is this topic something very personal to me, it matters deeply to Demeine Estates, Bouvier said. If we are building long-term resilience, we must truly understand what these essential concepts mean ... equity in opportunity does not mean equity of outcome. This journey matters." On June 21, Napa THRIVES will also welcome Nikki Silvestri, founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow. Silvestri has spoken at the White House, negotiated with the Environmental Protection Agency and received OxFam America's "Act Local, Think Global" Award. She has appeared on MSNBCs "All in with Chris Hayes," and her writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and BET Magazine. Additional speakers are: -- Eric Asimov, wine critic at the New York Times -- Kayalin Akens-Irby, chief of staff at Planet FWD -- Kelly Mulville, vineyard director at Paicines Ranch -- Kimberly Nicholas, sustainability scientist at Lund University, and author of "Under the Sky We Make" -- Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown -- Birgit Cameron, co-founder and head of Patagonia Provisions Additional mentors are Molly Sheppard, educational winemaker at Spottswoode Estates (TRUE Zero Waste); Erik Dodd, vineyard manager, Wight Vineyard Management (going Roundup free); Jim Duane, winemaker, Seavey Vineyard (regenerative carbon farming). Tickets start at $75. Students may purchase tickets at a 50% discount. To learn more about Napa THRIVES, purchase tickets or become a sponsor, visit https://napathrives.org. The tension should be resolved not at any cost, not by creating more tension, I fully trust the Russian Foreign Ministry to build this process in the interests of our ally, Russian political analyst Nikolay Silaev said in an interview with NEWS.am. His remarks came while commenting on attempts to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey. In his opinion, the border will have to be opened sooner or later. "It is important from the point of view of transport communications and ours too. It is clear that in Armenian society, the prospect of normalizing relations with Turkey is associated with very great emotions. It seems to me that this process now lacks publicity. There is an opportunity to speak more openly. Overall, the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations will not decrease the importance of Russian-Armenian relations, but will increase it," he said. "Turkey is an important trading partner for the South Caucasus countries. But Russia is also a recipient of exports. The South Caucasus countries have a lot of production aimed at the Russian market. The prospect of the revival of the Armenian industry is related to the Russian market, because there are still ties and a certain base. But Turkey is unlikely to be a market for industrial products from these countries, Turkey is unlikely to create such a volume of state orders, which creates and will create Russia, Turkey is unlikely to be so promising IT market. Russia was afraid of this kind of competition in the 1990s, but not now," Silaev noted. "As for the competition on the part of Turkish goods in the Armenian market, it is a matter of customs regulations, not open borders," the expert added. Russian political analyst Nikolay Silaev, in a conversation with NEWS.am told that he thinks the current situation in Karabakh will last for a long time and that all the sides involved understand this. According to his assessment, there will be no attempts to significantly move the situation on the ground until the end of the military operation in Ukraine, because after 24 February, the stakes for everyone have grown very much, first of all for Russia. "This is no longer quite the Russia that everyone was dealing with on 9 November 2020. To demand the early withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh means radically spoiling relations with Russia. Do any of the parties need to radically damage relations with Russia? I would not expect this. Of course, the Russian military presence on the territory that Azerbaijan considers its own is very sensitive for Azerbaijan. The situation that developed in the region as a result of the second Karabakh war does not satisfy Armenia, but any stable international order is always completely unsatisfactory for all the parties involved. I would not expect any radical changes. It seems to me that the situation that has developed can last for a long time," Silaev noted. He said that Russia is interested in strengthening good relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, especially since all global logistics are changing now because of the sanctions. "A new impetus for the development of transport communications is important, and good relations with Armenia and good relations with Azerbaijan are important for us here. It is important for us to unblock communications, the North-South transport corridor," the expert added. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ban on assault weapons during mourning events to remember the last of the 10 people killed Saturday in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket, PA MEDIA reported. At the funeral of 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield - the oldest of the 10 people killed in the supermarket attack two weeks ago - Harris told mourners that now is the moment when "all good people" should speak out against the injustice that occurred at Tops Friendly Market on 14 May, as well as at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. "Everybody's got to stand up and agree that this should not be happening in our country and that we should have the courage to do something about it," Harris told the congregants at the funeral. "An assault weapon is a weapon of war, with no place, no place in a civil society. Why should anyone be able to buy a weapon that can kill other human beings without at least knowing, 'Hey, has that person committed a violent crime before? Are they a threat against themselves or others? That's just reasonable," Harris said on Saturday. Kazakhstan reveals number of people convicted of January riots Zaven Harutyunyan, author and host of 'Dipvats' program, passes away Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and UN prepare roadmap on export of agricultural products Russian MFA hopes Ankara will refrain from actions to worsen situation in Syria US warns Turkish incursion in Syria will undermine regional stability Cavusoglu: Turkey is open to cooperation in the creation of 'grain center' Mexico bans sale of vape and e-cigarettes US to build 110 military facilities of various purposes in Poland within 10 years Parties of conflict in Yemen extend truce for two months Saudi Arabia ready to increase oil production, in case of a significant drop in production in Russia Merkel: Russias war with Ukraine is a turning point in European history US expands sanctions against Russia Israel, Egypt and European Commission hold intensive consultations on how to export surplus gas Yerevan to host three international chess tournaments in 2022 Turkey delivers six Bayraktar TB2 drones to Niger Trilateral working group meeting to unblock regional communications to be held in Moscow Armenia Ombudswoman receives 904 complaints on issues related to child protection in 2021 New Syrian Ambassador presents copies of her credentials to Armenia FM Stepanakert does not comment on reports about Harutyunyan and Pashinyan meeting In Baku, participants of second Karabakh war break down doors of Ministry Germany to buy 60 Chinook heavy helicopters from Boeing Armenia PM chief of staff: Artsakh is frontline of our war French diplomats go on strike Kristinne Grigoryan: A priority of Armenia ombudsperson's office is to assist overcoming post-war humanitarian situation Lithuania signs agreement with Turkey to purchase Bayraktar TB2 for Ukrainian army Lavrov's delegation during his Turkey visit will include military Tunisia President dismisses 57 judges, accusing them of 'corruption and protection of terrorists' Kremlin: Pumping Ukraine with weapons may worsen the situation Armenia official: Azerbaijan makes statements that do not correspond to negotiations Armenia Security Council secretary evades confirming Artsakh is Armenia, period theory CIS committee on disarmament discusses security guarantees Armenia Security Council head: We have proposed to take troops out in mirror to ensure stability at border Armenia Resistance Movement approaching important milestone says its coordinator Armenia Security Council chief does not say date of next meeting of commission on border delimitation with Azerbaijan Interpol head warns of surge in arms trafficking after the end of war in Ukraine Armenias Pashinyan has telephone conversation with Georgias Garibashvili Deputy PM: Armenia tourism sector on way to recovery thanks to flexible state policy Turkey announces positive negotiations with US on purchase of F-16s US lifts restrictions on Cuba flights Kerobyan, Wiktorin discuss priorities of SME development programs in Armenia Armenia to get community development grant from India Armenia to host Greece deputy defense minister Participants of international congress in Azerbaijan to visit occupied Armenian Shushi city of Artsakh Raisi: Iran supports progress in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks US says Ukraine assured it will not escalate conflict after receiving HIMARS systems. UN grants Turkey request to change English spelling of country's name NATO does not foresee Russia retaliation against US decision to supply advanced weapons to Ukraine Turkey parliament speaker arrives in Azerbaijan Pashinyan, Raisi discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation issue Newspaper: Rally in Stepanakert seriously worries Armenia authorities Newspaper: Who will replace serving US Ambassador to Armenia? UK to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine Croatia is ready to adopt the euro from January 1, 2023 NATO to hold Turkey's meeting with Finland and Sweden to solve problem of their admission Blinken says US intends to provide Ukraine with everything necessary for self-defense Italy becomes only country in Europe that increased import of Russian oil Syunik ex-province govern's son apprehended Armenian ex-presidents nephew arrested Record number of women in new Australian government NEWS.am digest: Pashinyan, Putin discuss Karabakh; EU speaks on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal Ministry of Economy: It is planned to create a development bank for small and medium-sized businesses in Armenia Saghatelyan: Today we will publish list of forces that presented their position on statement on Artsakh issue Gasoline prices in US again update historical high Kazinyan: Every word and thought of Charles Michel's statement agreed with Pashinyan, Aliyev Israeli air force simulate attack on Iranian nuclear facilities Putin and Erdogan agree that Turkey will help in demining the ports of Ukraine Erdogan: Turkey received no proposals from Finland and Sweden for their membership in NATO Byblos Bank donates to National Library the 1872 publication book (PHOTOS) Today's Resistance Movement procession includes women and children Former Qatari princess found dead at home in southern Spain Azerbaijani President signs order on call-up to active military service Olaf Scholz calls on Turkey to show restraint toward Greece Dollar, euro continue to fall in Armenia Turkey raises natural gas and electricity prices for households and industry Resistance Movement organizes protest outside Shirak regional administration building Erdogan refuses to negotiate with Greece Peskov: Dates of Putin's visit to Turkey are being coordinated Kremlin: Meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy cannot be ruled out a priori Moscow does not believe Kiev is not going to attack Russian territory with MLRS NATO conducts training in Azerbaijan Armenia PM tells Putin about his contacts with Aliyev and Michel Armenia PM and Putin discuss Karabakh settlement Manfred Weber elected European People's Party president Armenia parliamentary staff to receive another bonus WSJ: Some OPEC members are considering suspending Russia's participation in the OPEC+ deal Tbilisi vice-mayor found dead in his home State Revenue Committee: Local tobacco production decreased in Armenia in 2021 Opposition: There will be no interruption in Resistance movement, there is no reason for it Armenian Defense Ministry denies appearance of new Azerbaijani checkpoints in Syunik region Turkish nationalist leader says US military bases in Greece pose 'threat' to Turkey's security Russia MFA: Any supply of weapons to Ukraine increases risk of direct clash between Russia and US NATO Secretary-General heads to US US Treasury Secretary admits she was wrong about 'path inflation' Turkey sends letter to UN Secretary-General on registration of country's name in foreign languages as Turkiye Gazprom halts gas supplies to Danish Orsted and Shell Energy Europe Limited in Germany EU: Yerevan and Baku confirm no extraterritorial claims on future transport infrastructure In Mexico, Hurricane Agatha kills at least 11 people and leaves 20 missing Armenia MoD refutes another Azerbaijani lie Karen Vardanyan donates 107 mln AMD to 5 orphanages in Armenia on the occasion of 1 June New US missile systems to allow Ukraine to hit targets at distance of 80 km Germany has not delivered "any noteworthy" weapons to Ukraine since late March, Die Welt reported, citing documents in its possession. As the newspaper notes, only two shipments of weapons from the German government were sent to Ukraine between March 30 and May 26, but even they contained only small amounts of equipment. According to the newspaper, the last two shipments sent in mid-May included 3,000 anti-tank mines and another 1,600 specialized anti-tank directional mines. The German Defense Ministry refused to comment on the information, explaining it by its secrecy. According to the newspaper, the issue of delivery of the promised 100 Marder tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine has not been resolved yet, the Federal Security Council has been considering it for the last five weeks. The Geparde tanks also cannot be delivered yet because the Ukrainian military still needs to be trained to operate them. Welt notes that training of the first 45 servicemen will not begin until 13 June and will end on 22 July. Previously, the Ukrainian authorities have already voiced their dissatisfaction with Germany's unfulfilled promises to supply arms. Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, said that Berlin had let Kiev down on this issue. Germany also had problems with Poland: President Andrzej Duda accused the German government of violating the agreement on supplies of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. According to the agreement, Poland was to supply its weapons to Kiev, while Germany was to provide it with new Leopard tanks from the manufacturer Rheinmetall. Der Spiegel reported that Poland demanded the newest tanks, while Germany planned to send it old ones, as the Germany itself does not have new ones yet, Kommersant reported. Dubai has announced the official opening of the road linking Al Ain following the completion of revamp work at a total cost of AED2 billion ($544 million). The scope of the Dubai-Al Ain Road Improvement Project spans 17 km from the intersection of Emirates Road to the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road along the Dubai-Al Ain Road. Construction works included widening the road from three to six lanes in each direction, and constructing six main interchanges along with bridges and ramps stretching 11.5 km. Undertaken as part of Dubais master transport plan, the project affirms Dubais efforts to accelerate its economic development with major projects, said a statement from Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Speaking the opening ceremony, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, said: "Dubai continues to advance the implementation of infrastructure development plans aimed at enhancing human welfare and catalysing sustainable economic growth." The government, he stated, has always placed the highest priority on constantly improving Dubais road infrastructure, since it plays an important role in raising the emirates competitiveness in addition to creating an attractive business and investment environment and providing a high quality of life for the community. He pointed out that by expediting the pace of its infrastructure development, Dubai has put itself at the forefront of global economic recovery and created a strong foundation for sustained development in the next phase of the emirates growth. Sheikh Hamdan was later briefed by Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, on the project. The new road will help ease traffic flow and improve links with the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road, and Emirates Road, besides serving the current and future development projects on both sides of the Dubai-Al Ain Road. "The project will benefit a population of 1.5 million living or working in the neighbourhood on both sides of the road. It also serves 25 universities and colleges where a total of 27,500 students are enrolled. The improvements will double the intake of the road from 12,000 to 24,000 vehicles per hour in both directions," he stated. "It will also slash the travel time on the Dubai-Al Ain Road from the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road to the intersection of the Emirates Road by 50% from 16 minutes to eight minutes during peak time. Furthermore, it will solve traffic snarls that used to extend about two km," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Siemens Mobility and its consortium partners Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors have signed a contract with the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), a governmental authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of Egypt, to create the sixth largest high-speed rail system in the world. Siemens Mobility is a separately managed company of Siemens AG. As a leader in transport solutions for more than 160 years, Siemens Mobility is constantly innovating its portfolio in its core areas of rolling stock, rail automation and electrification, turnkey systems as well as related services. The Siemens Mobility share of the combined contract is 8.1 billion ($8.54 billion) and includes the initial contract of 2.7 billion ($2.84 billion) for the first line signed in September last year, it stated. Running 2,000 km long, the high-speed rail network will connect 60 cities across the country, with trains that can operate at up to 230 km/h. This means that approximately 90 percent of Egyptians will have access to this modern, safe, and integrated rail system. With a modal shift to train transport, the fully electrified network will cut carbon emissions by 70% compared to current car or bus transport, further supporting Egypts efforts in transforming its mobility to a more sustainable one, said the statement from Siemens. Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel Al Wazir signed the agreement with Siemens President and CEO Roland Busch along with Orascom Construction CEO Osama Bishai and Arab Contractors' President and CEO Sayed Farouk in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. Chairman of Egypts National Authority for Tunnels Essam Waly and German Ambassador Frank Hartmann as well as Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter attended the signing ceremony. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a video message, underlining Germanys support for the project and its importance for German-Egyptian bilateral relations and global climate protection. Together with civil works partners Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors, Siemens Mobility will provide its comprehensive turnkey services to design, install, commission, and maintain the entire system for 15 years, it added. On the country's mega rail project, El Sisi said the new electrified trains network comes as a consolidation of the fruitful co-operation between Egypt and Germany in the field of infrastructure, and will represent a valuable great addition to Egypts transportation system, marking the beginning of a new era for the railways system in Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East. "The opportunity to provide Egypt with a modern, safe, and affordable transportation system that will transform the everyday for millions of Egyptians, create thousands of local jobs and reduces CO2 emissions in transport, is an honour for us," remarked Busch. "Not only will it promote economic growth, it will also enable Egypt to take a leap forward in rail transportation. With our latest technology in rolling stock, signaling, and maintenance services, Egypt will have the sixth largest and most modern high-speed rail network in the world. In addition, it is the biggest order in the history of Siemens," he added. The Egyptian high-speed network will consist of three lines: The already announced Suez Canal on rails, a 660-kilometer line connecting the port cities of Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh and Alexandria on the Mediterranean. And the two rail lines signed today. The second line will be about 1,100 kilometers and run between Cairo and Abu Simbel near the Sudan border, linking the mega city to rising economic centers in the south. Furthermore, it will allow for the development of communities up and down the Nile, which will subsequently provide additional opportunities for small and family-owned businesses to flourish. The third line will cover 225 kilometers. This line will connect the world heritage archeological sites in Luxor with Hurghada by the Red Sea. In addition, this rail link will significantly improve the efficiency and sustainability of freight transport for goods and materials between Safaga harbor and inland locations. "This landmark transportation project is truly historic for both Egypt and Siemens and we are honored to partner with the Ministry of Transport to reimagine the future of transportation in Egypt," stated Peter. "The extensive 2,000 km high-speed rail network will connect 60 cities and enable around 500 million journeys a year. It will link the country like never before, fight pollution and global warming, while also providing an effective and reliable method for the movement of goods," he said. "Together with our partners, we will develop from scratch a complete and state of the art rail network that will offer a blueprint for the region on how to install an integrated, sustainable, and modern transportation system," he added. New York Times NYT Trading Report Source: Stock Traders Daily Longer Term Trading Plans for NYT NONE. Details There is no current Support Plan to trigger a buy of this stock at this time. This usually means that there are no clear support levels at this time, so buying the stock as it falls could be considered catching a falling knife. Buy signals only exist if resistance breaks higher. This often is a signal that the stock you are watching is weak. Waiting for a turn higher may be more intelligent than trying to catch a falling knife. In any case, new support levels are usually revised to the database at the beginning of the next trading session. Short NYT under 37.76, target n/a, stop loss @ 37.87 Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of NYT as it gets near 37.76, but the downside target is not available from the current data. This tells us to hold that position if it is triggered until a new downside target has been established (updates occur at the beginning of every trading session) or until the position has been stopped. The summary data tells us to have a stop loss in place at 37.87. 37.76 is the first level of resistance above 34.44, and by rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance 37.76 is being tested, so a short signal would exist. Swing Trading Plans for NYT Buy NYT over 43.58, target n/a, Stop Loss @ 43.45 Details If 43.58 begins to break higher, the technical summary data tells us to buy NYT just over 43.58, with an upside target of n/a. The data also tells us to set a stop loss @ 43.45 in case the stock turns against the trade. 43.58 is the first level of resistance above 34.44, and by rule, any break above resistance is a buy signal. In this case, 43.58, initial resistance, would be breaking higher, so a buy signal would exist. Because this plan is based on a break of resistance, it is referred to as a Long Resistance Plan. Short NYT near 43.58, target n/a, Stop Loss @ 43.71. Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of NYT if it tests 43.58 with a downside target of n/a. We should have a stop loss in place at 43.71 though in case the stock begins to move against the trade. By rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance, 43.58, is being tested a short signal would exist. Because this plan is a short plan based on a test of resistance it is referred to as a Short Resistance Plan. Day Trading Plans for NYT Buy NYT over 37.76, target 43.58, Stop Loss @ 37.67 Details If 37.76 begins to break higher, the technical summary data tells us to buy NYT just over 37.76, with an upside target of 43.58. The data also tells us to set a stop loss @ 37.67 in case the stock turns against the trade. 37.76 is the first level of resistance above 34.44, and by rule, any break above resistance is a buy signal. In this case, 37.76, initial resistance, would be breaking higher, so a buy signal would exist. Because this plan is based on a break of resistance, it is referred to as a Long Resistance Plan. Short NYT near 37.76, target 33.61, Stop Loss @ 37.85. Details The technical summary data is suggesting a short of NYT if it tests 37.76 with a downside target of 33.61. We should have a stop loss in place at 37.85 though in case the stock begins to move against the trade. By rule, any test of resistance is a short signal. In this case, if resistance, 37.76, is being tested a short signal would exist. Because this plan is a short plan based on a test of resistance it is referred to as a Short Resistance Plan. NYT Technical Summary | Raw Data for the Trading Plans Term Near Mid Long Bias Neutral Weak Neutral P1 0 0 37.76 P2 32.47 31.55 43.58 P3 33.49 33.61 49.54 Technically, New York Times (NYSE: NYT) provides opportunities for traders who are watching the price of the stock oscillate over time. Warning: This is a static report, the data below was valid at the time of the publication, but support and resistance levels for NYT change over time, so the report should be updated regularly. Real Time updates are provided to subscribers. Unlimited Real Time Reports. Subscribers also receive market analysis, stock correlation tools, macroeconomic observations, timing tools, and protection from market crashes using Evitar Corte. Instructions: The rules that govern the data in this report are the rules of Technical Analysis. For example, if NYT is testing support buy signals surface, and resistance is the target. Conversely, if resistance is being tested, that is a sign to control risk or short, and support would be the downside target accordingly. In each case, the trigger point is designed to be both an ideal place to enter a position (avoid trading in the middle of a trading channel), and it acts as a level of risk control too. Swing Trades, Day Trades, and Longer term Trading Plans: This data is refined to differentiate trading plans for Day Trading, Swing Trading, and Long Term Investing plans for NYT too. All of these are offered below the Summary Table. Park received the prize given to the best film director for his romance "Decision to Leave" at the 75th edition of the festival held at Palais Lumiere in Cannes. Yonhap news agency reported Park became the second South Korean director to win in the category, following renowned filmmaker Im Kwon-taek for the historical drama "Chihwaseon" in 2002. Aside from Park, Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's film Triangle of Sadness won the Palme d'Or, top prize of the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Zar Amir Ebrahimi from the film Holy Spider won the Award for Best Actress, and Song Kang-ho from the South Korean film Broker won the Award for Best Actor. The festival's nine-member jury is headed by French actor Vincent Lindon, winner of the Best Actor Award at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in 2015. This year, 21 films have been selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. (ANI) She was spotted at Mumbai airport wearing a beautiful saree. She accessorised her airport outfit with a pearl necklace. Kangana will not only act as the lead in the film 'Emergency' but she will also direct and produce it. 'Emergency' is based on the life of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Apart from it, Kangana is also coming up with 'Tiku Weds Sheru', which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur in the lead roles. (ANI) The 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' actor took to her Instagram handle and dropped a couple of her cute sunkissed pictures of a bright sunny Sunday. She captioned the post and wrote, "just give me my sunshine and I'll be on my way". Alia donned an olive pair of jeggings with a yellow tie and dye tee. She could be seen sitting on the grass, her head up to the sky and her eyes closed, feeling a natural beauty around her. In the second picture, she may be seen lying down with her legs high in the air. Her cheerful smile seems that she is enjoying the moment. The 'Dear Zindagi' actor appears to be wearing no makeup in the photos and left her hair open. As soon as Alia posted the pictures, Arjun Kapoor commented and wrote, "Sunshine is in mumbai shooting with Luv ranjan but!!!" Fans expressed their love for the actor by dropping heart emojis in the comment section. Meanwhile, on the work front, Alia Bhatt is enjoying the success of her latest films 'RRR' and 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'. She also has numerous projects in the pipeline, including Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahmastra', in which she co-stars with husband Ranbir Kapoor, 'Darlings', in which she co-stars with Vijay Varma, and Karan Johar's 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani', in which she co-stars with Ranveer Singh. (ANI) Taking to her Instagram handle, the 'Runway 34' actor set Instagram ablaze, as she drops some steaming hot pictures of herself where she could be seen wearing a shimmery saree, paired with a matching blouse with a plunging neckline and posing for the camera. Sharing the snaps, Rakul wrote, "In a Blingtastic mood" Rakul is quite active on social media, where she has a sizable fan base. Her fans can't get enough of the Bollywood diva, who is frequently seen sharing images and videos of herself and her loved ones on social media. Rakul was most recently seen in the film 'Runway 34,' which also starred Ajay Devgn and Amitabh Bachchan. (ANI) The Punjabi actor took to her Instagram handle and shared a string of beautiful snaps, where she could be seen donning an all-white salwar kameez, simple yet gorgeous. Sharing the pictures, Shehnaaz wrote, "Feeling serene". Her natural beauty was enhanced by her smile and minimum makeup. As per media reports and viral videos, Shehnaaz went to launch the new operation theatre in Brahma Kumaris' hospital in Mumbai. Since Sidharth Shukla's death, the Bigg Boss 13 fame has become an active member of Brahma Kumaris. Shehnaaz is now filming 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali', along with Superstar Salman Khan, Pooja Hegde, Kriti Sanon and Aayush Sharma, which is set to release in December, this year. (ANI) Actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who is under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with her alleged links with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, has got the court's permission to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from May 31 to June 6. Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh said, during this time, the Lookout Circular (LOC) against her issued in the case shall stand suspended. Jacqueline, who wanted to attend the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Abu Dhabi, had approached the Patiala House court, seeking its permission. The court directed her to submit a Rs 50 lakh Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) along with a surety of Rs 50 lakh and details of her itinerary, stay, and return date.Also, she has to inform the investigating agency on her return to the country. In her plea, she stated that she is a Sri Lankan national living in India since 2009 and holds a good name in the Bollywood industry. The actress has been invited to events, press conferences, rehearsals, and participation of the IFAA, it stated. The ED has interrogated Jacqueline multiple times and recorded her statement after her alleged friendship with Chandrashekhar came to light. In the Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving Chandrashekhar, the ED had last month attached gifts and properties worth Rs 7 crore given to the Sri Lankan actress, terming them proceeds of crime. In February this year, the agency had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Pinky Irani, an alleged aide of Chandrashekhar, who had introduced him to the actress. It has been alleged that Irani used to choose costly gifts for Jacqueline and later dropped them at her house after the payments were made by Chandrashekhar. Chandrashekhar spent around Rs 20 crore on different models and Bollywood celebrities. --IANS jw/atk/vd ( 311 Words) 2022-05-28-20:32:02 (IANS) Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Singh on Saturday suspended SHO, Town, Kumar Abhinav. A gang of four to five armed robbers looted a branch of Bank of India located at Bank Road at around 10 a.m. on Friday and fled with Rs 37.5 lakh cash and jewellery worth Rs 87.5 lakh from the lockers. The armed robbers burst into the bank and held the officials and customers hostage at gunpoint. They took the cash from the cash box and also taken the key of the chest and lockers from bank officials. They snatched the rifle of the security guard and also snatched mobile phones of customers and officials, who were then locked inside the washroom. Bank manager Akhilesh Kumar claimed that the robbers have taken away jewellery from 20 lockers apart from cash from the cash box. "We have suspended the SHO of the town police station due to his negligence in duty. The suspension was done in the direction of the IGP, Purnea range IGP," the SP said. "We have sealed the district borders and also alerted Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) officials deployed on the Indo-Nepal border. Efforts are on to nab the robbers," he added. --IANS ajk/vd ( 226 Words) 2022-05-28-20:48:04 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed a seminar of leaders of various cooperative institutions on 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya, Members of Parliament, MLAs, Ministers from the Gujarat Government, and leaders of the cooperative sector were among those present on the occasion. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister welcomed thousands of farmers who gathered at the Mahatma Mandir. He said cooperation is a great medium for self-sufficiency of the village. It has the energy of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. He said Pujya Bapu and Patel showed us the way for bringing self-sufficiency to villages. Along those lines, today we are moving ahead on the path of developing a model cooperative village. Six villages in Gujarat have been chosen where all the cooperative-related activities would be implemented, he said. After inaugurating the Nano Urea (Liquid) Plant at IFFCO, Kalol, he said that the power of a full sack of urea has come into a half-liter bottle, leading to huge savings in transportation and storage. The Plant will produce about 1.5 lakh bottles of 500 ml per day. He said that 8 more such plants will be established in the country in the coming days. "This will reduce foreign dependence with regard to urea and will save the country's money. I am confident that this innovation will not remain confined to urea. In the future other nano fertilizers will be available to our farmers", he said. The Prime Minister informed that India is the second-largest consumer of urea in the world but only the third-largest producer. After the formation of the government in 2014, the government did 100 per cent neem coating of urea. This ensured that the farmers of the country got enough urea. Simultaneously, the work of restarting 5 closed fertilizer factories in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Telangana was initiated. UP and Telangana factories have already started production, and the other three factories also will soon start working, he said. Talking about the import dependence with regard to urea and phosphate and potash-based fertilizers, the Prime Minister dwelled on high prices and lack of availability in the global market due to the pandemic and war. He said that the sensitive government did not allow the problems to be passed on to the farmers and despite the difficult situation did not let any crisis of fertilizer take shape in India. A urea bag costing Rs 3500 is made available to the farmer for Rs 300 while the government bears Rs 3200 per bag. Similarly on a bag of DAP, the government bears Rs 2500 as opposed to Rs 500 borne by the earlier governments. The Union Government gave a subsidy of Rs 1,60,000 crore last year, this year this subsidy is going to be more than Rs 2 lakh crore, the Prime Minister informed. The Prime Minister promised to do whatever was necessary in the interest of the farmers of the country. The Prime Minister said that in the last 8 years, the government has worked on both the immediate and long-term solutions to the problems being faced by the country. He cited solutions like improving health infrastructure to deal with any further pandemic shock, Mission Oil Palm to tackle edible oil problems, bio-fuel and hydrogen fuel to handle oil problems, natural farming, and nano-technology push are also results of this approach. "The example of the cooperative model of the dairy sector is before us. Today India is the largest milk producer in the world among which Gujarat has a major share. The dairy sector is also growing rapidly in the last few years and is also contributing more to the rural economy. In Gujarat, milk-based industries were widely spread because the restrictions on the part of the government were minimal in this. The government plays the role of only a facilitator here." With the objective of promoting cooperatives into the market and to bring them on the same platform, a separate ministry for cooperatives was formed at the Centre. He added that efforts are being made to encourage a cooperative-based economic model in the country. The PM greeted and met the cooperative representatives. --IANS asmita/skp/ ( 711 Words) 2022-05-28-20:52:02 (IANS) Even as half the country is receiving pre-monsoon showers, the plains of northwest India and large parts of central India are set to witness a rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius in maximum temperatures, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. "Gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 2-3 degrees Celsius is very likely over most parts of northwest India during next three days while gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 2-3 degrees Celsius is very likely over most parts of central India during next two days," the IMD bulletin said However, it added that: "No significant heat wave conditions are very likely over the country during next five days." The southern peninsular region is already in the countdown mode to welcome the southwest monsoon while east and NE India too are witnessing rainfall. Under the influence of westerly winds from Arabian Sea over the south peninsular India in lower tropospheric levels, widespread light/moderate rainfall with thunderstorm/ lightning is very likely over Kerala, Mahe, and Lakshadweep Islands and isolated rainfall over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal during next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Kerala and Mahe till June 1 and over Lakshadweep on May 30. The IMD warned that squally weather (wind speed 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph) is very likely over southwest Arabian Sea during next five days, over southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area along and off south Kerala coast and Comorin area on May 29 and 30 and over northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining north Gujarat coast on May 28 and 29. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these areas. Under the influence of a trough in westerlies and southwesterly winds from Bay of Bengal to northeast India at lower tropospheric levels, scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is very likely over northeast India and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and isolated to scattered rainfall with isolated thunderstorm/ lightning/ gusty winds over Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on May 30 and 31, over Arunachal Pradesh on June 1, over Assam and Meghalaya till June 1 and over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura on May 29, 31, and June 1, the IMD said. --IANS niv/vd ( 394 Words) 2022-05-28-20:52:03 (IANS) Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Port has ranked first among the most efficient container ports in the world on the 2021 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) report published by The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. The port improved its ranking from second place last year after achieving the highest points among 443 ports on both the administrative and statistical methodological approaches of the index, which scores ports against different metrics, said a statement from the King Abdullah Port. Asian and Middle Eastern ports dominated the ranking for the most efficient gateways in the world. King Abdullah Port is followed by counterparts in Oman (Port of Salalah) and Qatar (Hamad Port) respectively. King Abdullah Ports ranking in CPPI 2021 recognizes its efforts to achieve increased operational efficiency, quality controls and infrastructure development and management, it stated. Commenting on the new milestone, CEO Jay New said: "We are proud to announce that King Abdullah Port has been awarded the first position in the CPPI global ranking for container ports. This prestigious accolade represents a major leap forward and was made possible thanks to our commitment to consistent growth and our unique ability to mitigate challenges caused by disruptions in the global supply chain, as well as the success of strategic decisions taken in the face of profound uncertainties." "This recognition will serve as a motivation to continue to maintain our position as the industry leader and increase our contribution to transforming the Kingdom into a global hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa and increasing its non-oil exports, as per the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030," he added. The recognition demonstrates the ports continuous progress in accordance with its long-term strategic plans and objectives, embodying the motto Sailing Toward the Vision launched during its official inauguration in 2019. The new ranking also comes as a testimony to its contribution to the objectives of Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy to raise the efficiency of Saudi Arabias logistics sector and also transform the kingdom into a leading global trade hub, and diversify its economy. King Abdullah Port has been actively contributing to the kingdoms ambition for a diversified economy that relies on the non-oil sector, of which logistics is a focus area, through its highly efficient business plan based on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, complemented by the efforts of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). The unique PPP model consists of a partnership with over 17 government agencies, under the supervision of the Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority, while retaining full management and operation control by the private sector.-TradeArabia News Service Telangana Minister for Social Welfare Merugu Nagarjuna on Saturday said that social justice is possible in the state only because of the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. After laying wreaths to YSRP leaders at the Police Island during the ongoing YSRCP's Samajika Nyayabheri bus yatra, Minister for Social Welfare Merugu Nagarjuna said, "Social justice is possible only because of the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. There are 17 SC, ST, BC, and Minority ministers in the cabinet." YSRCP's Samajika Nyayabheri bus yatra started from Tadepalligudem on Saturday morning and ended up at Narsaraopet. The bus yatra is a unique drive by the YSR Congress Party to reach out to the people to highlight the government's initiatives on social justice and welfare schemes. Despite the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy being away from the state to attend the economic forum at Davos, the bus yatra is witnessing huge support from the people, which is a reflection of welfare schemes introduced by the government for them, stated an official release. Minister for Housing Jogi Ramesh also reiterated that CM YS Jagan is the only person in the country who is serving social justice. The Samajika Nyayabheri YSRCP bus yatra started on May 26 in the Srikakulam district and on the second day, it reached Visakhapatnam. The four-day bus yatra would be taken out across Andhra Pradesh till May 29 and end in a public meeting in Anantapur. Apart from the ministers, several MLAs and MLCs of the YSR Congress party, who also belong to Backward Class (BC), SC-ST, and minority communities were also part of the yatra. It may be noted over 82 per cent of the government schemes were benefiting the BC, SC-ST, and minorities in the state. (ANI) In the wake of recent provocative sloganeering, Kerala Popular Front (PFI) leader Yahiya Tangal on Saturday made a controversial remark against the High Court judges saying their "innerwear is saffron". At a rally in Alappuzha, Tangal said, "Courts are getting shocked easily now. High court judges are getting shocked after hearing the slogans of our Alappuzha rally. Do you know the reason? The reason is that their innerwear is saffron. Since it's saffron, they will get heated very fast. You will feel the burn and it will disturb you." In the viral video, a boy in a PFI rally in Alappuzha was seen raising the slogan that "Hindus should keep rice for their last rites and Christians should keep incense for their last rites. If your live decently, you can live in our land and if you don't live decently, we know Azadi (freedom). Live decently, decently, decently." This came as a direct threat to the Hindu and Christian population living in Kerala, with PFI warning the death penalty if they don't fall in line. The Kerala Police on Friday arrested 18 more people in connection with the PFI sloganeering case. Kerala High Court has directed police to take appropriate action against the Popular Front of India in connection with alleged provocative sloganeering in connection with the May 21 rally held in Alappuzha. Earlier, PFI state president CP Muhammad Basheer on Tuesday said that the slogan was against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He added that his party will continue to fight and resist RSS terrorism. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP KJ Alphons on Saturday claimed that there are some districts in Kerala where one feels "like Saudi Arabia" and anti-national thinking originates from a certain "dress code". Expressing concern about the growing radicalization in Kerala, Alphons said, "In Kerala, we see a radical shift towards radical Islam. It's extremely sad. If you go to some district in Kerala, you would feel as if you're in Saudi Arabia. I don't have a problem with the looks, the problem is the change in attitudes. The kind of anti-national thinking that comes with that dress code." Talking about Kerala High Court directing police to take appropriate action against PFI in connection with the alleged provocative sloganeering, Alphons said, "Finally the High court has directed the Kerala government against the organizers. Any person who is an organizer is responsible for whatever happens in the rally. The kid, of course, is a terrorist kid to say the least he and his family also just disappeared." In the viral video from a PFI rally in Alappuzha, a boy was seen raising the slogan that "Hindus should keep rice for their last rites and Christians should keep incense for their last rites. If you live decently, you can live in our land and if you don't live decently, we know Azadi (freedom). Live decently, decently, decently." This came as a direct threat to the Hindu and Christian population living in Kerala, with PFI warning the death penalty if they don't fall in line. "Communist government, as well as the Congress government, is so dependent on these radical Muslim elements for votes", Alphons added. Earlier, he also said that Kerala is the "hub of terrorism." "The major recruitment for terrorism is from Kerala, and SDPI and PFI target minorities for recruitment", he said. (ANI) After Siddaramaiah's 'Aryan' taunt at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday asked the Congress leader to specify if he was a Dravidian or Aryan. "Let Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah first declare whether he is a Dravidian or Aryan", said Basavaraj Bommai. Siddaramaiah on Friday said that RSS is not an outfit of native Indians and Davidians are the real natives of this country. "This RSS...are they native Indians? We've been quiet because we didn't want to rake up a few things. Are Aryans from this country? Are (RSS) Dravidians? We must go to the roots," said Siddaramaiah. Replying to a question on Siddaramaiah's comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be compared to former Prime Minister Nehru, Bommai said, "Yes it is true. Modi cannot be compared to Nehru because Nehru failed to take any tough action when China attacked India and the country lost a chunk of its territory to China. But Modi stood strong and acted tough when China tried to violate Indian borders. Modi did not compromise with Pakistan. Modi has preserved Indian unity and integrity. Modi has made India stronger. He certainly cannot be compared with Nehru." (ANI) In order to provide a safe environment for women at the workplace, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday, in an order, stated that no female worker can be bound to do the night shift in factories across the state. "No female worker shall be bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm. The authorities will also have to provide free transportation, food, and sufficient supervision if working during the aforementioned hours", said the government circular. As per the order, before 6 am and after 7 pm if the woman worker refuses to work, she would not be terminated from employment. The UP labour department issued the state order to notify the decision late Friday night. It makes it clear that women workers will not be compelled to stay back for work beyond 7 pm and would not be called to work before 6 am without their written consent. The government has notified the exemptions to women's workforce across all the mills and factories in the state. "The onus of providing a secure working atmosphere to the women workers will lie with the employer to prevent an incident of sexual harassment in the workplace. Moreover, the GO makes it mandatory for the employer to inculcate a robust complaint mechanism in the factory in compliance with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 or in any other related enactments", the order further stated. (ANI) Congress is likely to get a Rajya Sabha seat from its alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand, said sources on Sunday. The two Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant from Jharkhand after the retirement of BJP leaders Mahesh Poddar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Speaking to ANI over the alliance with JMM in the Rajya Sabha polls, Rajesh Thakur, Jharkhand Congress President said, "Till now the decision no decision has been taken but we can say that positive talks have been taken place between National President Sonia Gandhi and Hemant Soren. The discussion was also held with the organization in charge KC Venugopal and we understand a positive outcome will come today for the Congress." The State Congress President further said that a person from Jharkhand should go to the Rajya Sabha. "A leader from Jharkhand should go to Rajya Sabha. Still, we will follow what our president Sonia Gandhi says. The list will come today and positive talks were held (with JMM) and I can say that there will be a Congress candidate," he added. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Saturday and held a discussion over the current political situation in the state and Rajya Sabha polls. "I met Sonia Gandhi and gave her the details about the Rajya Sabha elections. There are two Rajya Sabha seats in the state, we had a discussion about that. All the details about the matter will be released in some time," said Soren. "He has given a positive response on Congress' demand for a Rajya Sabha berth from the state. The final decision will be taken soon," said sources. Elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant due to the retirement of members from 15 states will be held on June 10. The members are retiring on different dates between June 21 and August 1. Eleven seats are due to fall vacant from Uttar Pradesh this year, while six members each will retire from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Five Rajya Sabha MPs will retire from Bihar while four each will depart from Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Apart from these, seats will fall vacant when three members each from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, two each from Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand, and one from Uttarakhand retire. (ANI) "Praying for peace to the departed souls," the Chief Minister said while extending his condolences to the bereaved families. "I express deep regret for the people who lost their lives in the road accident in Bahraich. I wish peace to the family of departed souls," Adityanath told the mediapersons in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Earlier on Sunday, five people died and around 12 were injured when a tempo traveller and truck collided in the Motipur area of Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI) Punjab Excise Department busted a liquor smuggling module and arrested four members of the gang, said an official release on Saturday. The gang was allegedly involved in filling smuggled cheap liquor from Chandigarh into expensive imported scotch brands. Four members of the gang were arrested with fake liquor. Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam reiterated that the Punjab Government has zero-tolerance policy as far as the smuggling of liquor or any illegal activity relating to Excise is concerned. He said that action would be taken as per law against the accused. Joint Excise Commissioner Naresh Dubey informed that secret information was received that an organized gang is involved in smuggling cheap liquor from Chandigarh into Punjab and further fill it in bottles of expensive scotch brands. With the coordinated efforts of the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Excise Department and Fatehgarh Sahib district police intelligence inputs were gathered. The team got a tip that the accused Kundan Visht, a resident of Village Kajhedi, Chandigarh will be supplying the fake scotch liquor along with his gang members. In order to catch the accused red-handed, teams of special operations group of Excise and Police swung into action and special nakabandi was done. Two cars were intercepted on naka near Khamano and four members of the gang Kundan Visht, Harshwardan, resident of Ambala, Pardeep Singh, resident of Jeend, Haryana and Jasmin Kaur, a resident of Sangrur were arrested from the spot. The team also found fake liquor consignment. During interrogation, the arrested persons revealed that they smuggle cheap liquor from Chandigarh and fill it in expensive scotch empty bottles at their rented residence. The special operations group team then raided the rented residence of Pardeep Singh and Jasmin Kaur in Madanpur, Mohali and recovered stock of illegal liquor. During the investigation, the accused also admitted that they buy empty bottles of scotch brands from different scrap dealers of Mohali and Ludhiana who are also involved in this racket. The police teams are in pursuit of these dealers and their premises are being raided to arrest them. An FIR has been registered at Khamano police station against the four under the relevant section of the Punjab Excise Act and sections 420 and 120-B of IPC. (ANI) The Southwest Monsoon has set over Kerala on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed. "Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the May 29 against the normal date of onset, June 1. Thus the Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala three days ahead of its normal date," IMD said in a tweet. According to the IMD, Southwest Monsoon has advanced into the remaining parts of the South Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area, most parts of Kerala, some parts of southern Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar and some more parts of southwest Bay of Bengal on Sunday. "Conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest monsoon into some parts of central Arabian Sea, reaming parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka, and some more parts of south and Central Bay of Bengal, some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal and northeastern states during next 3-4 days," it added. The weather forecasting agency had already confirmed on Saturday that the conditions for monsoon onset were becoming favourable during the next 2-3 days, including the Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep area over the same period. It had also issued thunderstorm and rainfall warnings under the influence of westerly winds emerging from the Arabian Sea over southern peninsular India at lower tropospheric levels. Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on May 18 asked all the states, Union Territories (UTs) and Central agencies to be better prepared for the monsoon season, so that losses due to natural calamities like floods, cyclones, and landslides can be minimized. (ANI) "I pay my heartfelt tributes to Chaudhary Sahab. He always worked towards rural upliftment and welfare of farmers," Adityanath told the mediapersons in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh "Chaudhary Charan Singh believed that the country's path to development is through the streets of villages and farms," he added. Singh was a farmer leader, who played a key role in improving the lives of farmers by advocating and passing different bills for farmers' reforms. Born in Uttar Pradesh's Noorpur, Chaudhary Charan Singh served as the 5th Prime Minister of India from July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980. His efforts towards bettering the lives of farmers in the country won him the title 'champion of India's peasants'. He was born on born on 23 December 1902 and died on 29 May 1987 at the age of 84.India observes National Farmers Day or Kisan Diwas on December 23 every year, commemorating his contributions towards the upliftment of farmers in the country.(ANI) With deals worth over AED25 million ($6.81 million) signed during the show, Gulf Print and Pack (GPP) 2022 concluded on a high note at the Dubai World Trade Centre last week. Sales of machinery and equipment were the biggest contributors to the total, with Canon closing over $2.5 million in sales and Kodak reporting in excess of $1 million at GPP from May 24 to 26. Other exhibitors that confirmed having made substantial sales during the event included Vinsak and Heidelberg. Ricoh International reported selling 46 units of its ProTM series of printers which it showcased during the event, with expectations of more sales deals being signed immediately after the show. Contracts for print and packaging jobs made up the rest of the deals sealed at the show. Daily attendance In addition, GPP organisers say the decision to move from a four-day show in past editions to a three-day event in 2022 was vindicated with daily attendance increasing by 15%, resulting in an impressive 7,535 visitors from over 90 countries to the show, cementing its position as the leading trade show for the commercial and package printing industry in the Middle East and Africa region. Barry Killengrey, Event Director of Gulf Print & Pack 2022, said: On the shows return after a three-year hiatus, were delighted to have provided the industry a great platform to do business and jump on a path towards recovery and growth. Theres a lot of optimism that we can carry forward to the next edition of the show. Luis Penades, Channel Programme Director, Kodak commented: We are very happy about the outcome of our participation in the show. Weve met a lot of potential customers and received over 200 leads that exceeded our expectations. During the show, we closed contracts in excess of $1 million, with many more deals expected to be signed after the show through our channel partners. 300 new leads Impressed with the international profile of the event, Ranesh Bajaj, Director of Vinsak said: We had excellent footfall from across the Middle east and Africa, the visitors were quite focused and from the domain and hence the enquiries were very relevant. While it was an excellent platform to meet our existing customers in person after 2-3 years, we also had more than 300 new leads of companies that we met first time at the show. We have sold multiple units of our new VINSAK High Build machines to customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Africa. Additionally, we also closed two orders for Lombardi presses. Meanwhile, Simon Howells, GM of Xerox Emirates says the team had a great experience at the event and received great feedback on their stand. We have been overwhelmed with enquires for our Iridesse Production Press in particular, the new colours, and indeed unique colours, have really captured customers attention and are delighted to show them how Xerox can grow their business in 2022, and beyond. Echoing the same sentiment, Roger Nicodeme, General Manager, Heidelberg Gulf was pleased with their participation at this years edition of the show, saying Gulf Print and Pack 2022 is a success. We have met customers, serious buyers, from the whole Middle East, and we managed to sell more than 10 machines during the show.-- TradeArabia News Service Emphasizing the country's diversity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio broadcast 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday said the varied attire, cuisine and culture in different regions is the hallmark of India. In the 89th episode of Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said, "Our country is a rich treasure house of many languages, scripts and dialects. Varied attire, cuisine and culture in different regions is our hallmark. As a nation, this diversity strengthens us and keeps us united. I wish to share with all of you a very inspiring example related to this, which is that of daughter Kalpana. Her name is Kalpana, but her endeavour is full of the true spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'." Sharing Kalpana's story, Prime Minister said Kalpana is originally from Joshimath in Uttarakhand. She had been suffering from TB earlier and when she was in class III, she also lost her eyesight. Kalpana passed her class Xth examination in Karnataka recently but the surprising thing is she did not know the Kannada language till some time ago. She not only learned the Kannada language in three months but also scored 92 marks. "Where there is a will, there is a way. Kalpana later came in contact with Professor Taramurthy, a resident of Mysuru, who not only encouraged her but also helped her in every way. Today, through her hard work, she has set an example for all of us. I congratulate Kalpana for her fortitude," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister said there are many people in our country who are working towards strengthening the linguistic diversity of the country. He then mentioned Shripati Tudu, a professor of Santhali language at Sidho-Kaano-Birsa University, Purulia, West Bengal. "He (Tudu) has prepared a version of the country's Constitution in his native 'Ol Chiki' script for the Santhali community. Shripati Tudu ji asserts that our Constitution makes every citizen of our country aware of one's rights and duties. Therefore, it is important for every citizen to be familiar with it. Therefore, he prepared a copy of the Constitution in his own script for the Santhali community and offered it as a gift. I appreciate this thinking of Shripati ji and his efforts. This is a living example of the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat'," PM Modi said. 'Mann ki Baat' is a radio programme, broadcast by All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month. The first episode of Mann Ki Baat was broadcast on October 3, 2014. (ANI) Mumbai Police arrested four persons on Sunday for allegedly robbing a senior citizen of jewellery and cash amounting to Rs 1.87 lakhs in Mumbai, the police said. Accused disguised as delivery men allegedly tied the hands and feet of a senior citizen at his house under Malad PS limits and robbed him of jewellery and cash, the police added. (ANI) Lauding the positive attitude of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Jagat Prakash Nadda on Sunday said that PM Modi, during the 89 episodes of 'Mann Ki Baat' has never discussed politics. While addressing party workers in Gurugram in Haryana, he said that BJP workers at around 10.40 lakh booths in more than 5.5 lakh locations tune in to PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' at the same time. "This was the 89th time... at all times, PM Modi never discussed politics," he added. "In today's edition, Prime Minister talked about the environment, then talked about cleanliness. He also discussed how the people of India are making efforts to strengthen the country. Along with this, Modi ji also discussed efforts to provide drinking water in the village," he stated. BJP is engaged to awaken society to move ahead with non-political subjects. This effort of the 'Mann Ki Baat ' program at the booth level is being operated by the party. Taking note of litter on the Char Dham Yatra route, PM Modi on Sunday in 'Mann Ki Baat' expressed concern over garbage dumps in the Kedarnath Temple areas and urged the people to ensure that the surroundings are kept clean. "The holy pilgrimage of Char Dham in Uttarakhand is currently underway. Thousands of devotees are taking part in Char Dham Yatra and especially going to the Kedarnath Temple. But, I have also seen that some devotees were disappointed after they came across filth on route to Kedarnath. Going on a holy pilgrimage and coming across a heap of filth is not right," said PM Modi while also mentioning that some pilgrims have also been cleaning the nearby areas where they have been staying during the Yatra. He said that many organizations and voluntary organizations are also working there along with the Swachh Bharat campaign team for sanitation efforts. "Just as pilgrimage is important, 'teertha sewa' is also crucial. I would also say that without 'teertha sewa', a pilgrimage is also incomplete. There are many people in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand who are engaged in the 'sadhana' of cleanliness and service," he said.PM Modi lauded the efforts of Manoj Bainjwal, hailing from Rudra Prayag, who for the last 25 years has taken it upon himself to look after the environment. "Apart from running the campaign for cleanliness, he is also engaged in making holy places plastic-free. Surendra Bagwadi, hailing from Guptkashi, has also made cleanliness his life mantra. In Guptkashi, he regularly runs cleanliness programmes, and, I have learned that he has also named this campaign as 'Mann Ki Baat'," said the Prime Minister. PM Modi also mentioned Champa Devi from village Devar, who has been teaching waste management to women of the village. "Champa Devi has planted hundreds of trees and through sheer hard work she has created a forest full of greenery," PM Modi added. "Wherever we go, let us maintain the dignity of these pilgrimage sites. Purity, cleanliness and a pious environment... we should never forget these and for that, it is imperative that we abide by the resolution of cleanliness. A few days later, the world will celebrate the 5th of June as 'Environment Day'. We should run positive environment campaigns around us and this is a never-ending task. This time, you should join everyone together - you should certainly make some effort for cleanliness and tree plantation. Plant a tree yourself and inspire others too," PM Modi added . Char Dham Yatra began with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri portals for devotees on May 3, on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya. While Kedarnath re-opened on May 6, the doors of Badrinath opened on May 8. 'Mann ki Baat' is a radio programme, broadcast by All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month. The first episode of Mann Ki Baat was broadcast on October 3, 2014. (ANI) Hours after Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) passed a resolution to oppose the Uniform Civil Code, Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare Minister Danish Azad Ansari on Sunday clarified that the UCC is not against Muslims and no one's constitutional rights are being violated. The Jamiat had passed three resolutions-- the measures for taming the growing tide of hatred and animosity against Muslims in the country; a resolution regarding the eradication of Islamophobia; a resolution over strengthening the Sadbhawana Manch. This comes after the Uttarakhand government announced the formation of a 5-member drafting committee to implement the civil code. Speaking to ANI, Ansari said, "No one's constitutional rights are being violated. UCC is not against Muslims. We have to listen to the voice of common Muslims. Today, they want to progress that was not done by previous governments, like SP BSP, and Congress. They only used Muslims as a vote bank." "Muslims are getting every right and Muslim women have also been given the rights which they demanded, so we are working for the progress of Muslims in every way. We will bring positive changes in the society by implementing UCC," he stated. The minister further said that the BJP-led Central and Uttar Pradesh government have been continuously talking about minorities. "We have provided all the direct benefit to the minorities. Today, the government thinks about their progress," he added. Earlier in the day, Jamiat held a meeting at Eid Gah Maidan in Deoband on Saturday with the aim to prevent the spread of Islamophobia in the country. The meeting was attended by nearly 2,000 members and representatives of organizations from across the country and was presided by JUH president Maulana Mahmod Asad Madani. On being asked about the Gyanvapi mosque case and Mathura Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi case, he said that the matters are still in the court and everyone will respect the decision taken by it. "Whatever the court will decide, everyone will respect it. We all should avoid unnecessary controversies on such issues which create an atmosphere of confusion among people. The disputes over religious places are not good for unity and communal harmony," he added. (ANI) Bihar Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary on Sunday wrote to all other party leaders and requested them to join in discussions over the caste census on June 1. "I have written a letter to all other party leaders, requesting them to join us for discussions over the caste census on June 1. I am sure everyone will take part," the minister said. Earlier on Wednesday, Choudhary informed that an all-party meeting on the caste-based census in Bihar will be held on June 1 under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. He further said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has "not opposed" the all-party meeting on the caste-based census. "All parties have agreed (on the caste-based census in Bihar). I've said that talks have been held with all parties and they've agreed on an all-party meeting on June 1. We hope that people of all parties will come. As far as Bharatiya Janata Party is concerned, they've not opposed it," he said.Choudhary added that almost all parties in the state have been in the favour of a caste-based census since the beginning. The Bihar minister also said that following a decision that will be taken in the meeting, a meeting of state cabinet ministers will also be called for its implementation. Highlighting the importance of the caste Census, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that it would enable the government to work for the development of various sections of the society. Caste Census has become a key political issue in Bihar. Most of the parties in Bihar, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is in Opposition in the state, have called for Caste Census. (ANI) The meeting headed by Thakur was conducted between the senior state government officials with an agenda to take note of the preparedness of PM Modi's visit slated for May 31. Thakur stressed the government's focus on PM Modi's visit to Himachal Pradesh on completion of his 8 years as the Prime Minister. "I held a meeting with officials of the state government regarding the Prime Minister's event. Took note of the arrangements. Tourist season is at its peak and no one should face difficulty due to traffic. We had a detailed discussion to make the event successful," Thakur told ANI. He also highlighted that the people in the northern state await PM's visit and directed the officers to ensure that all possible arrangements are made to make the event a historic one. CM Thakur on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually interact with all the Chief Ministers of the states on May 31 from Himachal Pradesh on the occasion of the completion of eight years of the BJP-led Central government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government will complete eight years at the Centre on May 30, which the party plans to celebrate from May 30 to June 14 at a grand level across the country by holding various events. (ANI) The ship was paid off under the command of Captain Sudip Malik in a poignant ceremony. "After INS Gomati's decommissioning, the ship's legacy will be kept alive in an open-air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the eponymous river Gomti in Lucknow where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics," read the statement. INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on 16 April 1988 by then defence minister,KC Pant, at Mazagon Dock Limited (Mumbai). The third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates, INS Gomati was also the oldest warrior of the western fleet when decommissioned. During her service, she participated in numerous operations including Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. IMS Gomati was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20, for remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to national maritime security. (ANI) "Yoga and meditation are helpful in improving mental concentration. Those who succeed in attaining Sthithapragna would attain moksha (salvation). Presently man is obsessed with earning wealth and money. The world would be a beautiful palace to live in if the thinking is changed towards welfare of the mankind", Bommai said. The Chief Minister was speaking at the valedictory function of the 24th International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its applications held at Prashanti Kutiram, S-VYASA Deemed to be University. "There is a remedy for every problem of human beings within their body. Yoga helps in strengthening the mind and body. One who attains complete control over oneself is the real yogi", added Bommai. Lauding Prime Minister Modi for taking Yoga to the International level and spreading awareness about Yoga by setting up the AYUSH department, the chief minister said that a special programme would be formulated to introduce Yoga in schools in the state from next year. (ANI) Relating the arrest of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs on cruise case with the recent raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday said that the condition of the Central agencies in the country is well-known and alleged that no data is available on the ED's website about the raids in the state. Speaking to ANI, Soren said, "ED is investigating in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scam that took place in Khunti and Chitra in Jharkhand. I don't know if the agency visited these locations ever. They (ED) have entered through MGNREGA but want to go somewhere else. It seems they have some other intention." "We very well know the condition of central agencies in the country right now. I am co-relating the NCB case of Aryan Khan in Mumbai to the action by ED in Jharkhand. Even after 20-25 days, no data is available on the ED website about the raids in Jharkhand," Soren said. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Chief Minister met the Congress president in New Delhi and held a discussion over the current political situation in the state and Rajya Sabha polls. He later on Sunday said one candidate of the JMM-Congress alliance will be fielded for the Upper House, stating that there is "no difference" between the two parties. The two Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant from Jharkhand after the retirement of BJP leaders Mahesh Poddar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant due to the retirement of members from 15 states will be held on June 10. The members are retiring on different dates between June 21 and August 1. Eleven seats are due to fall vacant from Uttar Pradesh this year, while six members each will retire from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Five Rajya Sabha MPs will retire from Bihar while four each will depart from Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Apart from these, seats will fall vacant when three members each from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, two each from Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, and Jharkhand, and one from Uttarakhand retire. Meanwhile asked about the candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections, Soren denied to speak on this saying there is some time to announce this. "I won't speak on whether the candidate for Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand will be of the Congress or of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), still there's some time. Discussions are going on regarding it and after that, it will be announced," he added. (ANI) Addressing a press conference in Ongole, the TDP state chief said despite the threats from the ruling government and the police, the TDP activists and the general public arrived in huge numbers at the Mahanadu venue. Attacking the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government, Atchannaidu said the government has created hurdles at every step. The overwhelming response to Mahanadu would only indicate the people's revolt against the destructive policies of the state chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, he said. The TDP leader further thanked the farmers of Manduva Varipalem village near Ongole for giving their lands for holding Mahanadu. The farmers showed exemplary courage despite threats and warnings from the ruling YSRCP leaders, he said. Atchannaidu informed that they gave invitations only to 12,000 people for the first day of Mahanadu but over a lakh people arrived at the venue. (ANI) 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) The U.S. has in fact become a source of turbulence that undermines the current world order and a stumbling block hindering the democratization of international relations, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "What we want to tell the U.S. is that China-U.S. relations are not a zero-sum game conceived by the U.S. side," he said, noting that countries can stage fair competition with each other, and it is natural that China and the United States have some competition between them, but it should not be a destructive one. SUVA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Saturday that China-U.S. relations are not a zero-sum game and the U.S. should address the bilateral ties based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. In response to a recent policy speech by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who described China as "the most serious long-term challenge to the international order," Wang said there are major misconceptions in the U.S. views about the world, China and China-U.S. relations. The world is not what the United States has described and the most pressing task facing the international community is to jointly protect human life and health, promote world economic recovery and safeguard world peace and tranquility, which calls for the establishment of a community with a shared future and for the implementation of purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, Wang said. He stressed that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative have won widespread recognition and support from the international community, and the U.S. obsession with "Western-centrism", "exceptionalism" and the Cold War mentality, as well as its push for the logic of hegemony and bloc politics, go against the trend of history, which will only lead to confrontation and split the world community. The U.S. has in fact become a source of turbulence that undermines the current world order and a stumbling block hindering the democratization of international relations, Wang noted. Stressing that China is not what the U.S. has imagined, Wang said there is a clear historical logic to China's development and revitalization that has a strong endogenous power. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Honiara, Solomon Islands, May 26, 2022. (Xinhua) The common pursuit of modernization by 1.4 billion Chinese people represents a great progress for mankind, rather than a threat or challenge to the world, Wang noted, adding that such an achievement is made under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, and a result of the solidarity, diligence and hard work of the Chinese people who find the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. "Our goal is open, fair and square. It is to make life better for our people and to make a greater contribution to the world, not to replace or challenge any others," Wang said. "We are bringing reform, opening up and win-win cooperation to a higher level. We shall become a better version of ourselves and make the world a better place," he said. "What we want to tell the U.S. is that China-U.S. relations are not a zero-sum game conceived by the U.S. side," Wang said. Chinese leaders have pointed out that whether China and the United States can properly handle their relationship matters the future of the world, and it is a question of the century needed to be well answered by the two countries, he said. Before answering the question, the U.S. side should first be aware that a unipolar hegemony will find no support, group confrontation has no future, building small yards with high fences means self-isolation and backwardness, and decoupling and cutting supplies only hurt others and itself as well, Wang said. Countries can stage fair competition with each other, and it is natural that China and the United States have some competition between them, but it should not be a destructive one, Wang said. The Chinese people have the confidence and are ready to conduct a fair competition to see who can better govern their own country and who can make more contributions to the world. "We will never yield to blackmail or coercion, and will firmly defend China's sovereignty, security and development interests," he said, stressing that the Chinese people have the backbone and resolve to do it, and any suppression and containment will only make them more united. The U.S. side should focus its efforts on enforcing the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, so as to find the way for the two major countries of China and the United States to properly deal with each other in the new era, Wang said. Wang is paying a visit to Fiji, the fourth leg of his current tour to the Pacific island countries. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha has launched its new flagship premises in the Qatari capital. It is the first showroom in the companys Middle East & Africa region to be remodelled in the new Rolls-Royce visual identity, which was officially launched in London and Shanghai in 2021. The new identity is a key element in the marques transformation from an automotive manufacturer to a true house of luxury. Designed to resonate with a clientele that is younger, self-made and highly individual, it creates a wholly immersive client experience, presenting Rolls-Royces products in the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere of a luxury boutique. The unique experience begins from the moment of arrival, with an entrance inspired by the iconic Pantheon Grille adorned with the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. The galleria-style interior includes the Bespoke Commissioning Atelier, where clients can examine, discuss and select surface finishes, wood veneers, leathers, embroidery threads and fabrics for their bespoke commissions. The lounge area features a Cabinet of Curiosities filled with intriguing objects and pieces to spark ideas and conversations as part of the commissioning process. The Hospitality Lounge to the rear provides a relaxed, comfortable and secluded space where clients can mix and socialise. The new Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Doha showroom represents a major milestone for the evolution of our brand from an automotive manufacturer to a true House of Luxury. Our new showroom visual identity, which we launched last year, offers our clients a fully immersive experience that takes them to the very heart of our brand and everything it represents, says Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "It has always been our ambition at Alfardan Group to provide luxury experiences for our clientele and this ambition has no limit. We are proud that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has chosen the city of Doha to be the first in presenting the marques new look and visual identity in the Middle East & Africa region, and the third in the world after London and Shanghai," says Omar Alfardan, President and CEO, Alfardan Group. -TradeArabia News Service Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will embark on a three-nation tour of Gabon, Senegal, and Qatar from May 30 to June 7. He will be accompanied by a delegation including Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar and three members of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, and P. Raveendranath. The Vice President's Secretariat said that it is expected that a number of bilateral agreements will be concluded with the three countries. "While Naidu's visit will be the first by any Vice President to all the three countries, this is the first ever high level visit from India to Gabon and Senegal. "His visit is expected to add momentum to India's engagement with Africa and emphasise India's commitment to the African continent," the Vice President's Secretariat said. The Vice President's visit to Qatar gains prominence as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The visit is expected to boost the ties between the countries. Naidu will begin his tour with Gabon on May 30, where he will hold delegation level talks with the Prime Minister of Gabon, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, call on the President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, and meet other dignitaries. He is also expected to interact with the business community in Gabon and address the Indian diaspora there. Visiting Senegal from June 1-3, Naidu will hold talks with Senegalese President Macky Sall, meet President of the National Assembly, Moustapha Niasse and other dignitaries. It is notable that India and Senegal are celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The Vice President is also expected to attend a business roundtable and address the Indian community. "The last leg of the tour will be the visit to Qatar from June 4-7. During the visit, Naidu will hold delegation level talks with Qatar's Deputy Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Thani, and review bilateral cooperation. He will also meet several other Qatari dignitaries during this visit and address a business roundtable there. Qatar has committed investments of over $2 billion in various Indian companies over the past two years, Vice President's Secretariat said. On the penultimate day, a community reception will be held marking the Vice President's visit, where he will address the Indian community in Qatar. There is an estimated 750,000 Indian diaspora there at present. --IANS ssb/kvd/skp/ ( 414 Words) 2022-05-29-19:44:02 (IANS) Sinha assured every possible assistance and support to the family by the administration. "She was a strong-willed woman and a pillar of support to her family. We shall forever remember Amreen's indomitable spirit", Sinha said. Later, Sinha also went to Soura in Srinagar district to enquire about the well-being of the injured daughter of slain J&K police constable Saifullah Qadri. While interacting with the family members and relatives of the martyr, Sinha wished a speedy recovery to the daughter and assured the grieving family of every help and assistance. --IANS zi/arm ( 144 Words) 2022-05-29-21:12:02 (IANS) As many as seven Army soldiers died and 19 were injured after their vehicle skidded off a road and plunged into the Shyok river in Ladakh on Friday. The Air Force moved the injured soldiers to the Army Command Hospital at Chandimandir in Haryana's Panchkula district, said an Army statement on Friday. "Seven individuals have been declared dead so far. There are grievous injuries to others as well," it said. After the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted: "Anguished by the bus accident in Ladakh in which we have lost our brave army personnel. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest. All possible assistance is being given to the affected." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also had spoken to the Army chief General Manoj Pande on the incident. (ANI) Pakistan has said that it is open to importing oil and food products from Russia amid the ongoing backlash against the country for the invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a press briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said the country has an "open policy" driven by a national interest to expand economic and trade relations. "Our policy is clear, you know in terms of expanding economic and trade relations, we have an open policy, driven by national interest. Wherever we see there is a national benefit, we pursue those options and avenues," The Express Tribune newspaper quoted Iftikhar as saying. The Pakistan foreign office spokesperson made these remarks while responding to a question that whether or not Pakistan was considering importing oil and food grains from Russia. This comes as the government raised the prices of petroleum products by PKR 30 per litre, stating that the decision was taken to ensure the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and that they had no other option. Russia had launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, the day when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan decided to visit Moscow to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies. Many had termed Imran Khan's visit as ill-timed. Imran Khan, who was ousted from power, has claimed the new Shehbaz Sharif government had dropped plans to acquire cheap Russian oil that his government managed to secure. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recently defended Imran Khan's visit to Moscow. During a media briefing at the UN, Bilawal asserted that the former Pakistan PM was unaware that Russia would invade Ukraine on the very day he landed in the Russian capital. "As far the former prime minister's trip to Russia, I would absolutely defend the former prime minister of Pakistan. He conducted that trip as part of his foreign policy and without knowing that -- no one is psychic, no one has a sixth sense -- there's no way we could have possibly known that that would be the time when the current conflict will start," the Pakistan foreign minister said. "In his capacity as prime minister, the way he conducted himself in foreign policy, particularly in the context of this Russian trip, I will go as far as to defend the fact that he did not know the Ukraine conflict will start on the very day that he was there," he added. (ANI) The Navy's coastguard foiled the smuggling attempt of a boat on Friday during a patrol, and handed the illegal substance over to the Royal Gendarmerie under the procedure, MAP said. Morocco remains one of the world's largest producers of cannabis resin, despite a decade of efforts to wipe out marijuana farming, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. (ANI/Xinhua) The United States on Sunday expressed concern over Beijing's efforts to restrict and manipulate the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team to China that "did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment" in the country, including in Xinjiang, where "genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing". The statement of the US department came in the backdrop of widespread criticism of Bachelet's six-day China visit, which concluded on Saturday, that it was "not an investigation" and instead she spoke with "candour" in her meetings with the Chinese officials. "The United States remains concerned about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team's visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Beijing's efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit," the State Department said in its statement. "While we continue to raise our concerns about China's human rights abuses directly with Beijing and support others who do so, we are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the PRC, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing," it added. The United States is further troubled by reports that residents of Xinjiang were warned not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region, that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of hundreds of missing Uyghurs and conditions for over a million individuals in detention, the state department added in the statement. "The High Commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from travelling out of the region," the statement read. The statement also noted that the High Commissioner was not allowed access to individuals who were part of the Xinjiang labour transfer program and have been sent to other provinces across China. The United States remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the People's Republic of China, particularly in light of new reports that offer further proof of arbitrary detentions among the more than one million people detained in Xinjiang. "Survivors and family members of detainees have described cruel treatment that shocks the conscience, including torture, forced sterilization, state-sponsored forced labour, sexual violence, and forced separation of children from their parents," it added. The US urged China to respect the human rights of Tibetans, those living in Hong Kong, and all others who seek to peacefully exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The country called on China to immediately cease its atrocities in Xinjiang and release those unjustly detained, account for those who have disappeared, and allow independent investigators unhindered access to Xinjiang, Tibet, and across China. Meanwhile, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who concluded her six-day trip to China, on Saturday said that she has urged Beijing to review its counter-terrorism policies. In a statement, the UN rights chief also shared the concerns of a number of human rights mechanisms about laws and policies to counter terrorism, radicalism and their application. In a strange coincidence to UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet's long-delayed visit to Xinjiang, a new leak of Chinese government records provides confidential documents, including speeches by high-ranking Chinese officials outlining their plans to repress, "educate" and punish Uyghurs -- ethnic minority groups -- in Xinjiang. Bachelet during her visit discussed the education policies in Tibet with senior Chinese officials and stressed the importance of children learning in their own language and culture. Since 2020, Chinese authorities in Tibet have implemented the unified Chinese textbook system making Chinese medium education mandatory in schools at all levels and grades. "It is important the linguistic, religious and cultural identity of Tibetans be protected, and that Tibetan people are allowed to participate fully and freely in decisions about their religious life and for dialogue to take place," the UN rights body chief said in a statement today. On the conclusion of her recent six-day trip to China, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet raised concern over the arrests of lawyers, activists and journalists under the so-called National Security Law in Hong Kong. The UN rights chief admitted the only prison she visited in the Xinjiang province was not one in which Uyghurs convicted of political crimes are held. "It is scandalous that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights went to China and East Turkistan without being able to even condemn the government for committing genocide. She has failed her mandate. The Uyghur community deserves accountability more than ever," said Dolkun Isa, president of the Uyghur Congress. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has expressed its serious disappointment to the outcomes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet's visit to China, including a trip to Xinjiang.As they feared, human rights groups say this visit has turned out to be a "propaganda opportunity" for China to whitewash its crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people. The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has expressed disappointment with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's visit to China, saying this trip has given a "political victory" to the Communist regime. According to the Tibetan group, the UN Rights chief adopted the Chinese Communist Party's framing of policies, domestically and internationally. "The Saturday statement dismissed the rampant disinformation on the Xinjiang region and was also a slap to the US and some Western countries, their media and anti-China forces," said Chinese state media while reporting on the high commissioner's press conference. Bachelet did not visit Tibet and referred only marginally to the situation in the region, which is regularly ranked as one of the least-free in the world, the group added. (ANI) On the occasion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar paid tribute to the dedication and courage of all the men and women serving in UN peacekeeping operations, and honoured the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, "On the International Day of @UN Peacekeepers, salute the courage and dedication of the brave men and women who carry out @UNPeacekeeping around the world. Honor especially the memory of those who have made the supreme sacrifice in the cause of peace." Every day, United Nations peacekeepers work to protect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in the world's most fragile political and security situations. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 29 May is an opportunity to recognize the service and sacrifice of the more than one million personnel who have served under the blue flag since 1948. It is also a chance to honour the memory of the more than 4,000 peacekeepers who lost their lives in the cause of peace. This year, the United Nations will mark the occasion under the theme, "People Peace Progress: The Power of Partnerships." On Sunday, the UN Peacekeeping also thanked all those who work with us in the pursuit of peace, including other UN entities, humanitarians, the communities we serve, women and youth, media, academia, traditional and faith-based leaders, host governments, Troop and Police Contributing Countries, Member States, and many others. It issued a call to action by joining UN Peacekeeping's campaign online and on the ground and highlighted the stories of peacekeeping and the power of partnerships that help us secure peace, progress and sustainable development. The General Assembly, in its resolution 57/129, designated 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. This is the date when in 1948 the first UN peacekeeping mission named the "United Nations Truce Supervision Organization", or UNTSO, began operations in Palestine. Since the first UN Peacekeeping mission was established in 1948, 3,800 military, police and civilian personnel have lost their lives in the service of peace as a result of acts of violence, accidents and disease. On 29 May, UN offices, alongside the Member States and non-governmental organizations, hold solemn events to honour fallen peacekeepers. (ANI) Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday said that no one can claim perfection for human rights protection and China will follow that path on the issue which suits its national "conditions". This remark comes following the visit of UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet to China which faced flak from the World Uyghur Congress. The human rights group said that Bachelet has wasted a historic opportunity to investigate the Uyghur genocide and deliver justice to the Uyghur people. Briefing the media on Saturday after the conclusion of Bachelet's visit to China, The Global Times quoted Ma as saying, "As for human rights protection, no one can claim perfection. China will follow the human rights development path that suits its natl conditions, and advocates shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom." Meanwhile, the United States on Sunday also expressed concern over Beijing's efforts to restrict and manipulate the visit of Bachelet and her team to China that "did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment" in the country, including in Xinjiang, where "genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing". World Uyghur Congress said that Bachelet also did not visit Tibet and referred only marginally to the situation in the region, which is regularly ranked as one of the least-free in the world. Human rights groups say this visit has turned out to be a "propaganda opportunity" for China to whitewash its crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people. Despite the worldwide condemnation of the human rights issues in Xinjiang, Ma in the country's defence during the press briefing said that "for a period of time, certain Western countries and anti-China elements, under the disguise of human rights, have fabricated many sensational palpable lies on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues, only to fulfil their political motive of using Xinjiang to contain China". United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited China from May 23 to 28. Notably, this was Bachelet's first visit to China since she took office as well as the first such visit by a UN human rights chief in 17 years. President Xi Jinping also met via video link with High Commissioner Bachelet on May 25. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Commissioner Bachelet, and senior officials from the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Women's Federation held talks with the High Commissioner respectively. She also had field trips in Kashgar and Urumqi where she had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors. (ANI) Pakistan Army has lodged an FIR against Imaan Mazari, daughter of Pakistan's former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, for "abusing and defaming" the army and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. However, the Islamabad High Court admitted her plea and granted Imaan pre-arrest bail for two weeks. This development comes after Mazari's daughter accused General Bajwa and the army of being behind the detention of her mother in a land dispute case. It is also crucial to be noted that Mazari is a former human rights minister and the military has been accused of enforced disappearances by rights activists many times. Syed Humayun Iftikhar, Lieutenant colonel for Judge Advocate General, General Headquarters (GHQ), Headquarters of the Pakistan Army, had filed an FIR against Imaan at the Islamabad's Ramna police station on Thursday. It is interesting that the military has opted for the legal course for "justice", which could be a test case for the country's criminal justice system, reported The Express Tribune. Later, challenging the FIR, the lawyer representing Imaan said her client was being made a "victim of ulterior motives and highhandedness of the complainant and others, who are highly influential". According to the petition, "The FIR is ill-founded and allegations are absurd." The Pakistan Constitution provides protection to the country's army against defamation. As per the analysts, the court ruling in the case of Mazari's daughter could set a precedent. Amid protests across the world against enforced disappearances at the behest of Pakistan's security agencies, especially by the spy agency Inter-services Intelligence (ISI), Shireen Mazari earlier revealed that she was asked to appear at ISI headquarters over a bill pertaining to the issue. Mazari said that though the bill was tabled in the National Assembly, the interior committee - which she referred to as "invisible shadows" - tried to change the bill. She added that the amendments passed by the NA "disappeared" on the way to the senate. In witty exploitation of words, she added that she would reveal all these details if and when she wrote a book. Notably, as per reports enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country or seek individual or social rights. Cases of enforced disappearances have been majorly recorded in the Balochistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country which host active separatist movements. (ANI) A twin-engine aircraft carrying 22 people including 3 crew members went missing in the mountainous district of Mustang on Sunday morning, officials confirmed. The aircraft bearing call-sign 9 NAET had flown from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 AM and went out of contact after reaching the Lete area of Mustang. Tara Air's 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft carrying 19 passengers, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55am, has lost contact, said the Airport authorities. As per the State TV, the missing aircraft was hosting 4 Indians among others. "The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn't come into contact," Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma confirmed ANI over the phone. As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the "Titi" area of Lete in Mustang District. "Locals from Titi have called and informed us that they have heard an unusual sound as if there was some bang. We are deploying a helicopter to the area for the search operation," Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, Mustang told ANI. The Home Ministry has deployed two private helicopters from Mustang and Pokhara for the search for missing aircraft. Nepal Army chopper is also being prepared to be deployed for the search, said Phadindra Mani Pokharel, spokesperson at Home Ministry told ANI over the phone. Mustang is one of the mountainous and fifth-largest districts of the Himalayan nation which hosts the pilgrimage of Muktinath Temple. The district, also known as "Land beyond the Himalayas", is located in the Kali Gandaki valley of the Himalayan region of Western Nepal. Mustang (from the Tibetan Muntan meaning "fertile plain") the traditional region is largely dry and arid. The world's deepest gorge that goes down three miles vertical between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains runs through this district. (ANI) Dubai-based Glampitect, the glamping site design consultancy, has partnered with leading UAE engineering specialists Rescom to launch the regions first portable luxury glamping pod. The ground-breaking transportable pod is the first product of the link-up, visitors to this weeks Dubai Hotel Show having the first chance to see it up close. Manufactured at Glampitects factory in the emirate, the pods measure 6.7m x 3.3m as standard, and the air-conditioned units have powder-coated aluminium tiles on the outside as well as all the latest accessories such as flat-screen TVs and modern kitchens, and to make it a real home from home. The pods will be ideal for anyone looking to start up a glamping business, the return on investment one of the key drivers in attracting people to the market. Internally they can be finished to the same five-star quality in a variety of ways, meaning the units can also be transformed into anything from a home office to yoga studio or spa room. Uniquely, they are built on a galvanised steel chassis, which allows them to be picked up and moved around to different locations, which is another attractive aspect. Glampitect managing director Calum MacLeod said: When I met Chris Perry at Rescom, it became apparent there was a real synergy between our two companies. The can-do attitude when I first had a conversation with him really struck a chord and its fantastic to be working together. I had this idea but needed someone with the engineering knowledge and experience to build it. The transportable luxury pod is just the start for us and I cant wait to see where the journey takes us. The big advantage is that it can be taken out into the desert, or hard-to-reach places, so there is a high degree of flexibility. Its ideal for people looking to set up a glamping site or who have additional space in their house. It is much cheaper than setting up a hotel, and makes a quicker return on investment than a hotel, so will be a major asset for anyone wanting to move into the glamping business. We carried out consumer research on the Middle East market and want to help the area catch up with the glamping boom that is happening elsewhere, particularly in the UK. Its just starting to take off here: compound annual growth rate for the glamping industry is 14.1% and were looking to help accelerate that growth, he added. The news comes in the wake of Tomorrowlands Terra Solis being announced as a unique glamping experience in Dubai's newest desert destination. The big difference is those pods are built onsite and will never be moved, so very much a permanent feature compared to our one which can be picked up and moved to different locations, MacLeod added. Rescom managing director Perry said: Calum and I met by a chance meeting and instantly I was impressed by his passion, professionalism and drive to succeed. It was evident from the beginning that he and Glampitect had the skills and experience that would complement and improve Rescom Middle East. Since the initial meeting we have both bounced off each other with our ideas and proposals for the future and both share the same vision of disrupting the glamping and portable housing market in the Middle East and beyond. TradeArabia News Service At least 10 people were killed and 20 others injured after a passenger bus slammed into a tree in the southern Barishal district of Bangladesh in the wee hours of Sunday. The officer-in-charge of Wazirpur Police Station said that the injured were rushed to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital at Barishal, adding that "The death toll is expected to rise," a Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star reported. The accident occurred around 5:30 am at Wazirpur Upazila in Barishal after the driver Bhandari-bound Jamuna Line bus lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree on the side of the highway. The Dhaka police said that nine people died on the spot, and another died in the hospital while undergoing treatment. The Wazirpur OC said that the deceased were not identified immediately, The Daily Star reported. Md Jahangir, unit leader of Barisal Fire Service and Civil Defence, said two firefighting units from Gournadi and Wazirpur fire stations are currently conducting rescue operations, another newspaper, Dhaka Tribune reported. Further details about the accident are underway. (ANI) Australia and the United States are closely watching the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's 10-day tour of Pacific island nations as Beijing looks to solidify its military influence in the region. Notably, both US and Australia raised concerns on security in the Pacific, after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, as China may seek to build a naval base in the Pacific nation. Wang is on an eight-nation tour to the Pacific region with visits to the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor from May 26 to June 4. Though China says its development of economic and security ties with Pacific nations doesn't pose a threat to others Australia and US are concerned whether this is just another move by the country to increase its military presence in the Pacific waters, reported Al Jazeera. Prior to his visit, Beijing sent the drafts of the deal to 10 Pacific countries. Covering a range of issues, the documents appear to be a joint communique that Beijing wants the countries to adopt. They offer a detailed outline of how Beijing seeks to win friends and gain greater access to the island chains that have long played a strategic role in Asia's geopolitical contests. The visit and the agreement both seem aimed to counter American efforts to strengthen alliances in Asia. Wang started his trip on Thursday in the Solomon Islands with which Beijing has signed a security deal earlier. Australian Foreign Minister raised deep concerns over the security arrangement between China and the island nation. Moreover, Wang Yi who is still on a trip to Pacific Island Countries (PICs) said that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's "China policy" speech showed the US has serious misconceptions in its views about the world, China and China-US relations. The Chinese FM stressed that China will never yield to blackmail or coercion by the US. This comes in the response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's speech on US' China policy, which called Beijing the "most serious long-term challenge" to the international order. "We want to tell the US that China is not what the US has imagined," Wang said. "China will never yield to blackmail or coercion, and will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," he added. (ANI) After a twin-engine aircraft carrying 22 people including 3 crew members went missing in the mountainous district of Mustang on Sunday morning, a Nepali Army Mi-17 helicopter has left for Lete, the suspected crashed region. "A Nepali Army Mi-17 helicopter has recently left for Lete, Mustang, which is the suspected crashed region of the missing Tara Air aircraft (with 22 onboard)," said Narayan Silwal, spokesperson for Nepali Army. On Sunday morning, Tara Air's 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft carrying 19 passengers, flying from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 am, has lost contact, said the Airport authorities. The aircraft bearing call-sign 9 NAET had flown from Pokhara to Jomsom at 9:55 AM and went out of contact after reaching the Lete area of Mustang.As per the State TV, the missing aircraft was hosting 4 Indians among others."The aircraft was seen over the sky of Jomsom in Mustang and then had diverted to Mt. Dhaulagiri after which it hadn't come into contact," Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma confirmed ANI over the phone.As per the police officials, the aircraft has been suspected to have crashed in the "Titi" area of Lete in Mustang District."Locals from Titi have called and informed us that they have heard an unusual sound as if there was some bang. We are deploying a helicopter to the area for the search operation," Ram Kumar Dani, DSP of District Police Office, Mustang told ANI.The Home Ministry has deployed two private helicopters from Mustang and Pokhara for the search for missing aircraft. Nepal Army chopper is also being prepared to be deployed for the search, said Phadindra Mani Pokharel, spokesperson at Home Ministry told ANI over the phone.Mustang is one of the mountainous and fifth-largest districts of the Himalayan nation which hosts the pilgrimage of Muktinath Temple. The district, also known as "Land beyond the Himalayas", is located in the Kali Gandaki valley of the Himalayan region of Western Nepal.Mustang (from the Tibetan Muntan meaning "fertile plain") the traditional region is largely dry and arid. The world's deepest gorge that goes down three miles vertical between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains runs through this district. (ANI) Though India has joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) alongside 11 Asian nations and the US to counter China's economic dominance in the region, this new framework needs to create the confidence that this multilateral economic cooperation could also benefit India by helping the country reduce its economic dependence on China. This framework must set in motion supply chain diversification at the earliest. Right now, as it stands, the initiative is thin on details. The IPEF, a US-initiated framework, needs more clarity and a concrete plan for economic engagement among its members, reported a US-based media outlet, The Diplomat. One of the multilateral partnership that did not work for India is Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), touted as the world's largest trading bloc. India joined the RCEP negotiations in 2012. In 2019, 15 nations, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand among others, signed the free trade agreement. However, India walked out of the negotiations, citing national interests. The shadow of this walkout is still hanging over this new IPEF framework. Therefore, IPEF would need to address India's seamless accommodation in this grouping. This is especially crucial as except for India and the United States, all the other members of IPEF are a part of RCEP as well. IPEF, a group of 13 countries, is a multilateral economic framework. In recent times, India is seen as focusing on bilateral free trade agreements instead of multilateral ones. This becomes highly visible from New Delhi's recent agreements with the UAE and Australia. Apart from these two countries, similar agreements are also in the works with the UK and the EU as India gives a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India for the World" initiative. India's trade relations with China are another key factor. India's bilateral trade with China has increased by 15.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year alone, reaching USD 31 billion, according to the Chinese customs. Similarly, Chinese investments in Indian start-ups also soared in 2021 as compared to 2020. Investment inflow from Chinese venture capital, private equity, accelerators, and incubators amounted to USD 14.13 billion in 2021. In 2020, the amount of investment was just USD 3.95 billion. And hence, it is important that this framework needs to create the confidence that multilateral economic cooperation could also benefit India by helping the country reduce its economic dependence on China. US State Secretary Antony Blinken said, "IPEF as we call it, renews American economic leadership but adapts it to the 21st century by addressing cutting edge issues like the digital economy, supply chains, clean energy, infrastructure, and curb corruption. A dozen countries including India, have already joined together, IPEF members make up more than a third of the global economy." "The actions we take at home and with countries worldwide will determine whether our shared vision of the future will be realised," he added. Biden unveiled the discussion on IPEF on May 23 with a dozen initial partners, including India, which represent 40 per cent of the world GDP. "We'll do that by taking out some of the most acute challenges that drag down growth and by maximising the potential of our strongest growth engines," said Biden at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event in Japan. This Biden-led initiative saw the participation of Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, as well as the virtual presence of leaders of other partner countries viz. Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Biden administration has yet to provide many details on the criteria for the new economic framework. Quad Summit held in Tokyo has provided an opportunity for the Leaders to exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and President Joe Biden of the United States discussed the issues related to the Indo-pacific region besides other global and regional issues. (ANI) The release of Xinjiang Police Files, which shows the extent and extremely repressive nature of China's mass internment policies in East Turkistan, has made the companies that source cotton from the region in China rethink their supply chains. Cotton Xinjiang is widely used in the global garment industry. As of last fall, 16 per cent of cotton clothes on store shelves in the United States had fibre from Xinjiang, The New York Times reported citing a survey by Oritain, a company that does forensic testing to determine the origin of raw materials. The regulation soon to go into effect in the United States will allow customs officers to seize shipments of any goods that are made in Xinjiang unless companies can prove their supply chains are not tainted with forced labour, the New York Times reported. The new rule called the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, and the inability of companies to determine what is happening in their supply chains are unravelling decades of the clothing industry's expansion in China. But this has left the international brands in a dilemma. It is difficult for them to decide whether to leave Xinjiang or not. The reputational risk and legal costs from the West that they could incur by staying are huge, yet brands face large commercial losses in China if they leave, the New York Times reported. With the rising costs of both cotton and shipping and increasing competition, there is also the challenge of finding new partners. Speaking out about Xinjiang can unleash fury from nationalistic Chinese consumers, like calls for boycotts and accusations of companies being complicit with Western governments in trying to keep China down. That anger has translated into lost sales totalling hundreds of millions of dollars for companies like H&M and Nike, the New York Times reported. With this fear, many brands who have spoken against forced labour in the past chose not to comment on this issue. This comes after China's repression of the Uyghur people came into the limelight when the policy documents with the detailed systematic abuse in Xinjiang were released. Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet recently visited Xinjiang during her six-day visit to China from May 23-28. Her visit attracted widespread criticism after she said this trip was "not an investigation" but insisted she spoke with "candour" during her meetings with Chinese officials. The World Uyghur Congress group said that Bachelet has wasted a historic opportunity to investigate the Uyghur genocide and deliver justice to the Uyghur people. Human rights groups said this visit has turned out to be a "propaganda opportunity" for China to whitewash its crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people. Prior to Bachelet's China visit, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) and 59 other groups had urged High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to take steps to prevent the Chinese government from manipulating the visit. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday said,"As for human rights protection, no one can claim perfection. China will follow the human rights development path that suits its natl conditions, and advocates shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom." The United States also criticised Beijing's efforts to restrict and manipulate the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team to China that "did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment" in the country, including in Xinjiang, where "genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing". (ANI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's six-day ultimatum to Shehbaz Sharif government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies has left the party workers in dismay as they termed it an unplanned and bad idea. Raising questions about the party chief, the PTI leaders said if the people did not come out two days back then why would they come out six days later. "Even if they were to somehow make arrangements, where would they get the people from to stage a dharna long enough to get the government to resign?" PTI leaders said. This comes after Imran Khan expressed disappointment over his party leaders for failing to call people to join his protest march as he was confident that a sea of people would turn up for the march and that even the police or the government would not be able to stop them from reaching Islamabad. Not only people but several PTI leaders in all these cities were missing from Imran's protest march, despite a large crowd gathering at his political rally in Lahore a few days prior to the protest march, the city saw a small turnout for it, reported Geo News. While Imran showed disappointment in his party, the PTI leaders held the disconnect between the statement and reality regarding Imran's long march accountable for the failure of the march. They termed Imran Khan's decision a bad idea and said that they were not given enough time for preparation. In spite of trying to explain to the former Prime Minister that arriving in Islamabad without a fixed date would be a far more potent strategy and that it was not a good idea to go for a march without proper planning, Imran Khan turned a deaf ear to the requests. The PTI leaders further said that they asked Imran Khan to extend the dates for the march by a few days but the PTI chief was concerned that if they extended the date, the government would be able to make plans to stop the march, reported Geo News. They had also explained to Imran that an active supporter of PTI will participate in the rally willingly but it is not easy to gather other people, where other than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the PTI does not have supporters elsewhere who would bear the tear gas or the heat in an effort to try and reach Islamabad. Further, apart from supporters from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI does not have enough supporters elsewhere who would brave the police, tear gas or extreme heat, in an effort to reach the federal capital, which caused the low participation, reported Geo News. Earlier, the ousted Prime Minister held a long protest march on May 25 against the present government, demanding the dissolution of the National Assembly and to conduct the next general election and invited people to join in large numbers. Khan after departing for Islamabad from the Wali Interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday afternoon, asked "all Pakistanis" to take to the streets in their respective cities and appealed to women and children to come out of their homes for "real independence." The city turned into a battleground on Wednesday as multiple scuffles took place between the police and PTI marchers after Imran Khan and his convoy entered the city and started marching towards the D-Chowk despite the Supreme Court's order to hold a rally at a ground between H9 and G9 areas of Islamabad. To control the law and order situation in the federal capital, the Pakistan government deployed troops of the Pakistan army in the Red Zone to protect important government buildings including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Parliament House, Presidency, Prime Minister's Office and others. (ANI) The Russian-Indian friendship society Disha sent about three tonnes of humanitarian aid including pharmaceuticals, to the medical station of the Russian Armed Forces in Kursk, the Russian embassy in India said in its Telegram channel. Taking to social media, the Russian embassy said that the aid include pharmaceuticals. "The Russian-Indian friendship society Disha organized the next batch of humanitarian aid, which comprised pharmaceuticals produced by the Indian pharmaceutical company Panbio Pharm. The aid was transferred to one of the medical stations of the Russian Armed Forces in Kursk," the diplomatic mission said, as per TASS. Indo-Russian ties enjoy enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationships including political, security, defence, trade and economy, science and technology, and culture. Russians and Indians, both value and share values like friendship and loyalty, and this is something that unites the people of the two countries and especially the members of their permanent bureaucracies in ways that outside observers rarely ever realize. In the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, while the West has been critical of India's balanced position in accordance with its policy of multilateralism, Russia has displayed understanding vis-a-vis India's stand on the ongoing crisis. Russia's Ambassador to India Denis Alipov recently expressed that India was taking a "fairly balanced position" regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (ANI) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has decided to call former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to obtain a statement regarding the attacks on protesters at Galle Face and Temple Trees in Colombo on May 9 and the subsequent unrest. Former Ministers Namal Rajapaksa, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Johnston Fernando and Cabinet Minister Ramesh Pathirana have also been summoned to appear before the Commission next Wednesday, the HRCSL said as quoted by Colombo Page. Meanwhile, Avant-Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi has been called to present before the Human Rights Commission on Monday. The Commission said that Nissanka Senadhipathi has been summoned before the Commission to investigate the allegation over a group of inmates of the Watareka Prison, who were involved in a political meeting held at Temple Trees on May 9. The Human Rights Commission said the Inspector General of Police and Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon will also be summoned before the Commission next Thursday, according to Colombo Page. Earlier, on May 9, the peaceful protest at Gota Go Gama in Galle Face and the Maina Go Gama in front of Temple Trees were attacked in Colombo. A day earlier, the protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face Green in Colombo marked the 50th consecutive day. The protests demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa started off on April 9 and since then it has been continuing 24/7. The island nation also witnessed a series of violent incidents including the burning of houses of several parliamentarians after a clash between a pro-government group and anti-government protestors near the residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.Presently, Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens. (ANI) Tehran [Iran], May 29 (ANI/Xinhua): The death toll in a 10-story commercial building collapse in the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan rose to 29, while a total of 38 people have been reported missing, semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a top provincial official as saying on Sunday. Khuzestan Province's Governor Sadeq Khalilian told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the site of the incident that 29 bodies have been recovered from the debris so far, of which three are unidentified. He said the rescue work is still underway to find the rest of the trapped bodies, assuring that the operations will continue until the last casualty is evacuated. The exact number of the people trapped under the rubble is still unknown as the search operation has been going slowly and carefully for the fear of the remaining parts of the building and adjacent structures falling down. Iran announced a day of national mourning on Sunday to honor the victims of the 10-story building's partial collapse. The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported that 10 people were arrested for the incident, in which the building's owner and contractor were killed.The under-construction building, known as Metropol, was on a crowded street in downtown Abadan, surrounded by commercial and medical complexes and offices. Parts of the building collapsed suddenly on Monday, trapping dozens of people beneath the rubble. (ANI/Xinhua) Pakistan's anti-terrorism court on Saturday acquitted four suspected members of a militant group arrested by the counter-terrorism department (CTD) last year over possessing explosives, including suicide vests. During the hearing, the Judge said that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the four accused, including Zeenat Shah, Rehmatullah said Jamal and Saeed alias Aswad. The Judge further said that the evidence didn't connect the accused with the crime, Dawn reported. All the accused were arrested by the CTD Peshawar on October 29, 2021, in the Khyber tribal district and were charged under Section 5 of the Explosive Substance Act, Sections 7 and 21 of the Anti-Terrorism Act Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The CTD had claimed that the accused were wanted men and were active members of the militant Islamic State group. CTD also insisted that its raiding team had seized suicide jackets, improvised explosive devices, hand grenades, detonators, rocket launchers, mortar shells, safety fuses, and prima cord, which the accused intended to use in acts of terrorism, according to Dawn. The lawyer for the accused, Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, said that his clients were falsely framed in the case and said they had no linkage with any military outfit. He argued that the statements of the prosecution witnesses were in conflict with that of the expert of the bomb disposal unit. While, the Peshawar High Court has kept the conviction aside of the father-son duo guilty of killing a person in 2013 and set them free. Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Abdul Shakoor accepted an appeal jointly filed by Syed Amir Ali Shah and his son, Syed Tanvir Ali Shah, of Swabi, against their conviction, reported Dawn. The two were convicted and sentenced by an additional district and sessions judge on October 8, 2018. They received life imprisonment and were also fined Rs 1 million to be paid as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. The appellants were charged with the murder of a resident of their village, Irfan Khan, over a verbal altercation on July 18, 2013. The counsel contended that the 'so-called' witnesses couldn't prove their presence during the alleged seizure of explosives, while the statements of the prosecution witnesses were also in conflict with the 'medical evidence'. (ANI) On May 29, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a virtual meeting with Premier and Foreign Minister of Niue Dalton Tagelagi in Fiji. Wang Yi appreciated Tagelagi's active commitment to China-Niue friendship, saying that since the establishment of China-Niue diplomatic ties, the two sides have always respected and supported each other and bilateral relations have been developing smoothly. The two sides have established a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed the document on Belt and Road cooperation. China has become Niue's second-largest trading partner. Practical cooperation covers a wide range of areas, making positive contributions to the economic and social development and improvement of people's livelihood in Niue. China and Niue have supported and assisted each other in the fight against the pandemic and the friendship has been further enhanced. Wang Yi said, China supports Niue in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions. We will step up policy communication with Niue, pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advance cooperation on infrastructure, radio and television, and at the sub-national level, expand cooperation on the blue economy and bio-pharmacy, and help Niue enhance its capacity for sustainable development. China encourages Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Niue, and at the same time welcomes Niue to actively participate in the China International Import Expo to promote Niue's high-quality and specialty products. Tagelagi said, Niue is sincerely grateful for China's selfless help and strong support for its self-generated development and improvement of people's livelihood. Since the establishment of Niue-China diplomatic ties, the two sides have carried out effective cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit. China has always attached importance to listening to Niue's needs and offered timely assistance to its fight against the COVID-19. Niue cherishes its friendly relations with China and the close friendship between the two peoples, firmly pursues the one-China principle and looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields to jointly promote peace, development and prosperity. The two sides exchanged views on overall cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries and agreed to work together for the success of the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Wang Yi said, China consistently conducts cooperation with Pacific Island Countries with an open attitude. We respect the traditional ties between island countries and other countries in the region and are ready to further deepen friendship and cooperation based on consensus between the two sides. Mr. Premier once said that China brings opportunities, not challenges, to the island countries. China is committed to peace and development and is ready to make its national contribution to the peace, development and prosperity of mankind. Over the past half century, China has always provided support and assistance to island countries in accordance with their needs. The 21st century belongs to developing countries. Small and medium-sized countries also have the right to develop, and the people of island countries also have the right to live a happy life. China is a long-term and reliable cooperative partner of island countries in their development. We are ready to work with all parties to build consensus on cooperation, upgrade the cooperation level, and foster greater synergy to help island countries achieve better development. Tagelagi said, China's support is crucial to the development of island countries. Niue is ready to make bilateral cooperation a useful supplement to existing plans in the spirit of mutual respect and jointly promote the development and prosperity of the South Pacific region. The UNHCR in its latest situation update report said the vast majority of the new arrivals were from Ethiopia with 1,130 crossing over to Sudan's Blue Nile state from Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region. "The remaining 37 new Ethiopian refugees' arrivals entered Sudan through border crossings in Sudan's Geadref state," the UNHCR report disclosed. Tensions have been high for years in Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz region, with periodic outbreaks of ethnic strife leaving scores dead and tens of thousands fleeing to other parts of Ethiopia as well as to neighboring Sudan. The violence is mainly over access to power and land resources. Benishangul-Gumuz region, located along the Ethiopia-Sudan border, hosts Ethiopia's largest development project - the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is under construction on the Blue Nile River with a construction cost of close to 5 billion US dollars. Separately, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have also crossed to Sudan since the start of the military confrontations between the federal and regional forces in the Tigray region broke out in November 2020. (ANI/Xinhua) Putin and Vucic discussed bilateral relations in detail, including "steps to expand mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation," and exchanged views on the "situation in Ukraine and developments around Kosovo," the Kremlin said in a statement. It added that the leaders reaffirmed their common position to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia. (ANI/Xinhua) TTP is focused on a long-term campaign against the Pakistani state with its several thousand fighters in Afghanistan, according to Dawn citing the 13th report of the UNSC Monitoring Team on Afghanistan. According to the report, TTP constituted the largest component of foreign terrorist fighters in Afghanistan, with their number estimated to be several thousand. "TTP has arguably benefited the most of all the foreign extremist groups in Afghanistan from the Taliban takeover. It has conducted numerous attacks and operations in Pakistan..." UN report said. The UN Monitoring Team's earlier report had focused on the global threat posed by Al-Qaeda, and related groups as well as the one before that had also underlined increasing cross-border attacks by TTP from the Afghan soil as a result of the reunification of the terrorist group in Afghanistan. Earlier, TTP was responsible for the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in which over 150 children were killed. Separately, quoting information provided by a "Member State," the Monitoring Team report mentioned the presence of defunct Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Afghanistan. According to the publication, these details were not given in its several previous reports. (ANI) Doto Biteko, the Minister for Minerals, announced the arrest of the eight traders in a meeting with small-scale miners at the Lwamgasa area in the gold-rich Geita region. Biteko said the government launched a clampdown on unfaithful gold traders after sales started going down in minerals trading centers. "The eight traders have been detained helping police in their investigations," said the minister who declined to mention the amount of gold found in possession of the traders on investigative reasons. Biteko urged traders to stop buying gold in the streets and instead buy the precious stones in state-run mineral trading centers. In 2019, Tanzania set up government-controlled minerals trading centers in efforts aimed at curbing illegal exports of gold and other precious minerals. The trading centers give small-scale miners direct access to a formal, regulated market where they can go and directly trade their gold. (ANI/Xinhua) The Freedom Long Walk for Sindh's human rights, climate change and environmental justice has kicked off in Canada. The protest march will take place from Toronto to Ottawa, covering 424 kilometres. "Yet, it's not a final destination but a massive milestone towards Sindh's emancipation from being plundered of its resources, water of mighty Indus, subjugation under military and human rights abuses of Sindhi people", says Sufi Munawar Laghari, the Executive Director of Washington-based Sindhi Foundation in a press release issued today from Toronto. Sufi Laghari is the proponent of the 'Freedom Long Walk.' This would be their second Long Walk in North America. Previously, Munawar Laghari and his fellow travelers including his wife Fati, and dog named Moksha had hit the roads from New York City to Washington DC under the banners of Sindhi Foundation. But the long walk for Sindh's human rights, climate change, environmental justice and love for nature representing Sindhis from their native land of Sindh, southern province of Pakistan, is being commenced for the first time in Canada. A good number of members of the Sindhi communities from North America, Europe and elsewhere are expected to join in the Freedom Long Walk. Besides, The Long Walk for Sindh has mustered support and solidarity from Canadian people and their elected representatives, lawmakers like MPs Garnet Genius and Tom Kmiec. "Sindhi communities are experiencing the ongoing violations of their human rights in Pakistan, and I do support their long march of freedom," says MP Garnet Genius in is his video message, retreating his support for the 424 kilometers walk, he has enlisted the human rights violations, specifically; abduction of children, conversions of young Sindhi women, enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings occurred to a Sindhis at their homeland Sindh. Sufi Munawar Laghari has also written a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau apprising him about the catastrophic climate change in Sindh, decades long pillage of the water of the river Indus, lifeline for Sindhis and their violations of human rights in Pakistan. Commending the world wide efforts of PM Trudeau in respect of the climate change and human rights world wide, Sufi Munawar Laghari has highlighted the catastrophic recent climate change in Sindh where the temperature risen to 51 Celsius in its Jacobabad district and, decades old pillage of water of the River Indus with recent blockade by Punjab "where the Pakistan's notorious military come from" he said, and human rights violations occurred to native Sindhi on everyday basis in Sindh. He has enlisted numerous cases of human rights violations of Sindhis including that of the case of Notan Lal, a Principal of a School who has been convicted under the draconian Blasphemy law charges for a life term and languishing in jail, and beating to death of Nazim Jokhio, who was a protector of migratory birds and an environment activist (his murder involves a powerful member of the incumbent ruling party PPP in Sindh), and extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances which remain unabated and continue with impunity. Sufi Munawar Laghari declared that the the Freedom Long Walk was meant to disseminate awareness about ongoing and unending human rights violations, degrading of environment, and plundering of Sindh's economic and mineral resources, natural and historic rights of Sindhis. (ANI) Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday stressed that the crisis-ridden nation's Parliament should be strengthened with more powers as done in India and other countries. Making a special statement, Wickremesinghe proposed that a system similar to that of pre-independence state council should be introduced to monitor public finances and create powerful and stronger laws to enable the Parliament to exercise monetary powers. "Now we need to change the structure of our Parliament and create a new system by combining the existing system of Parliament or the Westminster system and the system of State Councils. In those cases, the Parliament can participate in governing the country," the PM stated. "First of all, the existing laws need to be strengthened in order to give those powers to Parliament in the exercise of monetary powers. Following the example of countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India, we are proposing a stronger and more powerful law," Wickremesinghe said in the televised public speech. Suffering from severe financial crisis, Sri Lankans launched non-stop street fights for more than 50 days with violent resistance by the Rajapaksa government and his supporters. The angry people torched over 50 houses of government politicians, including houses of ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the violence killed nine persons, including an MP, besides injuring over 200 others. Former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and his cabinet was forced to step down as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe from the opposition as PM. During his address, Wickremesinghe also stressed that there were two major issues in the political spheres -- constitutional change with 21st Amendment to weaken the powers of Executive President and strengthening the Parliament, and to abolish the Executive Presidency. He charged that functioning of the Parliament has been paralysed due to the weakening of the Parliamentary powers by the 20th Amendment which was introduced by Mahinda Rajapaksa's government. "There is an allegation that even though the ruling party had a majority in the Parliament, it neglected the work of the Parliament. Everything was systematically controlled by the Cabinet ministers," Wickremesinghe said. To face the economic crisis, the premier proposed to appoint five committees to monitor public finances and find solutions to the problems faced by banks and financial institutions, besides appointing 10 other supervisory committees. The backbenchers of the Parliament are to appoint the chairpersons of the total 15 committees which have to be responsible for the Parliament. Wickremesinghe also invited the youth who had been protesting for over 50 days to join the 15 committees. The PM proposed to establish a National Council consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the major parties to form policies for the country. He said the National Council could talk about the decisions of the Cabinet, reorganisation of the Parliament and it will have the right to summon the Cabinet of ministers and the chairmen of the committees. "According to the new system we have proposed, the President will be held accountable to the Parliament. The Cabinet of ministers woll also be accountable to the Parliament, and the same goes for the National Council. The 15 committees and oversight committees will also be accountable to the Parliament," Wickremesinghe said. --IANS sfl/arm ( 554 Words) 2022-05-29-20:50:03 (IANS) Pakistan is set to import two million metric tonnes (MT) of wheat from Russia with cash payment amid the continuing sanctions on Moscow that have made trade difficult with the Vladimir Putin government. The decision was taken by a key economic committee which also waived off additional customs duties on import of edible oil to incentivise the suppliers to fast track the shipments next month, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. "The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) allowed import of two million metric tonnes of wheat on a government-to-government basis'' from Russia, stated Pakistan's finance ministry. Earlier, the possibility of barter trade with Russia was being explored due to sanctions imposed by the West. Although there are no sanctions on the import of grains from Russia, however Pakistan government would have to work out a mechanism to make the payments, the Tribune report said. This report comes as Pakistan is grappling with lower-than-expected levels of food output. The country is in urgent need to import key food items including edible oil, wheat, sugar, tea and pulses. The decision on wheat import was announced days after Pakistan said that it is open to importing oil and food products from Russia. Speaking at a press briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar this week said the country has an "open policy" driven by a national interest to expand economic and trade relations. "Our policy is clear, you know in terms of expanding economic and trade relations, we have an open policy, driven by national interest. Wherever we see there is a national benefit, we pursue those options and avenues," The Express Tribune newspaper quoted Iftikhar as saying. The Pakistan foreign office spokesperson made these remarks while responding to a question that whether or not Pakistan was considering importing oil and food grains from Russia. This comes as the government raised the prices of petroleum products by PKR 30 per litre, stating that the decision was taken to ensure the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and that they had no other option. (ANI) The punished were involved in 7,441 cases, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the monthly statement by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. Among them, 7,603 received Party disciplinary or administrative penalties, said the statement. As many as 6,411 were sanctioned for engaging in formalities for formalities' sake or bureaucratism practices, and 4,940 were punished for hedonism and extravagant conduct, the Chinese media agency reported. Back in 2012, the CPC released its eight-point rules on frugality to combat undesirable work practices. (ANI) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said that five finance committees and 10 oversight committees will be appointed to resolve the economic and political crisis faced by the country. Wickremesinghe said new committees will be appointed to supplement the already existing committees on government finance namely: the Public Finance Committee, the Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Enterprises. Ten oversight committees that report to the parliament on policies will be appointed, and the parliament should act on the recommendations of these committees, the new Sri Lankan PM said in a special statement. "The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also want to know the current issues. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees," he said. Wickremesinghe also stressed on the need to change the structure of the parliament to strengthen it. In the official statement, he called for a 21st amendment to the constitution to make the President and cabinet accountable to parliament. "We propose a National Council. A committee consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and the leaders of the major parties is called the National Council. The National Council can talk about the policies of the country as well as about the decisions of the Cabinet," said Sri Lankan PM. Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis and political crisis. Large scale protests have been taking place for months, leading to the ouster of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. (ANI) We were all standing in one of those casual circles you find yourself forming when you're gathered with close friends. It was summer in Australia in 2015, and we had just barbecued chicken. (It was my first time, and I burnt it. Bad.) One of my friends suggested we all choose a few songs to play we represented Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and beyond. Then we danced on the beach. It was a small moment, yes, but I'll never forget it. The music my friends chose taught me a lot about them, and, partly because of that night, I pay closer attention to little things like the favorite songs that light up the people I love. Blake Carlson performs at the "Growing Up" themed Storytellers event at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Many Iowans are well-traveled people. You can hear exceptional stories of travel from five Iowans in the next Des Moines Storytellers event: "Voyages: Life-changing experiences through travel." The show will be held June 14 at 7 p.m. at Des Moines' historic Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave. In its fifth season, the Register's Storytellers Project is dedicated to the idea that oral storytelling and journalism have the same goals: Serving and reflecting a community while fostering empathy. Iowans will tell their stories live on stage without notes and from their hearts. They have been coached by Register journalists Rekha Basu, Sarah LeBlanc, Kim Norvell, Hannah Rodriguez and Lee Rood. LeBlanc will host the show. Tickets for the show, and for each of the remaining shows planned in 2022, are now on sale: Tickets cost $12 or $28 for VIP, which includes a free drink and treat, and are available to purchase at events.storytellersproject.com or at the Hoyt Sherman Place box office. Story continues Questions about the shows can be directed to events@dmreg.com or 515-619-6548. Meet our storytellers: Erik Dominguez Erik Dominguez will be a storyteller for the June 14 Des Moines Register Storytellers Project. Erik Dominguez is a keynote speaker and a communications and emotional intelligence trainer. He is an Enneagram 2, a CrossFit fanatic, and on a mission to build confidence in others by showing them how to speak their stories. What do you hope listeners take away from your story? I hope to remind others to show up authentically, and that home is not as far as we think it may be. Who or what inspired you to tell your story? Im inspired by my love, Whitney, and our two boys, Elias and Ian, who always embrace me exactly as I am. Brenda McGuire Brenda McGuire will be a storyteller for the June 14 Des Moines Register Storytellers Project. Brenda McGuire is a world traveler, #1 best-selling author, and international speaker. She loves sharing her travel tips along with tales and misadventures gained from travels to 85 countries on six continents. Through her two international companies WorldWide Connect and Global Gals she helps others to successfully live, work and travel the world. What do you hope listeners take away from your story? To encourage them to experience, explore and enjoy all this amazing small world has to offer its people, places and cultures! Who or what inspired you to tell this story? My parents, Harold and Ilene Hagen, were my biggest cheerleaders and always encouraged me to travel the world and share what I learned with others. Akwi Nji Akwi Nji Akwi Nji is an artist creating in words, voice and visual art. Her work and words have appeared on stage from California's Wine Country to New York's Fashion Week and her collaborative partners have included Emmy-award winning composers and nationally-renowned choreographers. She lives in Cedar Rapids, works in Waterloo, shares a home with two daughters and the family pets, and travels solo to stay sane. What do you hope listeners take away from your story? I hope it's a chance to reflect on what it means to be family. Who or what inspired you to tell your story? My trip back to Cameroon, Africa, as one stop along my lifelong quest for a sense of home and belonging. Coral Thede Coral Thede will be a storyteller for the June 14 Des Moines Register Storytellers Project. Coral Thede is a spirited performer who entertains audiences around the Midwest and across the globe. She is a singer, storyteller and well-traveled soul. Coral is the creator, producer and host of Des Moines best-selling comedy show "Tits Up!" Wherever she goes, light and laughter are sure to follow. What do you hope listeners take away from your story? I hope they feel empowered to wear crop tops, book one-way tickets and to always wear extra sunscreen in Barcelona. My hope is that they feel inspired to pursue whatever it is that lights them up and sets a spark in their soul. And to know that when it comes to balancing the light and the darkness, theyre not alone. Who or what inspired you to tell your story? The loss of my dad, the light of The Year of Living Coral and the reassurance that stories are meant to be lived and shared. Robert Warren Robert Warren will be a storyteller for the June 14 Des Moines Register Storytellers Project. Robert Warren was hired as executive director of Hoyt Sherman Place in September of 2015 and was given the new title of chief executive officer in 2021 after successfully leading the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. His decorated career has included positions such as associate producer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and director of community engagement at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, Florida. Warren is very proud father of his two adult sons and his service in the U.S. Army as a communications specialist for White House Communications. What do you hope listeners take away from your story? I hope that those who listen to my story will realize how special spending time with your family can be, even in the craziest of circumstances. Who or what inspired you to tell your story? The realization that even after family members are long gone, the memories will last your entire lifetime. Become a teller The Des Moines Storytellers Project is supported by Mediacom and Noah's Ark. The Des Moines Storytellers Project believes everyone has a story and everyone can tell it. None of the storytellers who take our stage are professionals. They are your neighbors, friends or co-workers, and they are coached to tell by Register journalists. Want to tell your story at one of our upcoming Storytellers Project events? Read our guidelines and submit a story at DesMoinesRegister.com/Tell. Sarah LeBlanc covers the western suburbs for the Register. Reach her at 515-284-8161 or sleblanc@registermedia.com. Follower her on Twitter at @sarahkayleblanc This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet Des Moines Storytellers Project tellers for June 'Voyages' show Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday called on fellow Republicans to come to the table to find reasonable solutions to the nations gun epidemic, with the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran saying raising the age limit to purchase a gun is a no-brainer. As a person that appreciates and believes in the second amendment, we have to be the ones putting forward reasonable solutions to gun violence, he said in an interview with ABC News This Week following two recent mass shootings by teenagers in Texas and New York. Kinzinger has previously opposed a ban on assault weapons, but on Sunday told CNNs Dana Bash hes open to one now though he appeared to lean toward implementing other safeguards first. The congressman suggested that people could obtain a special license or go through training to own a semi-automatic rifle like the AR-15, which has become the go-to firearm for recent mass shootings. He also called for raising the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, pointing out that the gunmen in last weeks Uvalde shooting, the Buffalo shooting and the 2018 Parkland, Florida, shooting, would have all been stopped from legally obtaining a firearm if such a law were in place. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that raising minimum age for gun purchases to 21 is a no brainer" to him. If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21. https://t.co/Ndo3NsrFp7pic.twitter.com/mBpxDBiyJF This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 29, 2022 I think that raising the age of gun purchase to 21 is a no-brainer, he told ABC News Jonathan Karl. We just raised without really so much as a blink the age of purchasing cigarettes federally to 21. I think we need to get there eventually. Story continues New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) last week proposed a similar age restriction for her own state in the wake of the Buffalo shooting. Such a proposal is easier said than done, however, with federal courts in recent years ruling that such age limits are unconstitutional. Kinzinger also dismissed adding more guns to schools as a means to keep students safe. If we think that just hardening schools or reducing basically turning schools into military camps is going to be the answer, even if it does work, which it wont, but even if it does, thats not the kind of country I want to live in, right? he said. I got a kid thats 4 months old now, will be going to school someday. I dont want to have to have a military I.D. to check him into the front gate of his elementary school. Former President Donald Trump on Friday recommended that all schools have strong fencing, metal detectors, an on-duty police official or armed guard and a single point of entry. He also suggested eliminating gun-free school zones so staff can be armed. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas last week also said schools should have fewer doorways and armed police officers stationed at the entrance. As the age-old saying goes, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, Trump said. Rep. Adam Kinzinger on calls from his party to "harden" schools: "Turning schools into military camps ... even if it does work, which it won't, but even if it does, that's not the kind of country I want to live in ... they're scared to talk about [the gun issue]." pic.twitter.com/5TfGkpuysn Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 29, 2022 Kinzinger dismissed that saying, however, pointing out that the gunman in last weeks shooting was grossly outnumbered by law enforcement but still managed to kill 21 people. There were 150 good guys with guns at this shooting that didnt do anything until, basically, Border Patrol SWAT showed up, he told CNN during an interview on State of the Union. We have got to take handle of this, man. This is insane. Kinzinger said hes heard from fellow Republicans who privately agree with him on changing gun laws to curb violence, but they wont say it publicly out of fear of being branded an opponent of gun rights. Youre going to get a bunch of attacks that say, youre crazy, its my right, the Second Amendment, even though we all believe in the Second Amendment. We just believe that there are reasonable things to do about it, he said. Can we stop all of it? No. Can we mitigate it? Certainly. And we should be doing that now. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal President Macky Sall, who chairs the Africa Union organisation, on Sunday called for dialogue between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda as tensions escalate between the two countries over a resurgence of the M23 rebel group. Congo on Saturday summoned Rwanda's ambassador and suspended RwandAir flights to Congo in response to what it says is Kigali's support for M23 rebels carrying out a military offensive in its eastern borderlands. Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of the latest offensive by the rebels, citing the rebels' heavy firepower as evidence of outside support. Rwanda has denied this, calling the fighting an intra-Congolese conflict. Rwanda's army also requested the release of two Rwandan soldiers it said were "kidnapped" along its border with Congo. "I am seriously concerned by the rising tension between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo," Sall said on Twitter. "I call for calm and dialogue between the two countries, and for the peaceful resolution of the crisis with the support of regional mechanisms and the African Union," said Sall who holds the rotating chairmanship of the African Union. (Reporting by Bate Felix. Editing by Jane Merriman) "Top Gun" star Tom Skerritt is sharing his thoughts on the movie's sequel and reflecting on the original 1986 film. Skerritt, who starred as Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf in the original, opened up about what made "Top Gun" iconic during a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "The music had a lot to do with it by the way," he said. "But the screenplay itself, which I've always honored as being the whole reason for a good show, and you just write the work and do the job you have good material for the rest of us to work with. And I really believed in that screenplay." Skerritt starred in the film alongside a young Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and others such as Kelly McGillis. Tom Skerritt starred in the original "Top Gun" as Cdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf. Photo by CBS Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Anthony Edwards as Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, Michael Ironside as Lt. Cdr. Dick "Jester" Wetherly and Tom Skerritt as Cdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf in the film "Top Gun." Photo by CBS TOP GUN: MAVERICK: MEG RYAN AND KELLY MCGILLIS WEREN'T ASKED TO RETURN, DIRECTOR CONFIRMS "Everybody was having a good time on this. We all knew, or maybe I just sensed it, that this was going to be a very successful film." As for working with the 25-year-old Cruise, Skerritt told Fox News Digital that he met the actor while still in talks with Tony Scott, the director, and the producers. "He was clearly a nice young man, 25, aware that he was going to rise with this film. He didn't say that, but I assumed that by discussion we had. He knew he was going to rise with "Top Gun." When it comes to the sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick," Skerritt explained to Fox News Digital: "I think it's going to be a lot of aeronautical engineering on display, a lot of going shooting straight up into the sky and going as high as you can go." "I think we're going to just watch some guys do some crazy flying, and they're going to have a lot of fun, but it's not going to have the storyline the original had. You can't revive something that's already been done." The film was released in theaters on May 27 after a two-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Skerritt weighed in on "Top Gun: Maverick" during an interview with Fox News Digital. Photo by Mat Hayward CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Before starring in the '80s action-drama film, Skerritt spent time in the United States Air Force. The actor admitted he joined the United States Air Force with the intention of learning to fly a plane, but didn't ever get to. Story continues "Military's military, whatever the service you're in," he told Fox News Digital. "One is a little rougher than others. That would be the Marines. But I never got to fly, which was something I thought would be a dream for me to do. I had an older brother who was a P-51 pilot in World War II, and I loved him and I loved him for what he did." "At 17, I enlisted right out of high school," he continued. "I thought maybe I can sneak in and become a pilot, which was not possible. I had no math skills whatsoever, and I had a good four years of learning how to behave myself." As Memorial Day quickly approaches, the actor-turned-producer explained what the day means to him. Memorial Day means a lot to Skerritt, who served in the military himself and runs a program for veterans. Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage "It's quite a bit because I have my own experience in the military," Skerritt said. "I had my brother in the military." Skerritt also co-founded the Red Badge Project alongside former Army Captain Evan Bailey in 2012. The program helps veterans "discover greater self-acceptance and efficacy as they find their voice, and produce stories inspired by their life experiences," according to the Red Badge Project's website. Skerritt further explained: "I also have a school here called Red Badge where we teach post-traumatic stress vets how to tell a story because there's wonderful therapy about being able to write a story, whether it's true or whether it's recovering from some very bad moments that they had. And that's what the day is for me." Fox News' Larry Fink contributed to this report. Carolyn Loughton flung herself on top of her daughter when a gunman with a high-powered rifle opened fire on a group of tourists in Australia, but it was not enough to save Sarah's life. The shooting, in a cafe in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur in April 1996, resulted in 35 people killed, and another 23 wounded. Although it happened 26 years ago, telling the story decades later still makes Loughton shake. Correspondent Seth Doane asked Loughton, "What's it like being in a mass shooting?" "It's beyond frightening; it's haunting," she replied. "And for every bullet that's fired, that's a life gone. And bang! There's another life gone. And bang! There's another life gone. And bang! And when is it gonna be my turn?" Loughton was shot, and did not know for hours her daughter had died. Sarah had just turned 15. "It's said that when you lose your parents, you lose your past," Loughton said. "When you lose your child, you lose your future." Carolyn Loughton was wounded in the mass shooting at Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1996. Her daughter, Sarah, died. / Credit: CBS News The massacre rocked Australia. It came just six weeks after a new prime minister had been elected. "I thought to myself, if I don't use the authority of this newly-acquired office to do something, then the Australian people are entitled to think, 'Well, this bloke's not up to much,'" said John Howard. So, the then-prime minister, a conservative politician and close friend of George W. Bush, pushed through sweeping gun control legislation just 12 days after the shooting. "The hardest things to do in politics often involve taking away rights and privileges from your own supporters," Howard said. The tough new laws banned the sale and importation of all automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns; forced people to present a legitimate reason, and wait 28 days, to buy a firearm; and perhaps most significantly called for a massive, mandatory gun-buyback. Australia's government confiscated and destroyed nearly 700,000 firearms, reducing the number of gun-owning households by half. Howard told Doane, "People used to say to me, 'You violated my human rights by taking away my gun.' And I'd tell them, 'I understand that. Will you please understand the argument, the greatest human right of all is to live a safe life without fear of random murder?'" Story continues Australia's National Firearms Agreement banned certain types of weapons, and instituted a gun buyback program for automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns; nearly 700,000 guns were taken and destroyed. The law also created a nationwide firearms registry, and required a 28-day waiting period for gun sales. / Credit: CBS News If we tally mass shootings that have killed four or more people, in the United States there have been well over 100 since the Port Arthur tragedy. But in Australia, there has been just one in the 26 years since their gun laws were passed. Plus, gun homicides have decreased by 60%. Howard said, "It is incontestable that gun-related homicides have fallen quite significantly in Australia, incontestable." Senator David Leyonhjelm left Howard's political party in protest over the strict gun laws. He insists they've had little effect. "It's clutching at straws," he said of the reasoning behind the gun laws. "John Howard just simply didn't like guns. "There could've been something done about keeping firearms out of the hands of people with a definite violent potential. But instead, all firearm owners were made to pay the price," Leyonhjelm said. "I don't think there's any relationship between the availability of guns and the level of violence." Doane asked Howard to respond to critics who say changes in gun deaths did not happen because of the legislation. "Well, I can say that, because all the surveys indicate it," he replied. "The number of deaths from mass shootings, gun-related homicide has fallen, gun related suicide has fallen. Isn't that evidence? Or are we expected to believe that that was all magically going to happen? Come on!" Locking up guns and ammunition in separate safes is another regulation, as are surprise inspections by police. Lawyer and winemaker Greg Melick showed Doane where he keeps his weapons and ammunition. Melick had to part with some of his prized guns in the buyback. Doane asked, "How many firearms do you still own?" "I knew you were gonna ask me that question. I should've checked. I don't know!" The answer? About two-dozen, which he uses for sport, hunting and shooting pests on his vineyard. Melick sees gun ownership not as a right but a privilege. "I'd be very uncomfortable going back to the way it was before, when anybody could go in and buy a firearm," he said. "Really? Why?" "Quite frankly, I find it surprising that you, as an American, ask me a question like that. It's just bizarre the number of people getting killed in the United States. And you have these ridiculous arguments: 'Well, people carry guns so they can defend themselves.'" "But this is being said by a gun owner, you, someone who shoots for sport?" "Yeah, I have a genuine reason to be using firearms." From Tasmania to Sydney to Carolyn Laughton's living room, "Sunday Morning" kept asking if there were lessons for the U.S. in all of this. Loughton said, "I am loath to comment. But my question is, 'How is it going for you over there?' But I can't answer that for you. My heart goes out to all of you over there in America. Life is so short. And all and every one of us is somebody's child. And when we see what's happening, your heart bleeds." This story was originally broadcast on March 13, 2016. Story produced by Sari Aviv. Editor: Mike Levine. Angela Davis on continuing to fight for change How Austin Butler became "Elvis" What can Australia teach us about mass shootings? Michelle Gleba With the Great Resignation showing no signs of slowing down, Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns job seekers to use caution when job-hunting online. Employment scams are rampant online, and scammers tactics are evolving constantly. Employment scams ranked as the third-riskiest scam of 2021 in the annual BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, with about 3,350 reports to BBB Scam Tracker last year. About 60 of those reports were filed in Eastern and Southwest Missouri and Southern Illinois. BBB published an in-depth investigative study on employment scams in 2020; read the study at BBB.org/scamstudies. In employment scams, a consumer receives an unsolicited job offer that may promise high pay, options to work remotely, and/or flexible hours. To get the job, a candidate must complete forms that require personal and/or sensitive information and may be required to purchase equipment with part of the proceeds of what turns out to be a fake check. These open the candidate up to identity theft and financial harm. The latest twist involves interviews via a messaging app such as Telegram. One job seeker in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, lost $2,150 in such a scam when a scammer who had interviewed her via Telegram, posing as a real company, sent her a fake check to purchase equipment she would need for her home office. The third-party office supply company from which she ordered also was a fake, she told BBB Scam Tracker. Employment scams are especially insidious because they prey on unsuspecting people looking for work. While most consumers in Eastern and Southwest Missouri and Southern Illinois who reported employment scams to BBB Scam Tracker did not report a financial loss, one St. Louis resident reported losing $2,400. The median loss reported nationally from these scams in 2021 was $900. Job seekers should keep the following in mind to avoid employment scams: Some jobs are likelier to be scams than others, such as work-from-home or secret shopper positions. Any job with a generic title such as caregiver, administrative assistant, or customer service rep should also merit further research before you apply. If the job posting is for a well-known brand, check the real company's job page to see if the position is posted there. Look online; if the job comes up in other cities with the exact same post, its likely a scam. Note also that government agencies post all jobs publicly and freely. Dont accept on-the-spot job offers, particularly when they are unsolicited. You may be an excellent candidate for the job, but a legitimate company will want to talk to a candidate before hiring. If a company sends you a check or overpayment and asks you to wire a portion of it elsewhere, that is a significant red flag and a common trick used by scammers. Be cautious in sharing your personal information, and never share banking information as part of a job application. Get all details and contracts in writing. A legitimate recruiter will provide you with a complete contract for their services with cost, what you get, who pays (you or the employer), and what happens if you do not find a job. Story continues Report any scams at BBB.org/scamtracker. Michelle Gleba is the regional director for the BBB. This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: BBB Tips: Job scams President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hoping to console a city stricken by grief and anger when they meet with families affected by the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers. The visit to Uvalde on Sunday is Bidens second trip in as many weeks to comfort a community in mourning after staggering loss. On May 17, he was in Buffalo, New York, to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. The shootings in Texas and New York and their aftermath have put a spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden was to visit the makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School before attending Mass at a local Catholic church. He was also scheduled to meet privately with family members at a community center and then with first responders at the local airport before returning to Washington, the White House said. He was not expected to deliver formal remarks. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Story continues The Bidens visit comes amid mounting scrutiny of the police response to the shooting. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help even as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed that the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether more lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Biden said Saturday that something had to change in response to the attack. I call on all Americans at this hour to join hands and make your voices heard, to work together to make this nation what it can and should be, Biden said. I know we can do this. Weve done it before. Hours after the shooting, Biden had delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to chip away at gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washingtons sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, members of a bipartisan group of senators were in talks over the weekend to see whether they could reach even a modest comprise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of those with mental health issues, as well as addressing school security and mental health resources are on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including an assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABCs This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Biden's pen was sold at auction for 600,000 hryvnias Russia's war against Ukraine - the main events of May 29 The organizers noted that the pen has already been handed over to the buyer, while the money will be spent to purchase pickup trucks for the newly created 47th Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Read also: Berlin will hold exhibition of works by Alevtina Kahidze and others The pen was bought for UAH 600,000 hryvnias (over $20,500). "The winner of the auction asked not to make a big thing of it, commenting on it as follows: 'We're just helping. Not for attention. Our Armed Forces need attention now,'" reads the report. Read also: Ukrainian cat Stepan receives Worlds Top Influencers and Bloggers Award 2022 in Cannes The winner of the auction, named only as Oleksandr, is a participant in a charity initiative to support Ukrainian volunteer organizations and movements. He and his colleagues are engaged in supporting the Armed Forces, as well as Ukrainians who have found themselves in difficult situations because of the war. Read also: Richard Gere sells his Jaguar classic car and donates proceeds to Ukraine NGOs Earlier a famous fleece jacket worn by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was sold at a fundraising auction in London for 90,000 (over $111,000). The proceeds from another auction, where a Ukrainian from abroad bought a painting by famous Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko for $500,000, will also be donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The 19 children and two teachers who died because they were inside a Texas elementary school are sacrifices to Americas gun ownership dogma. They are not the latest. There have been more victims since Uvalde, Texas, in cities and towns across America, including a mother who died Thursday in a southside Indianapolis apartment. The annihilation never ceases. It proceeds under the radar, and in marginalized communities, day in and day out. We accept it. We permit it. We choose to let it happen. When I say we, I mean red states such as Indiana, which hold all the power on this issue and treat gun ownership as an entitlement. Because the Senate favors geography over people and because the filibuster rule requires at least 60 senators to agree on legislation and because the Democratic majority refuses to eliminate that rule and because the House is split among districts with extreme partisan leans, our political system is responsive to the most conservative voters, even as the vast majority of Americans want stricter gun rules. People walk past signage in the hallways outside of the exhibit halls at the NRA Annual Meeting held at the George R. Brown Convention Center Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) A Politico/Morning Consult poll found strong support for background checks on all gun sales, a national database with information about each transaction, a ban on assault-style weapons, a ban on sales to people known to law enforcement as possibly dangerous due to mental health conditions and a requirement for owners to keep firearms in safe storage units. These views are as static as the resistance among elected officials, mostly Republicans, to act on them. Even as most Americans are furious and desperate for solutions, Republicans are incentivized to cater to the minority who want virtually no rules or regulations on firearms. School shootings, per se, are not enough to cast doubt on Americas gun culture. There have been 27 school shootings already this year, according to Education Week, and some 900 incidents involving gunfire at schools in the decade since Sandy Hook. How many do you remember? Story continues The rounds of Do Somethingism that renew our commitment to doing nothing have become cliche and, yet, even brief introspection is not so automatic as it seems. It takes a high body count, with a horrific narrative, to arrest our attention long enough to look in the mirror. It takes a shooting on the scale of Uvalde. When it happens, every few weeks or months, these recurring slaughters separate us into two camps. The first acknowledges that mass carnage is horrible and sad, yet also insists it is a cost of living in America, where we value gun ownership as an essential right, so there is no solution. We cant stop bad people Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke for this camp in a television interview. We cant stop bad people from doing bad things, Paxton said. Theyre going to violate murder laws. Theyre not going to follow gun laws. It is common among people in the first camp to agree that something should be done, so long as it has nothing to do with guns. Media Matters for America, a leftist media tracker, compiled a list of 50 suggestions discussed on Fox News last week, none of which included restrictions on guns. The problem, according to the first camp, is mental health or a lack of church attendance or schools with easy access and unarmed teachers. Visitors mill about the exhibitors booths in the main exhibition hall at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Friday, May 27, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) ORG XMIT: TXMW101 I wont go down the rabbit hole of addressing alternative explanations. It is not necessary. When you compare America to other nations, which do not experience this problem, the differences are clear. America has vastly more shootings than other countries because its citizens own vastly more guns than those in other countries. You can talk about how anyone bent on violence will find a way to kill. Maybe. But, if the Uvalde shooter had attempted his assault without access to firearms, it would have played out much differently. Police would not have waited 45 minutes to enter the classroom where children were slain if the killer had wielded a knife rather than an AR-15-style rifle. It is beyond silly to argue that the instrument of violence is irrelevant to those motivated to kill. There is a reason that firearms have been a primary tool of war since the 16th century: Even when guns were bad, they were better at killing people than whatever else armies had laying around. Now, the guns are very, very good. Republicans have no incentive to act The second camp, furious at the first, argues that we should add restrictions on gun ownership because enabling citizens to stockpile firearms without rules or oversight does not provide any societal benefits to offset tens of thousands of gun deaths per year. There are Republicans who sympathize with this camp, yet are so overpowered by the forces I described above particularly, the need to appeal to the most conservative voters on gun rights or get blown out in primaries that they silo themselves in the first. Gun culture is part of the conservative political identity and support for new restrictions is not tolerated among red districts and states. The New York Times asked all 50 Senate Republicans whether they would support House-passed strengthened background checks on gun buyers. Indiana Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young were among the majority in the declined to answer or deflected category. Protesters hold signs across the street from the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting held at the George R. Brown Convention Center Friday, May 27, 2022, in Houston. I asked a former Republican congressman, who had expressed an openness to stricter background checks after Sandy Hook, whether a Republican planning to run for re-election today can afford to give ground on gun restrictions. We are in a more performative era in politics, he said. Too many members get rewarded for speechifying rather than legislating. That incentive structure produces the persona of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, who has spent the past week posturing and carrying out a feud on the radio and on Twitter with Drew Anderson, the communications director for the Indiana Democratic Party. Banks 3rd District seat is safe, so there is no pressure on him to engage in serious policy discussions. His reward is in clownishness. The sheer hopelessness of addressing gun violence in this climate pushes the second camp into counterproductive directions: screaming into the void online, which, while perhaps cathartic, does nothing to advance the goal, and lowering the bar to expend massive political energy on legislation that wouldnt make much of a difference. When mass shootings occur, elected officials haggle over background checks, bump stocks and red flag laws and, then, nothing happens, except that guns get easier to buy and carry in red states such as Indiana. It feels good to talk about nuances in gun policy because it preserves the illusion that a bipartisan deal progress! is ever around the corner. Its also just depressing to admit that America trades childrens lives for free-flowing retail gun markets. In the wake of the Texas shooting, there has been another public debate over putting restrictions on AR-15-type rifles, such as those purchased by the Texas shooter. But most mass shootings involve handguns, for which Indiana lawmakers recently eliminated permit requirements against the wishes of law enforcement. To the extent that a bipartisan deal is within reach, it would probably be so weak as to prove the point of people in the first camp: Killers are going to kill. This is uniquely American In theory, this impasse is not unbreakable. It might have surprised Americas founders to foresee that we would have chained ourselves to their documents as an excuse to let killers carve paths through captive victims in schools and warehouses and retailers. Thomas Jefferson, writing to James Madison in 1789, mused that every generation might create its own constitution. It may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law, Jefferson said. The earth belongs always to the living generation. It is a choice to not alter the constitution; it is a choice to appoint Supreme Court justices who interpret the Second Amendment as permitting private ownership of weapons that terrify police into paralysis; it is a choice to not pass laws that restrict gun ownership within the confines of that interpretation and it is a choice for Republicans to pursue opportunism over solutions. These choices are so entrenched, though, that its impossible to envision the means of reversing them. As recently as a couple months ago, Indiana passed legislation to eliminate the permit requirement for handguns. The basic weapon used in most mass shootings will soon be easier to carry in Indiana. Gov. Eric Holcomb last week took the Uvalde slaughter as evidence for the need to improve school security. He expressed no regrets about Indianas soon-to-take-effect law on handguns, which he signed. "We're not going to, I believe, in the state of Indiana take steps to restrict individuals who lawfully can purchase a gun for sport or defense for themselves, he said in response to a reporters question. I just think that's contrary to the United States constitution, quite frankly." That deference to gun culture at the expense of innocent lives is a uniquely American response. Other countries have reacted differently and proven that solutions are possible. Germany experienced horrific school shootings in 2002 and 2009, which resulted in a combined 31 victims. The country responded by requiring anyone younger than 25 to pass a psychiatric exam before applying for a gun license, according to The Los Angeles Times. Anyone who wants to buy a gun must also wait a full year, pass a test and provide an acceptable reason for owning a gun. As of 2016, the gun death rate in Germany was 0.9 per 100,000 people, compared with 10.6 in America. Australia, a pretty conservative country, took drastic measures in the wake of a 1996 shooting that killed 35 people. The country made gun ownership a privilege instead of a right, banned semi-automatic weapons, initiated a gun buyback program that took as many as one-third of the nations firearms out of circulation and created a gun registry. Applicants for gun licenses, like in Germany, have to provide a reason for wanting a gun. Australians seem happy with the measures, which have drastically reduced suicides and likely lowered homicides. The country has only had one mass shooting (in 2018) since it passed strict gun control measures. Australia (population 26 million) had 278 homicides from mid-2019 to mid-2020 while the city of Indianapolis (population 869,000) had 215 criminal homicides in 2020. That is the other, more persistent side of gun deaths in America. The isolated murders that get little attention. As Indianapolis and other U.S. cities have struggled through record-breaking homicides in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reports that stolen guns are becoming a major factor in urban violence, with big cities experiencing a 29% rise in reports of firearm theft. Those stolen guns often get used in violent crimes. You might suggest cities do something about that. In Indianapolis, the City-County Council tried in 2015, passing a proposal that would have required gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours after realizing they had disappeared or face a $50 fine. Getting a handle on stolen guns is the least, and perhaps also the most, cities can do about firearms without state and federal assistance. Greg Ballard, the former Republican mayor, vetoed it. His reason: This proposal is contrary to state law." Contact IndyStar metro columnist James Briggs at 317-444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: School shooting in Texas won't lead to gun control Rescuers are still searching for two other men who remain missing, the government says Two more dead bodies have been recovered from a flooded zinc mine in Burkina Faso. Millions of litres of water have been pumped out of the site owned by Canadian firm Trevali as rescue efforts continue. The case has caused outrage in the country. A total of eight miners had become trapped there by unexpected torrential rain six weeks ago. At this stage two of the group still remain missing. Trevali and the Burkinabe government have launched investigations into the causes of the incident at the Perkoa zinc mine, which is about 100km (60 miles) west of the capital, Ouagadougou. "We've brought in experts from all over the world. We've got people from Australia, from South Africa, from Canada," Ricus Grimbeek, the CEO of Trevali Mines Corporation, said about ongoing rescue attempts. So far none of the bodies have been officially identified. The eight miners - one Tanzanian, one Zambian and six Burkinabes - were working at a depth of more than 500m. Perkoa zinc mine has two rescue chambers that are stocked with food, water and oxygen. Loved ones had desperately hoped the miners could make it there safely. Graphic showing rescue chambers "Hope is gone now," Antoine Bama, the families' spokesperson, told the BBC earlier this week. Mr Bama said a forensic doctor would confirm the identity of each body before the authorities give them over to the families. "I've just put everything in God's hands," Brenda Mwamba, wife of trapped Zambian miner Nune Ndonji, told BBC Focus on Africa previously. You may also be interested in: A car smashed into the front of a business in Pittsburghs Squirrel Hill neighborhood. According to Allegheny County 911, the call came in at 9:48 a.m. for an incident on Forbes Avenue. Pictures from the scene sent in by viewers showed a white Chevy with damage to its right side. Glass was shattered across the hood. The front of the Massage Envy is pushed in from the impact and a window is shattered. Dispatch said no one was hurt in the crash. TRENDING NOW: There was no going back: EMS units help deliver baby on Highland Park Bridge State trooper charged after crashing unit; open bottle of rum found in passenger seat, police say 2 dead, 3 missing after 2 motorboats collide in river near Savannah VIDEO: THE LATEST: Officials give update on damage left behind after Harmar Township train derailment DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts May 29Lebanon's Charm at the Farm Vintage Market is celebrating its sixth year by adding 40 new vendors and supporting a Cincinnati charity focused on helping women. To celebrate its sixth anniversary, Charm at the Farm is partnering with HER Cincinnati to support women battling poverty, addiction and human trafficking. For over 191 years, HER Cincinnati has offered support, housing, education and recovery services for women experiencing hardships. Charm at the Farm will donate $1 to HER Cincinnati for every ticket purchased. "We are so honored to be Charm's charitable beneficiary partner this year," said Beth Schwartz, President and Chief Empowerment Officer of HER Cincinnati. "Our organization has long been respected for its deep roots and dedicated service to women in the Cincinnati community, and our alignment with Charm could not come at a better time as we seek to reach and elevate more women than ever before." This year, Charm at the Farm, founded in 2017 by Amy Doyle and Jayme Kuenkel, will host three markets from June 10-12, Aug. 19-21 and Oct. 14-16. The vintage market seeks to promote small businesses and support the success of women. Today, the markets include over 115 vendors and shops that offer handmade items, furniture, jewelry, clothing, home decor and more. This year, Charm at the Farm is adding 40 new vendors from across the country. These vendors will offer a wide variety of artwork, plants, gifts, decor and more. There will also be an expanded lounge space as well as face paint and crafts for kids. "Our goals have always been to promote and support small businesses and give back to our community," said Amy Doyle, co-owner and founder of Charm at the Farm. "Not only will you enjoy a fabulous weekend at the farm as you peruse and purchase unique items from our top-notch vendors, but you'll also be a part of our collaborative mission to support and empower women in all aspects of their lives." Story continues Charm at the Farm has also partnered with three local Pure Barre fitness studios in Cincinnati-Oakley, Mason and Dayton which will host classes at the farm before market hours on Saturday of each Charm weekend. Tickets for the classes are $5 each and must be purchased separately online in advance. Tickets may be purchased by visiting Charm at the Farm's website. HOW TO GO What: Charm at the Farm Vintage market Where: 4953 Bunnell Hill Road, Lebanon When: June 10-12 Parking: Free Ticket info: Friday and Saturday tickets must be purchased in advance online. Sunday tickets are online and at the gate. Friday night VIP tickets are $19 to attend the event from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday early bird tickets are $16 to attend the event from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday general admission tickets are $11 to attend from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday general admission tickets are $9. VIP and early bird tickets include complimentary re-entry for the entire Charm weekend. More: charmatthefarm.ticketspice.com/june2022 May 29Veterans served our country. Now Jim Todd and other volunteers with the Dayton National Cemetery Honor Squad serve those who have died, ensuring that they receive the full military funeral honors that they deserve. "It's just like I'm doing a patriotic duty," said Todd, 82, of Kettering. Todd is one of the oldest active members of the Honor Squad and a role model for others on the team, said Greg Hoertt, a fellow volunteer who nominated Todd as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem. "I think it comes from his heart. It's something he does that brings purpose and meaning," Hoertt said. Todd takes his role very seriously, making sure that each veteran is provided with a dignified service, Hoertt said. Each one is well-rehearsed and polished. The Dayton National Cemetery Honor Squad began on Memorial Day 2015, and Todd was among its first volunteers. Before the squad was formed, about 10 percent of veterans interred at the cemetery received military honors that included a rifle salute. Now they all do. About 50 volunteers make up the squad, with several attending each service to provide the rifle salute. Todd is the commander of the Monday team, attending between three and eight funerals each week. He has volunteered at hundreds since he started seven years ago. "Most of the people do it from a feeling that this is something that needs to be done," said Todd, a Dayton native and ROTC graduate from Ohio University who was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served in a missile battery in Germany for two years in the 1960s. A military funeral is free for all veterans with an honorable discharge, he said. Spouses who haven't served also can be interred there, but military funeral honors are reserved only for veterans. "It gives you a good feeling," Todd said. "You see the families appreciate it, and it makes them feel highly of their veteran getting interred." Story continues Hoertt said serving on the Monday team marks a good start to the week, putting things in perspective. When the duties are done for the day, he feels a sense of satisfaction in the difference the team has made. The Honor Squad is comprised of veterans from all military branches, and civilians also are welcome to volunteer, said Hoertt, an Army veteran from Xenia Township. Each year they volunteer at around 1,200 services at the cemetery, at 4400 W. Third St. In addition to firing the three-round rifle volley, the Honor Squad presents three shells from the volley to the family as a memento, Hoertt said. A team from the Department of Defense usually plays taps, folds the flag and presents it to the next of kin, but at times the Honor Squad does that, too. Todd also will address the family and friends of the veteran, explaining the military honors and providing comfort, Hoertt said. "I think it's not necessarily what he says, but how he says it," he said. Even after volunteering at hundreds of services, the squad's duties never feel routine, Hoertt said. He thinks the families sense that. "We share their grief," Hoertt said. May 29LAWRENCE After calls for her to step down and petitions with hundreds of signatures calling for her removal, School Superintendent Cynthia Paris is now asked to attend the next City Council meeting. Councilors may consider a vote of "no confidence" against Paris at that time. Councilor Pavel Payano, who serves on a public safety committee, said he and other councilors have been asking Paris to attend their public meetings for months. But she repeatedly declines. Councilors said they want to discuss school safety, violence, gangs and other issues with Paris. "It's no secret with these communications that nothing has changed," Payano said at a City Council ordinance committee meeting last week. "For over a year, we've tried to get the superintendent to come to our meeting ... . I think there are some conversations that need to be had in the public eye," he said. Payano said the request is no different than when councilors ask a department head, police or fire chief, or leadership from a city nonprofit to come before the council to address issues. Payano asked for a previously tabled agenda item regarding a vote of no confidence against Paris to be placed on the City Council agenda for the next meeting June 7. It's unclear if Paris will attend. She declined comment through a spokesperson. Earlier this month, City Councilor Greg Delrosario called for Paris' removal, citing her refusal to meet with city councilors to discuss school violence or a picket by cafeteria workers. Delrosario said she was "fed up" with the way Paris was handling herself. He also spoke at the ordinance committee meeting last week along with Payano. He said Paris has been invited to City Council meetings since 2018 but refuses to attend. Delrosario, who represents District C, wrote to Gov. Charlie Baker, state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, Mayor Brian DePena and members of the Lawrence Alliance for Education board about the issue in early May. Story continues Delrosario said issues councilors wish to discuss with Paris include: Bullying of a student at Arlington School that resulted in an assault. Cafeteria workers who picketed in front of the School Department "regarding unfair wages and she has yet to meet with them to find a resolution," Delrosario said. Safety issues at city schools "that are in need of immediate action or resolutions" which city councilors on the public safety committee want to discuss and address. Delrosario called for the immediate removal of Paris "on the grounds that many violent issues have occurred under her supervision and no actions have been taken to find a resolution that works for the security of the students and staff." Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill. CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and several prominent figures from the banned Muslim Brotherhood to lengthy jail terms on Sunday on accusations including plotting to overthrow the state. Aboul Fotouh, who is in his early 70s and according to his family suffers from several medical conditions, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, subject to appeal, the court ruling said. Rights groups say thousands of politicians, activists and journalists are detained in Egypt after unfair trials or without legal basis. Aboul Fotouh quit the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 after disagreements over the role of religion in politics and founded the more centrist Strong Egypt party, launching an independent bid for the presidency in 2012. The interior ministry later accused him of meeting Brotherhood leaders to stir unrest, which he denied. He was arrested in February 2018 after giving interviews that were sharply critical of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a month before Sisi was re-elected. Others sentenced on Sunday include Mohamed al-Qassas, Aboul Fotouh's deputy, who received a 10-year sentence, Mahmoud Ezzat, the former acting Brotherhood leader detained in Cairo in 2020, who received 15 years, and Ibrahim Mounir, a Brotherhood leader living in exile, who was handed a life sentence. Egypt banned the Brotherhood after Sisi, then army chief, led the overthrow of democratically elected Brotherhood President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests in 2013. Authorities accuse the Brotherhood of promoting militancy and subversion, accusations it strongly denies. Mursi died after collapsing in a prison courtroom in 2019, while other leaders of the group have been jailed or left the country as a result of a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent that extended to liberal as well as Islamist critics. (Reporting by Haithem Ahmed; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Washington Post Cassandra Ridder was crushed when her 12-year-old son Brody came home from school last week with only a few signatures in his yearbook - including his own. "Hope you make some more friends. - Brody Ridder," the rising seventh-grader wrote in his own yearbook, which was signed by only two classmates, two teachers and himself.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. "It broke my heart," Ridder said. Brody has been a student at t San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department patch. Deputies arrested two Victorville teenagers Friday who they say were carrying guns while walking near an elementary school which led to lockdowns in the area. The teenagers were only identified by authorities as a 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy who live in the city. A witness called police Friday afternoon after seeing the boys near Village Elementary School carrying firearms, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department. A deputy responded to the area of Ashley Glen and Balmoral drives and spotted the teenagers who reportedly ran through a field. Deputies caught one of the boys in the open field. A search later found he was carrying a firearm with an extended magazine, authorities said. The other boy was found in a backyard of a home and a second firearm was found nearby. Both teenagers were booked into the High Desert Juvenile Detention and Assessment Center. Although local schools were placed on lockdown, investigators determined this was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the schools, the sheriffs department said. Hook Junior High School is also located in the area of the arrests. The teenagers face several charges including carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying an unregistered, loaded concealed weapon and illegal possession of an assault weapon. Earlier this week, schools in Oro Grande were placed under lockdown after a passerby reported a man "waving a dark object around." A search was conducted and no one was found matching the description. The incident occurred just a day after an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas. Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio. This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Deputies arrest 2 Victorville teenagers walking near school with guns, authorities say Rafael Nadal set up a blockbuster French Open quarter-final against world number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set fourth round epic and pledged to "fight until the end". Nadal, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros and holder of a record 21 Grand Slam titles, triumphed over the Canadian 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a match which lasted four hours and 21 minutes. It was only the third time in his 17-year, 112-match career in Paris that Nadal had been stretched to five sets. Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 10th time at Roland Garros and 59th overall in a rivalry stretching back to 2006. "We know each other well, we have a lot of history. The only thing I can say is that I will be focussed, try my best and fight until the end," said Nadal on facing the defending champion on Tuesday. Djokovic has been responsible for two of Nadal's three defeats in Paris -- in the quarter-finals in 2015 and last year's semi-finals. Nadal hailed 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who has been working with his uncle and former coach Toni since April last year. "Felix is a great player. He's very young with a lot of power and great mobility," said the 35-year-old Spaniard who has made the last-eight for the 16th time. Ninth-ranked Auger-Aliassime raced into a 3-1 lead in the first set and battled from three break points down to edge 4-1 ahead. Nadal retrieved one of the breaks in the seventh game but the 21-year-old Canadian held his nerve to pocket the opener. Two loose forehands at 3-5 in the second set opened the door for 35-year-old Nadal while the third set swung the Spaniard's way in the third game when three rapid, defensive scrambles forced an error from his opponent. - 'Huge challenge' - Auger-Aliassime then rallied to level the tie. In a tense finale, Nadal converted the sixth of 22 break points he had carved out to lead 5-3 and held his nerve to claim his 109th victory at Roland Garros. Djokovic also reached the quarter-finals for the 16th time when he eased to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory against 15th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. Story continues "It's a huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros. I'm ready for it," said Djokovic of facing his old rival. Djokovic is still to drop a set at Roland Garros after cruising through the first week. He has also won 22 sets in a row, stretching back to his Italian Open title triumph in Rome earlier this month. Auger-Aliassime said he was happy with his performance. "He raised his level when he needed to. I did what I had to do. He was dictating, aggressive when he needed to and also defending really well," said the Canadian. - Untroubled Alcaraz - Djokovic or Nadal could face Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. On Sunday, the 19-year-old romped into his first French Open quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian Karen Khachanov. "I had a great match from start to finish," said sixth seed Alcaraz who will face German third seed in the last eight. The teenager defeated Zverev in the Madrid Masters final earlier this month after also knocking out Djokovic and Nadal. It was a second successive straight-sets win for Alcaraz after saving a match point when winning a second-round thriller against compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Alcaraz is the youngest man in the last eight since Djokovic in 2006. Zverev reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time by ending Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles' run in a 7-6 (13/11), 7-5, 6-3 victory. - All-American clash - In the wide open women's event, which saw nine of the top 10 seeds fall before the second week, American teenager Coco Gauff set up a quarter-final duel with compatriot Sloane Stephens. Gauff, 18, reached the last-eight for the second successive year with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Belgium's Elise Mertens while 2018 runner-up Stephens defeated 23rd-seeded Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-2, 6-0. "Americans in Paris... I think it'll be a great match and I'm looking forward to it," said Stephens who is currently 64th in the WTA rankings. Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez reached the quarter-finals for the first time. Fernandez, seeded 17th, and who was US Open runner-up last year, fired an impressive 40 winners past 2019 semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova to secure a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win. She next faces Martina Trevisan, the world number 59 from Italy who booked her place in the quarter-finals for the second time in three years, edging out Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus 7-6 (12/10), 7-5. dj/jc The Daily Beast via YouTube/The Telegraph Russias National Guard has confirmed that a Chechen commander was killed in a bloody firefight with foreign volunteers in Ukraineand they singled out the son of a British lawmaker as one of those responsible.Ben Grant, a 30-year-old former Royal Marine and the son of Helen Grant, a Conservative MP and Prime Minister Boris Johnsons special envoy on girls education, joined British and U.S. servicemen fighting Russian forces in Ukraine back in March, telling British me Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos after dropping out of college at the age of 19. AP Elizabeth Holmes has asked a judge to overturn her convictions on wire fraud charges. Holmes, depicted in "The Dropout," was convicted on four fraud-related charges in January. Her lawyers said "no rational juror" could convict beyond reasonable doubt based on the evidence. Elizabeth Holmes has pleaded with a judge to overturn her conviction for wire fraud, with her attorney saying there is "insufficient evidence" for any "rational juror" to proceed with the conviction, according to court documents filed on Friday. In a 24-page filing, lawyers for the Theranos founder targeted her conviction of wire fraud, arguing the evidence provided did not amount to a guilty verdict. "Because no rational juror could have found the elements of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud beyond a reasonable doubt on this record, the Court should grant Ms. Holmes' motion for judgment of acquittal," they said in the filing, which was first reported by Bloomberg. Holmes was convicted on four fraud-related charges in January linked to investments made by hedge fund manager Brian Grossman, the DeVos family, and the former Cravath attorney Daniel Mosley. She was acquitted on four other counts of wire fraud, while jurors couldn't reach a verdict on three other counts. Holmes is due to be sentenced on September 26, with each of the charges carrying a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. She was charged alongside former Theranos president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, whose trial is ongoing. In the latest filing, lawyers for Holmes said there was no evidence of Holmes and Balwani conspiring to commit fraud against investors. They wrote: "Even if Ms Holmes committed wire fraud against an investor (she did not) and even if Mr Balwani committed wire fraud against an investor, that does not prove a conspiratorial agreement between them, nor does it prove that Ms Holmes willfully joined any agreement." The attorneys claimed that only one of the hundreds of texts shown to jurors was linked to representations of an investor: Rupert Murdoch. Story continues "But, again, that message, offered through an authenticating witness unable to provide context, provides no inkling that Mr Balwani and Ms Holmes were conspiring to defraud Mr Murdoch," they said. Holmes dropped out of college at 19 to start Theranos, which attracted a $9 billion valuation at its peak. Her journey was depicted on the Hulu drama "The Dropout" that starred Amanda Seyfried. Theranos' technology was found to be flawed, with a 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation by John Carreyrou triggering the company's downfall and lawsuits from her biggest backers. Holmes' lawyers argued the investor fraud counts "relies heavily" on the testimony of whistleblower Erica Cheung, but that Cheung testified about failures of Theranos' results before Holmes promoted a later version of its analyzers, the miniLab, to investors. "Investors with whom Theranos partnered were focused on the long-term goals of the company and its ability to impact health care in the future," they said. A judge will hear Holmes' appeal in July, before the September sentencing. The Attorney's Office of San Francisco could not immediately be reached for comment outside normal working hours. Read the original article on Business Insider Tesla CEO Elon Musk on September 3, 2020. Maja Hitij/Getty Images Elon Musk praised the woman who used a pistol to shoot a man who opened fire on a party. In response to a report on the incident, Musk tweeted: "Wow, good for her and saving those people!" On Wednesday, Musk said he supports gun ownership but wants "tight" background checks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the unnamed West Virginia woman who used a pistol to shoot and kill a man who opened fire on a party. On Saturday night, Musk tweeted: "Wow, good for her and saving those people!" He was responding to a tweet that described the story as "a good gal stops a bad guy with a gun" tweeted by an account arguing against restrictions on gun ownership. The tweet from user @RimmerTurk tagged Musk, saying: "There are legitimate reasons to carry. Help us counter the lies by anti gunners!" According to the Charleston Police Department, the woman shot the man dead after he opened fire on a party of 30 to 40 people. Police said the attack followed him being asked not to speed earlier that day. The man, later identified as Dennis Butler, started firing into the crowd on Wednesday night with an AR-15-style firearm, said police spokesman Tony Hazelett. This prompted the female bystander to use a pistol to shoot and kill Butler, the police said. The woman hasn't been named. "She's just a member of the community who was carrying her firearm lawfully and instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night," Hazelett said. Butler died from multiple gunshot wounds. Hazelett said there were no other injuries. He said there will be no charges filed against the woman. Musk's tweet came at a time when the debate over stricter gun control measure laws has intensified after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas On Wednesday, a day after the shooting, Musk laid out his stance on gun control in an email to CNBC. Musk said he supports mass gun ownership but wanted "tight" background checks before people can purchase them. Story continues Musk said he supports gun ownership as a "safeguard" against tyrannical government. In June 2021 President Joe Biden mocked people who make arguments like Musk's, saying "if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons." Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Sunday morning. Read the original article on Insider Pittsburgh families gathered at Highland Park to enjoy fishing during the holiday weekend. Kids aged 5 to 15 years old were able to fish at Lake Carnegie for free from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 80 kids were able to fish today. PHOTOS: Families gather in Pittsburgh to fish during holiday weekend The event was hosted by the Pittsburgh Lets Go Fishing volunteer group. The organization says that its primary focus is to connect youth and their families with the outdoors. Well you see whats going on in these neighborhoods, said Daniel King Sr. a member of PLGF. This is giving kids some kind of hope, something else to look forward to, to know something other than violence and gangs. This is something we need for our children. The groups says that its instructors are certified by Pennsylvania Certified Fishing Skills. Instructors are also members of local communities. The organizations next event will be held on July 4. TRENDING NOW: There was no going back: EMS units help deliver baby on Highland Park Bridge State trooper charged after crashing unit; open bottle of rum found in passenger seat, police say 2 dead, 3 missing after 2 motorboats collide in river near Savannah VIDEO: THE LATEST: Officials give update on damage left behind after Harmar Township train derailment DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts A man looks down at a young child as they attend a vigil for the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on May 28, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Families of kids who survived the Uvalde shooting are fundraising for therapy. Survivors described playing dead as they watched their friends and teachers killed. Texas pledged some official support, mostly in the form of a phone line. Parents and relatives of the children who survived the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, are turning to crowdfunding websites to afford therapy. Insider found three GoFundMe pages set up on behalf of kids who were in the classroom the gunman attacked on Tuesday. Nineteen children and two teachers were shot dead in the massacre. Some of those were injured but survived. Those who were physically unharmed were left traumatized from coming so close to death, and witnessing their friends and teachers killed in front of them. A Department of Public Safety State Trooper hands out stickers to children at a memorial to the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting on May 28, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Such appeals for private donations to deal with mass killings are common in the US. They came despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledging state support for the victims on Friday, including a mental-health phone line. (Abbott has a history of diverting money away from mental-health programs in Texas.) One GoFundMe page was set up for 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo by her mother. Cerrillo told CNN how she covered herself in the blood of a slain classmate, playing dead to avoid the gunman's attention. She told CNN that her hair had been falling out in clumps since the ordeal, an apparent physical sign of her trauma. On the fundraising page her mother, Abigail Veloz, asked for money to meet medical expenses from dealing with a bullet fragment in her back, as well as to help with all the trauma that she is going through. As of Sunday morning the appeal had raised more than $400,000 from an original goal of $10,000. Young girls pay their respects at a memorial to the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting on May 28, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images A second GoFundMe page was set up for ten-year-old Noah Orona by his older sister, Laure Holeck. Orona told ABC News that he too played dead but was still shot in the back. He saw his teacher get shot dead, he said. On his fundraising page, Holeck wrote that the money was for "physical and motor therapies, along with long-term cognitive care for the mental trauma of the shooting." It has raised $136,000 by early Sunday. Story continues "Your donation will be gratefully used to help him recover from the mental trauma that has left our little guy with trying to comprehend not only his wounds, but witnessing the suffering of his friends, classmates, and his beloved teacher," Holeck wrote. A third fundraising page was organized for ten-year-old Samuel Salinas by his father Christopher Salinas. Samuel Salinas, 10, told ABC News that he heard the gunman say: "You're all going to die." The fourth-grade student said that the shooter aimed at him but a chair blocked the bullet from hitting him. In the aftermath of the massacre, he told the outlet that he is having nightmares and no longer feels safe going to school. The fundraising page did not go into specifics, but said Samuel was "in recovery" and that the money raised would "help Samuel get through this tragic time." As of early Sunday it had attracted donations of around $10,000. The appeals were among 23 pages which GoFundMe verified as being from victims of the Uvalde shooting, which were raising funds both for those who survived the shooting and the families of those who were killed. Insider's Erin Snodgrass previously reported that children who survive school shootings experience a "fundamental rattling" of their sense of safety. Read the original article on Insider May 29AUSTINTOWN Gymnastics was the original connection between Geneva's Gabbi Selman and Jefferson's Megan Brand, but the two will always be tied together now as 2022 state track qualifiers after the Division II regional track meet on Saturday at Austintown Fitch High School. The two friends hugged after Brand clinched a spot at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Track and Field Championships next week in Columbus. Selman defended her pole vault regional title from 2021 with a leap of 10-8, beating her all time best by two inches after Brand clinched third place with a vault of 9-8. She also best her best jump of this year by two inches. Brand vaulted 9-9 last year. "I am so excited, I'm super excited," Brand said while grinning form ear to ear. She has been involved in gymnastics for 16 years and in junior high decided it would be fun to pole vault. T.J. Furman, the Jefferson boys head track coach, also works with Brand. The coach added he has been working with the pole vaulters for 12 years, but said longtime Edgewood coach Debbie Fazenbaker has been a big part of his growth as a pole vault coach. Jefferson girls head track coach Dave Wright said Brand is one of those athletes who belongs at the state track meet. "We are all so elated," he said. "We expected her to qualify." Wright said Brand is in "school-record territory."The present pole vault record is 10-0. Selman was also excited to defend her regional pole vault title, and the experience was a little easier than last year because she had already won the competition in 2021. Geneva pole vault coach John Matune said Selman is a great leader and provides a good example for the other girls. "She's awesome," Matune said. Matune said it was no surprise that the girls from two different schools were excited for each other. "That is the great thing about the pole vault," he said. "It is a family." Story continues Selman is also a student of her craft. "Most of the time before she looks at the video she knows what she did wrong," he said. Dalton said he is excited about his team that features a large contingent of talented sophomores, including Delaney Marrison. She narrowly missed a trip to Columbus, finishing sixth in the long jump with a leap of 15-10 1/2. "We are only two months into her trying long jump," Dalton said. "She has a couple of years [to improve]." Geneva's Mya Evangelista finished ninth in the 1600 with a time of 5:21 and teammate Grace Dubsky took ninth in the 3200 run with a time of 12:11. Edgewood's Tammy Liplin finished eighth in the 3200 with a time of 12:05 and teammate Maddie Crooks checked in 10th in the 1600 at 5:24. Edgewood's Sarah Coxon claimed ninth in the discus competition with a throw of 111-9. In the long jump, Conneaut's Isabella Fix finished 11th in the long jump with a leap of 14-9 and Geneva's Makenna Ferrante claimed 13th at 14-7. In the boys competition, Grand Valley's Robert Rogers, a sophomore, finished tied for 14th in the high jump with a leap of 5-10 and Jefferson's Wade Woodworth finished 12th in the shot put at 45-3.50. The husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was arrested and charged with driving under the influence late Saturday night in Northern California. A public booking report by the Napa County Sheriffs Office lists Paul Pelosi as being arrested just before midnight on Saturday and booked early Sunday morning on charges of driving under the influence. The arrest was first reported by TMZ. Drew Hammill, a spokesman for the Speaker, told The Hill in a statement that she was not with her husband at the time and would not be commenting on the matter. Pelosi on Saturday afternoon was in Rhode Island, where she delivered a commencement address to Brown University graduates. Pelosi made no mention of the arrest in her remarks. Pelosis husband was charged with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher, according to the booking report. His bail was set at $5,000. The Napa County Sheriffs office did not immediately respond to a request for more information. Updated on May 30 at 6:20 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. It hasn't been the best quarter for National Tyre & Wheel Limited (ASX:NTD) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 17% in that time. But that doesn't undermine the rather lovely longer-term return, if you measure over the last three years. In three years the stock price has launched 167% higher: a great result. After a run like that some may not be surprised to see prices moderate. The thing to consider is whether the underlying business is doing well enough to support the current price. Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business. View our latest analysis for National Tyre & Wheel To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. National Tyre & Wheel was able to grow its EPS at 12% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is lower than the 39% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It is quite common to see investors become enamoured with a business, after a few years of solid progress. The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on National Tyre & Wheel's earnings, revenue and cash flow. Story continues What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, National Tyre & Wheel's TSR for the last 3 years was 235%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! A Different Perspective It's nice to see that National Tyre & Wheel shareholders have gained 17% (in total) over the last year. And yes, that does include the dividend. That falls short of the 50% it has made, for shareholders, each year, over three years. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with National Tyre & Wheel (including 1 which is a bit concerning) . National Tyre & Wheel is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Even so, both miraculously rebuilt their economies which are now the third and fourth largest on the planet, respectively, after the US and China. Their martial hierarchies were dismantled and replaced with defense forces and pacifist constitutions imposed on them by the US during post-war occupations. While all this was a good idea, given their predatory proclivities, the world has profoundly changed following Russias invasion of Ukraine. And Joe Bidens visit to Japan and South Korea marks this turning point. The United States has shifted from being the worlds policeman to becoming the leader in chief of world alliances against tyranny. And wealthy Japan and Germany are remilitarizing for the first time since World War II. Read also: Merkel maintains Germany was right to keep Ukraine out of NATO back in 2008 Three days after the invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz committed to doubling Germanys defense spending and revamping its armed forces because of the Russian threat. At the end of April, Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida proposed to do the same, and, furthermore, Japans parliament is debating revision to its US-imposed pacifist constitution in order to allow its military to operate outside its boundaries. These developments are good news for the democratic world because three of the worlds four biggest economies are going to pull their military weight to keep the peace. Each will help provide a counter-balance to the global threats within their respective neighborhoods. Germany is already a member of NATO and Japan is backstopped by America but a founding member of the QUAD, a burgeoning NATO that also includes India, Australia, and the United States. South Korea, another economic powerhouse, and other Asian nations intend to join this club amid fears about China and North Korea and Russia. Japan and South Korea are debating whether to develop nuclear weapons too, but given that Japan was the victim of the worlds first atomic bombs at the close of the war this may never happen. But the region is dangerous. China has a nuclear arsenal, as does the so-called Pygmy Kingdom of North Korea, and Chinas threat to control the South China Sea and Taiwan are at the top of Asian agendas. Story continues In January, a Chinese official warned Japan to stand down and condemned its support for Taiwan after a Japanese warship, in concert with American, British and Australian ships, crossed the disputed Taiwan Strait in the East China Sea to keep shipping lanes open. In October, Germanys navy also sent one frigate through the South China Sea to participate in joint military exercises with allies. Its final destination was Tokyo -- representing the first German warship to visit Japan in 20 years. Japans Prime Minister Kishida is a China hawk and made his first call after his election to President Biden who, in turn, made a public commitment to help Tokyo defend disputed and uninhabited islands in the South China Sea, known as the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands. Read also: Germany says policy of restricting weapons exports to Ukraine is rooted in history Kishida also criticized Chinas trade practices and created a special cabinet position for economic security which Beijing regarded as a slap in the face. Then Japan and the US issued a joint statement stressing the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait the first time the two had mentioned Taiwan in 50 years. China accused them of stoking division and its spokesman said tersely: It is a worrying sign. Tokyo has a separate territorial dispute north of its archipelago with Russia involving the Southern and Northern Kiril Islands, seized by Russia as spoils following Japans defeat in World War II. Tens of thousands of Russians live in the northern islands, getting economic assistance from Moscow and military installations have been built there. For these and other reasons, Japan has signed defense agreements with Great Britain, Australia, and Thailand. Russias aggression is not an issue only for Europe. The international order encompassing the Indo-Pacific is at stake, warned Kishida. Both Germany and Japan have imposed energy and financial sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. Japan has also launched an economic war against China by initiating a fund to help pay for its companies to move out of the mainland to lower-cost jurisdictions in southeast Asia a supply chain disruption that is gaining steam. Taiwan and South Korea are doing the same. Worse for China, there is a shift in Japanese public opinion two-thirds favor scrapping their post-war, pacifist constitution which forever renounces warfare. When that happens, the power balance in Asia will change dramatically. Before the Ukrainian invasion, Germanys former government was co-opted by Russia and vetoed attempts by Ukraine for years to join NATO. But since the invasion, Germans demonstrate solidarity with sanctions and by supplying weapons exports to Ukraine. The re-arming of both Germany and Japan because of Russias attack on Ukraine and Europe marks a change in the course of history, something the Germans have dubbed a zeitenbruch which means the closing of one age and entry into another great power rivalry. The worlds two reluctant superpowers, Japan and Germany, will tip the balance of power globally in favor of the worlds good guys, free enterprise, and democratic nation-states. Their militarization cannot come soon enough. Diane Francis first published this column on her blog. NV is republishing it with permission. Jon Stewart has slammed Americans for posting about Memorial Day on social media while failing to show up in support of veterans who are sick and dying from toxic exposure to burn pits. Where are the American people? he demanded. The TV host and veteran advocate took to the stage at the Rolling to Remember event in Washington DC on Saturday afternoon, where veterans, their families and advocates called on Congress to pass the Honoring our PACT Act. Mr Stewart urged Americans to pressure their senators to pass the comprehensive burn pits bill as he hit out at the tokenistic shows of support for US veterans over Memorial Day weekend. Its hard to be here today and not get frustrated again as I look out in the crowd and see the same thing I always see veterans and their families and caregivers, he said. But where are the American people? This is Memorial Day weekend. He pointed to the tweets and the Memorial Day discounts at restaurants across the country, at a time when veterans are fighting to access the healthcare and disability benefits that they need after serving their country overseas. Man, youre going to read the tweets this weekend. Youre gonna look at the Facebook pages and youre gonna think to yourself: Oh does America love me. Boy they love us. Youre gonna go to Applebees, theyre gonna give you the baby back ribs 20 per cent off, not even 10 per cent because of how much they support you and yet we come out here today looking for the support of the American people and what do we have behind me? he said. Its veterans organisations, its veterans, its their families. This country cant be this broken! In less than two weeks time, the Senate is expected to vote on the Honoring our PACT Act recently renamed the SFC Heath Robinson PACT Act in honour of the late Sgt First Class Heath Robinson who died aged 39 from a rare cancer caused by burn pits. If the landmark bill passes, 23 cancers, respiratory illnesses and other conditions will be presumptively linked to a veterans exposure to burn pits while on deployment overseas. Story continues Mr Stewart said that only six more senators are needed to get the bill passed. Speaking to The Independent at the Washington DC rally on Saturday, he said that he trusts that lawmakers will do the right thing. Theres a whole group right now who are trying to be political and we had our time for being very confrontational and getting to this point, he said. But right now its bipartisan and were going to trust that, when it all comes down, that theyre going to do the right thing as Americans. Mr Stewart said that all senators who voted to approve a $40bn emergency military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine should vote to approve a package for the veterans serving the US. Any senator that voted to send $40bn to Ukraine can stand up and do the right thing by the veterans of this country, he said. The PACT Act is estimated to cost about $1bn in the coming years. Only 11 senators all Republicans opposed sending $40bn to Ukraine. John Feal, 9/11 responder, veteran advocate and founder of the FealGood Foundation, told The Independent that he questions the patriotism and humanity of any lawmakers who fail to support the bill which has the backing of 65 major veteran organisations. Theres 46 Republican senators that should get on this bill just because its the right thing to do, he said. Were not just trying to get the bill passed. Were also trying to challenge their humanity and questioning their patriotism. And we want to make sure they do the right thing. So whether we get to 60, 68 or 74, those who dont get on board, America will be their judge. Mr Feal was confident that the bill will not only get the 60 votes needed to pass but at least 67 senators voting yes. There are good people in the Senate that are going to do the right thing, he said, adding that when lawmakers return from recess next week well be all over them to make sure the bill passes. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill in the first week of June. In April, the comprehensive burn pits bill passed the House with all Democrats and 34 Republicans voting in favour of its passage. Earlier this month, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee announced that Democrats and Republicans had finally reached a bipartisan deal on the bill after months of negotiations. One key difference between the House version and the agreement reached in the Senate is that there would be a phase-in period for illnesses presumptively linked to toxic exposure. If the bill passes the Senate vote, it is expected to be signed into law as soon as July. President Joe Biden, who believes his son Beau Biden could have died as a result of burn pits from his deployment to Iraq, has said he will sign the bill as soon it reaches his desk. He has urged senators to pass legislation and vowed to better support veterans in his State of the Union address earlier this year after the veteran community has spent years fighting for the US government to take the issue of burn pits seriously. During Americas post-September 11 wars, huge open-air pits were used to burn mountains of trash including food packaging, human waste and military equipment on US military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of US service members returned home from deployment and developed health conditions including rare cancers, lung conditions, respiratory illnesses and toxic brain injuries caused by breathing in the toxic fumes from the pits. A staggering 3.5m servicemembers and veterans are estimated to have been exposed to burn pits and airborne toxins while serving the US overseas, according to the Veterans Affairs. But, at present, the burden of proof is on veterans to prove their condition is directly caused by this toxic exposure. As a result, only around one in five claims for disability benefits where burn pits are cited are approved by the VA. Mr Stewart described how US service men and women who returned from Americas post-9/11 wars sick and dying from toxic exposure were then put on trial by the government that sent them there to prove that their conditions were directly caused by serving their country. This may be one of the lowest hanging fruits of the American legislative agenda, he said. Those that took up arms in defence of this country and its constitution suffered grievous harm in that defence and when they came home we put them on trial. He described the pushback from the US government that veterans have long come up against after becoming sick from toxic exposure. You got cancer? Prove it was us, he said I slept next to a burning field of s**t and jet fuel. Yeah I dunno, but you also smoke Camel Lights so how do we know it was us? He added: You shouldnt have to prove it. You shouldnt have to be a defendant in a court case about your own health. Bills passed during the 2022 Kansas Legislature will honor veterans through memorial and license plates, as well as give tax break to some veterans. While the Kansas Legislature ended its annual session a week before Memorial Day, efforts to honor veterans were among the bills passed in Topeka in 2022. Memorials, license plates and other commemorations were signed into law by Gov. Laura Kelly, as well as an effort to give veterans a tax break. Visitors to the Statehouse will soon be able to honor Gold Star families, or those who have lost a family member in the line of military duty SB 330 authorized the construction of a memorial honoring Kansas Gold Star families. It passed the Legislature unanimously and was signed by the governor. The Capitol Preservation Committee is tasked with approving plans for a permanent memorial on Statehouse grounds. The monument will be on the Veterans' Walk along the sidewalk at the southwest entrance. Public funds cannot be used for the project, which will depend on gifts and other funding. Kansas one of few state capitals without Gold Star memorial Perry Wiggins, the executive director of the Governor's Military Council, told lawmakers that Kansas is one of only a few statehouses without such a memorial. He said "it is our moral obligation to recognize and support our Gold Star Families today." "Sadly, as a commander I have had to knock on a door to deliver the tragic news of a fallen loved one and have executed one of our nations most sacred duties and honored a fallen comrade by presenting a loved one on bended knee our nations folded flag on behalf of a grateful nation," Wiggin testified. "It was through these types of experiences that I gained a true realization and appreciation for the incredible debt we owe our families of the fallen." The governor's office directed Wiggins to explore the monument process after Hershel "Woody" Williams, a retired Marine Corps warrant officer and the only living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, personally asked Gov. Laura Kelly to add a memorial. Veterans who won either a Bronze Star or Silver Star will now be able to obtain a license plate commemorating that honor, with lawmakers overwhelmingly approving the creation of the new tags. Story continues Vietnam veteran Larry Joe Powell told the House Transportation Committee he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor during an attack on his division while serving as a "road runner," charged with obtaining intelligence and guarding convoys. Previously, he said the ability to recognize the honor was limited in Kansas, when compared with other states. "Every one of my squad has some sort of commemorative license plates from different states denoting purple hearts, Vietnam veterans and bronze stars," he said. "It is a form of healing and pride in our nation." Disabled veterans in Kansas will receive additional tax relief And disabled veterans will now be able to get slightly more in tax relief than they would have previously. Under a clause in a sweeping tax bill signed by Kelly and passed with broad bipartisan support, disabled veterans age 65 and older who make less than $50,000 a year would be eligible. And all veterans who are 100% disabled will be eligible for an additional personal income tax exemption of $2,250, beginning in the next tax year. Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Tidd. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas veterans honored with Statehouse memorial, license plates KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO SUNDAY, 29 MAY 2022, 19: 24 On Sunday, Russian troops shelled a part of Kharkiv. Source: The Mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, on the 24/7 nationwide joint newscast. Quote: "Kharkiv [Oblast] is being shelled unceasingly. Unfortunately, today there has also been shelling of one part of the city of Kharkiv." Details: The mayor did not provide details about the shelling. Speaking about the transport situation in the city, he noted that the metro, buses, trolleys, and trams are running. "The metro can serve as a shelter at night. During the day, you can also seek refuge in the metro," he said. Background: On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv Oblast on a working trip. On 26 May, Russian troops fired on the Shevchenko, Kyiv and Pavlovo Pole districts of Kharkiv. As a result of the shelling, 9 people were killed, including a 5-month-old baby, and 19 were injured. This article is part of a monthly series celebrating Kitterys history, as Maines oldest town counts down to its 375th birthday. Arabella Rices initials, elegantly engraved above the archway of the main entrance, can still be seen as one approaches Rice Public Library from Wentworth Street. But even though this historic building bears her name, and even though her fortune funded its creation, you wont find her portrait displayed inside. In fact, you wont find much of anything pertaining to Arabella Rice. The newly expanded library is expected to open its doors soon following a $6 million overhaul. No date has been set yet, but the grand reopening will mark a new chapter in a story that starts with this mysterious 19th-century heiress. A tour of Kittery's Rice Public Library expansion and renovation as seen Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. The library is set to have a grand reopening in the spring. A local historian once described Arabella Rice as "just a very quiet soul who lived a very quiet life in Portsmouth." But what little we know of her background reads like an even more tragic version of Louisa May Alcotts classic novel Little Women. Arabella was the youngest of four daughters of Capt. Robert Rice, a Kittery-born seaman who became one of the wealthiest men in Portsmouth. She was born in 1822, following her older sisters Charlotte, Lucretia and Anna. The girls also had an older half-brother, John Thomas Goddard, from their mothers previous marriage. Their father belonged to a renowned clan of Kittery-based mariners and sea merchants who rose to prominence as privateers during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Privateers were basically legalized pirates, licensed by the government to attack merchant ships of U.S. enemies. By the time of Arabella's birth, the Rice clan had settled into the more respectable shipping trade and other business interests as well, including the Eastern Railroad. Through marriage, the family was connected with the Badgers of Badger's Island, the Dennetts of Dennett's Island, New Hampshire Gov. Ichabod Goodwin, and even the heroic Adm. George Dewey of Spanish-American War fame. Story continues Kittery 375th logo Capt. Rice eventually left the sea, invested in several notable Seacoast area ships, and took over leadership of the Rice empire. One of the ships in which Rice was a co-owner was christened the Arabella, after his youngest daughter, and won renown successfully transporting ice overseas. His family lived in a magnificent mansion of pink brick built on Islington Street in Portsmouth, believed to be the current site of Robbins Auto Parts. But when Arabella was only 8 years old, her sister Charlotte died at age 15. Before the end of 1843, Arabella would lose her two remaining sisters and her half-brother as well. When her father died in 1853, the 73-year-old former sea captain was one of Portsmouth's leading merchants and a director of the Rockingham Bank. His wife, Charlotte, followed him in death 10 years later. So at age 41, Arabella was the sole heiress to the fortunes of both her mother and her father. According to 20th-century Portsmouth historian Dorothy Vaughan, she was "most likely the richest woman in town." And yet, despite her wealth, there do not appear to be any photographs or painted portraits of Arabella, or at least none which have survived. Given her local prominence at the time, Ive always found this rather remarkable. She died in 1872, unmarried and childless, of typhoid fever. One thing we do know about Arabella, if the will she left behind is any indication, is her compassion for her fellow man. She bequeathed more than $172,000 to a wide range of worthy causes, including $20,000 for the Asylum for the Insane in Concord; another $20,000 for the Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston; $5,000 to the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism; and $3,000 to the Portsmouth Athenaeum, among others. And most significantly for generations of Kittery residents, she also bequeathed a total of $30,000 toward the creation of a "free public Library" in her fathers birthplace. She noted in the will it was the wish of my beloved father to give a sum of money for educational purposes to the inhabitants of his native town of Kittery. Now, Arabella stipulated in her will that none of the principal was to be used for the purchase of land or building. She hoped the town itself, or additional benefactors, would provide the physical structure. But she also included a clause allowing interest from the fund to be used toward a building if one was not established after a 10-year period. This turned out to be the case, and even then the trustees had to borrow another $5,000 on a personal note, which was paid back within five years. Ichabod Goodwin, who served as New Hampshires governor during the outbreak of the Civil War, was married to Arabellas cousin Susan Parker Rice. (It is their historic home which now stands as a prominent feature of Strawbery Banke.) Arabella left Goodwin $6,000 in her will, and he served as one of the librarys first trustees. The Rice library was built and furnished at a cost of $18,500 when it first opened in 1888. It was designed by the renowned Boston architect Sheperd S. Woodcock and constructed of Philadelphia brick in a Romanesque visual style. With marble steps, granite sills and a spectacular vaulted ceiling with stained glass panels, it was an institution in which the town of Kittery could take great pride. And in 1979, it was added to the National Historic Register as a treasured landmark. "Of its type and style, the Rice Public Library is by far the most outstanding building in the State of Maine, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission declared in nominating the building. Its become cliche to refer to the proverbial gift that keeps on giving, so I wont use that to describe the legacy of Arabella Rice in a town where she never resided. But if I did, it would be fitting. Of course, she never could have foreseen the library that stands today, and which will soon be in full operation again. Patrons can access eReaders, audio books, computers, DVDs, CDs, MP3 units, portable video players, online learning programs, family movie nights and the like. In recent years the library has orchestrated local appearances by such nationally acclaimed Maine novelists as Carolyn Chute and Tess Gerritsen, of Rizzoli & Isles fame, and hosts the popular Rice Pudding poetry series. Now, to mark Kitterys ongoing 375th anniversary celebration, the library is teaming up with the Maine State Library for a program called Read ME. This program enables adults to share reading experiences by indulging in a particular book at the same time, particularly books written by up-and-coming Maine authors. This years nonfiction selection is Phuc Trans Sigh, Gone: A Misfits Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In, describing the authors experience as a child of refugees arriving in the United States in the 1970s. The selected novel is Meredith Halls Beneficence, set on a family farm in Alstead, Maine, in the middle of the last century. This program will start on June 3, and Arabella Rices modernized and enhanced library will have multiple copies of both books available, including five print copies of each, e-books, e-audiobooks, books-on-CDs, and a large print copy of Beneficence. Itll be fascinating to see what other highlights are to come in this new chapter of Arabellas immortal saga. A series of other events are also taking place in Kittery throughout 2022 to commemorate the seaside towns 375th birthday. Information about these festivities is available at kittery375th.com. D. Allan Kerr D. Allan Kerr is a member of Kitterys 375th Celebration Committee, and formerly served on Rice Public Librarys board of directors. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The story of Arabella Rice, Kittery ME librarys mystery patroness The Motherland Monument in Kyiv Read also: Ukraine's cultural foundation launches interactive Map of Cultural Losses Preservation of historical heritage Due to the constant shelling of Ukrainian cities, not only strategically important infrastructure and residential buildings were affected, but also a number of objects of Ukrainian historical and architectural heritage. And while in Kharkiv, Mariupol and many other Ukrainian cities the historic buildings suffered heavy losses due to the Russian artillery and missiles, the enemy came from within in Kyiv. From the first weeks, Kyiv residents began to protect famous Ukrainian monuments, but the destruction of historic buildings continued from the first day of the war in the capital city. "We were convinced that we would have to protect the monuments from missiles, blasts and armed aggression," said Dmytro Perov, a defender of historical heritage and a lawyer with NGO Map of Renovation. Read also: Kyiv City Council renames People's Friendship Arch, says mayor "It was completely unexpected that there would be threats from within at such a crucial moment for the country. We focused on protecting monuments from shelling, but we need to protect them from ourselves." During the war in Kyiv, the local authorities began to dismantle the police station of 1902 on Tsymliansky Lane, almost dismantled a 150-year-old house nearby, restarted the dismantling of the Malin estate of the XIX century in the city center, and the oldest house on Borychiv Tik Street went on fire for the second time in a year. Read also: Kyiv will always be under threat from the Russian Federation, warns Ministry of Defense "We must win the internal war. If we win from the outside, the next date in the calendar will simply be meaningless," Perov said. "Wars always take place at the level of worldview. When we see that we have about the same processes as in Russia (destruction of historical heritage), the question arises: what is this war for? If we do not change, we will remain in the same paradigm of existence. We can defeat the enemy a thousand times on the battlefield, but mentally we will be on the same field, and sooner or later this state will absorb us, because it simply has more resources." Story continues Read also: How to reanimate the economy of wartime Kyiv The lawyer also cites the views of Danish architect Jan Gehl on the historical environment of cities. According to Gehl, the twentieth century has been a revolution in views on the historical environment. Mankind has survived two extremely devastating world wars. Everything left after them automatically became unique. Europe has moved from a point-by-point approach to the preservation of architectural heritage, to the general and contextual. Since then, not individual buildings, but entire architectural ensembles usually receive protection status. "I have high hopes that all the processes that are taking place now will become a driving force for Ukrainian society to realize what and how we should preserve," Perov said. "The east and south of Ukraine have turned into ruins. There is no context and environment there. Everything is destroyed to zero. And those cities that managed to survive the shelling may be the expressions of the historical epoch in which Ukraine existed. If Lviv has its own history, the historical context of Kyiv was also peculiar to Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mariupol, which were once part of one state." Read also: Russian invaders steal Scythian gold from Melitopol museum, Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine says In his opinion, it is Kyiv that can become a milestone of the epoch, so Kyiv residents should rethink their approach to history. Fortunately, the evolutionary attitude of the capital's residents to heritage protection is changing from indifferent to involved. There are more and more non-government organizations in the city, whose main goal is to preserve the architecture and history of the city. After the victory, the number of heritage defenders can increase significantly. After all, what exactly, if not war, shows the fragility of the structures that form the city. Metro service development Thousands of people have chosen the Kyiv Metro as their refuge in case of danger. The structure, which had always learned to be a shelter, practiced its skills during the war. The Kyiv metro had to perform two functions at once: transport and protection. The first one was worked out over a decade of work, while the second one exclusively during training. "No one fully believed that the shelter function would have to be used," said Natalia Makohon, Kyiv Metro's deputy head. Read also: President Zelensky holds press conference in Kyiv metro highlights "But we always understood that it was, is and will be extremely important for our company. It so happened that thanks to constant training, the subway turned out to be probably the most prepared and safest place in Kyiv. In the first weeks of the war, there were 20,000 people at the metro stations every day." The Kyiv Metro still accepts people around the clock as a shelter, and this function will be further developed. Three months of the war have already pointed out the shortcomings that can be solved and the details that will be improved in the future. However, even so, the subway was chosen not only as a shelter, but also as a venue for briefings and concerts. During the first months of the war, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy and world-famous Bono and Edge from Irish rock band U2 spoke and performed at Kyiv metro stations. The Kyiv Metro has clearly determined the path of its further development. In May, it became a member of the International Public Transport Organization, which includes almost 2,000 organizations from 100 countries. This is not only an opportunity to cooperate with European colleagues, but also the first step towards a significant re-equipment of the subway. Read also: Russia Must Pay Reparations "It's no secret that the subway was built in Soviet times and using Soviet technology," Makohon said. "A total of 80% of cars are manufactured in Russian factories since they were the main suppliers for the subways of the post-Soviet space. We have chosen a course on European world technologies. A few weeks ago we were admitted to the International Public Transport Association. We are now looking for partners to re-equip the Kyiv Metro. Although, let me remind you that two contracts for re-equipment of the subway were signed at the city level before the war." It is clear that the modernization of the subway will take years due to the difficult economic situation and the war in Ukraine. However, now the main goal is to get rid of Russian-made cars and carry out a full-fledged re-equipment according to European standards. "According to the new regulations, new toilets are to be built near each metro station," Makohon said." "We will carry out repairs at the stations, but it should be understood that this is a rather long process, it will not happen immediately, because it requires large-scale funding. All our infrastructure is in working order, but in terms of aesthetics we have prospects for growth. We understand this, and will correct it." Read also: European Commission chief ready to lead efforts to restore post-war Ukraine The war is not over yet, but it has already shown how important it is for Ukraine and Kyiv to move away from Russian reality and move towards international and European standards. The course away from Russia has been taken for a long time, but the Kremlin's consistent aggression is only accelerating this process. Safe houses and new construction rules Chaotic shelling of residential buildings has become a new reality in which Ukrainians have to live in war. The crimes of the invaders have caused an increased demand of people for a safe space and influenced the further development of architecture and buildings in the country and, of course, in its capital city. Nowadays, it is difficult to find people who have not heard of the rule of two walls or dreamed of an extensive system of bomb shelters in their homes. Read also: Over 3,700 residential buildings damaged in Ukraine since Russian invasion, says emergency service official "As soon as the war started and we saw what was happening around us, our reaction was to counter the danger, to fight it," says Oleksandr Stolovyi, the architect of the Ukrainian bureau Archimatika. "People began to think what they should change to make life safer so that we suffer less. I would like to quote Jan Gehl, who voiced a very interesting idea: war by war, but cities are not created for war, but for life. At first it seemed too provocative, but he is right. Of course, the construction rules will change, but it is important for us to make sure that it does not affect our daily rhythm." This also applies to individual buildings. In an open society, it is important to understand that all changes in construction should not in any way affect the comfort of people's lives. Otherwise, Stolovyi says, we will simply lose to Prague, London and many other cities. "People think globally, they can choose where to live. It is now important that urban municipalities react properly to the new reality and do everything possible to ensure that the maximum number of people return to Ukraine, that they will have not only a safe but also a comfortable life," the architect says. Read also: All calm on Kyiv Oblasts border with Belarus, but threat against capital remains, Kyiv authorities warn Of course, the war has already dictated new conditions, but fortunately, Ukraine has previously used housing security tools. Developers are already asking architects to review ready-made projects and develop solutions for maximum human safety. It is not only about the well-known Israeli model with a system of bomb shelters under each house, but also about purely technical solutions that can make housing safer. "We can switch to safe glass: for example, triplex, which remains on a film; or tempered glass, which breaks into small pieces and does not destroy everything around," said Stolovyi. Read also: My diary of war. Escape from Kyiv "For the rule of two walls, it is not necessary to design a corridor that no one will use, you can just make a dressing room instead of a wardrobe, which can be quickly re-equipped into a place to sleep. This will not affect the cost per square meter, so I'm sure that such architectural solutions will become more popular." At the same time, we should not forget that the safety of the city residents mostly depends not on the strength of structures, but on the defense system. "As long as Russia exists, the demand for the safest housing will grow, but we must learn to live in new realities. And safe apartments are not a solution to the issue of defense, but only protection from severe damage," the architect added. Rebuilding the destruction Russian troops have destroyed many Ukrainian settlements. Some of them will be rebuilt from scratch, some will be partially restored. According to the architect and co-founder of the "Agenty Zmin" (Agents of Change) organization, Maksym Holovko, the country has been given the opportunity to design and rebuild what has been destroyed so that people could live in cities as well as possible. To do this, even a special handbook has been created. Read also: Russia launches missile strike on residential buildings in Mykolaiv "During the reconstruction, we need to approach the new principles of a sustainable city, where everything will work systematically. Streets should be safe with proper pedestrian and public spaces. The city should work as a system for people who will enjoy living there," Holovko said. During the reconstruction, Ukrainian cities built in the Soviet modernist tradition will be able to finally move away from the principles of automobile centrism and become comfortable for pedestrians. Now a number of settlements in Kyiv and other oblasts will be able to take a new bar of development, which is important not to lower over time. Read also: Russia in retreat: Putin appears to admit defeat in the Battle for Kyiv However, there is a problem. Russia's war against Ukraine has caused a wave of migration and emigration. It is still unknown who will return after the victory, and where they will go. "Our residential buildings have been destroyed en masse. The question arises of how to rebuild housing for people," Holovko said. "The huge migration of people makes it impossible to understand how to do it. There is a hypothesis that the number of people in cities will decrease, so the cities that have grown will decrease as well. This is a great challenge for urban development. Do we need to rebuild all the houses? These changes are leading to a housing crisis, but there is no clear task for the reconstruction. It is necessary to develop a strategy for each city separately. And it will take years. There is no need to hurry." Read also: Three months after start of Russias full-scale invasion, more than 2.2 million citizens have now returned to Ukraine The experience of European cities affected by wars at different times shows how important it is to choose the right vector of reconstruction. Now every ruined settlement must decide where to move. Not only the position of the state but also the actions of local authorities are extremely important for this. The city and village administrations can already conduct research and find solutions to housing problems. Unfortunately, we may be tempted to make quick and short-lived decisions. Kyiv can follow the familiar path of building similar housing estates for migrants in natural areas important for the urban ecosystem. Irpin, Bucha, Borodianka could be filled with hastily built high-rise buildings for people who have lost their homes. However, this is not the only way to develop cities. Now, more than ever, it is important to find a balance between quality and speed, and for the local administrations to take responsibility for the lives of the people. Thoughtful and analyzed steps will turn the settlements destroyed by the Russians into cities of the future, where everyone will be comfortable. Ms. Juicy Baby attends the 2nd annual black tie holiday gala "A Night with the Stars" Marcus Ingram/Getty Images Shirlene "Ms. Juicy Baby" Pearson is back home and ready to heal. A month after she was hospitalized for a stroke, the Little Women: Atlanta star, 50, announced that she has been released and is back at home in a video posted Friday to Instagram. "I just wanted to let you guys know that I am back," she said. "I'm not at 100 percent but I am still healing," Pearson added. "This is a video to let all my fans, all my supporters, to let you guys know that I have been released from the hospital. I am at home." RELATED: Little Women: Atlanta Star Shirlene 'Ms. Juicy' Pearson 'Out of ICU' After Suffering Stroke She explained that she was admitted to the hospital on April 28 after the stroke resulted in a brain bleed, which caused memory loss. "The way it affected me, I couldn't remember anything," she said. "I couldn't remember anything, not one thing. I can't even drive right now. I have to learn how to do a lot of things all over again, even brushing my teeth, things that we take for granted, that we think just come natural," Pearson continued. "I was about to have a fit when I was in the hospital because I couldn't even drink my water." Pearson also noted that she's been in speech therapy since the episode. In the two-part video, she detailed her recovery in the ICU, which included being fed through a tube, as she also had to learn how to swallow again. "I had to learn how to walk, learn how to talk, learn how to eat, learn how to swallow. A lot of things," she shared. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The TV personality thanked her fans for their support, as well as her mother and sister, who rushed to help her get her health back after hearing about her stroke. She also expressed her appreciation for those who contributed to a GoFundMe campaign to assist in paying her hospital bills. "I haven't been able to work, so there's no money coming in. I've been down for over a month in the hospital, as y'all can see. I can't even really say 'Ms. Juicy Baby' the way I usually say," Pearson added. Story continues RELATED VIDEO: Jenna Jameson Is Home from the Hospital but 'Still In a Wheelchair' as Doctors Search for a Cause "Yes, I did suffer a stroke. As you can see, I'm not dead. I'm right here. It might have slowed me down but I'm here and I'll be back at 100 percent when the time is right," she said. "But I can't push it and I can't rush it. I love you guys." Pearson's team announced last month that she was "stabilized in the ICU," later confirming that she had suffered a stroke. Fans were eventually let into the stadium (Getty Images) A Liverpool fans union has said supporters attending the Champions League final were mugged and assaulted outside the Stade de France and claim police did nothing to intervene. Kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes after Reds supporters were being let in slowly to the stadium but the situation quickly turned. Reports suggest police were heavyhanded and used tear gas and pepper spray. Spirit of Shankly shared their fans experiences on Twitter, writing: We have had numerous reports of assaults & muggings after the match & many of our committee members witnessed gangs of local youths acting with impunity - the police just watched them & seemed reluctant to intervene. People across the footballing world and beyond have criticised the way the situation was handled by stewards and police. This has been shared by the Merseyside police force who have called for an enquiry into what happened. They wrote in a statement: We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France. This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues. Governing body Uefa has said a review will be launched into the events. In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles, Uefa said. This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access. As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium. Uefa is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation. Police reforms signed into law in December 2020 by Gov. Charlie Baker, came with unexpected consequences for some 3,600 men and women serving as auxiliary police officers in communities around Massachusetts. Training requirements have changed with the passage of the Justice, Equity and Accountability Act, and with the changes, many members of this reserve force called auxiliary, volunteer or special officers will lose their chosen vocation. Cambridge Auxiliary police help out sworn personnel during community events: note the lighter uniforms, the lack of weaponry. Its not about completing extra hours of training, said Marc Spigel, president of the Massachusetts Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Association, the umbrella organization that supports the professional development of the volunteer group and facilitates training, recognition and services. We have no arguments with the training requirements. The sticking point for many members is timing. Trained to standards established in 1991-92, the new standards, set by the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), add an additional 200 hours. Auxiliary officers need more time Many of the trainings are scheduled at times when the auxiliary officers are working their primary jobs, Spigel said. The training is 96 hours online, and 120 hours hands-on. The committee claims they have scheduled night trainings, but these start at 3 in the afternoon. Spigel is confident members would complete the required training if it were offered at alternate times, on both weekend days, for example, and starting later in the evenings. He also suggested the officers be allowed to complete their requirements over longer periods of time. More: Police officer shortages challenge departments He believes the intent of the committee is to eliminate part-time people. "We warned last year that auxiliary and reserve units would begin to disband due to the new regulations, and that is now happening in Abington, Belmont, Randolph, Southbridge, my hometown of Framingham and possibly Billerica," Spigel said. Many of the affected communities rely on the auxiliary squads to augment full-time sworn officers when their populations increase: think summertime at the Cape. Or where municipal boundaries are far apart like in western Massachusetts. But not all municipalities have an auxiliary squad. Story continues Bridge to a full police academy The committee, responsible for training of all municipal law enforcement officers, has set up a special Bridge Academy for all those who perform as police, with the power of arrest, but who have not completed a full 800-hour police academy. The Municipal Police Training Committee is working diligently to advance the mandates established by the police reform law, including its primary objective of uniform training standards for all members of law enforcement, said MPTC Executive Director Robert Ferullo. More: Lack of seasonal police officers cancels annual Onset fireworks, notes town administrator Ferullo said the MPTC created a Bridge Academy to deliver standardized training, and facilitate the new certification for officers who perform police duties and hold the power of arrest but have never completed a full-time police academy. To support officer convenience and access, the bridge program offers a robust online curriculum and flexible in-person class schedules held at multiple regional facilities, Ferullo said. Currently, some 900 reserve officers are enrolled in the Bridge Academy to fill in gaps between any prior training and the new uniform standards required by law for certification. The in-person training consists of 40 hours firearms, 40 hours of defensive tactics training and 40 hours of driving. The Bridge Academy is offered free to qualified officers. The MPTC has seven academies: Boylston, Plymouth, Randolph, Reading, Haverhill, Southbridge, and Springfield. In addition, the MPTC offers in-person, specialized training in a variety of locations, including but not limited to Ayer, Dalton, Edgartown, Grafton, Greenfield, Ipswich, Joint Base Cape Cod, Pittsfield, Medfield, New Braintree, and Yarmouth. More: BB / pellet guns and air rifles can no longer be fired in Newton In some communities, the squads are volunteer and unpaid, in others they enjoy arrest powers and receive part-time wages. Framingham, where Spigel is an auxiliary officer, will disband the auxiliary squad at the end of June. Belmont has already shuttered its squad. In Cambridge, the auxiliary squad has no arrest powers and is unarmed. They are called in to help with community events, directing traffic and tourists during road races, festivals and fairs. Were in a unique situation, said Jeremy Warnick, director of communications for the department. The citys volunteer officer squad, about a dozen volunteers, is unarmed, unpaid and wears a distinctive light blue uniform. Their badges identify them as auxiliary police. In recent years, the city has invested in a new cadet program, recruiting young adults, high school graduates, between the ages of 18-23 to the job of cadet. Its a two-year paid program bridging the gap between graduation and the lowest age when someone can take the Civil Service examination. Cambridge is backing a new cadet program to interest youngsters in policing In Somerville, retired officers are used to augment sworn personnel when needed to direct traffic, oversee construction sites and help out at community events. The officers are sworn in as specials and are paid by contractors or organizers of events. This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Auxiliary squads face 200+ more hours of training, some call it quits Star Wars Celebration pushed full steam ahead in Anaheim on Saturday afternoon for a panel titled Mando+, focusing on the several offshoot shows from The Mandalorian. Shadow and Act was on hand for the panel which was headlined by creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filloni, who brought out several cast members from the shows. Here's a rundown: Jon Favreau talked about spearheading this new era for 'Star Wars' Its been a dream come true, said Favreau of continuously expanding the Star Wars universe with the Disney+ shows. The story I wanted to tell really suited the small screen. Favreau also noted that the shows are great for both longtime fans and fans who may just be getting into Star Wars. Its a place to grow and bring new people in that may not be up on all of the lore, he said. It became an entry ramp for people [and] thanks to Disney+ they can go and watch everything. All of the viewership [has been] going up on the old movies and the animated series. He also brought up that when envisioning Star Wars, George Lucas was about serialized storytelling. When I first saw Star Wars it was a continuation of a serialized story. He was thinking of Flash Gordon, Favreau continued. You get six, eight, 10 of them a year, and they pick up and leave off. I think those chaptered stories are very fun to write. Were thinking bout what set pieces, what environments, what characters we meet we dont have to solve things in 2 hours of a movie. Pedro Pascal's warm reception Coming on stage to join Favreau and Filloni and being greeted to a standing ovation, The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal said, My heart just exploded inside my body, so I dont know how much of a contribution I can make. [laughs] Its a good last day of my life. He was also joined by two of his doubles for the characters, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. I could never ever do what they do, but I learned so much from the two of them and just learning how to share skin with them, he said on stage. For me, it started with them. Story continues Photo: Getty Images More tidbits for 'The Mandalorian' Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow and Katee Sackhoff also came out to talk about the show, as well as The Book of Boba Fetts Temuera Morrison. I want the child within me to come back within the child within Grogu, said Esposito of the shows wide-reaching impact. Im hoping that happens and happens for you throughout this particular journey. Im so happy to be a part of the process. On the character of Moff Gideon and the collaboration process, the actor said, I make up a whole backstory for myself [for the character] and sometimes that doesnt coincide [with what happens]. But it gives my imagination a chance to soar and jump into a character thats full and complete. Those hints allow me to take whats on the paper and fill in all of the other blanks. He continued, The most compelling moments for me are Jon and Dave coming down and observing [on set], and Jon looked at me and said, Youve done this for a long time. Youve brought a lot of ideas. I trust you. I trust that you intrinsically know. Do what your instincts allow. And isnt that what our show is about? Empowerment? [It] changed my existence as an actor. It didnt go to my ego it went to my heart and my soul. Carl Weathers on directing, Rick Famiwuya on being upped to EP. Carl Weathers, who directs in the series as well as stars, toyed with fans and the creators: Im going to give you a spoiler in the spring of 2023, The Mandalorian will be out. [laughs] On a more serious note, teasing season 3, he said, With all of the other episodes, [this season] will be spectacular because we have such an amazing team of people wardrobe, special effects, the people who create this magical world. Rick Famiwuya, who has directed episodes of all seasons of the show, is now an executive producer for the show. For some reason, Jon saw my film Dope and said thats Star Wars material, he joked. The first film I saw in the movie theater was Star Wars and I remember waiting in a long to see that movie and I had no idea what was going to see. And from that moment I saw the opening crawl, my life was changed. This has always been a dream of mine. The panel also showed an extended version of an exclusive season 3 preview shown at Thursdays Lucasfilm studio panel. The new footage that the audience didnt see on Thursday features the titular character flying over Mandalore 'Ahsoka' footage shocks Photo: Getty Images And last, but certainly not least, after missing Thursdays Lucasfilm panel as she was filming the show, Rosario Dawson made a surprise appearance at the panel to talk Ahsoka. She told fans they are the reason she was cast. I loved the image that Bosslogic did and I posted the image and it ended up in front of Dave Filloni. So when Jon and him started working on Mandalorian, they were looking at the timeline and I turned 43, kind of Ahsokas image in this timeline. And the rest is history. Natasha Liu Bordizzo also joined Dawson and confirmed the news that shes playing Sabine Wren. I know how much she means to a lot of people and watching [Star Wars] Rebels, shes become to mean a lot to me too. I think youll be excited about the journey shes about to have. Filloni and Favreau also have kudos to each other for their work bringing the animated characters and canon to life in live-action, while giving shout-outs to Ashley Eckstein and Tiya Sircar, who previously voiced the animated versions of Ahsoka and Sabine. A short sizzle reel of what theyve filmed so far (the show has been in production three weeks) was shown, and it included a tease for characters to appear such as Hera and other members of the Ghost crew. Putin and Kirill. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has been a stalwart champion of the war in Ukraine. Now, he faces sanctions from the European Union. Here's everything you need to know: Who is Patriarch Kirill? Kirill was born Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev in Leningrad now St. Petersburg on Nov. 20, 1946. His elder brother, father, and grandfather were also priests. His grandfather spent time in a Soviet gulag for his opposition to the pro-communist Living Church movement. The young Vladimir worked as a cartographer before entering seminary in 1965. In 1969, he was tonsured a monk and took the name Kirill, after one of the saints who brought Christianity to the Slavs and helped invent the precursor to the modern Cyrillic alphabet. He became a bishop in 1976, an archbishop a year later, and a metropolitan in 1991. In 2009, following the death of Patriarch Alexy II, Kirill was elected to head the Russian Orthodox Church. What's his role? Unlike Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy does not have a single, universal head. Instead, the Orthodox Church is made up of between 14 and 16 autocephalous or "self-headed" churches. The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest, comprising around half of the 220 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. Kirill's claimed jurisdiction as "Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'" stretches beyond Russia to encompass territories previously controlled by the tsarist and Soviet empires, including Belarus, Estonia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Moscow has held ecclesiastical authority over Ukraine since the 17th century, but after the fall of the Soviet Union, a group of believers formed the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and began petitioning for autocephaly. The OCU comprises a majority of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians, while around a quarter still belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate (UOCMP). Fearing that Russian President Vladimir Putin's incursions into Ukraine would drive members of his flock into the arms of the OCU, Kirill initially opposed the annexation of Crimea. The churches there remain under the jurisdiction of the largely self-governing UOCMP. Story continues The closest thing Orthodoxy has to a pope is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople (the city now widely known as Istanbul in Turkey), who is viewed as first among equals by the other patriarchs. He holds this position because of his seat in the former capital of the Byzantine Empire, which fell to the Turks in 1453. Bartholomew's flock is comparatively small, and his power constrained by an unfriendly, majority-Muslim government. For Kirill, this mismatch presents an opportunity. In 2004, he drew on the centuries-old theory of Moscow as the Third Rome, claiming that the Russian Orthodox Church "holds de facto first place among all of the other Orthodox churches" and that the Russians "are the rightful heirs of Byzantium." In 2019, Bartholomew declared the OCU fully independent, claiming that the ecumenical patriarch has the power to unilaterally grant autocephaly. Kirill disagreed, arguing that Bartholomew had made an illegitimate incursion into Moscow's canonical territory. This dispute led the two patriarchs to break full communion. Following Putin's invasion, Kirill's hold on Ukraine has grown even more tenuous. Around half of the 12,000 UOCMP parishes have reportedly voiced their intention to cut ties with Russia, and some 200 priests from the UOCMP have signed a letter calling for Kirill to be deposed. What's his relationship with Putin? Kirill enjoys a close and symbiotic relationship with Putin. On Tuesday, the two reportedly spoke by phone when the president called the patriarch to wish him "good health and success" on his name day (the feast day of his patron saint). Putin describes himself as an Orthodox Christian, is frequently photographed at religious rites, and even claims that Kirill's father secretly baptized him as a baby. Like the tsars of old, Putin derives much of his legitimacy from the Russian Orthodox Church and from the Russian nationalism with which it is closely intertwined. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, just over 30 percent of Russians claimed affiliation with the national church. By 2017, more than 70 percent self-identified as Orthodox. This shift has boosted the church's cultural cachet and prompted a boom in church construction. What it hasn't done is fill those churches. The Moscow Times reported in 2019 that only 6 percent of Russians attend services regularly, and that figure continues to decline. To help shore up the church's religious market share, Putin has used state power to crack down on "illegal" missionary work by Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other religious movements that might steal sheep from Kirill's flock. He's also directed state funds to the church, banned "gay propaganda," and enforced anti-blasphemy laws. Kirill's relationship with Putin may even come with some material benefits. In 2006, The Moscow News estimated Kirill's net worth at $4 billion. In 2012, the patriarch was photographed wearing a $30,000 wristwatch. In return for his support of the church, Putin can count on Kirill's near-unwavering support. The patriarch has described Putin's rule as a "miracle from God" that put Russia back on track. He also publicly backed Putin's re-election bids in 2012 and 2018 and supported Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Kirill threw his full support behind the invasion. In March, he delivered a homily casting the war as a clash of civilizations between traditionalist Russia and the godless liberal West. Ukraine and its Western masters, Kirill said, were attempting "to destroy what exists in the Donbas" because the pro-Russian separatist republics embodied "a fundamental rejection of the so-called values that are offered today by those who claim world power." Those "so-called values," he said, are "excess consumption" and homosexuality. Can he be swayed? Earlier this month, the European Union included Kirill on a recent list of potential sanctions targets. One diplomat told Reuters that the sanctions would probably "entail an asset freeze and a travel ban." Religious leaders have also condemned Kirill for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Pope Francis said he told Kirill not to "transform himself into Putin's altar boy" during a Zoom call in March, while Bartholomew said in an interview that Kirill was wrong to "claim to be the brother of another people and bless the war that your state is waging." You may also like CDC identifies 9 monkeypox cases across 7 states Jury begins deliberations in Johnny Depp-Amber Heard libel trial Are Russia's gains in eastern Ukraine turning the tide of its war? Memorial Day, a federal holiday each year, is Monday, May 30, 2022, this year and it's a special time set aside to honor the men and women who died in service to America. Gary Sinise, the award-winning actor, humanitarian and founder of the nonprofit Gary Sinise Foundation, is serving again this year as honorary grand marshal of the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., which takes place on Memorial Day itself. Some 5,000 participants are expected to parade down Constitution Avenue before a crowd of 250,000 people on Monday, according to the American Veterans Center in Arlington, Virginia. Sinise shared personal and deeply felt thoughts with Fox News Digital about how "incredibly important" it is to show support for America's military and their families today. MEET THE AMERICAN WHO HONORS THE MEMORY OF 200,000 FALLEN WAR HEROES "Memorial Day has been a longstanding tradition of remembrance for me and my family," Sinise told Fox News Digital just ahead of the holiday weekend. "As a nation, its incredibly important to honor the families of the fallen the heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice in protecting and defending our country," he said. He also said, "Through my many travels, visiting combat zones, our wounded in the hospitals and especially spending time with our precious families of our fallen heroes it has become a personal life mission to honor and remember those who selflessly serve and sacrifice so much." Added Sinise, "That is one of the many reasons why I created the Gary Sinise Foundation, because I want all our defender communities, our veterans, service members, first responders and their families who sacrifice alongside them to always know that there are grateful Americans who love and appreciate them." COMBAT VETERAN AND HIS WIFE HELP OTHERS FIGHT PTSD AND FIND HEALING AND HOPE He said, "And were here for them before, during and after the battle." "When I think about my participation in this years Memorial Day Parade, the first parade since before the pandemic, one simple word comes to mind. Gratitude." Story continues "I am grateful," he went on, "for the opportunity to honor our fallen. I am grateful to support the families of our fallen heroes." LEE GREENWOOD DISCUSSES MEMORIAL DAY AND REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED "And I am grateful for every day that I have to continue paying it forward to these brave men and women and ensuring that their memory and legacy of service to our country will never be forgotten," said Sinise. The Gary Sinise Foundation, established over 10 years ago by Sinise who for nearly 40 years has been active in his commitment to veterans, first responders and defenders announced in April that it was moving its headquarters from Los Angeles, California, to Nashville, Tennessee. The move "complements its chapters on both coasts in San Diego, California, and Orlando, Florida," the organization said in late April. It "will allow the foundation to expand its reach and service to more veterans, defenders, heroes and first responders who sacrifice so much." The foundation noted that some 430,000 veterans live in Tennessee today. "In addition, Tennessee and the neighboring states are in proximity to numerous active military installations and facilities. The move to Nashville will facilitate even more engagement with local communities, including first responders and other heroes, around the United States," the group shared with Fox News Digital. WISCONSIN FATHER-SON DUO THANK AMERICA'S MILITARY HEROES FROM THE 'BOTTOM OF OUR HEART' Sinise said in that announcement that moving to Nashville "was a family decision. After 35 years in California, I began thinking about the possibility of relocating." "With so many friends in the area, a great entertainment industry and its central location, I concluded it would be an exciting change for our family." Actor Gary Sinise shakes the hand of Army Capt. Marc Melton at Fort Polk Army Post on June 24, 2004, in Fort Polk, Louisiana. Sinise, an Academy Award-nominated actor, stopped at the Central Louisiana post on the first day of a 10-day USO tour of military installations in the U.S. Sinise performed with his touring band, "The Lt. Dan Band." Getty "Naturally," he added, "the Gary Sinise Foundation will move as well." The move is expected to be finished by summer. Through its R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence, Supporting Empowerment) program in Tennessee, the foundation has built smart homes for severely wounded heroes, including most recently for a Clarksville Tennessee Army veteran. The group has also lent support to "numerous events for those who served in the Nashville area." Sinise, an award-winning actor of stage, TV and film, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. GARY SINISE: I THANK GOD FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN WILLING THAT ARE WILLING TO PROTECT US His awards include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also nominated in 1995 for an Academy Award (for his portrayal of Lieutenant Dan Taylor in "Forrest Gump"). He's received many honors and awards for his humanitarian work and his connection to charitable activities. Sinise's 2019 best-selling memoir, "Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service," revealed how a young "rough-around-the-edges" kid from Illinois "found his calling to ensure that our countrys defenders are never forgotten," as his foundation noted. Travelers queue up move through the north security checkpoint in the main terminal of Denver International Airport, Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Denver. David Zalubowski/AP Flight delays and cancellations are disrupting many travelers' plans over the holiday weekend. More than 1,100 flights were canceled Sunday as of early afternoon, heading into Memorial Day. This is on top of another 2,300 cancellations Friday and 1,500 Saturday, the AP reported. Thousands of flight delays and cancellations are throwing a wrench in many passengers' travel plans this holiday weekend. More than 4,500 flights from airlines around the world have been canceled since Friday. Airlines canceled 1,100 additional flights Sunday as of early afternoon, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. This follows 2,300 cancelations on Friday and 1,500 on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Of the flights canceled Sunday, more than 300 of those were flights within, into, or out of the US, FlightAware data shows. Among major US carriers, Delta Air Lines reported the most disruptions in recent days. On Saturday, the company canceled roughly 250 flights, or 9% of its flight schedule, and delayed 530 flights, or 19% of its total for the day, according to FlightAware. As of early Sunday afternoon, Delta has canceled 150 flights and delayed 150 for the day. Delta told Insider on Saturday the airline is trying to give customers 24-hour notice of cancellations when possible. "In addition to the factors outlined in our news release, our schedule today reflects heavy impact from adverse weather and air traffic control actions yesterday," the company said in a statement. In an additional statement on Sunday, Delta said it "notifies customers through Fly Delta App notifications, email and text message, and automatically rebooks them on the next best available option to their final destination." Delta Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband said in the Saturday press release that there are several factors impacting the airline, including labor shortages, a rise in COVID-19 rates among staffers, and weather and air traffic control. Story continues "More than any time in our history, the various factors currently impacting our operation ... are resulting in an operation that isn't consistently up to the standards Delta has set for the industry in recent years," Ausband said. The disruptions come amid a particularly fraught time for the industry, coinciding with a boom in air travel heading into Memorial Day. More than 3 million people are expected to fly this holiday weekend, compared to 2.4 million people last Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA. Nearly 2 million people passed through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints Saturday, up from 1.6 million at the same time last year, according to agency data. On Friday, TSA screened nearly 2.4 million passengers, up from almost 2 million at the same time in 2021. Amid growing demand, however, airlines are grappling with staff shortages. Carriers like Delta, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines have made cuts to their flight schedules for the summer due to staffing challenges, among other factors. Some airlines have even resorted to reducing training requirements for pilots to help plug the shortage. Read the original article on Business Insider By Jorge Nieto TIJUANA (Reuters) - Dozens of migrants performed an opera in the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Saturday aimed at dramatizing the struggles of those who seek to reach the United States. Featuring baroque music and urban dance, the opera depicts the story of a 15-year-old Guatemalan teenager who fled north, along with her mother, to escape gang violence in her country. Upon reaching the U.S. border near San Diego, however, she and her mother are sent back into Mexico to await their asylum proceedings, under the "Migrant Protection Protocols" (MPP) program, also known as "Remain in Mexico." Director Yuriria Fanjul, who is from Mexico City, said that participating in the opera allowed the actors to process the trauma from their own migratory experiences. "They found that music and the performing arts by nature helped them to process these emotions," she said. Karla Patricia, one of the actors, said that she hopes to be able to continue participating in the performing arts. "This opera has been a total change in my life," she said. "It is something that has touched me in my heart and I am very happy dancing." (Reporting by Jorge Nieto in Tijuana, writing by Laura Gottesdiener; editing by Diane Craft) Tom Williams/Getty The mass murder of 19 children and two of their teachers in Texas last week prompted Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to say hes hopeful Senators can find a bipartisan solution to the problem. But if that sort of response sounds familiarand not particularly inspiringthats because hes said it before, only to close the door later. McConnell told CNN that he encouraged Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to engage with Democrats Sens. Chris Murphy (CT) and Sen. Krysten Sinema (AZ) about potential areas of agreement on new gun laws. "I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution," he said. While it is notable that McConnell signaled his willingness to talk about changes to laws that regulate gun ownership in the United States, in McConnells case, its only a small step above immediately dismissing action on guns. Texas Cops Labeled Great Actors by Furious Uvalde Families Time and again, McConnells hope for a bipartisan solution has simply prolonged the inevitable: inaction. In June 2016, after a man with a gun murdered 49 people at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando, McConnell told reporters nobody wants terrorists to have firearms." "Were open to serious suggestions from the experts as to what we might be able to do to be helpful," he said. But when a bill that would have given the Department of Justice the ability to deny the transfer of firearms or the issuance of firearms and explosives licenses to known or suspected dangerous terrorists was put for a vote, it failed along party lines with the exception of one vote. McConnell was one of the 53 Republican senators who voted no. In August 2019, after mass shootings within 24 hours at a Walmart in El Paso and a nightclub in Dayton, then-President Donald Trump expressed support for really common-sense, sensible, important background checks. Today, the president called on Congress to work in a bipartisan, bicameral way to address the recent mass murders which have shaken our nation, McConnell said in a statement on Aug. 5. Senate Republicans are prepared to do our part. Story continues Shooters Classmate: We Saw Him Beating a Little Dog Only serious, bipartisan, bicameral efforts will enable us to continue this important work and produce further legislation that can pass the Senate, pass the House, and earn the presidents signature, he said. Partisan theatrics and campaign-trail rhetoric will only take us farther away from the progress all Americans deserve. What we cant do is fail to pass something, McConnell said during an interview on WHAS radio a few days later. The urgency of this is not lost on any of us. Even Trump bought into McConnells words. I am convinced that Mitch wants to do something, Trump told reporters on Aug. 13, 2019. But a month later, as Trumps passion for the issue faded, McConnell changed course. My members know the very simple fact that to make a law you have to have a presidential signature, he told reporters on Sept. 10. No vote was ever taken. McConnells office declined to comment for this report. McConnells habit of deferring to some theoretical, distant concept of a bipartisan solution has the same effect as politicians offering their thoughts and prayers to victimsonly its less recognizable as an empty gesture of change. McConnell, however, hasnt always been above offering those thoughts and prayers. Mitch McConnell Never Puts America First In June 2015, after a white supremacist shot and killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, McConnell took to the Senate floor to let the American people to know the Senate is thinking of them today and the victims that they loved. Were also thinking of the entire congregation at this historic church, he said. No legislative change ever came from the Charleston shooting. The same can be said of the mass shootings later in 2015 at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon that killed 10 and the San Bernardino shooting that killed 16. McConnell was sympathetic for the victims and their families, but he was quick to criticize President Barack Obamas proposed solutions in early 2016 as partisan. In the wake of the Presidents vow to politicize shootings, its hard to see todays announcement as being about more than politics, McConnell said. In the days after the Las Vegas shooting, when 59 people were killed at a concert, McConnell told reporters it was inappropriate to politicize an event like this. The investigation has not even been completed, and I think its premature to be discussing legislative solutions if there are any, he said. Still, after 17 people at a high school were murdered in Parkland, Florida, McConnell was instrumental in passing one piece of reform legislation: the so-called Fix NICS Act, which helped ensure criminal record information was entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by state and federal authorities. McConnell also oversaw the passage of a STOP School Violence Act, which provided funding to help prepare and prevent school gun violence. Uvalde Gunman: Everyone in This World Deserves to Get Raped But those reforms were far from the sweeping changes that most advocates believe are necessary to actually reduce gun violence. And more often than not, McConnells willingness to engage on issues that might regulate or augment current firearms laws has been fleeting. Of course, McConnell doesnt always just defer to a bipartisan solution that doesnt exist. After the shocking Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, McConnell told reporters days later that the entire Congress was united in condemning the violence in Newtown and on the need to enforce our laws. As we continue to learn the facts, Congress will examine whether there is an appropriate and constitutional response that would better protect our citizens." But by January, in an interview on ABC, McConnell made it clear his focus was elsewhere when asked by host George Stephanopoulos about whether Republicans would be open to suggestions by a new task force on gun violence headed by then-Vice President Joe Biden. Well, first, we need to concentrate on Joe Bidens group, and what are they going to recommend?, McConnell said. And after they do that, well decide what, if anything, is appropriate to do in this area. But the biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt, he continued. Thats going to dominate the Congress between now and the end of March. None of these issues, I think, will have the kind of priority that spending and debt are going to have over the next two or three months. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. NEW BEDFORD Mayor Jon Mitchell has announced that $3.3 million in funding is being made available to support local businesses and entrepreneurs, according to a press release. Earlier this year, the city launched a Small Business Assistance Program to distribute portions of federal funding that New Bedford received under the American Rescue Plan Act. On May 13, Mayor Mitchell and local arts leaders celebrated funding for local artists and arts groups, awarded through the small business program. That same program is now allocating another portion of its funds, to assist local businesses and entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate their financial recovery. The funding will be distributed under two separate initiatives: NBForward!, which will provide funding to businesses negatively affected by the pandemic, and NB100!, which will focus on assisting early-stage entrepreneurs affected because of their industry or location. Property Transfers: New Bedford 'dream home' (three Juliet balconies!) sells for $650,000 The New Bedford Economic Development Council will administer the respective grant processes as an expansion of its long-standing small business support activities. The NBEDCs two awarded programs will focus on small businesses and homegrown start-ups via new, streamlined processes that are designed to be easy to access, flexible, efficient, and measurable in outcome, with a goal of positioning New Bedford as one of the strongest and most diverse small business economies per capita in the post-pandemic commonwealth. Entrepreneurs drive opportunity and growth in our economy. Positioning them for success will accelerate New Bedfords emergence from the pandemic, Mitchell said. The New Bedford Economic Development Council has a proven track record of supporting small businesses, and these two new programs will leverage their experience and expertise. Connectivity is critical to help small businesses achieve success throughout the business lifecycle, said Anthony Sapienza, president of the New Bedford Economic Development Council. From beginning to end, both NB100! and NBForward! are designed to not only provide New Bedford businesses with much-needed financial support to come out of the pandemic, but also the technical know-how necessary to remain viable and vibrant for years to come. No matter where someone may be in their entrepreneurial journey whether they be just starting out or a well-established operation in New Bedford we have a pathway available for them. Story continues The NBEDCs new NBForward! program will offer at least 100 grants of up to $20,000 in conjunction with matching loan financing from other, non-ARPA sources, and with payments deferred for three months along with technical assistance including business planning, resource guidance, and best practices. Chains coming?: Trader Joe's, Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack and more will they come to New Bedford? NBForward! is designed to provide existing local businesses with working capital to position themselves for future growth. Eligible uses of the capital include: Business lease-hold improvements, construction, renovations (with documented building-owner approval and city permit verification) Business lease or mortgage payments Business utility payments Business monthly insurance costs Business payroll Business inventory expenses Other approved business fixed and operating expenses The new NB100! program aims to promote entrepreneurship, grow local wealth, and strengthen community bonds by helping 100 new businesses get off the ground. As the first phase of assistance, the NBEDC will lead technical assistance delivered by New Bedford SourceLink resource partners, including: EforAll, Groundwork, Co-Creative Center, New Bedford Ocean Cluster, UMass Dartmouth, Bristol Community College, and Junior Achievement. As a separate and subsequent phase, the NBEDC will offer $10,000 grants to eligible small businesses that have successfully completed the technical support program. Eligible uses of those grant funds will include: Business lease or mortgage payments Business utility payments Business monthly insurance costs Business payroll Business inventory expenses Acquisition of new equipment/property Construction/repair of existing property Reimburse business expenses incurred beginning March 3, 2021 Working capital for other operating expenses NBEDC staff will be engaged in managing both programs to ensure an efficient review and approval process for eligible applicants. The formal application process will be accessed via the NBEDC homepage at: https://nbedc.org. Learn more on the citys ARPA website: www.newbedford-ma.gov/arpa. This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford mayor announces new grant opportunities for businesses Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) got into a fiery argument with a Fox News Sunday guest host over the 2020 presidential election, which Brooks repeatedly claimed was stolen and riddled with fraud. When Brooks pressed his claims of voter fraud and pushed for tighter election laws, guest host Sandra Smith countered that effort after effort had failed in court to prove the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump. The congressmen and senators disagree with you, with what you just said, Brooks told her. Elections are going to be stolen if we dont fix these problems. Smith and Brooks then talked over each other before the Alabama lawmaker told the journalist, You just made a false statement. The courts are not the final arbiter of who wins federal election contests, he said before citing unproved allegations and discussing a controversial film about the 2020 election, 2000 Mules. And that has been looked at and fact-checked by multiple outlets, including Reuters, who have [reported] there isnt any proof that there was widespread voter fraud, Smith rebutted. Brooks is fighting off a Republican challenger in a tight Senate primary race headed to a runoff after he lost the endorsement and backing of Trump. Brooks lost the support of the former president after saying the GOP should move on from the 2020 election. Brooks was also one of several GOP lawmakers who were said to be subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, but on Sunday the congressman said he has not been served yet. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Republican Congressman Mo Brooks was sent into a conniption by a Fox News host who insisted accurately that there was no evidence the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Mr Brooks was interviewed by Sandra Smith, who asked the congressman what Mr Trump had asked him to do after the 2020 election, and why he thought the ex-president had un-endorsed him in his current Senate campaign. Mr Brooks replied that between last September and the unendorsement, he and Mr Trump had many conversations that revolved around the idea that the ex-president could be reinstated in office and the 2020 election rescinded. And I can understand him wanting to do that, OK? Mr Brooks said. He was robbed, in my judgment, in 2020, in his judgment he was robbed, and so I can understand that desire. The conflict was when I would explain the law does not allow us to do that. As Mr Brooks put it, what is now done in 2020 is irreversible under the US Constitution and the US Code, and Im one of those who believes in law and order. I might not like it that thats the endgame, but that is the endgame. However, Mr Brooks lost his grip on this pragmatic stance when Ms Smith pointed out that Mr Trumps claims of massive electoral fraud in 2020 have never been substantiated with credible evidence. Oh no, thats wrong! the congressman shouted, throwing up his hands. I dont know why you people in the media keep saying that, but that is absolutely false. Fox News is facing a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which accuses the network of falsely claiming it helped rig the election. A trial is set for April next year. Citing the number of congressmen and senators who voted against certifying the election on 6 January even after the Capitol was violently attacked by a horde of Trump supporters, Mr Brooks remarked to Ms Smith that you havent done your homework. When she then pointed out that scores of election fraud lawsuits were thrown out of courts across the US because of their paucity of evidence, Mr Brooks demanded a time out and insisted on getting in the last word on this one. Story continues The courts are not the final arbiter of who wins a federal election contest, he said. Congress is. He then cited several judges opinions as evidence for his arguments, along with the film 2000 Mules, a documentary claiming that cellphone data reveals the existence of a massive fraudulent operation to traffic illegitimate Biden mail-in votes to drop-off boxes. The film has been promoted by Mr Trump himself and various others, buthasalsobeenroundlydebunked. Mr Brooks recently advanced to a runoff in Alabamas Senate primary despite losing Mr Trumps endorsement, though he continued to use approving Trump quotes and pictures of him on 6 January on campaign mailers posted out through polling day. Announcing his un-endorsement, Mr Trump cited Mr Brookss remarks at a rally where he told supporters to move on from obsessing over the last election and focus on the next contest. There are some people who are despondent about the voter fraud and election theft in 2020, he said at the event last year. Folks, put that behind you, put that behind you. "That tells me you haven't done your homework ... I'm getting in the last word on this one" -- Brooks explodes on Fox News host Sandra Smith after she accurately points out there's no evidence the 2020 election was stolen from Trump Smith, to her credit, holds her ground pic.twitter.com/rFwRztuwIJ Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 29, 2022 Oh boy. Mo Brooks suggested, in seriousness, that those in attendance should accept the results of the 2020 election and move on to the next one needless to say it did not go well and he nearly lost the crowd pic.twitter.com/1htgV3QAgm Ryan Phillips (@JournoRyan) August 22, 2021 However, Mr Trumps decision to pull his endorsement may have had more to do with the fact that Mr Brooks was steadily sliding in the polls at the time, raising the prospect he could embarrass the former president who has since seen several of his top endorsees fall badly short in top-tier races in Georgia and elsewhere. Mr Brookss runoff contest against Katie Britt, who came top in the first round, will be held on 21 June. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions during a meeting Sunday, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the countrys first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing. The discussion at the Norths Politburo meeting suggests it will soon relax a set of draconian curbs imposed after its admission of the omicron outbreak this month out of concern about its food and economic situations. Kim and other Politburo members made a positive evaluation of the pandemic situation being controlled and improved across the country, the official Korean Central News Agency said. They also examined the issue of effectively and quickly coordinating and enforcing the anti-epidemic regulations and guidelines given the current stable anti-epidemic situation," KCNA said. On Sunday, North Korea reported 89,500 more patients with fever symptoms, taking the countrys total to 3.4 million. It didnt say whether there were additional deaths. The countrys latest death toll reported Friday was 69, setting its mortality rate at 0.002%, an extremely low count that no other country, including advanced economies, has reported in the fight against COVID-19. Many outside experts say North Korea is clearly understating its fatality rate to prevent any political damage to Kim at home. They say North Korea should have suffered many more deaths because its 26 million people are largely unvaccinated against COVID-19 and it lacks the capacity to treat patients with critical conditions. Others suspect North Korea might have exaggerated its earlier fever cases to try to strengthen its internal control of its population. Since its May 12 admission of the omicron outbreak, North Korea has only been announcing the number of patients with feverish symptoms daily, but not those with COVID-19, apparently because of a shortage of test kits to confirm coronavirus cases in large numbers. Story continues But many outside health experts view most of the reported fever cases as COVID-19, saying North Korean authorities would know how to distinguish the symptoms from fevers caused by other prevalent infectious diseases. The outbreak has forced North Korea to impose a nationwide lockdown, isolate all work and residential units from one another and ban region-to-region movements. The country still allows key agricultural, construction and other industrial activities, but the toughened restrictions have triggered worries about its food insecurity and a fragile economy already hit hard by border shutdowns because of the pandemic. Some observers say North Korea will likely soon declare victory over COVID-19 and credit it to Kims leadership. Yang Un-chul, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the Norths recently elevated restrictions must be dealing a serious blow to its coal, agricultural and other labor-intensive industrial sectors. But he said those difficulties wont likely rise to a level that threatens Kims grip on power, as the COVID-19 outbreak and strengthened curbs have given him a chance to boost his control over the population. HOUSTON, Texas - The 2022 National Rifle Association convention kicked off on Friday in Texas and some members of the gun advocacy group who attended the event expressed their opposition to calls for gun control while discussing ways to move forward. The annual convention came on the heels of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday which left 19 children and two adults dead. The convention, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center amid nearby protests from gun-control advocates, hosted thousands of individuals who displayed fierce support for the preservation of the Second Amendment and gun rights. NRA'S LAPIERRE SAYS GUN CONTROL NOT THE ANSWER TO TEXAS MASSACRE Signage outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, US, on Friday, May 27, 2022. Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images Franklin, a native of Newnan, Georgia, who preferred to only give his first name, traveled nearly 11 hours to show his support for the NRA. He said the convention showcases "the best America has to offer" when it comes to firearms and discussed how America should move forward following the recent Texas tragedy. "What happened to those kids is awful, it's scary, it's sad," he said. "I send prayers to those families today and for the rest of my days." "While I grieve with those families and the others who have lost children in school shootings, we have to have an honest conversation," Franklin added. "The NRA did not do this. No one but the shooter did this. We cannot let those calling for restrictions on guns get in the way of fixing this crisis. We gotta do what is necessary to protect these schools, whether it be improving security in schools, getting armed officers to work at schools, or making schools one-way entry zones." "Taking gun rights away from Americans who could potentially dissolve a situation like that from happening is not the answer," he said. "Politicians need to have real conversations, ones that make sense and will enact a change for good. Again, it's not the NRA's fault and it's not the gun's fault, it's the shooter's fault and God has had his way with him." Story continues Mark and Carol McElroy of New Braunfels, Texas, a small town near San Antonio, told Fox News Digital they are both members of the NRA and said they came to the convention to "support the Second Amendment." Asked about school shootings and what can be done in an effort to prevent or deter future tragedies from taking place in schools as it relates to gun violence, the couple insisted that a focus on mental health and background checks is a must. BETO O'ROURKE, GUN-CONTROL ADVOCATES PROTEST OUTSIDE OF NRA CONVENTION: 'SHAME ON YOU' "There's a big hole in the school system," Mark said. "There's a mental health problem somewhere." "The country is certainly divided, obviously, there's no question about it," he added. "We both would like to see the states implement a background check for juveniles." Carol said she believes that teachers "should be armed" if they'd like to be and "taught the proper handling of guns and the safety of guns." "I'm all for that," she said. "I think that'd help a lot, and get a little more notice around the schools that there is something like this going on and that they're armed." She said it would send a strong message to those thinking of causing harm to school children for them not "to come in this school, that we're prepared for bad people." Pushing back on calls for gun control and other legislative measures, Carol said "Democrats are determined to do away with anything Republicans want to do that's right." "It's a sad, sad situation," she said, adding that those in elected positions, specifically President Biden and his party, "don't think about the people, they just think about themselves." TRUMP SAYS 'EXISTENCE OF EVIL' IS WHY LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS NEED SECOND AMENDMENT Don Fauch, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime NRA member who traveled to Houston for the convention from Plano, Texas, insisted that the number one reason so many people are committing heinous crimes, whether against school children or individuals shopping in supermarkets, is because there is a lack of care for those suffering mentally. "We have a mental health crisis," he said. "When people realize that and are standing on street corners addressing that issue, you may see some change. That, accompanied by safety regulations for schools will be what puts this nation on track. I know because I found help after serving this beautiful country. I needed help and I found it. We need resources for others to find it also." Referencing those who stood outside the convention in protest of the NRA, Fauch said, "I fought for them to have that right and I respect it, but I want them to realize what they're saying when they shout at NRA members who would willingly put their lives on the line to defend them with a gun." "The people at this convention are good people. They're people who use their guns to help you in times needed most. Tragedy will hit us somewhere again and people here know that. We know changes are needed, but taking away certain rights from law-abiding people is not how it's done. Let's make schools safer and get trained and responsible officers in schools." Ohio has been grasping for solutions on helping all students to become competent readers. Unfortunately, the policy of holding struggling readers back in third grade shows that an aggressive tactic can create unintended consequences. It also shows the dangers of leaving local school decisions up to politicians. Some 39,000 children have failed the statewide reading test since 2014, with most being forced to repeat third grade, according to a USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau report. The reasoning behind this is a 2010 report suggesting that children who cant read well by the fourth grade may never catch up. Concerned, former Gov. John Kasich pushed for and eventually signed the Third Grade Reading Guarantee into law in 2012. The Republican chairman of the Ohio House Education Committee, Rep. Gerald Stebelton, said as the bill advanced in 2012 that Ohio had been failing its children. But a Beacon Journal editorial at the time skeptically described the education legislation as yet another reading guarantee. More: Akron Public Schools to use $96 million in stimulus funds to boost current initiatives More recently, Ohio State University researchers published a report finding the law failed to lead to reading improvements. With that in mind, House Bill 497 has been introduced. State tests would remain, but the requirement to flunk third graders would be dropped. Politicians 10 years ago clearly overstepped in setting up this requirement. They apparently didn't listen closely to educators who know that children feel stigmatized by being held back and, as Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro told a reporter, can come to hate reading. More: If 'divisive concepts' are outlawed, would the Akron Public Schools board comply? More: How redistricting could change the way Ohio educates public school children One cannot fault politicians for calling attention to a serious problem. Not all of the original measure is flawed. The OSU report notes the 2012 law also called for better monitoring of childrens progress and an emphasis on teacher qualifications. Story continues In his March testimony supporting HB 497, one school administrator from Franklin County, Scott Emery, noted that many education-related laws are just and appropriate because they create consistent systems and hold teachers accountable. For example, teachers will be required next year to undergo more training to support students with dyslexia. Retaining third graders based on test scores, however, may not be an appropriate accountability measure, Emery wrote. Our Ohio bureau report shows that in the pre-pandemic school year of 2018-2019, 5% of third graders were held back. But in Aurora and other wealthy districts, no children were retained. In Aurora, teachers who specialize in English language arts instruct children in reading. Youngsters who need additional help get one-on-one instruction from reading specialists. And importantly, the low poverty rate of the area means most of the districts children arent coming to school hungry. Contrast that to Canton city schools, where 17% of third graders did not meet the state-imposed threshold. Might the citys higher poverty rate 30.6%, compared to Auroras 3.7% have something to do with academic troubles? The point is, as educators have said, one size doesnt fit all. Districts need support and guidelines from state lawmakers and the governor, but not directives that punish individual children. Lets again allow teachers to consider the overall progress of their third graders. One test score cant measure everything. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio needs to fix Third-Grade Reading Test requirement Law enforcement officers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. Marco Bello/Reuters The gunman who killed 21 in a Texas elementary school threatened people he spoke to online. The threats were brushed off by recipients as harmless and were not reported to parents or police. One researcher said threats to girls and women, who are frequently harassed online, "wouldn't even register." The gunman who killed 21 during a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday frequently threatened people he spoke to online, but the threats were never reported to parents or authorities, The Washington Post reported. Users who interacted with the 18-year-old shooter on the social networking apps Yubo and Instagram say he would post images of dead cats and joke about sexual assault in addition to making threats. "I witnessed him harass girls and threaten them with sexual assault, like rape and kidnapping," a 16-year old Yubo user who interacted with the shooter told The Washington Post. "It was not like a single occurrence. It was frequent." One researcher suggested that threats sent to girls and women, who are frequently harassed online, wouldn't cause unusual alarm because it is such a common occurrence. "When someone says something violent to you or makes some sort of death threat to you, for many women that happens so often that it wouldn't even register with them," Whitney Phillips, a researcher and new faculty member of the University of Oregon told The Washington Post. At least one girl who interacted with the gunman online said he had told another Yubo user "shut up before I shoot you," but she told The Washington Post she brushed it off because "kids joke around like that." Read the original article on Insider Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (LON:VOD) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next two days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase Vodafone Group's shares on or after the 1st of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 5th of August. The company's next dividend payment will be 0.045 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of 0.09 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Vodafone Group has a trailing yield of 5.9% on the current stock price of 1.3014. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Vodafone Group's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Vodafone Group can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow. See our latest analysis for Vodafone Group If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Vodafone Group paid out 125% of profit in the past year, which we think is typically not sustainable unless there are mitigating characteristics such as unusually strong cash flow or a large cash balance. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Vodafone Group generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 27% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio. It's good to see that while Vodafone Group's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Extraordinarily few companies are capable of persistently paying a dividend that is greater than their profits. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. For this reason, we're glad to see Vodafone Group's earnings per share have risen 20% per annum over the last five years. The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Vodafone Group's dividend payments per share have declined at 6.7% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. Vodafone Group is a rare case where dividends have been decreasing at the same time as earnings per share have been improving. It's unusual to see, and could point to unstable conditions in the core business, or more rarely an intensified focus on reinvesting profits. To Sum It Up Has Vodafone Group got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been rising nicely although, even though its cashflow payout ratio is low, we question why Vodafone Group is paying out so much of its profit. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Vodafone Group from a dividend perspective. With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Vodafone Group you should know about. If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Oxygen In the early morning hours of August 25, 2008, Linda Heidt, the matriarch of a prominent and well-respected Georgia family, placed a chilling 911 call. Help. Please, Linda struggled to tell an Effingham County 911 dispatcher, according to Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, airing Wednesdays at 8/7c on Oxygen. Whats wrong? the dispatcher said. Gun, Linda said. Shot. Through halting words, Linda was able to tell the dispatcher she had been shot in the face. Her husband Philip Heidta prominen About This Page This "Under Construction" page is an automatically generated placeholder Web page for a domain that is not yet attached to an active Web site. This page replaces the "Not Found" error pages and notifies visitors that a Web site is coming soon. How Do I Replace This Page? Publishing your Web site, updating the name servers, or forwarding to another domain name will automatically replace this default page. If you do not have an existing Web site hosting package or web forwarding, further information to get your Web site online can be found by clicking the following links. If your Web site is not ready to be published and you would like to replace this page, you may do so by configuring your under construction page. Police in Henry County are searching for a man they say was caught on camera stealing mail straight from the mailbox. Investigators say back in April, the man caught on camera can be seen reaching out of the backseat of a red Hyundai Santa Fe and into a mailbox on Gardner Rd. in Stockbridge. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police say the man pulled packages out of the mailbox and rode off with them. The SUV appears to have been using a spare tire as the front left tire. TRENDING STORIES: Anyone who knows who the alleged mail thief is or has details that could help investigators should contact them at 770-288-7343. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: A police officer in Derry, New Hampshire is recovering after she was hit by a driver and suffered serious injuries while conducting a traffic stop of another vehicle. It happened just after midnight on Saturday, on Route 28 near the Fairways, according to Derry Police. The driver hit the officer and took off on the southbound side of Route 28, headed toward Windham. The officer was transported to Parkland Medical Center by Derry Fire ambulance with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from Derry Police. The officer has subsequently been released from the hospital and is recuperating at home. She has been a patrolman with the Town of Derry for approximately 3 years. Investigators say the vehicle - described as a small, white SUV - should be missing its passenger-side mirror. Police say the vehicle involved may be a Mitsubishi Outlander. Police are searching for a driver who hit an officer in Derry, NH, and took off. Photo: Derry Police This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 16. Getty Images Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a law allowing Russia to recruit older soldiers. An upper age limit of 40 was scrapped, leaving no formal maximum age of enlistment. The move followed mounting casualties in Russia's three-month-old invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a law removing an upper age limit on the Russian military, meaning over-40s can now serve. The law was passed just over three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, amid heavy Russian losses said to be limiting its ability to fight. The invasion, which Putin and his inner circle expected to be swift and decisive, instead proved protracted and deadly for Russia. Western officials estimate that some 15,000 Russians have been killed. Ukraine on Saturday claimed to have killed 30,000, while Russia has not given recent figures of its own. A destroyed tank Russian tank in Mariupol in March. Maximilian Clarke/Getty Images The new law carries no specific upper age limit, allowing anybody of "normal working age" to fight, according to Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper. The proposal was passed by Russian lawmakers earlier in the week and Putin's signature means the measure is now a law. Lawmakers who argued in favor of removing the age limit said it would help recruit specialist troops such as doctors and engineers. UK intelligence officials recently said Russia's losses have caused serious problems for its invasion, now focused on Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian soldiers on the front line in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on May 25. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Getty Images In one update, they said personnel problems had forced Russia to rely on mercenaries and irregular forces like militants from Chechnya rather than its main army. In another, they predicted that commanders would rush exhausted troops back into fighting after capturing Mariupol without properly resting or re-equipping them, which is likely to lead to more deaths. Ukraine has long accepted older fighters into its military. As part of its general mobilization as the invasion began, the country banned all men aged 18 to 60 from leaving in case they were needed to fight. After weeks of apparent stasis in the attacks on the Donbas, Ukrainian officials have in recent days conceded that Russia is gaining ground. Read the original article on Business Insider DETROIT (AP) Jose Ramirez homered and drove in five runs, leading Shane Bieber and the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Ramirez hit a three-run triple in the seventh inning and a two-run shot in the ninth for his 12th homer. The three-time All-Star is batting .297 with a major league-best 48 RBIs in 42 games. Its just such a pleasure, Guardians manager Terry Francona said. And I hope people realize what theyre seeing because, I mean, my goodness, he just is so, so good. Hes so smart. I dont know if people realize how smart he is. ... His intelligence, his IQ in baseball is so off-the-charts. Bieber (2-3) allowed one run and eight hits in a season-high eight innings. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner struck out five and walked none. He got some early-count outs, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. And thats the danger of being super aggressive against the guy. If hes going to get outs, hes going to stay in the game a long time. If you can get to him, then great. But he didnt walk a guy. We couldnt really put much together against him. He controlled today. As good as Bieber was, the right-hander also marveled at Ramirez's continued production. I dont know how many RBIs hes at. Im done counting," Bieber said. "I know hes done counting. We know hes going to keep going. Its otherworldly right now but its a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. Josh Naylor added two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland, which had dropped three in a row. Richie Palacios had a run-scoring single. Detroit wasted another effective start for Alex Faedo (1-2), who allowed two runs and five hits in a career-high six innings. The Tigers had won two in a row. I felt good out there, Faedo said. The fourth inning, they did a good job taking advantage of the leadoff walk. I was happy with how I threw the baseball. When youre going up against a guy like Bieber, you gotta be sharp. According to Elias Sports, Faedo is the first pitcher since Steven Matz in 2015 to go five or more innings while allowing two runs or less in the first five starts of his major league career. Story continues Detroit got its only run on Willi Castros sacrifice fly in the seventh. Cleveland improved to 20-6 in its last 26 games at Comerica Park. CABRERA LEAVES GAME EARLY Hinch sent Eric Haase up to hit for Miguel Cabrera with a runner at first and two out in the eighth inning. After the game, Hinch said Cabrera had lower back tightness. TRAINERS ROOM Guardians: RHP Aaron Civale (left glute tightness) is going to throw a side session and then a 50-55-pitch rehab game on Tuesday with Triple-A Columbus. Tigers: LHP Tyler Alexander (left elbow sprain) will make a rehab start Monday for Triple-A Toledo. ... RHP Matt Manning (right shoulder inflammation) will be seeing a doctor about biceps tendinitis. He will not be throwing for the foreseeable future. UPCOMING DOUBLEHEADER Hinch said Joey Wentz would be the 27th man and start the second game in Tuesdays doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins. UP NEXT Guardians: RHP Triston McKenzie (3-3, 2.70 ERA) takes the mound Sunday for his fifth career start against the Tigers. Tigers: Elvin Rodriguez (0-0, 9.39 ERA) makes his second career start. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia Drew Angerer/Getty Images Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spent more on security this year than previous years, the NYT reported. Greene spent $1,000 a month on security prior to 2022 but now that number is over $49,000 a month. Greene's campaign said in April she has received more threats but did not say when the uptick began. Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's campaign spent $183,000 on security between January and May of 2022, according to a new report from The New York Times. The analysis of Greene's campaign finances shows that not only has she spent more than in previous years, but she also spent more on security than any other current political candidate in the country. Greene hired KaJor Group, a company also previously employed by Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who shot and killed two men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020, The Times reported. Prior to 2022, Greene spent $1,000 a month on security, but now that number is up to over $49,000 a month, The Times reported. Greene also spent more on her campaign in the first quarter than donations she received, Insider's Alia Shoaib previously reported. The congresswoman has been receiving more threats recently, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast in April. The campaign spokesperson did not note when the uptick in threats began. The incidents cited by the spokesperson included her public spat with nightly talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who asked "Where's Will Smith when you really need him?" in response to Greene's criticism of Ketanji Brown-Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court. The joke was read as a reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. The spokesperson also cited the arrest of a man in March that police said threatened "physical harm" against Greene. Last month, Greene told CNN's Jim Acosta that he was harassing her after he confronted her on the street about texts she sent urging Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff to then-President Donald Trump, to impose martial law after the January 6 insurrection. Story continues Earlier this month, Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger criticized Greene for acting like "a victim and a poor helpless Congresswoman" whenever she was asked about January 6, despite the fact that she "assaulted" a school shooting survivor and "stood outside a congresswoman's office and yelled at her," Kinzinger said. Kinzinger appeared to have been referencing Greene confronting a Parkland shooting survivor and yelling at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in 2019. A representative for Greene did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Congressional candidate Joe Kent took to Twitter last summer to repeat a racist theme that has become commonplace in the countrys immigration debate and upcoming elections. The left is supporting an invasion of illegal immigrants to replace American voters and undercut working class jobs, Kent wrote. Then in the spring, in an interview with a white nationalist group, he nodded along as the host said Democrats don't care about the "Anglos" or "the founding stock of America." You believe theyre trying to replace white Americans? the host asked. Yes, Kent responded. Yeah, and theyll say, if you even mention that, youre some sort of a neo-Nazi, white nationalist, Thats the replacement theories. Well, no. Youre literally trying to replace an American. Backed by former President Donald Trump, Kent is a Republican from Washington seeking to take a seat in Congress from Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the former president for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Video: Teachers in NYC are teaching U.S. history from multiple perspectives Kent is not the only Republicanto repeat the central themes of the racist and antisemitic Great Replacement theory. All over the country, sitting members of Congress, candidates, state politicians and former officeholders have been doing the same, bringing a white supremacist conspiracy theory to the forefront. They often try to distance themselves from the conspiracy theorys antisemitic origins a baseless belief that Jews are behind a systematic replacement of white people with immigrants and Black people and instead say Democrats are trying to import nonwhite voters to take over American elections. They often denounce racism and bigotry in general, but not replacement theory. If you turn yourself into a perceived victim, it justifies the horrible things that you do to them (immigrants)," said Nolan Cabrera, an education professor at the University of Arizona who specializes in the influence of whiteness. "But in order to see yourself as that you need to have an aggressor." Story continues This kind of rhetoric has been in politics for more than a decade, Cabrera said. He pointed to dialogue that surrounded Arizonas 2010 immigration law, when politicians accused Mexicans of invading the country and said that they were drug dealers, among other disparaging comments. "It was already there, that No. 1, white people are under attack, and No. 2, theres this inferior people or harmful people that are invading and potentially do(ing) a lot of harm to white folks in that situation," he said. "And then it really, really spread. What is the Great Replacement theory? White supremacists have espoused the Great Replacement since the early 1900s, according to the Anti Defamation League, but they revived the conspiracy theory in 2011 when a French nationalist published a book called "Le Grand Remplacement." Those who picked up the Great Replacement theory and spread it in the United States blamed Jews for non-white immigration. The theory got its most widespread attention in 2017, when white men chanted, Jews will not replace us, at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Aug 12, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Multiple white nationalist groups hold the grounds Emancipation Park, formerly known as Lee Park, during a 'Unite the Right' rally. Sophie Bjork-James, an anthropology professor at Vanderbilt University and an expert in the white nationalist movement, said the theory has been a key tool for white supremacists working since school integration in the 1970s to recruit white conservative Republicans to their cause. A major reason the theory is so popular, she said, is that people can adopt the anti-immigrant and anti-Black parts of the conspiracy theory and instead of blaming Jews, blame the Democrats. Taking antisemitism out of it has allowed it to spread much further, she added. Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and a national race relations expert, said changing the theory makes it no less dangerous, and instead may make it more dangerous because its becoming so popular. Lassiter served in his position when a shooter targeted a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, and hes watched racism and extremism intensify since then. White supremacy continues to be front and center as a major threat to American democracy, Lassiter said. David Duke, former grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan who ran for office several times on an openly racist platform, sees his views being repeated by todays Republicans. I ran my campaigns primarily on the immigration issue, on fair trade issues, on the issues of preserving American culture, on stopping the replacement of European Americans which people are all talking about now, Duke said on a podcast in October. Members of Congress repeat theory Sitting members of Congress whose seats are up for grabs in the November midterms have repeated the Great Replacement theory during this campaign season. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the third highest-ranking Republican in the House, published a campaign ad last fall that accused Democrats of trying to create a permanent liberal majority. The background image showed President Joe Biden wearing aviator sunglasses, with migrants reflected in the lenses. Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION, the online ad said. Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington. A makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., honors the victims of an attack being investigated as a racist hate crime. Two days after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where the gunman espoused the Great Replacement theory in a diatribe he wrote before the event, she echoed the same idea on Twitter: "Democrats desperately want wide open borders and mass amnesty for illegals allowing them to vote." Stefanik has said opposition to illegal immigration is not the same thing as Nazism and white supremacy. Comparing the two is a desperate attempt to stoke outrage and avoid covering Joe Bidens border crisis, she said in September. Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the top fundraising Republicans who does not hold a leadership position, defended the Great Replacement theory by name in September after Fox News host Tucker Carlson came under fire from the Anti Defamation League for repeating it. @TuckerCarlson is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America, Gaetz wrote on Twitter in September. "The ADL is a racist organization. The Anti Defamation Leagues mission is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Carlson has amplified the idea that Democratic politicians and others want to force demographic change through immigration in more than 400 episodes of his show, according to a New York Times investigation. Tucker Carlson in a Fox News Channel studio on March 2, 2017, in New York. Joel Valdez, a spokesman for Gaetz, pointed to Gaetz comments May 16 that double down on the Great Replacement while denouncing racism. "I have consistently rejected ethno-nationalism," Gaetz said. "Ive never spoken of replacement theory in terms of race. I was speaking in race-neutral political terms about how Democrats in many urban cities have failed their voters of all color and kind. Thus, I charge that Democrats seek unchecked immigration to replace the people who have relied on them most to their detriment. In April 2021, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asked on Fox Business whether the Biden administration wants open borders because they want to remake the demographics of America to ensure their that they stay in power forever. Johnson is seeking to keep his seat in one of the most hotly contested elections in the country. Biden has not called for open borders. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, said on Newsmax in September: We know what the Democrats are up to here. They want open borders. This is exactly their strategy. They want to replace the American electorate with a third-world electorate that will be on welfare and public assistance, put them on a path to citizenship and amnesty, enfranchise them with a vote and they will have a permanent majority. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said in an immigration hearing in April 2021: For many Americans, what seems to be happening or what they believe right now is happening is, what appears to them is were replacing national-born American native-born Americans to permanently transform the political landscape of this very nation. Congressional hopefuls In hotly contested primaries, those seeking the Republican nomination for a seat in Congress have flaunted their belief in the Great Replacement to prove their conservatism. Josh Mandel, the former Ohio state treasurer who lost the states Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, said in September that there is a conspiracy for immigrants to migrate to other countries and use high birth rates to use the countries laws against them. Mandel said it was happening in countries such as France, and now Democrats are working to make it happen in the US. He said some of the funding was coming from Democratic donor George Soros, who is Jewish. J.D. Vance, a Trump-backed Republican who defeated Mandel, said on Carlsons show in March that there is an "invasion" in the country because of "Democrat politicians who have decided that they cant win reelection in 2022 unless they bring in a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here." He repeated the theory in April at a town hall in Ohio, according to a SoundCloud recording obtained by Vice. FILE - Republican Senate candidate JD Vance speaks at a rally at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, April 23, 2022, in Delaware, Ohio. Former President Donald Trump's late-stage endorsement of JD Vance in Ohio's GOP Senate primary catapulted the Hillbilly Elegy author to victory in last week's election, reinforcing the deep loyalty the former president holds among the most loyal Republican voters. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File) ORG XMIT: WX204 "You're talking about a shift in the democratic makeup in our country that would mean the Republicans never win a national election in our country ever again," he said. Taylor Van Kirk, Vance's spokeswoman, said in a statement the candidate does not support replacement theory. "Despite the media using leftwing activists posing as experts to distort the truth, it is a stone cold fact that JD Vance has never supported the great replacement theory and any insinuation otherwise is a disgusting lie," Van Kirk said. Blake Masters, seeking the Republican nomination to unseat Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in November, said: Obviously, the Democrats, they hope to just change the demographics of our country. They hope to import an entirely new electorate. Then they call you a racist and a bigot. State politicians push Great Replacement At the state level, politicians have pushed the Great Replacement. In Arizona, state senator and self-described member of the extremist group Oath Keepers, Wendy Rogers, tweeted in July, "We are being replaced and invaded," with a link to a Breitbart article about a high number of immigrants being apprehended on the Texas-Mexico border. A couple days later, following backlash over her comment, she wrote on Twitter, We Americans who love this country are being replaced by people who do not love this country. I will not back down from this statement." Rogers also appeared by video at white supremacist Nick Fuentes America First Political Action Conference in February. (Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., also appeared.) Rogers and her staff did not respond to inquiries from USA TODAY sent through her website. Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who is up for reelection in November, repeated the theory on Laura Ingrahams show on Fox News. He said Democrats are trying to take over our country without firing a shot and that there will be illegals in this country denying citizens the right to run our government. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick exits a press conference at the state Capitol about the state's response to the coronavirus on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, in Austin, Texas. People who have retired from politics also have stayed in the limelight using their media appearances to repeat the Great Replacement theory. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich repeated the idea on Fox Business in August. The anti-American left would love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know nothing of American history, nothing of American tradition, nothing of the rule of law, he said. When you look at the radical left, this is their ideal model, is to get rid of the rest of us because we believe in George Washington. We believe in the Constitution. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans nationwide have repeated the Great Replacement theory May 29ANDERSON Tyler Roahrig made it back-to-back wins in a race that saw many of the contenders fall by the wayside during the 74th Lucas Oil Little 500 at Anderson Speedway. Roahrig took the lead from Dakoda Armstrong on Lap 375 and continued to pace the field to the finish Saturday before a near capacity crowd. But he had to survive a tangle just past the halfway point that could have ended his night. The red flag waved on Lap 260 when Shane Hollingsworth made contact with leader Tanner Swanson. Behind that incident, Bobby Santos III checked up and made contact with Hollingsworth and Roahrig, with the end result Santos flipping over the back of Hollingsworth and barrel rolling several times before coming to a stop in Turn 1. "The wreck was in front of us," Roahrig said. "I was trying to get a good run on the bottom and couldn't slow down and climbed over Bobby (Santos)." Roahrig also made contact with Billy Wease on Lap 271. "I thought our race was over multiple times," he said. "I thought we were running our of gas, and the left shock was all bent up and probably so is the right one. I can't believe how good the car drove after that." Roahrig turned the fastest laps in the 11.4-second range just past the 400-lap mark as he pulled away from Dakoda Armstrong. Ryan Newman brought out the 12th caution flag on Lap 495 up against the Turn 2 wall, which wiped out a comfortable lead for Roahrig and set up a five-lap shootout to the finish. Roahrig beat Dakoda Armstrong to the checkered flag by 1.129 seconds. The only other cars on the lead lap, were C.J. Leary, Kyle O'Gara and Caleb Armstrong. "The first win was way easier," Roahrig said. Dakoda Armstrong said he didn't have anything for Roahrig on the final laps. "The track was really free. You had to baby this thing," he said. "Our brakes went out and up until we were running good entering the corners. Story continues "After that I was in survival mode. I am pleased with the run." Leary lost a lap early in the race when he pitted before the pits were open. "Not too bad for a dirt guy," he said. "This was a brand new car, and we had a good qualifying run, just made a pit mistake." Leary said the pace of the entire race was fast with no opportunity to just ride. "The whole race was hammer down and get up on the wheel," he said. Dalton Armstrong garnered rookie of the year honors by finishing ninth after starting 28th and captured the Fred Jones Hard Charger Award in the process. "We struggled during qualifying with a power steering problem," he said. "Our goal was to make the race and finish in the top 10. We're pleased with the result." Tanner Swanson, filling in for Aaron Pierce, took the lead on Lap 205 when the leaders pitted and prior to that brushed the Turn 4 wall on Lap 134. Swanson started showing engine smoke on Lap 298 and was black-flagged on Lap 305, surrendering the lead to Dakoda Armstrong. Tanner Swanson's night ended with an oil leak. Brian Gerster led the first 107 laps before being passed by Roahrig on Lap 110. Roahrig surrendered the lead for Tanner Swanson during the first round of pit stops. Three-time winner Kody Swanson spun on the front straight on Lap 198 while running second to Roahrig and lost several laps. Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863. By Max Hunder and Mari Saito KYIV/KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russian forces intensified their attacks with barrages of heavy artillery to capture a key Ukrainian city in the southeastern region of Donbas, whose full takeover Moscow's top diplomat said was now an "unconditional priority". Constant Russian shelling has destroyed all of the critical infrastructure in Sievierodonetsk, the largest city Ukraine still controls in Luhansk, one of the regions in Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, while pledging to do everything to hold off the advance. "Some 90% of buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city's housing stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunication," he said in a televised speech. "Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a fundamental task for the occupiers ... We do all we can to hold this advance," he added. The "liberation" of the Donbas, an industrial region which includes Luhansk and Donetsk, is an "unconditional priority" for Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday. In a Facebook post, Ukrainian forces in the Donbas said they had been on the defensive all day on Sunday. Russian forces fired on 46 communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, killing at least three civilians, wounding two others or destroying or damaging 62 civilian buildings. Russian shelling also continued across several regions such as in Novy Buh in Mykolaiv and Sumy. The city council in Novy Buh in Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine said on its Telegram channel that a Russian missile attack had caused considerable damage in the city centre. The battle for Sievierodonetsk, which lies on the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, is in the spotlight as Russia ekes out slow but solid gains in the part of the country close to the Russian border. Having failed to take the capital Kyiv in the early phase of the war, Russia is seeking to consolidate its grip on the Donbas, large parts of which are already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. Story continues It has concentrated huge firepower on a small area - a contrast to earlier phases of the conflict when its forces were often spread thinly - bludgeoning towns and cities with artillery and air strikes. The Ukrainian government meanwhile urged the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons in order to turn the tide in the war, now in its fourth month. Zelenskiy voiced hopes that the weapons would be provided and that he expected "good news" in the coming days. U.S. officials have said such weapons systems are actively being considered. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington said the Russians had still not managed to encircle Sievierodonetsk and the Ukrainian defenders have inflicted "fearful casualties" on them. The Ukrainians were taking serious losses themselves, civilians as well as combatants, they said in a briefing paper. Russia's focus on Sievierodonetsk had drawn resources from other battlefronts and as result they had made little progress elsewhere, the analysts said. A Reuters journalist in the area said a ceramics factory was almost completely destroyed on the outskirts of the Donetsk town of Bakhmut, which straddles the last main road into Sievierodonetsk and is just 10 km (6 miles) from the frontline. The journalist heard what appeared to be outgoing artillery fire and Russian aircraft dropping a bomb close to the town. Several transporters with Ukrainian soldiers could be seen in the area. EMBARGO ON RUSSIAN OIL Russia says its "special military operation" aims to rid Ukraine of nationalists threatening Russian-speakers. Ukraine and Western countries say Russia's claims are a false pretext for a war of aggression and the West has imposed a barrage of sanctions targeting Moscow while delivering shipments of weapons to help the Ukrainian government defend itself. However, after nearly half a dozen rounds of punitive measures, some against oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and banks, the unity within the European Union is being put to fresh test as the bloc on Sunday failed to agree on an embargo of Russian oil. Talks will continue on Monday. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed fears that EU unity was "starting to crumble". The bloc's leaders are set to meet on Monday and Tuesday in a summit to discuss a new sanctions package against Russia including the oil embargo. Meanwhile Zelenskiy - who has won widespread admiration in the West for his leadership in the conflict - visited Ukrainian troops on the frontlines in northeastern Kharkiv region. Several explosions were heard in Kharkiv city hours after Sunday's visit, a Reuters journalist said, in what was Zelenskiy's first trip outside the Kyiv region since the invasion began. A large plume of smoke could be seen rising northeast of the centre of the city, which has been the target of Russian shelling in recent days after several weeks of relative quiet. "You risk your lives for us all and for our country," the president's office quoted him as telling soldiers as he handed out commendations and gifts. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets, Conor Humphries, Pavel Polityuk and Bogdan Kochubey in Kyiv, David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Lidia Kelley in Melbourne; Writing by Angus MacSwan and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Grant McCool and Stephen Coates) Debris hangs from a residential building after Russian bombardment in Bakhmut, Ukraine. (Francisco Seco / Associated Press) Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraine's leader made a rare front-line visit to the city of Kharkiv as he sought to assess the strength of the country's defenses. Russian forces stormed Severodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said, creating a situation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called indescribably difficult. He said a relentless Russian artillery barrage had destroyed the towns critical infrastructure and damaged 90% of its buildings. Capturing Severodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief center to shut down because of the dangers. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Severodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. Severodonetsk, about 90 miles south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Seversky Donets River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region. Zelensky, meanwhile, visited soldiers in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, where Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from nearby positions several weeks ago. "I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit. Story continues Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelensky's visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Sinegubov. In a video address later Sunday, Zelensky praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelensky said. After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is focused on occupying parts of the Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told French TF1 television Sunday that Moscow's "unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," adding that Russia sees them as "independent states. He also suggested other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia. But in Luhansk, constant Russian shelling has created what provincial Gov. Serhiy Haidai called a severe situation. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes functioned Sunday, he said. He said the Russians had retreated with losses around a village near Severodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby river village. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, about 80 miles southwest of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yanna Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the last 2 months until police told them Friday that it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Severodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station Saturday. Residents risked exposure to shelling to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service, Striuk said. Striuk has estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, have died in Russian attacks since the beginning of the war, as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that couldnt be treated. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Severodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the [battle] ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said in an assessment published late Saturday. There are concerns that Severodonetsk could become the next Mariupol. An aide to Mariupols Ukrainian mayor said Sunday that after Russia's forces gained complete control of Mariupol, they piled bodies in a supermarket in the occupied city. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. It was not immediately possible to verify his account or the authenticity of the photo, which Andryushchenko described as recent. Here the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. In Lysychansk, Luhansk Gov. Haidai said constant shelling created a severe situation. "There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram, without elaborating. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. The Ukrainian military said Sunday that Russian forces also were trying to strengthen their positions around Lyman, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said in an operational update. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. The Ukrainian army said that heavy fighting was ongoing around Donetsk, the provincial capital. More widely, Russia launched renewed airstrikes overnight on Ukraines northern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, and in central Ukraine, Ukrainian state agencies said. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said Sunday morning that Russian shelling caused fires around Kharkiv. The Kharkiv regional prosecutors office said a Russian shell broke through the room of a house and wounded a 50-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman early Sunday in the town of Zolochiv, around 20 miles northwest of Kharkiv. The Ukrainian Border Guard Service said border areas in the Sumy region, east of Kharkiv, were hit with six unguided missiles. The agency did not mention reports of any casualties. Russia claimed its forces destroyed an important Ukrainian ammunition depot in the eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskys hometown. High-precision missiles struck a depot within one of the industrial enterprises in the city, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Ukrainian emergency services confirmed that an industrial plant in Kryvyi Rih caught fire after being struck by two Russian rockets and sustaining significant damage. Officials did not say whether it was being used as a military depot. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A suspect in a gang-related mass shooting in California was arrested by the FBI and police in Las Vegas on Saturday. Authorities say Mtula Payton, 27, was one of at least four shooters in a Sacramento mass shooting that left 6 people dead and 12 injured in early April. Police said at the time that the shooting was likely an altercation between two gangs. "Through their relentless investigation, our detectives developed information that Payton was residing at an apartment complex located in Las Vegas, Nevada," Sacramento police said in a statement. "Our detectives relayed this information to Las Vegas Metro Police Department in an effort to apprehend Payton. Las Vegas Metro Police Department worked with our detectives for weeks in an effort to locate Payton," police added. SACRAMENTO MASS SHOOTING: THIRD PERSON ARRESTED Payton's arrest comes more than a month after other alleged shooters in the case. Police apprehended brothers Dandrae and Smiley Martin, 26 and 27 respectively, in mid-April. Payton is currently locked up in a custodial facility in Nevada, but he will be transferred to Sacramento PD custody in the coming days, police say. Payton and the others are facing murder charges for their involvement in the shooting. BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday he had agreed a new three-year gas supply contract in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I can not speak about the price now, all details will be agreed with Gazprom," Vucic told reporters. Vucic said that Serbia he had agreed with Putin that the price of gas would be linked to the oil price, but did not elaborate. Serbia's 10-year gas supply contract with Gazprom expires on May 31. Vucic also said that he had discussed with Putin expansion of gas storage space in the Balkan country. "Putin said to call him if I feel there is anything more to be discussed," said Vucic, Putin's closest ally in Europe. Serbia, which aims to join the European Union, has come under pressure recently from Western countries to align its foreign policy with the bloc and impose sanctions on Russia. In 2008 the Balkan country put its gas and oil sectors in the hands of Russian companies. Gazprom Neft and Gazprom together hold a majority stake in the country's sole oil company while Gazprom is majority shareholder in the country's sole gas storage facility. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Fans are racing their way through season four of Stranger Things and already one storyline has some viewers riled up. Season four of the hit Netflix series arrived on Friday (27 May), with seven new episodes now available to watch. *Spoilers for Stranger Things season four, episode two below* Season three ended with Hopper (David Harbour) left presumably dead after a plan to blow up the Russian lab gate to the Upside Down went awry, leaving him inside the chamber with the bomb. While it appeared that Hopper sacrificed his life for the cause, many people suspected that he was not truly dead. This speculation was not long after confirmed in the earliest teasers for the new series that saw Hopper alive and imprisoned in a Russian camp. Episode two of season four reveals exactly how Hopper survived and fans are not impressed. While some people proposed that perhaps Hopper might have jumped through the gate to the Upside Down to survive or found a secret trapdoor, the real explanation is far more simple. (Twitter) The scene shows that Hopper merely jumped off the platform where the laser machine was located and managed to dodge the explosion. He was shrouded in smoke and left unconscious, but eventually came to and was taken prisoner by Russian soldiers. While it makes sense that Joyce (Winona Ryder) wouldnt have time to look for Hopper after the explosion, knowing that he was simply unconscious on the floor in front of her has proven to be a frustrating explanation. Many viewers agreed that it felt unsatisfying to discover there is not a more elaborate reveal behind his characters survival. One person wrote on Twitter: The way Hopper survives is SO ridiculous it fr made me so mad like everyone evaporated but noooo if I jump to the floor I survive, dont I? Man, of all the ways they could have had Hopper survive that explosion, Stranger Things definitely went with everyone left and didnt notice, said another. (Twitter) Others pointed out that the same explosion, which Hopper survived by simply ducking, evaporated the soldiers surrounding him. Story continues A third person asked: HOW DID HOPPER SURVIVE WHEN THE MACHINE EXPLODED??? IT MELTED THE SOLDIERS IN THEIR UNIFORMS. How tf did Hopper survive that? questioned someone else. Bro, Hopper [just] jumped. How did he survive that? The new season of Stranger Things has brought with it a new villain, Vecna. Find out more about the frightening antagonist and his true identity here. Fans have also been reminded of another Netflix release: last years Fear Street trilogy. Here is how the two hits are related. Weird Al Yankovich has also reacted to hearing his name referenced in a joke in the new season. Marissa Lee Beadle A former teacher's assistant at a private Monroe County school has been sentenced to jail for having inappropriate sexual contact with a student. Marissa Lee Beadle, a former teacher's assistant at State Line Christian School on Lewis Ave. in Temperance, was sentenced to serve 30 days in the Monroe County Jail, with the possibility of the a 90-day period being served in a boot camp program designed to prevent similar behavior. Beadle will then serve five years probation with sex offender treatment and was ordered to not have any contact with the victim or the family of the victim. As a parent, part of a moms job is to protect your child. But what Marissa did to my child, I cant fix, the victim's mother said at the sentence hearing. Monroe County 38th Circuit Judge Daniel S. White presided over the case. I think clearly this is a difficult situation," White said. "The kicker for me is that Ms. Beadle was in a position of authority. According to the Monroe County Prosecutors Office, Beadle was a 20-year-old teacher's assistant at the school when she engaged in inappropriate contact with a then-13-year-old student. According to the family, the assaults occurred during multiple occasions at the school and at the familys home over a period of months. Beadle pleaded no contest to two counts of child abuse, third-degree and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes. She said in a statement read by her attorney in court that she was sorry for the situation and never meant to harm anyone. I am very, very sorry. I am begging for mercy, your honor, according to the statement. This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Teacher's assistant sentenced to jail in sexual assault case Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) (L) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) visit in the tunnel that connects the U.S. Capitol to the Senate Office Buildings on September 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Sen. John Cornyn tweeted that "second-guessing" police in the wake of the Uvalde shooting is "unfair." Law enforcement officials changed their stories about what happened during the shooting at least 12 times. 19 elementary school students and 2 teachers were killed as police delayed intervening for over an hour. Despite law enforcement changing their story about what occurred during this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, at least a dozen times, GOP Sen. John Cornyn tweeted on Saturday that "second-guessing" the police response to the incident is "unfair." "The second guessing and finger pointing among state and local law enforcement is destructive, distracting, and unfair," Cornyn's tweet about the shooting read. Cornyn's comments were added to an earlier post from Texas Rep. Tony Gonzalez that indicated the Uvalde police department had interrupted a 2018 plot by two teenage boys to commit a shooting at Uvalde High School. The teenagers were arrested before a shooting occurred. "Complex scenarios require split second decisions," Cornyn's tweet added. "Easy to criticize with 20-20 hindsight." An 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in a Robb Elementary School classroom on Tuesday, killing 19 students, two teachers and wounding 17 others. Officers at the scene reportedly failed to engage the shooter and delayed entering the school while the gunman was actively shooting. Law enforcement officials have repeatedly changed their stories about the police response during the shooting first claiming an officer confronted the shooter, then that the gunman was not confronted, and eventually that officers were told to stand down. In a subsequent tweet, Sen. Cornyn acknowledged that the officers' stories had changed, replying to a reporter's question about how to handle officer misjudgment, saying: "Steve, the story has changed multiple times already, as you know. My only point we need a thorough investigation and to nail down facts before reaching a conclusion. Accountability should follow." Read the original article on Business Insider As Americans continue to demand the government to implement gun laws to stop mass shootings, one man confronted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) about the issue while he was eating at a restaurant. According to the Huffpost, the man who confronted the Republican lawmaker is Benjamin Hernandez, another Texas resident. Hernandez was visiting Houston on Friday because his digital advertising company was livestreaming the protests staged outside the NRA convention. When Cruz walked into a Houston restaurant, shortly after attending the National Rifle Associations convention in Houston to advocate for gun rights, Hernandez decided to confront the conservative about his policies. Speaking to the Huffpost, Hernandez said, he thought, Oh, hell no, when he saw Cruz. A couple of days ago, I had caught that clip of Beto [ORourke] confronting [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott, and I wrote something to the effect of, Confront all these hypocritical assholes like Beto did. And its really easy to tweet, right? Hernandez told HuffPost. But then two days later, Ted Cruz is walking in this space where I am, and its like, OK, I have to go talk to him now. A video posted to social media shows Hernandez first approaching Cruz and pretending to take a photo with the senator. But Hernandez then started to ask Cruz about gun laws, specifically reminding the Republican about the 19 children who died in a mass shooting at an elementary school on Tuesday. The The Texan urged Cruz to implement gun laws that will stop people like Salvador Ramos, who opened fire at Robb Elementary School after he waited until his 18th birthday to legally purchase two AR-15 rifles and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition. Background checks is that so hard? Hernandez said. You can make it harder for people to get guns in this country. You know that. You know that. But you stand here, you stand at the NRA convention it is harder, it is harder when there are more guns to stop gun violence. Story continues While Hernandez continued to make his case, security eventually intervened and shoved him away. Indivisible Houston, a progressive activist group which identified Hernandez as a board member, shared video of the encounter on Twitter. #BREAKING: Several hours after #NRAconvention, Indivisible Houston board member @TheBenjaminHdz challenges Ted Cruz to support background checks & other measures during a dinner break at Uptown Sushi.#TedCruzHasBloodOnHisHands #TedCruzChildMassacre #TedCruzLovesDeadKids pic.twitter.com/NL5GAkKZ80 Indivisible Houston (@indivisibleHOU) May 28, 2022 A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working toward a compromise on gun control measures, HuffPost reports. Congress, however, has failed to pass meaningful reform despite repeated incidents of mass shootings. The time for civil discourse and debate when they allow it, which they dont thats over, to me, Hernandez said. It is uncomfortable. Yes, it was uncomfortable for me to go and do that thats not me. My mom was even surprised that I dropped the F-bomb. But this week has had me dropping F-bombs, because Im just so incensed that they would stand there and not do anything about it. Authorities are dealing with a new rash of copycat threats in the wake of the massacre at Robb Elementary In the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, schools around the U.S. have brought in additional security staff and restricted visitors as they deal with a new rash of copycat threats. For some families and educators it all has added to uneasiness in the wake of the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Flowers are placed around a welcome sign outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, to honor the victims killed in a shooting at the school a day earlier. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Jake Green, 34, of Los Alamos, New Mexico, was jolted when he saw a plainclothes police officer for the first time while walking his 7-year-old daughter into school Friday morning. He grew up in Colorado, not far from where two Columbine High School students shot and killed 12 classmates and a teacher in 1999. Green remembers attending memorials and candlelight vigils as a fifth-grader, but hes torn about whether having police at his daughters school is best. In a way, I dont really feel any safer with police around, Green said. Seeing the police there, it really made it seem like the worst possibility was even more possible today. In El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 23 people in a racist 2019 attack that targeted Hispanics at a Walmart, schools are on edge. The El Paso Independent School District has already encountered some reported threats that turned out to be false. They were either students joking or overly-sensitive parents, said Gustavo Reveles Acosta, a district spokesperson. Our community is still raw from that incident, Acosta said. It hits us in a pretty emotional way. The district, which has its own police department, has also stepped up patrolling at all 85 campuses. Officers have been pulled from monitoring traffic or other duties. Schools already have updated camera surveillance systems. Visitors are required to ring a doorbell and show identification before they can enter. Story continues The district is making a point to look out for teachers and students mental health. A counseling team has been visiting every school to speak about the shooting in Uvalde. They are also urging people to talk in private about any distress. Mia Baucom, a 15-year-old student at a Forth Worth, Texas, high school said it was surreal to think the Uvalde killings happened in her home state. It also stirred memories of a lockdown at her school two months ago that was prompted by a shooting. Im a little more stressed out about it because just the fear of what if that happened at my school? said Baucom, whose last day of school was Thursday. Lets say we get more police officers. Most likely thats not going to stop people from going crazy and just shooting up schools. Schools have ramped up police presence in a host of states, including Connecticut, Michigan and New York, after the shooting Tuesday that left 19 students and two teachers dead. In Buffalo, New York, where a white gunman fatally shot 10 people in a racist attack in a supermarket on May 14, the largest school district announced new security rules effective immediately. Any visitors parents, siblings, vendors have to call ahead for approval. No exceptions will be made. They may be subjected to a search by a wand detector. Doors will be locked at all times. In Jacksonville, Florida, the Duval County Public Schools chief of school police banned backpacks or large handbags at any school through Friday, the last day of school. Small purses were allowed but could be searched. Law enforcement personnel walk outside Uvalde High School after shooting a was reported earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP) A discredited threat against a middle school prompted a Texas school district 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Uvalde to end the school year a week early. The Kingsville Independent School District announced Friday would be the last day of school. But students should not see any penalty for the premature end to the year. In light of the tragedy in Uvalde, there has been an enormous amount of stress and trauma. Unfortunately, more stress and trauma are added with copy-cat threats that start circulating such as the one that was sent today for Gillett (Middle School), Superintendent Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez wrote in a statement on the districts website. Its clear staff and students nationwide are on edge as several reports of firearm sightings on campuses have popped up in the past few days. Two Seattle-area schools went into lockdown Friday morning and police eventually recovered an airsoft gun. The Everett, Washington, schools then had their lockdowns lifted. Two people were arrested Thursday after a Denver high school locked down its campus. Police found a paintball gun but no other firearms. Classes were canceled anyway. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post After Texas shooting, schools around US boost security appeared first on TheGrio. More flights were canceled on Sunday, following thousands of other air travel cancellations and delays at the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend. About 1,065 flights were canceled on Sunday, with 283 of those cancellations in the U.S., according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. More than 7,000 other flights were delayed, including 1,109 in the U.S. On Saturday, more than 1,500 flights were canceled, which followed the cancelation of more than 2,300 flights on Friday. Delta Air Lines canceled 148 flights on Sunday, or about 5 percent of its flights for the day. The airline told The Associated Press on Saturday that bad weather and air traffic control issues were the primary reasons for the delays and cancellations, adding that it planned to reduce services by about 100 daily departures from July 1 to Aug. 7. This summer is expected to be a busy travel season as Americans prepare to enjoy the lifting of restrictions and easing of cases from the COVID-19 pandemic. The costs of airfares, car rentals and Airbnb bookings are all surging this holiday weekend. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photograph: Michael Wyke/AP The atrium of Cinemark Fairfax Corner could not be described as characterful. The yellow walls, arcade games and rows of snacks and popcorn might be any bland multiplex cinema anywhere. But the digital dashboard of films currently playing merits a second glance. Along with Bad Guys, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All at Once, there is the title 2000 Mules. Anyone hoping for a superhero blockbuster about an army of horse-donkey hybrids will be disappointed. Related: Republican primaries offer look into future of Trumpism without Trump Instead, Donald Trumps big lie has arrived at a cinema near you. 2000 Mules claims to be an investigation of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. It purports to show that Democratic-aligned ballot mules were paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, tipping swing states in favour of Joe Biden against Trump. The documentary has been resoundingly debunked by factcheckers who point out that its supposed smoking gun $2m worth of anonymised mobile phone geolocation data that allegedly tracks the mules visiting drop boxes is based on false assumptions about the accuracy of such technology. But that has not prevented 2000 Mules earning praise from Trump and other Republicans, gaining a limited cinema release and becoming something of a sacred text in the discredited Stop the steal conspiracy theory narrative. So it was that on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, a dozen people most of them white and middle-aged or elderly took their seats at Cinemark Fairfax Corner for a screening. Unusually and perhaps tellingly as the lights went down, there were no trailers for other movies. The main feature turned out to be more restrained than critics of the big lie might expect. Far-right film-maker and provocateur Dinesh DSouza seeks to present himself as curious, innocent and reasonable just asking questions as he interviews commentators and experts about the conduct of the 2020 election. Story continues In fact, DSouza is so determined to avoid the raucous tone of Trumps rallies or Fox Newss opinion hosts that at times the 88-minute film is, surprisingly, just plain dull. But by the end he does emphatically conclude that the election was rigged and stolen by Democrats as an ominous, plaintive version of The Star-Spangled Banner swells. Among this group of cinemagoers, at least, DSouza was preaching to the converted. All had gone in convinced that Biden is not legitimately elected president. The film, like a social media echo chamber, delivered a satisfying dose of confirmation bias. Dinesh DSouza in 2014. Photograph: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images I thought it was spectacular, said Joe Hughes, 67, who is self-employed. Trump never stood a chance in that election. Joyce Gould, 69, an accounting administrator, agreed: When Trump talked about stuff that was going to happen, I didnt have any reason to doubt him. I figured there was a lot of cheating going on. But when you actually see the details in the film as far as the geo-technology and all that kind of stuff? Sure. Im just surprised at the evil that is out there in the world. You always know its there, but when you actually hear the details of it, its just very astounding to me. A man who gave his name only as Bill, and his age as above 50, described the film as nauseating and extremely compelling if you have an open mind. He insisted: Im a very objective person. If my own children were charged with a crime, Id be on the jury. Thats how objective I am. But he added: My frustration is with Trump. He knew it was going to happen. He did nothing to stop it. Thats also very nauseating to me. Will this film actually change minds? Bills wife, Anna, 63, who works for an airline, commented: It might wake up some people that arent woken but I dont know who will come to watch it. I doubt some with a certain political affiliation are willing to because they dont want to see it or hear it. 2000 Mules was produced by DSouza and uses research from the Texas-based non-profit True the Vote, which has spent months lobbying states to use its findings to change voting laws. A special screening at Trumps luxury Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was attended by prominent supporters of his assault on democracy: Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow entrepreneur Mike Lindell. Clips from the film have regularly featured at Trumps campaign rallies and it was shown in full before he took the stage in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The former president has praised 2000 Mules for exposing great election fraud. There are signs that it could become a cultural touchstone for Republicans, granting a patina of gravitas and respectability to the big lie that does not come from rumors, speeches or internet chatrooms. Ronny Jackson, the White Houses former top physician who is now a member of Congress, tweeted: If you dont think there was MASSIVE voter fraud in the 2020 election after seeing 2000 Mules, then NOTHING can convince you. The amount of criminal fraud all caught ON CAMERA will SHOCK you! 2020 was NOT free & fair at ALL. GO SEE 2000 MULES!! Kandiss Taylor, who ran for governor of Georgia in this weeks Republican primary election, bemoaned the lack of investigations into voter fraud: Theres been none in Georgia outside 2000 Mules that just came out, outside of data teams all over the state that are private citizens. However, factcheckers have eviscerated the movie, noting its flawed analysis of mobile phone location data, which is not precise enough to confirm that someone deposited a ballot into a drop box as opposed to merely walking or driving nearby. Aaron Striegel, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame, told the Associated Press: You could use cellular evidence to say this person was in that area, but to say they were at the ballot box, youre stretching it a lot. Theres always a pretty healthy amount of uncertainty that comes with this. 2000 Mules also contains drop-box surveillance footage that showed voters depositing multiple ballots into the boxes. But it is impossible to tell whether those voters were the same people as the ones whose mobile phones were anonymously tracked. Its not a widespread release. This is not Doctor Strange. This exists because there is a market for it Dan Cassino Critics also point out that DSouza has form. He has spent years promoting disinformation. In 2007 he wrote that the cultural left is responsible for causing 9/11. In 2014 he was convicted of violating federal election law by making illegal donations to a US Senate campaign only to be pardoned by Trump in 2018. Yet 2000 Mules has been released in more than 270 cinemas across the US with most distribution provided by Cinemark, the third biggest chain in the country. The Popular Information website pointed out that Cinemarks founder and board chairman, Lee Roy Mitchell, is a major financial backer of Trump and rightwing misinformation platforms. Given Trumps obsession with ratings, it would not be a huge surprise if he now claims to have rescued the American box office. But the release of 2000 Mules is very modest compared to the typical Hollywood blockbuster. Dan Cassino, a government and politics professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, in Madison, New Jersey, said: Its not a widespread release. This is not Doctor Strange. This exists because there is a market for it. Its hard to believe that this sort of very blatant propaganda that doesnt address the question its supposed to is going to convince anyone who didnt already believe that this was real. This is a way of giving additional talking points to people who already believe that the election was stolen. Purveyors of Trumps false election claims took a hammering in this weeks Republican primary elections in Georgia. But some watchdogs warn that, about 18 months after the presidential election, the mere existence of 2000 Mules could yet breathe new life into the big lie. Gunner Ramer, political director of the Republican Accountability Project, said: We get angry emails in our inbox all the time - were dumb, terrible RINOs [Republicans In Name Only] or whatever - and one thing I have noticed is that people do mention 2000 Mules. Among the still-cant-get-over-the-2020-election-loss crowd, they are watching this. It has made an impact with them and reinforced the big lie. Former President Trump blasted Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney (R) for loving endless, nonsensical, bloody wars at his rally in Casper, Wyo., on Saturday evening. The Cheneys are diehard globalists and warmongers who have been plunging us into new conflicts for decades, spilling American blood and spending American treasure all over the world, Trump said. Thats why Liz Cheney voted no on bringing our troops back home from Syria, where they didnt even want to have us, he added, referencing Cheneys break with Trump over his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in 2019 ahead of a planned Turkish incursion, which she called a catastrophic mistake at the time. Cheney is at the front of the parade trying to get us to go into wars with Russia or anyone else that wants to bite, Trump said. Cheney has backed U.S. efforts to support Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, co-writing an op-ed for The Washington Post with Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) earlier this month in which the lawmakers urged the U.S. to continuee providing military aid to the country. In contrast, Trump criticized lawmakers in recent weeks for voting to provide $40 billion in military aid for Ukraine while Americas parents are struggling to even feed their children amid an ongoing national baby formula shortage. Trumps remarks at the rally followed a speech from Cheneys primary challenger Harriet Hageman, whom Trump has endorsed and stumped for at the event. Both Trump and Hageman called Cheney a RINO, which stands for Republican In Name Only. Cheney has been a frequent critic of Trump. She pushed back on his baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach him. She now serves as one of two Republicans on the lower chambers select committee investigating the attack, which Trump also criticized her for during his rally on Saturday. Story continues This comes after Cheney officially launched her bid for reelection on Thursday, saying that the race is a fight we must win. Some things have to matter, she said in her announcement video. American freedom, the rule of law, our founding principles, the foundations of our republic matter. What we do in this election in Wyoming matters. However, Trump insisted at the rally that Liz Cheney is about America last, bashing her over foreign policy, border security and election integrity. Shes the face of the Washington swamp and the same failed foreign policy of the Clintons, Bushes, the Obamas, the Bidens and the entire sick political establishment, Trump said of Cheney. The Republican primary in Wyoming will occur on August 16, 2022. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows a view of damaged constructions in Popasna of Luhansk. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua) KIEV, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he had discussed defense support for Ukraine in a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We talked about strengthening defense support for Ukraine, intensifying work on security guarantees," Zelensky tweeted. The Ukrainian leader added that the parties also touched upon the issue of supplying fuel for Ukraine amid the energy crisis. Earlier this month, Johnson announced that the British government will provide 1.3 billion pounds (about 1.64 billion U.S. dollars) in military aid for Ukraine. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks with supporters during an election night party in Peachtree Corners, Ga., on May 24, 2022. AP Photo/Ben Gray Trump was "stunned" by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's GOP primary win, per the AJC. Raffensperger won the primary with 52 percent of the vote, well ahead of Jody Hice's 33 percent. Trump for nearly two years has criticized Raffensperger's handling of the 2020 election results. Former President Donald Trump was "stunned" by Brad Raffensperger's victory in the Georgia secretary of state Republican primary over his hand-picked candidate, conservative Rep. Jody Hice, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Raffensperger, who rejected Trump's repeated entreaties to "find" additional votes to invalidate President Joe Biden's statewide win in November 2020, won last Tuesday's GOP primary with 52 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Hice. The incumbent secretary of state carried most Georgia counties in the primary, only coming up short in the collection of counties that make up the rural-heavy 10th House district, which Hice represents in Congress. Two senior Republicans with ties to Trump told the paper that the former president expected Raffensperger to go down in defeat against Hice, who staked his campaign on the incumbent's handling of the 2020 presidential election. But Raffensperger avoided a runoff election by exceeding the 50 percent threshold of victory in the GOP contest, which allows him to immediately begin his campaign for the fall contest. The two Democratic candidates vying to be their party's nominee state Rep. Bee Nguyen and former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler are headed to a June 21 runoff. Such a decisive Republican win would have been unthinkable to many observers even a few weeks ago when Trump's hand-picked candidate in the Ohio GOP primary attorney and "Hillbilly Elegy" author JD Vance scored a win in a multicandidate field. As Trump flexed his muscle in contests across the country, the former president relished his ability to exert unparalleled influence over the party. Story continues He hammered Raffensperger and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp regarding the 2020 presidential results in Georgia for nearly two years, arguing that the two officeholders didn't do enough to help him carry the state while also baselessly alleging that fraud contributed to his defeat. In the months between the November 2020 general election and Biden's inauguration, Trump cajoled both Kemp and Raffensperger to overturn the election results, calling for a special legislative session to install pro-Trump electors who would disregard Biden's statewide victory. However, Georgia officials found no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities after conducting several vote counts in 2020. And as the Raffensperger win and Kemp's landslide gubernatorial primary victory over Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue demonstrate, the former president's influence still has its limits. While Trump has continued to propagate his election claims, several prominent voices within the GOP notably onetime Trump confidant and former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey have urged the party to look toward the 2022 midterm elections and the upcoming 2024 presidential contest. Read the original article on Business Insider In this article: Kateryna Tyshchenko Sunday, 29 May 2022, 21:43 Ukrainian fighter jets likely destroyed two unmanned Russian aerial vehicles in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Source: Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Head of Sumy Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "Last night the [Ukrainian] Air Force aircraft were working in the skies over Sumy Oblast. Our fighter jets shot down two targets over Romny District [of Sumy Oblast]. They were likely the enemys UAVs." The United States expressed concern on Saturday over China's "efforts to restrict and manipulate" the UN human rights chief's visit to the Xinjiang region where Beijing is accused of detaining over a million people in indoctrination camps. Michelle Bachelet's long-planned trip this week took her to the far-western Xinjiang region, where the United States has labeled China's detention of a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities a "genocide." "We are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in (China), including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The top US diplomat reiterated his country's stance that Chinese authorities would not allow Bachelet full access during her long-planned trip, saying the United States was "concerned" about China's "efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit." Bachelet defended her visit earlier on Saturday while still inside China, saying it was "not an investigation" but called on Beijing to avoid "arbitrary and indiscriminate measures" in its crackdown in Xinjiang. She said the trip was a chance for her to speak with "candour" to Chinese authorities as well as civil society groups and academics. Her visit was the first to China by a UN high commissioner for human rights in 17 years and comes after painstaking negotiations over the conditions of the visit. - 'Warned not to complain' - "We are further troubled by reports that residents of Xinjiang were warned not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region, that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of hundreds of missing Uyghurs and conditions for over a million individuals in detention," Blinken said. "The High Commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from traveling out of the region." Story continues Bachelet's remarks were also swiftly criticised by activists and NGOs, who accused her of providing Beijing with a major propaganda win. "Resignation is the only meaningful thing she can do for the Human Rights Council," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress advocacy group, while US-based Uyghur activist Rayhan Asat called it a "total betrayal" on Twitter. The trip included a virtual meeting with President Xi Jinping in which state media suggested Bachelet supported China's vision of human rights. Her office later clarified that her remarks did not contain a direct endorsement of China's rights record. Witnesses and rights groups say more than one million people have been detained in indoctrination camps in the western Chinese region that aim to destroy the Uyghurs' Islamic culture and forcibly integrate them into China's Han majority. Beijing denies the allegations and says it is offering vocational training to reduce potential for Islamist extremism. bur-des/ssy/aha Secretary of State Antony Blinken is raising concerns with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelets recent visit to China, where she explored human rights issues in the country, including what is said to be the detention of at least 1 million Uyghur Muslims in prison-like camps in the region of Xinjiang. Blinken said in a statement on Saturday the U.S. was troubled by reports that residents of Xinjiang were warned not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region and that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of hundreds of missing Uyghurs and conditions for over a million individuals in detention. While we continue to raise our concerns about Chinas human rights abuses directly with Beijing and support others who do so, we are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment, he said. Bachelet, meanwhile, said in a statement on Saturday that she visited Kashgar prison and the Kashgar Experimental School, a former Vocational Education and Training Centre (VETC), inside the Xinjiang autonomous region. The UN human rights chief said she also visited other locations to get a basic overview of how China is handling the Uyghur Muslim ethnic minority, but she noted this was a high-profile visit intended to spark discussion and dialogue with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), rather than a more discrete investigation. The visit was an opportunity to hold direct discussions with Chinas most senior leaders on human rights, to listen to each other, raise concerns, explore and pave the way for more regular, meaningful interactions in the future, with a view to supporting China in fulfilling its obligations under international human rights law, she said. Her visit came after the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation released tens of thousands of leaked files and photographs from Xinjiang, which, among other things, show police guards are trained to shoot detainees who try to escape from the facilities. The organization believes between 1 million to 2 million Uyghurs are detained in the region. Story continues During the visit, Bachelet spoke with leaders and officials in the Xinjiang region, including Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the regions governor and the vice-governor in charge of public security. She also met with community activists, religious leaders and academics in the country. Bachelet said she raised questions and concerns about the application of counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation measures and their broad application, but she was ultimately unable to assess the full scale treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The human rights leader also pushed China to make giving information to Uyghur family members kept in the dark about where their loved ones are a priority for the government. Camps detaining Uyghurs in Xinjiang were first reported around 2017, coming after years of terrorist attacks in China. The PRC reportedly told Bachelet during her visit that the VETC program, designed to re-educate the Muslim minority population it had considered extremist, was now dismantled. Bachelet also discussed other human rights issues, including new restrictions in Hong Kong and tensions in Tibet. Blinken on Saturday said Bachelets tour did not give her a full account of what is happening in China, noting she did not get to speak to activists or other non-governmental sources confidentially or speak with anyone from the Xinjiang labor transfer program. Survivors and family members of detainees have described cruel treatment that shocks the conscience, including torture, forced sterilization, state-sponsored forced labor, sexual violence, and forced separation of children from their parents, he said. We again call on the PRC to immediately cease its atrocities in Xinjiang release those unjustly detained, account for those disappeared, and allow independent investigators unhindered access to Xinjiang, Tibet, and across China. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Tom Mauser, wearing his son Daniel's shoes, walks along a wall of the Columbine High School Memorial July 22, 2012 in Littleton, Colorado. Mauser, the father of Columbine High school shooting victim Daniel Mauser, has become an activist for increased gun control. (AFP via Getty Images) Tom Mauser has seen this all before. After the Columbine massacre of 1999, there was a sense in the air, like there is now, that change needed to happen. Lawmakers convened at the federal level, led by New Jerseys Democratic Sen Frank Lautenberg, determined to close the so-called gun show loophole: a provision in federal law that allows for gun sales to occur between private sellers and buyers, including at weapons shows, without a background check occurring. But like so many firearm restrictions to come up in Congress over the past two decades, the effort failed. It was revived in 2008, in the days after the Virginia Tech shooting, but once again failed to pass Congress. The loophole remains open today. Now, Mr Mauser and other advocates for reforms on Americas firearms laws and gun culture are stuck in a Groundhog Day-like loop in which horrible tragedies occur, lawmakers express sympathies and the desire to find a path forward, and then nothing happens. With America still reeling from a pair of horrific massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, the latter claiming the lives of 19 young children and two adults, advocates for change are pressing forward once again with dogged determination, even as the path forward looks as bleak as ever. Their one advantage this time, as morbid as it may be, is the scope of the tragedy this time, including the apparent failure of local law enforcement in Uvalde to stop the shooter for around an hour. But the gun lobby has already begun to rally its defenders, most notably (and worryingly, for reform advocates) including Donald Trump, the former president. Supporters of the National Rifle Association, minus a few last-minute dropouts including Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick, gathered in Houston over the weekend where they proclaimed that restrictions on gun ownership in America would not stop these recurring tragedies which are largely unique to the United States. Story continues A girl lays flowers at a makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 28, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images) Speaking with The Independent on Friday, Mr Mauser said it was time for Democrats to start battling the gun lobby with more effective and more persistent messaging. Gun owners, many of whom he noted are not NRA members, are open to reasonable arguments about the role of firearms in America and restrictions that would keep weapons out of the hands of violent persons. We have to work on those gun owners, responsible gun owners, Mr Mauser said. We need to appeal to those folks[say], [Y]ou know, this isnt good for you. I think a lot of them are embarrassed by this, he continued. To reach those people in the middle of American politics, Mr Mauser continued, Democrats need to dominate the messaging war and shift the focus away entirely from the idea of confiscating firearms. Promises and statements that appeal to the most hardline gun control supporters on the left, like Beto ORourkes famous quip, Hell, yes, were going to take your AR-15, only push those people away, he insists. I think the biggest thing one of the biggest things that I come up against that we come up against in the movement is that is that those people in the middle are hearing the messages of the NRA, and then the gun lobby all the time, says Mr Mauser. You know, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gunYou know, they hear that stuff all the time. And frankly, I dont think they hear enough of the arguments from our side. The way to counter that messaging, he argues, is to portray the gun industry, including manufacturers in America, as huxters and salesmen who have contributed to an unsafe climate in America that is leading to death on a shocking scale for the sake of their own profits. I think we have to appeal to them on the basis of, really, what the gun industry is doing. I think we have to focus on the gun industry and portray them really as the same as the tobacco industry and how they lied and lied and lied, and put peoples lives at risk and killed people frankly, Mr Mauser said. And how they, you know, bought politicians. I think the message to Republicans and those people in the middleis you need to divorce the NRA, he said. People visit a memorial set up in a town square to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting earlier in the week in Uvalde, Texas, late Saturday, May 28, 2022. (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Easier said than done, as all of the GOPs national political prospects appear to remain firmly behind the NRA and the issue of opposing any efforts at passing new restrictions on firearms at either the state or federal level. But Mr Mauser cautioned Democrats not to give up hope, and especially not to play politics with the issue with the 2022 midterms in mind out of a desire to thwart GOP efforts to paint themselves as open to compromise. Im smart enough to know that sometimes youll have some people who want to gamesmanship this. SureIts an election year. Well, lets not compromise because we know that Republicans are going to then go back in the election and say, well, yeah, we did do something. Well, you know, if you follow that kind of philosophy, nothing will ever get done, he warned. Despite everything, he says theres room for optimism. I think that some kind of universal background check law may come out of this, he says. There will be all kinds of compromises that make Democrats unhappy, Mr Mauser continues, but thats part of an incremental process that leads to progress. Any path to legislation at the federal level will have to proceed through the Senate, where an even 50-50 divide and the 60-vote filibuster threshold makes most legislation unlikely, if not doomed from the start. One of the Senates Republican members, however, has said that there may be a path forward for measures like red flag laws. That is the kind of law that could have made a difference in this case since, according to press reports, if they are accurate, it appears that he suffered from mental illness, Maines Susan Collins told reporters last week. Her home state has a so-called yellow flag law, which allows family members or law enforcement to seek a temporary ban on firearm ownership for a person believed to be violent or in distress, while affording that person due process rights. Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins (Getty Images) While a federal red flag law would be off the table, Republican Lindsey Graham added to the Bangor Daily News, senators are now discussing the possibility of a federal grant program to encourage states to implement such laws on their own. Whatever the response, its clear that Congress needs have something to show the American people soon. Trust in the legislative branch is at historic lows, and many feel as if Americas increasingly aged leaders are out of touch and unresponsive to a wide variety of problems ranging from decades of mass shootings to more recently-emerged issues like the national shortage of baby formula. The Senate is now on recess, but is reportedly continuing talks on the issue of gun violence while on break. A hopeful Chris Murphy, who delivered an impassioned condemnation of Congresss inaction on the chambers floor last week, spoke to activists outside the Capitol on Thursday and said there was still reason for hope. Associated Press A shooting at a cemetery south of Milwaukee on Thursday afternoon resulted in multiple victims, police said. Racine police said on social media that numerous shots were fired about 2:30 p.m. at Graceland Cemetery in Racine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. Ascension All Saints Hospital, which is next to the cemetery, said it is treating an undisclosed number of victims from the shooting. American Sign Language, used by the deaf to communicate through movements of the hands and face, is a step closer to being a new course in Washington County Public Schools. Washington County Board of Education President Melissa Williams asked the curriculum and instruction committee at a business meeting last week to begin exploring how to add a new sign language class for the next school year. "At one of our previous meetings, we had some discussion from board members as a result of some public comment made by individuals regarding American Sign Language," Williams said. "And, there was quite a bit of interest expressed, I believe on the part of board members," she said. "I was just wondering if it's something that the curriculum and instruction committee could look at the feasibility of adding it to our program of studies?" Superintendent Boyd Michael said that is something already being looked at by school system staff. Washington County Public Schools Center for Education Services. More sign language: Deaf community asks Washington County school board to add sign language classes School shooting: Locally after Uvalde shooting: Counselors for students, more patrols, thoughts, prayers Lottery news: Winning Powerball ticket sold in Washington County claimed by Williamsport resident The school board heard from members of the deaf community at a business meeting last month, asking that American Sign Language be added to the school curriculum. Parents said that it can be difficult for their deaf children to learn not only English, but other world languages that are needed to graduate high school. They said the language barriers are difficult. Several deaf people, who spoke through a sign-language interpreter, said they think it's a good investment for Washington County. Gary Willow, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction for WCPS, said some WCPS students were taking sign language courses at Hagerstown Community College. Willow said courses could be arranged with credits earned at WCPS. He suggested it's something the school system could look at for next year. Story continues Several school board members said they thought it was a good idea. "It certainly created awareness, and I'm one who is interested in exploring the possibilities," she said. "Thank you for coming out and making us aware," Williams said at the time. Meanwhile, school board member April Zentmeyer, a member of the curriculum and instruction committee, told Williams last week it is something the committee will look at. Sherry Greenfield is the Education Reporter, covering Washington County Public Schools and the Washington County Board of Education. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County Board of Education could add sign language classes Why patenting your million-dollar idea might not be worth your time and money A patent doesnt automatically guarantee you protection from predatory competitors. Lede: If youre an ambitious entrepreneur with plans for a transformative product bouncing excitedly around your head, you might think getting it patented is a must to shield your intellectual property (IP) from any similar-minded (and dastardly sticky-fingered) competitors. Thats not necessarily the case. Securing a patent for a piece of IP is an arduous and often expensive process that some young ideators depending on the industry they work in may not need to undertake. In some cases, a patent may not even be enough to protect your IP if it catches the attention of the wrong deep-pocketed corporation. Heres what you need to know if youre considering chasing down a patent for your world-beating brainchild. Get the latest personal finance news sent straight to your inbox with the MoneyWise newsletter. Is a patent necessary? In some instances, securing a patent is absolutely necessary. The discovery of a new drug, for example, often requires millions of dollars in development costs. The capital that pours into drug research, however, doesnt make it any harder to copy a new formula. If a drug company were to lose control of its intellectual property, not only would it miss out on any future profits, but the money used to develop the drug might as well have been shot into space. Young tech entrepreneurs thinking they have the next Shopify or Facebook percolating in their brain pans might be under the impression that their IP is especially worthy of patenting. David Rowat, partner at Vancouver-based investment bank Strategic Exits, says thats not always so. The technology moves so quickly that by the time you finish patenting your invention, the industry has moved on, and it's of no further use, Rowat says. So there's an awful lot of time and effort that might go into patenting something that doesn't really provide you the benefits that you think you're getting. Story continues Before rushing out to file any patent applications, its best to enlist the services of an IP lawyer who can tell you if your invention is worth running through the patent process spanking machine. The patent process in a nutshell There arent generally many steps involved with getting a patent. But each one comes with its own set of costs and possible stumbling blocks. More from MoneyWise 1. Applying for your patent If a patent lawyer has given you the go-ahead and deemed your pursuit of a patent worthwhile, its time to start filling out paperwork. First off, youll want to apply for a patent in the U.S. to start off with, simply because its one of the worlds biggest marketplaces. Rowat says the cost of filing for a patent in the U.S. isnt much generally a few hundred dollars but since the fee is based on the size of the company applying for the patent, its size can vary. Ensuring your application is on point is going to require working closely with a patent attorney and paying handsomely for her services. You may find lawyers willing to steer your product through the process for $5,000, but consider that the cheap and dirty route. A budget of $10,000 to $20,000 is more realistic, according to Rowat. In addition to ensuring that your application covers the granular details of how your IP works and why its unique, youll also need to think strategically about how broad you want your patent to be in terms of what it tries to establish as original. Going broad may sound like it will give you the most coverage, but such patents are rarely approved. If you plan on filing for patents in multiple other countries, youll also want to familiarize yourself with the Patent Cooperation Treaty. For a fee, the PCT allows inventors to announce an intention to patent their IP and then gives them 18 months to decide if they want to follow through and officially file for a patent with the Treatys more than 150 member nations. The initial PCT application can cost close to $5,000. 2. Defending your patent application Heres where things slow right down. All patent applications have to be examined, evaluated and compared to similar patented products that came before them. This can take years. And your application may still be rejected. When filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, its common for applicants to receive an Office Action, or letter stating why the patent is not being approved. Even in cases where inventors have paid extra for fast-track status, Office Actions are common occurrences. Every single patent is rejected on the first application, Rowat says. They will come up with a bunch of reasons why, and then it's up to you to research and decide if you want to challenge their assumptions, by engaging your patent lawyers services, developing counter arguments and wading into the fray again. Some rejections may be because of deficiencies in the application itself, but others will be the result of unanswered questions regarding your IP. Either way, the time and money required for the defense of your application needs to be baked into your patent budget. How much protection does a patent really give you? Lets say your patent application in the U.S. is successful. Congratulations. Assuming you dont feel a need to go through the same rigamarole in dozens of other countries, your IP is safe. But only to a certain extent. Defending a piece of intellectual property in court, which can cost millions of dollars, is not something every company can afford to do. If a corporation worth billions, like a certain web search behemoth, decides to make use of IP that is suspiciously similar to another companys, like its innovative map application, they may choose to use it anyway, get sued and let the court costs slowly pummel the original inventor into settling with the offending party and potentially kissing their precious IP goodbye. A patent, Rowat says, is only as good as your ability to defend it. Get the latest personal finance news sent straight to your inbox with the MoneyWise newsletter. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING (Reuters) -China's 'zero-COVID' policy of constantly monitoring, testing and isolating its citizens to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has battered much of the country's economy, but it has created bubbles of growth in the medical, technology and construction sectors. The Chinese government, alone among major countries in vowing to eradicate the coronavirus within its borders, is on track to spend more than $52 billion (350 billion yuan) this year on testing, new medical facilities, monitoring equipment and other anti-COVID measures, which will benefit as many as 3,000 companies, according to analysts. "In China, the companies that provide testing services and other related industries are making big money because of the government's focus on a containment-based approach in fighting COVID," said Yanzhong Huang, a global health specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a U.S. think tank. China aims to have COVID testing facilities within 15-minutes' walk of everyone in its big cities and continues to impose mass testing at the slightest sign of an outbreak. Hong Kong-based Pacific Securities estimates this has created a market worth more than $15 billion a year for test makers and providers. The government is footing the bill for the vast majority of this, either by buying test kits or paying companies to do tests. Although prices of tests have dropped since the outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020 to as little as 50 cents per test - this continuing demand has helped a number of companies. First-quarter profit more than doubled for Hangzhou-based Dian Diagnostics Group Co Ltd, one of China's biggest medical test makers. Its revenue jumped more than 60% to $690 million, just less than half of which was for its COVID testing services, almost entirely paid for by the government. Rival Adicon Holdings Ltd, which received about $300 million of mostly government money for its COVID tests over 2020 and 2021, according to the company's financial statements, has applied for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Story continues Shanghai Runda Medical Technology Co Ltd said it was processing up to 400,000 COVID tests per day in April, during the almost two-month-long lockdown of Shanghai, generating more than $30 million a month, according to an article by the state-run Securities Times. China defends its 'zero-COVID' policy as crucial to saving lives and preventing its healthcare system from being overrun. It shows little sign of pulling back even as the economic toll mounts. The latest indicators show the country's economy has weakened sharply since March, as employment, consumer spending, exports and home sales have been hit by stringent lockdown measures that clogged highways and ports, stranded workers and shut factories. Many private-sector economists expect the economy to shrink in the April to June quarter from a year earlier, compared with the first quarter's 4.8% growth. The blue-chip CSI 300 Index is down 19% this year. Investors are uncertain how long the boom will last for companies like Dian, Adicon and Shanghai Runda, whose fortunes are closely tied to government spending. Analysts, on average, expect Dian's revenue to dip slightly next year, while they see Shanghai Runda's continuing to grow. Stocks of both are down from the start of this year. "The development of the epidemic is uncertain due to the large number of mutated strains of the new coronavirus and the complexity of infectiousness," said a recent research note by Shenzhen-based Essence Securities. "If the spread of the epidemic is well controlled and the epidemic prevention policy is adjusted, it may have a negative impact on the market demand for COVID nucleic acid testing." Huang at the CFR said that China's massive programme of lockdowns, tracing and isolating could prevent a worst-case scenario but was not a permanent solution. "Epidemiologically and economically, it is unsustainable," he said. Dian Diagnostics, Adicon and Shanghai Runda did not respond to requests for comment. Health authorities in Beijing and Shanghai did not respond to requests for comment. MASS SURVEILLANCE, QUICK BUILDINGS Dozens of surveillance and thermal imaging camera manufacturers, such as Wuhan Guide Infrared Co Ltd and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, have benefited from the Chinese government's demand for gadgets that can help it keep track of the COVID status of its 1.4 billion citizens. Wuhan Guide, one of the world's leading manufacturers of thermal imaging equipment, doubled its revenue in 2020 as it worked overtime to supply fever-detecting cameras across China and overseas. Growth flattened out last year, but analysts expect it to pick up again this year and next. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Disease has been the mother of invention. Since March, Chinese companies and research institutes have filed at least 50 COVID-related patents, according to a Reuters review of international and domestic databases. The inventions are mostly related to adapting existing surveillance cameras and platforms in order to track close contacts and identify potential positive cases. The urgent need for hundreds of new hospitals, to take the strain off China's already-stretched medical infrastructure, has created a boom for some construction companies. Beijing-based China Railway Group Ltd, a conglomerate spanning construction, manufacturing and real estate, has built makeshift hospitals all over China this year, and has been particularly active in areas hit hard by COVID such as Shanghai and the northeastern city of Changchun. Its profit has grown steadily over the past two years, at least partly helped by COVID-related projects, and analysts expect that to continue over the next few years. Its stock hit a three-year high in May. China Railway Group did not respond to a request for comment. One analyst has estimated that about 300 makeshift hospitals were built around China during a 35-day span between March and April, as infections surged, at a cost of more than $4 billion. One third of those were built in and around Shanghai. There is no sign of waning demand from the government. On May 15, China's National Health Commission head Ma Xiaowei called for the construction of what he called "permanent makeshift hospitals" in leading Chinese Communist Party publication Qiushi, suggesting that there will be a long-term need for such buildings. A Reuters review of tenders for such projects suggest the government will spend about $15 billion this year on new hospitals. (Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in BeijingEditing by Bill Rigby) Randolph College honored more than 100 students at commencement on Sunday under sunny skies at WildCat Stadium in Lynchburg. College President Bradley Bateman started the ceremony by welcoming families and friends and acknowledging the accomplishments of the class of 2022. Today we add these women and men before me to the list of graduates who are leaving this college prepared to reach extraordinary levels of achievement, Bateman told the audience. Graduate Alexander Saur who studied sport and exercise health and fitness concern said it feels amazing to reach graduation. Saur plans to continue school and be a physical therapist in the future. I put in a lot of work to get here, a lot of effort, Saur said. Rob Saur, Alexanders father, said it was very nice to see his son graduate. It was very nice to see the ending, Saur said. Charlie Small studied studio art, history and museum studies. Small explained it took a lot for him to reach graduation, including because he had a near-death experience after contracting COVID-19. Small plans to take a year off and return to graduate school. I dont know what Im feeling right now, to be perfectly honest, Small said. Roosevelt Montas senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University gave the keynote address. The theme of Montas speech was the importance of a liberal education. He said one of the things that brought him to the ceremony was the fact that he and Bateman care passionately about the same things. What we have in common and what brings me here today, is a commitment to the values, practices and vision of a liberal arts college, Montas said to the audience. Montas went on to discuss the transformative power of a liberal education. The senior lecturer explained his early life and how he landed in New York City in 1985, a couple of days before his 12th birthday. He and his older brother joined his mom, who at the time had a minimum-wage job. Montas said he grew up poor in a rural village in the Dominican Republic in a house made of palm tree planks. He explained this to the graduates to emphasize that he was an unlikely candidate for a liberal education. My point here is that when I speak about how a liberal education can illuminate a life and empower one to transform his or her reality, I speak from personal experience, Montas said to the audience. Montas ended his address by quoting Martin Luther King Jr.: The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. He also encouraged students to think about how their education prepares them for a historical moment and their opportunity to make an impact on history. What we celebrate today is the promise that you represent, the promise of the unique and as-of-yet unimaginable contributions you will make as you put your shoulders to that arc of history, Montas told the audience. Bateman ended the ceremony by giving words of encouragement to fellow graduates, as this marks his last year at the school before retiring at the end of June. We need your contribution, we need the work you will do as citizens in this world, Bateman said. I thank you for these four years, I wish you good luck and Godspeed. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Each morning, an Amtrak train departs from Charlottesville bound for Washington, and returns every afternoon. Thousands enjoy its convenience and reliability every year, whether they are traveling to Washington, New York, or even Boston. Its ridership and profitability numbers are among the best in the Amtrak system. Yet this service did not exist until 2008, shortly after I began serving in Virginias House of Delegates. Its creation proves the political adage that decisions are made by those in the room at the time. For decades, Charlottesvilles passenger rail service consisted of often-unreliable long-distance trains that ran either between New Orleans or Chicago and Washington. Studies conducted by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) showed substantial demand for additional and more reliable service, but, despite the efforts of citizen advocacy from places like Charlottesville, where former City Councilor Meredith Richards and others had been writing letters for years, this was not likely to happen without an investment of state monies. In 2008, the prospects of a new train seemed unlikely. Congress was threatening to force states to assume responsibility for funding Amtraks regional intercity rail routes or risk losing them altogether. Virginia already had several routes that could be affected, and even rail advocates had to admit the difficulty of arguing for a new route when monies might be needed to shore up the existing service. In addition, the national economy had just taken a nosedive, and Virginias budget was extremely stressed. Then-Gov. Tim Kaine had the unfortunate bad luck of presiding during the worst state economic conditions since the Great Depression (19291939) and would need to cut billions out of the state budget before his term would end. These challenges, however, did not deter Shannon Valentine, then the Democrat Delegate from Lynchburg and the future Virginia Secretary of Transportation in the administration of Governor Ralph S. Northam. Lynchburg was on the same train line as Charlottesville, and Valentines constituents wanted better service as much as mine. Though both of us were new Delegates, we decided to push for the expansion, with Valentine taking the lead. We knew that convincing Kaine and then-Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer to include major funding for this new daily train service that would run from Lynchburg through Charlottesville to the nations capital would be a minor miracle. While Kaine agreed to meet with Valentine and me in his office to discuss the train, we were not optimistic. We had our work cut out for us. Delegate Valentine understood the intersection between policy and politics. Politely relentless in pressing the Governor, she knew the effort was important not only for the Commonwealth, but also for her red-leaning district, where the Chamber of Commerce had advocated for better rail for more than a decade. The Governor wanted to help, but he knew this could not be done solely by three Democrats. He challenged us to find Republicans to sign onto the effort: if we got them, he said, he would find the money. We mostly Valentine went about the task. Within a week, three of our Republican colleagues. Rob Bell of Albemarle, Ed Scott of Culpeper, and William Fralin Jr. of Roanoke had been convinced to join us on a letter to the Governor to support the project. Kaine delivered, and, on October 1, 2009, a three-year pilot project of state-sponsored Amtrak service commenced. In the first month, ridership doubled expectations, and the three-year pilot was so successful that it was continued without objection. In November 2017, the Lynchburg-Washington route was extended further southwest to Roanoke, the first time in 38 years that the city with deep historical ties to the railroad industry would be served by passenger rail. This route continues to be one of the strongest performers in the entire Amtrak system. Discussions are underway to extend service to Bristol, and plans exist to add two additional trains per day to the corridor in the next year. Today, we take the service for granted. But it was not inevitable, and shows once again the cardinal rule of politics decisions are made by those in the room at the time. The above is an excerpt from the recently published book by former Democratic Delegate David J. Toscano, titled Bellwether: Virginias Political Transformation, 2006-2020, just released from Hamilton Books. DALLAS (AP) Airlines and tourist destinations are expecting monster crowds this summer as travel restrictions ease and pandemic fatigue overcomes lingering fear of contracting COVID-19 during travel. Many forecasters believe the number of travelers will match or even exceed levels in the good-old, pre-pandemic days. However, airlines have thousands fewer employees than they did in 2019, and that has at times contributed to widespread flight cancellations. People who are only now booking travel for the summer are experiencing the sticker shock. Domestic airline fares for summer are averaging more than $400 a round trip, 24% higher than this time in 2019, before the pandemic, and a whopping 45% higher than a year ago, according to travel-data firm Hopper. "The time to have gotten cheap summer flights was probably three or four months ago," says Scott Keyes, who runs the Scott's Cheap Flights site. Internationally, fares are also up from 2019, but only 10%. Prices to Europe are about 5% cheaper than before the pandemic $868 for the average round trip, according to Hopper. Keyes said Europe is the best travel bargain out there. Online spending on U.S. flights eased in April after a torrid March, but it's still up 23% from spring 2019 mostly because of higher prices, according to Adobe Analytics. Airlines blame the steeper fares on jet fuel roughly doubling in price over 2019. It's more than that, however. The number of flights has not returned to pre-pandemic levels even though demand for travel is surging. "We have more travelers looking to book fewer seats, and each of those seats is going to be more expensive for airlines to fly this summer because of jet fuel," says Hopper economist Hayley Berg. When travelers reach their destination, they will be greeted with hotel rates that are up about one-third from last year. Hotels are filling up faster, too. Hotel companies blame the higher prices on increasing cost for supplies as well as workers in a tight labor market. Rental cars were hard to find and very expensive last summer, but that seems to have eased as the rental companies rebuild their fleets. The nationwide average price is currently around $70 a day, according to Hopper. Jonathan Weinberg, founder of a rental car shopping site called AutoSlash, said prices and availability of vehicles will be very uneven. It won't be as bad as last summer, but prices for vehicles will still be "way above average, if you can even find one," in Hawaii, Alaska and near destinations such as national parks. Even if you drive your own car, it'll still be pricey. The national average for regular gasoline hit $4.60 a gallon on Thursday more than $6 in California. Those prices have some people considering staying home. "You don't really get used to $6 gas," said Juliet Ripley of San Diego as she paid $46.38 to put 7.1 gallons in her Honda Civic. The single mom of two has no summer vacation plans other than an occasional trip to a nearby beach. For those determined to travel, however, it is an open question whether airlines, airports, hotels and other travel businesses will be able to handle them. More than 2.1 million people a day on average are boarding planes in the United States, about 90% of 2019 levels and a number that is sure to grow by several hundred thousand a day by July. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has tapped nearly 1,000 checkpoint screeners who can move from one airport to another, depending on where they are needed most. "We are as ready as we possibly can be," says TSA chief David Pekoske. Airlines that paid employees to quit when travel collapsed in 2020 are now scrambling to hire enough pilots, flight attendants and other workers. The largest four U.S. airlines American, Delta, United and Southwest together had roughly 36,000 fewer employees at the start of 2022 than before the pandemic, a drop of nearly 10%, despite aggressive hiring that started last year. Pilots are in particularly short supply at smaller regional airlines that operate nearly half of all U.S. flights under names like American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express. Airlines are trimming summer schedules to avoid overloading their staffs and canceling flights at the last minute. This week, Delta cut about 100 flights a day, or 2%, from its July schedule, and more than 150 flights a day on average, or 3%, in August. Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue previously reduced summer flights. Cancellations aren't limited to the U.S. In the United Kingdom, easyJet and British Airways scrubbed many flights this spring because of staffing shortages. Air travel within Europe is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels this summer, although visitors from outside the region will likely be down 30% from 2019, according to a new report from the European Travel Commission. The group doesn't expect international travel to return to normal until 2025. Russia's war in Ukraine does not appear to be hurting bookings to most of Europe, according to travel experts, but it will reduce the number of Russian and Ukrainian travelers, whose favorite destinations include Cyprus, Montenegro, Latvia, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania, the commission said. Russian tourists tend to be big spenders, so their absence will hurt tourism economies in those destinations. Also largely missing: Chinese tourists, the world's largest travel spenders, who remain largely restricted by their government's "zero-COVID" strategy. Some European destinations report that the number of Chinese tourists is down by more than 90% from 2019. ___ Kelvin Chan in London and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Four Japanese national universities plan to apply for a 10 trillion yen ($79 billion) fund established by the government to bring institutions up to par with the world's top universities, a recent Kyodo News survey showed. Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nagoya University and Osaka University intend to apply for the funds, established as part of the government's efforts to promote science and technology in Japan. Twenty-seven other institutions, including the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, said they were considering applying, but the number may rise after further details of the selection process are released. Applications are set to open this fiscal year, and the fund will begin dispensing money as early as fiscal 2024. ...continue reading Advertisement New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday told the leaders of France and Germany that Moscow was willing to discuss ways to make it possible for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain from Black Sea ports, according to a Kremlin statement. Putin held a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and confirmed Moscows readiness to continue peace talks with Kyiv. Russia is ready to help find options for unhampered exports of grain, including exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports, the Kremlin said as quoted by TASS news agency. Increasing supplies of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tension on the global food market, which, of course, would require removing the relevant restrictions, the statement added. Russian President also said that problems with food supplies were caused by anti-Russian sanctions and other mistakes of the West, the news agency reported. Based on specific data, Vladimir Putin explained the real reasons for the difficulties with food supplies, which were the result of the misguided economic and financial policies of Western countries, as well as the anti-Russian sanctions they imposed, the statement said. Special attention was given to the state of affairs on the negotiating track, which is frozen because of Kyiv. Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia is open to resuming the dialogue, it added. Putin stressed the danger of pumping Ukraine with Western weapons, the Kremlin quoted by TASS said. The Russian President also highlighted the issue of dangerous ongoing pumping of Ukraine with Western weapons, warning of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis, the statement said. No veteran should be buried without military honors. Thats the mission of the Kanesville Riders Honor Guard, according to the groups Facebook page, and its also federal law that is, if the family requests them according to the Department of Veterans Affairs website. A funeral military honors ceremony must include a uniformed detail of at least two people, the playing of Taps and the folding and presentation of the U.S. flag, according to the Military One Source website. Traditionally, it also includes a color guard and a rifle volley. Both the Kanesville Riders Honor Guard and the American Legion Honor Guard perform military honors at area funerals for veterans. Despite the name, Kanesville Riders Honor Guard is not about motorcycles, Vice President Keith Confer said. You dont have to be a motorcycle rider, he said. You dont even have to be a veteran Im not a veteran. The purpose of what we do is military honors for the (deceased). The group has about 30 members, who participate as they are able, Confer said. The group has performed military rites at hundreds of funerals, but Confer wasnt sure how many it has done this year. The honors are important to veterans families and meaningful for members of the Honor Guard, he said. We donate our time, just because we feel that its needed, he said. Its our way of giving back. The group is currently performing rites at a lot of funerals at Omaha National Cemetery. It is able to do that because it is trained and sanctioned by the Department of Defense, Confer said. Once in a while, the Kanesville Riders Honor Guard also performs other ceremonial functions such as escorts and flag raising and folding. The unit also has counselors available to meet with veterans and first responders at no charge, he said. Members help veterans families with home repairs or making their homes more accessible. Weve got a few of those coming up, Confer said. The American Legion Honor Guard performs military honors at funerals, as well as ceremonial duties at some community events, according to Brad Powell, captain of the group. Although it bears the American Legion name, the groups 23 members include veterans from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans, as well as the Legion. The group has performed military honors at 42 funerals so far this year, he said, and has done many at Omaha National Cemetery. Weve done them everywhere at family residences, cemeteries and mortuaries, Powell said. The American Legion Honor Guard traditionally participates in Memorial Day Ceremonies at Walnut Hill Cemetery, the Kinsman Monument at Fairview Cemetery and the World War I Memorial at Thomas Jefferson High School. Members also visit veterans in retirement homes and donate food to the Pottawattamie County Veterans Affairs food pantry and flags to organizations. In 2018, the American Legion Honor Guard was chosen to raise a new flag at the Iowa Supreme Court building in Des Moines. The American Legion Honor Guard will hold a Memorial Day Ceremony at 9 a.m. at Veterans Circle at Walnut Hill Cemetery (just uphill from the reception hall), followed by a ceremony at the Kinsman Monument at Fairview Cemetery, followed by one at Thomas Jefferson. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Burkina Faso has reiterated its support for the territorial integrity and national unity of Morocco as well as for the Moroccan autonomy plan, which constitutes the only credible and realistic solution for the settlement of the dispute over the Sahara. This came in a joint statement made public following talks the Burkinabe Foreign Minister, Mrs. Olivia Ragnaghnewende Rouamba, held Friday with her Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. The Burkinabe official insisted that the Morocco-proposed Autonomy Initiative represents a credible and serious way for the settlement of the conflict over the Sahara. The Burkinabe top diplomat also hailed the efforts of the United Nations as the exclusive framework for achieving a realistic, practical and lasting solution to the regional dispute. She expressed, in this regard, her countrys support for the search for a lasting solution to this issue, which preserves the territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the exclusive aegis of the United Nations and in compliance with decision 693 of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union of July 2018. For his part, Mr. Bourita seized this opportunity to welcome Burkina Fasos participation in the ministerial conference in support of the Autonomy Initiative under the sovereignty of Morocco organized virtually on January 15, 2021, at the invitation of Morocco and the United States of America. The minister also commended the strengthening of relations of cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the opening by Burkina Faso of its Consulate General in Dakhla in October 2020 and the appointment of a Consul General. As the volunteers of North Plattes World War II Canteen served one troop train after another, they surely wondered whether some of their service customers were receiving the last tastes of home they would ever know. On this Memorial Day weekend, we now can give you the names of a few such people. We learned about them while preparing Canteen: The Letters, The Telegraphs forthcoming sequel to our 2019 book Canteen: As It Happened. Our partners for that book, Pediment Publishing of Battle Ground, Washington, expect to have it ready for sale in August. Its in the proofreading stage now. The follow-up books title tells exactly what its about. Just as our first book re-presented the real-time Canteen coverage of The Telegraph and the original North Platte Daily Bulletin, so Canteen: The Letters features the words and feelings of the military people and families our city and region served those 51 months. They started sharing their gratitude almost immediately after the Canteens Christmas Day 1941 opening. Our book includes all or parts of 278 letters, postcards, telegrams and emails about one-third of what we had available representing every state and covering almost exactly 80 years: Dec. 30, 1941, to Dec. 29, 2021. How many veterans wrote North Platte all those years? Theres no way to know for sure, but we estimate at least 16,000, based on wartime estimates and the known letters from later decades. Its because of them, and the ever-increasing digitization of genealogical records, that we can tell you a little about five World War II service members four of them verified Canteen customers who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We start with the Rev. Barrett L. Tyler, an Episcopal chaplain, who visited North Platte apparently with a 43rd Infantry Division artillery unit on Sept. 4, 1942. His thank-you letter ran in The Telegraph 18 days later. Tyler went on with his men to the South Pacific. He served them and lived alongside them on the Solomon Islands, in New Guinea and finally in Gen. Douglas MacArthurs long-promised liberation of the Philippines. He was on the main island of Luzon when Japanese artillery fire killed him on March 14, 1945. Tyler remains there in the Manila American Cemetery. Three months after Tylers visit, Lt. Owen Cornett was part of a special set of Canteen customers. He and his bomber crew landed at Lee Bird Field on Dec. 23, 1942, and were forced to spend Christmas in North Platte. Canteen volunteers found homes where they could stay and share a holiday dinner. Cornett cosigned his crews thank-you letter that was published in The Telegraph. His mother, Louise, separately wrote with her own gratitude. But half a year later, Cornett died when his B-17 Flying Fortress collided with another U.S. bomber over Kiel, Germany, on June 13, 1943. In the spring of 1943, the Canteens customers included brand-new recruits on their way to join the soon-to-be-legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team. They were Nisei, first-generation Americans of Japanese descent, whose numbers included 120,000 unjustly held in wartime internment camps. Pvt. Larry Mizumoto, then at basic training in Mississippi, wrote an eloquent letter about North Plattes generosity that The Telegraph published on May 21, 1943. Assigned to military intelligence, he served in New Guinea. Mizumoto died in Illinois on July 8, 1945, a month before the Japanese surrendered. Pfc. Masuto Sakado, meanwhile, traveled to Europe with the 442nd and helped write its story as Americas most decorated unit for its size. He was wounded fighting the Germans in France and died on Aug. 19, 1944. Sakados brother, Ted, had thanked the Canteen on his behalf a year earlier. Finally, we honor Sgt. Daniel Bate Jr. of North Platte, cited in a February 1986 letter from a wartime buddy and Canteen customer inquiring about his fate. The son of Canteen volunteer Isabel Bate was a navigator aboard a Marine plane that disappeared between New Caledonia and Bougainville in the Pacific. He was declared missing on May 26, 1944, and later declared dead. As we recall all our nations fallen this weekend, let us honor these five and all the unknown others who died far from home with the Canteens kindnesses in their memories. Writer Beer & Society There is nothing that cannot be discussed and worked out over a beer. Join me as I explore local beer, breweries and how they can civilize us. Memorial Day is a time to remember heroes. Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins fit that description, and more than two years after his death, his legacy continues to grow. On April 17, 2020, the Medal of Honor recipient passed away at the age of 86 and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife Mary. Earlier this month, the police department in York, Pennsylvania, held a swearing-in ceremony for a police dog named after Adkins. K9 Bennie, a Labrador retriever, will partner with Sgt. John Huncher, a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan. Their mission is to visit schools and the local hospital, interact with York residents and improve officer wellness. Naming a police dog after Adkins is a fitting tribute to the Vietnam soldier who was sworn in as a Lee County deputy and buried with his badge. Defining moment On a March morning in 1966, Bennie Adkins was sleeping at Camp A Shau, a Special Forces outpost in Vietnam. At 3:50 a.m., he awoke to a barrage of North Vietnamese mortar, rifle and machine gun fire. In the next 38 hours, Adkins would be wounded 18 times, twice blown into the air by mortar strikes, but he kept launching mortars, firing rifles and throwing grenades, not to mention dragging fellow soldiers to safety, and under heavy fire retrieving air-dropped supplies and loading other wounded onto evacuation helicopters. When fellow soldiers were in danger, or helicopters were trying to land, or an Air Force jet pilot was shot down and another pilot was trying to rescue him, Adkins increased his volume of fire to draw enemy fire on himself and away from his brothers in arms. When he received the order to evacuate, Adkins and the other survivors dug their way out of a bunker but missed the last helicopter because he was carrying a wounded soldier. Adkins led them into the jungle where they evaded the enemy for another 48 hours. For these actions, Adkins received the Medal of Honor in 2014 at the age of 80 from President Barack Obama. Six years later, under a dark sky, Adkins body was placed in a long white hearse and escorted by police from Opelika to Atlanta. He was flown to Arlington National Cemetery and buried there next to Mary. Sworn deputy Shortly after Adkins received the Medal of Honor, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones made him a deputy. It was an honorary circumstance, Jones said, but as far as we were concerned, he was a sworn deputy sheriff for the Lee County Sheriffs Office. Jones calls Adkins a good friend and a national treasure. When you think about the definition of hero, he fits it on all accounts, Jones said. He was always the first to give credit to others in all situations and certainly in the circumstance surrounding the actions on that day in March in Vietnam. His selfless attitude, his willingness to do whatever he could to help others, certainly was in prominent display that day while he did what he could to protect his fellow soldiers. Adkins daughter, Mary Ann Blake, lives in Auburn, and her brothers Michael and Keith also live in Lee County. Blake said her father kept his deputy's badge in his pocket. From the day my father was sworn in as a Lee County Deputy by Sheriff Jay Jones, he carried his badge every day and everywhere he traveled throughout the United States, either by car or plane, Blake wrote in an email. He was very honored and proud to carry the badge. Today, that badge is in her fathers casket in Arlington National Cemetery, she said. K9 Bennie Leashes of Valor is a national nonprofit organization that describes its mission as bringing service dogs and post-9/11 Veterans together in order to enrich and improve the lives of both, according to its website. Recently, the organization branched out to provide therapy dogs to police departments, healthcare facilities and other frontline workers. We also want to make sure our heroes here at home have access to the healing power of canines, Danique Masingill, president of Leashes of Valor and a U.S. Navy veteran, wrote in an email. Under the new initiative, Leashes of Valor has placed its second therapy dog in Pennsylvania with the York City Police Department. We did not have any direct ties to Pennsylvania or York Police, Masingill said, but Bennie has truly brought communities together, and the impact is difficult to measure. He is impacting lives. We were tremendously honored to name a K9 after Medal of Honor recipient Bennie G. Adkins and to continue to share his legacy. Blake said the impact of her fathers life continues to spread through programs like Leashes of Valour and also through the Bennie Adkins Foundation, which provides scholarships to soldiers as they transition to civilian life. But her parents real legacy, she said, was the way they raised their children. We never considered our father as a war hero, Blake wrote in an email. He was just our dad. Our parents always encouraged us to strive to do the best that we could do in whatever career path we chose. Giving up was not an option. That is why he was a war hero, why they were both heroes: they never gave up on each other. Jones said that the recent swearing-in of K9 Bennie as we approach Memorial Day is a special reminder of Adkins and the life he lived. We think thats an absolutely wonderful example of how his memory continues to live on, Jones said. He is one of those that, through his service to this country, we owe a debt that we obviously will never be able to repay. Leave Olivia Colman out of this!!!! Reply Thread Link Leave Sarah Lancashire out of this! Surely she isn't in that many shows I watch . Reply Parent Thread Link Speaking of Bodyguard, is there ever going to be a second season or what Reply Thread Link Does it need to? Reply Parent Thread Link For me, yes Reply Parent Thread Expand Link No. First one was bad enough lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That show was racist af Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I still can't believe he won for that crap Reply Parent Thread Link Nobody needs that Islamophobic trash. Reply Parent Thread Link it always has been like this, but she's right Reply Thread Link Hollywood is the same. They get a hold of someone and cast them in everything.see Christoph Waltz a few years ago and numerous others Reply Thread Link I feel like I haven't seen Christoph in years now that you've mentioned it. Reply Parent Thread Link I actually noticed that they keep casting the same people over and over again. I know Hollywood does the same but the turnover seems faster because they constantly want someone new/young/fresh *eye-roll*. But if I watch an English TV show or movie, it's literally the same faces I see repeatedly. Even my sister noticed it and thought it was like they only have a small pool of actors they hire from. The upcoming actors who do get cast once or twice, tend to hop over to Hollywood immediately, especially if they are POC. I think Rahul Kohli talked about this too and said that he got offered better roles in America and isn't interested in going back to England. Reply Thread Link Olivia has put in the work doing supporting work her whole career like let her thrive for a second. Reply Thread Link Jane is a treasure, shes perfect in Bloods. Reply Thread Link She was great in Trollied (although I don't think I ever ended up finishing it as so many people left). IA with her though. I'd also add Jo Joyner and Suranne Jones (although maybe neither on as big of a scale - it just seems as though they both work pretty consistently). Tbh I can see why soap actors stay on their soaps so long, because it doesn't really seem like a lot of them get acting work afterwards even in the UK. Reply Thread Link Suranne Jones definitely! I thought of her immediately and wondered why she wasn't listed instead of James or Colman (who have both graduated to film rather than TV now, for me) ... Not that I'm complaining; Suranne is also great! Reply Parent Thread Link I agree. I do get sick of the same humdrum faces. And if a fresh new case limited series super short. Reply Thread Link I mean, sure. but also most new actors suck because nepotism gets them jobs instead of talent. so im not sure if id rather see the same good people or a bunch of shitty new people Reply Thread Link whenever i watch british murder mysteries i always joke that hes the killer when certain actors show up because theyre in ALL the shows and always a murderer. it does get kind of boring. even when i see one i like. Reply Thread Link My rule is that if James Frain is in a show and theres a murder, James Frain is the murderer. Reply Parent Thread Link has he ever played a good guy? lol idk if Id want him to because hes so good at being bad but Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That's how I feel about Craig Parkinson, lmao. Any time I see him in anything I'm like "He's the bad guy!!" Reply Parent Thread Link Bubble! She didn't exactly lie. Reply Thread Link Id put Olivia Colman and Sarah Lancashire in absolutely fucking everything tbf Reply Thread Link I love those actors but she's right. We never get to find out if their contemporaries have the chops because casting directors leap to the Big Name. I get it, that gets eyes on the screen, but it also means a lot of other, equally talented actors never get their star-making turn. Reply Thread Link Youve almost got the perfect storm right now Were seeing delays of six months at a minimum to get replacement parts and things like that coming out of China, sometimes more. Ongoing supply chain disruptions are causing renewable energy growth to grind to a halt as higher prices, shortages in supply, and general uncertainty around the future of Covid prevent the development of several green energy projects. China, a huge manufacturing hub for global exports, has been battling against rising Covid cases in recent months, leading the government to lockdown Shanghai for over a month. It has also placed firm restrictions on Beijing and other areas, aiming for zero Covid. So many lockdowns, and uncertainty around restrictions, have led the Chinese supply chain to be severely weakened. But its not the only country fighting to strengthen its supply chain to pre-pandemic levels. As well as losing out on products from China, the increasing cost of materials, such as steel, has slowed the development of several renewable energy projects worldwide. Steel is a key component in wind turbine blades. But many companies are fighting to maintain wind energy project costs as the price of steel rose by around 50 percent well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fraser McLachlan, CEO of global renewables insurer GCube, stated Youve almost got the perfect storm right now Were seeing delays of six months at a minimum to get replacement parts and things like that coming out of China, sometimes more. Rising energy prices are hitting companies, governments, and consumers hard from every angle. The oil and gas shortage, exacerbated by international sanctions on Russian energy, has sent fossil fuel prices soaring. Meanwhile, rising mineral and metal prices, as well as disruptions to the supply chain, meaning that the cost of the clean energy transition is mounting higher and higher. With more lockdowns in China and uncertainty about what the future of Covid holds in other areas of the world, the production of both fossil fuels and various forms of renewable energy is looking increasingly precarious. In addition, many are starting to question the reliance of European powers on Chinas supply chain, not only because of Covid-related delays but also due to the realization of how heavily dependent the region has become on Russia for its energy and other goods. China has already become a major player in renewable energy, providing many of the core components for green energy developments. In addition, many Chinese firms have invested heavily in renewable energy projects worldwide. While Europe continues to wean itself off Russian oil and gas, currently its primary focus, it must also consider the long-term implications of coming to rely heavily on China as a replacement for Russia. China is an authoritarian power, with much of the revenue from state-owned companies going towards the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army. While it is evident that China is playing an indispensable role in the renewable energy transition, thanks to its strong manufacturing industry, Europe must consider the potential repercussions of once again becoming overdependent on any one power. Related: Why The World Cant Kick King Coal The effect of supply chain disruptions and rising prices are becoming evident in some parts of the world, with the U.S. solar industry being hit particularly hard. The national solar industry is expecting a slowdown in project expansion in 2022 due to supply chain delays as well as potential tariffs being introduced on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian states. The introduction of tariffs could further hinder an industry that is already experiencing the negative impact of Covid disruptions. With energy firms struggling to find the materials needed to complete their green energy projects, it is no wonder that many have come to rely on manufacturing superpower China to deliver as many components as possible. But the worst could be yet to come, as China is open to more lockdowns to achieve its zero-Covid target. Fitch Ratings stated As a result [of restrictions], freight traffic volume in the Shanghai metropolitan area plunged in early April and remains 80 per cent below late March. Shanghai handles a fifth of Chinas port volumes, at the beginning of May. Should lockdowns be extended, this trend is likely to continue. However, it is important to note that despite rising costs, the price of solar and wind energy has decreased substantially in recent years due to the scale of new projects. The introduction of giant wind turbines and mega solar parks has helped to reduce long-term costs substantially. Fraser McLachlan explains, You look at where solar was only a few years ago, its $6m a megawatt. And now youre looking at $1.5m a megawatt. So, while concerns around rising prices for minerals, metals, and other renewable energy components continue to be an issue, it is worth remembering how far energy companies have come in reducing the cost of renewable energy over the last decade. Although supply chain disruptions may cause a slowdown in green energy developments, the rising cost of renewables is likely temporary and should not dissuade governments and energy firms from investing heavily in a necessary green transition, in line with COP26 climate summit goals. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Koley Jessen Welcomes 23 Law Students for 2022 Summer Program Koley Jessen is pleased to welcome 23 talented law students, representing seven different law schools, for a 12-week summer program focused on training, professional development, and camaraderie. "Our program has almost tripled in size since 2019 due to our focus on organic growth of future shareholders and leaders, which is critical to the strategic growth of the firm," said David Goeschel, Recruiting Committee Chair. "Having 23 students here for the summer is going to bring a lot of energy into the office, which is exciting and something we look forward to every year. We're eager for everyone to start their experience and make the most of their summer - getting to know what a full-time position is like at our firm, meeting our people, and experiencing our culture." Koley Jessen's Summer Associate Program provides law students the opportunity to work with attorneys on ongoing client matters across the firm's areas of practice. The program is comprised of three four-week rotations through each of the firm's major departments and provides students realistic insight into the private practice of law. By summer's end, summer associates will have experienced such things as attending court hearings, trials, depositions, the closing of a transaction, and client meetings in addition to working on legal research and writing projects. Each summer associate will be matched up with a mentor, who will provide tailored guidance and feedback throughout the program. This mentorship, paired with their hands on experience, will help lay the groundwork for their legal career. Summer associates will also have a chance to attend social activities hosted by the firm to network and develop relationships in a casual environment. Joining the firm as second year summer associates are: Rebekah Birch - The University of Iowa, Avery Brown - The University of Iowa, Morgan Herchenbach - Creighton University, Kate Hughes - Creighton University, Tim Hutchinson - University of Notre Dame, Addison Schneider - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, John Lukowski - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Salome Burdiladze - Washington University in St. Louis, Jad Elchahal - The University of Iowa, Kristin Thompson - University of Minnesota Joining the firm as first year summer associates are: Greg Bird - Washington University in St. Louis, Jacob Bishop - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nick Blum - Washington University in St. Louis, Marin Coughlin - Creighton University, Carson Drake - Creighton University, Haley Faust - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Simon Hovis - The University of Iowa, Kaci Jumps - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lauren Kubat - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Taylour Kumpf - Creighton University, Luke Schnepel - The University of Iowa, Nathan Scheeley - University of Virginia, Nathan Turner - Creighton University About Koley Jessen Koley Jessen is a strategically growing law firm serving the needs of businesses and their owners, executives, and professionals in Nebraska and around the country. For businesses of all types, we are active partners who provide multi-discipline counsel to help our clients achieve personal and business success. Nebraska Public Media Wins Four Regional Murrow Awards Nebraska Public Media earned four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association. The awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news and are given to honor outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. Awards for small radio market included: "Memorial Quilt Collection in Lincoln Adds Perspective to the Losses of 9/11" in feature reporting; "'It's Scary.' Nebraska Prison Staff Share Fears of Violence" in investigative reporting; "Center of Gravity" for podcast and overall excellence for the Nebraska Public Media news team. The region includes Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. These winners will now compete for national Murrow Awards to be announced this summer. The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of electronic journalism. UVALDE, Texas (AP) Nearly 20 officers stood for about 45 minutes in the hallway outside the adjoining Texas classrooms where the gunman killed students and teachers this week before U.S. Border Patrol agents unlocked the door to confront and kill him, authorities said Friday. At least some of the 911 calls made during the Tuesday attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde came from inside the connected classrooms where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos was holed up, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said during a contentious news conference. The commander at the scene believed Ramos was barricaded inside and that the children were not at risk, McCraw said. "It was the wrong decision," he said. McCraw released new details about the attack in which Ramos killed 19 children teachers, though his motive remains unclear. The Border Patrol agents eventually used a master key to open the locked door of the classroom where they confronted and killed Ramos, he said. There was a barrage of gunfire shortly after Ramos entered the classroom where officers eventually killed him, but that shots were "sporadic" for much of the 48 minutes when officers waited in the hallway, McCraw said. He said investigators do not know if or how many children died during that time. Throughout the attack, teachers and children repeatedly called 911 asking for help, including a girl who pleaded: "Please send the police now," McCraw said. Questions have mounted over the amount of time it took officers to enter the school to confront the gunman. It was 11:28 a.m. Tuesday when Ramos' Ford pickup slammed into a ditch behind the low-slung Texas school and the driver jumped out carrying an AR-15-style rifle. Twelve minutes after that, authorities say, Ramos entered the school and found his way to the fourth-grade classroom where he killed the 21 victims. But it wasn't until 12:58 p.m. that law enforcement radio chatter said Ramos had been killed and the siege was over. What happened in those 90 minutes, in a working-class neighborhood near the edge of the town of Uvalde, has fueled mounting public anger and scrutiny over law enforcement's response to Tuesday's rampage. "They say they rushed in," said Javier Cazares, whose fourth-grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, and who raced to the school as the massacre unfolded. "We didn't see that." Friday's briefing came only after authorities spent three days providing often conflicting and incomplete information. According to the new timeline provided by McCraw, After crashing his truck, Ramos fired on two people coming out of a nearby funeral home, officials said. Contrary to earlier statements by officials, a school district police officer was not inside the school when Ramos arrived. When that officer did respond, he unknowingly drove past Ramos, who was crouched behind a car parked outside and firing at the building, McCraw said. At 11:33 p.m., Ramos entered the school through a rear door that had been propped open and fired more than 100 rounds into a pair of classrooms, McCraw said. Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine said investigators haven't yet determined why the door was propped open. Two minutes later, three local police officers arrived and entered the building through the same door, followed soon after by four others, McCraw said. Within 15 minutes, as many as 19 officers from different agencies had assembled in the hallway, taking sporadic fire from Ramos, who was holed up in a classroom. Ramos was still inside at 12:10 p.m. when the first U.S. Marshals Service deputies arrived. They had raced to the school from nearly 70 miles (113 kilometers) away in the border town of Del Rio, the agency said in a tweet Friday. But the police commander inside the building decided the group should wait to confront the gunman, on the belief that the scene was no longer an active attack, McCraw said. The crisis came to an end after a group of Border Patrol tactical officers entered the school at 12:45 p.m., said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine. They engaged in a shootout with the gunman, who was holed up in the fourth-grade classroom. Moments before 1 p.m., he was dead. Ken Trump, president of the consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, said the length of the timeline raised questions. "Based on best practices, it's very difficult to understand why there were any types of delays, particularly when you get into reports of 40 minutes and up of going in to neutralize that shooter," he said. The motive for the massacre the nation's deadliest school shooting since Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago remained under investigation, with authorities saying Ramos had no known criminal or mental health history. During the siege, frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school, according to witnesses. "Go in there! Go in there!" women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside a house across the street. Carranza said the officers should have entered the school sooner: "There were more of them. There was just one of him." Cazares said that when he arrived, he saw two officers outside the school and about five others escorting students out of the building. But 15 or 20 minutes passed before the arrival of officers with shields, equipped to confront the gunman, he said. As more parents flocked to the school, he and others pressed police to act, Cazares said. He heard about four gunshots before he and the others were ordered back to a parking lot. "A lot of us were arguing with the police, 'You all need to go in there. You all need to do your jobs.' Their response was, 'We can't do our jobs because you guys are interfering,'" Cazares said. Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, which works to make schools safer, cautioned that it's hard to get a clear understanding of the facts soon after a shooting. "The information we have a couple of weeks after an event is usually quite different than what we get in the first day or two. And even that is usually quite inaccurate," Dorn said. For catastrophic events, "you're usually eight to 12 months out before you really have a decent picture." *** Bleiberg reported from Dallas. WASHINGTON (AP) The warning signs were there for anyone to stumble upon, days before the 18-year-old gunman entered a Texas elementary school and slaughtered 19 children and two teachers. There was the Instagram photo of a hand holding a gun magazine, a TikTok profile that warned, Kids be scared, and the image of two AR-style semi-automatic rifles displayed on a rug, pinned to the top of the killers Instagram profile. Shooters are leaving digital trails that hint at whats to come long before they actually pull the trigger. When somebody starts posting pictures of guns they started purchasing, theyre announcing to the world that theyre changing who they are, said Katherine Schweit, a retired FBI agent who spearheaded the agency's active shooter program. It absolutely is a cry for help. Its a tease: can you catch me? The foreboding posts, however, are often lost in an endless grid of Instagram photos that feature semi-automatic rifles, handguns and ammunition. Theres even a popular hashtag devoted to encouraging Instagram users to upload daily photos of guns with more than 2 million posts attached to it. For law enforcement and social media companies, spotting a gun post from a potential mass shooter is like sifting through quicksand, Schweit said. Thats why she tells people not to ignore those type of posts, especially from children or young adults. Report it, she advises, to a school counselor, the police or even the FBI tip line. Increasingly, young men have taken to Instagram, which boasts a thriving gun community, to drop small hints of what's to come with photos of their own weapons just days or weeks before executing a mass killing. Before shooting 17 students and staff members dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, Nikolas Cruz posted on YouTube that he wanted to be a professional school shooter and shared photos of his face covered, posing with guns. The FBI took in a tip about Cruzs YouTube comment but never followed up with Cruz. In November, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shared a photo of a semi-automatic handgun his dad had purchased with the caption, Just got my new beauty today, days before he went on to kill four students and injure seven others at his high school in Oxford Township, Michigan. And days before entering a school classroom on Tuesday and killing 19 small children and two teachers, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos left similar clues across Instagram. On May 20, the day that law enforcement officials say Ramos purchased a second rifle, a picture of two AR-style semi-automatic rifles appeared on his Instagram. He tagged another Instagram user with more than 10,000 followers in the photo. In an exchange, later shared by that user, she asks why he tagged her in the photo. I barely know you and u tag me in a picture with some guns, the Instagram user wrote, adding, Its just scary. The school district in Uvalde had even spent money on software that, using geofencing technology, monitors for potential threats in the area. Ramos, however, didn't make a direct threat in posts. Having recently turned 18, he was legally allowed to own the weapons in Texas. His photos of semi-automatic rifles are one of many on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube where it's commonplace to post pictures or videos of guns and shooter training videos are prevalent. YouTube prohibits users from posting instructions on how to convert firearms to automatic. But Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, does not limit photos or hashtags around firearms. That makes it difficult for platforms to separate people posting gun photos as part of a hobby from those with violent intent, said Sara Aniano, a social media and disinformation researcher, most recently at Monmouth University. In a perfect world, there would be some magical algorithm that could detect a worrisome photo of a gun on Instagram, Aniano said. For a lot of reasons, thats a slippery slope and impossible to do when there are people like gun collectors and gunsmiths who have no plan to use their weapon with ill intent. Meta said it was working with law enforcement officials Wednesday to investigate Ramos accounts. The company declined to answer questions about reports it might have received on Ramos accounts. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Eddie Nelson didnt know whether he was going to come back from any of his three tours in Vietnam alive. It was very intense, said the Omaha veteran, who deployed each year from 1967 to 1969. Day to day, you had to think about survival. You were in survival mode all of the time. The enemy never took a break. Nelson did survive, and in a much more relaxed setting Saturday at St. Johns AME Church in North Omaha, he, along with Samuel Davis, Eric Critchlow, John Rollins and Dennis Wilson, was one of five Black Vietnam War veterans who were presented with a quilt by Lynn DeShon in honor of their war service. DeShon, who lives in the Ceresco area and is affectionately known as Quilt Lady, creates and presents quilts to Vietnam War veterans in honor of their sacrifices, which werent appreciated by many in the wars immediate aftermath. The majority of our Vietnam veterans were drafted. They answered the call, DeShon told the crowd of more than two dozen people. They did not run, hide (or) go other places. They stepped up to honor the United States. The quilts reflect a patriotic theme with a bald eagle taking prominence. DeShon said when she began making quilts for Vietnam veterans about five years ago, she planned to make 100. Now having made 73 quilts, she has increased that goal to infinity and beyond. I plan to give Vietnam veterans quilts for as long as I can and as long as I have Vietnam veterans to give a quilt to, she said. Saturdays veteran recognition event was the first of what organizer and Vietnam War veteran Anthony Weathers hopes to be a regular series honoring a diverse group of veterans at St. Johns AME Church. We want to include other service members (from) other war times, he said. Such events are just one way to honor veterans like Nelson who fought with valor. The U.S. Air Force veteran, who served as a weapons support radar technician, participated in some of the wars most notable battles including those associated with the Tet Offensive in 1968. That campaign led by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam army was when Nelson made peace with whatever fate awaited him. I had come to the realization that Im not ever going to get out of this alive, he said as he described fighting around the clock for three consecutive days. You had to say, Im going to take this one day at a time. If I make it, I make it, he said. And if I dont, I gave it my all. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A name etched in a marble headstone, a letter tucked away in a dresser drawer, an eternally youthful portrait in uniform for so many Gold Star families of the era, little else survived of their young men who died in World War II. Not in Bruce Jepsons family. The women who loved him would not will not allow grief to blot out the memory of the young Omaha artist-turned-airman who perished in the flaming crash of his P-51 Mustang in China, during the waning days of the war. Jepsons drawing skills earned him early acclaim, including a job as an illustrator with a local advertising firm right after graduating from Omaha Central High School in 1937 and inclusion of his work in a display at the Joslyn Art Museum. His art teacher called him very gifted, and he hoped to study at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago. Young Jepson cultivated a playboy image, dressing smartly, smoking a pipe, and carrying on an affair with a married fellow artist and pilot. Yet he was devoted to his mother and three sisters, who had been left penniless when his father died of cancer at age 42. He supported them with the earnings from his budding career in advertising. It was Jepsons love of flying, though, that led to the tragic end of his promising life. It propelled him into pilot training in Omaha after the outbreak of World War II, the Army Air Corps, and the cockpit of a P-51 in China with Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault's famous 14th Air Force. He wanted to be an artist and he wanted to fly P-51s. He wanted to fight for his country, said his niece, Julie Ann Cupak Cambridge of Omaha. He did it all. Bruce Jepsons body was never returned from China, so there is no grave to decorate on Memorial Day just a name on the wall of the fallen at Omahas Memorial Park. But his family doesnt need to lay a flower on a headstone to celebrate Jepsons life of promise. His mother, Edwina, and sisters Chris, Grace and Harryette told stories of his life and his talent, saved every letter he wrote and every sketch he ever drew. Jepsons art now decorates the walls of Cambridges home, and the homes of her siblings. His letters and sketches and photos fill scrapbooks that are lovingly paged through by his surviving family, nearly 80 years after his death. Even more, Jepsons family drew inspiration from his talent. All three of his sisters pursued careers as commercial artists, as did their children including Cambridge herself and her siblings, a cousin and her daughter, Leia Brown. I grew up hearing all the stories about Uncle Bruce. Our family has been inspired by his creativity, Brown said. Hes my hero. Cambridges mother, Grace Jepson Cupak, idolized her brother and built a career as a fashion illustrator for the former department store chain Richman-Gordman, often drawing retro models resembling the ones her brother drew as an Omaha ad man in the late 1930s and early 1940s. She fervently hoped that his story would be widely shared. Grace died in May 2021, at age 91. Today would be her 93rd birthday. Cambridge added genealogical research to the many stories of Bruce and shared them on her webpage, Ink Wash Letters WWII (inkwashletters.blogspot.com). It was (my mothers) lifelong wish that her brother be recognized and remembered, Cambridge said. Uncle Bruce had no offspring. I am his only hope as a memorial to his life. Beach barefoot-fisherman artist Bruce Jepsons life began in 1917, a stones throw from the beach in what is now Titusville, Florida. His mother, Edwina, was from Alabama, and his father, Harry, was the son of Danish immigrants who settled near Elba, Nebraska, and moved to Florida in the early 1900s. The couple married in 1915. Harry worked for his familys orange grove and land development business. Their second child, Christina, was born in 1920. Bruce developed his twin passions for art and flying during his Florida boyhood. He was dazzled by the airplanes that flew from an airfield near their home. And Edwina passed along a passion for painting. He was totally a beach barefoot-fisherman artist. He would always take his art pad everywhere, Cambridge said. The familys fortunes flagged after the fruit and land business went bust in the late 1920s. Grace was born in 1929. They moved to Omaha after Harry became ill with throat cancer. He died in September 1931, three weeks before Edwina gave birth to their youngest daughter. She was named Harryette in his memory. Widowed with four young children, Edwina did her best to keep the family together. She opened a small cafe for Creighton University students and gave piano lessons in their home on 24th Street. She delivered lessons on Shakespeare in the Omaha public schools. Bruce used his growing art skills to help the familys finances. He visited stores downtown with his brushes and painted ads in their windows for a dollar or two. When he was in high school, his work won wider acclaim. One of his paintings was selected for a national exhibit of young artists at New Yorks Rockefeller Center, and he won a scholarship in a regional art competition sponsored by the Kansas City Art Institute. He had a loft apartment, where he sat and painted, Cambridge said. He would skip school and paint all day. But the Jepsons financial fortunes didnt improve much. Edwina made the difficult decision to place Grace and Harryette, who were 8 and 6, in an orphanage for girls in Fremont, just after Christmas in 1937. They lived there for four years, though Edwina, Chris and Bruce visited every week. Bruce often drew pictures for his sisters. For her ninth birthday, he gave Grace an intricate pen-and-ink sketch of her movie hero, the child actor Shirley Temple. Great ambition Straight out of high school, Bruce Jepson landed a job with Allen and Reynolds, a prominent local advertising firm. He built a career, and a reputation. Photos and hand-drawn self-portraits show him well-dressed, with tousled hair and a self-confident grin. He had great ambitions. He would pursue the best that life had to offer, Cambridge wrote in her blog. Soon Jepson was gaining lucrative freelance jobs to supplement his ad agency income. In the summer of 1941, Jepson traveled to Mexico, a rare jaunt in those days. In his passport, he described himself as an artista. He attended bullfights and, of course, painted. The young artista had never lost his love of flying. His sisters would long remember the model airplanes that hung from the ceiling of his attic apartment. The Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor pushed him further. Jepson started flight lessons in Omaha the following spring, and earned a student pilot certificate with an eye toward joining the Army Air Corps. He was earning enough that by 1942, the family was able to move Grace and Harryette home from the orphanage. Chris was now in her 20s herself, a budding commercial artist whose talent as a fashion illustrator would eventually rival her brothers. As the chief breadwinner for his widowed mother and sisters, Jepson could have opted out of the military. But he yearned to serve when his country needed him. He didnt tell anybody at first, Cambridge said. His mother tried to get him not to go. But he just had to. He had to go. Edwina, Grace and Harryette saw him off at the bus depot when he left for military flight training in San Antonio, Texas, in March 1943. He wrote jaunty letters to his family and friends in Omaha, illustrated with funny drawings of airmen and their planes. He drew pin-up girls for his fellow cadets, attended Saturday night dances and sent money home. I am satisfied Jepson trained at several sites in Texas before earning his wings in February 1944. He traveled back to Omaha that month for 10 days of leave. He took his sisters up for a flight and treated them to lunch at King Fong Cafe on South 16th Street, his favorite restaurant. He spent evenings drinking with friends at The White Horse bar in the old Regis Hotel. He reveled in what turned out to be his last visit to his adopted hometown. The ten days went too fast, he wrote to his family a few days after he returned to Texas. But the war wont last much longer, then I can be with you all. I wanted a pair of wings and wanted to fly and fight my part of the war in the air, he added. Because I have achieved that end, I am satisfied. Jepson packed a lot of living into the last year of his life. In April 1944, he was assigned to a base in Venice, Florida, not far from Edwinas relatives in St. Petersburg. He trained to fly fighters. He reconnected with his aunts, uncles and cousins while he waited for an overseas assignment. That summer, Edwinas family persuaded her to move back to Florida, in part to be near her son. But she was too late. Before mother and sisters arrived by bus from Omaha, Jepson got orders to India, to fly P-51 Mustangs with the 529th Fighter Squadron his dream assignment. He visited the pyramids during a stopover in Egypt, and fished and drank with his buddies in India. In November the unit was reassigned to Chennaults hotshot 14th Air Force, and flew Over the Hump to Kunming, China. Jepsons pen was rarely idle. Besides sketching the sites and his friends, he drew a Christmas poster of Santa Claus, and an angel for the Red Cross. He painted nose art on his squadrons planes. Jepson flew his first combat mission in early spring, and chalked up nine more by April 25, 1945. On that day, he was part of a flight of four Mustangs sent to attack a rail bridge in northeast China. After hitting the target, his P-51 was crippled by Japanese ground fire in Shanxi province, about 250 miles southwest of Beijing. His plane crashed and burned outside a small village called Dong Guo Cun. Jepsons wingmen saw no parachute. They circled the burning aircraft, but they could offer no help. He was gone. My grandmother was devastated, Cambridge said. She didnt get out of bed for two weeks. A family of artists Edwinas torpor did not last long. She still had to raise her daughters. They stayed in Florida, at least for a time. Grace graduated from high school in St. Petersburg in 1947, and soon after left on a bus to join Chris in Omaha. Chris had built her own successful career, illustrating for local department stores and fashion boutiques. Grace landed a job in the mailroom at Mutual of Omaha while designing pamphlets and ads for them. But she lost her job in 1954, after she was married to Frank Cupak Jr. and became pregnant with the first of her four children. She continued to freelance, though, and remained active in art clubs. Graces career as a fashion artist took off in the 1970s, when she returned to work full time with Richman-Gordman, eventually becoming the chains head illustrator. Harryette followed Graces path to Omaha, and a career in fashion illustration. She rose to become art director for Brandeis and Younkers, and later was co-owner of an ad agency. All three had highly successful careers emulating their brother, whose long shadow they always felt. They were always in awe of Bruce, Cambridge said. A generation later Cambridge, too, studied art, painted and developed her own fashion portfolio. But by the time she was breaking into the field in the 1980s, fashion sketches were giving way to photography. So she moved into fashion photo styling. She studied art history, and managed a photo gallery. About 20 years ago, she began to study and curate her own familys history and art. Cambridge found a box of letters belonging to her resilient grandmother, Edwina, who died in 1978 at age 87. She read them over and over again. I felt so much a part of her life, and her tragedies, Cambridge said. She interviewed her mother and her aunts, who loved to tell the stories of their childhood especially the ones about Bruce. He had achieved so much in his short life, she said. What he was unable to achieve was always on their minds what might have been. One mystery was never solved: What happened to Bruces body? Edwina made inquiries to the Army during her lifetime, but she never received a definitive answer. A martyrs tale Through her research, Cambridge learned that Bruce Jepsons saga did not end with his death. About 10 years ago, she connected with retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jon Reynolds, who had served as a defense attache in China during the 1980s. He told her that Jepsons body had been reburied several times after it was recovered from the crashed P-51. And in 1985 Reynolds and authorities from the Armys Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii the predecessor of todays Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which also now has a lab at Offutt Air Force Base very nearly recovered his remains. Their failure to bring him home troubled Reynolds. The former attache, who died in April, told the story in a lengthy 2019 article in Air Power History magazine. Reynolds said Japanese soldiers had gathered around Jepsons P-51 after it crashed. They stripped his body of valuables and ordered Chinese villagers to bury him. They did so, then reburied him two days later after dogs had disturbed the makeshift grave. A month later, Jepson was buried again in the village cemetery, this time in a wooden coffin what Reynolds called an extraordinary gesture by people who were grateful for the assistance of American air crews during the war. In early 1946, Army authorities learned about Jepsons burial in Dong Guo Cun, but they were unable to visit because of fighting between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces. The Communist victory in 1949 and the former allies icy relationship during the Cold War ended any hope of further recovery of American remains for nearly 40 years. In February 1985, as a goodwill gesture, Chinese diplomatic authorities invited Reynolds and the Hawaii laboratory team to visit the village where Jepson had been buried. Chinese officials and villagers escorted them to the cemetery and showed the Americans to his grave. But as the U.S. anthropologists carefully unearthed the remains, they realized that they were of an Asian man, of a different size and age than the Caucasian pilot. The Americans were quickly hustled away. Only later did Reynolds find out through a diplomatic contact what had most likely happened. In Dong Guo Cun, only two people had ever been buried in a wooden coffin: the American pilot, and a Chinese martyr of the 1949 revolution. Years earlier, the Chinese martyr had been disinterred and his body moved to a cemetery in a distant province nearer his home, one reserved for national heroes. I think you moved the wrong casket, Reynolds told the diplomat. The accounting agency maintains a file on Jepson in the hope of someday recovering his body. In 2017, Cambridge, her mother, her husband and her brother met with agency analysts assigned to the case. It allowed (my mother) to feel that she herself made efforts to help in the search for her brothers remains, Cambridge wrote on her website. Also (to know) that he is not forgotten. Reynolds told her that the fraught relations between U.S. and China make it unlikely Jepsons body will ever be brought home to Nebraska. But Cambridge and her family take some comfort in the likelihood that he is buried among Chinese heroes even if by mistake. I think hed be fine with that. He loved the Chinese people, she said. Its a sad ending. But its kind of spiritual. Leia Brown said she feels a bit conflicted about his fate. But she sees his legacy in her own family, and their art. Id like to have him home, she said. But his story is being told. Thats whats important. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Years before women were permitted to join the armed forces as full service members, tens of thousands of women enlisted for emergency volunteer service during World War II. One such woman was Estelle Leinen, who assisted in the war effort for three years in the 1940s before settling on a large farm in Iowa. Leinen, who celebrated her 100th birthday in April, died at her home on May 17. Born on Easter Sunday in 1922, the Chicago native was one of nearly 87,000 women who served in the U.S. Navy through the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) program during WWII. She enlisted in 1943, just three years after graduating from high school. The WAVES program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1942. It allowed women to serve as commissioned officers at the enlisted level at the Naval Reserves for the duration of the war plus six months. It was disbanded in 1948. WAVES volunteers were not placed in combat roles, but instead served in support positions. Leinen worked as a storekeeper and was tasked with managing inventory and keeping track of supplies. While serving at the Naval Station Great Lakes, Leinen met her husband, Lavern. The pair got married one month after Leinen was honorably discharged in August 1946. The newlyweds moved to Dow City, Iowa, about an hour northeast of Omaha, in 1947. They raised a large family and tended to a family farm. When Lavern became ill from a combination of Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases, Leinen acted as his primary caregiver for 20 years until his death in 1998. Leinen was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs, Creighton and Duke, as well as a devout Catholic and a member of St. Mary Catholic Church. She is survived by children Phil, Larry, Mary, Vincent, Joan and Dee, 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and siblings Francis Busch and Mary Camilla Glavin Rosentreter. Funeral services took place Saturday at St. Mary Catholic Church in Dow City. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. AUBURN, Ala. (AP) The Federal Communications Commission will not revoke radio broadcast licenses held by former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, after ruling that Hubbards convictions on ethics charges did not automatically disqualify him. Administrative Law Judge Jane Hinckley Halprin ruled this month that the enforcement bureau had not proven that Hubbards felony convictions render him, and by extension Auburn Network, unqualified to hold the licenses. The crimes of which Mr. Hubbard is guilty are not trivial; indeed, he is currently incarcerated as a result, Halprin wrote, but noted that policies are clear, that not every felony is disqualifying. In short, a careful review of the criminal record and all the evidence submitted fails to persuade the Presiding Judge that Mr. Hubbard does not possess the character to remain a Commission licensee. Hubbard established the Auburn Network, Inc. in 1994 and holds the licenses for News Talk 1400 WANI in Opelika and Wings 94.3 WGZZ in Waverly along with three FM translator stations that rebroadcast the signals. According to commission filings, after his conviction, Hubbard agreed to sell the stations to Frank Lee Perryman for $775,000. But a decision on the license transfer request was held in abeyance while the revocation was decided. Hubbard is serving a 28-month prison sentence after being convicted in 2016 of violating the state ethics law, including using his public office for personal financial gain. He is imprisoned at Limestone Correctional Facility. His earliest release date is Jan. 8, 2023. Prosecutors accused Hubbard of leveraging his powerful public office to obtain clients and investments for his businesses, violating the prohibition against giving a thing of value to an elected official. His defense maintained the contracts were legitimate work and unrelated to his position as House speaker. Hubbard last year filed a motion seeking early release from prison, but a judge has not acted on that request. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Nebraska has made significant progress hardening school buildings against attacks like the one in Uvalde, Texas. And the states gotten better at identifying potentially dangerous kids ahead of time, officials say. But as shock and sadness sweep the nation over the loss of life at Robb Elementary School, Nebraskans are asking: What more can be done? A state task force will try to answer that question. Jolene Palmer, Nebraska school safety and security director, said Friday that theres more work to be done, but schools are light years ahead of where they were even four or five years ago. They are safer than they were, she said. And Ill tell you, they still are the safest place for kids to be. Theres not a doubt in my mind. School officials in Nebraska have been working for at least a decade on hardening their buildings. Many of these efforts were prompted by Omaha shootings in 2007 at Von Maur department store and 2011 at Millard South High School. The latter killed an assistant principal. Many schools here have installed buzz-in front doors with man-trap vestibules and security cameras both inside and out. Theyve improved exterior doors, adding key fob openers and alarm systems that trigger when a doors opened. Theyve done away with the 1970s-era open floor plans, remodeling them into stand-alone classrooms with door locks that lock from the inside. Some schools are still working to accomplish these changes. Voters in Ralston Public Schools last fall approved a bond issue that will pay for vestibule-style secure entrances at the districts middle and elementary schools. Grand Island Public Schools is spending more than $2.2 million of federal COVID-19 relief money to renovate and add secure entrances to several elementary and middle schools. The entrances will be the vestibule type, which consists of a secure space with cameras and a locked door where a visitor has to request to enter the building through a video intercom system outside, said Mitchell Roush, spokesman for Grand Island. Palmer said a large majority of the states schools have their perimeter doors locked all day, with a single school entrance. But she acknowledged that sometimes a teacher will prop open a door to run out to their car or a child will put a rock in it to hold it open for a friend. In Texas, authorities said a teacher was seen on video propping open an exterior door to the school, which the teacher exited to retrieve a phone, the Associated Press reported. The teacher then returned but left the door propped open. The 18-year-old shooter entered the school through the open door just minutes later. Many Omaha Public Schools parents took to social media this past week to express gratitude that district buildings have locked and secure entrances. But some parents also expressed concern about their schools security. The first time I picked up my son, I was never asked for an ID. They know me now, but what about that first time? said Jessica Marie Howe, an OPS parent. I dont know what we can do as a community, but I cant handle this anxiety I have about sending my son to school. And it gets worse and worse with every tragic event. Side exits are a problem, said Brad Podany, a security guard at South High School. Podany said the high school has about 30 exits in the entire building. Before the pandemic, there was a big push for teachers to guard each exit because students kept leaving voluntarily or opening doors for others to come into the school, he said. But the ongoing staff shortage has complicated that effort. Its a constant fight, because you have students that will walk past the door, and someone will be outside knocking and they will just open the door to let anybody in, he said. Palmer said the state has trained secretaries to manage school entrances, so they know what to look for before letting someone in. Schools have been doing more drills, and changing up the scenarios, she said. A majority of schools have adopted the I Love U Guys standard response protocol, which gives educators, students and first responders common procedures and language in an emergency. Locking classroom doors from the inside remains one of the most effective ways to deter an intruder, Palmer said. Up to this point, there has never been an intruder that breached a locked classroom door, she said. The safest place for a student is behind a locked classroom door where no one can see them from the hallway, she said. The idea is if we can get kids out of sight, theres good chances theyre going to survive, she said. The No. 1 strategy, however, still remains having strong relationships between students and staff, she said. That way, the student has a caring adult in whom to confide. About half the states school districts have a threat assessment team, she said. The pandemic slowed training of those teams, though, as districts dealt with other priorities, she said, but those are going to ramp up again now. Nebraska is ahead of other states in developing teams and pairing them with the states Safe2Help hotline, Palmer said. The anonymous line lets people talk to Boys Town counselors who can either send immediate help in a life-threatening situation or report the information to the threat assessment team for further evaluation. Tips are crucial because 81.9% of the time somebody knows something about whats about to happen, she said. Since Jan. 7, 2020, the state received about 1,300 Safe2Help reports, she said. We know for a fact, or were pretty sure, that weve thwarted six shootings, Palmer said. Nebraska is the only state in the nation that has a report line thats connected to school threat assessment teams, according to Diana Schmidt, who manages the hotline at Boys Town. That connection ensures the information gets into the hands of those who need it. So as quickly as a Safe2Help Nebraska crisis counselor gets the information, they can even still be engaging with the tipster and send the information to a district team, she said. Palmer said authorities still would benefit from having more eyes scanning social media. And thats not artificial intelligence, that needs to be by a human being, she said. In almost every incident in the last decade, there were red flags, she said. Though admittedly, Palmer added, theres often little time for authorities to act on those postings. Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt will be creating a task force to review school safety in Nebraska schools. State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, chair of the Legislatures Education Committee, asked him to form the group to review current school safety, security and preparedness practices. The group, she said, should identify strategies and solutions to ensure Nebraska schools remain safe. Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, last week said the root cause of mass shootings is mental illness. The state will, he said, continue to look for ways to strengthen our mental health services and foster effective communication between first responders, educators, medical professionals and law enforcement to better identify and treat mental health issues. Critics on social media noted that Ricketts vetoed a bill in 2018 that would have used private funds to hire a social worker in each of the states 17 regional educational service units, with the goal of identifying children in need of behavior health services so they could be connected to community resources. The $3.6 million program would have been funded for three years with private donations. At the time, Ricketts said he opposed the bill because it would have obligated the state to run a privately funded grant program that would have duplicated efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services. He also noted that donations could still be given directly to the service units. Blomstedt said the state definitely can be better in providing mental health services in rural areas. A portion of the federal COVID-19 relief aid has already been targeted toward mental health concerns that arose from the pandemic. There are several Nebraska counties that have no providers living in them, according to Blomstedt. Theres just flatly areas that are just underserved, and shortages everywhere else, he said. In plans adopted last year, about 20% of Nebraska districts indicated they want to use some of their federal COVID-19 money to address mental health issues for both students and staff. Many are hiring more licensed mental health practitioners to allow more students to receive therapy, or giving existing staff more hours to help students. Some state legislators, though, have publicly said the solution needs to involve changes to firearm laws. Much like on the national level, such efforts in Nebraska have failed to gain approval in recent years. Among the failed efforts was a red-flag bill in 2020. The legislation would have allowed a family member, household member, school superintendent or law enforcement official to petition a judge to have firearms temporarily removed from a person deemed a significant risk. Ricketts opposed the measure. Several other gun-related bills that year brought hundreds of opponents to the State Capitol. Sen. John Cavanaugh told The World-Herald a day after the shooting in Texas that all options needed to be on the table. If our representatives in Congress will not protect children, we may need to act at the state level, he said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Joe Dejka Joe covers education for The World-Herald, focusing on pre-kindergarten through high school. Phone: 402-444-1077. Follow Joe Dejka Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today It is always heartening when elected officials reach across the aisle and agree on something that is, ultimately, to the benefit of their constituents. In this legislative session, both Nebraska and Iowa lawmakers worked together to pass legislation, in their respective states, that eliminates sales tax on feminine hygiene products. Nebraska LB 984, which ends what is sometimes referred to as a tampon tax, was signed into law by Gov. Pete Ricketts in April. The bill, originally introduced as LB 881 by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, also requires that state detention centers, including jails and prisons, provide free feminine hygiene products to female inmates upon request. McKinney acknowledged that current policies in state prisons and many county jails already provide free hygiene products to incarcerated persons, but said he wanted to ensure that the products would remain free regardless of policy changes. I know counties and the state provide (hygiene products) free of charge, but one day (an inmate) could wake up and they could not be free, he said. Its just making sure that we put it in the statute. Iowas legislation creates a sales tax exemption for baby diapers, adult incontinence products and feminine hygiene products. It is estimated the exemption will save Iowans about $11.5 million annually. The bill awaits Gov. Kim Reynolds signature, and lawmakers seem optimistic that it will be signed. Republican lawmakers in both states can say they made good on campaign promises to reduce taxes. For Democrats, the exemptions represent a win in a fight many have argued as financial inequality that creates a disproportionate burden on women. This is a medically necessary product just for women and needs to be treated that way, said Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, just after the Iowa House voted unanimously to pass the bill. Whatever the reasons for the cooperation, the passage of those bills is an example of how democracy can work. The bills also present opportunities for lawmakers of both states to consider next year. Nebraska could join Iowa in removing sales tax from baby diapers and adult incontinence products, and Iowa could enact the same laws ensuring free feminine hygiene products to incarcerated women in the state prison and county jails. For parents, the cost of purchasing diapers can easily run as much as $100 a month, if not more depending on the number of children in a household who need them. The financial burden added by the sales tax may not seem like a lot at a single trip to the store. But the amount adds up. Unless Nebraska follows suit on the diaper tax, it could see more people crossing the Missouri River to stock up in Iowa. Already, when Iowa holds its two-day sales tax holiday in August, Council Bluffs Metro Crossing and Marketplace retail centers are filled with cars bearing Nebraska plates. For incarcerated women, providing free feminine hygiene products is a good way to help address gender inequities in the prison system. In Nebraska, medicine, groceries and gasoline are all tax-exempt. Feminine hygiene products are a necessity like medicine, which is provided to inmates at no cost to them. Its good that Nebraska has locked in the no-cost policy that currently exists in its prisons. To be clear, we understand that taxes are necessary to fund needed public services and pay state and city employees. But there are places where the tax burden can and should be eased. If it can be done so in a bipartisan manner, even better. Lets hope Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both states will find other issues they can work on to make life better for the public. SENECA A boat that exploded and caught fire Saturday afternoon, injuring 14 occupants and one marina worker, remains in the Illinois River in Seneca, Illinois State Police said. Trooper Genelle Jones said in an emailed statement to the Pantagraph on Sunday morning that the boat was not removed the day before because of nightfall. Jones added the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working at the scene to recover the boat and debris, which was expected to be done by early afternoon Sunday. The trooper said the Illinois River is open, but boaters should use caution around the cleanup area. ISP, the Seneca Police Department and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police responded to the incident at about 4:26 p.m. Saturday at Spring Brook Marina. According to a Sunday news release from IDNR, a 40-foot vessel with 17 people on board had just completed fueling. Based on interviews and a review of video footage, authorities say it appears the explosion happened from inside the vessel. ISP and IDNR said 13 people from the boat were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, and one was life flighted to a Chicago hospital with serious injuries. One marina employee was also taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. IDNR Conservation Police are leading the investigation with assistance from ISP and the Illinois State Fire Marshals Office. No further information was available Sunday. Contact Robyn Skaggs at robyn.skaggs@lee.net or 309-820-3244. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Robyn Skaggs Regional Content Editor Follow Robyn Skaggs Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today CLINTON When Marine Veteran Darvin Volker died a year and a half ago, Jeff Morlock promised him at his "battle cross" that he would do something to honor his service in the Korean War. Through organizing the Battle Cross Crusaders, a group of about 90 Vietnam War and Korean War veterans, plus veteran supporters, Morlock is fulfilling his promise with their first Veteran to Veteran Tribute. The group, which takes up the name of a fallen soldiers makeshift memorial marker made from a rifle posted into the ground with a helmet and boots, debuted the Sunday afternoon event at Woodlawn Cemetery as a preface to weekend Memorial Day activities. Over 50 attended, and were transported about the cemetery grounds. One was Keith Volker, a Crusader himself and a Marine who served from 1986 to 1990. He said his father, Darvin Volker, wasnt killed in action, but he did do a lot for veterans. Volker said his dad went out to the Veterans Affairs facility in Danville a lot, and he helped set up the AMVETS group in Clinton. Volker has two sons in the military: Kaleb in the Air Force, and Andrew in the Marines, just like his father and grandfather. The Crusaders honored veterans buried at the Clinton cemetery by reciting names of all who died in battle or while serving from World War I and onward. Wreaths were placed by the gravesides and a bell was rung in their memory. Afterward, they continued those same efforts at the cemetery in Kenney. U.S. Army veterans Kent Matthews and Gary Reynolds, both killed in action in the Vietnam War, were among those honored, as well as U.S. Naval Officer Henry Kleeman, who has a road named after him in Clinton. Karen Reynolds placed a memorial for her brother Gary at the cemetery. She told The Pantagraph that when her ride to the event arrived, she told her cousin she forgot how she doesnt like Memorial Day. Its always a hard day for me, she said. And I was sorry I did this, but now that weve done it, I'm glad I did it. Reynolds said her brother served in Vietnam for only 36 days. Gary Reynolds also served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia, she added. World War II veterans commemorated were U.S. Marine James Hiter and Army soldier Merle Hiter. Morlock said they were brothers who died months apart one in the European front and the other in Asia. Marty Hiter was there to memorialize her brothers-in-law. She said the Sunday tribute was wonderful. They need to be recognized and remembered, she said. These boys died in 1944 and they need to be recognized, and of course all of our veterans living and dead need to be recognized and remembered by everyone. Morlock believes every city in the country should do something to honor each and every veteran killed in battle. And for Memorial Day, he said its especially important to personally recognize them. Everybody needs recognition, he said of veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The Battle Cross Crusaders also aim to give final respects to veterans by staffing their funeral routes, holding military branch flags, and providing service flag cases. Morlock said his grandfather, U.S. Armory Staff Sgt. Wavren Hill, served as a medic in WWII. Hes read letters stating Hill ran into machine gun fire and artillery fire. And, he was married on Pearl Harbor Day. Although Hill died in 1981 when Morlock was 10 years old, he said his grandfather instilled a lot of things in him. One was giving back to the community and the other was taking care of our veterans, said Morlock. Morlock invites anyone wishing to organize their own veterans tribute to contact him at the "Battle Cross Crusaders" Facebook page. Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The David Davis Mansion and McLean County Museum of History share a historic connection via the life of George P. Davis, who moved into the home of his parents, Sarah and David Davis, after his fathers death in 1886. The museum was originally named the McLean County Historical Society when it was founded in 1892 by local historians George P. Davis, Ezra M. Prince, and John H. Burnham, among others. George became the societys chief financial supporter and a valuable volunteer, serving as its treasurer in 1892 and as president for 19 years until his death in 1917. As founders, George and his friends participated in one of the great waves of museum development in the United States. European governments established their first national museums (housed in grandiose architectural palaces) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. But most American museums developed differently due to the nations unique history. After the Civil War, prosperous middle-class Americans began developing a greater interest in their heritage, especially when encouraged to write community histories for display at the 1876 Worlds Fair. In the next decade, amateur historians were gradually superseded by professionally educated university professors, but the two groups collaborated in 1884 to create the American Historical Association. Academic historians were so focused on national issues, however, that they overlooked the history of Americas small towns. Thus, the interest in collecting and exhibiting unusual objects happened mainly at the local level in the United States, and this desire intensified when hundreds of privately supported historical societies were founded during the Gilded Age (1870-1915). Their initial goals were to preserve local records and document the oral histories of old-timers, reminiscing about their communitys past. George was the epitome of the dedicated amateur historian in the late 19th century. He joined the American Historical Association, ordered hundreds of volumes for his personal library (expanding his fathers already enormous collection), and worked to preserve the countys history. At the outset, most historical societies limited themselves to creating libraries, research projects and publications. Davis, Prince, and Burnham formed a Committee on Publication, which compiled and published three volumes of reports (transactions) about McLean Countys history: war records (1899); school records (1900); and proceedings of the meeting on May 29, 1900, commemorating the founding of the Illinois Republican Party (May 29, 1856). George was so proud of the first volume that he sent copies to relatives around the United States. As they began collecting artifacts, the newly founded historical societies opened museums. In 1876, for example, there were 78 historical societies in the United States, mostly in the East, and approximately half of them had museums. The society operated in that small museum until it moved in 1922 to the McBarnes Memorial Building on East Grove Street. Today, the museum comprises the entire courthouse building. Although he had retired from the board of supervisors a few years earlier, Georges 20-year tenure on the board undoubtedly helped guide their decision. George developed an especially keen interest in the history of Native Americans, perhaps during his trip to the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair where Smithsonian-designed exhibits of indigenous peoples were displayed. Six months afterward, he purchased copies of three 1829 treaties signed with native American tribes: the Winnebago; the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawattamie; and the Delaware). Historical societies often increased their museums collections by sponsoring expeditions to regions west of the Mississippi. In October 1906, Milo Custer (later named curator in 1909) traveled to Brown County, Kansas, to collect artifacts and to photograph members of the Kickapoo who had settled there after their forced removal from Illinois. George paid for Custers expedition. In an Omnibus Resolution approved at the meeting on Dec. 1, 1906, where Custer presented the results of his expedition, the society also commended George for providing copies of five Indian portraits, originals of which were printed in 1831. As late as 1931, George was still remembered by the societys retiring president for that contribution: we have portraits of many Indian chiefs, exact replicas of the originals in Washington [D.C.], obtained by George Davis. One of the portraits is documented in the museums current collections, with the notation Kannekuk portrait, circa 1906. By Florence Harris, based on the George Catlin portrait painted circa 1831. Donated by: George Perrin Davis. The influence of Davis, Prince, and Burnham extended beyond McLean County. They were among the founders of the Illinois State Historical Society in 1899, and a special relationship subsequently developed between the two institutions. In an article in their 1915 Journal, the states historical society commended the McLean County Historical Society as one of our largest and oldest county historical societies. The same Journal article described the societys museum collections, which included implements illustrating spinning, weaving, and pioneer household handicraft, together with the earliest farming tools and agricultural implements, etc. The walls are wholly covered with portraits of the pioneers and soldiers of the Mexican and civil wars, while there are nearly a dozen cases filled with Indian and archaeological specimens, miniatures, portraits, old letters and other valuables too numerous to mention. A testimonial given by a mutual friend at Burnhams 1917 funeral extolled the contributions that Burnham and Davis had made to the society: It is very largely because of their unflagging zeal and unremitting labors in its behalf ... that it has grown and developed until it has become an institution of which ... all the people of McLean county have good reason to be proud. Pieces From Our Past is a weekly column by the McLean County Museum of History. Contributor Marcia Young is a retired site manager of the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site in Bloomington. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 THORNTON Jim Berschinski at first thought he was being scammed when he got a call from his bank, Fifth Third, asking whether he had written a check for $8,000 to someone named Martez Campbell. Fifth Third Bank had called his cellphone, and the Thornton resident wondered if it was a fraudster attempting to extract private information from him. "I went and called the number on my house phone and it said it was Fifth Third's fraud department, so it was OK and I talked to them," he said. As it turned out, a check he had written March 25 for $46.23 to Commonwealth Edison had been swiped, altered and cashed for $8,000. Berschinski was able to get the funds returned to his account, but he is still working with Fifth Third on a second altered check. That check also was written March 25 and mailed that day at the collection boxes outside the Thornton post office. It was for $3.62 for the balance he owed on a medical procedure. It was also intercepted and altered to $8,110 and cashed soon after. The weekend after he'd mailed off the checks, the outside collection boxes at the post office were broken into, and Thornton police say other people who deposited mail had checks stolen and altered. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirmed the outside collection boxes were broken into during that period soon after Berschinski had mailed his checks, and that postal inspectors and Thornton police are continuing to investigate. However, Thornton police Chief Glenn Beckman said Thursday his department is not involved in any formal investigation, and that the Thornton post office did not report to police that the collection boxes had been broken into. But he said his department has determined that eight people had mail containing checks taken from the post office boxes and most, like Berschinski, were also victims of checks being altered and cashed. Berschinski said he went to the post office the weekend after he mailed his checks and saw the slots had been taped closed and the backs of the boxes had appeared to have been pried open. The three collection boxes were removed soon after, but new ones will soon take their place, according to a U.S. Postal Service spokesman. While something alerted Fifth Third's fraud department to flag the ComEd check as suspicious, the other check, which had a forgery of Berschinski's signature and was made payable to Gandre Holman, "just slipped through the cracks" as far as being flagged as potentially fraudulent, Berschinski said he was told by the bank. The retired union insulator said he is working with Fifth Third to get the money back into his account, but has been told it could take months before that happens. A spokesman for Fifth Third said Thursday the bank could not provide further comment. Recurring problem The Chicago Tribune and other Tribune suburban publications, including the Daily Southtown and Pioneer Press, have reported in recent months on mail thefts. Berschinski contacted the Southtown after reading about a Chicago Heights man, Don Tornow, who had a similar problem with a check he had mailed that was altered then cashed. Tornow sent a $10 check in early December as a holiday tip to the person who delivers his Southtown, and the check somehow was altered to show a payment of $9,500 and was cashed two months later. Tornow spent weeks working with his bank, Chase, to get the money returned to his account. He had read in the Southtown about recent news reports of stolen checks and thought he may have fallen victim. In early December he had dropped off three checks, including the $10 one as well as two other checks for his water and gas bills, which were never cashed and Tornow later voided them. Tornow had dropped them in the outside collection boxes at the Chicago Heights post office. The postal inspection service said there were no reports of mail thefts at the Chicago Heights post office around the time in early December that Tornow had mailed his three checks. The Southtown earlier this year reported about thefts of mail from outside collection boxes at the New Lenox post office, which prompted the removal in late February of the three boxes. Postal authorities began an investigation in early January after a report of theft at the three outside collection boxes at the New Lenox post office. After the initial theft report, two of the boxes had been secured with tape in a way to prevent them from being used. Then, New Lenox police investigated a Feb. 21 incident in which one of the boxes was pried open, after which all three boxes were removed. The boxes have not yet been replaced, a postal service spokesman said Thursday. Reporting by the Pioneer Press showed numerous instances of checks mailed from the Park Ridge post office that had been intercepted, altered and cashed by people who were not the intended recipients. A Dolton man, Kelvin Dortch Jr., has been charged in federal court in connection with alleged mail thefts at the Park Ridge post office, and a status hearing in that case is set for July 22, according to a recent court filing. Fraud prevention tips Banks, including Fifth Third, suggest customers can avoid check fraud, such as check washing, by using online or mobile bill payment methods rather than paying bills by sending a check in the mail. If paying by check, using a gel pen is advised since the ink does a better job of permeating the fibers on the check, making it more difficult to alter payees and amounts using chemicals and solvents. Banks and the postal inspection service also recommend dropping checks off inside their post office rather than at neighborhood collection boxes or those outside the post office. Thieves use fishing line or blocks and bottles coated with adhesives to "fish" at night at outside collection points to pull out envelopes, they say. The postal inspection service also recommends not leaving letters and packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time and, when dropping off mail at outside mailboxes, timing it before the last collection of the day or depositing them in the slots inside the post office. If you are expecting a check, credit card or other valuable mail that is overdue, check with the sender, the service recommends. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO Temperatures barely climbed into the 90s and only for a couple of days. But the discovery of the bodies of three women inside a Chicago senior housing facility this month left the city looking for answers to questions that were supposed to be addressed after a longer and hotter heat wave killed more than 700 people nearly three decades ago. Now, the city and the country is facing the reality that because of climate change, deadly heat waves can strike just about anywhere, don't only fall in the height of summer and need not last long. "Hotter and more dangerous heat waves are coming earlier, in May ... and the other thing is we are getting older and more people are living alone," said Eric Klinenberg, a New York University sociologist, who wrote "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago." about the 1995 heat wave. "It's a formula for disaster." The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women whose bodies were found in the James Sneider Apartments on May 14. But the victims' families have already filed or plan to file wrongful death lawsuits against the companies that own and manage the buildings. The City Council member whose ward includes the neighborhood where the building is located said she experienced stifling temperatures in the complex when she visited, including in one unit where heat sensors hit 102 degrees. "These are senior residents, residents with health conditions (and) they should not be in these conditions," Alderman Maria Hadden said in a Facebook video shot outside the apartments. Part of the problem, experts say, is that communities nationwide are still learning how deadly heat can be. In Chicago, it took the sight of refrigerated trucks being filled with dead bodies after the 1995 heat wave to drive home the message that the city was woefully unprepared for a silent and invisible disaster that took more than twice as many lives as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. That realization led to a system in which city workers start calling the elderly and frail, and turn city buildings into 24-hour cooling centers when temperatures become oppressive. What happened this month is a reminder that the safeguards in place to make sure people don't freeze to death because they have not paid their heating bills often do not exist to prevent people from overheating in their homes. "We have nothing for air conditioning," Hadden said. One expert isn't surprised. "We recognize people need heating in cold weather and set up programs, financial assistance, to enable that but we don't do that for cooling," said Gregory Wellenius, a Boston University professor of environmental health who has studied heat-related deaths. "But subsidies for cooling are really controversial (because) for many people cooling is seen as a luxury item." In Chicago, Hadden said the building's management company believed it was not allowed to turn off the heat and turn on the air conditioning until June 1, because of the city's heat ordinance. But while she said the ordinance has no such requirement, the explanation may at least be a signal that the ordinance should be amended to better protect vulnerable people from heat. Wellenius said statistics show that while well over 80% of homes in cities such as Dallas and Phoenix have air conditioning, the percentage is far lower in cities like Boston and New York. And in the Pacific Northwest, the percentage is even lower, something that came into stark relief in Oregon, Washington and western Canada last June, when temperatures climbed as high as 118 degrees Fahrenheit, killing 600 people or more. There is encouraging news. "More people have air conditioning and we are more aware of the health risks of heat waves," Klinenberg said. Still, there is evidence that people don't appreciate or even know just how dangerous the heat can be. In a study published in 2020, Wellenius and other researchers estimated that nationwide about 5,600 deaths a year could be attributed to high heat eight times more than the 700 heat-related deaths that are study found were officially reported each year. Wellenius said the reasons for what he called a "gross miscalculation" begin with the fact that official statistics are simply the result of counting death certificates that list heat as the cause of death. In the county that includes Chicago, for example, the medical examiner's office reported two heat-related deaths last year, and seven the year before. Just how many deaths in the U.S. are heat related today is unclear. Wellenius' study, published in 2020, is the result of research from 1997 to 2006. And Klinenberg said the issue has been complicated by the pandemic. "It's hard to distinguish excess heat deaths from COVID deaths," he said. Still, Hadden knows something must be done to deal with heat that can hit earlier and later in the year than it once did. "We have to plan for this," she said. Klinenberg wonders if cities will follow up on such talk. "Heat never feels like the most important thing in cities and by the time it feels like the most important thing it is too late to do anything about it," he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Abortion, Jan. 6, Donald Trump, critical race theory and whether Joe Biden is rightfully the president of the United States were the basis of questions asked to a field of six Republican candidates for Illinois governor Tuesday. A pair of debates took place on two stages in Chicago due to a scheduling conflict between two TV networks, NBC 5 and WGN. NBCs 6 p.m. debate included Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, the polling and money frontrunner, along with former Waterloo state Sen. Paul Schimpf and suburban attorney Max Solomon. The 7 p.m. WGN debate that followed included Sen. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, Petersburg venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan and suburban paving magnate Gary Rabine. Below is a summary of some of the candidates response to the various debate questions. On abortion When pressed by moderator Mary Ann Ahern of NBC, Irvin stuck to talking points from previous media appearances on abortion, stating he is pro-life, but saying it would be irresponsible to comment on a leaked Supreme Court decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade. The stand will happen once an actual draft comes down, Irvin said, which Ahern noted could be after the primary election. He said the voters he speaks to are upset about how J.B. Pritzker has been so extreme, and he would look to reinstate a requirement that doctors notify parents 48 hours before a minor receives an abortion. Hes also said hed support exceptions for life of the mother, rape and incest. Bailey said his only exceptions, in the unlikely circumstance he could work with lawmakers to outlaw abortion, would be for threats to the life of the mother. Otherwise, his policy would involve making abortion unnecessary by getting church groups involved to offer unspecified options to pregnant people. We're asking church, civic, religious groups to come alongside and offer options that the pregnant woman may not know or be aware exists, he said. Sullivan said when he heard about the leaked Supreme Court decision, he dropped to his knees and prayed with his family, and he said he would be the most pro-life governor in the history of the state of Illinois. His exceptions include rape, incest and life of the mother, he said. Schimpf said he would not necessarily push for, but would sign, any legislation that brings Illinois closer to the mainstream. Solomon said he believes that life begins before we were formed, and Rabine said he would allow exceptions for life of the mother, and he suggested increasing the use and funding of ultrasound machines. I'm confident that when ... a young lady gets an ultrasound, the odds are over 80% that she won't get that that abortion, Rabine said. Any action on abortion would require action from the General Assembly that could very well maintain veto-proof supermajorities of Democrats. On the economy Bailey, who served on a Clay County school board for 17 years and voted at least a dozen times to raise property taxes in the district, said when it comes to education, money is not the answer. He said state payments to schools were unreliable at the time he served. Illinois, in 2017, adopted a new school funding formula directing more money to the neediest districts with a requirement of $350 million to be added to K-12 funding each year. Bailey didnt identify any cuts to state government but said his plan was to implement a zero based budget. Thats how we weed out the fat, he said. Literally in every department, well hire and select men and women of common sense and business sense who will begin to dissect each agency and rebuild it. When asked how his governorship would differ from that of previous Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner should Democrats in the General Assembly not fall in line with his plans, Bailey once again pointed to zero based budgeting. He also said hed cut all unfunded mandates from our communities and our schools. Rauner, who came into office with a broad turnaround agenda aimed at reforming pensions and busting public employee unions, presided over a two-year budget impasse during which the state spent billions of dollars more than it took in. Rabine said he believes he could work with lawmakers to avoid an impasse because most lawmakers want whats best for Illinois. I'm a turnaround person in business, he said. I'm gonna turn the state around like nobody's ever seen before. Sullivan said all Rauner wanted to do is fight with Mike Madigan and he betrayed conservative principles by signing an abortion expansion. Well, I am a downstate Central Illinois guy, one of eight kids who grew up working on a farm. I had to split a piece of gum when I was growing up with my mom, you know, because we never could take a full piece for ourselves. And so working together with others is part of my DNA, he said. As governor he would replace the Illinois State Board of Education, end COVID-19 executive orders and wield the veto, he said. And then, God-willing, we are going to have veto power as governor, then we need to replace out the legislature with next generation conservatives who will change the state, he said. Rabine said Illinois needs to crush property taxes to being the average of the country, although local governments, not the state, levy taxes on property. In many cases the state has had to take on a lot of responsibility from the local community to change it, he said without going into specifics. Sullivan claimed he could save $10 billion in the state budget, citing only a planned hiring freeze, planned pension reforms and local government consolidation. I'm going to get out a Sharpie as big as Donald Trump's and write veto across any new tax that comes across my desk, Sullivan said. He didnt directly respond as to how he would replace revenues from the grocery tax and gas tax which he said he would like to repeal. Those taxes fund local governments and road and bridge construction, respectively. Irvin, Solomon and Schimpf were asked about how they would address a racial wealth gap, and all said they needed policies that lead to economic development for all. That's exactly what we need to do, go around the state, were the sixth-largest state in the union, we got to start acting like we're the Land of Lincoln, Irvin said. We got to go around this country. Go around this world, identify businesses that are a good fit with Illinois and put them in areas where we need them. Irvin spoke in favor of business incentives and getting rid of a sales tax on motor fuel, which is levied on top of the motor fuel tax. His campaign later walked back the statement, saying he supports capping the sales tax on fuel. I will never agree to raising taxes, but what I will do is work to cut waste, cut duplication of services and grow our economy, Irvin said, without going into specifics. Schimpf said he would look to end that predatory taxation of sales tax on fuel and would insist on a balanced budget and transparency. I will veto any legislation that is not passed in a transparent manner. That includes budgets that are drafted overnight and presented to the Illinois General Assembly without time for them to read and review, he said. On pensions Most of the candidates, including Irvin, Rabine and Sullivan, said their solution to addressing Illinois $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities would be a 401k-style plan for new employees. When asked by the moderator, Schimpf said he was against pulling a constitutional protection clause for pensions from the Illinois Constitution, a move which requires no official action from the governor. The constitutional protection, upheld by the Supreme Court, states that pensions shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. I love it when somebody says the answer to the pension question quickly. That's not realistic, Schimpf said. Look, on the pensions, we need to remember that the reason we have this pension shortfall is because the Illinois Legislature stole from the pension funds. He was referencing years of Illinois lawmakers spending money without making contributions to pension funds. In the 1990s, Gov. Jim Edgar signed the current plan which ramped up pension funding to about 20% of the states operating budget currently in an effort to bring pensions to 90% funded by 2045. Without going into specifics, Bailey said lawmakers must come together and come up with a solution, a final fix to preserve existing benefits for existing pensions. Solomon said Illinois needs constitutional pension reform, although he said his plan would not touch any vested pension. In 2011, Illinois created a second tier of pension recipients that have lesser benefits than the pensioners who joined state payrolls prior that date, including a smaller cost of living increase, On CRT and schools At the WGN debate, Bailey, Sullivan and Rabine were asked to define CRT, short for critical race theory. Critical race theory is an educational framework aimed at analyzing the role race plays in the legal system and American history, but it is not required in Illinois law or statewide curriculum. A state rulemaking body approved culturally responsive teaching and leading standards that call on Illinois colleges and universities, by 2025, to change the way prospective teachers and administrators are trained to make them more accommodating to diverse students. Those rules, which passed on partisan lines, dont apply to K-12 curriculum. Republicans have incorrectly cited those standards as being CRT mandates amid nationwide Republican scrutiny of the framework. Rabine, instead of defining the term, described its biggest problem. From what I see, from again, nephews, nieces and the communities I'm in, is we're teaching kids to be victims in so many ways, whether it's their sex, their race, and it's wrong. We have to be, we have to teach our kids to be champions and embrace themselves. Bailey defined it as a bunch of nonsense. You know what I see, I see a lot of confusion, he said. It wasn't even supposed to enter our schools until 2027. But mistakenly, it's showing up in our lower classrooms and it is, it just, it's worksheets that are being purported by the Illinois Education Association. It's basically an idea that whatever I think, my right could be your wrong. Your wrong could be my right. Sullivan cited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. For me, the lens, the primary lens you should use to judge a person is not their racial identity. The primary basis that you should judge a person on is the content of their character, he said. We need to be doing more civics lessons for our teachers so that we can have a love of country rather than looking at and saying we have institutional racism built into the design of our country. That is not what we have. The NBC debate did not touch on CRT, but Solomon said parents should be writing curriculum, Irvin said parents and local school boards should be writing curriculum, and Schimpf said it should be done by locally elected school boards. Parents should not be the ones writing curriculum, Schimpf said. They should have the input to hold local school boards accountable, but it needs to be local school boards that decide curriculum. Sullivan said the state needs a parents bill of rights regarding education. The Republicans, including Irvin, said they would also like to replace members of the Illinois State Board of Education. Schimpf said he believed school administration should be consolidated, rather than consolidating school districts, adding, children should be one of the priority spending areas. The Republicans all opposed teaching sexuality in schools in response to questions apparently regarding a recent state law requiring schools that have a sexual education curriculum to abide by National Sex Education Standards, an initiative by non-government organizations to provide guidance on essential minimum core content and skills needed for sex education that is age-appropriate. The guidelines, for example, call on students, by the end of second grade, to be able to identify and medically name parts of the human body, including genitals, and be able to define gender, gender identity, and gender roles. But all parents would still have a right to pull their students from sex education courses and schools that dont offer sex ed would not be required to do so. This is something that if you talk to any police officer, a sheriff of any county, this has been looked upon as child pornography three years ago, Rabine said without citing any specifics or evidence. On Trump, Jan. 6, BLM At the NBC debate, Irvin, Schimpf and Solomon were asked on a yes or no basis whether they thought Joe Biden rightfully won the presidential election in 2020. Schimpf said yes, Solomon said no, and Irvin responded Joe Bidens the president, answering yes only when pressed by the moderator. Schimpf and Solomon said they did not believe the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was an insurrection. Irvin said he didnt believe it was a yes or no question and instead said those who broke the law should be prosecuted. On whether they voted for President Donald Trump in 2020, Solomon and Schimpf said they did, and Irvin repeated a talking point that in general elections, he votes Republican. Text messages from 2018 obtained by WTTW-TV in Chicago from Irvin to an Aurora city worker showed Irvin calling Trump a bigot and racist. Irvin, whose campaign has sent mailers aiming to tie Sullivan and Bailey Democrats and being never Trumpers, said once again talking about who he voted for is exactly what J.B. Pritzker wants to be talking about. When the moderator pressed, Irvin said voters talk to him about crime and taxes. What I think voters are looking for is simply candidates that are going to answer questions and this is not a tough question, Schimpf said after Irvins response. I voted for President Trump. I wish he had done some things differently. But I do not regret that vote. He was a better choice than Joe Biden. Asked if they supported Black Lives Matter, Solomon said no, Schimpf said no but clarified that he believes in the statement but not the organization behind it, and Irvin responded that all lives matter, and Black lives have to be included in all lives. On COVID-19 At the NBC debate, Irvin, Schimpf and Solomon said they would not reinstate mask mandates if an uptick in COVID-19 cases occurred. While Irvin said as Aurora mayor, his office communicated that businesses should comply with the statewide mask mandate and no one was ever fired or disciplined for ensuring that we just kept ourselves healthy. As to whether they would shut down schools amid a COVID-19 uptick, Solomon said no and Schimpf and Irvin said local school boards should be making those decisions. At the WGN debate, Sullivan, Bailey and Rabine were asked what they would have done in March 2020 at the COVID-19 outset. Sullivan said he would have treated the pandemic more like Florida did. (Gov. J.B. Pritzker) harmed our small business owners. He shut them down without thought. He doesn't understand how hard it is to set up a business and put your livelihood on the line, Sullivan said. Young kids in school, he made our most vulnerable suffer the most. Rabine said he would have kept businesses, churches and schools open. Bailey touted his lawsuits against mask mandates which catapulted him to statewide notoriety. A Clay County judge ruled in his favor before the decision was thrown out at the appellate level. Gov. Pritzkers tyrannical actions have destroyed lives. He's destroyed the futures of some of our children in schools. This is absolute nonsense and it can never happen again, he said. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Mr Adib Saani, the Security Analyst and Executive Director, Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, has urged the Government to put systems in place to sustain the See Something, Say Something campaign. He said by sustaining the campaign, the Government could be sure that the initiative would yield the desired results. Mr Saani, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the campaign could be sustained if awareness creation was done through all the major Ghanaian languages. He said the dissemination of information should not be constricted to media airplay, but instead, it should be carried down to the grassroots. The Ministry of National Security on Tuesday launched its flagship programme dubbed, See Something, Say Something campaign, to encourage the citizenry to play an active role in the protection of the peace and stability of the State. It would also empower Ghanaians to be more conscious of their own security and enhance their relationship with State Security Authorities. Citizens are to dial 999 to report any suspicious or unusual activity happening within their communities. Callers are not obliged to disclose their identities. Mr Saani said there was the need for deeper collaboration between the Government and Civil Society Organisations widely propagate the message. These NGOs are well-grounded in the communities. They know what is going on. Theyve been engaging the communities already so the Government would have to rely on them to a very large extent to get the information across widely, he said. Mr Saani said the campaign was a step in the right direction because the Government alone cannot fight terrorism, but needed the Ghanaian populace to support it, be alert and cooperate. The Security Analyst however observed that the campaign was long overdue and should have even been initiated two years ago when threats were looming. Even earlier this year, a UN Security Council report stated that there is a terrorist warehouse, specifically owned by the ISIS in the Greater Sahara in Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Almost everyone around Ghana has been attacked and so we need to be very conscious that is why citizen participation is very crucial in the scheme of things, he added. He urged the Ministry of National Security to be responsive to calls that came in from citizens, adding that this would encourage them to have confidence in the security agencies and be ready to share information. If you tell citizens to call with the assurance that a response would be gotten, but they call, and no one responds, then it doesnt show seriousness and that could defeat the purpose for which it was put together in the first place. Mr Saani said it was highly possible that a terrorist might be in the country by now, with sleeper cells already established, as such, security agencies needed to move beyond border security operations to homeland security through improved intelligence gathering mechanisms. He said shopping malls, just like Churches and Mosques, were soft targets for terrorists because such venues attracted mass gatherings of people. The Security Analyst said the Government must address the human insecurities, especially youth unemployment which posed the biggest single existential threat to the security of the state. He said unemployment amongst young people pushed them into uncertainty and desperation, and terrorists could take advantage of these local grievances to recruit people. We also need to deal with the proliferation of small arms. The arms regime in Ghana isnt very well regulated. We need to move the Small Arms Commission from an Advisory Body to an Authority so that they can effectively be able to regulate the ownership, use and transfer and sale of weapons in Ghana, he added. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Police in Banda Nkwanta in Savannah Region are on a manhunt for three armed robbers who shot dead a lawyer travelling from Accra to Jirapa. Reports say upon reaching a section of the road between Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyiri on the Bole Bamboi highway, the robbers emerged from the nearby bush and signalled the vehicle in which the lawyer and his relatives were travelling to stop. One of the armed robbers immediately shot dead the driver of the vehicle, Richard Badombia, who is a lawyer with LARTEY, BADOMBIA & CO. ASSOCIATES, located opposite ROXY CINEMA at Adabraka, Accra. The robber had asked whether the passengers on board were police officers. After shooting the lawyer, they tried to open the doors of the vehicle as the car had veered off the road and hit a tree. But a bulldog in the car barked at them and they bolted. A report was immediately filed at the nearest police station, Banda Nkwanta Police Station. According to the police, upon reaching the scene, deceased Richard Badombia was behind the steering wheel with pellet wounds spread over his left cheek. The body was removed and has been deposited at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital for preservation awaiting autopsy. Investigations have since begun as the community members and informants have been put on high alert. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Martin Sumbo, the Upper West Regional Coordinator of Global Communities has appealed to the government to subsidize or remove taxes on sanitary pads to make them affordable to school girls. This, he said, would save them from the tendency of staying out of school during menstruation. Mr Sumbo who said this in Wa at the weekend, could not fathom why a condom was affordable though using it was optional, while a sanitary pad, which was compulsory for every girl, was rather expensive to procure. He was speaking during the 2022 commemoration of the World Menstrual Hygiene Day on the theme: We are Committed, organised by the Global Communities, in partnership with the USAID, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service and Be Girl. Currently, a condom in the market cost between GHC 3 and GHC 5, while a sanitary pad ranged from Gh8 to Gh10. Sex is a choice, but mensuration is not a choice, so the government can remove taxes on sanitary pads to make it affordable, especially to rural girls. A schoolgirl should not be worried about where to buy a pad when she is menstruating or a parent should not be thinking of where to get money to buy a pad for the daughter who is in school, Mr Sumbo explained. He explained that the prohibitive cost of sanitary pads did not only sometimes keep the girl out of school, but also led to preventable teenage pregnancy as the girl who could not afford it would depend on men for it and in turn pay back with sex. If parents also ensure that the pads are available to their wards, it will help prevent some of these pregnancies, and they will be comfortable in the school, Mr Sumbo said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Anthony Namoo, the re-elected Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region has urged members of the Party to demonstrate the same zeal exhibited in the regional election to enable them capture more parliamentary seats in the Region in the 2024 general elections. He said members of the party in the region demonstrated much zeal, used their resources, and worked hard to ensure their preferred candidates won various regional positions and admonished them to show the same zeal to propel the Party to victory in 2024. Mr Namoo, a Legal Practitioner, in his victory speech, noted that Never in the history of our Regional executive election has passion been high and resources been expended. Party members were able to mobilise resources, but when it comes to parliamentary elections, we all fold our arms and look at the parliamentary candidate to do it all. I did not know we have many people who have so much resources to expend in internal election. It is my prayer that when it comes to the parliamentary and presidential elections, the same zeal and energy that were applied to the regional election, we should apply it in the election with our main opponent come December 2024, he said. Mr Namoo, who polled 114 votes out of 306 valid votes to retain his position, thanked delegates of the Party for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to bring new energy, ideas and experience to propel the NPP to victory in 2024. It is my prayer that the good Lord will touch the hearts of everybody so that together, we can build the Party and make it greater and stronger in the Upper East Region, the Chairman-elect said. He cautioned other elected executives against acts of undermining party members and emphasized that We are elected to serve the Party, we are not elected to undermine one another. It is my prayer that we all work as a team. Other aspirants for the Chairmanship position; Mr Mohammed Murtala Ibrahim polled four votes, Mr Filson Awankua 42 votes, Mr Bugri A. Ibrahim 11, Mr Jerry Asamani Aladago 36 and Dr Moses Kwabena Atinga, 99 votes. Mr Isaac Adawele Atasige also polled 145 votes and beat four other aspirants for the position of First Vice Chairman, while Mr Moses Badeabo Bampil polled 146 to be elected as the Second Vice-Chairman and his contestants Mr Kunaba Ageyure Aghana and Mr Samuel A. Atiru polled 36 and 122 votes respectively. For the Regional Secretary and Assistant Secretary positions, Mr Elvis Figo A. Awonekai and Mr Atangiba M. Shakiru polled 202 and 142 votes respectfully to be elected after they each beat two other aspirants in their categories. Mr Daniel N. Ayine polled 163 to beat Mr Joseph Awinpanga Akanfaba who polled 143 votes for the Regional Treasurer position, while Mr Charles Taleog Ndanbon topped the Regional Organizer position with 152 votes. Mr Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga, a former District Chief Executive for Bongo and Mr Mark Ayamga who both contested the Regional Organizer position, polled 126 and 28 votes respectively. Six persons contested the Regional Youth Organizer position, which was won by Mr Musah Salahu-deen with 147 votes Madam Georgina Ayamga, the incumbent Womens Organizer who was challenged by Madam Margaret Akagwire retained her position with 215 out of 305 valid votes cast with one rejected, while her contender had 90 votes. The Nasara Coordinator position was won by Mr Salley Musah Delwinde with 188 votes to beat Mr Ustarz Seidu Abass who had 118 votes out of 306 total votes. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Veldarin Jackson, Sr., center, talks about receiving the call that his mother, Janice Reed, had died as his wife Adjoa Jackson, left, becomes emotional, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Chicago. Reed was one of the three senior victims who died in a Rogers Park building where residents complained of heat. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women on May 14. Credit: Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP Temperatures barely climbed into the 90s and only for a couple of days. But the discovery of the bodies of three women inside a Chicago senior housing facility this month left the city looking for answers to questions that were supposed to be addressed after a longer and hotter heat wave killed more than 700 people nearly three decades ago. Now, the cityand the countryis facing the reality that because of climate change, deadly heat waves can strike just about anywhere, don't only fall in the height of summer and need not last long. "Hotter and more dangerous heat waves are coming earlier, in May ... and the other thing is we are getting older and more people are living alone," said Eric Klinenberg, a New York University sociologist, who wrote "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago." about the 1995 heat wave. "It's a formula for disaster." The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women whose bodies were found in the James Sneider Apartments on May 14. But the victims' families have already filed or plan to file wrongful death lawsuits against the companies that own and manage the buildings. The City Council member whose ward includes the neighborhood where the building is located said she experienced stifling temperatures in the complex when she visited, including in one unit where heat sensors hit 102 degrees. "These are senior residents, residents with health conditions (and) they should not be in these conditions," Alderman Maria Hadden said in a Facebook video shot outside the apartments. Part of the problem, experts say, is that communities nationwide are still learning how deadly heat can be. It took the sight of refrigerated trucks being filled with dead bodies after Chicago's 1995 heat wave to drive home the message that the city was woefully unprepared for a silent and invisible disaster that took more than twice as many lives as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. A monitor displays an image of Veldarin Jackson, Sr. and his mother, Janice Reed, who was one of the three senior victims who died in a Rogers Park building where residents complained of heat, at the office of attorney Larry R. Rogers, Jr., Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Chicago. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women whose bodies were found in the James Sneider Apartments on May 14. Credit: Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP That realization led to a system in which city workers call the elderly and frail and turn city buildings into 24-hour cooling centers when temperatures become oppressive. What happened this month is a reminder that the safeguards in place to make sure people don't freeze to death because they have not paid their heating bills often do not exist to prevent people from overheating in their homes. "We have nothing for air conditioning," Hadden said. One expert isn't surprised. "We recognize people need heating in cold weather and set up programs, financial assistance, to enable that but we don't do that for cooling," said Gregory Wellenius, a Boston University professor of environmental health who has studied heat-related deaths. "But subsidies for cooling are really controversial (because) for many people cooling is seen as a luxury item." In Chicago, Hadden said the building's management company believed it was not allowed to turn off the heat and turn on the air conditioning until June 1, because of the city's heat ordinance. But while she said the ordinance has no such requirement, the explanation may at least be a signal that the ordinance should be amended to better protect vulnerable people from heat. Wellenius said statistics show that while well over 80% of homes in cities such as Dallas and Phoenix have air conditioning, the percentage is far lower in cities like Boston and New York. Veldarin Jackson, Sr., left, talks about his deceased mother, Janice Reed, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Chicago. Reed was one of the three senior victims who died in a Rogers Park building where residents complained of heat. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women on May 14. Credit: Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP And in the Pacific Northwest, the percentage is even lower, something that came into stark relief in Oregon, Washington and western Canada last June, when temperatures climbed as high as 118 degrees Fahrenheit, killing 600 people or more. There is encouraging news. "More people have air conditioning and we are more aware of the health risks of heat waves," Klinenberg said. Still, there is evidence that people don't appreciate or even know just how dangerous the heat can be. In a study published in 2020, Wellenius and other researchers estimated that nationwide about 5,600 deaths a year could be attributed to high heateight times more than the 700 heat-related deaths that the study found were officially reported each year. Wellenius said the reasons for what he called a "gross miscalculation" begin with the fact that official statistics only count death certificates that list heat as the sole cause of death. In some cases, heat is not listed as a cause even though it may have led to death in people with other conditions. He said the same thing happened in the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic when people who died in nursing homes in Europe "were not tested for COVID so they were not counted as COVID deaths." The James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Chicago, where three seniors citizens were discovered dead after residents reported high temperatures. The discovery of the victim's bodies after a brief heat wave this month has raised questions about whether Chicago and the country are ready for the kind of brutal heat wave that killed more than 700 people in the city three decades ago. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women. Credit: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP In Cook County, which includes Chicago, the medical examiner's office reported two heat-related deaths last year, and seven the year before. Just how many deaths in the U.S. are heat related today is unclear. Wellenius' study, published in 2020, is the result of research from 1997 to 2006. And Klinenberg said the issue has been complicated by the pandemic because the people at greatest risk of being killed by COVID-19 are also at the greatest risk of being killed by extreme heat. "It's hard to distinguish excess heat deaths from COVID deaths," he said. Still, Hadden knows something must be done to deal with heat that can hit earlier and later in the year than it once did. "We have to plan for this," she said. Klinenberg wonders if cities will follow up on such talk. "Heat never feels like the most important thing in cities and by the time it feels like the most important thing it is too late to do anything about it," he said. Explore further India's northwest reels under unusual early heat wave 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of one hand. They were several grams lighter than he hoped. "It's because of the water shortages," he said, the farm machine roaring behind him, cutting and gathering his year's wheat harvest. Chelab had planted most of his 10 acres (4 hectares) of land, but he was only able to irrigate a quarter of it after the Agriculture Ministry introduced strict water quotas during the growing season, he said. The produce he was growing on the rest of it, he fears, "will die without water." At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50%. The government took the step in the face of severe water shortages arising from high temperatures and droughtbelieved to be fueled by climate changeand ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All those factors have heavily strained wheat production. Wrestling with the water shortage, Iraq's government has been unable to tackle other long-neglected issues. A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Desertification has been blamed as a factor behind this year's relentless spate of sandstorms. At least 10 have hit the country in the past few months, covering cities with a thick blanket of orange dust, grounding flights and sending thousands to hospitals. "We need water to solve the problem of desertification, but we also need water to secure our food supplies," said Essa Fayadh, a senior official at the Environment Ministry. "We don't have enough for both." Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water needs. Both flow into Iraq from Turkey and Iran. Those countries have constructed dams that have either blocked or diverted water, creating major shortages in Iraq. Water Resources Minister Mahdi Rasheed told The Associated Press that river levels were down 60% compared to last year. Significantly lower water levels are seen on the Tigris River, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 28, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban For Chelab, less water has meant a smaller grain size and lower crop yields. In 2021, Chelab produced 30,000 tons of wheat, the year before that 32,000, receipts from Trade Ministry silos show. This year, he expects no more than 10,000. His crops are both rain-fed and irrigated via a channel from the Euphrates. Due to low precipitation levels, he has had to rely on the river water during the growing season, he said. Government officials say change is necessary. The current system has been inefficient and unsustainable for decades. Water scarcity is leaving them no choice but to push to modernize antiquated and wasteful farming techniques. "We have a strategic plan to face drought considering the lack of rain, global warming, and the lack of irrigation coming from neighboring countries as we did not get our share of water entitlements," said Hamid al-Naif, spokesman at the Agriculture Ministry. A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban The ministry took measures to devise new types of drought-resistant wheat and introduce methods to increase crop yields. "We are still dealing with irrigation systems of the 1950s. It has nothing to do with the farmers," he said. "The state must make it efficient, we must force the farmer to accept it." Iraqi farmers have historically been heavily dependent on the state in the production of food, a reliance that policymakers and experts said drains government funds. The Agriculture Ministry supports farmers by providing everything from harvesting tools, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at a subsidized rate or for free. Water diverted from rivers for irrigation is given at no cost. The Trade Ministry then stores or buys produce from farmers and distributes it to markets. Wheat is a key strategic crop, accounting for 70% of total cereal production in the country. A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Planting starts in October and harvest typically begins in April and extends to June in some areas. Last year, the Agriculture Ministry slashed subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, a move that has angered farmers. Local demand for the staple is between 5-6 million tons a year. But local production is shrinking with each passing year. In 2021, Iraq produced 4.2 million tons of wheat, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In 2020, it was 6.2 million tons. "Today we might get 2.5 million tons at best," said al-Naif. That would require Iraq to drive up imports. Most of the wheat harvest is usually sold to the Trade Ministry. In a sign of the low harvest, so far there are currently only 373,000 tons of wheat available in Trade Ministry storehouses, al-Naif said. To meet demands amid the recent global crisis in the grain market, the government recently changed a policy to allow all Iraqi farmers to sell their produce to the Trade Ministry silos. Previously, this was limited to farmers who operated within the government plan. A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban A tractor transfers the harvested wheat grain onto a trailer in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban A combine harvester at the middle of a wheat field harvesting crops in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Farmer Salah Chelab standing in his field in Yousifiyah, Iraq Tuesday, May. 24, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Significantly lower water levels are seen on the Tigris River, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 28, 2022. At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50% due to severe water shortages arising from high temperatures, drought, climate change and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - all factors that have heavily strained wheat production. Credit: AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Back in Chelab's farm, the wheat is ready to be transported to the silo. "It's true we need to develop ourselves," he said. "But the change should be gradual, not immediate." Explore further Iraq's prized rice crop threatened by drought 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. HUDSON FALLS A seventh-grade student at Hudson Falls Middle School has been suspended after he asked on Tuesday if he could bring a gun to school, according to court documents. Hudson Falls Superintendent of Schools Dan Ward filed an application with Washington County Court for an extreme risk protection order, commonly known as a red flag law application, to prevent the student from purchasing any firearms. Ward wrote in court documents that the seventh-grade student had asked in class, Can I bring a gun to school? His teacher asked what he just said and he replied with: it would make my life a lot better. The student was sent to the principals office and placed on out-of-school suspension that day. Ward said he was advised of this incident on Thursday two days after an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Ward then made the application that is before the court. Ward said that the student recently had failed a drug test while he was on probation. The student was receiving therapy from the Center for Recovery for his mental health and behavioral issues, according to court documents. The student has difficulty managing his anger, Ward wrote. The youth has a lengthy disciplinary history including possession of a pellet handgun on school property on Nov. 11, 2021, which resulted in him being suspended from Nov. 16, 2021, through Feb. 4, 2022. Ward attached a copy of the students disciplinary report. In addition to the weapons offense, there are six other incidents including leaving school without permission, harassing students, disrupting education, possessing a vaping device and two instances of objectionable behavior. Ward could not be reached for comment on Friday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Officials from the Washington County Sheriffs Office and Hudson Falls Police Department also could not be reached for comment. Michael Goot is night and weekend editor of The Post-Star. Reach him at 518-742-3320. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MOREAU A Fort Edward man has admitted to going on a vandalism spree last July that damaged several businesses along Main Street and Saratoga Avenue. John P. Sgorrano Jr., 28, pleaded guilty in Saratoga County Court on Thursday to felony third-degree criminal mischief. Sgorrano damaged six separate storefronts on July 19 including damaging landscaping at Debut Salon and throwing a planter through the window of Annies Nails. He also threw a brick through the window of Carriage Traders and took four tires off a Toyota 4 Runner at its service center. At Toadflax Nursery, Sgorrano was accused of picking up a large stone that is on the nurserys display patio and throwing it through the window, taking out four glass panels. Other businesses affected were Coopers Nails and Kippers Clippers. No merchandise was taken. Police had a suspect in mind and reviewed video footage, which led to Sgorranos arrest on Sept. 3. Authorities did not provide a motive for the crime. Sgorrano will be sentenced on July 28. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NORTHUMBERLAND A Northumberland man was arrested on Tuesday after police said he violated an order of protection. State police responded to a Northumberland residence at about 8 p.m. for a report of a domestic dispute. Robinson R. Perez-Gomez, 34, is accused of throwing a plate at the victim, police said. Perez-Gomez was charged with felony first-degree criminal contempt. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Northumberland Town Court on June 7. GLENS FALLS Tyler Herrick, The Queensbury Hotels general manager, said that he and the rest of the team were thrilled when Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, called his office. Simpson announced that The Queensbury Hotel, along with Telescope Casual Furniture in Granville, were successfully nominated to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry on May 18. Herrick said that Simpson first reached out to him in February about the possibility of being nominated. They were considering nominating us based on our history in the community and just being a longstanding pillar of downtown Glens Falls, Herrick said. In a news release, Simpson said that both businesses are staples in their respective counties of Warren and Washington. The registry program provides educational and promotional assistance to help ensure the continued success of businesses. Businesses are eligible for tax credits as well as state and federal historic rehabilitation credits, according to the release. Herrick said that Spruce Hospitality was ecstatic to receive this recognition for the hotel. When Spruce Hospitality first took over the property in 2016, one of the first things the new owners accomplished was getting back on the National Register of Historic Places. Herrick said that the team hired a consultant to make that happen. Earning that recognition helped the hotels affiliation with Historic Hotels of America, according to Herrick. He said that Spruce Hospitality has been working with the New York State Historic Preservation Office during all of the renovation projects for the hotel. This accolade, or recognition, is kind of icing on the cake, Herrick said. Ballroom expansion The ballroom expansion project at The Queensbury Hotel is coming along. Herrick said that things are going well, all things considered. He noted that V and H Construction is only a few weeks behind schedule, and he said that he hopes to have the ballroom ready for events come July. Our goal is if we wanted to use it by July 1, we could, Herrick said. The first event booked in the space is the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference, which is set to begin July 24. He said that the plan is to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony showcasing the ballroom on July 21. Last August, Spruce Hospitality and V and H Construction came up with a schedule and set June as the completion date. Herrick said crews originally hoped to be putting in carpet by this week. Now they are on pace to start that by June 10. Everything is coming along, (V and H) have been fantastic, Herrick said. When youre renovating a close to 100-year-old building and you take some walls down, you discover things that you didnt know were there. Herrick said that V and H Construction ran into some of that during the project, which also contributed to the delay of the 5,200-square-foot ballroom extension. There was one section of wall that had previously served as an exterior wall of the hotel. When construction crews took down some interior walls they made that discovery, and that section of the project had to be put on hold. Herrick said the reason was because they needed to bring in a structural engineer to make sure they could open up that space to make it a hallway corridor. That took a bit longer and cost more than originally thought. However, Herrick said owner Ed Moore wants to do things right. He understands that when you find things behind walls, now is the time to take care of them. Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Given the absurd, but somehow entrenched position that ownership of AR-15 semi-automatic rifles is something the Founders envisioned and would have approved, were thankful that Gov. Kathy Hochul is trying to do whats possible to limit the ownership of these demonstrably deadly weapons. On May 25, Hochul proposed raising the age for purchasing military-style rifles to 21 as well as requiring microstamping which would identify perpetrators on some ammunition. The guns in question include AR-15s of the type used in the Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, mass shootings, as well as in many other mass casualty events of which, sadly, there are too many to mention here. In her statement, Hochul referred to the United States as a nation that seems to revere the rights of gun owners, and the ability to possess guns, over the right of children to stay alive. Heres why we call AR-15s military-style weapons and not modern sporting rifles as the firearms industry would prefer. AR-15s fire high-velocity bullets that travel at triple the speed of a handgun round, are accurate over long distances and cause terrible damage to soft tissue and internal organs. They are also easily customizable, with owners able to add scopes, large-capacity magazines and many other accessories that can increase their ability to create carnage. Intended to be a civilian, semiautomatic version of the militarys M-16, many experts feel the AR-15, which cant fire bursts like a fully automatic weapon, is actually more deadly. The guns operator has more control and can fire quickly one and a half rounds per second and more accurately. Contrary to popular belief, New York state does not have the strictest gun laws in the nation. Both California and Connecticut have long lists of weapons that cant be sold to anyone, including AR-15s. California and Florida have both passed legislation that raises the age to legally buy long guns (rifles and shotguns) from 18 to 21. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court may be weakening New Yorks gun laws, just as Hochul attempts to strengthen them. If the Supreme Court rules on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen as many expect, New York gun owners will be able to carry their guns in public with no restrictions. Currently, they must have a license, be 21 and, most important, show proper cause beyond public safety fears. Thats right: Immediately after a massacre, the high court is poised to make public gun use easier. Given the courts current composition, our hopes are not high that New Yorks public carry restrictions will remain intact. On the other hand, scholars of the court note that its decisions are never too far out of step with public opinion, and polls demonstrate that the majority of Americans favor greater gun control, though public interest tends to wane a bit after the immediate aftermath of a shooting has passed and other priorities emerge. Thats why its important that Hochul is capturing this moment of outrage with her proposal of a new age limit, which may grow to include other weapons than AR-15s. The more we learn about these weapons, the more we wonder that anyone needs to carry them, including hunters, who have a wide range of more traditional options. Raising the age requirement to 21 is a good first step. This editorial was first published in The Buffalo News. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 NORTH WILDWOOD While Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer at the Jersey Shore, for scores of runners and walkers, it was an opportunity to honor area residents sacrifices. The fifth annual Run to Remember was held Sunday in North Wildwood. More than 200 people registered, mustering around the starting line at the 15th Avenue lifeguard station off the Boardwalk to participate in the 5K run or 1-mile walk. The event was held in honor of U.S. Navy Seaman Patrick Corcoran and the Lost 74, a group of sailors who died while serving on the USS Frank E. Evans during the Vietnam War in 1969. All proceeds from the day were to be used to benefit veterans. Tom Corcoran, Patricks brother, organizes the run each year. He reflected on the support the city and people from throughout the South Jersey area were giving to his brother and other local service members. What the City of North Wildwood does to have this event is encouraging to me, to us, I should say, and what the sponsors and others have done to support this is just so encouraging, Corcoran said. Its a good event. Its all for a good cause, added Suzanne Meissler, Patrick and Toms sister. North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello spoke to the runners and walkers just before the race began, praising the Corcoran family for its service and for bringing people together. This is a great event, Rosenello said. North Wildwood has always honored our veterans. Youre honoring us and our veterans by being here. Liam Munz, a 26-year-old resident of Wildwood, crossed the finish line first with an official time of 17 minutes, 40 seconds. Munz, wearing star-spangled shorts, said he was happy to be able to race for a patriotic cause. Its a beautiful day to support our armed forces, to commemorate their sacrifice for this country, Munz said. Its very patriotic, so I really appreciate being able to support that and doing something I love at the same time. Ray Bandura, a 58-year-old Philadelphian who finished first in his age group according to his official chip time of 23:54, said he regularly looks out for races to support veterans. He said he was registered to participate in the Murph Challenge in honor of the late Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy. For some of the races top finishers, the cause of the race was close to them. Emma Schmincke, a 13-year-old from Haddon Heights, Camden County, finished first in her 14-&-under age group, with a time of 21:33, despite it having been her first-ever 5K. Patrick Corcoran would have been Schminckes great uncle. Other runners out at the event were similarly happy to be able to race in the spirit of Memorial Day. Mike Poskanzer, 61, was visiting the Jersey Shore from Orlando, Florida. He and partner Marie Poskanzer wore shirts honoring the platoon that his brother-in-law fought with during Operation Desert Storm. Kevin Bowes, a 32-year-old from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has multiple relatives who served in the military, including his father-in-law and grandparents. He said he heard about the 5K Sunday morning and decided it would be a fun way to pass the morning for a good cause. Carly Campana, of Wilmington, Delaware, said she was looking for opportunities to run. Ive been getting back into 5Ks since having my children, so it was just something that was convenient this weekend, but also something that was meaningful for a lot of people, Campana said. A special flagThe inspiration comes from Patrick Corcorans burial flag, which his late father had asked Tom to fly once a year. In July 2016, the flag was briefly stolen, with the community rallying around to find and recover the flag two weeks later. Tom Corcoran said the experience helped him learn more about veterans and the difficulties they can face, leading him to start the race. It has been held each year from 2017 through 2022, except when it had to be canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After learning more and more about what veterans went through, I decided to try to give back and started the run and the walk, Tom Corcoran said. The Lost 74 of the USS Frank E. Evans, including Patrick Corcoran, died on June 3, 1969, after colliding with the USS Melbourne during war games exercises in the South China Sea. They had been fighting off the coast of Da Nang, having just returned from the war zone to restock ammunition. Tom Corcoran said that Patrick was the youngest sailor that day, only 19. The Lost 74 do not have their names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., because they were not in a war zone at the time of their deaths. He said that the members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation, as well as former President Barack Obama, have endorsed his efforts to add the names to the wall, but leaders at the U.S. Department of Defense have refused. Its an absolute disgrace. It makes me nauseous every time I have to talk about it, Corcoran said. Several veterans turned out to show support for the race. Mike Seidenburg was with a group of mostly retired police and firefighters who helped raise the flag. A Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, Seidenburg said he was glad to see people come together to commemorate Memorial Day. Its a beautiful thing, with everybody here, Seidenburg said. Among those appreciative of the nice weather Sunday were 5K runners Michele and Dennis LaScala, 70 and 72, respectively, of Caldwell, Essex County. Although the couple had already participated in several Runs to Remember, the race Sunday was unique for Dennis LaScala, who finished his last round of chemotherapy Thursday. Especially in a world that seems so divided, these type of things unify us, to make us see the how important it is, the value of life, the value of camaraderie and friendship, LaScala said. Those are the things I think that stand for what America is freedom, freedom of course, but also to help each other. Tom Corcoran said he was still hopeful for the names to be added to the memorial and was glad people came to support his brother and the Lost 74. Those boys deserve it, Corcoran said. We are going to continue to do everything in our power to get those 74 boys names on the wall. The race Sunday was not the last patriotic event being held in North Wildwood. The city is scheduled to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the North Wildwood Gold Star Families Memorial at 10 a.m. Monday. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Try to picture a million horseshoe crabs, gathered on a Delaware Bay beach this spring. If things go as expected, thats the total number of rescued crabs expected to be reached this summer by volunteers participating in a crab rescue program nearly a decade old. The program, called reTURN the Favor, has volunteers on beach walks along the bay help crabs that are stranded upside down or trapped under debris. Officials with the program said more than 840,000 stranded crabs have been returned to the bay, with an expectation that the number will reach a million this year. Horseshoe crabs look prehistoric. As a matter of fact, they are prehistoric, remaining relatively unchanged for 300 million years. That means they were around before the dinosaurs, and continue today. But in all that time, they never got the hang of turning themselves back over when on the beach. When their soft undersides and gills are exposed to the sun, horseshoe crabs are vulnerable to dehydration and are easy targets for predators, according to staff at The Wetlands Institute, one of the organizations participating in the program. Each spring, thousands of the crabs come to the Delaware Bay beaches to lay eggs, which are a vital fuel for the migrating birds reaching the area from South America on their long migration. During typical spawning activity, an estimated 10% of the spawning population succumbs as a result of stranding, reads a statement from The Wetlands Institute near Stone Harbor. Crabs also get caught under debris or other obstacles. Because of the migrating birds, many Delaware Bay beaches are closed to visitors this time of year. The reTURN the Favor program began in 2013 as a way to both save crabs and to raise awareness of horseshoe crab conservation. That first year, volunteers rescued 5,000 crabs along eight New Jersey beaches. Over the last nine years, program participants have completed 4,860 walks, with the number of walks increasing each year. There are 150 trained volunteers this year, leading walks in the closed sections of beaches at night when the birds are not active. This helps the crabs, which in turn helps other species that rely on their eggs. It also allows people to help in conservation. The reTURN the Favor effort has developed into a rewarding and impactful program for all involved by providing a simple way for people to take action and have a real impact on Delaware Bay wildlife, said Lisa Ferguson, director of research and conservation at The Wetlands Institute. Those interested in joining a walk or in more information can visit returnthefavornj.org, which features an interactive map. But anyone walking on the beach can help a stranded crab, according to Devin Griffiths, a marketing and communications specialist at the Wetlands Institute. Shaped like a knobby helmet, with a long spike trailing off the back and an underbelly that may remind moviegoers of some special effects space alien, the crabs may look a little intimidating to some, but Griffiths said they will not hurt you. Its important for the public to know theyre entirely harmless, he said on Thursday. The tails arent stingers, theyre for navigating as the crabs crawl along the bottom of the water. While the tail spike wont hurt you, you could injure the crab if you pick it up by its tail. Instead, Griffiths said, put one hand on either side of the front of the shell and carry it down to the water. Place it in the shallow water, or close to it if the tide is coming in. The Delaware Bay contains the largest spawning population of these crabs in the world, but overharvesting has driven an 80% decline in the population. This spells trouble for not just horseshoe crabs, but also for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds on their way to breeding grounds in the Arctic. The crabs eggs provide a critical source of food as these weary travelers rest and refuel. Among these imperiled species is the federally threatened red knot. For these birds, horseshoe crab eggs bridge the gap between survival and extinction. Beach projects can also help the crabs. In the past 10 years, beach restoration on the Delaware Bay has been one of the most important activities to ensure spawning habitat for crabs and beaches with eggs for shorebirds, according to Wetlands Institute members. The crab rescue efforts provide data from volunteers on where beaches need rubble removed or sand replenished. By not only rescuing crabs but also collecting data to support habitat restoration, engaging so many volunteers and increasing awareness, reTURN the Favor has emerged as an important force for conservation in Delaware Bay, said Eric Schrading, field supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services New Jersey field office. Program coordinators developed an interactive map of data from the last five years that can be seen on the programs website. In this map, decision-makers, biologists, and horseshoe crab enthusiasts can explore key hazards and key beaches to prioritize projects. The map can also be used to track the program over time and understand volunteer effort. As more and more volunteers are stepping up to rescue horseshoe crabs, we are also seeing them speak up in other ways to protect horseshoe crabs and their habitat. In this way, volunteers are saving individual horseshoe crabs, ecosystems, and livelihoods that depend on those ecosystems, said Rob Clay, director of the executive office of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, another participating organization. As you read this, local residents and visitors from afar are eagerly donning headlamps and boots to send crabs crawling back to the water to spawn another day. The conditions can be challenging, but rain, sun, insects, and darkness do not deter these dedicated volunteers, reads the statement from the Wetlands Institute. Program partners include The Wetlands Institute, Executive Office of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Manomet, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, Citizens United for the Maurice River, Friends of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Audubon Society, and New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and many dedicated volunteers. The program is currently supported by Ocean Wind An Orsted and PSEG project and the Marshall Reynolds Foundation. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This months annual traffic toll report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had the dismal data the public has come to expect in this era of distracted driving. The 43,000 people killed on U.S. roads in 2021 were the most in 16 years. The 10.5% increase from the prior year was the largest the agency began collection fatality data in 1975. There was good news beyond the headline numbers. As they emerged from pandemic restrictions, Americans drove 11.2% more miles than the year before. Since the mileage increase was greater than the fatality increase, the traffic death rate went down slightly -- to 1.33 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, compared with 1.34 in 2020. Perhaps at least pandemic-related highway casualties have peaked and will now decline. Unfortunately, the carnage is still surging in New Jersey. So far this year, N.J. traffic fatalities are up 14.8% from the same period last year. And thats the same rate of increase the period saw the year before. The 183 killed on roadways by this week of May 2020 have become 241 dead this year. The victims of this wreckage are mainly the drivers themselves. By this point in May 2020, 84 drivers had been killed; now thats up to 145 drivers. Bicyclist fatalities have more than doubled, from just 5 in the period each of the previous two years to 11 so far this year. That number includes two recent South Jersey victims, a Pleasantville teenager last month and a Little Egg Harbor Township senior this month. After long-term declines thanks mainly to safer vehicles, traffic deaths began increasing and started spiking when the pandemic hit in 2020. The Governors Highway Safety Association of state traffic safety officials blamed the increase on dangerous behavior such as speeding, driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs, and distracted driving, as well as "roads designed for speed instead of safety." The surge "has wiped out a decade and a half of progress in reducing traffic crashes, injuries and deaths." The federal government earlier this year launched a strategy to reverse the trend, urging states and local governments to lower speed limits and embrace safer road design such as dedicated bike and bus lanes, better lighting and crosswalks -- and providing $6 billion in grants over five years to help get it done. The strategy includes the use of speed cameras, which the U.S. Department of Transportation says could provide more equitable enforcement than police traffic stops. Requirements are pending for more auto safety technology, including: electronic automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection systems on all new light vehicles; automatic emergency braking on heavy trucks; and alerts when rear-seat passengers havent buckled their safety belts. New Jersey and its municipalities have already been working to make roads safer, and should benefit from additional federal funding. A state law new this year requires drivers passing vulnerable cyclists and pedestrians to move over one lane if possible and must allow at least 4 feet even if they have to wait to pass. They also need to increase enforcement of traffic laws and make it more consistent. The risks of aggressive driving may seem smaller to drivers when their cars become safer, but there are tragic consequences for the pedestrians and cyclists with whom they share the road. Here. Excerpt: Not just in Utah, but in Virginia and Washington, and Minnesota, tech companies have provided draft language that led to the introduction of industry-friendly privacy bills, according to legislators The Markup interviewed and previous reporting by Protocol. Big Tech funded nonprofits like TechNet, the State Privacy and Security Coalition, and the Internet Association have traveled from state to state encouraging legislators to mirror those industry-authored bills. TechNet representatives, for example, have testified or supplied written comments on privacy bills in at least 10 states since 2021, more than any other organization, according to our analysis of state legislative records. * * * While the tactics vary by state, the message and the asks are clear: Big Tech wants laws that prohibit consumers from bringing private lawsuits against companies who break the rules, that narrowly define what constitutes selling data, and that require consumers to opt out of data collection and tracking on every website they visit rather than honoring what is known as a global opt-out. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) officially defines the summer driving season as the six months from April to September. However, its the Memorial Day weekend that serves as the formal kick-off, as millions of Americans hit the open road on their summer driving adventures. Consumption of gasoline tends to peak during the summer months. The EIA projects Americans will consume roughly 9.2 million barrels per day of gasoline this summer season. This is slightly above last summers pace but below 2019s pre-pandemic level of 9.5 million barrels per day. Just two months ago, the EIA projected a gallon of regular gas this summer driving season would average $3.84 across the nation, up from last seasons average of $3.06. But with the continued rise in gasoline prices, that projection increasingly seems like wishful thinking. According to data from the American Automobile Association, the current national average for a gallon of regular gas now stands at $4.60, a record high. For the first time in history, the average price has exceeded $4.00 in all 50 states. Nationally, the price of gas rose $0.11 from the prior week, the third consecutive week with a double-digit increase. Gas prices have risen $1.28 (35%) since Jan. 1 and $1.58 (49%) over the past 12 months. Many experts project the national average to exceed $5 per gallon in the upcoming months. As one might expect, gasoline prices vary significantly across the 50 states. California maintains its woeful distinction for the highest gas prices in the land, with a wallet-melting statewide average of $6.06 per gallon. Hawaii comes in at No. 2, averaging $5.42 per gallon. The winner for the cheapest gallon of gas goes to Oklahoma ($4.08) followed closely by Kansas ($4.09). Locally, the price you pay at the pump is heavily dependent on which side of the Mississippi River you fill up on. In Illinois, the average price for a gallon of regular gas is a record-high $4.98 the seventh highest in the nation. Gas prices have risen $0.58 over the past 30 days and $1.76 over the past 12 months. In Chicago-Cook County, the average price is a blistering $5.40 per gallon. Iowa has faired better. The average price in the Hawkeye state is a record-high $4.23 per gallon but still the 13th lowest in the nation. Prices have risen $0.38 in the past 30 days and $1.34 over the past year. Here in the Quad-Cities, a gallon of gas on the Illinois side averages $4.70. The Iowa side is $0.52 cheaper at $4.18. The main cause behind the higher gasoline prices is the continued rise in the price of crude oil. The price of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark grade of crude oil produced in the U.S., is at an 11-year high. Its current price of $115 per barrel has risen 51% in 2022 and is up 61% over the past 12 months. Crude oil is a global commodity, subject to the global forces of supply and demand. Before the pandemic, U.S. crude oil production reached a record-high 13.1 million barrels per day. This once-torrid pace of production kept global crude oil supplies saturated which helped keep prices low. Today, U.S. production has fallen by 10%. Add in sanctions against Russias crude oil exports and it creates a potent mixture for higher crude oil and gasoline prices. This summer, Americans penchant for travel will be tempered by the reality of higher gasoline prices. According to a poll by The Washington Post and George Mason University, 85% of respondents said gas prices will be a factor in making their summer vacation plans. Sixty-one percent stated it would play a major factor. So, if youre one of those contemplating changes to your upcoming summer travel plans, rest assured, youre not alone. Mark Grywacheski is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO - We pray to increase the peace in our streets, chanted a group of some 70 faith leaders and community members who crossed a bustling North Michigan Avenue on Saturday afternoon. The rally, part of Hands Across Chicago 2022, is an annual Memorial Day weekend event for united prayer and peace across the city. They began around 1 p.m. at the plaza in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue and ended at Wrigley Square in the northwest section of Millennium Park with a few stops in between to pray and change up the chants to: Getting it done, standing as one and Our schools are a place where kids should be safe. Nineteen children and two adults were killed at an elementary school shooting in Texas earlier this week. As the peace walkers made their way down Michigan Avenue, bystanders joined in on the chants and cheered them on as they passed. Saturdays walk was a demonstration of the faith communitys unity in calling for action against increasing violence in the city but also across the country, said Michael Eaddy, a pastor at Peoples Church of the Harvest on the citys West Side. We understand that our country is hurting, Eaddy said. We are seeing all sorts of gun violence, so we are taking a position today, as faith leaders, and decreeing peace in this district. James Meeks, a pastor at Salem Baptist Church in the citys Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side, said he and the group were praying for a solution to the gun problem in Chicago, Texas and wherever else it is happening. We need our senators in Washington, D.C., to come up with a comprehensive background check and gun legislation so that as we pray for peace, there will be no guns for people to shoot next Memorial Day, Meeks said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Memorial Day has special meanings and opportunities to remember those who served and passed away. Army veteran, veteran advocate and Corvallis American Legion Post #91 member Edna Nasca will be the parade grand marshal for the 102nd annual Corvallis Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 30. At the head of the parade, after the color guard and veterans, Nasca will ride in the 1942 Ford jeep that is owned by Post 91. Im practicing my wave but Id like to drive, its been a while since I drove a jeep, she said. Nasca served in the Army from 1979 to 1982 as a unit armorer taking care of company weapons. I thought I would be a tank turret mechanic but ended up the armorer, Nasca said. I didnt mind it, the worst part was the paperwork. She served during Grenada and also went to South Korea. Thats the furthest I went, Nasca said. I didnt know they still sent people to South Korea when I got my orders. Nasca was born in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, and moved 25 times before graduating high school in Glenrock, Wyoming. My dad was a miner and hed get to a mine and theyd close it after about six months and wed move to the next mine, Nasca said. Sometimes we just moved because he felt like it. Nasca has lived in the Bitterroot Valley for 40 years, she joined the Corvallis American Legion Post #91 24 years ago. She has served in every office available including service officer, first vice commander and commander, and she is a faithful member of the Honor Guard. I started at the bottom rank and worked my way up to commander, Nasca said. I was commander for four years. She has performed all duties needed for the Corvallis Memorial Day parade. Ive done it all and I mostly just show up all the time, she said. I dont think Ive missed one since we moved up here. I even had a Girl Scout troop do the parade one year. It was pretty simple they said just get in line. It was back when the parade lasted about 15 minutes, now they last an hour or better. Nasca said shed like people to remember that celebrating Memorial Day is about honoring the deceased. It is for those who passed away, not those currently alive, she said. It is a memorial not a celebration even though we have a parade. Her daughters Jolene Nasca and Grace Neal will ride in the parade with her. Immediately after the parade, Post #91 will conduct its annual memorial ceremony at the Corvallis Cemetery, then the Post will move to the Woodside Cutoff Bridge and place a wreath in the Bitterroot River for all those who died at sea. The public is invited. The Corvallis Performing Arts Booster Club will have donuts and coffee for sale before the parade to support the orchestra and a barbecue and carnival after the parade with proceeds helping Corvallis K-12 music and arts. The Bitterroot Womans Club will have a pie and plant sale before, during and after the parade. Like many businesses, Marlena and Michele DeGroot owners of Big Sky Candy in Hamilton have a patriotic display in their window. Their display includes information on the meaning of Memorial Day, poppies and veterans. Marlena DeGroot said the information is important. A lot of people, adults my age, dont know the meaning of Memorial Day and what the poppies represent, she said. People think it is a day off and a chance to have a barbecue but it is so much more. It means a lot to me. I come from a very large family of veterans, we love our veterans and without them, we wouldnt be here. Her Memorial Day traditions include going to the Ravalli County Museum at 8 a.m. for a 21-gun salute, the Corvallis parade, the wreath ceremony at the river and a visit to the cemetery. Marlena DeGroot wrote two explanations about the significance of the day and what wearing a poppy means. Wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day is done in remembrance of those who died in the wars for America, she wrote. In battlefields, the poppy was one of the first plants to grow. She said the red represents the blood of all those who gave their lives, the black represents the mourning of those who didnt have their loved ones return home, and the green leaf represents the grass, crops growing and prosperity after the war. She explains the proper way to wear a poppy is on the right side, with the leave positioned at 11 oclock to represent when World War I ended, the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. Her second essay is about how to show respect on Memorial Day. Suggestions include thanking a veteran, flying a flag at half-staff, attending a parade and visiting a cemetery. See the patriotic window display with flags and poppies at Big Sky Candy, 319 W. Main St. in Hamilton. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. For Raymond Miller, it all started with a bus ride. Noting that he seemed to spend more time at recess than in the classroom at the school he was attending, Millers mother waved down the school bus that was headed to Second Union School and asked the driver to take him there instead. In short order, Miller found himself standing in front of Ms. Fannie Beale, the teacher who would change his life. On May 17, before an audience that included Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Miller and several other Second Union alumni shared their memories of Ms. Beale and the thriving two-room school, now a lovingly restored museum celebrating the legacy of the countys Rosenwald schools (see sidebar, right). Sears served as the keynote speaker for the event, which was held in partnership with the Richmond Jewish Coalition, an organization that has been a strong supporter of the Second Union Rosenwald School Museum. Listening to the former students relate their experiences at the school, it soon became clear that Second Unions focus on self-respect and rigorous academics helped underpin what would become a defining experience for many of them. Gail Smith, who attended Second Union from 1953 to 1959, described her time there as the best years of her life. With Beale at the helm, everybody wanted to come to school, Smith said. They may not have had certain amenities most students today couldnt imagine going withoutsuch as indoor plumbing or separate classroomsbut the education they received at Second Union prepared her and her classmates for success outside the classroom, Smith remembered, and taught them the value of hard work and discipline. Smith grew solemn last Tuesday as she noted that the respect she and her fellow students had for their teachers, and the value they placed on education, seems at times to be a thing of the past. It was a theme echoed by Sears, who lamented to those in attendance that students in the United States have fallen woefully behind their counterparts in other nations when it comes to reading and math. Weve come a long way, said Sears, but weve taken 10 steps back. Sears said she hoped that the steadfast devotion to education and spirit of community that sustained the nations Rosenwald schools might serve as a model for how to repair the nations education system. Both Miller and Smith went on to have successful careers, and, like so many of their former classmates, both say they dont think they would have gone nearly as far if it had not been for the education they received at Second Union. Calvin Hopkins, who now serves as the president of the SURSM Board of Directors, went into the Air Force as a young man and says he has no doubt that Ms. Beales continued emphasis on reading comprehension allowed him to excel on the entrance exam. These days, Hopkins and his fellow board members continue their tireless efforts to preserve the legacy of the Rosenwald schools as a whole, but also their own cherished link to it. During her visit, Sears toured the museum, learning about the cooperation, respect and discipline that helped make each day successful. She saw the chalkboards on the wallssome low and some high depending on whether they were for younger students or older onesand the woodstove that was used to heat the building in the winter. Addressing those in attendance after the tour, she praised both the SURSM leadership and the Richmond Jewish Coalition for their efforts. It was a small cemetery reached by an unpaved country road near Hebron, a Maryland town named after the city south of Jerusalem known as a burial ground for prophets. Ten years ago this month, my old platoon leader, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Stephen Smitty Smith was buried with full military honors four soldiers in dress blue uniforms carrying a flag-draped casket, while a volley of shots were fired and taps sounded. Alas, its a ritual that has been carried out many times since Smittys funeral. Smittys military career spanned a quarter-century of American conflict the Cold War, post-Cold War European turmoil and Islamic Jihad. He was in Germany at Bad Aibling Station in 1985 as an enlisted soldier serving with a detachment intercepting Soviet and East German transmissions. He left active service, went to college and then joined the Maryland National Guard, where I met him in the 629th Military Intelligence Battalion a Cold War-focused unit which exists no more. The Gulf War in 1991 passed over the battalion but then there was a need for troops to police the turbulent Balkan states. Smitty volunteered in 1999 and deployed to Bosnia for more than a year. Then came 9/11 and, because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, manpower was stretched worldwide. In 2003, Smitty again deployed with the National Guard when the battalion sent a company of solders to Kosovo. Smitty served many years as a noncommissioned officer (NCO) a role whose creed rightly establishes them as the Backbone of the Army, the human bridge between officers and enlisted soldiers. Says the creed: My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mindaccomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers. A simple but a profound form of leadership. I saw those NCO leadership qualities up close as an enlisted Army reservist, and then an Army National Guardsman for 14 years. And yet, I still find it difficult to properly explain to my nonservice peers the military ethic behind such leadership the sense of duty and loyalty, the cohesion of diverse units (my battalion was majority-minority) and the camaraderie that fostered performance and accountability. Of course, compared to the vast majority of service members, my military service was modest, mostly composed of maintaining Humvees and performing administrative tasks. However, my three sons are active-duty military officers; two of them lead dozens of enlisted service members, work with complex equipment (some of it lethal) worth hundreds of millions of dollars and have been in tight situations that are unfathomable to their nonmilitary peers. My sons depend heavily on the Smittys of this world. Even after the grind of patrols in Kosovo, Smitty hung in there and in 2007 deployed to Iraq to work as an intelligence guy, the same job hed had at Bad Aibling Station 22 years and several New World orders prior. He came back a year later and his closest friends immediately knew something was wrong. He isolated himself and when he did emerge, he was erratic in behavior and a changed man. He hadnt been in combat in Iraq. The closest to danger hed come was when one evening, several Iraqi soldiers on his base haphazardly fired hundreds of rounds into the sky. Dozens of bullets rained down through a large tent in which Smitty was attending a briefing, injuring several soldiers. At the beginning of 2012, Smitty was found dead in his home of natural causes according to the Anne Arundel County, Md., coroner. At the funeral, his mother was defiant that the war killed my son. His sister said it was PTSD from Iraq, somehow amplified by his previous two deployments. A dozen guys from the unit gathered in the cemetery parking lot after Smittys burial, all of us shaken by the anger of his mom and sister. None of us knew what exactly had happened. And as with all guys whove served closely in a military unit, there was no lack of candor. One senior NCO who had driven 130 miles that morning to Hebron said, Look, guys, you all know Smitty didnt really like me at all and I didnt really like him. We had some real blowups in Kosovo and at Victory [Camp Victory in Iraq] and those rounds through the tent put us even more on edge. But I knew he respected me and I respected him. Regret was the dominant sentiment. Why hadnt we made more of an effort to see Smitty? To all these guys, mostly vets with an experienced outlook on service, it was a mystery. One thing though: The wrath of his mom and sister pounded in our heads. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes post-traumatic stress disorder was a significant public health problem in deployed and nondeployed veterans in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Studies show 15.7% of OEF/OIF deployed veterans screened positive for PTSD, compared to 10.9% of nondeployed veterans. Overall, 13.5% of study participants screened positive for PTSD. For the National Guard, the PTSD number was 14.5% of deployed troops. The U.S. Department of Defense Casualty Status report for Iraq and Afghanistan, which still is updated weekly, lists 4,431 U.S. deaths in Iraq and 2,352 in Afghanistan (as of May 23). A beer to celebrate Virginia Techs 150th year All Hail to Thee amber ale is now available and is the second collaboration between the university and Richmonds Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. The new ale follows Fightin Hokies Lager, the first Virginia Tech-Hardywood beer that was introduced to the market last spring. Fightin Hokies, a classic Munich-style Helles lager, was the best-selling new craft beer in Virginia in 2021, based on market research by the Nielsen company, according to a Virginia Tech news release. I am proud of our facultys creativity and the support of LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH team that helped unite Virginia Tech with Hardywood in this unique partnership, which has brought not one but now two Hokie beers to market that contribute to Virginias economy, said Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation Dan Sui. Virginia Tech and Hardywood have established one of the most successful university-brewery partnerships in the country to date with the launch of Fightin Hokies Lager being one of the highest-grossing collaborations of its kind. The limited edition All Hail to Thee, is a hoppy, full-bodied American amber ale-style beer brewed with Virginia-grown malted barley and wheat. We are thrilled to be able to honor Virginia Techs Sesquicentennial Celebration the best way we know how with the release of a new, limited edition beer in partnership with Hardywood, said Renee Boyer, head of the Department of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In addition to the joy of seeing a new beer in Hokie hands, were excited that proceeds for both beers continue to provide scholarships for our students and enable the expansion of research programs in our highly regarded food science and technology program. Virginia Tech faculty members and brew masters behind the two Virginia Tech beer recipes Herbert Bruce, Sean OKeefe and Brian Wiersema worked with regional maltsters on developing a unique malt blend of Munich-style malt and wheat, which provides the color and clean, malt backbone for the ale, before turning it over to Hardywood to fine-tune and produce, according to the news release. The All Hail to Thee amber ale beer is very different from the Helles style of the Fightin Hokies Lager, which is very much a session-type beer, said OKeefe. Its exciting to me that were able to make these different beer styles and provide them to Hokies who are interested in different beer styles. Wednesday, June 1 Roanoke Higher Education Authority Board of Trustees Meeting The Board of Trustees of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority will hold a meeting in Room 212 at the Roanoke Higher Education Center. This meeting is open to the public. Where: Roanoke Higher Education Center, 108 N. Jefferson St., Roanoke When: 12:30 p.m. Cost: Free Contact: Kay Dunkley at kay.dunkley@education.edu Thursday, June 2 Government Contracting Series: How to Become SWaM Certified Are you a small, women-owned or minority-owned business? Small business owners who are looking to participate in Virginias specialized procurement and contracting opportunities are encouraged to become SWaM certified. This workshop will cover the certification process; required documents needed to apply; and how to use the certification to do business with the Commonwealth (intro to eVA, Virginias online procurement portal). Our speaker will be Ramain Gohar, Business Manager, Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity. This event is in collaboration with the Roanoke Regional SBDC. Where: Online When: 10 to 11 a.m. Cost: Free Contact: Register at https:// www.roanokesmallbusiness.org/training/cert-swam Roanoke Higher Education Center Open House Come learn about the more than 200 degree, licensure and certificate programs currently being offered at the Roanoke Higher Education Center. Speak with representatives from our member institutions and discuss program details. Find out more about tuition, admission requirements, program length and more! Free and open to the public. Please register to attend. Where: Roanoke Higher Education Center, 108 N. Jefferson St., Roanoke When: 4 to 6 p.m. Cost: Free Contact: 540-767-6010 Friday, June 3 NARFE (National Active and Retired Federal Employees) Gathering at 11 a.m. Meeting at 11:15 a.m. The speaker will be Allison Szuba. Her topic will be Giggles to Guffaws. All are welcome. PLEASE NOTE: Location is assuming The Roanoker is still open. Backup plans are being made. Where: Roanoker Restaurant Meeting Room, 2522 Colonial Ave. SW, Roanoke When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost: Order lunch from special menu ($10-14) Contact: Mark Fisher 772-0984 Tuesday, June 7 Botetourt Chamber of Commerce 2022 Annual Meeting of the Membership Our theme is Reflecting on the past and preparing for the future. Join us as we reacquaint! We will welcome our new board members and say thank you to our outgoing board members. Networking, guest speakers, appetizers and more. Where: Sunnybrook, 7342 Plantation Road, Roanoke When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cost: $30 members, $45 future members Contact: Jennifer Vance, 540-566-8812, Jennifer@botetourtchamber.com Free Research Assistance, Business Development, and Career Enhancement @Your Public Library Look no further than your local public library (in person and online) for help with a wide range of business assistance. While each location is different, every library, through the Library of Virginia, has access to digital resources, learning assets and research tools to help you meet your career and business goals. Join us to learn more! Where: Online When: Noon to 1 p.m. Cost: Free Contact: Register at https:// clients.virginiasbdc.org/workshop Wednesday, June 8 (Virtual) Franklin County Connects This event provides a structured and supportive networking environment for chamber members. Each month a guest speaker presents vital info regarding the Franklin County business community. Attendees receive chamber updates, meet and network with other members and have an opportunity to share information about their business. Meeting ID and password available at business.visitsmithmountainlake.com/events. Where: Via Zoom When: 9 to 10 a.m. Cost: Not specified Future-Proofing Your Business: Web 3.0, NFTs & Blockchain Confused about blockchain for your business? Weve got you covered. This illustrative program includes a Q&A session to answer your questions, including how blockchain and bitcoin differ; accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment; use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs); safety and privacy concerns, and more. Our presenter is Cameron Nelson, Chief Digital Advisor, Virginia SBDC and Central Virginia SBDC. Where: Online When: Noon to 1 p.m. Cost: Free Contact: Register at https:// clients.virginiasbdc.org/workshop Thursday, June 9 Eggs & Issues Covid After-Action Report Reservations required no later than Tuesday, June 7, at noon! Our invited speakers include leadership from the NRV Health District, LewisGale, Carilion and the NRV Regional Commission. Space is limited. Register and pay online. Where: Warm Hearth Village, 2387 Warm Hearth Drive, Blacksburg When: 7:30 to 9 a.m. Cost: $25 chamber members $35 nonmembers Tuesday, June 14 Virginias Blue Ridge Series: The State of Retail Limited tickets available! For the fourth and final event in the 2022 Virginias Blue Ridge Series, retailers from across the region will participate in a panel discussion on the challenges of our current economic environment. The conversation will include discussions on how retailers address supply chain bottlenecks, staffing shortages, rising costs of goods and more. The series is geared toward business owners, C-suite executives and junior to senior-level management professionals, but ALL are welcome! Purchase tickets in advance at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce website: https://roanokechamber.org. Where: Vinton War Memorial, 814 E. Washington St., Vinton When: 7:30 to 9 a.m. (program begins at 8 a.m.) Cost: $50 members, $100 future members (includes breakfast) Contact: Eric Sichau, esichau@roanokechamber.org LeadHERship: Neuroplasticity & The Cognitive Gifts of Women Registration required! The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Western College of Career and Corporate Training have developed a 10-month Womens LeadHERship Series for women across all industries. The series emphasizes the unique gifts and strengths of women and provides tools for empowerment and success. The series runs through December with a new topic each month. Lunch is provided. Register on the website: https://s-rcchamber.org. Where: Virginia Western Community College Natural Science Center When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost: $35 chamber members, $45 nonmembers Contact: 540-387-0267 Wednesday, June 15 Morning Jolt with WoTech Come join your village of women in technology for a morning jolt of real talk. Were hosting these on the third Wednesday of every month to help us make connections and have casual conversations covering various topics about jobs, mentor requests and everything in between. There is no judgment: come as you are, liquids in the cup are optional, jump in when you can. Morning Jolt is being held online until further notice. Register once to get the zoom link. Sponsored by Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council. Where: Via Zoom When: 8 to 9 a.m. (program begins at 8:15 a.m.) Cost: Not specified Contact: Register at https://rbtc.tech/events/ Beer & Biotech: The Future of Biotech in the Region Beer & Biotech is an ecosystem-building series that will bring together investors, physicians, academics, inventors, startups and state and regional leaders who are influential in the biotechnology industry. Each event in the yearlong series will feature a local, regional or national speaker and include plenty of time for networking and beverages at the host brewery. Where: Big Lick Brewing Co., 409 Salem Ave. SW, Roanoke When: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cost: Free Contact: Register at https://rbtc.tech/rbtc-events Thursday, June 16 Business Advocacy Breakfast Series: Legislative Wrap-Up Join the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce Business Advocacy Committee for the third in a series of business breakfasts. The objective of this event is to provide a legislative wrap-up for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our guest panel will feature Sen. David Suetterlein and Del. Joseph McNamara. Space will be limited and current Richfield Living COVID safety guidelines will be followed. Registration is required. Where: Richfield Living, Richfield Town Center Chapel, 3730 Richfield Lane, Salem When: 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Cost: $25 members, $35 nonmembers Contact: Lynne Kilburn, info@s-rcchamber.org, 540-387-0267 WANT YOUR EVENT LISTED? Information on public events of interest to businesspeople can be emailed to upcoming@roanoke.com. Deadline for submissions is two weeks before the event. Water levels on the New and Roanoke rivers could rise rapidly starting Tuesday and continue to fluctuate throughout the week due to increasing temperatures, Appalachian Power said Saturday. The power company has issued a warning to recreational river users downstream of two of its hydroelectric dams: the Claytor Dam on the New River and the Leesville Dam on the Roanoke River near Altavista. The National Weather Service has predicted temperatures next week in the mid-80s to 90s. Appalachian Power has been told by PJM, the independent regional transmission organization that manages the electric grid in 13 states, that power generation may need to be increased at its hydroelectric plants to maintain the reliability of the regional electric grid. Water levels below Claytor Dam could increase up to two feet in a matter of minutes, according to Appalachian Power. Water levels below Leesville Dam could increase as much as eight feet over a seven-hour period. George Porter, who oversees communications for Appalachian Powers hydro-operations, said the power company had little time after PJMs notification to alert the public. Because of the short notice, we want to make the public aware now of the possibility water levels could increase suddenly and continue to fluctuate throughout the week, Porter said. The utility encourages those considering recreating on the rivers in the coming week to monitor American Electric Powers website for more information. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Roanoke County man was arrested Saturday in connection with a house fire and related assault after crashing his car in Franklin County and fleeing on foot. Caleb Firebaugh, 25, of Roanoke County was charged with aggravated malicious wounding. He is being held at the Roanoke County/Salem Jail without bond. At about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, the countys dispatch center received a 911 call about a house fire in which the homeowner had been assaulted, according to a press release. Roanoke County Fire & Rescue and Roanoke County Police responded to the 4000 block of Brookridge Road, where they found flames showing from the house and an injured person in the front yard. The person was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, and the fire was extinguished by first responders. Police identified a suspect and a vehicle, and the information was relayed to area law enforcement. At about 2:30 p.m., the Franklin County Sheriffs Office reported that they had received a call about the vehicle. It had been involved in a car crash in the Boones Mill area. Police said the suspect Firebaugh fled on foot from the crash and was taken into custody by the FCSO and the Virginia State Police. Police said the assault victim was in critical condition as of late Saturday. The incident is under the investigation of the Roanoke County Police and Fire Marshals Office. Police ask anyone who has information about the crime to call 540-562-3265. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Buried in a bundle of updates to Roanoke County Public Schools policy manual last week were two proposals concerning recent topics of debate locally and nationally controversial library books and classroom discussions. County school leaders are considering new procedures for adding books and other media to school libraries, a revised process for parents who want books removed from circulation, and updated guidelines for teachers on classroom discussions. County schools spokesman Chuck Lionberger said the system began revising the media policy earlier this year after a book was removed from the Herman L. Horn Elementary School library in November. The book in question, When Aidan Became A Brother written by Kyle Lukoff was challenged by a parent for reasons not explained by the school system. It is about a transgender boy in an African American family who wants to be a good brother to his new sibling that has yet to be born. Aidan tells his parents of concerns about his new sibling going through the same things he did as a child when his parents thought he was a girl. The parents quell those feelings by telling him they will love their new child and accept them for who they are, just like they did him. In November, after a parent complained to Horn Principal Julie Sandzimier, then filed a formal request for the book to be removed from circulation, the book was reviewed, according to Lionberger. Librarians from an elementary, middle and high school reviewed the request and decided the book should remain in circulation. But an appeals group composed of three community members overruled the decision, and the book was removed from circulation. Of the three appeals committee members, one was selected by the parent, one by Sandzimier. The third member was selected from a list of five people provided by Tim Greenway, the board member in the Vinton District where Horn Elementary is located. The two committee members picked a third member from the pool of candidates Greenway recommended, Lionberger wrote in an email. Now When Aidan Became A Brother is only available for parents to check out from the guidance office at Horn Elementary, Lionberger said. To the best of his knowledge, Lionberger said, no other books have been requested for removal at any other schools in the county district. The proposed media policy has essentially been entirely rewritten. Some of the main changes specify selecting media for students which provides differing viewpoints on controversial subjects. Two librarians must read and review media before it is added to the catalog, and one librarian must do the same at the secondary level. If the books are approved by all librarians in the elementary and secondary schools, it will then be added to the library database for parents to review for two weeks before being officially added to the school catalog. Additionally, there is now a second level for requests for removal if the parent or parents object to the decision made by the first review committee. This second level would require each school board member to appoint a parent from the same level as the school in which the complaint originated. The second committee then makes a recommendation that goes through a lengthy process before ultimately deciding if the original decision should be reversed or upheld. A retired librarian for the county school system, Beth Via, said the new procedures would put librarians in an unmanageable situation. She said in addition to teaching classes on most days, on days librarians are not teaching they have other duties maintaining the library and also occasionally filling in as substitute teachers. A school can get hundreds of new books per year, she said. It is unreasonable to expect them to read every book ordered in addition to their other duties, Via said. The proposed policy does state librarians can outsource some of the reading and reviewing process to Roanoke County Public Schools teachers. Via said she believes the new policy could lead to fewer books being ordered by librarians, adding that many book distributors object when books are bought and then sent back on a regular basis. When asked if the book When Aidan Became A Brother precipitated the proposed change in policy, school board Chairman David Linden said he could not speak to that. Mike Riley, the districts executive director of secondary education, said the regulations were reviewed in part because the school system didnt want librarians on an island. We wanted to make sure there was some collaboration We want librarians collaborating to add to the collection, he said. Riley also said the new policy was drafted in collaboration with a committee of librarians in the district. However, a recommendation of new procedures by the committee of librarians obtained by The Roanoke Times lacks a read and review procedure, and also does not recommend the review policy for books that the administration is proposing. When asked if it is standard practice to rewrite entire policies each year, Riley said it depends on the policy. How dated the policy is can also play a factor, he added. Riley said the media policy was first written in 2001, and school documents show it was updated in 2014. Classroom discussions of controversial topics Additionally, the school systems new policy manual included instructions on how teachers should approach controversial issues. Lionberger said the new instructions adhere to guidelines teachers already follow. But given the current political climate, the school system believed it necessary to add them to the policy manual. The main takeaway from the proposed regulation is unless a difficult or controversial topic is specifically and directly linked to a Virginia Standard of Learning or the curriculum adopted for a particular class or course, the teacher avoids raising or engaging with the topic, according to school system documents. The proposed regulation defines a controversial topic as one where public opinion is divided and evokes strong opinions and emotions on each side, or a sensitive topic that is typically not addressed with children in a school setting. Lionberger did not give any specific examples of what would be considered a controversial topic and said it would be considered on a case-by-case basis, but he did say the guidelines come in to play mostly in history classes. There has been much state and national attention surrounding the supposed teaching of critical race theory in K-12 classrooms, but the topic is only taught at higher education institutions, usually at the graduate level. CRT as it is often referred to, is defined by Britannica as an intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color. Linden said the new regulations have yet to be updated in the policy manual and will be voted on at a later meeting. However, Lionberger said the changes do not require a school board vote. A full, detailed list of all the updates to the policy manual can be found on the school systems website by clicking on the school board tab and then the link to the meeting agenda and minutes page. Near the end of Thursdays school board meeting, when the policy manual changes were presented, Cheryl Facciani, the Windsor Hills District board member, praised the board for making things better, noting the policy changes among some of its recent accomplishments. I think we are on the right track, she said. Facciani, who is in her first year on the board, has been at the forefront of polarizing issues like leading the vote for children to not have to wear masks in school, which the board had to go back on in early January, as well expressing her approval of the removal of sexual behavior questions for seventh and eighth grade students on the biannual youth risk surveys. Linden said the board has not had much input on the updated policies, and the changes proposed did not come from requests by board members. Weve been made aware, but not overly involved. We were not on any committees, he said, also noting, We as a board want to know what books are in our libraries. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Its like being caught in a whirlpool, Rep. Caldwell Butler confided when asked about his role in the impeachment inquiry. Sitting in his office, cheerful photographs of him and President Richard Nixon adorned the walls mementos of his early days in Congress. However, in the summer of 1974, the heyday of Butlers relationship with the president was but a distant memory, overshadowed by the dilemma he now faced. A member of the Judiciary Committee, the freshman from Virginias 6th Congressional District grappled with one of the most agonizing questions of his political career: should he vote to impeach Nixon? As a Republican from a Republican district, his interests and those of his party all pointed in the same direction: voting against. But his moral compass pointed elsewhere. These were the opening words of my essay written as part of the Profiles in Courage Essay Competition. Organized by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the contest encourages high school students to recount an act of political courage, in the spirit of the eight U.S. senators described in Kennedys Pulitzer-winning book. At a time when partisanship dominates the political landscape, I sought to profile an elected representative who would offer a glimmer of hope. Caldwell Butler turned out to be the perfect subject. He was one of many Republican dissenters during the impeachment process of President Richard Nixon, yet he stood out from the rest by the extent of the risks he was willing to take to uphold what he believed was right. In Profiles in Courage, Kennedy describes elected officials who sail with the wind until the decisive moment when their conscience, and events, propelled them into the center of the storm. At the beginning of the Watergate scandal in 1972, Butler sailed the seas of partisanship alongside his Republican colleagues. Joining the chorus of fellow party members, Butler castigated the press for overdoing their coverage of Watergate, derided proposals for impeachment as unfounded, and went as far as to call President Nixon unimpeachable. However, in the spring of 1974, a shift in the wind altered his course. The White House released tapes to the Judiciary Committee, unveiling a broad pattern of criminal presidential activity. In the face of mounting evidence, Butler reevaluated his position on impeachment, steering into a storm wherein his ethics clashed with his own interests and those of his party. As highlighted by Kennedy, acts of political courage collide with pressure to be liked, pressure to be reelected, and pressure from constituents. Butler confronted all three obstacles. In Washington, Republicans warned him that voting in favor of the articles of impeachment would be suicidal. With the midterm elections in just a few months, Butlers congressional seat hinged on a district won by Nixon with 73% of the vote in 1972 the most pro-Nixon district in all of Virginia. If you vote to impeach the president, one constituent warned, our every vote will be cast for your opponent as long as you are in office. When his mother cautioned him that party disloyalty would lead his future [to] go down the drain, the Roanoke lawmaker conceded you are probably right. He then continued, However, I feel that my loyalty to the Republican Party does not relieve me of the obligation which I have. As the clerk proceeded through the roll call for articles I and II of impeachment on July 27 and July 29, 1974, the silence was total. The moment came when his name was called. I knew how I was going to vote, recalled the Virginian lawmaker, and I knew the implications of it. Aye, Butler answered cheerlessly. After retiring into his office, the freshman congressman shed tears. Calling from Roanoke, his wife comforted him, reassuring him he had voted for what was right. His vote and that of a handful of Republican dissenters allowed the articles of impeachment to be approved with a bipartisan majority. Faced with almost certain destitution, Nixon resigned on Aug. 8. With his vote, Butler preserved the fabric of our nation by upholding the constitutional principle that no man including the president is above the law. Writing in 1974, journalist Ernest Furguson described his courage as living up to a tradition that too many other Americans had forgotten. These words continue to resonate to this day, all the more at a time when many Republican officials lack the moral clarity to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for his actions. Today, we can only wonder: who will be tomorrows Caldwell Butler? Editors note: 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal. William Boucher is a Franco-American citizen enrolled in a dual bachelor program between Columbia University and Paris Institute of Political Studies. His recent essay on Caldwell Butler won a $100 semifinalist prize in the 2022 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museums Profiles in Courage Essay Competition. "His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice" by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa. Viking. 432 pages. $30. Two Americas collided in the few minutes that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, after a shopkeeper complained that the 6-foot-6 Floyd had passed a counterfeit $20 bill at a store. According to the new book "His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice," Chauvin, a white, 5-foot-9 police veteran, had become a "cowboy" on patrol, a practitioner of rough policing tactics. He had grown up a child of divorced parents but attended good schools and found his way to policing after taking related college courses. Floyd's childhood was starkly different. Floyd was a cheerful child, saying he wanted to "be someone" a Supreme Court justice, for example. But just surviving the drug-infested, poverty-stricken, violence-prone neighborhood where he grew up was an accomplishment of note. With better schools and a more stable neighborhood, it's easy to envision a different adult passage for Floyd, who failed to pass the exit exam for high school. He had gone to Minneapolis on the recommendation of a Houston pastor who noted Minnesota's better education, medical care and rehabilitation systems for people with criminal records. And Floyd seemed to thrive, until he fell back into drug use. Floyd's record of drug abuse, robbery and other minor crimes, plus his intimidating size, were offered as justification for Chauvin's tactics to subdue the much bigger man. But it's easy to envision a different life for Floyd that did not include a knee to the neck had he not grown up in a neighborhood infested with crime, illicit drugs and poor schools. The authors, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, say in the book's introduction that they don't want to absolve Floyd of responsibility for his actions but rather are striving to analyze the policies that affected Floyd's life. And they do a masterful, thorough and even-handed job of this. Floyd supporters say justice was achieved in Chauvin's conviction but whether the case led to a national examination of conscience is tougher to answer. What does seem clear is that George Floyd's name will be remembered as a prominent casualty of the racial and economic gulf in America. He did as he said as a child "become someone," although not in the way he had hoped but powerfully nonetheless, prompting Americans to think hard about race and policing in America. Along with many folks, I have been wishing, hoping and praying hard for the rain to come. With the warm, wet weather that has come, cucurbit downy mildew has likewise blown in from the south and been identified in a cucumber field in Bamberg County. It is only a matter of time before the storms coming up from the Lowcountry bring downy mildew up here to us. Now is the time to make sure farmers in the area are on top of their fungicide plan. Rob Last with Clemson Extension, writing on scgrower.com, reminds everyone that if you are growing cucumbers, cantaloupes, squash, watermelons or any cucurbits, you better make fungicide applications every seven days. If you go more than seven days without spraying, you are exponentially increasing your chance of potential disease spread. Also, make sure you rotate your fungicide treatments and not spray the same active ingredients back to back. See an extensive list of product recommendations for specific cucurbits at scgrower.com or call the office 843-661-4800, and we can provide clear guidance. Regarding private pesticide applicators, Clemson Cooperative Extension now offers an online training and exam option for those who need to get their private pesticide applicator license. Two classes are being offered online every month. They begin on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Participants can enjoy a weeklong, self-paced course that prepares them for the certification exam. The exam will be held online that Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Participants will have one hour to complete the exam. The course and exam cost $90. To enroll for the next exam on June 6, go to cu-pro-ed.catalog.catalog.instructure.org. If you are looking for an in-person initial private pesticide applicator training and certification course, one will be offered on August 31, 2022, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Darlington County Extension Office. The fee for the training is $90. Up to 3 CCH credits will also be available for private applicators to get credits toward their current license for $30. To register or ask additional questions, contact Miranda Hayes at (843)944-8582 or email mh9@clemson.edu. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, and an equal opportunity employer. Along with many folks, I have been wishing, hoping, and praying hard for the rain to come. With the warm, wet weather that has come, cucurbit downy mildew has likewise blown in from the south and been identified in a cucumber field in Bamberg County. File photo: In May last year, about seven people drowned after a tourist boat had capsized off the Boyolali regency in central Java (Basarnas/AFP via Getty Images) At least 26 people are feared missing after a boat carrying 43 people capsized in Indonesia. The remainder 17 passengers were saved by passing tugboats, said rescue officials on Saturday. The boat had sunk off Sulawesi island after it left Paotere port in Makassar, South Sulawesi provinces capital on Thursday midnight. It had failed to reach its destination on Friday after which rescue officials launched a search operation, said news agency Reuters citing local media. On Saturday, South Sulawesis search and rescue agency chief said those rescued were taken to the provinces South Kalimantan and Jeneponto areas. We have confirmation that the boat had sunk in the search area, said Djunaidi, the rescue agency chief identified by only one name. We received information saying that 17 people were found and saved by passing tugboats, he added. Officials suspect fuel shortage and bad weather to be the likely causes of the accident. Indonesias weather agency had warned of bad weather, including waves up to 8ft long, in Makassar strait areas on Thursday, reported Reuters. There have been a number of boat capsizes reported from Indonesia over the years. About seven people drowned after a tourist boat had capsized off the Boyolali regency in central Java in May last year. Officials said the cause of the accident was overcapacity. One of the countrys worst accidents had occurred off western Sulawesi decades ago in 2009, when around 250 people were feared dead after a ferry capsize. Only 18 survivors were rescued with the help of fishing boats. The ships captain who was pulled out alive said 150 people had jumped off the boat before it sank. Additional reporting by agencies Matthew Morrison arrives at the 74th annual Tony Awards in 2021. (Photo: via Associated Press) Matthew Morrison arrives at the 74th annual Tony Awards in 2021. (Photo: via Associated Press) So you think you can figure out why Matthew Morrison is looking for a new job? The Glee alum recently joined Foxs reality dance competition series So You Think You Dance as a judge for the recently launched 17th season alongside Stephen Twitch Boss and Jojo Siwa. But just over a week after the premiere, the Tony-nominated Broadway star is two-stepping toward the exit after violating competition production protocols. Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honor for me, Morrison said in a statement on Friday, per Variety. Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show. After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly. He added, I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet. The nature of Morrisons protocol breach has yet to be revealed, but an unnamed source told Us Weekly, which first reported the news, that the issue was a minor infraction. The actor will still continue to appear in four upcoming episodes through mid-June, as early rounds in the competition are pretaped. A replacement for Morrison is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. A representative for Fox said the network will soon announce a new judge to the series for the next wave of the competition starting on June 15th featuring the Top 12 performing for Americas vote, per Us Weekly. Morrison was tapped as a new So You Think You Dance judge in April after the network chose to overhaul the series following a two-year COVID-related hiatus. The actor was brought in to replace the long-running shows original judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, who were not asked to return. Cat Deeley, however, has remained as the shows host. Story continues Upon his casting announcement, Morrison said that he was thrilled to be heading back to my dance roots. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Robb Elementary School had measures in place to prevent this kind of violence. A fence lined the school property. Teachers were ordered to keep classroom doors closed and locked. Students faced regular lockdown and evacuation drills. But when an 18-year-old man arrived Tuesday at the school in Uvalde, Texas, intent on killing children, none of it stopped him. Security failures allowed the shooter to massacre 19 students and two teachers, school safety experts say. The shooting already has led to calls to fortify schools further, on top of millions spent on equipment and other measures following earlier shootings. But more security offers drawbacks, with no guarantee of an end to mass violence. In the worst case, as in Uvalde, it could backfire. "You can do the best job you can to prevent a school crisis, but we cannot read the minds of all the criminals who are out there," said Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center, a nonprofit that works with schools across the country. "We cannot prevent all crime." According to a district safety plan, Uvalde schools had a wide range of measures in place to prevent violence. The district had four police officers and four support counselors, according to the plan, which appears to be dated from the 2019-20 school year. The district had software to monitor social media for threats and software to screen school visitors. Yet when the gunman arrived at the school, he hopped its fence and easily entered through a back door that had been propped open, officials said. Behind the locked door of a fourth-grade classroom, he gunned down children and teachers. Amid the attack, nearly 20 officers stood in a hallway because the on-site commander believed the gunman was barricaded in the classroom and children were not at risk, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said at a Friday news conference, saying "it was the wrong decision." The case underscores that even the strongest security plans can be undermined by a seemingly simple lapse, said Curtis Lavarello, executive director of the School Safety Advocacy Council, which provides training on school safety. The Texas school appeared to be doing many things right, he said, but none of that mattered once the gunman was able to walk unobstructed into the building and into a classroom. "All those things on paper mean nothing if they're not followed in practice. And there seemed to be a number of gaps," he said. In the aftermath of the shooting, some Republicans have been calling for further investments in school safety to prevent more attacks. Some have pushed for more armed police in schools, along with metal detectors and measures to make it harder to enter schools. Among those promoting physical security measures is Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Appearing on Fox News on Wednesday, he brought up 2013 legislation that would have created grants to help schools install bulletproof doors and hire armed police officers among other measures. If those grants had gone to Robb Elementary, Cruz said, "the armed police officers could have taken him out and we would have 19 children and two teachers still alive." As the National Rifle Association opened its annual meeting Friday in Houston, the gun rights group called for more security at schools. Security experts say the Uvalde case illustrates how fortifying schools can backfire. A lock on the classroom door one of the most basic and widely recommended school safety measures kept victims in and police out. U.S. Border Patrol agents eventually used a master key to open the locked door of the classroom where they confronted and killed the gunman, McCraw said at the Friday news conference. Some argue that investments in school security have come at the expense of student welfare. Lockdown drills that have become routine for a generation of American students have traumatized students and added to strains on mental health, educators say. Schools need more counselors and psychologists to help troubled students, not stronger buildings, said Dewey Cornell, a psychologist and director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project at the University of Virginia. "We have systemically reduced the number of support staff in our schools, and focused too much on installing metal detectors and surveillance cameras and electronic door locks, which are very short term and reactive and very expensive," he said. In the wake of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, schools across the country began spending huge sums of money on fortifications including bulletproof glass, metal detectors and armed security. But such measures can create an atmosphere where students feel uncomfortable and less trusting, and it does not necessarily prevent attacks, said Matthew Mayer, a Rutgers associate professor who works on issues related to school violence. "You'll go down these sort of endless rabbit holes of how much security is enough. And when it comes to someone who's coming in heavily armed, you're not going to stop them," Mayer said. "So the idea is you need to figure out why people do this in the first place and have ways multi-level systems of prevention to prevent it from happening." He advocates for a multi-faceted prevention approach that also includes steps such as improving mental health services, assessing threats more effectively and building trust so students and families are not afraid to speak up if they're concerned someone has the means or intent to cause harm. Still, schools can only do so much, he said. "The problem is that a lot of this public reaction, you know, sort of rises like a wave and then recedes over time, and the politicians have been accustomed to riding that out. You know, they make speeches and so forth, and sometimes there's a commission that gets appointed, and they issue reports," Mayer said. "But substantive change is lacking." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HOUSTON For a brief moment in 2012, it seemed like a national stalemate over guns was breaking. Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old gunman, had forced his way into a Connecticut elementary school and massacred 26 people, mostly children, with an AR-15-style rifle. Flags flew at half-staff. A sporting goods chain suspended sales of similar weapons. And longtime gun-rights supporters from both parties in Congress said they were willing to consider new legislation. The issue was complex, then-President Barack Obama said, but everyone was obligated to try. Then, one week after the bloodshed at Sandy Hook elementary, the most powerful gun lobby in the U.S. made its public position known and the effort unraveled. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre said in a defiant speech that blamed video games, cowardly lawmakers, the media and a perverted society for the carnage, while calling for armed guards at schools across the U.S. Nearly a decade later, the nation is at another crossroads. A gunman killed 19 children with a similar weapon at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday in the nation's second mass killing this month. This time, however, LaPierre didn't need to address the bloodshed the organization's Republican allies in Congress did. "The problem starts with people. Not with guns," Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who holds an A-rating and an endorsement from the NRA, told reporters Wednesday, bluntly summing up the position of many in the GOP, especially considering the party's recent turn further right. "I'm very sorry it happened. But guns are not the problem, OK. People are the problem. That's where it starts. And we've had guns forever, and we're gonna continue to have guns." Much has changed since Sandy Hook. The NRA is on the ropes after a series of costly financial scandals and lawsuits. And an ascendant gun control movement has poured tens of millions of dollars into political campaigns to counter their message. The group Moms Demand Action, for example, was founded the day after the Sandy Hook shooting. "How many more children have to die?" founder Shannon Watts said this past week. "How many parents, teachers, shoppers and worshippers, and lives must be taken for our leaders to do something? Any senator who sides with the gun lobby, who blocks life-saving change, is choosing carnage and gun industry profits over the precious lives of our children." But even as mass shootings continue unabated, in Washington one thing remains the same: Republicans and Democrats both agree there is little chance that legislation tightening gun laws will be passed by a narrowly divided Congress. The gridlock, which remains even as public opinion supports some tighter gun laws, offers testament to the enduring influence of gun rights groups, which have spent $171 million lobbying the federal government since 1989. "I want to be more optimistic. But I don't think it will change," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. The NRA isn't the same powerhouse it once was, and in its wake other, further right gun groups have gained, like the Gun Owners of America, which bills itself as the "no compromise" gun lobby. There are multiple gun rights alliances operating at state levels wielding enormous influence in legislatures, as well. But in 40 years of working to loosen gun laws, the NRA has largely set the cultural tone on the right and is still the most prominent. "You don't need the NRA, really, to take the lead anymore because opposition to gun laws is so much now a litmus test of conservatism and the Republican Party that it has its own momentum," said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and the author of five books on gun policy. "As we've seen it stumble in recent years, it's not that gun culture has overall become weakened," adds David Yamane, a sociology professor at Wake Forest University who studies American gun culture. "There's other membership organizations that have arisen or grown to fill some of the gap that the NRA used to serve." The organization has a built a well of goodwill by disbursing more than $70 million to further the political ambitions of Republicans who currently serve in Congress, often by running ads attacking Democrats, according to an analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending. They've spent a comparatively small $171,000 helping pro-gun Democrats who are currently in the House or Senate, the analysis shows. The NRA's gold-standard endorsements are also sought after by Republican candidates, particularly in primary elections, where they serve as a cultural shorthand for what it means to be a conservative. Still, as the NRA gathered this past week in Houston for its first convention since 2019, current and former board members say the secretive organization must confront a growing crisis. The New York Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the organization. Court proceedings have revealed how LaPierre and others diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips and no-show contracts for associates, among other questionable expenditures. That led the organization to file for bankruptcy in 2021. But a judge dismissed the case, which was brought by LaPierre without the consent of the NRA board, ruling it was not filed in good faith. The financial difficulties have led to mass layoffs, a reduction in programs and a sharp drop in political spending, which had reached an apex in 2016 when the organization spent $54 million, most of it helping Donald Trump win the White House. NRA contributions, which once earned the goodwill of generations of lawmakers, have dropped sharply in the past two years, according to campaign finance data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics. "The NRA is becoming really a shell of its former self," said former NRA board member Rocky Marshall. NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said that declarations of the group's demise are "wishful thinking on the part of our detractors." "The reality is significantly different and the results speak for themselves," he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Investing can feel overwhelming when you're just starting. The internet and social media have made it easy to access information, but it can be hard to separate good information from bad. So if you're looking to begin building a portfolio, where do you start? The S&P 500 is a collection of the 500 most prominent companies in America. Most consider it the "benchmark" of the broader stock market, and its returns have averaged 10.5% annually since its inception in 1957. It's straightforward to build wealth using the S&P 500; here is a way you can do it and what you can expect over the long term. Building a foundation with index funds It would be best to build a strong foundation for your portfolio that you can slowly add to over time. Like a house, if you build a foundation that crumbles, the whole house will fail. It's similar to investing; you want quality holdings that can steadily build wealth for you over time. Index funds are a great tool to consider. An index fund is a collection of stocks that trade under a single ticker symbol; it mimics the performance and behavior of an index by design, like the S&P 500, for example. Index funds are a form of passive investing, where investors sit on their hands and let the companies they own do the heavy lifting, which is to grow and increase in value. It can be much less stressful than active investing, where you're frequently buying and selling to optimize your portfolio, and investors usually trade their way to poor returns. But don't assume that only beginners use index funds and that they're inferior to the hedge funds you often hear about on the news. Famous investor Warren Buffett once successfully bet that a hedge fund manager couldn't outperform a basis S&P 500 index fund over ten years. An excellent index fund worth considering An index fund that mimics the S&P 500 should be considered "investing 101" and could be a great backbone for any successful stock portfolio. One of my favorite funds is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO), which gives you exposure to 500 of the best companies in America through one ticker symbol. A fund like Vanguard S&P 500 makes investing so simple; you can methodically buy shares over a long enough time and let the most dominant companies in America continue to grow, building wealth for you over time. It's almost like investing on "autopilot." There are people behind these funds who build and maintain them, so they take a tiny percentage of the funds you invest as compensation, called the expense ratio. Investors need to watch expense ratios because a high ratio can add up over time and reduce your total investment returns. Vanguard S&P 500 has a meager expense ratio, just 0.03%! In other words, you'll pay the fund manager just $3 on a $10,000 investment. Considering how easy the fund makes it to follow the S&P 500, that seems like a terrific deal. How much can you make? Your investment returns largely depend on you, specifically -- how much you invest and how long you let it compound in the market. However, here is what you can expect: The S&P 500 returns an average of 10.5% annually, and you can see how well Vanguard S&P 500 has done at mirroring the index. Generating 10.5% annual investment returns means that your money will double every seven years. Suppose you invest $10,000 today. That means if those returns continue, then you could have $20,000 in seven years, $40,000 in 14 years, and $80,000 in 21 years. Get the point? Stock market returns will probably be "lumpy" in practice, but this is what it averages over multiple decades. If you invest early and often, your money has more time to multiply. Too many investors start from nothing and try swinging for the fences with risky stocks from day one. Instead, consider building a compounding machine with a fund like Vanguard S&P 500 and watch your wealth grow. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. *Stock Advisor returns as of April 27, 2022 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bill Hader says Barry was just about to start shooting its third season when the cast was told it was shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. We had our first table read and we all hugged, he says. And then we shut down. That was in May 2020. In the intervening time, producers decided to write season four of the HBO show. And then while we were doing that, we went back and did a pretty extensive rewrite of season three, Hader says. In the third season, which is now airing, Haders character is still looking for second and third chances. Hes not going to stop trying. Clearly, hes run into granite and cant go any further in that direction, says co-creator Alec Berg. In the second season, Haders Barry Berkman thought he could put his past as an assassin behind him. Instead of getting out and realizing his dream to become a actor he was pulled back in. In the third season, authorities close in while Barry tries to immerse himself in acting. His teacher Gene Cousineau, played by Henry Winker is pushed into his other world and has to figure out how he is going to extract himself. Every time Barry has a change of heart, every time Barry wants to improve his life, Im black and blue, Winkler says. To comply with COVID-19 protocols, much of the third season swirled around one-on-one encounters. We were all in our pods and none of us crossed over and met other characters except for Bill, Winkler says. Adds Berg: Thats always been a funny thing about the show because its about Barry trying to keep all of these worlds from colliding. For Anthony Carrigan, who plays NoHo Hank, the series was a lifeline during the pandemic. The idea of just knowing that we had these wonderful, wonderful scripts to work on was actually something that really helped carry me through, he says. We were in a really fortunate position, says Sarah Goldberg, who plays Sally. So many actors didnt have a job that they knew they were going back to. Because Hader wears so many hats on the show (in addition to co-creating it, he writes episodes, directs and stars), he didnt have time to miss the character. He was so interested in other characters during the first season, finding the specifics and the nuance of that character always came last, Berg says. Because Hader has concentrated on those other jobs, he hasnt considered what Barry might be doing if he succeeded in Hollywood. Probably running a studio, he says. The show always really works when its about the characters and the emotions of whats happening, Hader says. Every time (a scene) is led by a joke or a crazy idea, it doesnt work as well. It always works when the story is working and the people are working. Because Barry leads its characters down dark alleys it seems like there will be an end. But Hader insists theres a lot left to explore. All the characters are sort of constantly grappling with who they want to be, who they think they could be, Goldberg says. And then they get to those fork-in-the-road moments and tend to make poor choices. Morality is sort of the undercurrent of the whole show, which makes it so fun to play. The Emmy-winning Barry airs on HBO. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City woman was awarded the 37th Dorothy Eaton Palmer Award when the Junior League of Sioux City held their annual sustainer luncheon on May 19. Cindy Brewer was recognized for her 25 years of service with the Junior League, taking on the roles of President, Vice President of Finance and Sustaining Advisor to the President, among other positions. Brewer has also been a champion for the Junior League's Discovery Shop in addition to being a civic leader. The Dorothy Eaton Palmer Award was named for a charter member and an early Junior League President. It recognizes someone who has demonstrated outstanding service, involvement and leadership. The award includes a $100 honorarium donation to the recipient's choice of charity. Brewer chose the Norm Waitt Sr. YMCA, with funds to be used for their facility's new childcare center. The Junior League of Sioux City is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers for educational and charitable purposes. Currently in its 101st year, the Junior League of Sioux City reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to volunteerism. More information on the Junior League of Siouxland can be found by calling 712-255-0072 or by visiting juniorleagueofsiouxcity.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Meetings and events Dakota County Historical Society meets at 7:30 p.m. on third Thursday of the month, Dakota City Library. Contact Dennis Reinert at 712-253-1609 for more information. Top O' Morning Toastmasters Club, Mondays, noon to 1 p.m. Contact LeAnn Blankenburg, 712-870-1120, for meeting information. The Siouxland Ostomy Support Group, find us on Facebook. For more information and meeting times contact Dick Lindblom at 712-251-2453. Southside "South Bottoms" former residents, 6 p.m. potluck, second Wednesday of the month at Goodwill Industries cafeteria, 3100 Fourth St. Gert, 258-2227. Siouxland Metal Detecting and Archeology Club, 6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of the month in the Gleeson Room at 4510 Buckwalter Drive. Visitors welcome. Ray Turner, 712-899-2114. American Legion Post 64, 7 p.m. last Thursday of the month at 4021 Floyd Blvd. 712-258-3986. Marine Corps League, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Elks Club on TriView Ave. All marines welcome. For more information, call Cathy Moreno, 712-899-8441. Sioux City Chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 7 p.m. fourth Tuesday of the month at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. 712-203-2052. Sioux City Duplicate Bridge Club, 12:30 p.m. Mondays (open); at the Senior Center. Mary 605-670-9613. Siouxland Fly-Fishing Club, 10 a.m. last Saturday of the month at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center on Hwy 12. All interested in fly fishing; beginners welcome. Monthly programs provided. For more information, call Bob Gillespie, 712-251-9463, or Diana, 402-987-3945. Siouxland Coin Club, 7 p.m. first Tuesday of each month at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 1915 Nebraska St. Bob, 255-4829. The Siouxland Pride Alliance, peer support group, 5:30 p.m. Fridays; Youth Pride group, 1:30 p.m. second Sunday of the month; potluck, 5:30 p.m. third Sunday of the month. First Unitarian Church, 2508 Jackson. Call 712-223-0931 Siouxland Samplers Quilt Guild, 7 p.m. second Monday of the month at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St, door #2. Visitors and new members welcome. Siouxland Sewing Guild, 6:30-8 p.m. first Thursday of the month at South Sioux Public Library, 2121 Dakota Ave., South Sioux City. For anyone interested in sewing. Denise, 402-922-1822. Sooland RC Modelers, 7 p.m. second Thursday of the month at Morningside Lutheran Church. Non-profit club that flies remote control aircraft. Anyone interested in RC is welcome. Retired Educators, 10:30 a.m. third Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6. Mid-Step Services for Handicapped, meal at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6. Confirmation Instruction and Midweek Lessons, 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6. Open to all kids 5 years old through 8th grade. Primetime (Potluck), 12 p.m., second Thursday of each month, at Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W 5th. For more information call 252-3261 Tuesday-Thursdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Abundant Life Fellowship, 809 S. Alice St., in Sioux City will distribute food boxes after their 11 a.m. Sunday services. For additional information contact Pastor Bob at 605-205-0718 or Donna at 605-205-0719. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The last week of April was a whirlwind for San Francisco's Chinatown. The storied neighborhood debuted the AAPI Community Heroes Mural," a mostly black and white depiction of 12 mostly unsung Asian American and Pacific Islander figures on the wall of a bank. Three days later Neon Was Never Brighter, the first ever Chinatown contemporary arts festival, took over the streets throughout the night. Traditional lion and dragon dances, a couture fashion show and other public art activations" were featured in the block party-like event. Cultural and arts organizations in Chinatowns across North America have worked for decades on bringing greater appreciation and visibility to these communities. But they faced an unprecedented one-two punch when the pandemic caused shutdowns and racist anti-Asian attacks increased and continue. As painful as those events are, they also indelibly influenced the reemergence of various Chinatowns as close-knit hubs of vibrancy and culture. Cynthia Choi, co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, is still blown away to be one of the heroes painted in the San Francisco mural. But being at the festival was equally touching for her. I got really emotional because its been so long since Id seen so many people come out to Chinatown, especially at night. I had heard so many of my friends or family saying, I dont want to go to Chinatown," she said. I knew it was going to be fun and exciting, but I was really moved. There has been renewed attention from cities, companies and younger Asian Americans from outside these historic Chinatowns. Wells Fargo partnered with the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco on the heroes mural. Everyone wanted to really address anti-Asian hate and to uplift Asian American voices, said Jenny Leung, the executive director of the Center, which is a member of the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative. Youths voted on who to put on the mural. Frequently the way that Chinatown looks is imported as a tourist kind of attraction and fantasy for visitors to see, Leung said. Its never really about celebrating the communitys perspective and voice. The idea for the Neon festival, which was overseen by the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative, was briefly discussed pre-pandemic. But the events of the last two years lent urgency to it. We wanted to kind of push that deadline a little bit earlier in order to be able to address the 20, 30, 40, empty storefronts that are increasingly rising in the community, said Leung, who characterizes Chinatown as a museum without walls. Josh Chuck, a local filmmaker behind the documentary Chinatown Rising, has noticed younger generations dining or participating in events in Chinatowns. A friend who works in tech began last year picking up orders for friends who wanted to support Chinatown restaurants. Soon he was making spreadsheets to track 400 deliveries. Honestly, theres no way I could have imagined something that would galvanize these people that I know. Even myself, like, I feel much more connected and committed, Chuck said. Its a silver lining. In New York, the first of five summer night markets start next month in the city's Chinatown. It will be the biggest event to date for Think!Chinatown. The 5-year-old nonprofit has done numerous projects like artists-in-residency programs and oral histories. But last year after a series of verbal and physical assaults against Asians, they partnered with Neighborhoods Now, a local pandemic relief initiative, on Chinatown Nights. It was a small-scale gathering of less than 10 artist booths and food trucks in Forsyth Plaza park. Despite a crazy two-month prep window, there was a collective feeling of we just need to be together, said Yin Kong, Think!Chinatown co-founder and director. And there was a tectonic shift with philanthropy focusing on equity. "It reprioritized these other organizations that traditionally would have funded other things to focus on how to support communities of color in a different way, Kong said. The expanded event next month will have 20 booths and sponsorships, and will be scheduled when most Chinatown restaurants are closed so owners can participate. The mechanisms that got us there would not have happened without the pandemic," said Kong, who feels Think!Chinatown is now seen as more legit with better funding, full-time staff and the possibility of an office space instead of her dining table. In Vancouvers Chinatown, the pandemic only exacerbated ongoing issues of vandalism, graffiti and other crimes. But within the last year, the Canadian city managed to launch cultural projects planned before COVID-19. Last month, the Chinatown Mural Project showed off a series of pastoral murals painted by a local artist on six roller shutters of a tea shop. In November, the interactive Chinatown Storytelling Centre with relics and recorded oral histories opened. We would have done this anyway (regardless of the pandemic), said Carol Lee, chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, which oversees the Centre. But you know, in some ways, it makes you feel like you have more purpose because its more necessary. Jordan Eng, president of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, agreed that there's more collaboration and a lot more youth interest than there was five, 10 years ago. There are fewer than 50 Chinatowns across the U.S. with some more active than others. Many Chinatowns took shape in the 19th century as Chinese laborers arrived to mine for gold out West or work on the railroad. They lived there because of blatant discrimination or self-preservation. Their housing was single-room-occupancy units, or SROs, with communal kitchens and bathrooms, said Harvey Dong, a lecturer in ethnic studies and Asian American studies at University of California, Berkeley. Many older Chinese Americans and immigrants in Chinatown reside in these units still. Another constant in Chinatowns: developmentfrom the sales of no longer affordable SROs in San Francisco to a light rail expansion in Seattle to a proposed new jail in New York City. Chinatowns elsewhere have shrunk to a block or disappeared altogether because of gentrification. It's a tricky juxtaposition for a city to tout Chinatowns to tourists yet offer few resources to its residents. So you have these huge festivals to bring in businesses. You have these parades and all this stuff. But definitely, its important that the needs of the community, especially the working class and the poor, are addressed, Dong said. Meanwhile, excited arts and culture advocates are moving forward to put their own stamp on Chinatown. Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative in San Francisco is designing Edge on the Square, a $26.5 million media and arts center set to open in 2025. In New York, Think!Chinatown plans to lease a space with a kitchen for art exhibitions and cooking classes. The hope is to keep engaging with Asian Americans inside and outside of Chinatown. "What draws them to Chinatown is that cultural connection," Kong said. Its something you cant really put your finger on. ... But its really the soul of Chinatown. And we need to keep protecting it and make sure it can grow. This story has been updated to correct that the mural was a partnership between Wells Fargo and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, not Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative. Tang reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ttangAP Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. SIOUX CITY -- Bishop R. Walker Nickless of the Diocese of Sioux City has submitted his letter of resignation to the pope, a mandatory action in the Catholic Church upon the bishop reaching 75 years of age. Nickless' 75th birthday was Saturday. It doesnt mean he will retire right at 75, just that he will submit his letter, Father David Esquiliano, judicial vicar of the diocesan tribunal, said in a statement in an article published by Lumen Media, the official online publication of the Diocese of Sioux City. Pope Francis will not likely accept the resignation until a successor bishop can be found for the Diocese. This process could take some time, and Nickless will remain in office until then. In practice, the position of the bishop will not change until his resignation is accepted. The bishop is still the bishop. He does not change his title and everything remains in place. He maintains his authority and at Mass we will still pray for him," said Esquiliano, who pointed out that bishops often work until they're 80 years old. It can reportedly take six to eight months, or longer, for a bishop to be appointed by the pope. Nickless remains in good health and "is willing to serve as long as the Holy Father desires," according to the Lumen article. Nickless, then a Monsignor, was appointed Sioux City's new bishop on Oct. 31, 2005. He was ordained the following January. While there have been some challenges, these 16 years have been filled with so many blessings. I feel fortunate serving with many great clergy, religious and laity to continue the mission of evangelization in this diocese," Nickless said in the Lumen article. The church, in its search of a new bishop, may seek a Spanish-speaker -- due to the relatively large proportion of Spanish-speaking Catholics in the Sioux City area -- and one who is "a good fit for a rural diocese," the Lumen reported. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- Severe weather, including large hail and strong winds, could hit the Sioux City area Sunday evening and into the night. Amanda Penning, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said Sioux City has about a 20 percent chance of seeing severe storms -- possibly including hail as large as 2 inches and wind speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. Hail of that size, carried by wind of that strength, could easily damage windows, cars and roofs and seriously injure animals and people. Areas to the north of Sioux City -- particularly southeast South Dakota -- are likelier to be hit by severe weather. "I think you might be kind of on the southern edge of about where the worst is going to happen, but you're not out of the woods," Penning said. The first round of storms would likely begin sometime after 6 p.m., Penning said. A second round of storms would follow after 1 a.m. Another storm is possible on Memorial Day. "Tornadoes are less likely, but not impossible," Penning said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. TAFT Witnesses on Sunday described a chaotic scene in which a plethora of gunshots were fired during a Memorial Day outdoor gathering in the small community of Taft in Muskogee County, leaving one dead and seven injured. Bullets were literally flying everywhere, said Jasmayne Hill, who was working at a food truck during the event, where an estimated 1,500 people had gathered for an annual Memorial Day weekend celebration in the middle of the small town, about 10 miles west of Muskogee. Shots started being fired shortly after midnight Sunday, witnesses said. Hill said she and the owner of the Kountry Queens food truck, Tiffany Walton, dove to the floor inside the food truck, trying to hide from flying bullets. We're thinking were safe and the bullets are like going through the bottom of the food truck, Hill said. They didnt hit us, thank God. At least one large bullet hole could be seen on the outside of the truck, not far from where the trucks propane tank was located, Walton said. One person was killed and seven were injured in the shooting, including two juveniles, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Sunday. The names of the person killed and those injured had not been released Sunday, nor were conditions of those injured released. But witnesses at the scene Sunday said the person killed was a woman. She died after reportedly being struck in the head, witnesses said. Witnesses said several of the injured were struck in the legs and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Hill said the shooting began with an initial pop that sounded like a firework. But then she said, a much-louder, high-caliber-type weapon could be heard firing rapidly, as if it was some sort of automatic weapon. It was something like right out of a movie, Hill said. It (lasted) a long time, Walton said. The Muskogee County Sheriffs Office was in attendance at the event and immediately rendered aid to the victims, the OSBI said. There were no suspects in custody as of Sunday afternoon. By late Sunday morning, law enforcement had cleared the scene, and only the owners and employees of two food trucks remained in the area, along with a few passersby. Authorities had also removed crime scene tape of the area, along with markings of where gunshot shell casings were found. Witnesses said there was at least 40 marked points where shell casing were found, all around the area. Neicy Bates and her husband, Triirmain Bates, were operating the Fat Fries food truck when the shots were fired. Most people were just going to the ground trying to get out of the way, Neicy Bates said. I ran out (of the food truck) because I have kids and they were out here. People were just screaming. Some were trying to run away. There were cars leaving, trying not to hit each other. Walton, a Taft resident, said the town has held a multi-day Memorial Day festival that usually lasts from Friday through Sunday, with a parade on Monday, and has done so for decades. She said not only do most of the 220 or so residents turn out, but also many people from all over the country. We are a small community. Everybody is family-based, she said. This did not come from our community. This came from people outside of our community. All remaining Memorial Day activities have been canceled in the town, including Monday's parade. Neicy Bates said her grandmother, Lelia Foley, who became the first Black female mayor in U.S. history, when she was elected mayor of Taft in 1973, continued to organize the annual Memorial Day events. The former mayor was up most of the night following the shootings, talking with residents and assisting authorities, Bates said. Shes devastated. Walton said Saturday night was her first night in business with her food truck. "And this had to happen," she said. In addition to food trucks, the outdoor event also featured a live DJ, residents said. Taft, founded around 1902, is one of only 13 predominantly Black towns still existing in Oklahoma. The state once was home to more than 50, more than any other state. Originally called Twine, the town was renamed Taft in 1905 after William Howard Taft, the statesman soon to become president. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Sunday issued a statement on social media, saying, "I am grateful for (OSBI)'s swift response to assist local police and am confident in Oklahoma law enforcement's ability to bring justice to whoever is responsible for this deadly incident." Anyone at the event who witnessed the shooting is asked to contact the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on tulsaworld.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children's photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends, he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important." As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden answered, We will, as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. And we are committed to turning this pain into action, he said. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahna Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washington's sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABC's This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting This story was first published on May 30, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022 to correct the spelling of one of the first name of one of the shooting victims. She is Eliahna Torres, not Eliahana Torres. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraine's leader also made a rare frontline visit to Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, to assess the strength of the national defense. In the east, Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation there as indescribably difficult, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of the buildings. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The city's mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief center to shut down because of the dangers. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. Sievierodonetsk, located 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, visited soldiers in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from nearby positions several weeks ago. "I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit. Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelenskyy's visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In a video address later Sunday, Zelenskyy praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of the countrys top security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelenskyy said. After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is focused on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told French TF1 television Sunday that Moscow's "unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," adding that Russia sees them as "independent states. He also suggested other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia. In Luhansk, constant Russian shelling has created what provincial governor Serhiy Haidai called a severe situation. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes functioned Sunday, he said. He claimed the Russians had retreated with losses around a village near Sievierodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby river village. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yana Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the past 2 1/2 months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Oksana, 74, who was too afraid to give her surname, was evacuated from Lysychansk by a team of foreign volunteers along with her 86-year-old husband. Im going somewhere, not knowing where, she wept. Now I am a beggar without happiness. Now I have to ask for charity. It would be better to kill me. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling just to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service. Striuk estimates that 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, from Russian attacks as well as from a lack of medicine or treatment. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Sieverodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the battle of Sieverodonetsk ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said late Saturday. In Mariupol on Sunday, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russia's forces gained complete control of the city, they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim. Regions across Ukraine were pummeled overnight by renewed Russian airstrikes. On the ground in the eastern Donetsk region, fighters battled back and forth for control of villages and cities. The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman to the north, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. Mazalan reported from Kyiv. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and AP journalists around the world contributed. Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) As the war in Ukraine rages, Serbia's president announced that he has secured an extremely favorable natural gas deal with Russia during a telephone conversation Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has refused to explicitly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Serbia has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow. Vucic, a former pro-Russian ultranationalist, claims that he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has spent recent years cementing ties with Russia, a long-time ally. Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas and its main energy companies are under Russian majority ownership. What I can tell you is that we have agreed on the main elements that are very favorable for Serbia, Vucic told reporters. We agreed to sign a three-year contract, which is the first element of the contract that suits the Serbian side very well. It is not clear how Serbia would receive the Russian gas if the EU decides to shut off the Russian supply that goes over its member countries. Russia has already cut off gas exports to EU members Finland,Poland and Bulgaria. The bloc as a whole has been hurriedly reducing its reliance on Russian energy since the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Despite reports of the atrocities in Ukraine due to the invasion, Vucic and other Serbian leaders have been complaining of Western pressure to join sanctions against Russia. Serbian officials say the Balkan country must resist such pressure, even if it means abandoning the goal of joining the EU. Under Vucic's 10-year autocratic rule and relentless pro-Kremlin propaganda, Serbia has been gradually sliding toward Russia. Polls suggest a majority in the country would rather join some sort of a union with Moscow than the EU. The agreement reached by President Vucic with President Putin is proof of how much Serbias decision not to participate in anti-Russian hysteria is respected, said Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who is known for his pro-Russian stance. The free leader, free people, make decisions that are good for Serbia and do not accept orders from the West, Vulin said. Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, has announced he will no longer allow Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion because of her refusal to adhere to Catholic doctrine on unborn human life. This continues a battle between Catholic politicians who claim fealty to their church but not to one of its central tenets and some of their churchs leadership. Pelosi, who invokes her faith when it comes to climate change, recently claimed Catholic opinion about abortion goes back only a few hundred years and theologians have been divided over many centuries. This brought a rebuke from several Catholic prelates, who said the Catholic Catechism has remained consistent on human life since the first century. The creeping influence of what Scripture calls the world has not only infected many Roman Catholics, like Pelosi and President Biden, but also certain self-proclaimed evangelicals. One is the left-leaning Sojourners magazine. In a recent issue, Sojourners president, Adam Russell Taylor, attempted to justify upholding Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn, based on precedent and the 14th Amendment. Taylor also uses the contemporary jargon pregnant persons. Abraham Lincoln was confronted by contradictory religious opinions over slavery. Some used Scripture to justify keeping the inhumane practice. Others used Scripture to urge him to abolish it. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln alluded to the conflicting advice he received from different clergymen: Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes his aid against the other. Except when it comes to abortion, the left does not and cannot accurately use Scripture to justify its pro-choice position. Our right to life, wrote Thomas Jefferson, is endowed by our Creator, not the state. I suspect most Catholics and evangelicals would claim a high view of Scripture and that it means what it says (like conservatives view the Constitution). Why, then, do so many seek a fusion between church and state that harms both? Some people try to cherry pick Scripture to justify positions on contemporary issues, but when it comes to human life it doesnt work. Here are a few verses that Pelosi and Taylor might wish to consider: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart (Jeremiah 1:5). For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers wombI am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-14). In the New Testament when the pregnant Mary visits the pregnant Elizabeth a distant cousin the unborn John the Baptist leaps within Elizabeths womb, prompting her to say, why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:43). Not the mother of her fetal or potential Lord, but present tense. Too many Christians (including many conservatives when it comes to some politicians and issues) are increasingly embracing attitudes of the secular world. Heres a verse that warns against such thinking: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2). Perhaps the most sobering verse of them all is this one: You adulterous people, dont you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4) All verses are from the NIV translation. The late columnist Joseph Sobran, a Roman Catholic, summed up the danger of Christians conforming to the worlds thinking: It can be exalting to belong to a church that is five hundred years behind the times and sublimely indifferent to fashion; it is mortifying to belong to a church that is five minutes behind the times, huffing and puffing to catch up. Speaker Pelosi, President Biden and Mr. Taylor, take note. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Today, for the first time ever, I received three emails from a weapons dealer wanting to ship me pistols, military rifles, or assault weapons along with accessories and ammunition. Shortly after receiving the third email the news broke about the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which sickened me as it should all other citizens of this country. Shame on legislatures which pass laws that allow more guns to be carried on the streets without licenses, permits, and/or background checks. And shame on governors who sign these laws. If Congress doesn't take control of this problem NOW we have elected federal officials who don't care or aren't thinking people. I understand that the Constitution allows arms for a "well regulated militia" but there certainly must be a middle ground that will prevent or reverse the flood of weapons in this country. Please put pressure on your senator or representative to take action, even at the peril of the wrath of the NRA. After all, there are things more important than raising money for another election campaign. -- Michael Potash, Sioux City Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Make your voice heard on June 7 by voting in the Iowa primary election. That said, I recommend voting for James Loomis as the Republican nominee for Woodbury County Attorney. James has over 19 years experience as an assistant county attorney and subsequently has prosecuted 1000s of crimes, hundreds of them violent crimes, including being the lead prosecutor on 14 murder cases alone. Ive personally known James nearly 20 years and have served with him on a voluntary basis so I can attest to his integrity and commitment to serve others. As a father of five small children of his own, James has a vested interest in the position. Please join myself and over 85 law enforcement officers both active and retired in supporting the candidate most qualified in all arenas as the leader in the fight vs. crime in our communities in Woodbury county, James Loomis.-- Douglas Koerselman, Sioux City Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The exports of aquatic products are expected to fetch 2.8-3 billion USD in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 36-38 percent, thanks to the strong growth of key products, according to Le Hang, deputy director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)s Training and Trade Promotion Centre. The aquatic export value in March exceeded 1 billion USD for the first time. In April, it continued to grow, obtaining 1.13 billion USD, raising the four-month value to more than 3.6 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 46.8 percent. Aquatic exports in the second quarter are forecast to continue enjoying impressive growth as a bright future is predicted for key products. Vietnam exported 406 million USD worth of shrimp in April, up 35 percent compared to the same period last year, bringing the four-month export turnover to 1.36 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 41.5 percent. Strong growth was recorded in tra fish shipments to some markets in the period, such as China with 161 percent, the US 128 percent, and Canada 69 percent. The increasing demand for Vietnam's key aquatic products post COVID-19 in large consumer markets including the US and China, rising prices and supply shortages due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict are offering an opportunity for export firms. According to VASEP, the US and China will continue to be the main markets for aquatic exports in the following months. A decline in pangasius production in the US, final results of the 17th period of review (POR17) regarding Vietnams tra and basa exports to the US, and more Vietnamese businesses permitted to export tra fish to the US are creating favourable conditions for Vietnam to ship tra fish to this market. Meanwhile, shipments to China also bounced back after months of decline due to Chinas Zero-COVID policy. Vietnam exported 578 million USD worth of aquatic products to China from January to April, up nearly two-fold compared to the same period last year. I am the Moville Chief of Police. Jacklyn Fox has always treated me with respect and significance when I am seeking direction on a case. I appreciate her candid point of view and her comprehensive knowledge of Iowa law. She has been one attorney who has always been willing to help, always willing to listen. As a result of her strong and dependable leadership, our Moville Police officers trust her advice and feel confident in the work they do every day. We need people like Jacklyn Fox to help build a better future for our community. Kids throw popcorn to the carp that gather around the docks at Bridgewater Marina and Boat Rentals. The Smith Mountain Lake business has donated 100 percent of popcorn sales over the past five years (more than $100,000) to Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia, and will host an event on June 2 to thank the community. Wesley Stokes slips on a donated jacket he received from Night Ministry CTA outreach professional Stephannie Schreiber at the CTA's Forest Park Blue Line station on May 26, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) At the end of the CTA Blue Line, a refuge of sorts has taken shape for homeless riders with few other places to go. Once a week, late at night, service providers at folding tables set up on the first floor of the Forest Park station help those sleeping on trains apply for ID cards and provide basic medical care. For riders like Michelle Mitchell, its a chance to pick up food and socks and get help finding a more accessible brand of her prescribed medication. Advertisement The Forest Park station services are one of several supports Mitchell has discovered in the year since she began staying on the train. Shes learned to travel with a trusted group for protection from those looking to steal from her or harass her. And shes learned morning rush hour is the best time to sleep because overnight she has been prevented from riding continuously from one end of the Blue Line to the other, meaning she has to get up and switch trains. Over the year shes also watched as the number of other riders sleeping on the train seemed, to her, to grow. Advertisement CTA has long been a shelter of last resort for homeless riders, especially in cold weather and especially on the Red and Blue lines, which offer 24-hour service. But passengers sheltering on trains have become more visible during the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of office commuters dropped and as finding space in shelters or other typically reliable options became challenging. Homeless passengers have drawn heightened attention from the city, CTA and other riders over the past two years. Still, it is unclear whether the number of people living on CTA trains is rising, and data is hard to come by. The Night Ministry, which provides the services at Forest Park and sets up a similar program on the Red Line, typically served more people weekly in the first months of 2022 than the year before. But agency representatives say that likely reflects passengers becoming more familiar with the organization and more comfortable seeking services, as well as better documentation of clients as the program got up and running. CTA has received more complaints of homeless riders this year, but spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said that could be because overall ridership is up and more people might be making complaints. Complaints about rulebreaking and violent crime on the CTA are also up. But Sam Guardino, homeless outreach program director at Thresholds, said the clients his agency works with dont generally commit violent crimes on public transit, though some get tickets for breaking rules, like smoking. Miguel Perez hops aboard a train for the remainder of the night after picking up supplies from Night Ministry workers at the CTA's Forest Park Blue Line station on May 26, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Advocates point to a number of recent factors that might be causing people to live on trains, and to seek nontraditional shelter citywide. Space in shelters remains limited, they said, with slightly fewer city-funded beds available than pre-pandemic. Some people also remain reluctant to go to shelters because of sometimes strict rules or continuing fear of COVID-19. Some who were staying with friends or family might have been asked to leave as the virus spread. Some, like Mitchell, dont feel safe in shelters. Mitchell said she became homeless after her husband was fatally shot and she was no longer able to stay with his family. She sent her daughter to live with family out of state and stayed in a shelter for a time, but she said her ID was stolen there and lamented the conditions. Its no better, she said. Now that its getting warmer, she hopes to get a tent to stay in. Advertisement The city ramped up its outreach during the pandemic. The Chicago Department of Public Health began funding the Night Ministry pilot program in January 2021, and the Department of Family and Support Services adjusted its homeless outreach efforts to include measures like providing protective gear and connecting people to vaccines and testing. DFSS funds Thresholds work on the CTA, and asked that agency and others to modify their work in the early days of the pandemic, Guardino said. CTA, for its part, partners with the city and service agencies to work with homeless riders, Hosinski said. The issue of homelessness is not limited to CTA, Hosinski said. It is something that affects our overall society. It is a holistic issue that required a holistic approach in response. CTA is also talking with the city about how to amplify and provide additional resources to address issues related to mental health and homelessness, President Dorval Carter recently told agency board members. Hosinski said CTA is part of a citywide conversation. Similar work has long been underway. Thresholds has for years worked to deeply engage CTA riders who are homeless and have serious mental illness, Guardino said, helping them pursue housing, benefits, medical care and mental health treatment. Substance abuse and mental illness are not universal among homeless riders, but he said they are prevalent challenges. I think that we have to deal with this, kind of (provide) treatment on demand, he said. And people are seeing a lot of that right now. And it looks messy, it looks ugly. Advertisement People see the people who stand out A man was overdosing on opioids inside a train that rolled into the Forest Park station around 11:30 p.m. on a recent weeknight. He was slumped against the train door, his barely open eyes showing only the whites, not breathing. Crouched next to him inside the stopped train was a substance use specialist with the Night Ministry, who administered overdose-reversing naloxone once, then again. On the advice of a doctor and with the help of medical students volunteering with the organization, the specialist administered a third dose. With a roar, the man came back. He roared again, as the specialist cooed, Youre OK, youre OK. Jerome Webbs stands next to Dr. Kevin Boblick while he talks with a rider who was given the opioid overdose antidote Narcan after the man was found unresponsive on a Blue Line train at the Forest Park station on May 12, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Eventually, the man stood up and left the train with Night Ministry workers and emergency responders. Declining an emergency room visit, he walked across the platform and boarded an inbound train heading toward the city. The specialist, fearing he would overdose again once the naloxone wore off, alerted a CTA employee and pressed the overdose-reversing medication into the hands of someone else getting on the same train. Just in case. It was at least the second or third overdose Yoela Tepper had responded to in six months of working weekly at the station. Guardino, of Thresholds, said a likely uptick in opioid use among homeless riders mirrors an uptick nationwide. Advertisement Another challenge some homeless riders face are mental health concerns, he said. Many people with mental illness are less noticeable to other passengers, and are likely to remain by themselves, guarded, he said. But riders having a mental health crisis are more visible. People see the people who stand out, he said. The answer is, even before people experience homelessness, to have the treatments they need. Corey Long, center, on a Blue Line train after receiving food and water from the Night Ministry at the Forest Park Blue Line station on May 12, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Corey Long, who has lived for years on trains and in shelters, said he began living on the trains because of very bad decision making and drug use. When he sleeps on the train, he usually wakes up to find at least one of his belongings has been taken, like his phone. Its not exactly safe, he said. But to the homeless person thats been doing it a long time, its safe enough. Nowhere else to stay On a recent weeknight, each screech of a train pulling into the station brought a new wave of potential clients down the stairs from the platform to the Night Ministrys tables. Some were newcomers, and some were regulars. One man arrived looking for a follow-up appointment with a dentist, who makes occasional visits with the organization. On one side of the station, they lined up to wait for chips, snacks and turkey-and-cheese sandwiches with packets of yellow mustard. Socks, sunscreen and hygiene and first-aid kits were also available. Advertisement That night, the organization also found itself with containers of roasted vegetables, rice and black beans. When Long reached the front of the line, a Night Ministry worker asked if he liked vegetables. Not really, he said, opting for a sandwich instead and then moving on to the next line. There, he waited for harm reduction supplies, like clean needles, pipes, fentanyl test strips, sanitizing wipes and naloxone. Then he moved over to the line for the case manager, who can help clients apply for ID cards and housing. Behind a privacy divider nearby, medical students and a doctor were available to provide care. Donnie Jones gets his blood pressure taken by Loyola School of Medicine medical student Owen Lewer at the CTA's Forest Park Blue Line station on May 26, 2022. Jones was concerned about some chest congestion and breathing issues. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Supplies obtained, Long left the station, hoping to stay with a friend for a night or two. The type, variety and frequency of services has changed over the year and a half of the Night Ministrys pilot program, but it has settled into something similar to what Long experienced, offered at both the Forest Park station on the Blue Line and the Howard station at the north end of the Red Line. The pilot program is part of an expanded office of mental health at the Chicago Department of Public Health, and an increasing focus on a variety of services across the city, said Katherine Calderon, director of public health operations at CDPH. The people the Night Ministry works with were among the most vulnerable people at the start of the pandemic, relying on in-person programs and care that became unavailable as the city shut down. Among the highest needs the Night Ministry has reported to CDPH, based on surveys of their clients, are housing, winter clothing and clean syringes and pipes, Calderon said. Also needed are clean clothes, food and a shower. Psychiatric services are a priority, but finding a psychiatrist who can work late night hours has been a challenge, she said. Advertisement The hope, eventually, is to turn the pilot into a longer-term program on CTA, Calderon said. It would be one way for people in need to tap into a variety of other city services, like care and housing. Its a service that provides accessibility where theres none, she said. And were talking about some of our most complex, vulnerable people. Improving the availability of housing is essential to reducing the number of people sleeping on trains, advocates say. Calderon said a plan is in the works to provide temporary beds for people who would otherwise go to the emergency room or jail because of untreated mental illness. Advocates also highlighted a program started during the pandemic called the Expedited Housing Initiative, designed to get people into housing quickly and create a path to permanent housing. Programs that require little paperwork and that include units spread across the city are key, Guardino said. A coalition of groups, including the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, has proposed another option: raising the citys real estate transfer tax on properties valued at more than $1 million, and using the increase to create funding for permanent housing services. The proposal has gotten little traction in city government. You can do outreach all you want to people on the trains, but if you dont have a permanent housing option to offer them, then theyre not going to stop sleeping on the train, Julie Dworkin, policy director for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said. Advertisement Some on the CTA have had success with housing. Mitchell said she was recently accepted into a housing program and was waiting for more information. Silas "Kodak" Ratcliff rides an escalator before getting on a Blue Line train at the Forest Park station on May 12, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) But Silas Ratliff, who goes by Kodak, doesnt know where he would stay if the trains werent an option. He has been rejected by some shelters for not meeting qualifications or failing to arrive on time, he said. The train, at least, offers a chance to move and see some scenery. But theres no place to safely keep any belongings he manages to accumulate. The main thing for me right now is just the shelter part, he said. That plays a big part in your daily activities, your routine, if you will. It affects your normal routine, when you dont really know where youre going to be. sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com For riders who encounter someone in crisis on the train, experts with Thresholds, CTA and Chicago Coalition for the Homeless offer recommendations on how to respond: Etonnant was simply amazing as he recovered from an early miscue and staged a late rally to close on the far outside and win the Elitloppet on Sunday (May 29) in front of a packed grandstand at Sweden's Solvalla Race Course. Etonnant is an eight-year-old son of two-time Elitloppet winner Timoko (2014 & 2017) for owner/trainer Richard Westerink. After finishing fourth in the first of the day's two trial heats won by defending champion Don Fanucci Zet, Etonnant was left with post seven in the draw for the eight-horse final. It was a disappointing start for the favourite Don Fanucci Zet (Orjan Kihlstrom), who broke stride as the gate opened. Click Bait (Ulf Ohlsson) took control from post three with Don Fanucci Zet's stablemate Hail Mary (Erik Adielsson) and Vivid Wise As (Matthieu Abrivard) offering up challenges throughout the race. Meanwhile, Etonnant was racing near the back towards the outside early on for driver Anthony Barrier and got rough-gaited on the clubhouse turn when angling wide. He managed to regroup quickly though and followed the cover of Onas Prince (Per Nordstrom) in the three-path down the backstretch then went four-wide off the final turn where Onas Prince broke stride. Down the stretch, Hail Mary pulled ahead in the duel with Click Bait and Vivid Wise As but Etonnant powered up in the final 30 metres to score the one-length victory, timed in 1:51.3. Hail Mary settled for second and Mister F Daag, an upset winner in his trial earlier in the day, finished third off a ground-saving trip. Vivid Wise As and fourth and Click Bait rounded out the top five finish order. "Unbelievable, incredible," said Westerink after the race. "I don't understand in the turn on the outside, on the other side, [why] he [made] a mistake. I [thought] it was over. But it was not over. "He's strong, very strong... It's amazing." Representing France, Etonnant had won the Grand Criterium de Vitesse leading up to the Elitloppet. The top four finishers from a pair of trials made up the field for the final. Canadian representative Perfetto had finished fifth in the first trial. Elitloppet Trials Contested; Posts Drawn The field of eight for the 2022 Elitloppet has been determined following a pair of trial heats contested on Sunday (May 29) at Solvalla Race Course in Sweden. Defending Elitloppet champion Don Fanucci Zet was victorious in the first trial, overcoming his outside post and wearing down the front-striding Onas Prince near the finish line for driver Orjan Kihlstrom, trainer Daniel Reden and owner Stall Zet. Canada's representative Perfetto finished fifth. Don Fanucci Zet (#8) in the first Elitloppet trial With trainer/driver Dagfin Henriksen aboard, Perfetto left out for the early lead from post four and was parked by insider Onas Prince (Per Nordstrom), who pressed on to take command through the first turn with Click Bait (Ulf Ohlsson) following in the pocket. As Canada's two-time reigning champion male trotter raced outside, Don Fanucci Zet swept wide around him into the first-over position, with France's Etonnant (Anthony Barrier) later moving three-high down the backstretch. Onas Prince continued to lead turning for home but Don Fanucci Zet surged ahead just before the wire. Click Bait got up for second over Onas Prince while Etonnant rounded out the top four finishers that will advance to the final later in the day. In the second trial, Copenhagen Cup winner Mister F Daag rallied from the backfield to catch late leader Hail Mary for the upset victory in reign to Robin Bakker for trainer Paul Hagoort and owner Jozef Vanduffel. Mister F Daag (#6) in the second Elitloppet trial Night Brodde (Conrad Lugauer) led most of the way with Whos Who (Ake Svanstedt) looming to his outside before the Reden-trained Hail Mary (Erik Adielsson) swept three-wide down the backstretch and forged ahead in front of the grandstand. However, Belgium's Mister F Daag rallied by late to steal the show, forcing Hail Mary to settle for second. Trailing early, Vivid Wise As (Matthieu Abrivard) closed for third with Night Brodde hanging on for fourth as Admiral As (Per Lennartsson) broke stride when making his bid in the stretch. The top four trotters from each trial will face off in the final of the Elitloppet in race 11 on today's card at 11:45 a.m. (EDT). Live streaming video of the race card is available here. The field for the final is listed below in post position order. The connections of the elimination winners had first pick of their posts. 1. Don Fanucci Zet 2. Mister F Daag 3. Click Bait 4. Hail Mary 5. Onas Prince 6. Vivid Wise As 7. Etonnant 8. Night Brodde Watch The 2022 Elitloppet Canada's two-time defending champion male trotter Perfetto is set to take on the world in Sweden's famed Elitloppet on Sunday, May 29 with live video available here. Targeting a victory in the Elitloppet, the seven-year-old Ontario-sired son of Majestic Son could join elite company both on the international stage and at home. The list of winners dating back to 1952 includes popular trotting stars Mack Lobell, Moni Maker, Varenne, Nahar, Commander Crowe and Timoko, to name a few. Only two other Canadian representatives have won the race, both decades ago: Fresh Yankee in 1969 and Billyjojimbob in 1992. Perfetto has drawn post four in the first trial heat, scheduled as race six on Sunday at Solvalla Race Course with an approximate post time of 9:28 a.m. (EDT). The second heat is race seven, scheduled for 9:55 a.m. (EDT). The top four trotters from each trial will face off in the final of the Elitloppet in race 11 at 11:45 a.m. (EDT). With a major purse boost for the 2022 edition, a total of 11,350,000 Swedish Krona (approx. $1.47 million CAD) will be up for grabs. Click here to view the fields in post position order. Trainer/driver Dagfin Henriksen is happy with how his horse is feeling going into the biggest race of his life. His phone, however, could use a bit of a rest. "It's been crazy. The phone is off the hook. Hard to keep up with everyone," Henriksen told Trot Insider on Saturday. "We arrived in Sweden [Friday] from Belgium and stabled at a farm not far from the track. He's going to be stabled at the track for detention barn. "He handled the trip very good by the looks of it. He is very sharp coming into this race. It's going to be a tough race and we have to focus on them one at a time. We drew the four hole so we have a good starting position," Henriksen continued. "It's going to be a big experience for all of us. We're very excited." A program for Sunday's race card is available to download by clicking here. Live streaming video of the race card is available here. EACH morning, an Amtrak train departs from Culpeper bound for Washington, New York and Boston. It returns every afternoon. Thousands enjoy its convenience and reliability, and its ridership and profitability numbers are among the best in the Amtrak system. Yet this service did not exist until 2008, shortly after I began serving in Virginias House of Delegates. Its creation proves the political adage that decisions are made by those in the room at the time. For decades, passenger rail service for Charlottesville and Culpeper consisted of often-unreliable long-distance trains that ran either between New Orleans or Chicago and Washington. Studies conducted by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation showed substantial demand for additional and more reliable service, but, despite the efforts of citizen advocacy from places like Charlottesville, where former City Councilor Meredith Richards and others had been writing letters for years, this was not likely to happen without an investment of state monies. In 2008, the prospects of a new train seemed unlikely. Congress was threatening to force states to assume responsibility for funding Amtraks regional intercity rail routes or risk losing them altogether. Virginia already had several routes that could be affected, and even rail advocates had to admit the difficulty of arguing for a new route when monies might be needed to shore up the existing service. In addition, the national economy had just taken a nosedive, and Virginias budget was extremely stressed. Kaine had the unfortunate bad luck of presiding during the worst state economic conditions since the Great Depression (19291939), and would need to cut billions out of the state budget before his term would end. These challenges, however, did not deter Shannon Valentine, then the Democrat delegate from Lynchburg and the future Virginia secretary of transportation in the administration of Gov. Ralph S. Northam. Lynchburg was on the same train line as Charlottesville and Culpeper, and Valentines constituents wanted better service as much as mine. Though both of us were new delegates, we decided to push for the expansion, with Valentine taking the lead. We knew that convincing Gov. Tim Kaine and then-Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer to include major funding for this new daily train service, which would run from Lynchburg through Charlottesville to the nations capital, would be a minor miracle. While Kaine agreed to meet with Valentine and me in his office to discuss the train, we were not optimistic. We had our work cut out for us. Del. Valentine understood the intersection between policy and politics. Politely relentless in pressing the hovernor, she knew the effort was important not only for the commonwealth, but also for her red-leaning district, where the Chamber of Commerce had advocated for better rail for more than a decade. The governor wanted to help, but he knew this could not be done solely by three Democrats. He challenged us to find Republicans to sign onto the effort: if we got them, he said, he would find the money. Wemostly Valentinewent about the task. Within a week, three of our Republican colleaguesRob Bell of Albemarle, Ed Scott of Culpeper and William Fralin Jr. of Roanokehad been persuaded to join us on a letter to the governor to support the project. Kaine delivered, and, on Oct. 1, 2009, a pilot project of state-sponsored Amtrak service commenced. In the first month, ridership doubled expectations, and the three-year pilot was so successful that it was continued without objection. In November 2017, the Lynchburg-to-Washington route was extended farther southwest to Roanoke, the first time in 38 years that the city with deep historical ties to the railroad industry would be served by passenger rail. This route continues to be one of the strongest performers in the entire Amtrak system. Discussions are underway to extend service to Bristol, and plans exist to add two additional trains per day to the corridor in the next year. Today, we take the service for granted. But it was not inevitable, and shows once again the the cardinal rule of politicsdecisions are made by those in the room at the time. David J. Toscano served 14 years in the Virginia House of Delegates until his retirement in 2020. This column is excerpted from his book, Bellwether: Virginias Political Transformation, 2006-2020, recently published by Hamilton Books. Lincoln, Neb. The Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement recognized four honorees and inducted 15 new members during its annual banquet, held on the University of Nebraska-Lincolns East Campus in March. It was the first induction ceremony the organization had held since 2019, as the 2020 and 2021 banquets were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Formed in 1916, the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement is dedicated to preserving and improving Nebraska agriculture. Each year, the group recognizes at least one honoree and elects new members. Honorees are recognized for their contributions to Nebraska Agriculture. Panhandle honoree celebrated at the 2022 event: Owen Palm, Gering. Owen Palm is a co-owner and founder 16 Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming John Deere dealerships and the former COO of The Western Sugar Company. He served as the co-chair of Blue Print Nebraska, a state-wide economic development initiative and has been a strong supporter of UNLs Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Western Nebraska Community College and various natural resources groups, among other entities. More information on 2022 honorees can be found on the NHAA website, NHAA.unl.edu. Also during the ceremony, NHAA inducted two new cohorts of members nine nominated in the fall of 2019, who were to have been inducted during the March 2020 banquet, and six nominated in 2021. New member from the Panhandle in the 2022 cohort: Butch Schuler, Bridgeport, Seedstock cattle rancher and farming. UVALDE, Texas President Joe Biden sought Sunday to comfort a city grieving the killings of 19 elementary school pupils and two teachers at the hands of a lone gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service to meet privately with the families, Biden responded: We will. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community mourning a staggering loss after a shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Advertisement At Robb Elementary School, Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign. They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, and the first lady touched the childrens photos as the couple moved along the row. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Advertisement Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where some victims families worship. As he departed to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden replied, We will, as he got into his car. It was not immediately clear what the president was suggesting. He also planned to meet with first responders before returning to his home in Delaware. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response to the shooting. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. Advertisement The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washingtons sharp divisions on gun control legislation. Advertisement In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABCs This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. CHADRON - Twenty-three Chadron State College Rural Business Leadership Initiative (RBLI) students and five employees met with western Nebraska business owners and operators March 31 and April 1. RBLI Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Business Cassandra Ritzen said the purpose of the trip was to help expose students to the opportunities and resources in rural communities. Stops in Scottsbluff and Gering during the two days included Twin Cities Development, Paul Reed Construction, Papa Moon Winery, Ciderhouse, Hotel 21, and Flyover Brewery. While at Paul Reed Construction, the group was addressed by CSC President Randy Rhine and Gov. Pete Ricketts via video conference. "Learning from rural leaders and building connections between people are core objectives of the RBLI experience," Ritzen said. Jewel McBroom of Henry, Nebraska, said the trip was an amazing networking opportunity. "It gave us a chance to not only meet people uniquely placed in the business world of our community but also gain access to very valuable resources and support. Everyone assumes that being rural means being limited in the possibility of entrepreneurship. Turns out that couldn't be further from the truth," McBroom said. Lacey Hunter of Broadwater, Nebraska, said getting out and talking to people can open doors for opportunities. "There are so many opportunities available in rural areas, especially for a business start-up if you know where to look and to get help. The chamber of commerce can be very helpful in getting you connected with the right people as they have a network that they use to help them if they are unable to assist," Hunter said. Vivian Pease of Potter, Nebraska, said hearing the origin stories of the businesses was the most useful part of the trip for her. "Seeing real people and their business was very helpful. Understanding what it will take to be successful is understanding how to continuously learn and grow. This trip was a great opportunity for us to be given the tools and ideas, and we just have to commit and put it into practice," Pease said. The Mooresville-South Iredell Chapter 3224 of AARP annually gives a scholarship to a student who is attending an institution of higher learning. Each year, the scholarship rotates between a student at Mooresville High School and South Iredell High School. This year, Phyllis Alexander presented the recipient, Brooke Holland, $500 at the Mooresville High Schools Award Program held May 19. Holland will be attending UNC Chapel Hill and will pursue a bachelors degree in nursinge. She plans to complete her masters in nursing and become licensed as a nurse practitioner. Ultimately, she hopes to establish her own practice. While in high school, Holland earned a GPA of 4.5 on a scale of 5. As one of her teachers stated, Brooke consistently impresses me with her steady work ethic and quality academic performance. She has a propensity for the sciences and challenges herself through AP Environment Science, AP U.S. History, AP Psychology, and AP Statistics. In addition, Brooke has the maturity, care, and concern for others that would make her an ideal candidate for a medical helping profession. Holland was an active member of both the National Honors Society and the Health Occupation Students of America. She has successfully completed close to a dozen college courses through both Advanced Placement and Mitchell Community College. Furthermore, she has volunteered as a tutor and helped at the Christian Mission. When she was not in class or participating in volunteer activities, she could be found working 20-25 hours a week at Harris-Teeter. Dorothy P. Woodard, local chapter president, said that she hopes this award will, in some small way, help Holland to achieve her dreams. It isnt a lot of money, but we hope the token will let students know that we care, stated Woodard. Want to help out the folks in the Ukraine while having some fun? Consider this your invitation. Concord Presbyterian Church in Loray is partnering with Red Buffalo Brewing Company on Center Street in Statesville to host a cornhole tournament on June 4 to support relief efforts in Ukraine. The tournament starts at noon. Joe Bondi at Red Buffalo made the partnership happen. Not only was he receptive to a church holding a cornhole tourney at his business, he took the idea and vastly improved it. The entry fee is $30 for a two-person team. It was Joes idea to offer a free beverage to each team member. Some will choose beer, others will choose water or a soda. The event is being held at the brewery but this is an all ages, all levels of skill competition. The tournament is a charity event but we expect a healthy competition. The first-place team will win $200. Second place is $100. Third place pays $50. You might ask: why is a church holding a cornhole tournament at a brewery? Concord Presbyterian went through a months-long evaluation of our mission and our work. One of the areas we identified for improvement was moving outside our church walls and into the community. Want to play? Click the link to sign up. https://www.concordpreschurch.com/ukraine On June 4, we aim to have some fun, meet some people and raise some money for those in need in Ukraine. I figure Ill have one of Joes tasty beers when the tournament ends to celebrate. The tournament starts at noon. Walk through Red Buffalo Brewing to the open-air area behind the bar to come and play. I hope to see you there. Eric Millsaps is a Statesville resident and editor of the Hickory Daily Record. Moscow, May 28 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with French and German leaders Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, pointed out the danger of pumping Ukraine with Western weapons. He warned European colleagues that this carries the risks of destabilization. "The Russian President also sharpened the issue of the dangerous nature of the ongoing pumping of Ukraine with Western weapons, warning in this regard of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis," the Kremlin's press service said, RT reported. Putin also announced Moscow's readiness to facilitate the search for options for the unhindered export of grain. It is noted that the Russian leader explained the reasons for the difficulties with food supplies, which were the result of the erroneous economic policy of Western countries. "For its part, Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports," the Kremlin said. Earlier, Putin, in a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, noted that Russia is ready to help overcome the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizers, but for this it is necessary to remove politically motivated restrictions imposed by Western countries. Clark County boy arrested with gun The boy, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds. He reportedly told law enforcement that he had no intention of hurting himself or others, according to a sheriffs office news release. For the first time in 56 years, Cowlitz County has a U.S. Presidential Scholar. Kelso Cosgrove, 18, of Kelso High School remembers the morning he found out he earned the title. It was on camera, during a recorded interview with Portland TV station KGW 8 News. "When did you find out you won?" asked KGW reporter Devon Haskins seen on a video he posted to social media. "I haven't won," Cosgrove insisted in the video. "You are a finalist. You are one of two in Washington state," Haskins replied. After a shocked paused, Cosgrove said, "Oh, I won? This is news to me. Well, that's awesome." Selection process Every year since 1964, the U.S. Department of Education asks high schools to send names of well-rounded students who best represent the school. Angela Knowles, a Kelso High School counselor who advocated for Cosgrove's nomination, said the department wanted students who did well academically, participated in community service and were involved in extracurriculars. The pool of candidates this year started at more than 5,000 before being narrowed to 620 semifinalists. The federal department then chose 161 finalists across the U.S. who would carry both the U.S. Presidential Scholar title and a presidential medallion. "It feels good to be recognized after four years of striving to do good and to do well in all my classes," Cosgrove said. "I'm not someone that really likes to draw attention to themselves, so having all of this attention on me, it's wild." Not since 1965, when Kelso High School graduate Janet Louise Miller was honored, has Cowlitz County had a presidential scholar. Cosgrove is only the second person from Cowlitz County to earn the federal honor, which does not include any money. "For us to pick someone they also feel encompasses all those qualities of a presidential scholar, I think that's great for the community to see that recognition," Knowles said. 'Give what you can' Cosgrove said he always liked to immerse himself in academics. He became especially fascinated with mechanical engineering, which he hopes will blossom one day into a career in the aerospace industry. His schooling came with some challenges, recently because of the COVID-19 pandemic that sent students to learn at home or in hybrid situations. Before then, the Cosgrove family suffered losses. Cosgrove was in third grade when his older brother Tucker died in 2014. Three years later, when he was in eighth grade, his other older brother Cody died. "A lot of students who deal with that, they can easily go down a very different path," Knowles said. "When a person has gone through things themselves, it can be really good for them to give back to the community. ... I'm very proud of the man he is becoming." Cosgrove worked as a mentor for another student at Barnes Elementary School, the same school Cosgrove attended when he was younger. He helped his mentee with schoolwork, they worked on arts and crafts projects together and Cosgrove sometimes tagged along during recess. "It can be hard to give back when you're really busy, but it's always worth it to just give what you can," Cosgrove said. Quote "Our 2022 Presidential Scholars represent the best of America, and remind us that when empowered by education, there are no limits to what our young people can achieve. ... Throughout one of the most trying periods in our nation's history and amid our recovery from the pandemic, our students have once again demonstrated their strength and that they have so much to contribute to our country. Thanks to them, I know America's future is bright." U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a press release. And academics does keep Cosgrove busy. While maintaining a 4.0 GPA and clocking 110 hours of community service, Cosgrove enrolled in two dual-credit courses at the University of Washington and is about to get certified in computer-aided design. He said he tries to find time for his other hobbies, like skateboarding and photography. On top of it all, he said he's still trying to decide on college. With his lengthy list of accomplishments, several schools have offered him scholarships, he said. For now, he said he is considering going to Lower Columbia College to get his general credits. Then, he said he would like to study at Arizona State University's renowned engineering program. "I mean, it's sunny over there," he said. "And it's a super good school." Love 27 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. When youth counselor Matt McCoy heard from a 13-year-old Kelso student that 10 of his friends took blues" a street name for fentanyl pills the story sounded all too familiar. Most teens dont realize their life's on the line every single time they use the synthetic opioid, whether they know its in the pills they are taking or not, said McCoy, who supervises CORE Healths youth substance-use program. They have no true knowledge of what theyre using, he said. It seems appealing because its a little blue pill sold as percs on the street. Over the last nine months, CORE Health has seen more teens use or test positive for fentanyl, following a rise of the drugs prevalence throughout Cowlitz County and the state. CORE's youth substance-use disorder program got off the ground at the start of this school year, coinciding with the opening of COREs Ascent Youth Activity Center in downtown Longview. Since September, the program has served about 150 teens, with 55 referred from juvenile probation, 32 from schools and 13 from inpatient facilities. Others are enrolled in services by their parents, seek treatment on their own or come with a friend, McCoy said. CORE mostly works with Longview students but sees youth from around the county, Executive Director Frank Morrison said. Of youth in COREs program, 22 had positive drug tests for fentanyl or self-disclosed they used the drug, according to the organization. Thats more than double the nine who used heroin, but falls behind the 36 who used methamphetamine. Cannabis was the most common substance, used by 105 youth, followed by alcohol at 67. Quote Theyre not realizing theyre bypassing heroin. Fentanyl is way more dangerous. Matt McCoy, youth substance-use counselor. After hearing about youth in other parts of the country using fentanyl, McCoy said he expected it would show up locally but was still surprised when students told him they were using. Its always alarming to see youth use drugs that are so deadly, he said. Overdose deaths rising Fentanyl can be 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is commonly mixed with other drugs and made into counterfeit pills, and many people are unaware their drugs are laced with fentanyl. Nationwide, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths, according to the CDC. In 2021, Washingtons overdose deaths increased nearly 70% since 2019, surpassing 2,000, according to provisional data from the Department of Health. Most deaths involved more than one substance, and more than half the deaths are due to fentanyl, according to the department. Fentanyl overdose deaths have increased about 10-fold since 2016. Drug overdose deaths in Cowlitz County nearly doubled from 18 in 2019 to 33 in 2021, according to data from the county coroners office. The number of overdoses that included fentanyl more than tripled from five in 2020 to 17 in 2021, according to the coroner. Nationwide, teen overdose deaths are also up. Teen overdose deaths nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020 and increased 20% the following year, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April. Since 2018, the state rate of overdose deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased significantly among those under 30, according to a study from the University of Washington's Addictions, Drug and Alcohol Institute. Resources Cowlitz County crisis line: 360-425-6064. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. Washington Recovery Help Line: Anonymous, confidential 24/7 help line for state residents experiencing substance-use disorders, problem gambling and mental health challenges. Call 1-866-789-1511 or text 1-866-789-1511 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., weekdays. 911: Under state law, those seeking medical assistance for an overdose and the person overdosing cannot be prosecuted for drug possession. Anyone witnessing an overdose should call 911. Cowlitz County has not recorded any drug overdose deaths in teens over the last three years, but has seen an increase among those younger than 30 years old, according to the coroner's office data. McCoy said he knows of three teens who have overdosed but survived because an ambulance got to them in time. While at least some teens in the substance-use program know of the opioid-reversal medication naloxone, they dont carry it because they are worried about getting in trouble, McCoy said. 'Bypassing heroin' Adults seem to be more aware of fentanyls danger than most youth, McCoy said. Teens know less about the synthetic opioid or think its a trendy drug, he said. Some think because their friends have done it and survived, theyll be fine, but its like Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. Its not a matter of if, but when, McCoy said, quoting a lecture he recently attended. McCoy said fentanyl is being specifically targeted to youth, as its sold on social media, including Snapchat, and is more affordable for teens than other opioids like OxyContin. Theyre not realizing theyre bypassing heroin, he said. Fentanyl is way more dangerous. Taking a pill doesnt have the stigma of injecting, and some teens, and adults, may not even realize thats what theyre taking, said Benjamin Hoppie, CORE Health substance-use director. A 2021 survey at syringe exchange programs across the state, including Cowlitz County, found 42% of respondents used fentanyl in the past three months, up from 18% in 2019, according to a report from the UW Addictions, Drug and Alcohol Institute. Two-thirds of those people said they used fentanyl on purpose, most often in pill form. The other third reported they didnt mean to use fentanyl and it was mixed in with another drug they use most often. When dealing with opiates in pill form its everywhere, and theres no stereotypical way to determine who would use them, McCoy said. Opiates dont discriminate, he said. Mental health Mental health struggles are the top reasons youth use drugs, as an unhealthy way to cope with emotions or trauma, McCoy said. Home life also factors in, and many youth in the program live where some type of drug use is accepted or in the home, he said. While the states annual Healthy Youth Survey in 2021 reported an overall decline in drug and alcohol use, an increasing number of students reported feeling consistently sad or hopeless and considering suicide. Of the youth CORE has worked with since September, 86 had expressed suicidal ideation during assessment or treatment, 38 reported past suicide attempts and 17 reported they had been hospitalized for mental health, suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. The organization aims to treat both mental illness and substance use disorder, McCoy said. Its hard to tell a kid to stop smoking pot when theyre depressed, he said. Its about finding healthy ways to cope. Teens have to be willing to enter treatment, and having the new youth center helps introduce them to services in a safe and comfortable environment, Hoppie said. To help reach more youth struggling with substance use, CORE Health wants to continue working in more schools and remove as many barriers to treatment as possible, McCoy said. Despite expanding outreach efforts, McCoy and Hoppie said they expect more deaths to come. Ive heard more kids using it in the last 12 months, McCoy said. I don't see it coming to an end. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The small settlement of single-family homes huddled just south of the Stevenson Expressways Cicero exit may no longer be the swampy marsh it was when Dutch farmers arrived more than 120 years ago. But some residents still call the tiny hamlet in Garfield Ridge by its early name: Sleepy Hollow. Built mere decades after the famous Washington Irving story about a headless spectral horseman, the three-block by four-block outpost has the quaint mix of single-family home styles that one would expect. Century-old workers cottages share space with simple ranch homes with matching painted gables and new brick two-flats. Advertisement According to lore, a quirky local mailman known only as Tom began calling the frontier community of Dutch, Polish, Czech and others Sleepy Hollow, and the name stuck. When Fernando Vargas moved into his yellow 111-year-old two-story home on South Keating Avenue in 1980, the streets were dirt and there werent any sidewalks. But the area had charm. An old-timer who lived across the street told Vargas about how Al Capones west suburban operation functioned nearby and that one of his henchmen stood guard in Sleepy Hollow along the adjacent Chicago Sanitary Shipping Canal. Advertisement Fernando Vargas stands on his porch in the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood on the Southwest Side on May 9, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Vargas, 67, now finds himself to be the old-timer on the block as new families have arrived in the increasingly diverse area. We still call it Sleepy Hollow, but theres not many of us left, Vargas said outside his home. There are no plaques or markers to commemorate the tiny Southwest Side village, but Sleepy Hollow is itself a living remnant of the areas early pastoral history when it was one of dozens of independent, free-standing communities that sprang up during Chicagos 19th-century industrial boom. Each with its own early identities, local characters and points of interest. The citys current map of 77 communities and neighborhoods was created by the University of Chicagos Social Science Research Committee in the 1920s and 1930s in an attempt to create order and identity and ease the census-taking process. But some old neighborhoods pop up in online maps, revealing glimpses into former lives. One hundred and eighty years ago, the mostly rural area around Armitage and Grand avenues was known as Whiskey Point thanks to the saloon George Merrill opened to farmers and travelers out of his family home. Around the same time, a subdivision in north Lincoln Square became known as Bowmanville after a local hotel innkeeper and swindler who sold plots of land he didnt own and skipped town. Nearby, a part of the North Center community was known as Bricktown for the brick quarries in the area. All three can still be found on online maps despite no longer existing. A sign marks the Bowmanville neighborhood of Chicago on May 9, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Experts say every corner of the city is awash in defunct names and neighborhoods that disappeared. The names come from old settlements that preceded modern Chicago. Some were communities built on commuter transit lines in the rapidly expanding city. Others were the creations of real estate agents eager to create branding for new housing construction. Its layers-upon-layers of names, often overlapping and in conflict with each other. All come from different origins, circumstances and periods of time, said Tim Samuelson, the citys emeritus historian, who has done exhaustive research on neighborhood names and how they came to be. It was a daunting task given how many cropped up across the city and how some disappeared completely while others lingered. The deeper you dig, the more youll find! It never ends. My head swims just trying to write this, Samuelson said in an email. Before annexation, city neighborhoods were more of an ethnic patchwork as thousands of immigrants arrived for jobs, and different ethnic groups carved out their own communities. The names were the immigrants attempt to re-create new homes based on their homelands. Advertisement Some were originally named to reflect familiar places of origin for dominant immigrant ethnic groups, but the names can still solidly remain when the dominant population group changes, Samuelson said, citing Pilsen, which now has a large Mexican population but was named by Czech immigrants. Another example is South Shore, which was at one time subdivided into separate settlements with British names such as Essex, Bryn Mawr, Parkside, Cheltenham Beach and Windsor Park, reflecting the English heritage of immigrating British Illinois Central Railroad and steel mill workers. Some remaining markers include two Windsor Park train stations, Windsor Park Lutheran Church and streets such as East Cheltenham Place and Essex Avenue. Two train stations still bear the original neighborhood name Windsor Park, including this Metra stop in Windsor Park, seen May 9, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Some communities are remnants of large heavy-industrial settlements and factory towns, such as the Stockyards, Bricktown and Pullman, which remains a city neighborhood. While industry slowly eroded and workers moved away or died, the names remained. The citys Southeast Side, a former industrial home of Chicagos Southworks plant and various other factories, was divided into numerous areas such as The Bush, Irondale, Vets Park and Slag Valley. They disappear because people who use them disappear, said Peter Alter, chief historian with the Chicago History Museum, who has worked with Samuelson. Industries to which theyre connected disappear. Obviously, theres no longer a steel industry on the Southeast Side. Some communities were the work of real estate agents who created new names or changed boundary lines hoping to create a sense of place to an undeveloped area, Samuelson said. In the early 1900s, a developer built nearly a dozen three-story apartment buildings on the east side of Winthrop Avenue, between Lawrence Avenue and Ainslie Street, thinking it would be a perfect place for newlywed couples. They christened the area Honeymoon Row, according to a 1903 Tribune article. Retired antique map dealer George Ritzlin said a decade ago he and his wife members of the Chicago Map Society sold a century-old broadside advertisement with a map of Grayland, a large area between the Portage Park and Old Irving neighborhoods in the 1870s. It was the creation of real estate developer and Cook County sheriff John Gray, who owned hundreds of acres on the North Side and believed his communitys proximity to Chicago and the three railroads would be attractive to newcomers. Advertisement Today, only the Grayland station on Metras Milwaukee District North line remains. People walk past a row of three-flats once called Honeymoon Row in the 4800 block of North Winthrop Avenue on May 9, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Even some existing communities arent well-known. Chicagos 50-acre LondonTown, for example, is not only a recognized neighborhood on the Far South Side, its also home to the London Towne Homes, a nonprofit co-op housing development of 803 townhouse units on land between Metras Electric Line, Gately Park and the Bishop Ford Expressway. The community became a haven for middle-class African Americans in the 1960s. Its kind of like a little bedroom community, said JoAnn Kenner, longtime president of the London Towne Homes, where she arrived as a 21-year-old newlywed in 1967. A lot of times, people dont realize that were a housing cooperative they think maybe were government subsidized, or a housing project or something like that were totally member owned and operated. Other communities simply vanished in the growing city. Untold numbers of homes and businesses were bulldozed to make way for the areas expressway circuit. The (neighborhood names) that are most fascinating to me at the moment are the ones where the neighborhood is completely gone, Alter said. He cited Black Bottom, a Black working-class neighborhood located in the South Loop near the old Stanford Park before it was all demolished in the 1960s to make room for the Dan Ryan Expressway. Advertisement Neighborhood name changes, experts say, are inevitable as populations change or as sensibilities change. Business owners in Chicagos gay nightlife district known as Boystown have rebranded the area Northalsted in a bid to be more inclusive and gender-neutral. Vargas, a retired truck driver and handyman, said Sleepy Hollow will always be a part of him, adding that hes turned down offers on his home, feeling comfortable in his small nook community despite its old age, isolated location and the fact his two adult children have their own homes. He still enjoys the look of his block, from the alluring designs of the new construction to his next-door neighbors treehouse. I dont want to sell. Ive been here for 45 years. I want to die and let my kids decide what to do. wlee@chicagotribune.com Twitter @Midnoircowboy School shooter Salvador Ramos passed his time talking to strangers online, allegedly carrying on conversations rife with threats and aggression, oftentimes aimed at young women and girls. The troubling digital interactions primarily took place on Yubo, an app that features livestreaming alongside large chatrooms called panels. In the months before Ramos unleashed carnage inside classrooms at Robb Elementary School, the 18-year-old allegedly posted images of dead cats and quipped about sexual assault and violence, according to the Washington Post. He also shared photos of a rifle he claimed he was going to use to shoot up a school. In one video from a live chatroom, recorded by other Yubo users, Ramos can allegedly be heard saying, Everyone in this world deserves to get raped. A 16-year-old boy from Austin, Texas, recalled Ramos online behavior for the Post, adding that he received a death threat from the suspected shooter back in January. I witnessed him harass girls and threaten them with sexual assault, like rape and kidnapping, said the teen, who did not wish to be identified. It was not like a single occurrence. It was frequent. He said he and his friends repeatedly reported Ramos for bullying and other offenses. Hannah, an 18-year-old from Ontario, Canada, who did not wish to share her last name, said the alleged gunman also threatened to shoot up her school and rape and kill her and her mother during one livestream session. She reported him in April, she told CNN, but Ramos was back online after a weeklong ban. Others who interacted with Ramos said they had negative experiences but did not report him, but no one understood the gravity of his words until news of the shooting at Robb Elementary School started to spread. Authorities said Ramos entered through an open door at the school in Uvalde, barricaded himself inside a classroom and then opened fire. Two teachers and 19 students were killed in the hourlong attack. Ramos was fatally shot by responding police officers. A motive in the shooting remains unknown. Yubo use skyrocketed amid the coronavirus pandemic, with people all over the world eager to find new ways to connect amid lockdowns and limited group gatherings. The app, nicknamed Tinder for Teens, has been downloaded more than 18 million times in the U.S., including more than 200,000 times last month, according to estimates reported by the Post. Users only need to be 13 to sign up. Yubo spokeswoman Amy Williams declined to comment on the specific actions the company has taken against Ramos in the past. As there is an ongoing and active investigation and because this information concerns a specific individuals data, we are not legally able to share these details publicly at this time, she said. So here we go again. Politicians of all stripes will offer their thoughts and prayers to the victims families. Special-interest groups on the right will cite the latest bloodbath as proof that we need more gun ownership. And cable television will rerun the same video clips umpteen times, fill the airways with talking ranters, and thus leave the impression that nothing else is happening anywhere in America or overseas, probably for the next week or so, until this latest massacre is flushed down the memory hole. Thats what always happens. Way back, thats what happened after two twisted kids shot up the Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. We witnessed the national wringing of hands, the convening of symposia and the ritual assigning of blame and now well do it again, of course, before settling back into our routines until the next massacre provides a temporary jolt. Before we numbly move on from one of the worst mass shootings in American history temporarily topping some of the worst mass shootings in American history, to be topped sooner or later by the next mass shootings lets do the drill we know so well: Quotes from on-the-scene survivors. Media kudos to heroes. Biographies of the dead. NRA silence. Congressional nothingness. Rinse n repeat. After all, when tragedy strikes here in the accursed land of locked n loaded, its deemed too soon to say anything else. Then, after all the deaths are tallied and the bodies are buried and weve moved on, its always too late. But what the heck, Ill go through the motions anyway: What happened this time was a terrorist act greased by a lenient gun-loving state that makes the NRA proud. Weve lost the mental and moral capacity to prevent these bloodbaths. The lawmakers quake in perpetual fear that the arms merchants will unleash their wrath on anyone who steps out of line. A nation armed to the teeth has essentially decided that the mass loss of innocents is an acceptable tradeoff for Freedom. The innocents freedom to live is deemed disposable. Conservative commentator David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, laments: Like ancient villagers, Americans accept periodic plagues as a visitation from the gods, about which nothing can or should be done. The only permitted response is thoughts and prayers certainly never rational action to reduce casualties in the future. Even to open the discussion as to whether something might not be done violates the taboos of decency: How dare you politicize this completely unpredictable and uncontrollable event! It is as if gun violence were inscrutable to the mind of man, utterly beyond human control. All we get, in lieu of substance, are worthless words from the gun lobbys hapless stooges. Its all part of the drill. I cant precisely pinpoint when America fully surrendered to benumbed insanity, but Ill put my money on Sandy Hook. Once we decided that even the slaughter of little kids was acceptable collateral damage, we crossed the line and sold our souls. The innocents are casualties of a toxic culture thats out of control. Semi-automatic weapons (known to NRA leaders as sporting arms) and high-capacity magazines are growth sectors of the gun market. Remember the NRAs unspoken message: Guns are good business. Invest your kids. Barring a great awakening, there is no going back. Regarding the mass murder of 19 kids in Texas, theres really nothing new to write. Thats why for this column, Ive merely copy-pasted passages that I have written before. Everything old is new again. Every sentence in this post has been lifted from my previous columns about the 2021 Michigan school shootings, the 2018 Parkland school shootings, the 2017 Las Vegas concert shootings, the 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings, and the 2007 Virginia Tech school shootings. Ive stitched a Frankenstein monster, as it were. More than ever, were held hostage by the pro-life American ethos: Life begins at conception and ends with a Second Amendment execution. Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, writes at DickPolman.net. Email him at dickpolman7@gmail.com Former President Barack Obama took to Instagram on Friday to congratulate Jacob Philadelphia, the boy who famously touched Obama's head in an iconic 2009 White House photo, on his high school graduation. Philadelphia, the son of then-National Security Council staffer Carlton Philadelphia, was 5 years old when he visited the Oval Office and asked Obama, "Is your hair like mine?" Obama then bent down and told him to touch his head. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I've got," Obama recalled Philadelphia saying. The moment was captured by White House photographer Pete Souza, and the photo, which Souza later named "Hair Like Mine," was celebrated for highlighting the importance of representation. Obama reconnected with Philadelphia on Zoom before the now-teenager's graduation from the International School of Uganda. Philadelphia, whose father later joined the State Department, told the former President he plans to attend University of Memphis and will study political science. "I think the White House visit clearly inspired you, I hope," Obama said in the video. "Yes. It really has," Philadelphia replied. In the Instagram video, Obama also reflected on the iconic 2009 image, which hung in the West Wing for years during his presidency, the video noted. "I think this picture embodied one of the hopes that I'd had when I first started running for office," Obama said. "I remember telling Michelle and some of my staff, you know, I think that if I were to win, the day I was sworn into office, young people, particularly African American people, people of color, outsiders, folks who maybe didn't always feel like they belonged, they'd look at themselves differently. To see a person who looked like them in the Oval Office. It would speak to Black kids and Latino kids and gay kids and young girls -- how they could see the world open up for them," the former President said. Philadelphia also spoke about the moment and how he remembers that day in the Oval Office. "When I was younger, I just thought the President was just my dad's boss. I didn't know how powerful he was," Philadelphia said in the video. "I was a little shy and I kind of remember touching his hair and him towering over me. That was a pretty big highlight of my life." "It is very wonderful to see representation in the government because if I get to see another Black man be at the top, be at that pinnacle, then I want to follow that lead," Philadelphia added. The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Eight members of Gamma Chapter, Nebraska Delta Kappa Gamma, met May 21 at the Grand Island Hy-Vee club room. Michele Downs and Sarah Nedrig were hostesses. President Nancy Hesman-Krueger called the meeting to order. She reported highlights of the Nebraska State Delta Kappa Gamma convention on April 1-3. Rebecca Hobbler explained a reorganization plan for committees. The 2022-24 slate of officers elected are: Colleen ONeill, president; Sarah Nedrig, vice president; Jan Heady, secretary; Cathy Morgan, treasurer. Both the vice president and secretary were installed, with the president and treasurer to be installed in September. Heady presented a program on the 12 original founders of Delta Kappa Gamma. The next meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Rebecca Hooblers home, with ONeill also as a hostess. Hoobler will present a program on Greek traditions. She would like members to bring gently used or new books for children, kindergarten through 12th grade, to be distributed to a Greek school in Chicago. LINCOLN The University Honors Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduated a record 246 seniors during spring commencement exercises May 14 at Memorial Stadium. To graduate from the Honors Program, students must maintain at least a 3.5 grade-point average, complete a culminating senior project or research thesis, and fulfill other curricular requirements. This is the largest number of honors graduates in a single term in the programs 36-year history. Grand Island students honored were: Lizbeth Chavez, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts; Brooks Douglass, College of Business; Katelyn Hill, College of Business; and Joana Reyes, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education and Human Sciences. Area students honored were: Emily Donnell of Aurora, College of Education and Human Sciences; Tressa Reiner of Burwell, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; and Hastings: and Emma Mays of Hastings. College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, Chavez is among 14 graduating seniors who earned awards from the University Honors Program at UNL. Chavez, an art history and criticism, and photography major, won the Outstanding Honors Leadership Award and Combs Honors Scholar award. The Outstanding Honors Leadership Award recognizes the honors graduate who has made the most significant and lasting impact to the University Honors Program through their leadership. This year, the award was given to two students. Four students were recognized for outstanding leadership within one of the Honors Programs registered student organizations: Honors Ambassadors, Honors Program Student Advisory Board, Honors Peer Mentor Leaders and the Dr. Michael W. Combs Honors Scholars. Hastings College honors 22 music students HASTINGS In celebration of outstanding student work throughout the academic year, Hastings College honored 22 students as part of its annual Music Honors Convocation. As part of the ceremony, students were recognized with various awards and scholarships. Area students honored include: Alana DeBellis, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band; Samantha Gapp, a first-year student from Grand Island, Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band; Ben Howie, a senior from Hastings, Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Sinfonian, Hastings College Outstanding Performer, Hastings College Outstanding Senior in Music; Wyatt Kohles, a sophomore from Grand Island, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Student Scholarship; Carter Pursley, a junior from Aurora, State third place third year TBB Classical, NATS Regional Participant; and Erick Rodriguez, a first-year student from Grand Island, Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band. Concordia University confers degrees to May 2022 graduates SEWARD On May 7, Concordia University, Nebraska awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to more than 400 graduates. The Class of 2022 was honored during undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies. Grand Island students earning degrees were: Madison Beran, bachelor of science, bachelor of science in education and Lutheran Teachers Diploma; Gerard Dunning, bachelor of arts; Jadeyn Stutzman, bachelor of arts in education and Lutheran Teachers Diploma; and Sarah Sugita, bachelor of arts in education and Lutheran Teachers Diploma. Area students earning degrees were: Thomas Young of Clarks, bachelor of arts in education; Brynn Barnett of Doniphan, master of education; Rebecca Coon of Farwell, master of healthcare administration; Sydni Kroll of Gibbon, bachelor of science; Trenton Bruntz, bachelor of music, and Hannah Mulligan, bachelor of arts in education, both of Hastings; Abigail DeLoach of Kearney, bachelor of arts; Maggie Cleveland of Petersburg, bachelor or arts; Taylor Zehendner, bachelor of arts in education and Lutheran Teachers Diploma, and Keri Bauer, bachelor of science in education, both of Pleasanton; Payton Stevens of Polk, bachelor of science; Tannor Tobler of Ravenna, bachelor of arts in education; Ashley Emswile, bachelor of arts in education, Sydney Smith, master of public health, both of Shelby; Elisa Kurth, bachelor of arts, and Miranda Rosenkranz, bachelor of arts, both of Stromsburg; Gabrielle Luehr of Wood River, bachelor of arts and bachelor of science; and Emily Niemeier of Worms, bachelor of fine arts. SNHU announces Winter Presidents, Deans Lists MANCHESTER, N.H. Southern New Hampshire University has announced the students who have been named to the colleges Presidents and Deans lists for the 2022 winter semester. Area students on the Presidents List are: Brennan Stebbing of Aurora; Ryann Perkins of Grand Island; and Jamie Thomas, Andy Quig, Keri Zimmerman, Brice Sell and Lyndsey Elley of Hastings. Named to the Deans List were Jennifer Quig of Hastings and Virginia Russell of Henderson. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above are named to the Presidents List. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.500 to 3.699 are named to the Deans List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits; undergraduate day students must earn 12 credits in the fall or spring semester, and online students must earn 12 credits over two consecutive terms. Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution with an 89-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults. Now serving more than 165,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 accredited undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, N.H. Academic honors Sarah Sugita of Grand Island was recognized for outstanding academic achievement by Concordia University during its Commencement Honors Dinner on May 6 in Seward. Every year, each academic department may give two or more awards, depending on the size of the department and the number of students in the program. Each department establishes its own criteria for determining award recipients, but the criteria must, at minimum, consider the students grade-point average, level of service to the department and level of service to Concordia. Sugita majored in early childhood education in Concordias College of Arts and Sciences. ***** Selvin Caseres, a computer science major from Aurora, is one of eight students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney recently inducted into the Gamma Omicron Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau. Founded at Ohio State University in 1929, Epsilon Pi Tau is the leading international honor society for technology. It recognizes the academic excellence of students in fields devoted to the study of technology and the preparation of practitioners for the technology professions. With more than 90,000 members inducted worldwide, Epsilon Pi Tau is the premier academic and professional honors group for technology programs in higher education, workforce development programs and professionals in practice. The UNK Gamma Omicron Chapter has provided academic recognition to high-achieving students since its establishment in 1995. ***** Two area students were recently inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nations oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Amy Trease of Kearney is a student at University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Amber Clausen of Grand Island attends Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan. Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. ***** The Office of the Registrar at Conception Seminary College, in Conception, Missouri, announced students named to the Deans List for the 2022 spring semester. Representing the Grand Island Diocese are Noah D. Huddleston and Samuel A. Odgen. To be included on the Deans List, a student must be enrolled as a full-time student and earn a 3.70 GPA or higher on at least 12 semester credit hours. Conception Seminary College is a four-year liberal arts college seminary preparing candidates for ministry in the Roman Catholic Church through human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation in the Benedictine tradition. Scholarships Carrie Brosman of Aurora was named a Reeves Scholar when Hastings College hosted Bronco Scholars Day earlier this year. Reeve Scholars are selected after interviews and each earns a renewable, full tuition scholarship. The scholarship is in honor of Dr. Thomas J. Reeves, the 12th president of Hastings College who passed away earlier this year. Reeves Scholars can pursue any academic major. ***** Spencer Tessman of Hastings is one of seven University of Nebraska-Lincoln students who have earned Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the 2022-23 academic year. Tessman is majoring in English and Spanish and will study in Germany. English Teaching Assistant placements support English language classroom instruction and serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States. The Fulbright Program, the U.S. governments flagship international educational exchange program, is supported by an annual appropriation made by Congress to the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, as well as partner countries around the world. Since 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 400,000 participants from more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research; exchange ideas; and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Fulbright recipients are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement and record of service. Activities Kylie Dierks, a sophomore from Hastings, is one of two news student ambassadors appointed by the Animal Science Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the 2022-23 academic year. The ambassadors will interact with prospective animal science students by visiting high schools and attending various university admissions events. In addition to attending and supporting events, each ambassador will also take on the responsibility of planning one recruitment activity per year. The Animal Science Student Ambassador program, started in 1999, selects two animal science majors as ambassadors to promote the animal science program each year. Students receive a $2,000 scholarship ($500 each semester) and serve for two years supporting the departments recruitment efforts. ***** Twenty-nine members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Reserve Officer Training Corps received military commissions earlier this month. Area Army ROTC cadets earning commissions were 2nd Lt. Margaret E. Parker of Cairo, and 2nd Lt. Harley Dean Beckman of Marquette. LINCOLN The University of NebraskaLincoln conferred a record 3,612 degrees during commencement exercises May 13 and 14. The 3,523 graduates are from 58 countries; 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and more than 250 Nebraska communities. Pinnacle Bank Arena hosted a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees May 13; Memorial Stadium hosted a ceremony for undergraduates May 14; and the Lied Center for Performing Arts hosted a ceremony for law graduates May 14. In addition, graduates from 2020 and 2021 who were unable to attend their ceremonies were celebrated during May commencement, and more than 20 returned to be recognized. Jay Keasling, Philothathia Professor of Alternative Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Husker alumnus, delivered the undergraduate commencement address. He also received an honorary Doctor of Science during the undergraduate ceremony. Terry L. Fairfield, former president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation, received the Nebraska Builder Award for exceptional service to the state and university during the ceremony. Marco Barker, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at Nebraska, gave the address at the graduate and professional degree ceremony. Sara Howard, policy adviser for First Five Nebraska and former state senator, spoke to the law graduates. Graduates from central Nebraska include: ALBION: Kaitlyn Dozler, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; Dylan Gentrup, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with distinction; and Jenna Kramer, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with distinction. ANSLEY: Alyssa C. Bailey, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Mikael Harrop, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics; and Paige Stunkel, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. ARCADIA: Cameron Calleroz, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. AURORA: Cole Ashby, Graduate Studies, Master of Arts; Grant Bonifas, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agronomy; Jadyn Cattau, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with high distinction; Emily Donnell, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Helen McClure, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Tanner Ohlson, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Abigail Ostdiek, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism with highest distinction; Dalton Peters, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Systems Management; and Allison Saddler, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with high distinction. BROKEN BOW: Josephine Bailey, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Ryan Beck, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agronomy with high distinction; Padyn Borders, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Jack Kent-Lee Cole, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with distinction; Court Kaelin, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering; Jordan Popp, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Systems Management; and Sydney Wells, Graduate Studies, Master of Science. CALLAWAY: Lucy Kimball, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management. CEDAR RAPIDS: Colton Boesch, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; and Riley Swerczek, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Systems Management. CENTRAL CITY: Dane Christensen, Graduate Studies, Master of Education; Jacob Kruckenberg, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; and Vincent Ohlman, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences. CHAPMAN: John Hosch, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with high distinction. COMSTOCK: McKenzie Stefka, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts. DONIPHAN: Kendrick Baxter, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering; Alyssa Smith, Graduate Studies, Master of Arts; Christian G. Valverde, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; and Abby Williams, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences. ELYRIA: Stephanie Vavra, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. FARWELL: Kristine Nicole Dvoracek, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness. GENOA: Natalie Held, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with high distinction; and Katherine Mohr, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. GILTNER: Aubrianna Leichty, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with distinction. GRAND ISLAND (A-M): Megan Bartz, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Esbeidy Chavez, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Lizbeth Chavez, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Arts with high distinction, Bachelor of Fine Arts with high distinction; Brooks Douglass, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with distinction; David Estrada, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Yohanna Flores, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Jack Foglesong, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with distinction; Kale Gardner, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with distinction; Benjamin Griess, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics; Kyle Hancock, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with distinction; Sydney Haubold, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Katelyn Hill, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with high distinction; Alondra Iturbide Bahena, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Wilmer Izaguirre, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Caleb Jacobsen, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering; Valery Juarez, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Haley Ketteler, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Ryan Kruse, Graduate Studies, Master of Engineering Management; Brent Lucke, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with highest distinction; Taryn Mayfield, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Hannah Mohler, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Deanna Montanez Mendoza, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Horticulture. GRAND ISLAND (N-Z): Thi Tran Anh Nguyen, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Maricela Reyes, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Zitlalic Parra Valencia, College of Architecture, Bachelor of Science in Design with distinction; Carlos Perez-Madrid, College of Architecture, Bachelor of Science in Design; Jackson Puente, UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice; Joana Reyes, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with distinction; College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Rebecca Riley, College of Law, Juris Doctor; Jessica Romero, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism; Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Arts; Edgar Ruiz-Guaderrama, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Emily Sanders, Graduate Studies, Doctor of Audiology; Cynthia Serrano-Ortega, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Tyler Sextro, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science with high distinction; Reagan Smith, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism with distinction; Kate Springer, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; William Stoltenberg, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Rodrigo Venegas, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Construction Management; and Monroe Walker, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism. HAMPTON: Kelsey Hurt-Schafer, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; and Elizabeth Smith, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts. HASTINGS (A-M): Caleb Ackles, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Emma Arthur, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with highest distinction; Jeffrey Buescher, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Applied Science; Katelyn Burke, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Garrett Furrow, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Amy Hauver, Graduate Studies, Doctor of Plant Health; Allyson Johnson, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Jack Keller, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science with high distinction; Taylor Kidwell, College of Law, Juris Doctor; Blayne Kile, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Alayna Kyle, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences;Nathan Lancaster, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering; Kolby Lintz, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Christopher Trung Mai, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Cory Meyer, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with high distinction; Ellie Moncrief, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with high distinction; and Alexis L. Moss, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife. HASTINGS (N-Z): Johnathan OKeeffe Jr., Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts; William Parker, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management; Angelica Vu Pham, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science; Jayden Swayze, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Kristen Valle, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; Tai Phuoc Vo, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Garrett Warren, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science; and Bryant Warrick, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with highest distinction. HENDERSON: Addie Schmucker, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts. HORDVILLE: Cara DeMers, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with distinction. JUNIATA: William Gallagher, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Brooke Meyer, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Abby Queen, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts. KEARNEY (A-M): Sydney Aistrope, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Liberty Allan, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts; Rebekah M. Andersen, Graduate Studies, Master of Education; Alana Baack, Graduate Studies, Master of Education; Jonah Bennett, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Music in Education with distinction; Brian L. Cox, Graduate Studies, Master of Applied Science; Megan Darveau, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences with high distinction; Geoffrey Exstrom, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism with distinction; Peyton Geiser, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with highest distinction; Andrew Harms, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Kaitlyn Harris, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Rene Ingersoll, Graduate Studies, Master of Arts; Wyatt Jelden, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism; Caleb Kirchhoff, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness; Jace Kratzenstein, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with distinction; Trista Lefler, Graduate Studies, Master of Arts; Caden Lightle, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Systems Management; Emma Luthans, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Kinley McGowan, College of Architecture, Bachelor of Science in Design with distinction; and Hallett Moomey, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education. KEARNEY (N-Z): Thomas Omtvedt, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Evan Palmer, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering with highest distinction; Julia Poggioli, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with high distinction; Guy Richard, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering with high distinction; Ralston Ripp, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness with distinction, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with distinction; Emily Schomburg, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering; Claire Sorrell, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science; Tylo Spellman, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management; College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with distinction; Sophia Steffen, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; Hunter Suchsland, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife; Jessica Temoshek, College of Law, Juris Doctor; Christian Westesen, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences; Creighton Westesen, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Construction Management; and Cody Willers, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies. KENESAW: Alex Heier, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, Bachelor of Science in Grazing Livestock Systems. LOUP CITY: Taylor Griffith, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism. MARQUETTE: Harley Beckman, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with distinction. MERNA: Cameron Downey, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. MINDEN: Jacob Kuehn, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agronomy; Janessa Madsen, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts; and Brayden Petersen, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. ORD: Delani Fahey, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Zachary Flessner, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Systems Management; Shelby Kittle, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Applied Science; Austin Knapp, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Applied Science; Trevin Kruml, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Landon Rogers, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. OSCEOLA: Ethan Yungdahl, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. PALMER: Armando Ruvalcaba-Guzman Jr., College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering; and Michael Wolfe, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. PHILLIPS: Grace McDonald, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication; Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, Bachelor of Arts; Sarah Jane Qualsett, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Arts with high distinction; and Caden Schuster, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. PLEASANTON: Braden Hadwiger, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with distinction. PROSSER: Natalie Hoffmann, College of Law, Juris Doctor. RAVENNA: Sarah Adam, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology; Joshua Bauer, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics; Brooklyn Fiddelke, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Kade Lockhorn, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Construction Management; and Megan Miigerl, College of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science. ST. EDWARD: Halie Andreasen, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education; and Andrea Stock, College of Education and Human Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences. ST. LIBORY: Kelsey Ritchie, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism; and Ryan Zimmerman, College of Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Construction Management. ST. PAUL: William Jacobs, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Parker Klinginsmith, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness. SARONVILLE: George Herndon, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. SCOTIA: Asha Scheideler, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, Bachelor of Science in Grassland Ecology and Management. SPALDING: Robert Thome, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness. STROMSBURG: Madison Baker, College of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Taylor Stratman, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Science. TRUMBULL: Josie Samuelson, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. WOOD RIVER: Michelle D. Irvine, Graduate Studies, Master of Science; Bailey Landanger, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Bachelor of Journalism; and Cade Ludwig, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bachelor of Science in Agronomy. Maj. Robert Lawrence Jr., the first Black astronaut in the U.S. space program, is introduced at a news conference in El Segundo, California, on June 30, 1967. Lawrence was part of a classified military space program in the 1960s called the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, meant to spy on the Soviet Union. He died before flying in space when his fighter jet crashed Dec. 8, 1967. (Associated Press) Maj. Robert Lawrence Jr. was an Englewood native whose contributions to the U.S. Air Force and NASA helped young scholars achieve their dreams in science. Though his untimely death prevented him from flying out of Earths atmosphere, his name has reached as far as the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. He is considered the first African American astronaut. Lawrence graduated from high school from the Englewood Technical Preparatory Academy in 1952 at age 16. At 20, he earned his bachelors degree in 1956 from Bradley University in Peoria and was an AirForce Pilot who in 1965 earned his doctorate in chemistry from Ohio State University. Advertisement Air Force Maj. Robert Lawrence Jr. (Associated Press) We know he was a hard worker and he worked hours in the cafeteria while he was a cadette commander in order to put himself through school, said Michelle Fry, department chair and associate professor of the Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Bradley University. For more than two decades, endowed scholarships and lectureships named for Lawrence have been given to minority chemistry and biochemistry students at Bradley, Fry said. As of 2022, there have been 21 recipients. Advertisement More than one went to medical school; others have gone directly into the workforce, so all of them have accomplished a lot and were really proud of them, Fry said. Ethan Tyner, who majored in biochemistry and minored in biology at Bradley is one of the two recipients of the Lawrence Scholarship this year, a recognition he called inspiring. I gained this hunger to push and further myself, not just for my own good, but for the people that have come before me, Tyner said. People like Maj. Lawrence, who paved the path I now walk on. Lawrence was invited to join the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, which launched in 1965. The MOL mission was a joint project for the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office to help capture high-resolution images of Americas Cold War adversaries. U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was an Englewood native who is considered the first African American astronaut. (UPI) The MOL program planned to have a series of mini space stations in low polar Earth orbit. The mission would be occupied by a two-man crew for 30 days at a time. Lawrence was accepted as a member of the third group. Lawrence, who was 32, was training to be among the first Air Force astronauts. The idea was to help prepare military pilots to take high ground of space. On Dec. 8, 1967, Lawrence went aboard a jet, the F-104 Starfighter, for training at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He and a new flight instructor, Harvey Royer, were doing a trial on a technique called flaring, which is used when a pilot is preparing for landing. Advertisement While in flight, the new instructor tried the maneuver and both main gears collapsed. Lawrence and Royer we both ejected. Royer was severely hurt but survived the accident. Lawrences parachute did not fully deploy. He was the sole trainee to be killed in the Air Force program. A Robert Lawrence Lane sign is dedicated to Air Force Maj. Robert Lawrence Jr. at 22nd and State streets in Chicago on April 25, 1969. The dedication was attended by Lawrence's wife, Barbara; mother, Gwendolyn; son, Tracey, age 9; and Dathan Threatt of The Young Men of Pride, a neighborhood club that helped get the sign erected. (Seymour Wolf/Chicago Tribune) In 1991, a monument created by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation honored 16 fallen astronauts by having their names engraved in the black granite Space Mirror Memorial. Lawrences name was initially left out, and some cited discrimination. It wasnt until 1997, 30 years after Lawrences death, that his name was engraved. Since then, his name and legacy continued to be recognized. Advertisement In 2000, Lawrence was among 27 African American, Hispanic and Native American astronauts to have an asteroid named after them. Robertlawrence 92892, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, was officially dedicated to Lawrence. In 2020, a spacecraft that would deliver goods to NASA was named after him. Though Lawrence may still be considered an unsung hero, his contributions to science inspire scholars who want to build upon the legacy he created. I want to continue that path so the next person after me has an even greater path to walk on, Tyner said. tatturner@chicagotribune.com Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Program will host a two-part virtual workshop, Tools for Effective Communication: Allowing You to Enhance Your Relationship with Yourself and Others, in two sessions starting Thursday, June 2. Discussion will be facilitated by Ashley Machado, a mental health consultant who works primarily with agricultural professionals and their families. Machado will offer tips and tools for effective communication and listening. The workshop will cover how to respond instead of reacting, and what it means to improve communication skills with not only the most important people in your life, but with the people around you as well. Machado is an advocate of rethinking the ways that we support mental health in the agriculture industry and specializes in breaking down big ideas and deep feelings into simple, actionable strategies. Sessions will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, and 1 to 2 p.m. on June 30. This two-part workshop will be held via Zoom and participants should plan on attending BOTH sessions to complete the workshop. Registration information can be found on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website (https://wia.unl.edu) and questions can be directed to Jessica Groskopf, Nebraska Women in Ag Director, AT 308-632-1247; or wia@unl.edu. Seedling diseases Recent rains, temperature drops and overcast days can all lead to perfect opportunities for seedling diseases to rear their ugly head this time of year. Scouting becomes particularly important if there is a history of seedling diseases in your fields. Seedling diseases can often be confused with insect injury, herbicide damage, planting errors or environmental stress. Symptoms include rotted seed, discolored seedlings, post-emergence damping off, and root or hypocotyl decay. Soilborne pathogens that may cause issues in our corn or soybean crops this time of year include pythium, fusarium, rhizoctonia or plant parasitic nematodes. You might find occasional affected plants or hot spots where theres poor drainage, compaction, or microclimates in the field where seedling diseases or nematodes are an issue. Dont panic if you find these hot spots, especially if its just a few plants scattered here and there. Seed treatments have been a great management tactic for seedling diseases, especially for producers that know they have this history in their fields. However, if a large portion of the field is showing symptoms, contact your local Extension office or collect samples and send them to the UNLs Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic in Lincoln to assess the situation. Insect update This time of year, its important to pay attention to insect pressure on newly emerged and developing plants. In corn, for example, we want to pay special attention to early season damage from cutworms, wireworms, and white grubs. Cutworms cause the most damage to corn for the first couple weeks after emergence, so be on the lookout for this insect early. A postemergence treatment (i.e., Mustang Maxx, Tundra, etc.) should be considered if cutting is on 3-5% or more of plants and cutworms are one inch or less in length. Youre most likely to see issues with wireworms and white grubs in situations where you recently took a field out of CRP or pasture where perennial grasses were established. No rescue treatments are available for these last two pests, so your best option would be to determine if stands were impacted enough to warrant replanting and utilize effective seed treatments (i.e., Cruiser, Poncho, etc.). Pesticide options listed are strictly for educational purposes and not for product promotion. Producers need to use the best integrated pest management strategy for their unique operation. Please follow all label requirements and wear PPE when handling pesticides. Sarah Sivits is the Dawson County Extension educator in crops and water, and serves Dawson, Buffalo and Hall counties. Contact her at 308-324-5501 or by email at ssivits@unl.edu. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Some nurses know already knew their career path before they even leave elementary school, playground games and caring for injured critters outlets for their desire to heal. However, a nurse doesnt have to know what they want to be from birth to become an exemplary nurse one example being CHI St. Francis Emergency Department Nurse Chelsea Schweitzer. Dad told me to go be a nurse because they would always have a job security, Schweitzer said. That was late high school, and little did Dad know, his suggestion would take off into a fulfilling career and passion for Schweitzer, who is being honored in the Grand Island Independent for her above-and-beyond nursing. After years as a CNA and working in other nursing capacities, Schweitzer has found a nursing family at CHI Health St. Francis. In fact, she has become a leader in the emergency department at St. Francis. Her supervisor and award nominator Amelia Swanson said in her nomination, She is a great teacher and educator and that translates well at the bedside where she is able to pause and devote her time to the patient and family to be sure they understand their diagnosis and how to care for themselves at home. Among her other duties, Schweitzer helps make sure the emergency department staff is up to date on the latest medical knowledge whether common or lesser-seen as an emergency nurse educator. They have quizzes they fill out to make sure that theyre up to date on things that we dont normally see in the year that are kind of rare, but I want them to be knowledgeable when it does come in, Schweitzer said. The team works on hands-on competencies, doing extra proficiency work with their equipment. Every few months, there is a skills fair, lasting about five hours, where staff reviews and updates skills. People are always asking me for help on things that are difficult, like catheter insertions and things like that, Schweitzer said. I love being the one that they can turn to and ask those questions about. She also loves educating patients. Her advice for everyone? Establish a regular doctor. They can offer guidance on normal health care, how important it is to take their medicines, how important it is to get normal well checks. You need to take take care of things before it gets so bad. Our population in Grand Island is really sick. And its sad to see them that sick. I think people just lack the resources to be able to establish primary care with their doctors. They dont understand the importance of it. Fortunately, there are caring nurses like Schweitzer who do understand, and strive to make sure to share that knowledge with others. Jessica Votipka is the education reporter at the Grand Island Independent. She can be reached at 308-381-5420. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ive been talking to people this week about goat yoga, and I havent found a lot of enthusiasm. The idea of getting down on all fours, with a goat standing on your back, doesnt seem appealing to many people, including my wife. You bet, she says. Nothing sounds like more fun than having a smelly creature with sharp cloven hooves walk on my back. This week the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha sent out a few pictures and a short story about the subject. UNMCs Center for Healthy Living hosted its first goat yoga class on Tuesday. I sent the story and photos to my family. Goat yoga has apparently not made it to the East Coast. Our oldest son, who lives in New York, had never heard of it. Is that a joke event? Are those real pictures? That is as nonsensical as bringing a 120-pound dog onto a plane as an emotional support animal, Benj wrote. I also dont think mom would love having a goat climb on her back. His mother assured him that goat yoga is a real thing. Its been around for quite a few years. Though I cant fathom why, she wrote. UNMC understands why some people are interested. Who doesnt like cute animals and yoga? the school says. In a time where mental health and the need to be active are important and prevalent, we are always looking for unique ways to have fun with fitness for our campus community, the press release says. Omaha company JAMS Goat Yoga hosted the class at UNMC. It has been known that pet therapy has been shown to help reduce stress and bring comfort to those around the animals, says the UNMC press release. Plus, yoga offers an added bonus because its provides opportunity for inward focus, relaxation and to practice mindfulness. We chose to host a goat yoga class because a combination of animals and mind/body wellness is a win-win for the participants, Andrea Swett, interim director of the Center for Healthy Living, says in the release. I asked some of my co-workers if they were interested in having a goat stand on their backs. Nope, not me, said Bryanne Swerczek. That would hurt, Marc Zavala said. Kim Sweetser also has no interest. Having a goat on your back is very weird, she said. One danger is that the goat might eat your sweater, she said. A couple of people mentioned an even worse possibility: Having the animal relieve himself while hes perched on your back. Some people said they have enough trouble getting off the floor already without having a mammal aboard. But some people think goat yoga sounds like fun. I love goats, says Mindy Smidt. Id have a herd of pygmy goats in my backyard if it was allowed. Animal lover Michelle Kohlhof has been to a goat yoga class. She said the presence of the animals makes yoga more fun. Everybodys laughing, she said. Plus, the goats can distract you from any pain. Kohlhof says goats are cheerful, funny and spirited. But they can headbutt you. A couple of younger females told me that goats are cute. Younger people in general seem more willing to take part in goat yoga. My daughter-in-law, Anne, said she would try it just to laugh about it. My daughter, Brenna, has nothing against goats. But, I like keeping my barnyard animals and my exercise separate, she said. Brenna regularly consumes a product that comes from the animal. I am quite fond of goat cheese, she said. Having an animal inside a building is probably one concern of goat yoga skeptics. If people are worried about runaway beasts, they should just invite a couple of rodeo kids to class. Many young Nebraskans are proficient at goat tying. Jeff Bahr is a reporter for The Independent. He may be reached at 308-381-9408. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Paris, TX (75460) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Paris, TX (75460) Today Thunderstorms in the morning, then cloudy skies late. High 79F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm after midnight. Low near 65F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Paris, TX (75460) Today Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Partly cloudy in the evening with more clouds for later at night. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell announced he will discuss important updates on Sunday in connection with the May 13 shooting death of 6-year-old Winston OConner Hunter. Ravenell has scheduled a press conference in the matter for noon at the Orangeburg County Courthouse, located at 151 Docket Street. To date, the sheriffs office hasnt announced any arrests in the case. On the night of his death, Hunter, his brother and parents returned to their McClain Street home after attending a family event. Minutes later, Hunter was sitting on the couch when shots rang outside of their home. Hunters father told the family to get to the floor and then realized the 6-year-old was injured. The child died at the scene. Investigators have been seeking a 2011-2014 silver Chrysler 200, which they believe was seen entering and leaving the Woodford area around the time of Hunters shooting death. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ukrainian Olena Raczkiewycz fled Kyiv in late February. On March 10, she arrived in Chicago with her husband, two young sons and a few pieces of clothing and possessions. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Each time a police siren wailed or an airplane whirred overhead, Olena Raczkiewycz would relive the terror of her last few days in Ukraine, when Russian tanks and bombs besieged her country. Advertisement This sensation lasted for the first month or so after her late February escape from Kyiv. The everyday innocuous sounds that might mimic an air raid alert or rockets launching could plunge her into a state of turmoil. Although shes now in Chicago and safe, the trauma of fleeing her home amid war still lingers. Advertisement I feel panic inside, said 43-year-old Raczkiewycz, closing her eyes and shaking her head as if to rid the brutal images from her mind. Im strong. I can try to control it. But it impacts your psychological and emotional state. On March 10, she arrived here with her husband, two young sons and a few pieces of clothing and possessions, the only vestiges of their old life. The family is among the more than 6.7 million Ukrainians estimated to have fled their country since Russia invaded in February, spurring an ever-increasing diaspora in Europe and overseas. President Joe Biden has pledged to welcome 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression to the United States, as the war continues into its fourth month. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has also vowed to support those seeking refuge in Chicago. Its unclear how many Ukrainians have already settled in the Chicago area since the war began, in part because there are various paths to enter the country. Some have come on visas, reuniting with family and friends. Others have arrived through Mexico, seeking asylum at the southern border. Raczkiewycz recounted her familys perilous two-week journey from Kyiv, speaking in a mix of English and Ukrainian, with the help of an interpreter. You live all your life, your beautiful life, in the same city, she said. You have your friends. You have your relatives. You go to your job and now some country decided to bomb your city. What do you do? You have one hour to run away. What do you do? Its horrible. Horrible. Escape, uncertainty Blasts from Russian missiles rocked the Ukrainian capital on Feb. 24. Air raid sirens blared at daybreak. Go to the bath, Raczkiewycz recalled screaming at her sons. Advertisement The boys ages 11 and 6 jumped in their apartments bathtub and covered the back of their heads with their hands, she said. The family tried to evacuate that day, but the streets and trains were so congested because everyone else was trying to escape at the same time. They initially returned home. You dont know what you must do, she said. Run? Where run? In which direction do you run? Stay? With kids? The next day, she read social media posts from a neighbor who spotted tanks on the street. Russian tanks. The family got into their car and left for good, with bombs exploding behind them at a distance. They saw a tank up ahead. Then another. And another. Raczkiewycz recalled holding her breath, wondering which side the military vehicles were on. Advertisement This was Ukrainian tanks, she realized, relieved, though the site of the caravan still frightened her sons in the back seat. They drove for 22 hours to Lviv in western Ukraine a trip that normally takes a third of that time arriving around 7 a.m. on Feb. 26. At first, they thought they might be able to stay there in the apartment of a friend or perhaps soon return to Kyiv. They hadnt planned to go to the United States. But after a little over a week, there were no signs the fighting would dissipate. It was too unpredictively terrifying, she said. A friend drove them to Ukraines western border. They left their car in Lviv. On foot, they traveled five or six hours, walking into Poland on March 8. It was cold, Raczkiewycz said. With kids. It was all women and children. Two days later, they flew into Chicago, where they have extended family. Advertisement She entered the United States on a visa approved prior to the invasion. Her husband is an American citizen and was born and raised in Chicago; the two met while he was serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, near the university she attended. His grandparents like many Ukrainian immigrants came to the United States as refugees after World War II, Raczkiewycz said. She made a circular motion with her finger, indicating that history is repeating itself through the current war and refugee crisis. A lot of people remember World War II and what happened, she said. So, they have this genetic memory. Its the same, all over again. The White House last month announced a streamlined process for displaced Ukrainians to apply for humanitarian parole, allowing them to travel here with a sponsor and, if their case is approved, stay for up to two years. The U.S. also plans to accept more refugees from Ukraine, a separate immigration process and status. Jims Porter of RefugeeOne, a resettlement agency in Chicago, said his organization has assisted 134 displaced Ukrainians since the Feb. 24 invasion . Advertisement We dont really know at what level well be welcoming Ukrainians right now, he said. But we are bulking up our staff. After staying with relatives for a few weeks, the Raczkiewycz family recently moved into their own small apartment in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, where yellow and blue Ukrainian flags wave outside so many of the homes, businesses and churches. Theyve had tremendous help from relatives and strangers alike, Raczkiewycz said. But starting a new life is still hard. Mentally, we are in Ukraine, she said. Only a child Tamara Kachala fled Ukraine and arrived with her daughter in Chicago on March 6. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) In the middle of the night, Tamara Kachala logs onto her computer and lectures a class of Ukrainian university students remotely. The economics professor fled Ukraine with her 14-year-old daughter in late February and arrived in Chicago on March 6. Theyre staying in the downtown home of Kachalas older daughter, who attended Roosevelt University and has been living here for about seven years. Advertisement By day, Kachala cooks for her family, learns English and is trying to get the proper documents approved so she can work in the United States, and has been searching for a job in anticipation. Shes also raising money to buy protective gear to send back to her city, Cherkasy, in central Ukraine. By night, she does her best to hold classes online , lecturing while everyone else in her household sleeps due to the eight-hour time difference. Some of her students are still in Cherkasy, which has been safer than other areas of Ukraine so far. But her courses are often disrupted by the blast of air raid sirens there, which also interrupt the internet signal. Students cant study when theres an air raid alert, she said, also with the aid of an interpreter. They can hear all of the missiles and the rockets. ... They run to shelter and take cover. Many of her students are scattered in countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and others. My first concern, on an emotional level, is are all my students there? she said. Have they survived? Are they alive? Advertisement Kachala and Raczkiewycz met in Chicago and became friends while taking their children to St. Nicholas Cathedral School in Ukrainian Village, which has become a haven for kids who have escaped the war. The elementary school has enrolled more than five dozen children from Ukraine since late February, said Principal Anna Cirilli. St. Nicholas Cathedral School in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood holds a "Run for Ukraine" assembly at the school in advance of a 10-mile race that will be held at Soldier Field, May 27, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Before the Feb. 24 invasion, about 80% of students were of Ukrainian ancestry and many spoke the language, she said. The school quickly devised a buddy system where each new arrival from Ukraine could be paired with another student, who serves as an interpreter and helps with acclimation. Staff offer extra English classes after school, to give Ukrainian students additional help, she said. The school will also be hosting a special summer camp for Ukrainian students, with a focus on English language learning. A parent group assists arriving families with finding housing and furniture; students from Ukraine are also provided school supplies, she said. The focus is on providing an environment thats stable, Cirilli said, adding that the children from Ukraine are regularly communicating with people who are in bomb shelters. Theyre regularly communicating with their dads who are in trenches. The school has had to be flexible in some situations. Advertisement For example, cellphones arent typically permitted. But when one of the kids walks into the building and theyre FaceTiming with their dad who is dressed in fatigues, you let them finish the conversation, she said. And maybe take a moment to pray with them that their dad and their family will be safe. Cirilli noted that many Ukrainian families are trying to live dual lives starting anew here while simultaneously maintaining connections abroad. Kachalas daughter is an eighth-grade student at Cirillis school. During spring break, her mother tried to have her log on to remote classes at her school in Ukraine, an attempt to keep up with lessons there. St. Nicholas Cathedral School in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood holds a "Run for Ukraine" assembly at the school in advance of a 10-mile race that will be held at Soldier Field, May 27, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) But air raid sirens kept going off, the same way they impede Kachalas lectures. Advertisement Thats what the reality is of Ukrainian life today, Kachala said. Even for people who dont live where the fighting is. Its stress. Raczkiewyczs younger son is in kindergarten at St. Nicholas Cathedral School. She described him as older in his mind than this age. His teacher once commented that hes such a serious child, and that he frequently talks about politics, bombings and the war. The mother said when they first arrived, the boy drew all his pictures in black. Now hes using an array of colors once again. Hes only a child, Raczkiewycz said. No child should have to live through this. Advertisement Return to Ukraine To help alleviate stress and anxiety, Kachala and Raczkiewycz have started painting. They meet at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Ukrainian Village, turning blank canvases into artwork that reflects their war experiences and survival. Raczkiewycz painted blue and yellow flowers shaped in the likeness of the coat of arms of Ukraine. One of Kachalas paintings depicts silhouettes of her and her daughter holding hands as they leave Ukraine. A painting by Tamara Kachala shows silhouettes of her and her daughter holding hands as they leave Ukraine. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) We paint so we dont have to cry, Kachala said. They recently attended a local protest against the Russian invasion and were appreciative of the thousands of Chicago-area residents who came out to support their country. Around 200,000 people of Ukrainian descent are estimated to have lived in Illinois before February, according to Chicago Sister Cities International. Chicago and Kyiv have been Sister Cities since 1991, when Ukraine gained its independence. Advertisement Both Kachala and Raczkiewycz said they long to return to Ukraine. One night during class, a female student asked Kachala when they would be able to go home. The question brought tears to the professors eyes. Of course, well go back, she recalled responding. But right now, you need to go to the university, take your papers, your documents and enroll in the university and matriculate. Yes, you will go home. But right now, you have to keep your life going. It is important in the moment. Yet Raczkiewycz sometimes wonders what will be left when the fighting is over. Our apartments still there but Im scared to talk about it, she said. Because I dont know how it will be tomorrow. Advertisement Her husband is a journalist and wants to go back soon to cover the war. She understands that he needs to do his job but worries about remaining in a foreign country with two children, without him. Despite the devastation of war, Kachala and Raczkiewycz said they believe their country will prevail. We still have hope that Ukraine will be OK, Kachala said. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine and the USA. eleventis@chicagotribune.com The Regional Medical Center is kicking off a new effort designed to improve the hospitals image, with a focus on quality care and customer service. Operation 360 is intended encompass the entire hospital. It is an all-inclusive effort on the part of the hospital to improve quality and to improve the image of the hospital, RMC CEO David Southerland said. Operation 360 is more or less a philosophy and initiative to look at how the hospital is viewed and how we present information around our quality, he said. RMC trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved strategies to implement "Operation 360 - A New RMC: Rethinking Healthcare a marketing and rebranding effort led by the hospital's strategy department. The effort will include a focus on improving clinical quality and ensuring the public is aware the hospital meets quality metrics measured by such entities as The Joint Commission. The initiative will also seek to improve the hospital's physical campus and customer service, with a focus on patient satisfaction. The health care industry is moving towards getting paid on quality indicators and on quality scores, Southerland said. It is important for us to demonstrate that we are meeting metric requirements for Joint Commission, Leapfrog and CMS Rating. The effort will include digital marketing and social media marketing, as well as town hall meetings. Southerland said the initiatives undertaken in "Operation 360" are already built into the hospital's budget. The results that we will see with regards to improved quality scores and seeing more patient volume either on the outpatient side and even the inpatient side, it will impact the operations of the hospital very favorably, Southerland said. The hospital's strategy committee will be responsible for leading the effort. The rebranding effort comes on the heels of RMCs March reaccreditation by The Joint Commission, with its Gold Seal of Approval. RMC is a diamond in the rough, RMC Board Chair the Rev. Dr. Caesar Richburg said. Criticism of the hospital is unfortunate, he said. It is an excellent institution. Richburg sees Operation 360 lifting RMC to another level of service and care. We are going to be practitioners of excellence in all areas as it relates to health care at the RMC, he said. We are telling the community to, Hey, let's celebrate RMC. We wish that the RMC be a place of preference, Richburg said. We wish that the RMC is a place where those persons employed by the RMC commit to the tasks with joy, if you will, in what they are doing. The hospitals best days are ahead of it, he said. We are not an institution of mediocrity, he said. We are one that pursues excellence. RMC officials also announced the hospital and its six primary care practices had a pretty good month in April. The system saw a net operating income gain for the month of about $54,700. Taking into account non-operating income which includes investment income, contributions/grants, and COVID relief money the system was $375,568 in the red. The non-operating income loss is an unrealized loss, but is required as part of the hospital's accounting practices, RMC interim Chief Financial Officer Dennis Pettigrew said. All in all, a pretty good month and I think we can put another dot on the trend line for positive improvement, Pettigrew told trustees. Pettigrew said the hospital has seen an uptick for the last three months. It appears that our trajectory is in the right direction, Richburg said. Along with the other strategic pieces we have in place, if we continue such a trend, we should see such positive results. Pettigrew said, It is going to be gradual, but it is going in the right direction. There are a lot of people that have been working very hard to get us where we had been to here. Richburg praised the hospital staff for helping improve financial matters for the hospital. Some of the financial indicators for April included: A 15% increase in acute patient days from April 2021, though the length of hospital stay also went up by about 12%. 773 surgery cases for the month of April, which was up from 639 in April 2021. Total charges for the month of April were about $63 million, which was about $500,000 more than April 2021. This is the first time for a bit that we actually exceeded last years performance, Pettigrew said. The hospital saw operating expenses for the month about $1.9 million under where it was in April 2021. This was mostly in the labor due to FTEs and related benefits that tagged right along to it, Pettigrew said That is back on schedule with some decline in the travelers (nurses). In other matters: The hospitals six practices saw visits over budget for the month of April by about 147 visits and net income was above budget by about $14,991. Three of the six practices met budget for visits and four of the six met budget for net income, RMC Vice President of Operations Sabrina Robinson said. Fiscal year to date, the practices visits are under budget by 872 and overall net income is $305,000 below budget. There were 298 visits to Express Care for April and the facility saw a net loss of $8,000. We did see a drop in visits given that we were past the COVID spike, Robinson said. Year-to-date total visits at Express Care stands at 3,452. Its about $10,000 in the black. We are very pleased with that part of our portfolio, Richburg said. We all know that we typically budget some losses for outlying areas because they are feeders but overall, it is going well. Dr. Gloria James was unanimously appointed to serve as board secretary. RMC Foundation Board members were nominated. They include: Board Chair Dr. Tracy Macpherson, Allen Fairey, Leigh Ann Bolen, Dr. Thomas Gue, Chelsea Glover, Charles House, Heyward Jean, Rebecca Love and John Perrow. The RMC board representative is Dr. Gloria James. Trustees went behind closed doors to discuss a list of 25 items, including the president's report, protocols for a possible COVID uptick, the impact of the state's budget on hospitals and an update on the hospital's cash projection and revenue cycle. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In May 1996, children touring Washington, D.C, were asked what Memorial Day meant. They responded, "That's the day the pools open!" Thus sprang to life the idea for a National Moment of Remembrance, a time when Americans pause to appreciate the sacrifice of our service personnel even as the first big weekend of summer is being celebrated. It is a celebration on the home front made possible because of the people being remembered and honored. Asking Americans to put the "memorial" back in Memorial Day, Congress in 2000 established the National Moment of Remembrance as a nationwide tribute to those who died in service to our country from the Revolutionary War to the present. Again this Memorial Day, the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance is asking Americans to pause for one minute at 3 p.m. to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is when many Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The moment is not designed to replace traditional Memorial Day observances. It is intended to a be a unifying act of remembrance for Americans of all ages. As you participate in the moment, you are helping reclaim Memorial Day for the noble and sacred reason for which it was intended to honor those who died in service to our nation. More than 1 million men and women in the U.S. armed forces have lost their lives fighting for freedom. We can never reimburse the price they pay. We can summon no words to allay the pain of their loved ones. But we can remember and honor them. Americans will continue to observe Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of the summer vacation season, of that we are certain. Yet there can and must be time for that simple but significant National Moment of Remembrance. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In Wyoming, most of us fuel our cars with gasoline, heat our homes using natural gas and rely on electricity generated from coal. And we depend on state services paid for, in large part, by taxes imposed on the companies extracting that oil, gas and coal industries whose contributions to state coffers have also kept our individual taxes low. The economic importance of energy means price swings often hit Wyoming especially hard. Money drained from the states pockets as oil markets crashed in the early months of the pandemic, then poured back in as markets recovered. Oil prices have been climbing since the start of 2021. In the months since Russia went to war with Ukraine, those prices skyrocketed, then eased. Theyve continued to surge as tensions mount and settle as they subside, rising to more muted highs, never sinking to levels as low as before. Gasoline went up along with oil, though it hasnt been as volatile. For a number of reasons, natural gas has followed, giving a boost to its competitor, coal. Heres how energy prices changed last week. Oil Because oil is traded globally, market disruptions rarely stay where they start. Instead, localized shifts ripple from one market to the next, pushing the worlds prices up or down along with their own. The price of U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) held relatively steady last week amid ongoing supply worries. WTI closed at $114.09 per barrel on Thursday, up from $112.21 a week earlier and $101.70 on April 26. Its closing price has remained well below the eight-year high of $123.70 per barrel set on March 8. Wyomings drilling rig count, an indicator of industry activity, remained at 16 about half the pre-pandemic rig count for a third consecutive week after holding at 15 for the previous three weeks, according to Baker Hughes. The states oil companies say the high oil prices have incentivized them to drill, but other obstacles, including supply chain issues, continue to slow them down. Gasoline Oil prices are the primary driver of gasoline prices. Thats why the rising cost of oil was quickly reflected at the pump, and why gasoline has remained so pricey. The national average price of regular gasoline dipped one-tenth of a cent below its Thursday peak of $4.60 per gallon on Friday, up from $4.59 last Friday and $4.43 one week earlier, according to AAA. In Wyoming, gasoline prices have also continued to climb. Regular gasoline set yet another statewide record of nearly $4.33 per gallon on Friday. Thats up from a previous record high of $4.29 across Wyoming last Friday. Gasoline prices went down three cents in Natrona County last week, averaging $4.11 per gallon on Friday. Natural gas Unlike oil, most natural gas stays in the region where its produced. Localized disruptions tend to have significant effects on individual markets, but take much longer to impact others.European natural gas prices went up along with oil prices. While U.S. natural gas prices didnt change as much at the start of the war, theyve been on the rise since February, partly because of Russia but also due to a confluence of unrelated factors like cold weather, reduced storage and low production. Economists anticipate that if the war continues for an extended period of time six months, a year the U.S. will expand its export infrastructure and companies will ship more natural gas to Europe, potentially further raising prices here. The estimated weekly averaged $8.47 per million British thermal units, up from $7.93 the previous week, another multiyear high, according to the Energy Information Administration. The daily price rose from $8.17 on May 19 to $9.30 on May 25. Coal Demand for Wyomings coal is shaped primarily by the cost of other fuels especially natural gas. Price determines whether utilities generate more electricity at coal-fired or gas-fired power plants. Coal mined in the Powder River Basin becomes competitive when natural gas tops about $3 per million British thermal units. Its currently more than double that.The estimated of Powder River Basin coal stayed at $15.50 per short ton for a second week after remaining at $15.55 per short ton for the previous two weeks, continuing its slow decline from the record $30.70 per short ton reached in November, according to the Energy Information Administration. Coals current spot price is still above any weekly price recorded in the decade before utilities, fearful this fall of the sky-high natural gas prices forecast by energy analysts, scrambled to secure more coal before winter set in. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Four friends sat in a semicircle between winding, metal crowd-control barriers. It was a little past 7:30 a.m., about 15 minutes after theyd gotten in line. They could expect another four or five hours outside the building. No matter they brought their collapsible lawn chairs. They were part of a crowd of thousands that came to Casper on Saturday for former President Donald Trumps Save America rally at the Ford Wyoming Center. The rally was organized in support of land attorney Harriet Hageman, who is running to defeat U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney in the Republican House primary. The crowd was a sea of blue jeans, American flags, bald eagles and Make America Great Again hats. One of the four men, Mike Brightly of Ralston, said he already felt a camaraderie with the other people in line a common love of God, love of country, love of freedom. Woodstock famously branded itself as the festival of music and peace; Burning Man, the festival of strange art. In much the same way, the crowd outside the Ford Wyoming Center on Saturday could be called a festival of conservative politics and Christianity. The Ford Wyoming Center prepared to accommodate as many as 10,000 visitors. Thousands of those were expected to be Wyomingites. A little past 8 a.m., the line of cars coming into the Ford Wyoming Center already stretched past the horizon. The train of vehicles marched forward slowly, and sporadically, like a conveyor belt. A group called the Front Row Joes stood way at the front of the line. The group started in 2016 when Trump was elected. A few of the members camped out overnight to hold their spot. Theyre from all over: South Dakota, Florida, Ohio, Montana, Michigan, California. They said theyve been to almost all the Trump rallies since the beginning of the year. Adam Radogna, a 7-11 store owner from Ohio, said he hasnt missed any this year. He joined the Front Row Joes in 2018. He didnt know much about Hageman, or many of the other speakers, he said. Were just here to support Trump, said Radogna. Polls and election results show Trump still has a deep supporter base in Wyoming. The main reason for his first known visit to Casper was Cheney. Cheney is Trumps highest-profile Republican critic, and after the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, she blamed him for inciting the riot and voted to impeach him. Trump wants to see Cheney to lose her spot in Congress, and endorsed Hageman to challenge her in the GOP primary. Saturdays rally was a chance for him to support Hageman as the heart of the campaign season gets underway. The former president was joined by some of his most ardent political allies. They included Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Kat Cammack of Florida. The doors to the Ford Wyoming Center opened at 11 a.m., and speakers started at 1 p.m. There were more than a dozen merchandise tables near where people waited in line. They all sold many of the same things: shirts, stickers, hats and flags. They said things like Lets go Brandon and Gods, guns and Trump and 2nd Amendment. More than a few had giant letter Qs on them a reference to the popular pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon. Some of the vendors selling Trump and American flag-themed merchandise said they set up the night before. A man from North Carolina named Thomas said hes been selling goods at Trump rallies for a few years now. The job has taken him all over the country. Its also a way to share his Christian faith, he said. He makes a point of talking to his customers about God. I just ask people, Are they saved? he said. Hes come to recognize some of the other vendors his rivals at the events. Were friends, but its still business, he said. There was a bit of drowsiness in his voice he slept in his car last night, he said. But, he said, working the rallies is a freeing lifestyle. And the energy of the crowd would pull him through. Another North Carolina vendor, Patrick Howard, was folding pink and black Women for Trump, Save America T-shirts on a plastic folding table before the Ford Wyoming Center parking lot opened at 8 a.m. Howard has been traveling around the country selling merchandise at Trump events. Hes been to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia this year. In fact, he drove to Wyoming from Pennsylvania, where there was a Trump rally earlier this month. This was his first time in Wyoming. What is it about Trump that motivates him? Hes straight up, he dont hold nothing back, Howard said. I love that, he speaks his mind. By 10 a.m., the line to enter had spilled out past the entryway barriers and around the entire front parking lot. It took a reporter about six minutes to walk from the edge of the barriers to the end of the line. Susan Gonderson and Nicole Jaramillo came to the rally together. Both had dressed in layers, being mindful of the weather. When the sun came up it was about 50 degrees but the temperature rose into the 70s in the afternoon. I was thinking light comfortable, American and Christ-focused, Jaramillo said of her outfit. For Gonderson, it was a chance to break out her American flag accessories: complete with matching shoes, earrings, a necklace, pin and handkerchief. Jaramillo also had red-white-and-blue earrings, and a cross necklace. Shes on the hunt for a souvenir shirt, she said. One by one, the speakers and special guests passed the crowd and entered the center. Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and staunch Trump supporter showed up to cheers and applause. Lindell has been one of the loudest purveyors of unfounded claims of election fraud. Maybe 10 minutes later, Hageman walked through. Attendees welcomed her warmly from the other side of the crowd barriers. Once doors opened for the general public, it took several hours for the crowd to get through security. Once 1 p.m. rolled around, the rally was streamed on a big screen outside for those who were waiting to be let in. By 2:35 the wind was picking up. Nearly everyone had made it inside. Two Casperites watched the line from the periphery. Their group had been there since noon, but they werent planning to go inside the venue. Its a bit much, an older man in a Trump 2020 hat said. He watched the speakers on the big screen, but didnt recognize half of them. Still, the rally was quite the spectacle, he said, especially for Casper. Come on Mike, the rest of the group called to him. Were going in! Were going in? I dont think so, he said, bemused. He paused for a moment, then shuffled off to join the line. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Mary Steurer Community Reporter Follow Mary Steurer Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Two new Wyoming charter schools could open their doors to students in fall 2023. The boards of the proposed Wyoming Classical Academy and Cheyenne Classical Academy in Mills and Cheyenne, respectively, will submit charter applications to the State Loan and Investment Board by July 15. The State Loan and Investment Board will likely approve or deny those applications in August. Charter schools are public schools that are funded by the state. Like traditional public schools, they dont charge tuition, and theyre still accountable to state performance standards. But charter schools are nonprofit organizations, and they have fewer regulations than traditional public schools; their governing boards are separate from district school boards, they are free to choose their own curriculums and they dont have to work with collective bargaining units, for example. That flexibility is very appealing to some. Megan Degenfelder, a Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction and current government and regulatory affairs manager for Morningstar Partners Oil & Gas, summed it up simply at a town hall meeting in Mills on Thursday: The less red tape, the better. In the past, Wyoming has been reticent toward charter schools. Laws made it difficult to open them in the state. But in 2021, the Legislature passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, that loosened some of these restrictions. The bill was pushed by former Speaker of the House Russell Donley, who was also present at Thursdays meeting along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder, state lawmakers and community members. Donley is the chair of Wyoming Classical Academys board. Under the new law, the State Loan and Investment Board currently made up of Gov. Mark Gordon, Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier and Schroeder has authority to grant charters. Only school districts previously had that authority. But school districts dont have much incentive to grant charters since charter schools cut into district budgets. State funding is attached to students, so that funding will follow students out of traditional public schools if they enroll in charter schools. That has been a point of contention for opponents of the 2021 bill, who worry that charter schools will siphon money away from traditional public schools. There are five charter schools in Wyoming now. Under the new 2021 legislation, the state has authority to grant charters to three additional schools each year. So far, it appears that only the two Classical Academy sister schools in Cheyenne and Mills will apply for charters this year. Wyoming Classical Academy and Cheyenne Classical Academy are Hillsdale College Member School Candidates. Hillsdale College is a Christian, classical liberal arts college in Michigan. The colleges Barney Charter School Initiative aims to open charter schools across the country. It began in 2010. The first of its charter schools opened in 2012. Now, several of these charter schools are open across the country, including three in neighboring Colorado. Craig Horton, executive director of Academica, a company that provides business services for charter schools and is assisting the two proposed charter schools in getting authorization from the State Loan and Investment Board, explained during Thursdays town hall meeting that the Wyoming Classical Academy will offer a K-12 classical and American education that emphasizes a knowledge-based curriculum. This kind of curriculum is meant to give students a core understanding of broadly-shared knowledge. To do that, the schools will focus on liberal arts and sciences, civic virtue and the cultivation of moral character. The curriculum encompasses the Core Knowledge Sequence, Singapore math, the Great Books philosophy of teaching literature that emphasizes the Western tradition, phonics, grammar, cursive and Latin. The Cheyenne Classical Academy will offer a similar type of curriculum. Theres already a school in Casper that is built on a classical curriculum the Casper Classical Academy. But its a traditional public school. The city of Mills does not currently have an elementary school. If its charter application is approved, the Wyoming Classical Academy will actually live in the old Mills Elementary School building for a year before moving to a property on the corner of Robertson and Poison Spider roads. If approved, it will open in fall 2023, likely for K-7 students. The Cheyenne Classical Academy would follow a similar schedule, but would initially open for K-6 students. The schools would later expand to K-12. It seems like theres sizable interest in the schools; Horton said the parents and guardians of about 200 kids have expressed interest in enrolling their children in Wyoming Classical Academy. Donley would be the chairman. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, would serve as vice chairman of the Mills charter school board. Mason Winter would chair the board in Cheyenne with former Speaker of the House Bill McIlvain as vice chairman. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Melrose Park man facing charges in the recent attack on a local figure known as Walking Man was denied bail in court Monday. Joseph Guardia, 27, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson in connection with the May 25 attack on Joseph Kromelis, who was set on fire. Police arrested Guardia Friday, two days after authorities released stills from surveillance video showing the attacker. Advertisement At a hearing Monday, Assistant States Attorney Danny Hanichak said surveillance video shows Guardia approaching the sleeping Kromelis with a McDonalds cup in hand. Guardia stood over Kromelis for 16 seconds, briefly walked away, returned, poured the cup over the sleeping mans head and lit him on fire, the prosecutor said. This defendant did not target someone he got in an argument with, someone who wronged him, or someone that he even knew, Hanichak said. This defendant decided to target the most vulnerable person possible: a 75-year-old homeless man sleeping on the street. Advertisement Surveillance video later captured the attacker as he boarded a Blue Line L train, then eventually transferred to a Pace bus at the end of the line in Forest Park. Guardia was arrested after a Melrose Park resident recognized him and notified the police, Judge Charles Beach II said. At the time of his arrest, Guardia was wearing the same clothing seen in the video, Beach said. Hanichak said Guardia admitted in recorded statements to finding a McDonalds cup filled with gasoline and setting a pile of blankets on fire. Guardia said he was not aware that a person was underneath the blankets, the prosecutor said. In denying bond to Guardia, Beach called the nature of the attack horrifying and found that the defendant was a threat to the community. Guardia was also wanted on two separate arrest warrants for burglary, according to court records. Chicago police officers at the scene where a 75-year-old man was left in critical condition after being doused with flammable liquid and set on fire, in the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue on May 25, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Police have said Kromelis was resting or sleeping in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash Avenue when he was attacked early Wednesday. At the bond hearing, Hanichak described a horrifying scene in which Kromelis remained on fire for approximately three minutes, trying to extinguish the flames on his body as he slumped against the wall. Two Trump Tower security guards rushed to aid Kromelis and comfort him until emergency responders arrived, the prosecutor said. Paramedics took Kromelis to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Authorities said he suffered burns to nearly half his body. He was later transferred to Stroger Hospitals burn unit. Kromelis is sedated, and doctors do not expect him to survive the injuries, Hanichak said. Advertisement Kromelis remained in critical condition Monday at the hospital. Known for his long wavy hair, thick mustache, stylish dress and quiet demeanor as he strolled through downtown for decades, Kromelis has been featured in news stories and videos and a documentary. Kromelis once told the Tribune he roams as a way of life. wlee@chicagotribune.com ehoerner@chicagotribune.com Casper lost around 1% of its population between July 2020 and 2021, one of the largest losses in the state, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. Gillette experienced the largest population drop in Wyoming during that time, losing 1.7% of its roughly 33,000 residents. The state as a whole grew by 1,536 people during that period, for an increase of 0.3%. That outpaced the national average growth, a reported 0.1% from July 2020 to 2021. In that year, 1,368 more people moved to Wyoming than left, according to a report from state economist Dr. Wenlin Liu. Two-thirds of Wyoming municipalities over 2,000 people added residents during that time. Natrona County saw its total population decrease 0.8% in that period. Evansville and Bar Nunn lost 0.4% and 0.5% of their residents, respectively, while Mills reported the countys only population gain at 0.4%. Just under half of Wyoming residents live in cities with 10,000 or more people. The state has just 11 of those, with Cheyenne as its largest metropolis and Cody as the smallest at around 10,200 as of July 2021. The COVID-19 virus hit energy producing and serving areas especially hard because energy demand plummeted, and the rebound of the industry was painfully slow in early 2021, Liu said in a statement issued Thursday. A New York Times report last year found that Gillette, a hub for coal and oil workers, was one of 10 metropolitan areas in the U.S. whose population decline sped up the most during the first year of the pandemic. While the Campbell County seat lost 1.7% of its population, the county also saw a loss of 1.5%. Other counties that rely heavily on the energy industry also experienced declines Sweetwater County with a 1.3% decrease, Weston with 0.9%, Natrona with 0.8% and Converse with 0.4%. Sublette and Hot Springs counties also saw decreases. People chose to relocate to less populated and lower cost areas during the pandemic since work-from-home policies made it possible to live and work anywhere, Liu said in Thursdays statement. Laramie saw the largest overall influx of residents, with 346 more people in 2021 than in 2020 (a 1.1% increase). But per-capita, Afton and Buffalo experienced the fastest growth with 2.3% and 2.2% increases, respectively. Lovell saw 2% growth, and Lyman and Sheridan each saw their populations grow by 1.5%. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Wyoming Judiciary Committee lawmakers agreed last week that the Legislature should wait for a pending federal court case to run its course before weighing in on corner crossing. A Carbon County Circuit Court jury last month found four Missouri hunters not guilty of criminal trespass for corner crossing in 2021. But the owner of the ranch neighboring the public land where they hunted filed a separate civil suit thats now pending in U.S. District Court. Corner crossing is the act of stepping kitty-corner from one parcel of public property to another without touching private land where land ownership is arranged in a checkerboard pattern of alternating public and private property. The committee listed trespass as its top priority before the next legislative session convenes early in 2023. Despite enormous interest in corner crossing and the conflicts it presents between access to public land and private property rights, the committee believed any effort to address the issue at the state level would be premature. Its not a topic were taking up, committee co-chairman Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, said at the meeting in Lander. The not-guilty verdict in the trespass case under Wyoming law does not set a precedent, attorneys have said, but the federal case could. A federal decision could have implications for access to 8.3 million acres of public land in the West 2.44 million acres in Wyoming alone that are considered corner-locked by any interpretation that corner crossing is illegal. Apparently, no laws federal or state today explicitly allow or prohibit corner crossing. Because of the pending federal case, which would have implications for any Wyoming law regarding corner crossing, the state should keep its powder dry, Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, suggested. He received thousands of emails last legislative session when he proposed a bill that, although not intended to address corner crossing, could have impacted trespass enforcement of the practice, he said. I dont think thats something we [as a Legislature] can fix, he said of the corner-crossing gray area. I think the courts are going to have to decide that whether its a takings case or prohibiting access to federal lands, or public lands, etc. One committee member suggested Wyoming stake out its position for the federal court and pass a corner crossing law. Would it not be beneficial for there to be statutory language in place that says where the Legislature comes down on this issue, one side or the [other]? Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, asked the committee. That might not be helpful, Crago said. Unconstitutional is unconstitutional, Crago said of a federal court decision that will be made regardless of state law. I think well get an answer from our federal court here shortly ... a year from now most likely. In the overall scheme of things, thats pretty quick he said. I would say we wait and see what the court decides, and then maybe move forward. Last session Crago proposed a measure he said was designed to help stop trespassing to collect shed antlers in cases where trespassers found that paying a fine was tolerable considering the bounty the antlers would bring. He agreed his wording in the bill was flawed. The Legislature did not act on it. Crago will work with the Legislative Service Office on a new draft measure with clearer language, the committee agreed. Meantime committee members asked for several draft bills to address the use of drones relating to trespass, security at jails and prisons, voyeurism and other topics. Co-chairman Olsen separated the issues as best he could during the three-hour session. I think thats more helpful for the public listening and bless the hearts of our journalists who are trying to report on this, he said of the committees agenda. If were talking about corner crossing one second and then a minute later, were talking about drones, I dont want any of that to be confused on what the Legislature is or isnt talking about or is or isnt doing. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Last week, the State of Wyoming and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new bipartisan Partnership to Support Big Game Working Lands Conservation in Wyoming to encourage the voluntary conservation of migration corridors on private working lands. This partnership stems from recent political efforts to conserve critical migratory corridors for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have prioritized working with western states on migration initiatives, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed an executive order directing the state to protect ungulate migrations. To be successful, these efforts in Wyoming and throughout the West must harness voluntary cooperation and engage the ranchers and farmers who provide essential habitat along these migratory routes. This partnership is an important step. Instead of creating burdensome regulations or designations, state and federal leaders are committing to work with landowners and partners to provide incentive-based tools for conservation on private lands. This is an important step to joining with property owners as partners, not targets, in providing habitat for migratory wildlife. Private working lands in the West are essential for the survival of migratory elk, pronghorn, and mule deer. Private land covers 6 million acres, or 30%, of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and elk spend as much as 80% of their time on private land during the winter. Yet while landowners provide essential habitat during the brutal winter months, wildlife are often lousy tenants. They compete with livestock for forage, tear down fences, and can spread disease. Living with wildlife often comes at an economic cost, making it harder for ranchers and farmers to scrape by and maintain the open spaces the wildlife depend on. Last year, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) joined with other conservation organizations to highlight the need for federal agencies to, in the words of USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie, do conservation with private landowners, not to private landowners, when undertaking efforts to protect migration corridors. The tools announced for use in Wyoming capture this essential distinction. In addition to expanding existing approaches including conservation easements and financial and technical assistance, state and federal officials are starting a new voluntary opportunity for conservation leasing. Whereas a conservation easement involves a public entity or conservation group purchasing development rights from a landowner in perpetuity, a conservation lease is a shorter, tailored, 10- to 15-year agreement whereby the landowner is paid to provide wildlife habitat. Its a new tool that respects an individual landowners unique needs, while being short and flexible enough to adjust for changing circumstances. Under this pilot program the Department of Agriculture and landowners can choose to enter into a base conservation lease, and then private conservation organizations can negotiate and compensate landowners for any additional conservation efforts on top of the base agreement. PERC and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition recently entered into Montanas first elk occupancy agreement, a private version of a conservation lease, with a ranching family outside of Yellowstone National Park. Under this agreement, we were able to quickly negotiate a deal that worked for the family to conserve nearly 500 acres of elk winter range. In exchange for payment, the ranchers are using 1.25 miles of wildlife-friendly fencing to exclude livestock and allow for the free and unrestricted movement of elk while also managing and enhancing habitat. PERC is also working with conservation partners to establish a privately run brucellosis compensation fund for Paradise Valley. The fund would offset a large portion of the disease costs borne by ranchers for having elk utilize their property. The new habitat leasing program being piloted in Wyoming and the privately-funded incentive pilots being offered by PERC and its partners will provide a framework for collaboration that landowners and conservation groups across the West can work together to build off of. Our work on the elk occupancy agreement demonstrates the conservation benefits that can be achieved when the unique situational needs of wildlife and landowners are addressed. It is our hope that more private groups will step forward to partner with other landowners and agencies to build on this success for Wyoming and, eventually, throughout the West. Too often, private working lands are depicted as the colorless, featureless areas on a map. Conserving migration corridors will require giving color to this essential habitat not by designation or regulation, but through voluntary incentives and market signals that reward landowners for conservation. By working together, we can help turn wildlife into an economic asset instead of a liability to ensure that both rural communities and wildlife populations can thrive. Brian Yablonski is the CEO of PERC (the Property and Environment Research Center) in Bozeman, Montana. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Just before 4 a.m. Wednesday, someone living near the corner of Second and McKinley streets in Casper heard glass breaking near their home. They called police and told them theyd seen someone fleeing from a nearby building with a gas can and a black bag. When officers arrived, they saw smoke and called the fire department. Crews, who managed to extinguish the blaze quickly, found evidence of an accelerant, like lighter fluid or gasoline, in several places within the building. Within hours, police announced that they suspected someone had intentionally set fire to the building. The structure was not yet occupied, but soon will be. Sometime this summer, it will house a clinic that will provide abortions. Thats a rarity in Wyoming. Theres currently only one clinic in the state that performs abortions, and only those of the medical variety. The Casper facility will be the only place in the state that offers surgical procedures. Since the announcement, anti-abortion protesters have prayed regularly outside the center. An abortion rights rally also took place nearby, with demonstrators marching past the building. Its no wonder that the clinic would attract debate. People have strong feelings about abortion. And that was before the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion that suggested a majority of the justices are preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion legal in the U.S. If Roe falls, a trigger law passed earlier this year by the Wyoming Legislature would end nearly all abortions in the state. This editorial isnt about how the Supreme Court should rule or whether the Legislature should have enacted the trigger law. Nor is it an argument for or against abortion itself. Rather, it is to say, simply and clearly, that we cant settle our differences with violence. Regardless of how you feel about abortion or the Supreme Court or when life begins, you cant use arson or other forms of violence to make your point. America at its best is a place where we can settle our differences at the debate podium or the ballot box. If you disagree with something, make a sign and protest. If you agree with something, do the same. But the minute we employ violence to achieve those ends, weve walked away from the democratic process and replaced it with lawlessness. We cant let that happen. We dont know with certainty the motivations of the person who set the fire. But we do know they were willing to use a match and a gas can to destroy a building that is legal in Wyoming. That makes this an attack on the rule of law. In the aftermath of the fire, organizers of the anti-abortion protests quickly denounced the violence as a shameless act that doesnt help anybody. Unfortunately, weve also heard other responses that have been, frankly, unacceptable. The most extreme cheered on the violence. Others shrugged their shoulders, saying they couldnt be upset with an attack on something they disagree with. Still others argued that what goes around, comes around. That thinking is wrong. More importantly, its dangerous. We cant settle our disagreements with intimidation or outright violence. And we cant shrug our shoulders when it happens. This isnt the time for saying what about the other side? Its not a time to suggest that the ends justify the means. We are blessed to live in a place where we settle disputes with the law, not a gas can. We need to roundly condemn anyone who tries to say or do otherwise. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 INVESTMENT in hotels to increase the countrys room stock is on an upward trend, as businesspeople envision stronger demand for tourist accommodation in Trinidad and Tobago. This was revealed by Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell recently, as he answered questions put to him by the Express Business on this countrys plans to accommodate more tourists. IN THE HEART OF ARIMA: Pro Queen Street in the heart of Arima, where the majority of shops are located. Photo: JERMAINE CRUICKSHANK A statue honoring the civilian workers who were killed during World War II at ammunition plants that would become the Joliet Arsenal will be rededicated Saturday at a ceremony at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie 80 years after an explosion killed 48 of them. (Susan DeMar Lafferty / Daily Southtown) A crowd will gather Saturday at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Will County around a bronze statue depicting a 1940s workman wearing a hard hat and carrying a lunchbox. Plainly dressed, the grim faced figure could represent workers from just about any point over the last century. But it was made to give lasting substance to 48 men who were vaporized in an explosion 80 years ago, when the site was an ammunition plant supplying Allied efforts in World War II. Advertisement When the statue and concrete pedestal bearing the names of the civilian workers who lost their lives in the line of duty are welcomed to a new home this week, it also will mark the convergence of several interrelated storylines. There are all kinds of nuances to this story that make it really remarkable, said Joe Wheeler, Midewins archaeologist and heritage program manager. Advertisement A row of former TNT storage bunkers at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on the site of the former Joliet Arsenal are pictured in 2006. (George Thompson / Chicago Tribune) The main one, of course, involves that tragic night eight decades ago, when the workers lost their lives as anti-tank mines were being loaded aboard a boxcar at what was then known as the Elwood Ordnance Plant. Wheeler said about 2 a.m. June 5, 1942, the plant was operating at peak capacity. This was at the exact same time as the Battle of Midway in the Pacific, so it was a high stress time, he said. Even on the night shift, there were dozens of workers near the loading operation. Just after their lunch break, there were two successive explosions, and that killed 48 of the 78 arsenal workers there in an instant, Wheeler said. Its an event Midewin Heritage Association President Carol Ference, of Homewood, can relate to. As a 5-year-old child growing up in Hammond, Indiana, she experienced the fringe effects of a major explosion at the Standard Oil refinery in nearby Whiting that killed two people. I was in bed, she said. I felt it, could see the smoke from our back porch. My mom said she could see the flames. I dont remember a whole lot, but it leaves an impression. The Will County blast may have been even more memorable. Contemporary reports indicate it broke windows in Kankakee and was felt as far away as Waukegan. Advertisement Identification of those who were killed was a haphazard process, as there was little to work with. One man was identified by a ring on the partial remains of a hand. Others were presumed dead simply because they never returned home or to work. It took them a while to sort it out, Wheeler said. Ultimately, 48 death certificates were issued by the Will County coroner. A statue of a munitions worker that serves as a reminder of the lives that were lost in a June 5, 1942 explosion at the Joliet Arsenal is pictured in its former location. The statue and base etched with the names of workers who were killed in accidents at the ammunition plants in Will County will be rededicated at a ceremony Saturday. (Susan DeMar Lafferty / Daily Southtown) But it was wartime, and there was work to do, said Wheeler, and uninjured workers in other areas of the plant were back on the job an hour after the explosion. Buildings were positioned well apart from each other to guard against an even worse catastrophe. Among the uninjured workers was a young man named Elmo Younger, who had hopped on a bus from the South around 1940 in pursuit of better prospects. A few months after the Elwood explosion, Younger was drafted into the Army, survived the war and came home a sergeant. He was active in the community for 50 years, a real civic activist, Wheeler said. Meanwhile, ammunition production was consolidated into what became the Joliet Arsenal in 1945, though munitions were produced only during the Korean and Vietnam wars. By 1993, the arsenal was declared officially inactive. Advertisement Thats when Youngers civic interests came full circle. He was appointed to a commission that would help determine the fate of the arsenal property, and in 1996, 20,000 acres of the plant was turned into Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Other portions became the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and an industrial park. Like the Whiting blast did with Ference, the 1942 explosion had left a large impression on Younger, and he began planning and fundraising in 2000 for a marker to indicate that something significant had happened on that land, that people had lost their lives here in the effort to win an overseas war. A couple of years later, a bronze statue depicting an arsenal worker arrived from where it had been cast in England. The workers who had been killed were civilians, so the statue and base etched with the names of the 48 workers killed in the explosion as well as five others involved in fatal accidents on the property during World War II, wasnt allowed in the National Cemetery. Eventually, the owners of the adjacent industrial park donated a small parcel for the statue, and it was installed near the cemetery, but not on cemetery property. It lasted about two years before the statue got stolen, Wheeler said. That much bronze, for scrappers, was pretty attractive. So Elmo went about another fundraising effort, leading a committee of former arsenal workers. Elmo Younger, then 83 ,of Morris, stands in 2005 next to the base of the monument that held a bronze statue that paid tribute to the workers killed in an explosion at the Joliet Arsenal in 1942. The statue was near the entrance to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Younger will speak at a rededication for the statue Saturday in its new home in Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. (Ed Wagner / Chicago Tribune) The theft was disheartening, but it provided an opportunity to correct part of the statue that had irked some of the former workers. Advertisement They got the guy with the hard hat OK, but he was holding a square lunchbox, like a kid would use, Wheeler said. A workers lunchbox was a more serious affair with a dome top that accommodated a thermos for drinks or soup. Younger and his committee raised another $30,000 plus shipping from England for a new statue with a proper workers lunchbox, which was remounted with relief upon the empty pedestal. A few years after that, the original statue turned up on a farm in Braceville, a tiny town in Grundy County. But it had already been replaced by a better model, so the arsenal workers committee donated the recovered statue to the village of Elwood, which placed it in a park. As the years went by, work to restore Midewin into a prairie ecosystem continued, while its armory past faded further into the past. A service road that once funneled traffic past the new statue was rerouted, and all of a sudden it was off in the distance and easy to miss, Ference said. It was in the middle of nowhere, she said. There was no interpretation, just a statue sitting there. If you wanted to find out what it was, you had to stop your car and get out and walk. Ferences predecessor as president of the Midewin Heritage Association, Lorin Schab, met with Younger and Midewin Director Wade Spang at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the explosion, where Midewins leadership was convinced and cajoled to move the statue to the preserve near where the ordnance plant had been, Wheeler said. Advertisement Making that happen has taken five years. Part of that was to get an appropriate place set up, and that took unprogrammed funds, Wheeler said. There were a lot of small steps associated with it, and a lot of it had to happen with not very much funding. The late Lorin Schab leads a Ghosts of the Ammunition Plant public program at a World War II era bunker at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Schab's family donated money for benches and signs at a new wayside area at Midewin marking the land's former arsenal usage. (Midewin NTP) In the meantime Schab, a former mayor of Orland Hills who was a Midewin expert and enthusiast who used to lead frequent tours of the former ammunition plant area, died in 2019. And Spang retired and moved away. But the promise stuck, Wheeler said, and when the statue and base are rededicated Saturday, they will be accompanied by interpretive signs imparting the information Schab used to give on his tours, as well as some benches donated by Schabs family. And Elmo Younger, who was there the night of the explosion 80 years earlier and who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, is set to be on hand for the ceremony as well. Hell be joined by family and descendants of his co-workers who were killed that night. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > As other remnants of the propertys days as a munitions factory are gradually removed, Ference is glad the statue is finding a home in Midewin proper, and particularly that it will be placed near the igloo bunkers that are among the few traces remaining of that time. Advertisement Weve always felt that something should be left as a reminder that before there was Midewin, for 50 years, there was an arsenal, she said. Having the statue there and the signage explains what this is all about. It also serves as a reminder of a mindset from a different time. Everyone was dedicated to the war effort, Ference said. Everyone pitched in and did their part. They certainly were casualties of the war. It happened; we dont want to glorify it, but we dont want to minimize it either. The rededication ceremony will be at 10 a.m. June 4 at Midewins Iron Bridge Trailhead. Landmarks is a weekly column by Paul Eisenberg exploring the people, places and things that have left an indelible mark on the Southland. He can be reached at peisenberg@tribpub.com. Well, my dear, we didnt know where to look. The old codger was getting away with it again, Fans have flooded social media with the claim after they noticed the embattled actor's name seemed to appear on a call sheet found when they said they searched for the upcoming Beetlejuice 2, set for release in 2025, on Google. Find out more here: Unidas: Unidas, the award-winning after-school teen program run by the Womens Foundation for the State of Arizona, has awarded $5,000 in funding to One Hundred Angels Foundation. Unidas is a philanthropy and leadership program that supports teens ranging in age from 14-18 as they navigate a selection process that includes community dialogue and interviews to guide their philanthropic decision. This semesters grant award was sponsored by Buffalo Exchange. One Hundred Angels Foundation is a local nonprofit that works to promote peace amid human suffering, providing support for people seeking asylum to essential medical assistance in underserved communities. Phi Beta Kappa Association of Greater Tucson: The nonprofit Phi Beta Kappa Association of Greater Tucson awarded 12 $2,000 scholarships to outstanding University of Arizona undergraduates. The purpose is to assist them in continuing their education through the upcoming academic year. Over the past 20 years, the Association has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. Phi Beta Kappa Association of Greater Tucson also awarded five $2,000 scholarships to deserving University High students this year. The awards are intended to help these students pursue higher education. Submit items about charitable donations by businesses or nonprofits to business@tucson.com. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Arizona Daily Star border reporter Danyelle Khmara speaks to people who hold a stake in the borderlands who work, live, travel and migrate in the Arizona-Mexico border region or whose lives are affected by immigration and border policies. In this occasional series, Khmara brings readers the voices and stories of those people to illuminate what life is really like on the border. Here she talks to two people who work at the coffee cooperative Cafe Justo, in the Sonoran border city Agua Prieta, about 120 miles southeast of Tucson. They have both watched the small business grow into something that could be part of the solution to keeping families together in their homes rather than migrating out of necessity. 'Providing an option for them' Adrian Gonzalez was in his early 20s when he started working at Cafe Justo. He heard about the coffee cooperative through the Presbyterian Church in Agua Prieta, Sonora, where he is a member. He knew nothing about coffee. When asked in the initial interview if he knew how many varieties of coffee there were, he said, Sure, regular and decaf. It was 2002, and the cooperative had rented a small house with a single roaster, a small mill and a computer. It was in its first year and still just an idea, started by a group of 25 coffee farmers from Southern Mexico and a $20,000 loan from Frontera de Cristo, a binational ministry with the Presbyterian Church. In the very beginning, they werent moving more than 100 pounds of coffee a month, Gonzalez says. Now, they sell at least 1,500 pounds a week. The project was born out of a need. As the profits from producing coffee dropped, coffee farmers and workers began migrating from Chiapas in Southern Mexico, where many made their living growing coffee to border towns like Agua Prieta, where there was work in the maquiladoras. These mostly U.S.-owned factories receive tax breaks and take advantage of the cheaper labor of Mexico to make products to be exported. And when some maquiladoras left for cheaper labor in Asia and Central America, more people who lost their livelihoods began migrating, undocumented to the U.S. Gonzalez was born in Agua Prieta, and hes seen the city transform from a city of less than 30,000 habitants to nearly 100,000. Growing up in Agua Prieta, Gonzalez remembers crossing the border after school with his friends, hopping a small barbed wire fence to swim in the Douglas public pool. On the way home, they often ran into Border Patrol, who would offer to give them a ride back to the Mexican side of the line. Going to Douglas was just like going to another part of the city, Gonzalez says. The wall changed that. We felt like Douglas and Agua Prieta were the same city, the same community, he says. Obviously when they started to build the wall, well you no longer feel welcome. I understand the reasons, but it did transform the border and had many types of impacts. Like most Arizona border towns, main streets in Agua Prieta run right up against the border wall. In some spots, artists have painted murals color and life on top of rust-colored steel bollards. Gonzalez remembers when Cafe Justo started. Coffee farmers arrived in Agua Prieta looking for work because they couldnt support their families or educate their children. Many came to the border because they knew there was work with the maquiladoras. And when the maquiladoras werent enough, many began to make the ever more treacherous journey across the border. Today about 100 families are impacted directly or indirectly by Cafe Justo. Gonzalez is an employee of the farmers, who own every aspect of the business. A $20,000 loan is keeping over 100 families here in Mexico, where they want to be anyway, Gonzalez says. And you compare that to all the millions of millions of dollars that are being put into building the wall and the border security that clearly is not working. At the end of this year, the organization will have its 20th anniversary. Just receiving a fair price for coffee isnt the solution for the coffee growers, Gonzalez says. You have to empower them. Make them understand that they can be more than just coffee farmers. They can be business owners if they want to be. So that is the idea behind Cafe Justo reduce the flow of immigration to the United States, providing an option for them. While most of the farmers are in Southern Mexico, the roaster is on the border because 95% of their customers are in the United States. Many are church organizations, as well as a few cafes, food co-ops and small bed-and-breakfasts. Recycled boxes are piled up in the back room of Cafe Justo, packed with 1,500 pounds of freshly roasted coffee. Labels advertising things like Mexican cookies and Fruit of the Loom are covered over with addresses, ready to ship to cities in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, New York and many more. They have at least one customer in every state now and a few in Canada, Gonzalez says. Because of their connection with Frontera de Christo, their first customers were Presbyterian churches. But now many other denominations are participating Episcopalians, Catholics, Mennonite and Quakers. Pretty much everyone that likes coffee serves coffee in the churches, Gonzalez says. If theyre getting coffee for their members anyways, why not get it from a store that is keeping the families together in Mexico? A 5-pound bag of coffee is labeled with the date the coffee was roasted, the type of coffee and the name of the farmer. Its all about building relationships and connection, Gonzalez says. Every year in November they take a group of people to Chiapas to meet the farmers and learn all about the coffee processing. Some people who go have been watching the names on their coffee bags and get to meet that farmer who has been growing it. Gonzalez speaks at universities, churches and other organizations in the U.S. to share the project and vision of Cafe Justo, and that this model can be used with other products besides coffee. Along with keeping families together, Cafe Justo is leading to reverse migration, he says. People who have left are returning back to these communities because they have opportunities they didnt have before. As well, farmers can afford to hire locals, not just from Mexico but also from Guatemala, to work in the farms so their children can go back to school and get an education. Many of them are already graduating, becoming nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers. I mean, whatever they want, Gonzalez says. What they have now that they didn't have before is opportunities, options. Gonzalez joined Cafe Justo because he wanted to be a part of something that helps people. Independent of the salary or job you can have, if youre participating in something that is for the common good, its very gratifying, he said. While border issues are so often seen through a politically divided lens, Gonzalez says the beauty of this project is that whether you are liberal or conservative, it's a win-win situation. When it comes to border issues, you want people to be together with their families, especially if you're religious, he says. And this just makes sense. If you don't want people to come over to your country, then by all means support ideas like this. As Gonzales has watched his community change, separating in half what he grew up thinking of as one community, some things dont change. A wall is never going to dictate the way that we relate to each other, he says. Finding common ground, common ideas and ways to exchange and collaborate together, that's how we are gonna be able to relate to each other. 'You always have the opportunity to overcome or to grow' Its Carmina Sanchezs birthday. The 30-something laughs at herself as she shows off her curls, thick ringlets falling around her shoulders, which she did for the occasion. She talks with her colleagues in the little Cafe Justo office behind the industrial coffee roaster and boxes of coffee piled high, ready to be sent across the country. Friends arrive for the impending party. Teens and families come by and say hello. Sanchez is the secretary for Cafe Justo y Mas the Cafe Justo coffee house that opened in 2016. Her duties include taking orders, payments and doing the paperwork to export the coffee. But the title does little to describe the impact she has on the place, and vice versa. Sanchez has worked full time with Cafe Justo for eight years, but she was also there in the very beginning, nearly 20 years ago, roasting coffee in a pan over a little gas stove with her mother and a few other women, creating samples to send to prospective clients. Sanchez is from Salvador Urbina, in Chiapas a small community that primarily grows coffee and home of the farmers who started Cafe Justo. She migrated to Agua Prieta when she was just a teenager. Her father was working in the coffee farms, and life in Chiapas was getting very hard, she says. It was the late 90s, and the price of coffee had devalued so much that the owners of the coffee plantations were just doing the work themselves or even losing their livelihoods. Her dad decided to go north where he heard there was work in the maquiladoras. A year later, when Sanchez was 16, he came for her and her older brother. Soon after, her mom and other siblings joined them in the border town. It was 1998, and Sanchez stopped going to school and got a job in a maquiladora, making seat belts. It was common that teenagers where she was from stopped going to school, she says. She worked at the same factory as her father. He worked at night, and she had the day shift. The work was hard, 10-hour days on her feet with very few breaks and very repetitive tasks, like a robot, she says. It was her first job. And she loved it. It was the first time I had money, in my own hands, she says. And honestly, I didnt know what to do with the money. When I got my first payment, I took my parents out to eat dinner. Ill never forget it, and neither will they. Back in Chiapas they sometimes struggled to have enough food. They ate a lot of beans and simple meals, and on special occasions had chicken, maybe a mole, a traditional Mexican sauce usually served over meat. We also ate iguana, Sanchez says, laughing. Her dad liked to hunt, and when they didnt have enough food, he might catch an iguana for dinner or go fishing. Moving to Agua Prieta was a huge change. Sanchez left behind a large family of aunts, uncles and cousins. And coming from the tropics of Chiapas, being surrounded by desert was shocking. When she first arrived, she lived in a house with as many as 20 people who were from the same region as her and had also come to work in the maquiladoras. The house only had a couple rooms, and they hung blankets to create a modicum of privacy. Sanchez eventually got married and had two children, a boy and a girl. And she kept working in the maquiladora. Her husband worked at night while she kept the day shift. Then the maquiladoras started closing, moving elsewhere for cheaper labor. And Sanchez lost her job. It was a very difficult time because it was a very big factory, she said. Many people were without work, and they migrated to the United States. Many people migrated, and one of them was my dad. Cafe Justo was starting then, and Sanchezs mom taught her to roast the coffee. She was getting paid 10 pesos for each pound of coffee she roasted, the equivalent at the time of less than one U.S. dollar, which took about 40 minutes. Still in its infancy, they were seeing if the idea would work. Eventually, Sanchez found another factory job, packing tomatoes. Years later, she heard there was a job at the new coffee house Cafe Justo was opening, and she got it. She started with packaging coffee and was taking on more responsibility when the secretary was leaving, and they offered her the job. Sanchez laughs remembering how nervous she was accepting it. I thought, why did I say yes? I was afraid because I felt like I didn't know that much, she says. But I can tell you that over these years, I have grown so much. Cafe Justo has taught me so many things. Being a part of Cafe Justo taught her there are no limits, that si, se puede, she says. Sanchez taught herself to use the accounting program for the coffee house. The instructions were all in English, which was harder for her to understand, but she found a way. Besides learning to manage aspects of the cafe, working with Cafe Justo helped open her mind, she says. It doesnt matter where you came from, she says. You always have the opportunity to overcome or to grow while youre alive. You dont have to be afraid. Or if you are afraid, face your fears so you can win, grow as a person, learn. I have learned so so much. And just like Cafe Justo, the coffee house served a need that she and others saw in the community. There were more drug issues in the city, and teens and children were vulnerable. So first off, the cafe opened to be a safe space for teens and youth where they could do school work, connect and express themselves creatively. As well, the coffee house hires people from a substance-abuse treatment center in Agua Prieta. Cafe Justo y Mas is a place where they can have work thats meaningful and be part of a community, Sanchez says. When there is a job opening, they offer it to patients of the treatment center first. The cafe has been such a success and they are looking to expand and franchise it, hopefully in the United States. For me, I am very in love with the project of Cafe Justo, to help the farmers and my countrymen in Chiapas, she said. And also, I love the project of Cafe Justo y Mas, which I say because I also have teenagers. Sanchezs daughter is 20 now, and her son is 14. Her daughter loves art and takes part in youth events at the coffee house. People who grow up in the south, sometimes have a mentality thats a bit closed, Sanchez says. It was new to her to interact with people from northern Mexico and the U.S. People had different ways of communicating and traditions she wasnt used to. All of this was walls that we had to break, she says. Now, I love the people from here and also the desert. Sanchez hikes and rides her bike in nature and on the outskirts of the city. I realized that here, there is also life, she says. Im talking about the nature but also saying that one can grow outside their home. You arrive with fear Whats out there? Where are we going to live? Where are we going to work? but here, there is the opportunity to grow. And so here we are. Contact reporter Danyelle Khmara at dkhmara@tucson.com or 573-4223. On Twitter: @DanyelleKhmara Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Uvalde tells Biden to 'do something'; he pledges 'we will' UVALDE, Texas (AP) President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday. He mourned privately for three hours with anguished families left behind when a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers. The president was met with chants of do something as he departed a church service and responded, we will. Biden and his wife, Jill, visited a memorial to those who were slain at Robb Elementary School and attended Mass at a Catholic church. Biden met privately with first responders before flying back to his home in Delaware. Justice Dept. to review response to Texas school shooting UVALDE, Texas (AP) The Justice Department says it'll review the law enforcement response to the Texas school shooting. It's an unusual federal look back that's been prompted by questions about the shifting and at times contradictory information from authorities that have enraged a community in shock and sorrow. Department spokesman Anthony Coley says the review will be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and the findings will be made public. The announcement came as President Joe Biden was visiting Uvalde, where he and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects at a memorial to the 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last Tuesday. Ukraine, Russia battle in the east as Zelenskyy visits front POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian and Ukrainian troops are trading blows in fierce close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city. Local officials reported Russian forces storming the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Sunday, a situation that the Ukrainian president described as indescribably difficult. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 90% of the buildings in Sievierodonetsk have been damaged. The city has emerged as an epicenter of Russias quest to conquer Ukraines industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where constant shelling was reported. Zelenskyy himself made a rare frontline visit to soldiers in Kharkiv. He declared I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom." Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns PITTSBURGH (AP) A movement known as Christian nationalism is making its presence known in many Republican primary races this year. Most prominent is the campaign of Doug Mastriano, who easily won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. He has made his faith central to his personal story and has woven his conservative Christian beliefs and symbols into his campaign. Mastriano and many other candidates reject the label of Christian nationalist. They say they're applying their values to their politics, just as any citizen would. But scholars say the label fits those who support a fusion of American and Christian values, symbols and identity. Wreckage of plane with 22 on board found in Nepal mountains KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) Nepal's army says the wreckage of a plane missing since Sunday in the mountains was located Monday. There was no word on survivors among the 22 people aboard. The army posted on Twitter an aerial photo of the wreckage site with parts of the aircraft scattered around the mountainside. No other details were given. The Tara Air plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight Sunday from the resort town of Pokhara to the mountain town of Jomsom. Contact with the airport tower was lost when the plane was close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops. Pelosi's husband arrested on suspicion of DUI in California NAPA, Calif. (AP) Police records show Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, has been arrested on suspicion of DUI in Northern California. An online booking report shows Paul Pelosi was taken into custody late Saturday in Napa County. He could face charges including driving under the influence. Bail was set at $5,000. A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi says she will not be commenting on this private matter. The House Speaker was in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday, where she delivered the commencement address at Brown University. Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married since 1963. Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans in Jerusalem march JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of Israeli nationalists, some of them chanting Death to Arabs, have begun parading through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalems Old City. Sunday's march was a show of force that risked setting off a new wave of violence in the tense city. The crowds, who were overwhelmingly young Orthodox Jewish men, were celebrating Jerusalem Day -- an Israeli holiday that marks the capture of the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians see the event, which passes through the heart of the Muslim Quarter, as a provocation. Last year, the parade helped trigger an 11-day war with Gaza militants, and this years march drew condemnations from the Palestinians and neighboring Jordan. Colombia presidential race to runoff; leftist vs businessman BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) A leftist former rebel and a populist businessman have taken the top two spots among the six candidates in Colombias presidential election and are heading to a runoff showdown in June, delivering a blow to the country's political class. Electoral officials say leftist Sen. Gustavo Petro led Suday's results with just over 40% of the vote, while independent real estate tycoon Rodolfo Hernandez finished second with more than 28%. The vote was held amid a polarized environment and growing discontent over increasing inequality and inflation. Petro has promised to make significant adjustments to the economy and to change how Colombia fights drug cartels. Hernandez has promised to clean up corruption in the South American nation. Agency: 1 dead, 7 injured in Oklahoma festival shooting TAFT, Okla. (AP) Authorities say a 26-year-old man has been taken into custody after one person was killed and seven people were injured in a shooting at an outdoor festival in eastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said that an arrest warrant was issued for Skyler Buckner and he turned himself in on Sunday afternoon. OSBI said those shot early Sunday at the Memorial Day event in Taft, located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, ranged in age from 9 to 56. OSBI said a 39-year-old woman was killed. The agency says the injuries of those wounded were considered non-life-threatening. Celtics reach NBA Finals, hold off Heat 100-96 in Game 7 MIAMI (AP) Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Boston Celtics held off a frantic rally in the final seconds to beat the Miami Heat 100-96 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. The Celtics face the Golden State Warriors in a series that starts Thursday in San Francisco. Jimmy Butler, who willed Miami into Game 7 by scoring 47 points on Friday in Boston, led the Heat with 35 points in what became their season finale. Bam Adebayo added 25 for the Heat, who were down 11 with under 3 minutes to go before trying one last rally. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. TULSA, OK,MAY 17 - John Barber has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of Regent Bank. Barber will primarily be responsible for all credit functions at Regent, and he will direct the banks credit officers, underwriting and operations. Barber has a lengthy business resume, he brings more than 38 years experience in the banking and credit industry to his new role at Regent. He held similar positions at Simmons Bank in Arkansas and Iberia Bank in Dallas, Texas, and he is also a banking advisory board member of Moodys Analytics. He intends to draw on that experience as he looks to further improve Regents speed-to-market and ability to complete deals for the banks growing clientele, while maintaining the banks sound asset quality. Im excited to join Sean Kouplens team and work beside them to continue to grow the bank, Barber said. The culture is second-to-none, and I invite everyone to come find out what its like to bank with The Bank that Believes in You. Barber has been married to his wife, Robin, for 32 years, and they have three children. To submit an announcement in Business People, which highlights new hires and promotions, call the Tulsa World Advertising Department at 918-581-8510. Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A 21st-century version of the Oklahoma Land Run will take place next month in Oklahoma City. In what could be one of the largest public land auctions in modern state history, close to 800 acres of surplus land owned by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority will become available for sale. A total of 68 parcels will be up for grabs across 11 counties: Tulsa, Creek, Rogers, Craig, Oklahoma, Wagoner, Murray, Canadian, McClain, Grady and Lincoln, said Jessica Brown, director of strategic communications for the Oklahoma Transportation Cabinet. Dakil Auctioneers Inc., will conduct auctions beginning at 10 a.m. June 9-10 (registration is at 9 a.m. both days) at its facility at 200 NW 114th St. in Oklahoma City. Available land totals more than 790 acres, with the largest tract being roughly 71.2 acres on the west side of the Creek Turnpike near 22500 E. Omaha St. in Broken Arrow. Its a great opportunity using an auction house because we can push many more parcels at one time, Brown said by phone. Its much less time consuming. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority regularly auctions surplus properties it acquires during right-of-way property acquisitions. Typically, the OTA purchases these smaller pieces of land as part of a larger purchase or if the property would not have access to a public road once construction is complete. OTA said it strives to keep its property inventory to a minimum with a review process of current and future needs, and it employs several methods to sell surplus property, including direct sell and sealed-bid auctions. To expedite returning land to consumers, OTA recently began using a public auction house, with its first such event occurring in May 2021. Looking at these parcels of surplus property, we have to go through a process to make sure this property is not something we will need in the future, Brown said. Once weve made that determination, we can start to move it to auction. We try to do that as often as possible because we dont want to be in the land business. It needs to go back to the public. It needs to get back on the tax rolls, quite frankly, so people can use it. Oklahoma has 624.4 miles in its 11 turnpikes, excluding the Gilcrease Expressway, which is under construction and scheduled for a late summer completion. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority System generated $357.6 million in toll revenues in 2021, according to Brenda Perry of the Oklahoma Transportation Cabinet. Oklahoma Transportation Cabinet agencies include the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, OTA and the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. The land roster for Junes public auction in Oklahoma City includes property from the Creek, Turner, Will Rogers, Kickapoo and Bailey turnpikes, with some tracts as small as about a tenth of an acre. I think its a grand opportunity for people to purchase land in Oklahoma, Louis Dakil, owner and president of Dakil Auctioneers, said by phone. In my 38 years of selling properties in Oklahoma, I have never seen the influx of people from other states into our state, whether its urban, rural, agricultural, industrial, whatever it is. I dont know why people are moving here, but its just an influx. Next months event will be much larger than OTAs public auction in 2021, when about 146 acres of surplus land generated roughly $3.5 million in sales, the OTA said. Theres always interest in real estate. ... It seems like people for some reason are investing more into real assets and real estate because it is tangible, Dakil said. A lot of people are getting away from the roller coaster stock market, or the oil and gas industry, or other investments. Featured video: Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider reads the names of the 19 fourth graders and two teachers gunned down in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday during a town hall Saturday in Mundelein. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) A Meridian School fifth grader came to Rep. Brad Schneiders Congress on Your Corner town hall concerned about school shootings. A Buffalo Grove man also expressed concern about his grown sons raising children in an America growing more dangerous. Schneider, D-Highland Park, touched on Tuesdays killing of 19 fourth graders and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, the economy and health care before answering nearly a dozen questions from a crowd of more than 75 people Saturday at Mundelein High School. Advertisement Jackson Libbey, the Meridian student and a Buffalo Grove resident was in the audience with this father, Nathan Libbey, a member of the Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 Board of Education. I hope to learn what he can do about shootings in schools, Jackson said. Advertisement Fifth grader Jackson Libbey talks to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, left, as Jacksons father, Nathan Libbey, listens. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) Speaking for about 10 minutes before taking questions in the town hall lasting just over an hour, Schneider began talking about the shooting in Texas and one May 14 in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store which left 10 dead. The whole country is grieving, Schneider said. Were seeing an epidemic of gun violence throughout the country. Weve got to do something about guns. The story coming out of Texas really shook me. As a country, there are things I think we can be doing so much better. Shortly into his remarks, Schneider read the names of the 21 Texas victims as he did two days before during a vigil in Deerfield. He talked about legislation passed by the House of Representatives requiring universal background checks. He called for a quick vote in the Senate. People pay their respects at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School to honor the victims killed in this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas Saturday, May 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) (Dario Lopez-Mills/AP) We can make it harder for people who shouldnt have guns to get them, while respecting the right of law-abiding citizens to hold on to them, while at the same time make sure our schools, our churches and our grocery stores are much safer, Schneider said. Thats something Ill work on. While asking a question, Gary Ross of Buffalo Grove said he told his grown sons they should consider whether they want raise a family in the United States because of gun violence, as well as fears about threats to peoples voting and reproductive rights. Schneider said he recently had a similar conversation with his grown sons. In his answer, he said climate change is a crucial issue where there are solutions. This is what this generation is thinking about, Schneider said. I pushed them. I want grandkids. We have to do more. No matter what we do, it is not enough. That doesnt excuse us from not doing anything. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an issue Schneider talked about, particularly legislation he authored to reduce pollution from airplane fuel. The bill became part of President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan. It passed the House with bipartisan support, but it stalled in the Senate. Advertisement The 60-vote filibuster is a huge problem, Schneider said. One person asked what Schneider has done to help Mundelein. Schneider said he was able to secure $600,000 so the village can make the pedestrian Park Street mall in downtown Mundelein permanent. It was part of the $19.7 million secured for the 10th Congressional District as part of the 2022 Fiscal Year Omnibus Funding Bill. It goes beyond commercial benefits. It brought the community together. You started having concerts and people were coming together, Schneider said. When people come together they start talking to each other, he added, referring to what he and his colleagues need to do more to improve peoples lives. One of the last questioners wanted to know if Schneider believed Ukraine should cede some land to Russia to end the conflict, and whether he was concerned about the United States getting dragged into a wider war. Schneider said only Ukraine should make decisions about what, if any, concessions the country should make to the Russians after the nation was the victim of an unprovoked invasion. He does not want to see a wider war. I do think its imperative Russian fail, or (not) have a victory over this unprovoked attack, he said. I think its important the U.S. and our allies help Ukraine defend herself as a country, and not take any actions to attack Russia. If that were to happen, Ukraine should stop that. Advertisement Some of the other subjects discussed arising from questions from the audience included student loan burden, immigration and the baby formula shortage. Stan Schultz of Mundelein said he wanted to get to know Schneider better. Before the Illinois General Assembly redrew the states congressional districts, he was represented by Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville. Should Schneider win reelection in November, he will represent Schultz. TAFT Witnesses on Sunday described a chaotic scene in which a plethora of gunshots were fired during a Memorial Day outdoor gathering in the small community of Taft in Muskogee County, leaving one dead and seven injured. Meanwhile, authorities said a suspect, Skylar Dewayne Buckner, turned himself in, in connection with the shooting. Bullets were literally flying everywhere, said Jasmayne Hill, who was working at a food truck during the event, where an estimated 1,500 people had gathered for an annual Memorial Day weekend celebration in the middle of the small town, about 10 miles west of Muskogee. Shots started being fired shortly after midnight Sunday, witnesses said. Hill said she and the owner of the Kountry Queens food truck, Tiffany Walton, dove to the floor inside the food truck, trying to hide from flying bullets. Were thinking were safe and the bullets are like going through the bottom of the food truck, Hill said. They didnt hit us, thank God. At least one large bullet hole could be seen on the outside of the truck, not far from where the trucks propane tank was located, Walton said. A woman was killed and seven other people were injured in the shooting, including a juvenile, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Sunday. The names of the person killed and those injured had not been released Sunday. But witnesses at the scene Sunday said the woman who was killed died after reportedly being struck in the head. Witnesses said several of the injured were struck in the legs and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. The eight that were struck in the shooting were all transferred to the hospital in Muskogee and three patients were then transferred to a hospital in Tulsa for treatment, the OSBI said. The woman who died was 39 years old, the OSBI said. The other seven injured range in age from 9 to 56. All are said to have non-life-threatening injuries, the OSBI said. The agency also clarified that only one juvenile not two as it previously reported was injured in the shooting. Hill said the shooting began with an initial pop that sounded like a firework. But then she said, a much-louder, high-caliber-type weapon could be heard firing rapidly, as if it was some sort of automatic weapon. It was something like right out of a movie, Hill said. It (lasted) a long time, Walton said. The Muskogee County Sheriffs Office was in attendance at the event and immediately rendered aid to the victims, the OSBI said. The man who turned himself in, Buckner, was being processed and was to be booked into the Muskogee County Jail on yet-to-be-determined complaints, Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Edwards said. The OSBI said Buckner turned himself in at the Muskogee County Sheriffs Office at 4:05 p.m. Edwards could not immediately provide Buckners hometown. He also declined to say if there were other suspects in the case or if other arrests were pending, citing the ongoing investigation. However, he said casings from four different caliber guns were found at the scene of the shootings. By late Sunday morning, law enforcement had cleared the scene, and only the owners and employees of two food trucks remained in the area, along with a few passersby. Authorities had also removed crime scene tape of the area, along with markings of where gunshot shell casings were found. Witnesses said there was at least 40 marked points where shell casing were found, all around the area. Neicy Bates and her husband, Triirmain Bates, were operating the Fat Fries food truck when the shots were fired. Most people were just going to the ground trying to get out of the way, Neicy Bates said. I ran out (of the food truck) because I have kids and they were out here. People were just screaming. Some were trying to run away. There were cars leaving, trying not to hit each other. Walton, a Taft resident, said the town for decades has held a multi-day Memorial Day festival that usually lasts from Friday through Sunday with a parade on Monday. She said not only do most of the 220 or so residents turn out, but also many people from all over the country. We are a small community. Everybody is family-based, she said. This did not come from our community. This came from people outside of our community. All remaining Memorial Day activities have been canceled in the town, including Mondays parade. Neicy Bates said her grandmother, Lelia Foley, who became the first Black female mayor in U.S. history, when she was elected mayor of Taft in 1973, continued to organize the annual Memorial Day events. The former mayor was up most of the night following the shootings, talking with residents and assisting authorities, Bates said. Shes devastated. Walton said Saturday night was her first night in business with her food truck. And this had to happen, she said. In addition to food trucks, the outdoor event also featured a live DJ, residents said. Taft, founded around 1902, is one of only 13 predominantly Black towns still existing in Oklahoma. The state once was home to more than 50, more than any other state. Originally called Twine, the town was renamed Taft in 1905 after William Howard Taft, the statesman soon to become president. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Sunday issued a statement on social media, saying, I am grateful for (OSBI)s swift response to assist local police and am confident in Oklahoma law enforcements ability to bring justice to whoever is responsible for this deadly incident. Anyone at the event who witnessed the shooting is asked to contact the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The federal government has identified Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting Services as the company capable of putting up an emergency intake facility in time to accommodate an expected summer surge in unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the country, according to a U.S. Department of the Interior document. Cherokee Nation Businesses is scheduled to go before the Tulsa County Board of Adjustment on Tuesday to request a use variance to the zoning code that, if approved, would put the organization a step closer to securing a facility at Cherokee Industrial Park, 6929 N. Lakewood Ave. Cherokee is the only business that has direct experience providing these services with a facility in Tulsa and is currently capable of providing these services again in time to meet the requirement of having a facility ready for an influx of UC (unaccompanied children) at the border, the document states. The seven-page document, titled Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition Authority explains why the Interior Department believes it is appropriate to sole-source its contract to Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting Services A redacted version of the document was made public last week. A total of fourteen (14) firms responded to the announcement. Of those responses, four (4) were from large businesses and one (1) small business that had previously provided these services as a prime contractor, the DOI announcement states. The remaining firms either only had experience as either a prime facilities contractor, a subcontractor for some portion of the direct care work, or had no experience whatsoever in providing services at ICF (Influx Care Facility). Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting Services is wholly owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses, which has operated similar intake programs in northern Virginia and Pomona, California. CNB has said it did not know how many unaccompanied minors would be served at the Tulsa facility, but the DOI document states that it would be up to 2,000. CNB later said that figure represents the potential scope of the project but that the number of unaccompanied minors is subject to change. The companys goal, officials said, is to establish a flexible facility capable of providing a range of services for those in need. According to DOI, the initial contract which has yet to be awarded would be for six months, with two three-month renewal options Thereafter, the federal government plans to engage in a competitive contracting process to hire organizations to provide emergency intake services at multiple sites throughout the country, according to the DOI document. In support of its justification for sole sourcing the Tulsa contract, DOI makes several references to Cherokee currently occupying this location, or that the company already has an existing facility in Tulsa. CNB officials said the company does not own or have a lease for the proposed site at Cherokee Industrial Park, and that terms like existing or active used in the DOI document are meant to indicate that CNB has access to a move-in-ready facility that can be opened quickly. Mayor G.T Bynum expressed his support for the proposed facility last week, citing CNBs previous work operating emergency intake facilities and Tulsas long history of providing humanitarian assistance to those in need around the world. U.S. Sen. James Lankford and Gov. Kevin Stitt have said they oppose the project. We should be working to have less illegal entry instead of facilitating more illegal entry, Lankford wrote on Twitter. Other local elected leaders contacted by the Tulsa World said they had not heard of the proposed facility until last week. CNB officials said they are committed to working with community leaders and that they begin briefing stakeholders when projects go from the concept stage to reality. The federal government initiated its search for an emergency shelter operator at the start of the year, and CNB responded to that announcement in February. The county BOA meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the St. Francis conference room of Williams Tower 1 at 1 W. Third St. Video: Oklahomas 14 most beautiful places to visit. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A man has been arrested in connection with a flurry of gunfire that left one person dead and seven injured in the small town of Taft early Sunday. Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Edwards said late Sunday afternoon that Skylar Dewayne Buckner surrendered to authorities in connection with the shooting. He was being processed and was to be booked into the Muskogee County Jail on yet-to-be-determined complaints. Edwards could not immediately provide Buckner's hometown. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Buckner, turned himself in at the Muskogee County Sheriffs Office at 4:05 p.m. The eight that were injured in the shooting were all transferred to the hospital in Muskogee and three patients were then transferred to a hospital in Tulsa for treatment, the OSBI said. The deceased woman is 39 years old, the OSBI said. The other seven injured range in age from 9 to 56. All are said to have non-life-threatening injuries, the OSBI said. The agency also clarified that only one juvenile, not two as it previously reported, was injured in the shooting. Edwards declined to say if there were other suspects in the case or if other arrests were pending, citing the ongoing investigation. However, he said casings from four different caliber guns were found at the scene of the shootings. Witnesses on Sunday said authorities had marked at least 40 sites were shell casings were found. The shootings happened shortly after midnight during an outdoor Memorial Day weekend event in Taft, located about 10 miles west of Muskogee, authorities said. About 1,500 people were at the event when the shootings happened, authorities said. This is a developing story. Additional details will be provided as they become available. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraine's leader also made a rare frontline visit to Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, to assess the strength of the national defense. In the east, Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation there as indescribably difficult, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of the buildings. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The city's mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief center to shut down because of the dangers. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. Sievierodonetsk, located 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscow's quest to capture all of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, visited soldiers in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from nearby positions several weeks ago. "I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit. Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelenskyy's visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In a video address later Sunday, Zelenskyy praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of the countrys top security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelenskyy said. After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is focused on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told French TF1 television Sunday that Moscow's "unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," adding that Russia sees them as "independent states. He also suggested other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia. In Luhansk, constant Russian shelling has created what provincial governor Serhiy Haidai called a severe situation. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes functioned Sunday, he said. He claimed the Russians had retreated with losses around a village near Sievierodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby river village. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yana Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the past 2 1/2 months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Oksana, 74, who was too afraid to give her surname, was evacuated from Lysychansk by a team of foreign volunteers along with her 86-year-old husband. Im going somewhere, not knowing where, she wept. Now I am a beggar without happiness. Now I have to ask for charity. It would be better to kill me. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling just to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service. Striuk estimates that 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, from Russian attacks as well as from a lack of medicine or treatment. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Sieverodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the battle of Sieverodonetsk ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said late Saturday. In Mariupol on Sunday, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russia's forces gained complete control of the city, they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim. Regions across Ukraine were pummeled overnight by renewed Russian airstrikes. On the ground in the eastern Donetsk region, fighters battled back and forth for control of villages and cities. The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman to the north, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. Mazalan reported from Kyiv. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and AP journalists around the world contributed. Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training has asked the Ho Chi Minh City administration to direct competent authorities to deal with a violence case among students at a local international school. The incident took place at International School Ho Chi Minh City - American Academy (ISHCMC-AA), the education ministry said in a document sent to the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee on Saturday. It asked the municipal administration to direct competent authorities to verify and handle the case in accordance with regulations in order to ensure safety for the students. Reports on the case should be sent to the education ministry prior to May 31, the document wrote. Information about the violence among students at ISHCMC-AA has been shared widely on social media over the past days. T.H.T., whose daughter studies seventh grade at ISHCMC-AA, said that students at the school joined a trip to southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province last week. During a meal, T.s daughter was keeping the chair for her friend when a girl, who studies eighth grade, wanted to use the chair. As T.s daughter said that the seat was taken, the eighth grader responded in an aggressive manner. On May 26, T.s daughter was attacked at school, while her three friends were also wounded as they tried to intervene. A teaching assistant saw the incident but did not try to stop it or report to the school's management board timely, T. stated. Following the attack, the four girls suffered multiple scratches and bruises on their bodies and are still psychologically traumatized, the woman added. T. has arrived at the school and demanded that the school leaders deal with the case. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Countries around the world on Saturday adopted an initial U.S.-led reform of the rules around disease outbreaks, known as the International Health Regulations (IHR), the United States said. The amendments, adopted at the World Health Organization (WHO) assembly, were agreed at a meeting seen as a once-in-a-generation chance for the U.N. health agency to strengthen its role after some 15 million deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The breakthrough - amendments to Article 59 of the IHR that will speed up the implementation of reforms - came after early opposition from Africa and others was overcome this week. The changes sought by Washington, and backed by others such as Japan and the European Union, mark a first step in a broader reform of the IHR, which set out countries' legal obligations around disease outbreaks, expected to take up to two years. Sheba Crocker, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, hailed as "a significant achievement" the initial amendments and an agreement on establishing a working group to consider targeted, substantive amendments. "An updated, modernized IHR will help all countries and will ensure we have the information, resources, capacity, and transparency needed to address future global health crises," she said in a statement. Four people from Quang Binh Province, north-central Vietnam drowned while fishing at local rivers in two separate incidents earlier this week. The Peoples Committee in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province confirmed on Saturday that rescuers had found the bodies of a married couple after they drowned in a local river. The victims have been handed over to their family members for funeral. The couple, 54-year-old Nguyen Van Quoc and 49-year-old Nguyen Thi Huong, went fishing along a river section near Thanh Ba Bridge on a boat on Friday. Their boat then capsized, causing both of them to drown and go missing. Their family members later reported the missing case to local authorities, before their bodies were found early on Saturday morning. On Thursday, 26-year-old Ngo Van Hieu and his young brother 23-year-old Ngo Van Hiep went to Khe Su dike in Phong Nha Town, also in Bo Trach District, to catch fish. The two ended up drowning, and their bodies were found later the same day. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam war veteran Oscar Primm, who is 101 years old, takes a moment to recall his time serving during an interview at Amvets Post 6 in Gary on Monday, May 23, 2022. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Oscar Primm Jr. of Merrillville has seen a lot over his 101 years. He served in three wars World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam worked in a steel mill and ran his own body and fender shop. The widower was married for 52 years, raised four children, and earlier this year, remarried. Advertisement These days Primm can be found almost every day at the Greater Gary Amvets Post 6 with his new wife Cassandra playing dominoes, his favorite game. He drives the couple there each day. Primm and Cassandra were married by his pastor during a small ceremony in January. Primm served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army before retiring. He started his service Dec. 28, 1942 and served in World War II, leaving the service in 1946. After a break where he joined the Army Reserves, he worked in a steel mill and opened his own body and fender shop in Gary, where he lived. Primm was called back into service from the Reserves for four and half years to serve in the Korean War. Advertisement Being in the Reserves when they called me back, Ill tell you the truth, I cried, Primm said. WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam war veteran Oscar Primm, who is 101 years old, talks about his life during an interview at Amvets Post 6 in Gary on Monday, May 23, 2022. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Once the Korean War ended, he returned to the Army full-time and continued to re-enlist when his tours where up until he opted to complete a full 20 years to retire. He wound up serving through the Vietnam War before retiring in 1967. Primm said he had the support of his first wife, Ida, who did not stand in his way each time he decided to accept another tour. Their marriage ended in divorce after he returned from Vietnam, but after a year, the couple reconciled and remarried. The couple had four children and were married 52 years before her death in 2020. She was 87. The centenarian does not like to talk about his wartime service, preferring to recall the times spent with his young wife while he was an enlistee. One Memorial Day, back in 1952, the couple were broke, they had no gas and Primm would not be paid until Tuesday, May 31. He recalled fondly how they walked to the park and spent their last buffalo nickel on a bottle of Coke which they shared. The service memories are difficult. There are many things in life I dont want to talk about, Primm said, pausing from his game of dominoes to reflect. He recalled being trapped in a foxhole in Europe during World War II for seven nights as German planes dropped bombs and shelled the area. I didnt think Id ever see daylight again, Primm said. Some of the soldiers with whom he served did not. Advertisement During the Korean and Vietnam wars, Primm worked as a head mechanic for a trucking company, keeping the vehicles for his fellow troops on the battlefield repaired and operational. I saw the combat but wasnt really in combat there, he said. WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam war veteran Oscar Primm, who is 101 years old, plays a game of dominoes with his wife Cassandra at Amvets Post 6 in Gary on Monday, May 23, 2022. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Larry Jenkins, commander of the Greater Sons of Amvets Squadron 6, said it is the veterans like Primm and his grandfather, whom he represents, that make remembering on Memorial Day the sacrifice of so many others who paid the ultimate price and did not return so important. A lot of these guys get ignored, Jenkins said, adding the lives of veterans should be celebrated. We need to remember the folks who have fallen, Jenkins said. Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. A man in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, has handed a pig-tailed macaque to local forest rangers, along with some similar handovers by other locals, as a move to contribute to protecting rare and endangered wild animals. Doan Van Len, a 43-year-old resident in District 7, transferred the macaque to the municipal Forest Protection Department on Saturday. This monkey has been raised by my brother for 12 years. It is a rare wild animal. I now want to hand it over to the relevant agency so that it can be released back to its natural habitat, Len said. The pig-tailed macaque, with scientific name Macaca leonine, is a male monkey weighing about 10 kilograms, belonging to the endangered, rare and precious wildlife species of group IIB needed to be protected under a decree issued by the central government in 2019. One of the red-eared turtles handed over by a resident to Ho Chi Minh Citys forest rangers is seen in this image. Photo: Ngoc Khai / Tuoi Tre Rangers anaesthetized the monkey and brought it to the citys Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Center for necessary care before releasing it back to nature. On the same day, the department also received and brought to the center in Cu Chi a red-faced monkey and a yellow mountain turtle that had been handed over by two residents in Thu Duc City. These animals also belong to group IIB as aforementioned. Also on Saturday, another resident in District 7 volunteered to transfer three red-eared slider turtles to the department after buying them from an animal vendor. As these turtles are classified as harmful invasive alien species, the agency will destroy them in accordance with applicable regulations. Transporting, trading, capturing or killing wild animals or parts thereof is a criminal offense in Vietnam punishable by between six months and 12 years in prison, according to the Penal Code. Since 1994, Vietnam has been a party of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is an international agreement between governments with an aim to protect endangered plants and animals. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! BRAEMAR, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 01: The Scottish flag flutters in the breeze over the track where the Braemar Gathering will take place tommorow at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 1, 2006 in Braemar, Scotland. Large THE Lion Rampant is often thought of as second flag of Scotland, after the Saltire, but dont for a minute go thinking its yours. Its no. The law, and the royal family, are quite clear about that. As the royal familys website declares, it is the Queens official banner in Scotland. You can wave a wee one about to show fealty, but run one up a flagpole and you risk a scolding from the Court of the Lord Lyon. Aye, him again. As some of you might know, the beast under advisement is a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counter-flory of the second. Thats how its described in the Gormenghastian world of heraldry. In the Queens English, its a red lion, with blue tongue and claws, standing within a red double-border on a yellow or gold background decorated with opposing floral symbols. As for the Rampant of the common appellation, on the face of it, this makes the beast sound a bit mental or, at least, gallus: Ahm gonnae smash up a shop! In reality, with its tongue sticking oot and a deranged eye, it looks somewhat distressed, as if it had just swallowed some vindaloo. Its front paws are stretched forward as it shouts: Geez a lager quick! Rampant just means its upright, standing on its hind legs. The flags Sunday name, or one of the shorter ones, is the Royal Banner of Scotland and, unlike the Saltire, by tradition it can only be used by the Monarch for, right enough, it first appeared on their paraphernalia rather than on the tattooed arms of early medieval punters. The earliest recorded use was on the reverse side of the Great Seal used by Alexander the Second (ruled 1214-49), where the king is depicted on horseback, with an upright lion symbol on his saddle and shield. However, its thought, for reasons I never ascertained during several extensive minutes of research, to have first been used during the reign of Malcolm III (10581093). Was it on his beer mats? His pants? Who knows? Story continues Its also thought to have featured on Robert the Bruces surcoat (the loose robe worn over armour) when he blootered yon English upstarts at Bannockburn in 1314. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the Royal Banner was incorporated into the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom, appearing in both the first and fourth quarters when used in Scotland, but only in the second elsewhere (when Englands three lions take the two spots; Irelands harp, bizarrely enough, is still in there while the Welsh, as usual, get nothing). Some nutcase said earlier that the Lion Rampant can only be flown by the monarch but, by the byzantine traditions of heraldry, that isnt strictly speaking true. Several Great Officers of State, official representatives of the monarchy in Scotland, are permitted to hoist it aloft. Doubtless, like me, you are thinking: Well, who are they baheids? Turns out one is the First Minister, whoever he is, but also the Lord Lieutenants in their various fiefdoms, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Etc, the Lord Lyon King of Arms yep, the Lyon King and any other lieutenant specially appointed by the monarch. Are you in there? Naw, didnt think so. The Lyon King is quite explicit about these restrictions: This is not a national flag and its use by citizens and corporate bodies is entirely wrong. To which the nation replies: Shut up, you. Restrictions were even tighter before 1934 when George V issued a royal warrant allowing the peasantry to wave hand-held flags for decorative ebullition ebullition, aye during Silver Jubilee celebrations the following year. That warrant still holds for big state occasions, such as the opening of the Scottish Parliament, and somewhat more anarchically at sporting events such as the footer and rugger, though George Five never specified this at the time, spectators at sport back then being less demonstrative. It says here that Glasgow Rangers ha-ha, the irony once got into trouble for non-authorised use of the banner, as did Dundee United (who have a black Lion Rampant on their shirt badge). Apparently, the SNP were also admonished once. Ha-ha, the irony. In 1978, a linen merchant in yonder St Albans was fined 100 daily until he desisted from bunging the banner on decorative bedspreads. How common! But, as the banner continues to feature on a variety of tourism industry tat, application of the law actually an Act of the Scottish Parliament dated 1672 seems somewhat arbitrary. But, again, I think the gist is youre usually safe on objects and wee hand-held efforts. Fly one aloft and you might get your collar felt. Even Scottish Field, in 2016, listed this under 10 ridiculous Scottish laws that you wont believe. As for the monarch, contrary to popular belief, the Lion Rampant is only flown above the royal residences at Holyrood and Balmoral when she ISNT in. Saves having to try the doorbell, I suppose. When she is at home, its the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom thats flown. Back down the arcane rabbit hole of heraldry, it ought to go without saying though it doesnt that the lion should respect (face) the flagpole, otherwise it would look like it was doing a runner. In the old days, it would have faced thus left, so to say when on a shield worn on the left arm. You might wonder too: why a lion? Well, they were all the rage back in the day when monarchs were more militantly military and wanted to show they were right fierce, ken? Maybe, today, we should devise a Peoples Standard of Scotland, something a bit less aggressive , maybe with a wee budgie on it. Or a deer (though everyones wanting them shot nowadays). Or an otter. A grey seal? No eagles: theyre well dodgy. What dyou think? Lets run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. FILE - "LB #22," in honor of James Madison softball catcher Lauren Bernett, is written on the infield behind Liberty pitcher Emily Kirby, right, during an NCAA college softball game against Tennessee at Liberty Softball Stadium in Lynchburg, Va., April 27, 2022. There has been a lot of talk about the mental health struggles that many young athletes face, the pressures and vulnerabilities that can seem overwhelming especially to those who feel compelled to shield their pain from the outside world. (Kendall Warner/The News & Advance via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin soccer player Emma Jaskaniec remembers feeling hesitant about getting help before her freshman season when a psychologist approached the team to offer assistance to anyone in need. In my eyes, at least at that point in time, I felt like if I had to reach out to him, it had to be like I was having really dark thoughts, Jaskaniec said. It wasnt really normalized and it wasnt like, Oh, if youre feeling anxious you can reach out to him. I dont think they meant for it to be like that, but I think in my eyes and a lot of other athletes eyes, it was like it had to be such a serious issue. Jaskaniec said things have changed on campus over the last year mental health is a more common topic in the locker room. It was also the topic of discussion Tuesday night for a panel of current and former Wisconsin athletes. The event came three weeks after Wisconsin cross country and track runner Sarah Shulzes death, though it was scheduled well beforehand. Shulzes family announced last month that the 21-year-old took her own life on April 13. Balancing athletics, academics and the demands of everyday life overwhelmed her in a single, desperate moment, Shulzes family said in a statement. Above all other things, Sarah was a power for good in the world. Shulze is one of three Division I athletes who took their own lives in the past two months. Stanford soccer player Katie Meyer, the goalkeeper on the Cardinals 2019 national championship team, died March 1. James Madison softball player Lauren Bernett, who helped the team get to the Women's College World Series last year, died April 25. Meyers family disclosed the 22-year-old had taken her own life. Rockingham (Virginia) County sheriffs officials ruled Bernetts death an apparent suicide last week but said an investigation is continuing. All proceeds from Tuesdays event went to the Sarah Shulze Foundation, which her family established to support womens rights, student-athletes and mental health. Story continues UNCUT Madison, the Wisconsin athlete-led nonprofit that organized Tuesdays discussion, released a statement after Shulzes death encouraging institutions, athletic departments, policymakers and people across the country to invest in resources that support student-athletes as they grapple with the pressures of playing a sport while being a full-time student. The panel members detailed those pressures. Chris Borland, a former All-American linebacker, said he hoped the NCAA could offer more protections and fewer time demands for student-athletes. Montee Ball, a 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist, discussed his struggles with alcohol, which ended his NFL career after two seasons with the Denver Broncos. Both Borland and Ball are now mental health advocates. Jaskaniec said the pandemic caused additional stresses for college athletes, and that she has benefited from meditation. Ball and Borland said they appreciated how current athletes are more open in talking about mental-health struggles than in the past. Kevin Love, I would say, kind of kicked it off, Ball said of the Cleveland NBA player who's been open about panic attacks and mental health struggles. Obviously, we have a lot of other athletes doing the exact same thing. I think if you are someone who has that stage, given the abilities to create a stage to talk about something, this is a topic that you need to speak of. Im starting to see the snowball effect in that way. Kris Eiring, a former Wisconsin sprinter who now works as a sports psychologist, encouraged athletes to check on one another and go beyond the surface. All of us are so busy in our own worlds, we forget about our teammates," Eiring said. "When you say, How are you doing? when you walk by and they say, Great, you really dont know. Maybe with the recent suicides, it can us a pause for a moment, just to check in just a tad deeper. Are you really doing OK? That would make a difference. You dont have to solve your friends problem, but offer to go with a friend somewhere. I think we are afraid of that question because maybe we wont know what to do. Its OK if you dont know what to do. The biggest thing is that youre there and youre willing to walk with that person somewhere. Jaskaniec said she sees those changes taking place: I was talking with one of my teammates earlier today. Shes saying that we feel like when we ask somebody if were OK, especially with what has been happening, people are actually starting to open up more about how theyre actually feeling, which I think is one of the biggest steps going into the next direction. "For things to get better, you actually have to seek out help. Ordinary members of the branch of Ukraine's Orthodox church, until now loyal to Moscow, drove the decision to break ranks with the Russian leadership, its spokesman told AFP Saturday. Archbishop Kliment said the church's congregation felt it could no longer remain silent. He was speaking inside Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery -- one of the most ancient and holy sites in Ukraine -- a day after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchy declared "full independence". The clerics condemned Russian Patriarch Kirill's vocal support for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, in a historic move against Moscow's spiritual authorities. Bearded and black-robed, Kliment said his church "does not accept, condemns and completely dissociates itself from those statements about Russian aggression in Ukraine that came from the lips of Patriarch Kirill". Kirill is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has spoken out in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine several times. For Kliment, the situation was clear. "The commandment 'thou shall not kill' has no other interpretations," he said. "It is difficult for me to (understand) the explanation or silence of the representatives of the Moscow patriarchate on the tragedy that is happening today," he added, as tens of thousands are killed and millions displaced. - Priests' mediating role - His wing of Ukraine's church is one of the last links to Russia. it remained loyal despite a 2019 schism that saw the creation of a rival Kyiv patriarchy -- a huge blow to Moscow. Kliment acknowledged that his church had "always felt pressure from the state" to break from Moscow -- and the authorities here have welcomed the decision of the Kyiv patriarchy. But this time, he said, the appeals had come from their own worshippers. "There was a need for this, a demand in church society." Ukrainian priests had tried to "reach the patriarch and those directly responsible for the Russian aggression" in Moscow before their decision, he said, but had received no response. Story continues Kliment stressed that clerics from all over Ukraine -- including territories controlled by separatists -- took part in the council, priests from the war zone in the east joining online. "The council was attended by representatives of almost all the dioceses, including those of the East", he said. Their decision, he said, "will be relayed in (Moscow-annexed) Crimea and in the Donbas". Moscow patriarchy clerics play an important role in territories not under Kyiv's control, he said, often acting as a "bridge" with Ukrainian authorities. They have been involved in negotiating "the return of prisoners or their exchange and the delivery of humanitarian aid", he said. But this week's decision will be testing for priests working in rebel areas, he added. "This requires from these priests a certain courage and wisdom in order to preserve unity in the church and at the same time not to lose the flock in these areas." - 2019 schism remains - Archbishop Kliment played down hopes for broader unity inside Ukraine's Orthodox circles, which was divided by the 2019 schism. "This largely depends on them, because the position held by the representatives of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is not constructive," he said. He accused them of "choosing the path of confrontation, seizing churches and discrediting our believers". This newly created Kyiv branch of the church now pledges allegiance to Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew -- something the Moscow branch had no intention of doing, said Kliment. Nonetheless, the rival churches do share the view that Patriarch Kirill can no longer rule Ukraine because of his support for the Russian invasion. After Saturday worship, many, but not all, believers appeared to share his view. "I support this decision because the Bible says 'you shall not kill'," said one man, Serhii. Ludmila, 65, added she hoped that the priests would stop mentioning Kirill in prayers during services, which she said was "really awful and offensive". But another woman, Olena, 40, expressed concern about the schism. "I am afraid that it will weaken the Orthodox Church." She hoped Kyiv would not renounce Russian-language worship as "this old church language is very important in spiritual terms -- it reconciles body and soul and has been giving people strength for centuries". Asked her view on Kirill, she paused, sighed and said: "It's better to talk about who started the war." chp/cm/cdw/oc/jj (Getty Images) During a public celebration of Star Wars and Indiana Jones composer John Williams 90th birthday on Thursday, Harrison Ford took to the stage to share a first glimpse of the new Indiana Jones film, as well as its June 2023 release date. As you can imagine, fans were beyond excited: the first look shows Indiana Jones silhouette crossing a bridge, and John Williams played his iconic theme song onstage to add even more drama to the moment, not that it needed it. We have almost completed the next Indiana Jones film, featuring the music of John Williams, said Ford, who has starred in both blockbuster series as Han Solo and Indiana Jones. That music follows me everywhere. It was playing in the operating room when I had my colonoscopy, he joked to the crowd. It was the first time the Anaheim California sci-fi fans had been able to get together in three years. Ford went on to call Williams the most gracious man, a wonderful man and a wonderful talent. After Fords announcement, the crowd then sang Happy Birthday to Williams. Harrison Ford wished five-time Academy Award-winning composer John Williams a happy 90th birthday today at #StarWarsCelebration. As on all four previous #IndianaJones films, Williams is composing the score for the new film. pic.twitter.com/0ABnBeo4Zr Indiana Jones (@IndianaJones) May 26, 2022 Williams, who has composed the music for some of the worlds biggest films including Jaws: The Revenge, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Jurassic World, will also be also scoring the music for the next Indiana Jones instalment. Most of the big details about the fifth instalment are still under wraps. What we do know is that a packed cast including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones, and Antonio Banderas has joined the film. Story continues German actor Thomas Kretschmann (24, Westworld), Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl) and Shaunette Renee Wilson (The Resident, Black Panther) have also joined the film. Harrison Ford is here! First look at Indiana Jones 5! #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/RGub3Uc5SE Total Film (@totalfilm) May 26, 2022 The film is a first for numerous reasons: its the first time an Indiana Jones film is being directed by someone other than Steven Spielberg, and its the first time its story has not been written by George Lucas. Instead, James Mangold (The Wolverine, Knight and Day) is behind the camera and Mangold with Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Ford v Ferrari) and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow, Ford v Ferrari) have written the script. In 2023, Harrison Ford returns as the legendary #IndianaJones. Check out this first look of the new James Mangold-directed film. pic.twitter.com/ALs82tsmXw Indiana Jones (@IndianaJones) May 26, 2022 It is also the first time that a film in the series is being distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures since Lucasfilm was taken over by Disney in 2012. The film is scheduled for release on June 30, 2023. kourtney kardashian, travis barker Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are still riding high nearly one week after celebrating the nuptials in Italy. The Kardashians star, 43, shared more pictures from her wedding reception on Instagram Friday, showing the newlyweds getting cozy on a couch. Kardashian smiled as her new husband, 46, kissed his way up her leg in multiple photos, ultimately making his way to her garter. "Cheers to forever ," she captioned the carousel. Barker shared a second set of steamy snapshots of the couple in an elevator. The pair shared a deep stare into each other's eyes in the first picture and kissed in the last. "Love in an elevator," the Blink-182 drummer wrote in the caption. RELATED: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Are Married (Again!) in a Lavish Ceremony in Italy Mandatory Credit: Photo by Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock (12958539l) Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are seen at Piazza Duomo on May 25, 2022 in Milan, Italy with Alabama Barker and Atiana De La Hoya. Kourtney Kardashian And Travis Barker Celebrity Sightings In Milan, Italy - 25 May 2022 Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Kardashian officially tied the knot with Barker on May 22 in Portofino, Italy, after holding two separate ceremonies in the U.S. (The couple held a legal wedding on May 15 and a "practice wedding" at a Las Vegas wedding chapel in April.) Along with close family and friends, all six of their children were also in attendance for the ceremony: Kardashian's sons Mason, 12, and Reign, 7, and daughter Penelope, 9, and Travis' son Landon, 18, daughter Alabama, 16, and stepdaughter Atiana, 23. RELATED: See Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Dazzling Lorraine Schwartz Wedding Rings The bride wore a custom white mini-dress with a theatrically-long veil while the groom looked polished in a classic black suit. Both looks were crafted by Dolce & Gabbana. RELATED VIDEO: Kourtney Kardashian Adds New Last Name to Instagram Profile After Marrying Travis Barker in Italy Story continues They hosted their reception at the nearby 16th-century castle, Castello Brown, and shared their first dance as husband and wife to "Can't Help Falling in Love," as performed by Andrea Bocelli. A source close to the happy couple told PEOPLE the KUWTK star was all smiles for her big day. "It was a magical weekend for everyone. Kourtney didn't stop smiling," the insider said. "She loved being surrounded by her family and close friends. She couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding." Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in Belfast on Saturday to celebrate the centenary of Northern Ireland. Lambeg drumming, food stalls and speeches are all planned, as thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the city to mark 100 years since partition as part of parade organised by the Orange Order. Thousands more spectators are set to gather to watch the parade, with a few attendees arriving as early as 9am along the route into the city centre. The event to mark the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921 comes after the Covid-19 pandemic postponed the celebrations planned last year. The big day has finally arrived! Wishing everyone participants and spectators a very enjoyable day as we celebrate the Centenary of Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/7Ga6ctVETo Orange Order (@OrangeOrder) May 28, 2022 Large crowds are set to gather at Stormont from 10am, with speeches planned at Parliament Buildings before the parade makes its way into Belfast city centre along Prince of Wales Avenue and the Upper Newtownards Road. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) warned ahead of Saturday that the parade will likely cause delays and diversions for motorists in and around the city. Some shops and businesses are also expected to close early to avoid the disruption. Grand Master of the Orange Order Edward Stevenson will be among those addressing the crowd. Members of the Association of Loyal Orangewomen of Ireland, as well as the Junior Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, the Royal Black Institution and the Apprentice Boys of Derry, will join the event. The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland Centenary Parade will take place in Belfast today at 1pm. The parade will leave Stormont at 1pm and proceed to City Hall. Diversions are in place and delays are expected. Allow extra time for your journey if you are travelling through Belfast. pic.twitter.com/mPeeL3GRd3 Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 28, 2022 Orangemen and women from England and Scotland are also expected to attend. Story continues Unionist politicians are set to join the event, including Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie. Mr Beattie called the event truly historic. It was unfortunate that the Covid-19 pandemic delayed celebration plans, but it is testament to the leadership and members of the Orange Order that this parade is now proceeding. Credit: PA Images Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber hopes to avoid bio-bubbles as he looks ahead to the upcoming international season. Wales travel to South Africa for a three-match Test series in July that will be the first Test rugby the Springboks have played this year. Hoping for normality Nienaber hopes to find some normality in planning this season without bio-bubbles but knows that with Covid, anything can happen. Hopefully, it is not bubbles again, but you never know how things are going to pan out. Nienaber said at SA Rugby and Betway event. But currently it is looking like there will be some sort of normality and we can actually plan accordingly. Last year, planning was very diverse because we were playing in Australia, in the UK and back in SA again. Then there was the Rugby Championship that started in SA and went to Australia and that was the tough part. You almost had 10 different scenarios you had to roll out and see which one was going to play out and went with that one. I think there is going to be some sort of normality. Nienaber has held several alignment camps during the domestic season and explained exactly what these camps are all about. Alignment camps are just an invitation. When we go into preparations camps we are going to go into when we get the players together, it is not going to be a Springbok camp, because of the staggered introduction of players. Sometimes we might just get a local U20 player to come and be a hooker, because there might not be a hooker as they are all still playing. I dont think when we are at training sessions you must say it is the Springboks camp. It is a preparation camp to prepare the players as best as we can. But the reality is that in week one there may be only nine players or there might be 13, there might be 17 or there might be 27 if all three in the URC teams lose. READ MORE: United Rugby Championship: Stormers Evan Roos opens up on that Rassie Erasmus tweet The article South Africa: Jacques Nienaber looks to avoid bio-bubbles appeared first on Planetrugby.com. Chinese vice foreign minister briefs media on visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to China Xinhua) 10:12, May 29, 2022 Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday gave a briefing on the trip of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to China in an interview with the press. Ma said that at the invitation of the Chinese government, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited China from May 23 to 28. This is Bachelet's first visit to China since she took office as well as the first such visit by a UN human rights chief in 17 years. President Xi Jinping met via video link with High Commissioner Bachelet on May 25. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Commissioner Bachelet, and senior officials from the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Women's Federation held talks with the High Commissioner respectively. The two sides had extensive, in-depth and candid discussions in the spirit of mutual respect and openness, Ma said, adding that the Chinese side gave the High Commissioner a comprehensive introduction on the path, philosophy and achievements of China's human rights development. The two sides exchanged views on global human rights governance, multilateral human rights work, China's cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other issues of common interest. In Guangzhou, High Commissioner Bachelet visited projects that reflect China's community-level democracy, poverty alleviation, judicial safeguard, environmental protection, people's well-being, rights protection of specific groups, and human rights education, he said. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, High Commissioner Bachelet was presented with the measures taken and achievements made in the region on counter-terrorism and deradicalization, social and economic development, ethnicity and religion, and labor rights protection. She also had field trips in Kashgar and Urumqi where she had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors, Ma said. He said with the joint efforts of both sides, the visit achieved positive concrete results: First, it enhanced understanding on China's path on human rights development. Since its 18th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people to achieve on schedule the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and made outstanding achievements in human rights development. In his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet, President Xi expounded on major issues regarding China's human rights development in the context of China's history and culture, and reaffirmed the principled position of the CPC and the Chinese government in upholding and protecting human rights in all areas. He stressed that, on day one of its founding, the CPC identified as its mission the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and has been working hard for the people's interests over the past century. The people's aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for. After decades of strenuous efforts, China has successfully found a path of human rights development in keeping with the trend of the times and China's national reality. We have been advancing whole-process people's democracy, promoting legal safeguard for human rights and upholding social equity and justice. The Chinese people now enjoy fuller and more extensive and comprehensive democratic rights. In Guangzhou's countryside, High Commissioner Bachelet had a close-up view of China's whole-process democracy at the community level. At the elderly care center and rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities, she saw how high technology helps facilitate the rights protection of specific groups. At Guangzhou Internet Court, she learned about world-leading practices of the judicial protection of human rights in the digital world. In the Fushan Circular Economy Industrial Park, she learned about examples of Chinese enterprises fulfilling social responsibilities such as promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. During her speech at the Guangzhou University, she discussed with the faculty and students on respecting and safeguarding human rights. The Chinese side stressed that the historic achievements testify to the success of China's path of human rights development. We remain committed to this path which we believe will lead to an even more promising future. Second, it set forth China's proposition for global human rights governance. Under the combined impacts of major changes in the world situation and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, hegemonism, racism, protectionism and parochial nationalism are on the rise. This has dealt a heavy blow to global human rights governance as manifested by numerous practices of double standards. President Xi pointed out at his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet that at present, it is most important to work on the following four priorities: First, putting people front and center. It is important to take the people's interests as the fundamental purpose and goal and strive to deliver a better life to the people. Second, respecting different countries' paths of human rights development, and supporting countries to explore suitable paths of human rights development in light of national realities and people's needs. Third, following a holistic approach to all categories of human rights with integrated and systematic measures. More efforts are needed to achieve development of higher quality, efficiency, equity, sustainability and security, so as to provide strong safeguards for the advancement of human rights. Fourth, stepping up global human rights governance. It is important to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, advocate humanity's common values, and steer global human rights governance toward greater fairness, justice, equity and inclusiveness. The Chinese side gave a comprehensive briefing to Bachelet on China's active engagement in global human rights governance. China has earnestly fulfilled its international obligations in the area of human rights. China has signed 29 international human rights instruments and is widely recognized as a role model in implementing conventions. China has served as a member state of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) five times, one of the most among all the countries. We put forward a series of proposals on promoting human rights through development, promoting human rights through cooperation, addressing the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights, rejecting racism and racial discrimination, promoting the fair distribution of vaccines and rejecting unilateral coercive measures. This has received wide support from the international community, especially the developing countries. The Chinese side pointed out that the promotion and protection of human rights is a common cause for humanity. Global human rights governance must be conducted through dialogue and consultation, and the achievements of human rights development must be shared by the people of all countries. China will continue to uphold true multilateralism, stand on the right side of history, and continue active human rights dialogue and cooperation with all parties to expand consensus, reduce differences, and promote mutual learning and common progress. Third, it has strengthened China's cooperation with the OHCHR. China attaches great importance to the UN human rights affairs and stands ready to contribute to advancing the international human rights cause. During the visit, the Chinese side and the OHCHR had thorough exchange on deepening cooperation and reached broad consensus. The two sides have agreed to establish an Annual Senior Strategic Meeting, to discuss national, regional and international human rights issues of common interest. And the two sides have agreed to establish a working group to facilitate human rights cooperation in such areas as development, business, poverty reduction, counter-terrorism, minority groups, digital space, and judicial safeguard. China is willing to provide greater support to the human rights work of the United Nations. Such concrete measures not only are conducive to the cooperation between China and the OHCHR, but also represent China's new contribution to the international human rights cause. Over the recent years, there has been a tendency of politicizing and instrumentalizing the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral human rights institutions. China made it very clear that, some Western countries, while having no self-reflection on their own notorious misdeeds, yet driven by political motives, abused multilateral human rights platforms to spread rumors and lies, using human rights to interfere with others' domestic affairs and recklessly attacking and smearing others, turning multilateral human rights institutions into arenas of "naming and shaming" and "bloc confrontation." These behaviors have gravely poisoned the atmosphere of international human rights cooperation, and must be taken seriously, and must be changed. Fourth, it provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand a real Xinjiang. For a period of time, certain Western countries and anti-China elements, under the disguise of human rights, have fabricated many sensational palpable lies on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues, only to fulfill their political motive of using Xinjiang to contain China. The Chinese side pointed out that essentially, Xinjiang is not at all a human rights issue, but a major issue concerning upholding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. All ethnic groups of Xinjiang belong to the family of the Chinese nation. A few years ago, in response to the serious challenge of terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang, we have adopted lawful measures to combat violent terrorism, protecting lives and property for all, and safeguarding human rights of all ethic groups across the region. Through unremitting efforts, the region has enjoyed security, stability, development, and prosperity, and there has been no violent terrorist attack in Xinjiang for five consecutive years. People that have visited Xinjiang all found that the Xinjiang they saw is completely different from the one demonized in the Western media. Ma said during High Commissioner Bachelet's visit in Xinjiang, the authorities of the Autonomous Region has made comprehensive presentation on China's policies on ethnic and religious affairs, as well as the measures and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization. High Commissioner Bachelet visited the Kashgar Ancient Town, and made a trip to the cotton fields, experiencing the progress that has been made in preserving and promoting ethnic minority traditions and in improving people's livelihood. He said High Commissioner toured an exhibition on counter-terrorism and de-radicalization, learning in detail the legal and policy frameworks, practices, and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization in Xinjiang. High Commissioner Bachelet had face-to-face conversation with religious personnel on the rights of religious freedom of Muslims respected and guaranteed by law. High Commissioner also had the opportunity to hear from representatives from different social sectors, including women, health, judiciary, and labor. Clouds cannot overshadow the sun, and truth will debunk all lies. China has made clear its stern position on the so-called Xinjiang report, and resolutely opposes smearing and attacking China with lies and disinformation, Ma said, adding that it needs to be pointed out that certain Western countries, out of ulterior motives, went to great lengths to disrupt and undercut the High Commissioner's visit, their plot didn't succeed. Ma stressed in the end that in terms of human rights protection, no one can claim perfection and there is always room for improvement. China will unswervingly follow the human rights development path that suits its national conditions, and advocate the shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. "China stands ready to cooperate with the OHCHR and others on the basis of equity and mutual respect, to actively carry out international human rights exchange and cooperation, enhance participation in global human rights governance, and jointly contribute to the sound development of international human rights and to the community with a shared future for mankind," he said. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Rephrase Rephrase current sentence Edit in Ginger (Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji) Online used car retailer Carvana, whose striking multistory glass box buildings effectively serve as auto vending machines, is back in business in Illinois, but construction of a controversial 14-story Carvana glass tower in Skokie remains stalled, village officials said. In February, Carvana won approval from the Skokie Village Board to construct the vertical used car dealership in an office and research-zoned area at 9759-9801 Woods Drive. The plan drew significant opposition from neighbors, who objected to the bright light that would emanate from the tower at night and to the increased traffic and noise from delivery trucks. Residents also complained that the tower would reduce their property values and suggested that given the towers proximity to the Harms Woods forest preserve, numerous birds would fly straight into the towers windows and be killed. Advertisement However, work on the tower came to a halt after the Illinois Secretary of State Police on May 10 suspended Carvanas dealers license in Illinois. At issue, state officials said, was Carvanas practice of misusing out-of-state temporary vehicle registration permits and its practice of failing to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold. That action by the Secretary of State Police prompted Skokies village attorney, Michael Lorge, on May 16 to send Carvana a letter ordering the company to not proceed with any work on the site and to have no further contact with Skokies building department. The villages rationale, Lorge noted, was that the site plan approval was conditioned on Carvana complying with all federal and state statutes, laws, rules and regulations. Advertisement On May 26, the Illinois Secretary of States office implemented a stay of Carvanas temporary suspension order in Illinois but under strict guidelines, including requiring that Carvana post a $250,000 bond to guarantee payment of any fines or fees that customers incurred from Carvanas improper practices. The stay allows Carvana to operate in a limited capacity while the process moves forward, said Henry Haupt, a spokesman for the Secretary of States office. During the stay, Carvana can sell vehicles to Illinois residents, but the company is not able to issue temporary registration permits or license plates. Instead, Carvana must register auto titles through Illinois remitters, which are third-party entities licensed in Illinois to process title transactions. Also despite the stay, Carvana is not able to resume work on the glass tower site in Skokie. Village officials said on May 27 that Carvana needs to fully resolve the matter before Skokie will sign off and allow work to resume. That will not happen at least until a state hearing scheduled for early June, Skokie officials said. Until the matter is completely resolved . the villages position has not changed and the project is on hold, Ann Tennes, Skokies director of marketing and communications, said in a statement. Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. Francois-Marie Dibon was afraid of heights as a child and struggled to dive from the side of a swimming pool. But now the 44-year-old Frenchman is determined to set a new world record for the highest number of bungee jumps within 24 hours. Mr Dibon, who works as an actuary in Stockholm, will attempt to break the record set by New Zealander Mike Heard, 35, who completed 430 jumps from Auckland Harbour Bridge during one day in 2017. Mr Dibon will jump from the Garry Bridge near Killiecrankie in Perthshire, operated by Highland Fling Bungee in Scotland, jumping through the night while relying on short rest breaks and micro-naps. "We have been thinking about this for the last five and a half years, with ups and downs and some road-blocks on the way," he said. "It takes a lot of trained staff to do something like this. Then the pandemic happened and the travel restrictions made it difficult for me to travel from Sweden to Scotland. "Now the karma is good. The stars are aligned." In March, Mr Dibon suffered the equivalent of sea-sickness, due to the constant motion of going up and down on the elasticated bungee cord. But after 25 hours a week in the gym, focusing on cardio and core muscle exercises, and learning breathing techniques, he feels ready to enter the record books. He said: "Like most people, I don't like pain and I don't like fear but I like the idea of facing your fears and trying to overcome them. "For one whole week after my first jump my body ached because I was so stressed but I realised, then, that this was good for me." A bungee jump roughly every 200 seconds Mr Dibon will need to complete a jump roughly every 200 seconds, watched by an adjudicator for the Guinness Book of Records. His record attempt is scheduled to begin on Tuesday morning and he will be joined by a support team for what he described as a collective effort. "Without me there is no record, without the team I will do only one jump," he said. Story continues "In 24 hours you only have 1,440 minutes. "It might seem a lot but when you are under time pressure, every second we lose, if you multiply that by hundreds, you are losing time. "Everyone's role is so important." Laurie Thomas, jump master and operations manager at Highland Fling Bungee, said: "When Francois first jumped with us, he fell in love with the place. "It is great to be part of this with him, and the team will have this on their CVs forever. Hopefully we are celebrating success." Texas now has more Fortune 500 corporate headquarters than any other state, its 53 surpassing New Yorks 51 and Californias 50, according to a press release from the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott credited the states business-friendly climate and skilled workforce, with no corporate or personal income tax, easy access to global markets and a reasonable regulatory climate. Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the nations GDP with revenues of $16.1 trillion and employ 29.7 million people worldwide, the press release states. Chamber scholarships Sixteen local students who took part in the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerces Leadership Education and Development program were honored last week at the Carleen Bright Arboretum. They will receive scholarships totaling $84,000. Receiving the largest scholarship of $20,000 was Madison Lindell, a La Vega senior hoping to study film and media arts at the University of Texas. Sponsors are First National Bank of Central Texas and Central National Bank. Students since 2010 have received scholarships totaling $550,000. Food halls The Tribune-Herald reported recently UnionBrands Eateries Texas LLC, parent to the Union Hall food hall at Eighth Street and Franklin Avenue, would take its brand statewide, targeting midsize cities, starting with a location called Union Grove at 8100 Woodway Drive, which it hopes to open next year. The company recently announced plans to open another location, called Union Crossing, on East Central Avenue in Temple. The name honors Temples rich railroad heritage, according to a press release. Occupying 8,000 square feet and accommodating nine vendors, Union Crossing will share an address with the Hawn Hotel building. Turner Behringer is revitalizing the hotel, nearby Arcadia Theater and a former Sears building, creating space for living units, restaurants and offices. Building permit roundup Building permits issued in recent weeks include one for work valued at $1 million for remodeling at Providence Medical Center, 6901 Medical Parkway. Another for $180,000 went to Baylor University to install shades on McLane Stadiums south end, according to a weekly newsletter from the local Associated General Contractors of America office. A $700,000 permit will allow alterations to the animal shelter at 2032 Circle Road. The Associated General Contractors office has published notices soliciting bids on creating a courtyard setting at the shelter. QT QuikTrip opened a second Waco-area store last week at North Loop 340 and Interstate 35 in Bellmead. That is where the last Lubys cafeteria in the area was demolished. QTs new store model was created specifically for highly traveled areas of the country that are also within a reasonable proximity to a QT distribution center for access to fresh foods, according to a press release. QuikTrip also has a store on New Road, near Interstate 35. 100 years of Castillo restaurants The Castillo family associated with Tex-Mex and Italian food locally since 1922 is celebrating its 100 years of Waco restaurant operations. The saga began when Antonio Castillo Sr. became sole proprietor of Texas Cafe on Elm Avenue and offered a full Tex-Mex menu, a rarity in 1922, according to a recounting provided by Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber President Andrea Kosar. Later came the Aztec Cafe, with its dance hall in the rear. Then there was El Patio, which met demand for pizza fueled by those from around the country stationed at Wacos James Connally Air Force Base. An Italian serviceman with ties to the Chicago restaurant industry taught the Castillo family to make pizza, spaghetti and lasagna that passed muster with the troops, according to the history Kosar provided. El Patio became Italian Village in 1952. The Castillo family opened other restaurants locally, including Italian Village 2, La Fiesta and finally Casa de Castillo at 4820 Sanger Ave. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An internal document the Southern Baptist Convention released this week revealed the names of hundreds of Baptist leaders accused of sexual abuse, including four pastors and teachers from McLennan County who were sent to prison for sexual abuse of children. The 205-page database, made public Thursday, includes more than 700 entries from cases that largely span from 2000 to 2019. The report came to light May 22 when an independent firm the convention hired, Guidepost Solutions, mentioned it in a report detailing how the Southern Baptist Conventions Executive Committee mishandled allegations of sex abuse, stonewalled numerous survivors and prioritized protecting the convention from liability. The Guidepost report, released after a seven-month investigation, contains several revelations, including that D. August Boto, the convention executive committees former vice president and general counsel, and former convention spokesperson Roger Oldham kept their own private list of abusive ministers. Both retired in 2019. The existence of the list was not widely known within the committee and its staff. Despite collecting these reports for more than 10 years, there is no indication that (Oldham and Boto) or anyone else, took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches, the report says. The committee did not make additions to the published list, but its attorneys did redact several entries as well as the names and identifying information of survivors and others unrelated to the accused, according to a statement released Thursday. They made public entries that reference an admission, confession, guilty plea, conviction, judgment, sentencing, or inclusion on a sex offender registry, and expect some of the redacted entries on the list to be made public once more research is done. The list also includes Baptist ministers who are not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The Tribune-Herald has previously reported on the four convicted child sex offenders named in the report who formerly served in Waco-area Baptist churches or schools. Curtis Jene Smith Curtis Jene Smith, then 38, pleaded guilty in 2006 to abusing a 12-year-old boy at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 2919 McKenzie Ave., and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Church leaders acknowledged they had not run a background check, which would have revealed a 1991 conviction for abusing two boys and a 2002 charge of failing to register as a sex offender. The state Public Sex Offender Registry lists Smith as out on parole and living in Mexia as of February. William Frank Brown William Frank Brown, former pastor of Bellmead First Baptist Church, pleaded guilty in 2009 to four counts of aggravated sexual assault involving a young parishioner. He was sentenced in 19th State District Court to four concurrent 50-year sentences. He was accused of abusing the girl from 2005 to May 2007. During the 2009 sentencing, the girl, then 13, called Brown her spiritual mentor and said his abuse caused her to spiral into depression. Prosecutors also mentioned a second victim from Illinois who was not part of the Texas case. The Southern Baptist database shows Brown had formerly been a pastor at Panther Creek New Beginnings Baptist Church in Chandlerville, Illinois. The Bellmead church, which once had 1,500 members, declined to about 11 regular attendees after the scandal. The church gave its facilities at 1000 Ashleman St. to the Waco Regional Baptist Association, which worked with First Baptist Church Woodway to create a mission church called La Vega Community Church. The church now operates as Maranatha Church and is a member of the regional association. Sergio David Bezerra Sergio David Bezerra, a teacher at Waco Baptist Academy for 13 years, was convicted in December 2014 for abusing two elementary students in 2007. At the trial, four young women testified that he abused them. He was convicted of four counts of indecency with a child by contact, and sentenced to four consecutive 20-year prison terms. He lost an appeal in 2016 and remains in prison. Waco Baptist Academy, 6125 Bosque Blvd., was renamed Eagle Christian Academy in May 2017. The academy has been independent of church sponsorship since its founding in 1984, according to its website. Benjamin Nelson Benjamin Nelson was sentenced in 2018 to 20 years in prison in a plea bargain with Hill County prosecutors for using social media to lure a teenage girl into a sexual encounter. At the time Nelson was pastor of Peoria Baptist Church in Hill County and a first-year student at Baylor Universitys George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Prosecutors said Nelson posed as a teenager online when persuading the 13-year-old girl to meet him in a parking lot, where she was found in his car. Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child by contact and online solicitation of a minor. The Associated Press and Tribune-Herald Managing Editor J.B. Smith contributed to this report. You are here: Business Assets under the management of China's public offering funds reached 25.52 trillion yuan (about $3.79 trillion) by the end of April, the latest data from the Asset Management Association of China showed. As of the end of last month, a total of 9,761 public offering funds were operated by 138 fund management companies, according to the association, an industry body supervised by China's securities regulator. In breakdown, the scale of closed-ended funds surpassed 3.15 trillion yuan, while that of open-ended funds stood at over 22.36 trillion yuan, the data showed. Of the 138 fund management companies, 45 are foreign-funded while 93 are domestic firms, the association said. We all sense it: an uneasy feeling when something just isnt right and our memory warns us about it. Such feelings are usually triggered by any little thing that jogs our memory. And for veterans it comes around on anniversary dates of active-duty events. It could be war-related but not necessarily. For many its the buildup to holidays such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day or the Fourth of July when our nations colors are most appreciated. Theres a saying I wish I wrote but I didnt. It was scribbled by a Marine during the 77-day siege at Khe Sanh, Vietnam. Supposedly written on a C-Rations container for a visiting reporter, it goes: Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know. As a veteran I sit and watch the antics of some in our nation today and the saying could never be truer. I see disrespect, dishonor and outright acts of traitors toward our country from both politicians and regular folks alike. When you vote as a politician against the will of the people you represent, you have betrayed them. You are in definition a traitor to those who put you in office. This is directed at all politicians, not those of one party. It does not necessarily preclude working with others to build consensus toward solutions, but it demands our concerns at least be folded into those solutions. Im asked many times: If you had to do it all over again, would you? Without hesitation, my answer is: Yes, for my family, my neighbors and my country as I believed in it. This Memorial Day I ask no, I dare each of you to look inward and ask if your actions this whole year were worth dying for. Ask yourself: If your children were on active-duty service, would you be doing what you are? Were all entitled to say and print and believe what we wish because of the sweat and blood of members of our armed forces, past and present, regardless of color, race or creed. Those in the military were not always volunteers, but when they served and died, they died as patriots. This Memorial Day I ask all to remember not only those patriots you knew but the tens of thousands you did not. I ask again: Are you worth dying for? For those agitators in the riots erupting across our nation, whether they spilled out into the streets and torched police cars and businesses after George Floyds death or stormed the U.S. Capitol to block the will of the people: Regardless of the reason, you are not worth dying for. The Constitution did not give you the right to destroy anybodys property or perpetuate violence. You are the criminals. Period. And if any politician at any level encourages your criminal activity before or during such riots, they are traitors to their constituents, the Constitution and the nation. This epistle did not end in my heart as it began. I was going to share how special days of the year trigger memories for many veterans. Instead it triggered my anger at our nations reckless politicians and the decisions they make, from our so-called president with his incoherent border policy and botched withdrawal from Afghanistan to town councils defunding police or abusing COVID-19 shutdown policies. Todays politicians have forgotten a basic rule: You were never elected to a throne. You were elected and loaned a seat of authority to represent us, The People, with our wishes, not your grand ambitions. Many will disagree with my letter today. You are welcome. I helped give you the right to refute it. Vietnam veteran Bill Mahon, who served in the Army from 1968 to 1989, led community efforts to keep the Waco VA hospital open and later served as McLennan Countys veterans services officer. QR Code Link to This Post Yes, America does have a lot of gun violence. But more than other countries, especially in Europe?To listen to America's politicians, you'd think that was the case.President Obama talked about it a lot, including in June of 2015, after a gunman shot nine people in a Charleston, North Carolina church: "Let's be clear: At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries," Obama said.Days later, Sen. Harry Reid echoed his comments. "The United States is the only advanced country where this kind of mass violence occurs," he said.More recently, the tragic, preventable slaying of 17 students by accused gunman Nikolas Cruz elicited similar sentiments from Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, speaking in the Senate just last Thursday: "This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America."Powerful remarks, and no doubt heartfelt. But a study of global mass-shooting incidents from 2009 to 2015 by the Crime Prevention Research Center, headed by economist John Lott, shows the U.S. doesn't lead the world in mass shootings. In fact, it doesn't even make the top 10, when measured by death rate per million population from mass public shootings.So who's tops? Surprisingly, Norway is, with an outlier mass shooting death rate of 1.888 per million (high no doubt because of the rifle assault by political extremist Anders Brevik that claimed 77 lives in 2011). No. 2 is Serbia, at just 0.381, followed by France at 0.347, Macedonia at 0.337, and Albania at 0.206. Slovakia, Finland, Belgium, and Czech Republic all follow. Then comes the U.S., at No. 11, with a death rate of 0.089.That's not all. There were also 27% more casualties from 2009 to 2015 per mass shooting incident in the European Union than in the U.S."There were 16 cases where at least 15 people were killed," the study said. "Out of those cases, four were in the United States, two in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.""But the U.S. has a population four times greater than Germany's and five times the U.K.'s, so on a per-capita basis the U.S. ranks low in comparison actually, those two countries would have had a frequency of attacks 1.96 (Germany) and 2.46 (UK) times higher."Yes, the U.S. rate is still high, and nothing to be proud of. But it's not the highest in the developed world. Not by a long shot.Yet, some today propose banning rifles, in particular AR-15s, because they've been used in a number of mass killings. It's important to note however that, according to FBI crime data cited this week by the Daily Caller, deaths by knives in the U.S. outnumber deaths by rifles by five to 1: In 2016, 1,604 people were killed by knives and other cutting instruments, while 374 were killed by rifles.So is it not fair to ask: If we're banning rifles, why not knives, too?The point is, guns aren't the problem; deranged killers that grow up in broken families often without positive male role models in their lives are the problem. So are political and religious extremists, in particular Islamists. If these people didn't have guns, they would find some other means to do the job.Bombs are illegal in both the U.S. and Europe. Yet Europe loses far more people to bombings than the U.S. Doesn't that make them more violent?In the most recent mass killing here in the U.S., what's upsetting is that Nikolas Cruz, as is usually the case, showed all the signs of a potential killer. He had been expelled from school. He made repeated violent threats. Deputies had made no fewer than 39 visits to his home. He left comments on a web video saying "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." After being notified about the disturbing message, the FBI looked into it, but did nothing.In this, Cruz is typical. As columnist SE Cupp notes, "the stunning commonality in all these mass shootings ... is that the men who perpetrate them are sick Las Vegas, Pulse nightclub, Newtown, Columbine, Charleston, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora on and on, these killers were mentally ill and in almost every case, someone knew it."Sweeping gun control laws may sound good, but they won't keep handguns and rifles out of the hands of criminals. They will make it even harder for honest Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights, however.Rather than politicizing the deaths of 17 people, Democrats and others should instead be pushing for better school security, and for our law enforcement agencies to respond more aggressively to clear threats. Those who are severely mentally ill or psychotic or potentially violent need help. And those that kill for political or religious reasons often show clear signs of being violent. No amount of gun control can stop that. QR Code Link to This Post Go post somewhere else. Nobody here likes you or believes your lies. WE all love the REAL President not the fake one that stole the election. You and he are has-beens. QR Code Link to This Post Just the fact that he reconnected with the WHO shows his malevolence since the WHO has been bought off by China and is practically a subsidiary that helped cover for their release of the virus. The Paris Climate accord will put America at a great economic disadvantage with other countries. Both are things Trump wouldn't do because both hurt our country but keep in mind these are Globalists that don't care about our country. If you don't believe me just look at our southern border where the fentanyl is flowing in rapidly killing Americans. Biden doesn't care. WATERLOO A man who cautioned his customers about the dangers of drugs is one of three people recently arrested in connection with investigations into local opioid sales. Another is a person who allegedly sold drugs moments before an overdose-relate vehicle crash. On Friday, authorities arrested Melvin Trav Williams, 54, of Waterloo, on federal charges of distribution of a controlled substance. He was detained pending a hearing in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Also on Friday, investigators filed a federal charge of distribution of a controlled substance against Johnathan Davis, 29, of Waterloo. On Thursday, officers arrested Justin Brock Jensen, 40, of Cedar Falls, on state charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Bond was set at $25,000. The following day, authorities filed federal drug distribution charges. The cases were investigated by the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force. Court records allege Williams was acting as a middleman, selling opioids obtained from Davis and another person. The drugs involved had been advertised as heroin but tests found they actually contained fentanyl, records state. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Williams is charged in connection with an April undercover buy of purported heroin at his East Fourth Street apartment. During the transaction, Williams accepted $100 for two small bags of a white powder and told the purchaser to be careful. He also told the buyer to have Narcan a drug used to treat opioid overdoses on hand while using, court records state. The powder later tested positive for fentanyl, according to court records. Court records indicate investigators observed Davis vehicle pull up to Williams residence shortly before drug transactions in April. In those cases, the product also tested positive for fentanyl. On Thursday, investigators executed a search warrant on Davis Ford Flex and found thousands of dollars in cash and more than 50 grams of white powder, records state. Jensen is accused of selling purported heroin during an undercover buy at a West Donald Street home in Waterloo on May 17. He is also charged with providing drugs to a person who apparently overdosed while driving April 2. Emergency crews found the driver unconscious in a Dodge Ram pickup that had left the roadway in the area of Broadway Street and Airport Boulevard. Medics administered Narcan and the driver regained consciousness. Inside the vehicle, investigators found a bag of powder inside a chewing tobacco container and a syringe with liquid. The driver told authorities he had overdosed on heroin, but tests revealed both the powder and the substance in the syringe were actually fentanyl. Officers found Facebook Messenger texts indicating the driver had bought drugs from Jensen and they discovered cellphone data indicating the driver had been at Jensens house about 38 minutes before the crash, according to court records. Police searched Jensens home on Thursday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WATERLOO In one corner of the German Burial Ground of Bennington Township, the name and dates on a tablet-shaped tombstone are nearly indecipherable. Carving from the mid- to late-1800s has been eroded by weather and age. Recessed at the top of the stone is a small carved lamb symbolizing it as a childs grave. On the opposite side of this peaceful cemetery, a shield-shaped tombstone honors the final resting place of Johann (John) Adams, who survived Civil War battles with Company K, 112th Illinois Infantry and died in 1903. A peony bush planted years ago nearly envelops the marker. Also known as Pioneer Cemetery, the burial site was established in 1864. On Saturday, a Memorial Day service with a color guard and taps took place at the burial grounds, hosted by the Cedar Falls Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3896. The tradition is carried out at cemeteries throughout Iowa and the U.S. on this holiday weekend as Americans gather for a day of remembrance and reflection. We value the cemetery and its history, said Jerry Kramer of Cedar Falls, a descendant of families buried in this bucolic rural setting and a member of the German Burial Ground Association. Probably every township in Iowa had a cemetery. Some are taken care of, and some are not. This is one of 12 known pioneer cemeteries in Black Hawk County. A pioneer cemetery in Iowa is defined as one where 12 or fewer burials have taken place in the past 50 years, said Julie Huffman-klinkowitz, collections manager/curator at the Cedar Falls Historical Society. She has spent considerable time researching burial grounds in the area and located a dozen that meet the states criteria. Looking at these pioneer cemeteries, you begin to see so many families, ethnic backgrounds and religious faiths intertwined through the years, she explained. Since 2012, association members gather in spring for a day of tombstone cleanings at the German Burial Grounds, said Marilyn Davenport of Cedar Rapids. Weve cleaned a lot of tombstones. We are gentle because we dont want to damage them, but we want to be able to read them, if we can, she explained. Older tombstones are often inscribed in German. There also are graves of World War I and II veterans. Davenport and Kramer are first cousins and have great-great-grandparents and a great-great uncle buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is also the final resting place for Kramers great-great-great-grandfather Johann Schenk, who died in 1877. On Tuesday, Davenport planted wildflower seeds at the cemetery and later in the week, loaded her car with flowers to mark the graves for yesterdays service. She appreciates honoring the people who settled this area. In 1852, German immigrant Conrad Fritz bought land in Bennington Township where he and his wife, Wilhemina, settled with their three children. They built a sod house on a low slope near a creek fed by a stream, Davenport said. After a wild wagon ride to and from Waterloo for supplies, a pregnant Wilhemina gave birth prematurely and died May 16, 1864. Fritz buried her a short distance from their sod home, followed a week later by their infant son, Freidrick, who was buried beside her. The graves are southeast of the cemetery gates. Caring for the cemetery is a family tradition, but Im a newbie and have been doing it only a few years. I respect the people buried here and the lives they had. It shows our connection to the past, said Debbie Fowler of Denver. Her sister, Gloria Clough, is association treasurer. Their great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Weingartner, and a great-great uncle are buried here. On this particular day, Fowler brought a double wedding ring quilt that their mother, Evelyn Richards Kuhlmann, made with her grandmother Elizabeth C. (Weingartner) Wetzel in 1933. Fowler draped it across the tombstone as a sign of affection. Three Civil War veterans are buried in the Gerholdt Cemetery southeast of Finchford in Union Township, established in 1869. Each grave Thomas Hackett, Adolph F. Matz and Enoch Vangundy has a GAR marker. Hacketts grave serves as a memorial. He died on March 10, 1863, aboard the gunboat Mound City and is buried on Louisiana Point, opposite Vicksburg, according to records provided by Huffman-klinkowitz. Joe Bohr, a retired history teacher, has immersed himself in maintaining Fairfield Chapel Cemetery, west of Cedar Falls on Butler Road on the line between Black Hawk and Grundy counties. A board of trustees with the First United Methodist Church of Cedar Falls cares for Fairfield. I fell into it, really, because its really an area of interest for me, said Bohr. We have a responsibility to show respect. Exactly when the cemetery was established is unclear, but it began on land donated by one of the families in a German settlement in the area. A small chapel was built in 1871 by the Evangelical Church of North America, in use until 1917 when the congregation founded Riverview Park in Cedar Falls and moved it there in 1918. It fell into disrepair and was purchased and moved to private property. In 1926, Herman Tostlebe donated $500 for perpetual care of the cemetery and that fund was passed along from church to church until it came to the First United Methodist Church, Bohr explained. Only one new grave will be allowed in the cemetery because the stone is already in place. There are 34 recorded burials and one-fourth were children younger than 18. He knows there are unmarked graves in the cemetery, and in the 1930s, vandals broke or turned over numerous headstones. There was no way to figure out where the headstones belonged, so a hole was dug and the pieces buried, Bohr explained. Theres really no such thing as care in perpetuity if there are no family members left to visit or care for the grave, and no one interested in maintaining a cemetery like this. Thats why what we do is important, he said. Perpetual care is an expectation most individuals have after death, Huffman-klinkowitz added. Its a wistful idea that someone is always going to be there to care for your gravesite. In smaller communities, especially, lots of times they didnt record or register names of people buried or publish an obituary in the newspaper. With nothing written down, theres no way to know. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The EU says it buys oil from Russia so that Putin cannot sell it to others and earn even more money?? Yes, the head of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke about the brave self-sacrifice of the European Union. Save the world, someone has to do it By that logic the EU should kill Ukraine soldiers so Russian army shouldnt have the pleasure killing Ukraine soldiers You know? I think this woman is a loony toon WtR A new surge of strength is very important in any difficult business. This also applies to the special operation that is being carried out on the territory of Donbass. And I am proud that every week new groups of volunteers come out of Grozny to support our fighters with weapons in their hands. Warriors of good gather in the Chechen Republic from all regions of our vast country. They have no ulterior motives. Not for the sake of titles and orders, they go to the special operation zone. They choose this path at the call of their hearts. For the sake of peace on earth, for the sake of the people oppressed by the Nazis, for the sake of a brighter future for new generations. Our Fatherland has always been famous for such true sons, true patriots and brave men who do not know fear, fighting to the death for the Motherland. So it was and so it will be! We saw off another group of fighters from Grozny the day before. My dear BROTHER, Chairman of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic Magomed Daudov addressed them with parting words. He wished them good luck, success, a speedy victory over evil and a speedy return home in the status of winners. I am happy to join these wishes! Im sure everything will work out! Kadyrov_95 , ! Vkontakte: https://vk.com/ramzan Twitter: https://twitter.com/rkadyrov https://t.me/RKadyrov_95 WtR Beijing will lift some of the COVID-19 control measures starting Sunday as new cases continue their downward trend. Officials said on Saturday that the recent outbreak has been brought under control with the number of new cases falling for six days. Eight of the city's 16 districts have reported zero new cases for three consecutive days, while sporadic cases in a few localities remain controllable. "The epidemic prevention and control in Beijing are at a critical stage of transforming from emergency response to regular prevention and control," said Xu Hejian, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, at a daily press conference. "But the risk of rebound still exists, and it shouldn't be taken lightly." Beijing will implement dynamic prevention and control measures with different districts carrying out different measures according to their conditions starting Sunday. Work from office, public transportation to resume In the districts of Fangshan and Shunyi, residents can go back to working in their offices, while for the districts of Chaoyang District and Tongzhou, the number of people working in the office can be increased as required. Buses, taxis and subway lines will resume operations in the districts of Chaoyang, Shunyi and Fangshan, except for localities under quarantine. In-person dining still suspended The temporary suspension of restaurant dining-in remains in place, and the resumption of classes in primary and secondary schools and kindergartens has also been postponed. College students will be organized to return home but are required to make the route as simple as possible. Offline training institutions, internet cafes, KTV venues and underground businesses in confined spaces will have to resume business at a later time, while home decoration services in residential districts remain suspended. "We must implement epidemic prevention measures to make COVID under control with zero cases," Xu said. "We will unswervingly and continuously press ahead with 'dynamic-zero' across the board to consolidate the positive momentum." Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response continue to record the blatant facts of criminal actions by military personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces and militants of Ukrainian nationalist formations against civilians of Ukraine and the peoples republics of Donbass: in Lisichansk, Lugansk Peoples Republic, a stronghold of the Ukrainian armed forces has been equipped in a mountain technical school, with an ammunition depot in the basement and heavy weaponry in the surrounding area; in Slavaynsk, Donetsk Peoples Republic, nationalists have equipped firing positions in schools No 14 and No 20, armoured vehicles, large-calibre artillery and MLRS are placed in the surrounding area, and residents of nearby houses are forcibly detained in the premises of these educational institutions under the pretext of ensuring security; in Bakhmut, Donetsk Peoples Republic, AFU units and foreign mercenaries are stationed in kindergarten No 49 and school No 18, while checkpoints and firing points have been set up at the approaches to the buildings; in Karlovka, Donetsk Peoples Republic Ukrainian nationalists have equipped firing positions and ammunition depots on the lower and upper floors of apartment buildings on Gagarina Street. Local residents are forbidden to leave their flats, and all attempts by citizens to evacuate to safe areas are severely curtailed. These facts once again demonstrate the Ukrainian authorities complete disregard for the norms of morality and the provisions of international humanitarian law. All this is happening with the tacit consent of the Russophobe-influenced countries of the so-called collective West, which continue to turn a blind eye to the numerous war crimes of the Kiev regime. In addition, according to information received from captured Ukrainian servicemen, militants of nationalist battalions are preparing another provocation with the use of toxic substances in Sumy. The neo-Nazis plan to shell Russian border territory from a residential area in the city and provoke Russian units to retaliate, after which they will blow up chemical tanks. Foreign journalists are in Sumy to take photographs and video. This cynical action will soon be used by the Kiev authorities to accuse the Russian Armed Forces of allegedly using chemical weapons and indiscriminate strikes on civilians. Moreover, while previously in preparation for such provocations the civilian population was withdrawn from the area of planned contamination, now, in order to maximise the resonance, no warning was given to the population. We warn the civilized West as well as the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in advance that the above and other similar provocations about alleged Russian atrocities are soon to be widely spread by the Ukrainian authorities through the Western media and in various Internet resources. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, over the past day, without the participation of Kiev, 20,206 people were evacuated from dangerous areas, 2,672 of them children, and in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 1,522,261 people have already been evacuated, of which 250,130 are children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 214,785 personal vehicles including 3,493 per day. More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the regions of the Russian Federation. The refugees are dealt with on an individual basis and are promptly assisted with various pressing issues relating to onward accommodation, employment assistance, places for children in kindergartens and educational institutions, and the provision of entitlements to social benefits. Over the past 24 hours, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various NGOs received 89 requests from foreign and Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, as well as to the Russian Armed Forces-controlled areas of Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total there are 2,756,996 such appeals from 2,137 locations in Ukraine in the database. In addition, 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked in 6 Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy). The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevents vessels from entering the high seas unhindered. As a result of the measures taken by the Russian Navy, the mine threat in the waters of the port of Mariupol has been eliminated and measures are being taken to restore the port infrastructure. The Russian Armed Forces have created conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors, which are safe lanes for ships: in the Black Sea to leave Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhnyi ports in a south-westerly direction from Ukraines territorial sea, 139 miles long and 3 miles wide; in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea. Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian. At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area. The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains. The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Demining detachments of the Russian Armed Forces and the EMERCOM of Russia are carrying out land and facility clearance tasks in the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics. A total of 2,328.1 hectares were checked (including 166.58 hectares during the day), 35 buildings (including 13 socially important facilities), 1 bridge and 9.64 km of roads. 11,311 explosives were detected and defused, 352 of them during the day. Federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. More than 27 tonnes of basic necessities and food kits, including baby food and life-saving medicines, have been prepared at collection points. The greatest contributors to the relief effort were: Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Federal Service of State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Nationalities; republics of Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea, Tatarstan, Chechen Republic, Altai, Trans-Baikal, Krasnodar and Primorsky territories, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Rostov, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Yaroslavl regions, as well as Moscow city; among political parties and non-profit organisations: United Russia, the Peoples Front All-Russian Public Movement, the All-Russian public organisation of veterans Boyevoe Bratstvo, the Russian Humanitarian Mission, the open joint-stock company Russian Railways and the All-Russian public and state organisation Russian Womens Union. . Since March 2, 23,624.3 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 1,067 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 6 actions in Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions, as well as in Donetsk Peoples Republic, during which 277.4 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas. On May 28, 6 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kharkov and Kherson regions, in Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, during which 366 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed. WtR Neil Hannum can think of no better way to enjoy oneself than engaging with history while cruising through the countryside on a bicycle. He has merged these ideas into Aztec Adventures to help like-minded people explore the culturally expansive Four Corners area. The initial offering, called Navajo Pueblitos Overnight Tour takes visitors back in time to the Spanish reincursion of the southwest following the Pueblo Revolt. Also known as Dinetah Pueblitos, the sites consist of small stone-and-timber structures usually found in well-guarded, high-ground sites along mesa rims and on isolated outcrops and boulders. Although their history and construction are still being studied, archeologists believe Navajo people used the outbuildings in the late 17th and early 18th centuries as lookouts and defensive outposts, Hannum said. The interaction of the post-Pueblo Revolt when the Spanish come back into New Mexico, and the interaction between Navajo and Ute, that helped create the defensive sites, he said. When you see petroglyphs in most areas, youre not going to see the Spanish influence. But with the Crow Canyon pueblitos, you see petroglyphs with people on horseback, so thats after Spanish came here. Hannums overnight tour brings visitors to six of these pueblitos, which generally range from one to six rooms in the form of multi-storied towers, cliff dwellings and fort-like structures. We bring people out on a 30-mile tour, hit three of the pueblitos, come back to Aztec to a bed and breakfast, and then take them out again the next day, he said. Or if they want to stay out there, well feed them and camp out there. The latter is particularly intriguing, Hannum said. You get to see a thousand stars plus a million more, he said. We found spots where its really nice to be in this open space, especially for people who arent familiar it being that dark out because their lifestyle revolved around the city. The idea, Hannum, said is to expose people to history and nature, how the two are entwined, and do so in a respectful manner. The area is a true crossroads of history and culture in the Southwest, he said, as the many different Native Americans left their mark, as well as the Spanish and colonists. There are quite a few overlapping cultures, with the older Chacoan influence, through the Navajos, Utes, Paiute, Jicarilla Apache and Anglo-Saxon and Spanish. Theyve all been melding in this area. The rides themselves are on dirt roads carved through the back country for gas-field access, he said. While some of the conditions can be sandy, for the most part, the routes are wide and hard-packed. Most of the way is relatively flat, but a lot of times to access the pueblito, you have to climb a 500-foot bench, Hannum said. You can ride mountain bikes or fat bike across a lot of the roads just fine, but a skinny tire cross bike is not so good. And for those who prefer a ride with less of a workout, he said e-bikes will work on the routes, as well. If youre coming in for a corporate, team-building event and bringing in say five executives and two people like to ride, and the other folks want to get out but dont ride as much, we can all work together to get out to these sites, Hannum said. Its all about learning and having fun and the e-bike is an awesome tool, especially in these areas where you can get to even in a truck. MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah Federal officials signed an agreement with leaders of the Navajo Nation on Friday that provides funding for clean drinking water infrastructure for reservation residents and resolves questions about longstanding Navajo claims to water rights in the drought-stricken U.S. West. The signing formalizes the Utah Navajo Water Rights Settlement, which became law in 2020 as part of President Joe Bidens bipartisan infrastructure bill. As part of the agreement, the federal government will pay the Navajo Nation $210 million for drinking water infrastructure in San Juan County the part of the 27,00-square-mile (71,000-square kilometer) reservation that lies in Utah. Many Navajo homes lack running water. Residents often fill containers at public taps or rely on water deliveries from volunteer organizations. As we seek to strengthen Indigenous communities and support tribal self-governance, todays action and all of these investments will help provide the Navajo Nation with autonomy and flexibility to design and build appropriate water projects that will address current and future water needs, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said at a signing ceremony on the Navajo Nation. Utah, which was also party to the agreement, will pay the Navajo $8 million as part of the settlement. We had two real problems in our state. One was the Navajo Nation had claims to the Colorado (River) that would impair Utahs water rights, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney told The Salt Lake Tribune. The other concern we had was about half the Navajo Nation residents (in Utah) didnt have running water. The settlement also quantifies the Navajo Nations water rights, quelling Utahs anxieties about its long-standing claims to a share of water, including from the Colorado River. A 1908 court decision said tribes had rights to as much water as was needed to establish permanent homelands. Though they possess senior rights, the Navajo were left out when seven western states divided up shares as part of the Colorado River Compact a century ago. The subsequent uncertainty and potential legal battles have emerged as an urgent issue as the region reckons with a hotter, drier future with less Colorado River water to be shared. The settlement recognizes the Navajos right to 81,500 acre-feet of Utah water and allows them to draw the water from aquifers, rivers or Lake Powell, if they choose. The agreement also allows the Navajo to lease unused water to entities off the reservation and guarantees they wont lose water rights not put to use. Its one of 16 tribal water rights settlements that the Biden administration is devoting $1.7 billion to fund from the recently enacted federal infrastructure bill. The hard work, however, must continue until all homes across the Navajo Nation have clean water running in faucets for all Navajo families, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez told the newspaper. Flash Samoan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, with both sides reaffirming commitment to the mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. During their talks, Fiame congratulated the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its centennial last year and wished the 20th National Congress of the CPC a great success. The prime minister said that she has paid many visits to China whose development path and people-centered concept she appreciates, and expressed hope that her country can conduct exchanges with China on the experiences on economic growth and poverty alleviation. Meanwhile, she reaffirmed Samoa's steadfast commitment to the one-China principle as well as non-interference on the Taiwan question. The Samoa-China cooperation has reaped remarkable results in various fields, with Samoa's infrastructure effectively improved and agricultural modernization enhanced, said Fiame. Samoa will continue its efforts to boost the bilateral partnership featuring mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win results. For his part, Wang congratulated the Pacific island nation on the 60th anniversary of its independence, and expressed appreciation for the development of friendship between China and Samoa over the past nearly half a century since their establishing diplomatic ties, and for Samoa having adhered to the one-China principle unswervingly and supported China safeguarding its core interests. China has always advocated that all countries are equal regardless of their sizes and strengths, Wang said, noting that as the world's largest developing country, China has always stood on the side of the developing countries and worked to seek justice for smaller nations, Wang said. He said developing countries need to strengthen unity amid the once-in-a-century changes. China is willing to spare no effort in supporting developing countries, including Pacific island nations in speeding up their development and revitalization, Wang said, adding that, in doing so, China has never interfered in the internal affairs of any country, has never added political conditions, and has never sought geopolitical interests. China is willing to achieve development and prosperity together with other developing countries and hence make the world fairer, said the Chinese foreign minister. He said the cooperation between China and other developing countries including Pacific island nations targets no third party and seeks no exclusive rights or interests. China has no intention of competing with other countries, and has always opposed the zero-sum game, said Wang, adding that China is willing to enhance communication with whichever country that cares for Pacific island nations, Australia and New Zealand in particular, to conduct more trilateral cooperation, giving full play to the parties' respective advantages, and based on respecting the island nations' will. The two sides also exchanged views on climate change during the meeting. Wang said the Chinese side has established a cooperation center for China and Pacific island countries on climate change, and that China is willing to continue to help small island countries strengthen their capacity building in tackling climate change within the framework of the South-South cooperation. Wang, in the meantime, urged developed countries to earnestly take on the historical responsibilities in emissions reduction and fulfill their obligations. The Samoan prime minister expressed her approval of Wang's remarks, and said that coping with climate change has become an important field of cooperation between Pacific island countries and China, expecting that the cooperation center between China and Pacific island countries on climate change will play an active role. The pair, after the meeting, attended a signing ceremony of documents on economic, technical and cultural cooperation. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Fire crews on Saturday gained 50% containment as they continued to make progress on the massive blaze in northeastern New Mexico. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire stood at 314,228 acres. The good news comes as the current fire crew prepares to hand off the baton to incoming firefighters. Jayson Coil, operations section chief on the north end, said outgoing crews created search-and-destroy map to identify heat sources near the perimeter of the fire to be extinguished. He said they started that work on Saturday to further strengthen containment. Coil said a piece of equipment working on a secondary line miles north caused a quarter-acre fire near Angel Fire but crews were able to contain it quickly. The incident led them to make changes on indirect line work having fire engines ready where heavy machinery is digging lines and doing spark producing work in the morning instead of during the heat of the day. That doesnt mean the works not going to be going on, it just means were going to change things, Coil said. He said the fire continues to remain within containment lines in the north. John Chester, operations section chief in the south, said crews assessed structures for possible protection in the southeast as the area saw an increase in fire activity. He said crews are strengthening containment and mopping up hotspots around Barillas Peak as, a little farther north, they continue clean up from Bull Creek to Elk Mountain. Chester said the containment lines are still holding in the southwest. He said the fire continues to grow near Spring Mountain and firefighters are building control lines. Going forward, Chester said strong winds and low humidity are a concern. Stewart Turner, fire behavior analyst, reiterated that point. The big news is that the red flag is going to be flying once again for (Sunday), he said, adding that those critical fire weather conditions could continue into the week. Turner said high temperatures, gusty winds and low overnight humidity recovery will leave forests dry and available first thing in the morning. He said those winds could gust to over 45 mph but the saving grace will be that they will come from the southwest which is favorable for the entire western side of the fire. Turner said those same winds could also test the containment lines on the north and northwest end of the blaze. He said the critical fire weather is predicted to ebb midweek as thunderstorms are possible. However, that good news came with an asterisk. Unfortunately, that could be dry lightning, Turner said, which could mean probably some new starts. With the fire in sight and the 40th Annual Red River Motorcycle Rally in full swing, Taos County Commissioner Candyce ODonnell tried to dissuade any lookie-loos. ODonnell said people need to drive safely, mentioning someone reportedly almost ran a firefighter off the road because they were distracted looking at the fire or helicopters. Art Schaap, owner of Highland Dairy in Clovis, looks down at exposed cow bones while standing at the site where thousands of his dead cows are decomposing under compost. Schaap had to euthanize his cows after they drank contaminated water that migrated from Cannon Air Force Base. Cannon officials said their hands are tied. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Clovis dairy farmer Art Schaap shows a photograph on his phone of his thousands of dead cows he had to euthanize after they drank water that was contaminated with toxic foam chemicals from nearby Cannon Air Force Base. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) A Cannon Air Force Base aircraft prepares to land at the base in Clovis. Thousands of Art Schapps Highland Dairy cows were euthanized after drinking contaminated groundwater that had migrated from the base. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Art Schaap stands inside an empty milking barn at his Clovis farm. He was forced to euthanize his dairy cows. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Thousands of Art Schaaps cows were euthanized due to being contaminated with PFAS, after drinking groundwater that migrated from Cannon Air Force Base. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Art Schaap, owner and dairy farmer of Highland Dairy, is slowly acquiring new dairy cows at his farm in Clovis, New Mexico on May 25, 2022. Thousands of Schaaps cows were euthanized due to being contaminated with PFAS, after drinking groundwater that migrated from Cannon Air Force Base. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Thousands of Art Schaaps cows were euthanized due to being contaminated with PFAS, after drinking groundwater that migrated from Cannon Air Force Base. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 8 Next Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Art Schaap remembers the day in 2018 when people from Cannon Air Force Base knocked on his front door and asked to test his water. The Clovis dairy farmer had seen airmen use firefighting foam during training exercises. But he soon learned that toxic chemicals from that foam had leaked off-base into the groundwater beneath his land. Thats when the nightmare began, he said. In the years since, Schaap found himself unable to sell the cows contaminated milk or meat. He has been forced to euthanize whats left of the 3,665 animals at Highland Dairy. Ive lost so much money, I dont know if I can restart, Schaap said. The farmer said the Air Forces actions since the pollution began do not demonstrate integrity and said his family has got nothing from the military base. The state Environment Department has accused the Department of Defense of leaving Schaap and the regional dairy industry holding the bag. But Air Force officials say their hands are tied. Now the fourth-generation dairyman faces a new problem: disposing of thousands of contaminated cow carcasses. New Mexico is suing the Department of Defense over the pollution. The state agency says the contamination at Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases poses an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, can cause certain types of cancers, high cholesterol and low birth weights. The forever chemicals that accumulate in the bloodstream were once common in non-stick and waterproofing products. New Mexicos litigation has stalled in federal court with other PFAS lawsuits. State Environment Secretary Jim Kenney said the state and farmers like Schaap are left to navigate the cleanup. We are taking on all the responsibility, Kenney said. From the science and technical modeling of the PFAS plume moving through Clovis, to evaluating how to remediate it, to testing peoples water, public and private water supplies, to educating the community around PFAS exposures. Disposing of dead cows Soon after the Air Force notified Schaap of the contamination, state and federal agencies said the dairys cow milk and meat had to be taken off the market because PFAS levels in the animals exceeded health advisories. Schaap added filters to groundwater wells and replaced tainted feed. But it was already too late. He was shut out of livestock auctions. He spent millions of dollars feeding animals that eventually died. He will likely never get another contract to ship milk out of the dairy southeast of Cannon. State estimates put the farms revenue losses and increased expenses at more than $5.9 million. The U.S. Agriculture Department offers monthly payments for producers who have had to remove milk from the market because of chemical contamination. New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte helped push the USDA to expand that program past the original 18-month limit. Highland Dairy worked with state agencies to outline a plan for the disposal of thousands of dead cows as part of the USDA funding process. We dont want to put that (PFAS) back into the soil and the groundwater, Kenney said. Schaap placed the animals in a shallow trench at the farm with a view of the Air Force Base in the distance. State agencies will help test the decomposed livestock to find the best final option. PFAS levels in the soil and water at the disposal site could force Schaap to move the animals again to a hazardous waste landfill. NMED allocated $850,000 from an emergency fund for cow disposal. The Department of Defense caused the contamination, the pollution, the poisoning of this herd, Kenney said. They have legal responsibility, if not legal certainly ethical, to assist or pay for (Schaaps) expenses. The state continues to test milk at nearby dairies. Slow progress The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a roadmap last fall to study nationwide PFAS contamination and hold polluters accountable. Part of that process is determining if the agency will set a maximum contaminant level for the chemicals, said Greg Lyssy, a senior project manager with EPA Region 6. A legally-enforceable standard would regulate the toxins in drinking water. The EPA has begun testing water systems for nearly 30 PFAS compounds. Were trying to collect more information across the country on how much PFAS is out there what are the levels, he said. But the federal agency has not listed the chemicals as a hazardous waste. A drinking water standard would not go into effect until at least late 2023. Air Force officials say that limits their cleanup efforts. Christipher Gierke, a remedial project manager with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, said a pilot project to pump and treat the aquifer could start construction this summer. This is what (we) can legally spend taxpayer dollars on based on the requirements that are out there now, Gierke said. A $16.6 million project will use three extraction wells and six injection wells to test treatment of the contamination plume that has flowed southeast of Cannon. Gierke said the test will inform long-term cleanup solutions. The Air Force is awaiting lab results from on- and off-base soil and groundwater samples. The data will help Cannon decide locations for off-base groundwater monitoring wells. Im part of this community, and I live here, and thats why I work so hard to try to push this investigation through, because I understand how this does impact the local community, Gierke said. Even so, the Air Force maintains that current federal regulations restrict the Department of Defense from addressing anything other than human water consumption concerns. Four years ago, the Air Force began providing bottled water and filtration systems for Schaaps family and other residents affected by the plume. Highland Dairy spent $200,000 to install a filter on the livestock water supply. The Air Force could not assist with the livestock water. We found out that it takes years to get PFAS out of the cows bodies and its just not a fast fix, Schaap said. In December, the farmer met with Col. Terence Taylor, who became commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon last summer. Schaap commended state agencies and U.S. lawmakers for helping his business through a yearslong crisis. But he said his experience with military officials is like talking to a brick wall. To me, we have got nothing from Cannon Air Force Base, Schaap said. The only reason why they came over to visit us was for political reasons and for a photo-op. The farmer said the bases pilot water treatment project is a waste of time. I think if we can get the cleanup project away from the military and put it to either locals or another agency for cleanup, I think were a lot better off, Schaap said. Taylor has acknowledged that the federal timelines dont always match up with an urgent fix the community wants. Were all interested in ensuring that we have clean, consumable water for the health and well-being of everyone, Taylor said in September. We are not looking for ways to halt progress. In fact, were trying to speed things up as best we can. Whats next Kenney said the EPA roadmap puts teeth to policy that had not been progressing very rapidly in the prior administration. Now it is progressing quickly, although from a state perspective, still not quickly enough, he said. Thats not a criticism, but were dealing with PFAS contamination in a non-theoretical way. Curry County commissioner and Clovis farmer Seth Martin said he understands the militarys need for a data-driven process to clean up the plume. But what is happening now, is it continues to devastate agriculture in that area, Martin said. As for Schaap, the best option may be to move the dairy operations. His property values have plummeted. All thats left of the dairy are the decomposing cows. Theres farms out there, but to relocate is very expensive right now, because land and building materials are so high, he said. We have no idea where well go. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal The fire was bad. Now officials say the flash floods, landslides and ash could be just as destructive. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak wildfire has burned hundreds of thousands of acres across four northern New Mexico counties. A U.S. Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER, team has started publishing data from its post-fire assessments. Micah Kiesow, team leader and a soil and watershed program manager with the Santa Fe National Forest, said that steep mountain slopes had acted like a sponge before the fire. Those slopes had organic material that could suck up the water when it rained. Postfire in some of these areas, especially the high soil burn severity areas and the moderate, were looking at now a steep slope thats more like a parking lot, Kiesow said. In many places, tree canopies have burned to black matchsticks. Soils are repelling water. Rain will likely run off rapidly if and when intense monsoon events hit. The team so far has studied soil burn severity across more than 115,000 acres of forest, private and state lands. The first report focuses on portions of the Gallinas and Tecolote Creek watersheds west of Las Vegas, New Mexico. About 49% of the acres surveyed ranked as moderate or high on the soil burn severity index. That statistic is very concerning, Kiesow said, and could signal an extreme change in watershed response during monsoon season. Satellite imagery provides a starting point for burn assessments. The multi-agency teams confirm the soil conditions in the field. Fire can completely change soil structure. Impacts in patchy, low-burn regions are often limited to the surface. But in areas that suffered the worst burns, deep roots that hold soils together may be gone. Some of the most severely burned areas surveyed so far include land west of Storrie Lake and near the City of Las Vegas water treatment plant. Ash Flooding presents another problem for communities near burn scars: ash flowing into rivers and streams. Anything you might do on the ground, the ash is going to get through and go to the lowest point, Kiesow said. And many water treatment facilities arent equipped for the expensive, time-intensive process of filtering ash. Communities such as Las Vegas, New Mexico, will see immediate impacts if we get any type of monsoon season this year, said Phoebe Suina, a hydrologist whose Bernalillo environmental consulting company studies wildfire-impacted watersheds. A large portion of their drinking water is served from surface sources that are directly downstream from these burned areas, Suina said. Ash and debris can harm water quality with high levels of nitrates and phosphorus. Magnitude BAER teams usually begin field work when a fire is 70% to 80% contained. But the sheer size and intensity of this wildfire have added urgency to the project. I dont think weve had this magnitude of fire, Suina said. Yes, theres been the Las Conchas Fire. But those watersheds are a quarter or half the size of the watersheds being impacted by the Hermits Peak Fire. A hazard assessment from the Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey shows that some burned areas could see heavy debris flows if they receive about .25 inches of rain in 15 minutes. The areas with the highest debris-flow hazards are: Canon Del Agua and Canon Alto northwest of Montezuma. Small drainages above Gallinas Creek near Trout Springs. Above Forest Service Road 263 and Gallinas Creek near Canovas Canyon. Sections of Burro, Hollinger, Tecolote and Porvenir canyons. To prepare for impacts, agencies could implement an emergency alert system with rain gauges connected to radio frequencies or satellites. Rain events would trigger messages to emergency responders and residents below the burn scars. One of the most important things we can do in this kind of situation is give people enough time to get out of the way, Kiesow said. Other post-fire projects may include seeding and mulching to help restore the eroded landscape. Federal and state agencies are sharing assessment data so that private landowners know potential impacts on their properties. Las Conchas Rolf Schmidt-Petersen, director of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, said the looming threat of post-fire flooding echoes the Las Conchas Fire of 2011. The rainfall impacts with erosion and debris flows can be very significant, he said. The Las Conchas Fire burned more than 150,000 acres and sent sediment and debris into the Rio Grande. University of New Mexico researchers found that the fire affected water supplies from the Jemez Mountains to Elephant Butte Reservoir. Flooding after Las Conchas damaged trails and buildings in Bandelier National Monument. Dixons Apple Orchard near Cochiti was ruined by back-to-back flash floods and mudslides in the months after the fire. The federal BAER team will soon start assessing impacts of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in the Sapello and Mora watersheds. Even if the fire is over, we need to start preparing, Kiesow said. Its not if the flooding will happen its when. We sat across the press room from each other in November 2001, two newspaper reporters among a throng of media waiting to cover the last state-sanctioned execution in New Mexico. She was Leslie Linthicum, the vaunted writer from the Albuquerque Journal. I worked then for the smaller, scrappy Albuquerque Tribune. She was one of the Journals brightest stars from the biggest paper in the state. But I was the only reporter Terry Clark, condemned to death for the notorious 1986 rape and murder of 9-year-old Dena Lynn Gore, had ever communicated with. I got the story no one else had. As we waited, Leslie asked me whether I had ever considered jumping ship and coming to work for the Journal. No way, I said. Im not the kind of reporter the Journal likes, I told her. I have a different way of writing. Im stories, not straight news, not short and concise. Youd be surprised at what the Journal will let you do, she said. Turns out, she was right. The Journal hired me after the Tribune ceased publication in early 2008. That August, I was named one of four UpFront columnists, which, of course, included Leslie. One of our columns ran each day on the front page, the unconventional idea of then-editor Kent Walz. Nearly 14 years later, I am the last of the original four. And, now, I have reached my last column. After nearly 40 years in the newspaper business, I am retiring. It has not been an easy decision. Writing UpFront is the best job in the newsroom and it came with the best readers. But its time for me to see what life is like beyond deadlines and bylines, and other peoples stories. Besides, I dont much look like my column mug shot any more, the hair now gray, the wrinkles set. I leave with gratitude for my Journal editors who allowed me to write in my different way, and for taking the heat when that difference was not appreciated by readers. I leave grateful to you who invited me into your homes and your hearts to share the stories of your lives, of death, kindness, challenges and accomplishments. You are the examples of how shared pain is lessened, but shared joy is increased. I leave honored to have borne witness to the memories of those souls taken too soon by the evil whims of monsters. Dena Lynn. Linda Lee. Girly Chew. Kaitlyn. Stephane. Sergio. Tara. Terry. Mary. Victoria. Kevin, Matthew and Luis. Ben, Garret, David, Richard and Michael. The women on the mesa. All your lives mattered and will never be forgotten. I leave inspired by your valiant battles won and lost through disease, suicide, substance abuse, mental illness, car crashes and calamity. I leave indebted to you courageous people who lost loved ones, but kept on breathing, kept on being buoys of resilience and grace in the dark maelstrom of despair. When the tables were turned and I was the one drowning in pain over the death of my son in 2017, you were among the first to offer your support. You became my teachers on how to get through the worst imaginable anguish. Years ago, one of my colleagues deemed me the Mistress of Gloom, and that got me thinking that maybe I should move my column more toward the light. That, many of you told me, was especially welcome when the front page was filled with so much political rancor, bloodshed and COVID-19. What I learned, what I hope we all learned, is that, no matter how bad things get, there is always good. For years, the signature on my Journal emails has included my mantra: Be safe. Be brave. Do good. A couple of years ago, I added two more intentions: Vaccinate. Vote. If you will indulge me, let me add a few more: Be informed. Start with reading newspapers, and not just the Journal. A variety of credible news sources. Understand that credible reporters are not enemies of the people. They are not fake news. They are not vultures. Credible reporters are members of your community. They are the bulldogs of democracy. They only bite the bad guys. Be open. Ive always viewed this column as a catalyst for dialog, not as a monologue demanding how you should think. I worry that society has become so siloed and stodgy that such dialogs are harder to have. Let us strive to hear each other out without resorting to ad hominem attacks. Be kind. Start by seeing the good and understanding the bad in everybody. Start with a smile. As for me, theres an Adirondack chair and a pint of pale ale on my back deck waiting for me. Theres a stack of books waiting to be read. A big-headed dog named Chako waiting to curl up at my feet. Maybe theres a few lunch dates finally to be had, a yoga mat finally to return to, a few charities and causes to be considered. Ill still be around on social media and, perhaps, in a publication or two. Im convinced there are more stories to get that no one else has, and I will still tell them, in my different way. For now, farewell. And thank you. Reach retired Joline at jolinegkg@gmail.com or on Facebook and Twitter. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Fewer Republicans than Democrats have entered the race to be Bernalillo County Sheriff, but there are still four men campaigning to win their partys nomination in the primary. Candidates include a former state representative, a Colorado native who has worked for the Sandoval County Detention Center, a former chief of police in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and a man who describes himself as a constitutional activist and teacher. The Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office is the largest sheriffs office in the state and employs 458 staff 305 of whom are sworn deputies. It mainly covers the unincorporated areas of the county, however deputies have jurisdiction within the city limits as well. The winner of the Republican primary will face off against the winner of the Democratic primary and libertarian candidate Kaelan Ashby Dreyer in Novembers election. Paul Pacheco Paul Pacheco was spurred to run for sheriff by his two daughters, ages 18 and 30, who are talking about leaving New Mexico because of the crime problem in the county and state. He said hes not aware of either having been a victim of crime but it weighs heavy on their minds. Theyre fearful for their friends, going out doing things, even going and doing something as simple as going to the grocery store concerns them, especially at night, Pacheco said. So thats the catalyst of everything of why I jumped into the race. Pacheco, 58, who worked for the Albuquerque Police Department for 27 years and then served as a state representative from 2013 to 2017, said if elected he would push to increase the number of deputies on patrol by transferring more to the field services bureau. So the first thing that Im going to do is Im going to reorganize the agency, Pacheco said. Im going to put more deputies on the street along with asking the Bernalillo County Commission for 75 new deputies. He said hes not sure if hell be able to convince the commission to fund 75 more deputies but is hoping for at least 50. With more people on patrol Pacheco said deputies will be able to engage with the community and make more traffic stops, which he said will then lower crime. He said hes noticed the current sheriff seems to be in constant conflict with numerous other entities within the law enforcement community, including the Albuquerque Police Department command staff and the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office. By contrast, Pacheco said, his time in the Legislature taught him how to build relationships. And his years, starting in 2017, as deputy cabinet secretary for the Corrections Department gave him another part of the law enforcement puzzle as well as a lot of executive experience. It helps me again, in building coalitions and relationships, Pacheco said. I am not all knowing, I dont know everything. The important thing for me as sheriff is to be articulate, is to know my subject matter and to surround myself with good people. David Bibb David Bibbs father was a career FBI agent so the family moved around a lot as he was growing up. But Bibb, now 53, was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and went to high school in Santa Fe. He joined the Las Vegas Police Department, the San Miguel County Sheriffs Office and then the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office where he worked until he retired. More recently, Bibb served as police chief of the Las Vegas Police Department from November 2018 to July 2020. He said he was able to keep the department unscathed, completely neutral and transparent as the mayor was being tried for public corruption by the Attorney Generals Office. While the 50-officer police department is much smaller than the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office, Bibb said he believes his experiences have prepared him for the role. Whether Im the chief in Las Vegas, a platoon sergeant in combat, or the sheriff of Bernalillo County, I would empower and give the authority to the people in the positions to make the decisions on the spot, Bibb said. All I would ask is they do whats best for the community and keep within their scope of training. If elected, Bibb said he would not come in with a wrecking ball but instead would fine-tune things, such as instituting a system where people can report incidents online rather than waiting for a deputy to come to them. I believe the sheriffs department is doing a phenomenal job today, Bibb said. Can they do it better? Of course, theres always room for improvement. And having worked for different agencies, I think I bring the perspective of different practices that could work better. Dereck Scott Dereck Scott grew up in Colorado and moved to New Mexico in 2003, where he worked for the Sandoval County Detention Center. He said he was kicked into a higher gear and spurred to run for Bernalillo County Sheriff by his children, who said they felt like they had no future in New Mexico. This is the first time Im running, but its the only job I want to do is sheriff, said 42-year-old Scott. I really dont have any bigger aspirations than that. Scott said he was a law enforcement explorer a program for teenagers to learn about law enforcement and a cadet with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office before moving to New Mexico. When I went through the academy in the late 90s, early 2000s, that was the idea community-based policing, Scott said. And so its something that I brought from Colorado, that I think that can really bring the crime down, and help Albuquerque get out of its slump. In interviews and on his website, Scott said he worked for the Sandoval County Sheriffs Office as a reserve deputy and a peace officer, patrolling the area and investigating crimes. But Sandoval County officials could not find any records to confirm he was a deputy or a reserve deputy, only that he worked at the jail. Scott provided the Journal with a certificate that showed he was a certified peace officer with the Sandoval County Detention Center. State statute says a jail guards peace officer powers only extend within the facility or during transport, supervision or apprehension of an inmate. The states Department of Public Safety has no record of Scott having a peace officer law enforcement certification. If elected, Scott said he would want to make some changes to the training to include new technology that helps with situational awareness. He said he would also like to empower residents to join the reserve program at BCSO and try to get state grants to fund the Sheriffs Office and the Albuquerque Police Department to help solve murders and get the homicide rate down. How do we take care of our county and how do we help out Albuquerque what some people like to say is the monkey on the back of the Bernalillo County, Scott said. Thats where our reserve program comes in. Joshua James Ryan Lawrence If elected Joshua James Ryan Lawrence said his first week in office would entail escorting the elected officials and judges out of their offices and then holding a special election to replace them. This is because, he said, none of the officials had gotten their oath bonded as is required in the states Constitution. If theyre not within those 30 days, they actually forfeit their elected office, Lawrence said. Which means that all of the elected offices in our county are technically vacant. Lawrence, 39, said he has talked to every single elected official in the state as well as the secretary of state about this issue but theyre not very familiar with our constitution and they dont understand or comprehend how they are not upholding their constitutional duties. A spokesman for the states General Services Department said the department has received several requests for information about bonding. He said the GSD provides surety bond coverage for all state employees, including elected officials, to cover the state if they fail to perform their duties or if they commit any wrongdoing. Lawrence said hes worked in the film, music and theater industry for more than 20 years and has done just about everything you can do on a movie set. He also describes himself as a constitutional activist. Ive been teaching the constitution for many years, he said. Traveled the whole state, teaching town hall meetings, the community, as well as all the elected officials how to operate in a constitutional status. While Lawrence said his prior experience was being Bexar County Sheriff for The Republic of Texas, in an interview he clarified that he is not referring to the state of Texas. He has not worked for the Bexar County Sheriffs Office in the state of Texas. Things would change a great deal if Lawrence becomes the Bernalillo County Sheriff. He said he will release all the deputies who already work for BCSO and deputize all veterans who will then help deputize the public. The former deputies will then have to decide if they want to operate constitutionally and if they do they will be vetted by the veterans and re-instated. Ill be putting the power of the people back into the peoples hands, Lawrence said. Unfortunately, the people dont have a whole lot of power right now and most arent aware of their rights. So I will be teaching the people of the county what their rights actually are, and how to assert those constitutional authorities. Which rights should they be asserting? That elected offices are vacant because none of the officials have gotten bonds. To read candidate bios and the complete questionnaires, visit ABQJournal.com/election-guide POKROVSK, Ukraine Russian and Ukrainian troops traded blows in fierce close-quarter combat Sunday in an eastern Ukrainian city as Moscows soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain a strategic foothold to conquer the region. Ukraines leader also made a rare frontline visit to Kharkiv, the countrys second-largest city, to assess the strength of the national defense. In the east, Russian forces stormed Sievierodonetsk after trying unsuccessfully to encircle the strategic city, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation there as indescribably difficult, with a relentless Russian artillery barrage destroying critical infrastructure and damaging 90% of the buildings. Capturing Sievierodonetsk is a principal task for the occupation force, Zelensky said, adding that the Russians dont care about casualties. The citys mayor said the fighting had knocked out power and cellphone service and forced a humanitarian relief center to shut down because of the dangers. The deteriorating conditions raised fears that Sieverodonetsk could become the next Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov that spent nearly three months under Russian siege before the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered. Sievierodonetsk, located 143 kilometers (89 miles) south of the Russian border, has emerged in recent days as the epicenter of Moscows quest to capture all of Ukraines eastern industrial Donbas region. Russia also stepped up its efforts to capture the nearby city of Lysychansk, where civilians rushed to escape persistent shelling. The two eastern cities span the strategically important Siverskiy Donetsk River. They are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with the adjacent Donetsk region. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, visited soldiers in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from nearby positions several weeks ago. I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraines freedom, Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the visit. Russia has kept up its bombardment of the northeastern city from afar, and explosions could be heard shortly after Zelenskyys visit. Shelling and airstrikes have destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings in the city since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In a video address later Sunday, Zelenskyy praised Kharkiv regional officials but said he had fired the regional head of the countrys top security agency, the SBU, for his poor performance. In the wider Kharkiv region, Russian troops still held about one-third of the territory, Zelenskyy said. After failing to seize Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Russia is focused on occupying parts of Donbas not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told French TF1 television Sunday that Moscows unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, adding that Russia sees them as independent states. He also suggested other regions of Ukraine should be able to establish close ties with Russia. In Luhansk, constant Russian shelling has created what provincial governor Serhiy Haidai called a severe situation. There are fatalities and wounded people, he wrote on Telegram. On Saturday, he said, one civilian died and four were injured after a Russian shell hit a high-rise apartment building. But some Luhansk supply and evacuation routes functioned Sunday, he said. He claimed the Russians had retreated with losses around a village near Sievierodonetsk but conducted airstrikes on another nearby river village. Civilians who reached the eastern city of Pokrovsk, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Lysychansk, said they held out as long as they could before fleeing the Russian advance. Yana Skakova choked back tears as she described leaving with her 18-month and 4-year-old sons while her husband stayed behind to take care of their house and animals. The family was among 18 people who lived in a basement for the past 2 1/2 months until police told them Friday it was time to evacuate. None of us wanted to leave our native city, she said. But for the sake of these small children, we decided to leave. Oksana, 74, who was too afraid to give her surname, was evacuated from Lysychansk by a team of foreign volunteers along with her 86-year-old husband. Im going somewhere, not knowing where, she wept. Now I am a beggar without happiness. Now I have to ask for charity. It would be better to kill me. Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said there was fighting at the citys bus station on Saturday. Residents remaining in the city, which had a prewar population of around 100,000, risked exposure to shelling just to get water from a half-dozen wells, and there was no electricity or cellphone service. Striuk estimates that 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, from Russian attacks as well as from a lack of medicine or treatment. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, questioned the Kremlins strategy of assembling a huge military effort to take Sieverodonetsk, saying it was proving costly for Russia and would bring few returns. When the battle of Sieverodonetsk ends, regardless of which side holds the city, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back, the institute said late Saturday. In Mariupol on Sunday, an aide to its Ukrainian mayor alleged that after Russias forces gained complete control of the city, they piled the bodies of dead people inside a supermarket. The aide, Petro Andryushchenko, posted a photo on the Telegram messaging app of what he described as a corpse dump in the occupied city. It showed bodies stacked alongside closed supermarket counters. Here, the Russians bring the bodies of the dead, which were washed out of their graves during attempts to restore the water supply, and partially exhumed. They just dump them like garbage, he wrote. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim. Regions across Ukraine were pummeled overnight by renewed Russian airstrikes. On the ground in the eastern Donetsk region, fighters battled back and forth for control of villages and cities. The Ukrainian army reported heavy fighting around Donetsk, the provincial capital, as well as Lyman to the north, a small city that serves as a key rail hub in the Donetsk region. Moscow claimed Saturday to have taken Lyman, but Ukrainian authorities said their fighters remained engaged in combat in parts of the city. The enemy is reinforcing its units, the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said. It is trying to gain a foothold in the area. ___ Mazalan reported from Kyiv. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and AP journalists around the world contributed. ___ Follow APs coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine DEVELOPING... Story will be updated as new information can be verified. Updated 4 times UVALDE, Texas President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of do something as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: We will. At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses one for each of those killed and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the childrens photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends, he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important. As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting do something. Biden answered, We will, as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. And we are committed to turning this pain into action, he said. The visit to Uvalde was Bidens second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist replacement theory killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nations entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died, Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer. Biden also met with first responders before the trip back to his home in Delaware. It was not clear if the group included officers who were involved in the immediate response to the shooting. Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response. Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway. Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers. The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response and make its findings public. Its easy to point fingers right now, said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS Face the Nation, before adding, Our community needs to focus on healing right now. Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahna Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Bidens decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde. Its more than mourning, she said. We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. Its on the news. People cry. Then its gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again. If theres anything if I could tell Joe Biden, as it is, just to respect our community while hes here, and Im sure he will, she added. But we need change. We need to do something about it. Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Hours after the shooting, Biden delivered an impassioned plea for additional gun control legislation, asking: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Over the years, Biden has been intimately involved in the gun control movements most notable successes, such as the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and its most troubling disappointments, including the failure to pass new legislation after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As president, Biden has tried to address gun violence through executive orders. He faces few new options now, but executive action might be the best the president can do, given Washingtons sharp divisions on gun control legislation. In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if they could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts. Encouraging state red flag laws to keep guns away from those with mental health issues, and addressing school security and mental health resources were on the table, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who is leading the effort. While there is nowhere near enough support from Republicans in Congress for broader gun safety proposals popular with the public, including a new assault weapons ban or universal background checks on gun purchases, Murphy, D-Conn., told ABCs This Week that these other ideas are not insignificant. The group will meet again this coming week under a 10-day deadline to strike a deal. There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook, said Murphy who represented the Newtown area as a congressman at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting. And while, in the end, I may end up being heartbroken, I am at the table in a more significant way right now with Republicans and Democrats than ever before. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and AP video journalist Robert Bumsted in Uvalde, Texas, contributed to this report. ___ More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting ___ This story was first published on May 30, 2022. It was updated on June 2, 2022 to correct the spelling of one of the first name of one of the shooting victims. She is Eliahna Torres, not Eliahana Torres. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Naturally, Richie Tabet is honored to have the business he co-owns recognized nationally. I feel like its the fruits of our labor for 36 years, Tabet said of the Dealer of the Year Award that RAKS Building Supply received earlier this year. LBM Journal, a publication serving the lumber and building material distribution channel, gives its award to companies that excel at working relentlessly to grow and satisfying customers, according to its website. RAKS won in the category for independent lumber and building materials companies earning $50 million to $100 million in annual sales. Tabet started RAKS in Los Lunas with Kenny Trujillo, his nephew, in 1986. The company sells building materials, hardware and paint to residential builders, commercial builders and to do-it-yourselfers. A true family-owned and operated business, relatives are in key positions throughout the company, Trujillo said. His son, Carlos Trujillo, and Tabets son, Todd Tabet, will eventually take ownership of RAKS, which now has five locations in New Mexico including one off a railroad spur in Albuquerque and one that houses a truss manufacturing plant. Every project that RAKS assists with needs trusses, Tabet said. Trusses are frameworks constructed to support the roof or floor of a building. Its gotten to be a real big business, he said. RAKS began designing and assembling trusses less than a decade ago and is now one of the larger truss companies in the state, Tabet said. He and Trujillo just invested $3 million into new equipment for the truss plant that will allow them to increase the facilitys output. Its all automated machinery and saws, Tabet said, and its just a lot faster. Navigating expansion can be tricky. A business can grow but not make any money and that has happened to RAKS, Tabet said. Watching overhead as RAKS develops has been key. It comes to a point where either you go back down to where you started, or you just go real, real high and expand and go bigger, Tabet said. Were not ones to go back down. What difference does it make to have a location near the railroad? Tabet: It made a big difference because I feel like probably 80% of our lumber comes on rail. Eighty, ninety percent of our plywood comes on rail. The sheetrock, about 50-50. Theres a lot of different products that come on rail. It made a huge difference. It was right here in our yard. We didnt have to send it through a reload area and then get it brought over here. So does that save time or money? Trujillo: With fuel the way it is today, Im thinking that its probably 15% cheaper right now to get it on rail than it is to bring it in a truck. Considering the labor shortage, are you trying anything different now to get new employees? Trujillo: Well, weve always hired within. Every job that we have in management or whatever, we always post it and try to hire within. So were working real hard on that. About a year ago, we were looking, trying to outsource it to college kids and stuff like that. So weve made our mind up that were just gonna move up our people. Weve even moved people from the outside that have been delivering that are good on the computer, and we didnt know that. We bring them in. Try to put them in sales and stuff like that and management. What advice would you have for other family businesses? What works and what doesnt? Tabet: Well, the biggest problem with a lot of family businesses is that the second, third generation they just think they dont have to work and (they) take anything they want. Here at RAKS, were real structured where if you want something you pay for it. Or you put it on an account. You just dont take things. Coming in late doesnt cut it with us. You know what Im saying? Youve seen the stories where these young second, third generation kids, they dont want to go to work but yet they want the money. That doesnt work at RAKS Building Supply. How have your sons and other family members learned the business? Trujillo: Basically what happens is they all start in junior high with us and in high school. Basically, theyre hanging around the yard, and then well send them out on deliveries when theyre in high school so they can learn the delivery aspect. They work themselves back into the inside. And then basically, like Richie said, his boy, my boy theyre kind of tied to the hip of each of us. Do you think that the need for houses is just going to keep going? Tabet: Everybodys talking recession again. But we cant see that right now. Were still planning. And were in pretty good shape in every area that if something hit, we could withstand it. So were not backing down. I mean, a lot of people were backing down, and theyre out of product. Like Kenny says, you cant sell out of an empty wagon. We dont feel that. We have been through several recessions, and we know how it is. We work it so we come out of it. IN-DEPTH To deal with the pain of postpartum mastitis, Janine Mahon drew on her knowledge of Chinese medicine to create a soothing topical salve for herself from herbs and oils. In the 20 years since she successfully treated her own breast pain, Mahon, a licensed and certified Doctor of Oriental Medicine, refined the product and shared it with clients at her Albuquerque clinic. When one satisfied patient asked for a dozen bottles of the healing oil to share with friends, Mahon wondered if there might be a larger market beyond her regular clients. Mahon launched Dr. Janine Mahons Rejuvenating Breast Oil exclusively through Violet Grey, a high-end retailer with extensive online reach and sales through its Melrose Place store in Los Angeles. I went from no product to a dream store launching it, she said. Being in Violet Grey led to other places wanting to carry it. Mahon needed help meeting increased demand, so she contacted a friend who had helped Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm get its products into retail and foreign markets. The friend recommended that Mahon work with New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (New Mexico MEP), a nonprofit organization that helps businesses transform their operations to increase profitability through lean manufacturing concepts. Scott Bryant, innovation director for New Mexico MEP, helped Mahon develop a process matrix that tracked manufacturing processes, equipment, materials, and information from order to delivery. The matrix also analyzed bottlenecks and wasteful procedures that could be remedied by combining, eliminating, simplifying, rearranging and standardizing each step in the process. Bryant, for example, suggested using small beakers to measure liquids instead of pipettes, which measure drip by drip. He also recommended premixing oils in small, standardized containers that are easier to handle and store, reduce the risk of spills and provide visual cues when supplies need to be reordered. He recommended using small hand pumps to transfer oil from large containers to small ones, instead of pouring it. I can be more efficient and more productive if I work in small batches, Mahon said. Its so counterintuitive. New labeling and batch control techniques were important for selling her product in Europe, as the European Union requires products to be regularly certified by an independent organization to confirm that materials, quality and characteristics are as claimed. Paris was Mahons first European market, followed by Italy and Germany. That elevated my presence, she said. I didnt have to pitch them. Ive had people reach out without having to knock on doors. In October 2021, the breast oil became available in the United Kingdom. Her success inspired Mahon to commercialize other products from the formulas she had created for patients to restore libido and treat stress. All of her products orient to womens health. I saw this void, this need with my patients to connect with themselves, she said. Chinese medicine is all about balance. Working with New Mexico MEP decreased Mahons production time by 60 percent. It also helped her weather unexpected challenges of product manufacturing, as when she had to destroy hundreds of glass jars because a few in the same shipment had broken in transit, potentially compromising product purity. This has been such a solo journey, she said. Scott offered such a stable resource of expert advice. He gave me the pillar to really feel like I had foundational support. It was really thorough guidance. Find Dr. Janine Mahons website at drjaninemahon.com. Learn more about New Mexico MEP services at newmexicomep.org. The Finance New Mexico project connects individuals and businesses with skills and funding resources for their business or idea. To learn more, go to www.FinanceNewMexico.org. Flash Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday gave a briefing on the trip of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to China in an interview with the press. File photo taken in 2021 shows a safflower field in Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [Xinhua] Ma said that at the invitation of the Chinese government, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited China from May 23 to 28. This is Bachelet's first visit to China since she took office as well as the first such visit by a UN human rights chief in 17 years. President Xi Jinping met via video link with High Commissioner Bachelet on May 25. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with High Commissioner Bachelet, and senior officials from the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and All-China Women's Federation held talks with the High Commissioner respectively. The two sides had extensive, in-depth and candid discussions in the spirit of mutual respect and openness, Ma said, adding that the Chinese side gave the High Commissioner a comprehensive introduction on the path, philosophy and achievements of China's human rights development. The two sides exchanged views on global human rights governance, multilateral human rights work, China's cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other issues of common interest. In Guangzhou, High Commissioner Bachelet visited projects that reflect China's community-level democracy, poverty alleviation, judicial safeguard, environmental protection, people's well-being, rights protection of specific groups, and human rights education, he said. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, High Commissioner Bachelet was presented with the measures taken and achievements made in the region on counter-terrorism and deradicalization, social and economic development, ethnicity and religion, and labor rights protection. She also had field trips in Kashgar and Urumqi where she had conversations with people from various communities, including ethnic minorities, academics, and representatives of different social sectors, Ma said. He said with the joint efforts of both sides, the visit achieved positive concrete results: First, it enhanced understanding on China's path on human rights development. Since its 18th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the Chinese people to achieve on schedule the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and made outstanding achievements in human rights development. In his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet, President Xi expounded on major issues regarding China's human rights development in the context of China's history and culture, and reaffirmed the principled position of the CPC and the Chinese government in upholding and protecting human rights in all areas. He stressed that, on day one of its founding, the CPC identified as its mission the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and has been working hard for the people's interests over the past century. The people's aspiration for a better life is what we are striving for. After decades of strenuous efforts, China has successfully found a path of human rights development in keeping with the trend of the times and China's national reality. We have been advancing whole-process people's democracy, promoting legal safeguard for human rights and upholding social equity and justice. The Chinese people now enjoy fuller and more extensive and comprehensive democratic rights. In Guangzhou's countryside, High Commissioner Bachelet had a close-up view of China's whole-process democracy at the community level. At the elderly care center and rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities, she saw how high technology helps facilitate the rights protection of specific groups. At Guangzhou Internet Court, she learned about world-leading practices of the judicial protection of human rights in the digital world. In the Fushan Circular Economy Industrial Park, she learned about examples of Chinese enterprises fulfilling social responsibilities such as promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. During her speech at the Guangzhou University, she discussed with the faculty and students on respecting and safeguarding human rights. The Chinese side stressed that the historic achievements testify to the success of China's path of human rights development. We remain committed to this path which we believe will lead to an even more promising future. Second, it set forth China's proposition for global human rights governance. Under the combined impacts of major changes in the world situation and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, hegemonism, racism, protectionism and parochial nationalism are on the rise. This has dealt a heavy blow to global human rights governance as manifested by numerous practices of double standards. President Xi pointed out at his meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet that at present, it is most important to work on the following four priorities: First, putting people front and center. It is important to take the people's interests as the fundamental purpose and goal and strive to deliver a better life to the people. Second, respecting different countries' paths of human rights development, and supporting countries to explore suitable paths of human rights development in light of national realities and people's needs. Third, following a holistic approach to all categories of human rights with integrated and systematic measures. More efforts are needed to achieve development of higher quality, efficiency, equity, sustainability and security, so as to provide strong safeguards for the advancement of human rights. Fourth, stepping up global human rights governance. It is important to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, advocate humanity's common values, and steer global human rights governance toward greater fairness, justice, equity and inclusiveness. The Chinese side gave a comprehensive briefing to Bachelet on China's active engagement in global human rights governance. China has earnestly fulfilled its international obligations in the area of human rights. China has signed 29 international human rights instruments and is widely recognized as a role model in implementing conventions. China has served as a member state of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) five times, one of the most among all the countries. We put forward a series of proposals on promoting human rights through development, promoting human rights through cooperation, addressing the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights, rejecting racism and racial discrimination, promoting the fair distribution of vaccines and rejecting unilateral coercive measures. This has received wide support from the international community, especially the developing countries. The Chinese side pointed out that the promotion and protection of human rights is a common cause for humanity. Global human rights governance must be conducted through dialogue and consultation, and the achievements of human rights development must be shared by the people of all countries. China will continue to uphold true multilateralism, stand on the right side of history, and continue active human rights dialogue and cooperation with all parties to expand consensus, reduce differences, and promote mutual learning and common progress. Third, it has strengthened China's cooperation with the OHCHR. China attaches great importance to the UN human rights affairs and stands ready to contribute to advancing the international human rights cause. During the visit, the Chinese side and the OHCHR had thorough exchange on deepening cooperation and reached broad consensus. The two sides have agreed to establish an Annual Senior Strategic Meeting, to discuss national, regional and international human rights issues of common interest. And the two sides have agreed to establish a working group to facilitate human rights cooperation in such areas as development, business, poverty reduction, counter-terrorism, minority groups, digital space, and judicial safeguard. China is willing to provide greater support to the human rights work of the United Nations. Such concrete measures not only are conducive to the cooperation between China and the OHCHR, but also represent China's new contribution to the international human rights cause. Over the recent years, there has been a tendency of politicizing and instrumentalizing the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral human rights institutions. China made it very clear that, some Western countries, while having no self-reflection on their own notorious misdeeds, yet driven by political motives, abused multilateral human rights platforms to spread rumors and lies, using human rights to interfere with others' domestic affairs and recklessly attacking and smearing others, turning multilateral human rights institutions into arenas of "naming and shaming" and "bloc confrontation." These behaviors have gravely poisoned the atmosphere of international human rights cooperation, and must be taken seriously, and must be changed. Fourth, it provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand a real Xinjiang. For a period of time, certain Western countries and anti-China elements, under the disguise of human rights, have fabricated many sensational palpable lies on the so-called Xinjiang-related issues, only to fulfill their political motive of using Xinjiang to contain China. The Chinese side pointed out that essentially, Xinjiang is not at all a human rights issue, but a major issue concerning upholding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. All ethnic groups of Xinjiang belong to the family of the Chinese nation. A few years ago, in response to the serious challenge of terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang, we have adopted lawful measures to combat violent terrorism, protecting lives and property for all, and safeguarding human rights of all ethic groups across the region. Through unremitting efforts, the region has enjoyed security, stability, development, and prosperity, and there has been no violent terrorist attack in Xinjiang for five consecutive years. People that have visited Xinjiang all found that the Xinjiang they saw is completely different from the one demonized in the Western media. Ma said during High Commissioner Bachelet's visit in Xinjiang, the authorities of the Autonomous Region has made comprehensive presentation on China's policies on ethnic and religious affairs, as well as the measures and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization. High Commissioner Bachelet visited the Kashgar Ancient Town, and made a trip to the cotton fields, experiencing the progress that has been made in preserving and promoting ethnic minority traditions and in improving people's livelihood. He said High Commissioner toured an exhibition on counter-terrorism and de-radicalization, learning in detail the legal and policy frameworks, practices, and results of counter-terrorism and deradicalization in Xinjiang. High Commissioner Bachelet had face-to-face conversation with religious personnel on the rights of religious freedom of Muslims respected and guaranteed by law. High Commissioner also had the opportunity to hear from representatives from different social sectors, including women, health, judiciary, and labor. Clouds cannot overshadow the sun, and truth will debunk all lies. China has made clear its stern position on the so-called Xinjiang report, and resolutely opposes smearing and attacking China with lies and disinformation, Ma said, adding that it needs to be pointed out that certain Western countries, out of ulterior motives, went to great lengths to disrupt and undercut the High Commissioner's visit, their plot didn't succeed. Ma stressed in the end that in terms of human rights protection, no one can claim perfection and there is always room for improvement. China will unswervingly follow the human rights development path that suits its national conditions, and advocate the shared values of humanity, including peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. "China stands ready to cooperate with the OHCHR and others on the basis of equity and mutual respect, to actively carry out international human rights exchange and cooperation, enhance participation in global human rights governance, and jointly contribute to the sound development of international human rights and to the community with a shared future for mankind," he said. March 12, 2019 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Baghdad on March 11 amid his government's efforts to expand ties with Iraq to reduce the impact of US sanction on Iran's economy. Prior to departing Tehran, Rouhani remarked, [Iran's ties with Iraq] cannot be compared to Iraqs relations with an occupying country like America, which is hated in the region. The visit is Rouhanis first one to Baghdad since taking office in 2013. The Iranian leader's three days in Iraq will include his signing a series of agreements on energy, transport, agriculture, industry and health as well as meetings with Iraqi officials. In preparation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Baghdad the day before Rouhani. Iran aims to boost annual trade with its neighbor from $12 billion to $20 billion to help offset US sanctions, which are strangling its economy. While meeting with Rouhani, President Barham Salih said, Iraq is lucky to be a neighbor with Iran, as well as being a neighbor with Turkey and being connected to the Arab world at the same time. He added, We hope that Iraq can become a bridge between the regions nations based on mutual respect and common interests. A senior Iranian official accompanying Rouhani told Reuters, [Iraq is] another channel for Iran to bypass Americas unjust sanctions. This trip will provide opportunities for Irans economy. Rouhani and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi signed an agreement to connect the two countries via a railway linking the border town of Shalamche and Basra. The 48 miles of track between them will allow Iran to transfer goods to southern Iraq and even longer distances via onward transit to the north. Along with the government in Damascus, the two countries had also previously agreed to connect Iraq and Syria by rail to allow Iran to export goods through the port of Latakia, on the Mediterranean. The connecting rail agreement might be the most important one Rouhani signs during his visit in terms of combatting the policies of the Donald Trump administration aimed at squeezing Iran. The railway link will not only provide the Iranian economy with a much-needed outlet, but will also allow Tehran to provide support to its allies there and in Lebanon and Syria, which translates into further expanding its influence in the region as the United States tries to roll it back via the sanctions and its support of the anti-Iran alliance in the region led by Saudi Arabia. Rouhani and Iraqi leaders will discuss establishing a jointly held bank with the goal of allowing both their countries to skirt US sanctions or penalties and expand their economic relations without resort to US dollars. They also agreed to waive fees on visas in the hope of increasing the number of visitors between Iran and Iraq to help boost local economies and bring their peoples closer. The number of Iranians traveling to Iraq has decreased since the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran due to the declining value of the rial. The Iranian delegation and the Iraqis also plan to work toward resolving long-running bilateral issues, such as demarcation of their border, ownership of border-straddling oil fields and disagreements involving the 1975 Algiers Agreement to settle their dispute over the Shatt al-Arab. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh last month publicly expressed dissatisfaction with Baghdad, citing its reversing some oil agreements and refusing to invest in the border oil fields and to pay Iran [$2 billion owed it in] debts. He also complained, Baghdad's commitment to the US sanctions has prompted [Iraq] to revoke minor agreements, such as the Kirkuk deal, under which we traded 11,000 barrels of oil a day. It is of course not expected that all the issues between the two countries will be resolved during Rouhani's visit. Some evident solutions to problems would likely not be in the interest of the United States and its regional allies, and Baghdad does not want to trigger anger in Washington or closer to home. Iraqi policy under Abdul Mahdi has generally been a continuation of that of his predecessor, Haidar al-Abadi, which involves steering clear of regional and international tensions and conflicts by taking moderate and balanced approaches to crafting good relations with all parties. Iranian media have reported that Rouhani will travel to Najaf to meet Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. The meeting has not been confirmed by Sistani's office, but as Sistani has good relations with the Iranian Reformists, such a meeting is to be expected. The Shiite authority has previously met with Zarif as well as with the late Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He did not receive former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner and Principlist, when he visited Iraq in 2008. Tehran appears to need Baghdad now more than it ever has, as US sanctions threaten Iran's stability, not only economically but also socially and politically. Iraq is one of the few doors open to Iran in the effort to prop up its economy and prove to its people that it can work around sanctions and provide adequate services. While Iran obviously stands to gain from expanding ties with Iraq, it is unclear whether and how the Iraqi government can benefit as well without damaging its relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia and Irans other rivals in the region. What is race? Are we not one human race? Do we not all have red blood? Brains, bones, veins, and internal organs in the same location in our bodies? Do we not all have the capacity to love, reason, create and make decisions? And when we suffer, do we not all cry from our pain? We, as human beings, have much more in common genetically than we have differences. And yet, there are those who seemingly insist that just a little bit of melanin in our skin negates all this. The truth, though, is that, in America in 2022, race is a social construct, a shared way of thinking rather than a physical reality. It has never had a precise meaning (look it up), and is a pejorative term created by those who wish to divide and conquer; subjugate, separate, and victimize. Even worse, is the animosity and hate the concept of race creates between individuals. Weaponizing the term Youre a racist has become an art form used to harass, threaten, frighten, and silence people. It is even used in situations entirely unrelated to real or imaginary racial differences, making it ludicrous and illogical. Most often, its used as a ploy when there is no substantial reason to use it. Which raises the question? Is there such a thing as a distinct group? Hispanics are a combination of Black, South American Indigenous, European Hispanic, and white descent. And American Blacks have European, Native American, Hispanic and white blood running through their veins. It seems there is more genetic variation within groups than between them. Thus, with such diversity, race is a more profound matter of self-identification with shared values, languages, historic cultural connections, and religious beliefs. Where do Jews fit into this? Hate crimes against Jews are higher than any other minority group and the number escalates yearly. This hatred has taken many forms in many times and places. Haters have forced Jews to convert to Christianity; banned Jews from clubs or businesses; slandered Jews with blood libels; drawn ugly, satanic caricatures of Jews; killed six million Jews, the largest dedicated mass murder of any race ever before or since; vandalized Jewish synagogues and businesses; driven down streets in Jewish neighborhoods screaming F--- the Jews, Rape their daughters, kill the Jews; desecrated Jewish graves; beaten Orthodox Jews, who have a distinct appearance; thrown elderly Holocaust survivors out the window; and shot and killed Jews in their synagogues while at prayer. All these attacks were deliberately targeted against Jews and only Jews. Whether defined genetically or as a modern construct, is this not a clear definition of racism? A targeted people? If these heinous hate crimes were perpetrated against any other group (Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, LGBTQs, etc.), whether defined racially or culturally, these vile acts would be considered racism without hesitation. Image: An Ethiopian Jewish soldier by David Bicchetti. CC BY 2.5. The hatred of Jews is biblical and the oldest form of racism. Significantly, unlike any other so-called distinct group, Jews are black (African), brown (Hispanic, East Asian Indian, and from Arab nations), Asian, LGBTQ, and White. In fact, Jews in Israel are about 50% black and 50 % white. And despite this kaleidoscope of colors and values, they are all Jews. Many Jews insist theyre not a race because race is how Hitler justified murdering 6 million Jews and trying to annihilate Jews worldwide. However, in a world in which race is used as a catch-all for any distinct group, and it comes with built-in protections for most groups, its logical to classify Jews in the same way for the same protections. After all, the Muslim community and the LGBTQ communities, both of which incorporate multiple genetic races, are protected classes. Americans once understood this. Jews were considered a distinct race entitled to the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Jews have also been accorded protection under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which does not define what constitutes a race. And on May 17, 2022, the House passed Resolution 1125, Condemning the Rise of Antisemitism. Interestingly the media almost completely ignored it. The most recent incarnation of the rise in Jewish racism is Anti-Zionism. This is the desire to destroy the worlds only Jewish state. From the river to the sea, goes the justifying cry, destroy the state of Israel, it is an apartheid state. Is this true? Apartheid means no citizenship, no property ownership, and no right to vote. This is absurd and belies reality and truth in Israel. The Chairman of Israels largest bank is an Arab Israeli; an Arab Muslim is a Supreme Court Judge; and Arab Israelis are university professors, doctors, lawyers, business and property owners, and are citizens with the right to vote. Like America, Israel gives the full rights of citizenship to all, regardless of race, creed, country of origin, sex, etc. This singular focus of contempt, hatred, discrimination, violence, and destruction against a particular religious group can only be called racism. Jews are a composition of many beautiful skin colors who all believe in one God and are guided by the precepts and principles of the Torah. Regardless of skin color, location or status, Jews have been derided, attacked, and murdered for centuries because of their religious beliefs. How else can you define this level of hate and animosity towards one people other than racism? Adrienne Skolnik serves on the National Advisory Committee of the Conference of Jewish Affairs. If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence [censorship]. -- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in Whitney v. California (1927) Many in the mainstream media are thrilled that former Fox News journalist Carl Cameron, who resigned from Fox in 2017, reportedly because he had trouble finding his way to work, has praised Biden for his initiative to create a government disinformation board and called for the police to monitor stations like Fox News and put people like Tucker Carlson in jail for lying. According to Cameron, Carlson has been screaming fire in a crowded theatre for years and if you disturb the peace by starting a riot in a movie theatre, cops are going to arrest you and you might end up in jail or you might end up in something worse. Cameron did not specify what his threat of something worse might be. He doesnt need to because thats not the lefts real concern. The immediate occasion for Camerons calls to jail journalists who do not support his politics is that, as he sees it , Carlson has gone beyond the pale by claiming that the Democrat immigration policies are designed to replace the white population in the USby non-white people. Even though Joe Biden has bragged that [we want] an unrelenting stream of immigration. [so that] folks like me [of] Caucasian European descent, for the first time in 2017 [will] be in an absolute minority in the United States of America, Cameron has decided, given his self-appointed post of truth-detector, that journalists should be put in jail for reporting what many politicians, academics, and media people have actually said. Of course, Cameron has not called for everyone who makes such statements to be put in jail. For example, he has not called for President Biden to be jailed for saying that immigration is being used to change the United States from a white into a non-white country. Nor has he called for Stacy Abrams, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Chuck Schumer, Ron Brownstein, Jennifer Rubin, Julien Castro, Medi Hasan, John Berman, Roland Martin, or James Acosta, to name just a few, for acknowledging this fact. Rather, as is usual in such cases, the Left will have police jail people on the other side of the political aisle, not their own comrades, for stating politically incorrect facts. Image: Carl Cameron. YouTube screen grab. In addition, Cameron divines that, because the Buffalo shooter who killed ten people cited the Great Replacement theory, and because Tucker Carlson has cited a Great Replacement Theory, Tuckers opinions may be partly responsible for the mass murder in Buffalo. The implicit reasoning seems to be something like this: A mentioned C. Later, B mentions C. B commits mass murder. Therefore, A may be a partial cause of Cs committing murder. In fact, the principles for determining the cause of an event, especially in the human and social world, are far too complex for such juvenile slogans. Further, Cameron did not use the same reasoning to convict the left when its anti-police rhetoric was followed by the assassination of five Dallas police officers or when the virulently anti-Trump Bernie Sanders supporter James T. Hodgkinson shot several people and almost killed Steve Scalise. The collective left impulsively employs such juvenile reasoning when it supports killers goals and, magically, does not employ it when it does not. There is, however, a more basic problem with Camerons call to jail journalists. With traditional theories of free speech, tracing to John Stuart Mill, one of the main problems with the effort to police speech (either figuratively, or as Cameron wants, literally) is that, because different people sincerely reach different conclusions about what is true, the best method for discovering the truth is for all sides to argue their position in a free and fair debate and then let the audience decide which side made the better case. In a free society of the sort that used to exist in the United States, the proper remedy for false speech is not less speech (censorship) but more speech (free speech). If Carlson is wrong, he will lose the public debate. Under Mills argument, the only exception to near-universal freedom of speech is speech that constitutes a positive instigation to some mischievous act (Mills Harm Principle). According to this principle, it is not a sufficient argument to restrict speech, let alone jail someone, to claim that someones speech might cause harm. For example, because a speech that urges that certain judges must be punished if they do not deliver certain kinds of decisions is a positive instigation of a mischievous act, it may be justifiable to restrict that kind of speech. However, stating that a certain judge is stupid is not itself a positive instigation of a harmful act even though it might motivate someone to harm that judge. Further, it takes only a moments reflection to realize that almost any speech might cause harm. In fact, since jailing someone is an act of violence, Camerons own statement that Tucker Carlson and other reporters should be jailed for the sin of disagreeing with his political views is itself a positive instigation to some mischievous act, specifically, state-sponsored violence against Tucker Carlson and other reporters. Thus, whereas Carlson has only stated a theory (his version of the Great Replacement theory), and because a theory per se does not positively call on anyone to perform any act whatsoever, let alone a mischievous one, Camerons call for government violence against Tucker Carlson is far more likely to lead some deranged person causing harm to Carlson or to others. Indeed, Camerons call for state-sponsored violence against Carlson is what happens in Russia. Similarly, Nancy Pelosis unhinged attack on creature Trump might lead someone to harm Trump or his supporters. And Chuck Schumers threats against SCOTUS Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, claiming that they have released the whirlwind and will pay the price might lead a sociopath to conclude that, because Kavanaugh and Gorsuch have not paid any price, someone must act. Quite surprisingly, Cameron was nowhere to be found when Pelosi and Schumer made their bizarre dangerous statements. In fact, those people, at the present time predominately leftists, calling to restrict free speech or jail journalists who refuse to submit to the approved script never want these same measures applied to themselves. Indeed, many leftists, so thoroughly convinced of their own goodness, seem so completely lacking in self-reflection that they literally cannot imagine that these dangerous precedents could be applied to them someday. Finally, Camerons sanctimonious calls to jail reporters who, in some abstract sense, might cause harm to others are nothing more than a thinly disguised effort to seek political advantage for their own comrades. For what Cameron is really worried about is that in a free and fair debate his own, and the Lefts, transparent falsehoods and fallacies will be exposed, preventing them from forcing their massively unpopular policies on people and that they cannot permit. They are far too special for that. Just ask them. Every mass school shooting strikes terror in parents hearts and grief in the communities in which they occur. You might from press coverage have the idea that they are a regular occurrence, but, in fact, they remain rare -- 13 mass school shootings since 1966. Still, like all seemingly incomprehensible tragedies it causes a search for meaning. After all, people my age went to schools where there were rifle clubs. Kids in those clubs regularly brought their weapons to school, and yet there werent any school shootings. (I expect in some rural areas of the country this may still be the case.) What is common, as it is in all tragic events, is the jumbling of facts and the need to wait a few days for a clearer picture. The best information I can find right now about the shooting in Uvalde, Texas comes from the Wall Street Journal. With minor additions as late-developing information comes in from elsewhere, that is the source of this summary timeline. Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old, shot his grandmother Tuesday morning. He drove her truck to Robb elementary school and crashed it in a ditch at 11:28. Emerging from the truck he began shooting at persons outside a funeral home located across the street from the school. Police received a 911 call about the shooting at 11:30. He then climbed a fence and entered the school grounds, began firing without interference at 11:40. By 11:44 the local police arrived at the school. By that time Ramos had locked himself into a fourth-grade classroom and killed teachers and students. Some students in that room sent 9ll messages as the shootings were taking place. The location of the gunman was known but the police did not enter the room until 12:40. (The Texas DPS says the police did go in and engage Ramos immediately but then retreated and stood outside in the hallway until 12:50.) Ramos entered the building at an exit door one teacher, not identified, had propped open when the shooting began outside the school and failed to secure it. Presumably this is the same person who first called 911 and if so, it is easy for investigators to determine the teachers identity. This seems to have been the first serious mistake, the second being the police failure to stay in and engage Ramos immediately. Mass shootings -- unlike the never-ending daily carnage on the streets of our major cities -- receive outsize coverage from people who have their pet theories as to why such tragedies occur. I think we are dealing with a combination of the killers psychiatric issues and clueless behavior by their family members. The family usually expresses disbelief that one of their members could do this. Less blinkered observers report that Ramos abused animals, bullied people, engaged in self cutting, threatened girls with rape, and announced on social media that hed be shooting up the school before he made good on that threat. Parents were prevented in the interim between Ramos entry into the school and the tardy police response from entering to save their kids. One woman was handcuffed for trying. When she was released from the police cuffs by a friend, she climbed the fence, entered the school and removed her two children to safety. The Border Patrol arrived at the school shortly after noon to assist. As they did with the parents, the local law enforcement team on site refused to allow them to enter. Flopping Aces, echoes my thoughts on this. Reviewing several other cases -- Jared Loughner, Nikolas Cruz, Peyton Gendron -- along with this one, the author shows that those closest to the shooter just were not paying even minimal attention to the teens psychiatric issues: Salvador Ramos wasnt right in the head and was known to police. He also left a trail: Just hours before the killings took place, Ramos had messaged an acquaintance on Instagram telling her he had a lil secret he wanted to share, after earlier tagging her in a photo of two guns he bought himself on his 18th birthday. His TikTok account also featured a short user bio that read: Kids Be Scared. He mutilated himself Neighbors and classmates say his behavior spiraled into the bizarre and macabre as he entered his later teenage years, with one friend telling Good Morning America: He had scars on his face and someone asked him, Are you ok? and he just said with a smile I did it myself, I liked how it looked. He began dressing in dark clothes and military boots and used his BB gun to target random people, one local claimed. Ramos sent Facebook messages: Ima do something to her rn [right now] wrote Ramos in a message at 11.10am Texas time. He added a few minutes later: Shes on the phone with AT&T abojt [sic] my phone Its annoying. At 11.21am he wrote I just shot my grandma in her head and added in his final message: Ima go shoot up a elementary school. None of these young people should have been able to buy a gun. Families always profess shock and surprise but never seem to pay attention to the trails of crumbs being left along the way. Without fail, such events encourage those whod like to wipe the Second Amendment off the books and deprive lawful citizens from the means to defend themselves. Does the fact that the cops stood outside the school for an hour during the slaughter give you comfort? It doesnt ease my friend Betsy Gorisch: Among all the other things we need to keep in mind about the Uvalde school shooting there is this: In what is arguably the only true test of whether or not we should rely on the police to protect us, the courts have ruled that they cannot be sued for failure to do so. Thats another way of saying law enforcement has no legal duty to protect you. Professor Ann Althouse also finds that the police response diminishes the anti-gun crowds arguments: "If the police dont arrive and save us from violence, how can this event support the argument for restricting guns? This is the very situation that makes the most responsible people want to own guns. It reminds me of the summer of 2020, when there were riots, and the police stood down. Just as reason will not stop the anti-gun crowd from using this wretched example of inept and useless law enforcement to argue that we should depend solely on them and cede our rights to personal defense, these events only fuel the efforts of demagogues to use them for other sleazy political purposes. Right on cue Democrats again try to inject race into the mix, led off by Barack Obama crowbar[ring] the death of the far from innocent George Floyd into this tragic slaughter of the Uvalde innocents. Well, at least, unlike the Washington Post which seems to be editorless, he didnt claim the cops shot Floyd. The majority of Taiwanese dont identify themselves as Chinese according to a 2020 Pew Research survey. This is consistent with other polls showing that people in Taiwan increasingly identify only as Taiwanese. Xi Jinping, though, doesnt care. His political ambition to bring Taiwan into the Chinese fold is the most influential factor in Chinas policy over Taiwanbut even Xis ambitions may be insufficient when measured against the practical realities arrayed against him. A leaked memo from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in March 2022 suggested that Xi was planning an imminent attack against Taiwan. To that end, Xi instructed family members of senior CCP officials to sell all overseas assets to avoid inevitable Western sanctions. On May 24, a leaked audio clip revealed the CCPs top brass discussing the Taiwan invasion plan. This was the first-ever recording of a Chinese military leadership gathering. Taking advantage of Taiwans open society, the CCPs military espionage activities have flourished since 2000. In the past decade, at least 21 serving or retired Taiwanese officers with the rank of captain or above have been convicted of spying for China. In 2021, Taiwanese courts convicted two men whod revealed President Tsai Ing-wens security details. Shortly after that, a retired lieutenant colonel was found guilty of building espionage networks for Beijing. Then, three high-ranking men in the Military Intelligence Bureau went on trial for allegedly recruiting spies for China. According to retired Taiwanese Lt Commander Lu Li-shih, Beijing has infiltrated almost all military ranks in Taiwan. Chinese intelligence first approaches the targeted officers with lavish gifts and holidays and then offers huge payments for information. After the first few exchanges, they start blackmailing them for more information, with less payment. The manual for the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) also includes decapitation operations in its campaign to subdue Taiwan. To that end, the Chinese National Defense Universitys 2020 Science of Military Strategy calls for delivering heavy blows against Taiwans military and political leaders, command, and control networks, and politically symbolic sitesas major targets of system destruction warfare. With its special operations units, the PLA would kill or capture national and local leaders who command and control forces, organize resistance, and (the CCP hopes) galvanize international support. The CCP would try to prevent the rise of a Taiwanese version of Ukraines President Zelensky, who has held the ground in Kyiv throughout all battles. Taiwanese defense officials have been warned about this threat. In fact, they take the danger very seriously, and their joint unit is dedicated to countering such a decapitation strike by China. Another planned PLA tactic is a blockade before a larger air and missile campaign. It could be implemented under the guise of fleet or missile exercises, and air, maritime, or undersea incursions with civilian or paramilitary fleet deployments. With a blockade, Beijing could invade Taiwans sea and land areas with little warning. In addition to its tactical planning, the latest Pentagon charts show Chinas military advantage over Taiwan. In theory, to take over the island, the PLA would need at least 400,000 troopsand it claims to have over one million. Taiwans ground force amounts to 88,000 active-duty personnel. Taiwans military has released an emergency defense manual. The 28-page handbook has a QR code that can be scanned to find the location of bomb shelters and provides safety instructions for air raids, fires, building collapses, and major power outages. The illustrated guide also includes mobilization information for military reservists. Chinas strengths, however, do not presage an automatic Chinese victory. Both sides possess long-range precision strike missiles. Both also possess significant cyberwarfare capabilities, but these would only work alongside boots on the ground troops. One factor against a Chinese invasion is the distances the PLA would have to travel to get a boots-on-the-ground attack in place during which troops would be vulnerable to attack. Image: Xi Jinping, who may be losing power, reviews troops (edited). YouTube screen grab. Hundreds of PLA helicopters and transport planes would be needed for a strike force that could seize key installations. It would take the PLA days to load a force so big, alerting Taiwan and its allies and allowing them to mobilize their troops and reinforce their positions. Keeping hundreds of thousands of PLA combat troops in the middle of a battlefield, and arming and feeding them, would involve a huge supply chain. This would be very difficult in the open waters of the Taiwan Strait. Regional defense around Taiwan is also becoming more robust. After WWII, Japan was only allowed to have a self-defense force, not a full-fledged military. This has changed with the recent Indo-Pacific summit in Tokyo. Japan is again becoming a powerful military force and is fully committed to defending Taiwan. This new alliance is Asias equivalent of NATO in Europe. Divisions within CCP leadership are also weakening Xi. The CCP is preventing him from securing a third term as General Secretary (the most powerful position) at the 20th National Convention to be held this autumn. Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who has been side-lined by Xi for nearly a decade, has strong support within the CCP and is likely to replace Xi. In recent weeks, Li has become more vocal about the CCPs discontent with Xi. Many in the party dislike his draconian domestic policies around COVID, as well as his alignment with Putin. A big question is how America factors into all this. Americas policy on Taiwan has been inconsistent because it still officially operates under President Nixons agreement with China, one predicated on a one-China policy. The CCP believes this should bar even diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Americas consequent Strategic Ambiguity could become a dilemma for deterrence. This policy may also have ramifications geopolitically and for international businesses in Taiwan. A recent Harvard publication, Taiwan: A risk analysis through the lens of Hong Kong, shows that Beijing has held global investments and businesses as hostages for Chinas own financial gains. Strategic Ambiguity has long allowed American leaders to refrain from fully committing to Taiwans defense. This began in the late 1940s, with the Truman administrations inconsistent support for Chiang Kai-sheks anti-communist army. The U.S. embargo against Chiangs troops helped Maos communist forces achieve total victory in 1949. Currently, America-Taiwan relations are perhaps the strongest in their history. President Biden has repeatedly confirmed (to the State Departments dismay) that, if China invades Taiwan, the US will directly intervene. Officially the ambiguity remains and the State Department changed the wording of its summary of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship by removing phrases such as Taiwan is part of China and The U.S. does not support Taiwan independence. At the same time, Congress has before it some bills aimed at solidifying U.S. support for China. The proposed Taiwan Peace Through Strength Act would greatly strengthen military support and prioritize weapons contracts with Taiwan. The Ostracize China Act would exclude China from the international financial system, including the G20 if it attacks Taiwan. The AXIS Act, if passed, holds that any collaboration between China and Russia that violates international rule would be severely sanctioned. This Act would be part of the constitutions of Europe, Japan, and other countries. Given Chinas military constraints, burgeoning regional alliances against its expansionism, Chinas domestic weakness, and Americas vocal support for Taiwan, the CCP has reassessed the current world situation. Surprising at Russias defeat in Ukraine and the rapid strategic re-assessments made by the United States and Japan, it now appears that the CCP has put aside Xis plans to invade Taiwan. Garland and Uvalde are two Texas communities with similarities common to small towns across America. Their residents are traditionally patriotic, hard-working, overwhelmingly Christian, and conservative both fiscally and socially, and they are targets for the leftists in this country who wish to change the very character of what makes Texas, well, Texas, its a whole other country! For full disclosure, I am a Texas lover. The first fall night that I spent under a big Texas sky beside a mesquite fire, watching more shooting stars in five minutes than I had ever seen in my entire life growing up in light-polluted New Orleans, I fell in love with the place. I am going to compare and contrast the attacks that both Uvalde and Garland endured, separated by just over seven years, with vastly different outcomes. On May 3, 2015, two Muslim jihadists drove from their mosque in Phoenix, Arizona, to Garland to attack a gathering at the Garland Convention Center (GCC). Why? The shooters were upset that two anti-jihadists, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, were sponsoring a Draw Mohammed contest at the GCC. As readers may be aware, Muslims believe that it is blasphemous to render a likeness of their prophet. They are less likely to wish to discuss the fact that their prophet married his second wife, Aisha, when she was six years old, consummating the marriage when she had reached the relatively mature age of nine. But I digress. The two shooters had been well equipped by their fellow believers with the very best body armor and weaponry. Nothing is too good for those who carry on the jihad. Besides the support of their mosque, these jihadists enjoyed the support and counsel of none other than the FBI. Yeah, you read that right: The Federal Bureau of Investigations. An agent had been assigned to shadow the jihadists and support their efforts, urging them by text to Tear-up Texas! My Texas? Are you crazy? I guess they are. By the way, the FBI agent was actually arrested by the Garland Police Department as he fled the scene of the gunfight that I am about to recount. Image: Aftermath of attack on the Garland convention center. YouTube screen grab. As the jihadists drove near the parking lot of the GCC, they simply joined the line of cars snaking its way to the parking lot. It was when they spotted a Garland traffic cop and his private security guard assistant on duty at the lots perimeter that they stopped their car and came out blasting, geared up in their full body armor and weapons smoking. What happened next is pure Texas. The traffic cop hurriedly drew his .38 caliber service revolver, took aim at the shooters as their incoming rounds whizzed by, and shot both jihadists in the head, thwarting their expensive body armor. The security guard was injured when one round hit him in the ankle, a painful, but non-life-threatening injury. The gunfight was over in just seconds and thats when the FBI handler put the pedal to the medal and attempted a speedy exit. Units of the Garland PD gave chase and apprehended the traitor. What happened next? The mess was cleaned-up (in more ways than one) and the contest continued. And what did the FBI tell the press to explain exactly why the FBI was aiding Muslim jihadists? In fact, James Comey never provided a statement or explanation. To this day, the MSM has never pressed the FBI for an accounting. Please recall that this all transpired during Barack Obamas administration. Enough said. Unfortunately for the 19 children and two adults in the Uvalde attack, no Garland traffic cop was present when they desperately needed one. Instead of swift, decisive reactions, the law enforcement officers in Uvalde seemed to have taken seriously BLMs preaching when faced with dangerous criminals. Sadly, that day, Hispanic lives did not matter to them. Doesnt the training manual for the Uvalde police state that an active shooter is to be met with overwhelming and unrelenting force until he is taken out? Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. What impact on this nation will desperate 911 calls from ten-year-old kids under siege have? Thats hard to say except I hope that it will be positive. As you read this email, know one thing that will never change: The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun! The estimate is that there are over 400 million guns in America and the thugs in MS 13, Aryan Nation, Black Guerilla Family, Hells Angels, FBI, and DoJ will never give up their weaponsand please, dont ask me to give up mine. This weekend, the National Rifle Association hosted its annual conference in Houston, Texas. Without fail, the convention draws anti-gun protesters, but in the wake of Uvalde this past week, the misdirected anger and grief was particularly vitriolic. So when Biden, or any other enemy of the people, suggests an assault weapons ban, its important to recognize they dont actually want to ban them. What they are really saying is they only want a specific group to maintain possession government agents with a well-documented history, one detailing a long train of abuses and usurpations and violence against the innocent. One need look no further than Ruby Ridge, or Waco or even the actions of law enforcement officers in Uvalde this week, who handcuffed and tased parents while a gunman shot their children to pieces. The global historical record is one marred by egregious abuses of human rights ethnic cleansings, genocides, enslavement and the perpetrator is always the same: a tyrannical government and their obedient, mechanized foot soldiers. Foot soldiers who mowed down a student, peacefully protesting in Tiananmen Square; foot soldiers who tossed infant children into the air for target practice as they and their mothers arrived at the camps; and foot soldiers who nailed an innocent Man to the cross to die an unjust death. Oft attributed to Hitler is this quote: How fortunate for governments that the people they administer dont think. Modern Americans, ones who self-assemble under the umbrella of useful idiot, prefer the would-be oppressors to be the only ones with firepower well, what good fortune for a government that favors brutal totalitarianism. As parents and the Uvalde community reeled in the aftermath of Tuesdays tragedy, Texas governor, Greg Abbott and law enforcement officials held a press conference to brief the public on what was so far known. As they addressed the crowd, failed politician Beto ORourke interrupted, bombastically shouting political talking points over the somber words of the speakers panel: You want a solution? Stop selling AR-15s in the state of Texas. You want a solution? Have universal background checks. We dont have them. You want a solution? Red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders, which stop a shooting before it happens. Part of ORourkes anti-gun soapbox was the mention of red flag laws and extreme risk protection orders both types of legislation support the confiscation of firearms without due process from an individual who is at an elevated risk of harming themselves or others. Well, based on Betos own nightmarish writings, he most certainly fits the definition of an elevated risk of harm to others. As a teenager, Beto belonged to a group known as the Cult of the Dead Cow often penning online fantasy blogs under the pseudonym Psychedelic Warlord. One particular post is exceptionally alarming, raising the biggest red flag of all: Then one day, as I was driving home from work, I noticed two children crossing the street. They were happy, happy to be free from their troubles. This happiness was mine by right. I had earned it in my dreams. As I neared the young ones, I put all my weight on my right foot, keeping the accelerator pedal on the floor until I heard the crashing of the two children on the hood, and then the sharp cry of pain from one of the two. I was so fascinated for a moment, that when I had stopped my vehicle, I just sat in a daze, sweet visions filling my head. The more people I killed, the longer my dreams were. My dreams grew longer and more vivid. They kept me alive and proved to be the only thing to live for. I had killed nearly 38 people by the time of my twenty-third birthday, and each one was more fulfilling than the last. Betos fantasies are demonic and exhibitive of his moral bankruptcy. Democrat politicians so often point accusatory fingers at lawful gun-owners, suggesting they possess violent tendencies, but the truth is quite the opposite. I wonder how many politically conservative gun-owners fantasize about macabre scenarios of roadkill children? Id speculate that number is zero. President Biden on Monday made it clear to the world that the United States is willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan in the event of China aggression against the democratic island. According to the Associated Press: TOKYO (AP) President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, declaring the commitment to protect the island is even stronger after Russias invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of Taiwans self-governing in decades. Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said yes when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. Thats the commitment we made, he added. For Taiwan, and for the world, Bidens Monday statement is good. And is bad. It is good because Taiwan is now assured that it will not be left alone confronting a potential Chinese military attack. What's more, the timing of President Bidens statement could not be more critical and revealing: It was made just hours before the president, together with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, unveiled the widely anticipated Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that includes 13 nations to curb Chinas influence in the region. Rather than a slip of tongue, as interpreted by political analysts over a similar statements made by the president twice last year on defending Taiwan, the revelation made by Biden seems to signal a clear change of U.S. stance on Taiwans security: A shift from a strategic ambiguity that had been traditionally followed by Bidens predecessors, to an unequivocal, all-out commitment to defending Taiwan, including military intervention against any unprovoked China aggression. For Taiwan, that is good. Now the bad. Bidens Monday statement on Taiwan should not be taken lightly, especially by Taiwan. Before this moment, the U.S. had kept its four-decade-long strategic ambiguity stance on Taiwan to discourage any unilateral actions from either side of the Taiwan Strait to alter the status quo in terms of the relationship between the two rivals. With this statement, the balance is becoming more difficult to maintain due to Chinas increasingly aggressive actions towards Taiwan. Bidens shift of strategic rhetoric and stance may well be the result of political deliberation and security necessity based on substantial intelligence evidence. Although not until its declassification would the outside world know the exact China-related intelligence that Biden had based on for his critical statement, there are mounting signs reported in the news that suggest the approaching danger from China. The first and most obvious indicator is Chinas economy. Economic data released by Chinese officials suggest that Chinas Zero COVID-19 policy is paralyzing its economy in the name of halting a few hundred COVID-19 positive cases. While economists around the world are scratching their heads to understand Chinas irrational COVID-19 control measures, they forgot that China not long ago was the most successful economic miracle and the subject of praise of their own economic analyses and recommendations. How could a country once so shrewd at building economic wealth lose all its economic wisdom overnight? No, China did not lose its economic sense at all. In fact, China is applying its economic wisdom in an unconventional way. Once upon a time, China was a major foreign investment draw. That has changed, in part, because of China's COVID-19 response, but also for other factors. As foreign investments accelerate their pace of exiting the country, Chinas once busy manufacturing hubs have become emptier by the day. For the Chinese government, an entire population locked inside their apartments and quarantine centers is much easier to control than desperate crowds gathering outside of empty factories. After all, what good would saving the economy do if the ruling party CCP lost its grasp of power, as Chairman Xi Jinping once warned his inner circle comrades. But the population could not be locked up forever; their anger and resentment would eventually erupt. For CCP to survive this economic crisis, the Chinese ordinary people and their sentiments must be directed away from any actions that might endanger the power of CCP. Stirring up nationalism fervor has traditionally been used by the CCP as a failure-proof tool to deflate domestic tensions. Taiwan would be the easiest decoy to use for this purpose. Second, Russia should not be left out of the picture when a China threat is the subject. Russias war on Ukraine has marked its third month. Despite Russias heavy loss in military capacity and economic setbacks due to international sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin is still clinging to power. Russias resilience might have given Chinas Xi a false sense of confidence, that China could follow suit and withstand the consequence of a Taiwan invasion. After all, during the 1950s through the 1970s of the past century, the newly established communist China survived extreme poverty from its man-made famines and the international isolation it encouraged. Thus, the measures applied to Russia by the West might have encouraged China to take an even bolder move. Third, older generations of Taiwanese politicians believing in unification with mainland China are losing influence. Knowing this, China senses that its only chance of taking Taiwan is by force. As Chinas economy deteriorates rapidly from within, the voice of international resistance to Chinas influence solidifies. The window for China to take Taiwan by force is closing. China is unlikely to let the opportunity go to waste. And from Xis perspective of his own fate, Taiwan is a more urgent issue than anything else. If Xi is confident in remaining in power after the 20th National Congress of the CCP to be held in the second half of this year, a Taiwan invasion could be Chinas first major movement as part of the CCPs great national revival ambition and Xis personal dream of fame in the annals of CCP history. If, however, Xi sees his power in danger, he might resort to an early Taiwan war and a simultaneous nation-wide emergency law to extend and secure his power. All these signs indicate that a Taiwan invasion has become a necessity for CCPs survival. The world that dismissed Bidens warning on Russias invasion of Ukraine in February should pay attention to the unspoken words in his statements about China this time. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License I worked the polls on Georgias Primary day. In our area, the Latino vote did not show up as they did in 2020. Our precinct area in Gwinnett County is very diverse, with many recent immigrants, mostly Spanish speaking, from every part of Latin America. We also have Afghans, Asians, and Africans. This primary, the voters were almost uniformly white and black, with only handfuls of Latinos. Turnout was easily down 100% or more. November 2020 was a kaleidoscope of languages, with constant Spanish translation, and many older immigrant first time voters. The contrast is evidence of the voter turnout machine. In November 2020, groups of people entering, quite a number without documents (no ID, no vote!), volunteer translators with sashes standing by ready to assist. A man wheeled in a wheelchair-bound drunken voter, who was doing that all day around the area. In contrast, this primary election the wait was 0 minutes all day. Three eager young Latina Election Defenders, showed up to protect the vote then left for an early brunch as they saw the crowds of voters were not coming. I can wonder why there was such a contrast in voter turnout from the previous election compared to this one. Perhaps, the Latino vote in this area came out to vote due to Trump -- and have more positive or neutral feelings about Governor Brian Kemp. Perhaps, there is Biden fatigue. Perhaps a massive get out the vote effort is needed to bring out the immigrant vote for the Democrat side -- many of the Latinos that came were voting Republican. Some 1,143,000 votes were cast for the Republican Senate primary, and over 724,000 votes in the Democratic Senate primary. The difference between the two is substantial and comforting. Also comforting is the smoothness of the days count. Absentee ballots are counted the morning of Election Day, and all absentee ballots must arrive at the election office by 7 p.m. Election Day. The drop boxes that had played a prominent ballot harvest role at 3 a.m. in 2000 Mules had been moved inside Advance Voting locations, and were not open on Election Day. Every voter that came in had their ID ready -- the ID was scanned and matched to the Voters Registration. Every voters ballot was printed out, dropped in and electronically scanned into the ballot box. At the end of the day, the ballots were counted, compared with the scanned totals, and the memory card and paper ballots together taken to the county elections office. All in all, the rapid processing of the election count provides confidence that there will be much fewer shenanigans this election compared to 2020. Image: Tom Arthur Where was Salvador Ramos born? Early reports say he was from North Dakota. North Dakota is a big state. In what town in North Dakota was the future mass killer born? Where is a copy of his North Dakota birth certificate? How about a baptism certificate? I took Mr. LoCascios Critical Thinking class in high school in 1970 AD. This class taught us to question sources and not to believe everything we read. In this era of fake news and disinformation, I think it is fair to ask the question, Where was Salvador Ramos born? Weve learned that the initial reports by police about the shooting are not accurate. As the leftists run with this story, obviously anxious to confiscate every privately owned gun in America, I believe we should recall what Friar Laurence said to Romeo when he was so anxious to marry Juliet. Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast. Image: Salvador Ramos (edited). The gun grabbers dont care about the facts; they want to strip law-abiding citizens of their primary means of self-defense. For them, this cant happen too quickly. As the former mayor of Chicago famously said, Never let a crisis go to waste! Let me offer a hypothetical. What if Salvador Ramos is from North Dakota, Mexico? What if he is from North Dakota, Guatemala? Or North Dakota, Honduras? America is sick and tired of the invasion aided and abetted by the Swamp in D. C. What would happen if we learned that our latest mass killer entered America illegally? What president and what party would get the blame? I realize that I will be labeled as racist and xenophobic for voicing these questions, but I suspect I am asking what many others are wondering. If Ramos is from south of the border, leftists will have a tough time pinning this latest fiasco on Trump. Didnt he warn us about the folks flooding into this country? Wasnt his election in 2016 a sign that Americans want a sensible immigration policy? The silence about Salvador Ramoss origins is deafening. Politicians are making statements, retracting statements, and making new statements about his recent history. Meanwhile, the police are trying to get their facts straight. Our 365-day/24-hour news cycles are rehashing and speculating like crazy to give us narratives and explain why Ramos did what he did. Will we ever get the truth? A good place to start would be: Where was Salvador Ramos born? Certain lies are diabolically powerful. They are a malicious mixture of half-truths, the charismatic personality of the liar, and the work of unseen forces making the lie desirable. The Scriptures reveal that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons (I Tim. 4:1, ESV). Consequently, one writer impartially lays out the facts in a breaking story that few people read or share. The next writer mesmerizes many with sensational statements and fiery allegations as if aided by deceitful spirits because his conscience has been seared as with a hot iron (I Tim. 4:2). His cauterized conscience chokes off objectivity with a small moral filter between brain and keyboard. We live in a day when it takes months and years for the unvarnished truth to be uncovered. It has taken over five years for Special Counsel John Durham to uncover certain covert realities. Durham finally brought cybersecurity lawyer Michael Sussmann to trial for allegedly lying to FBI General Counsel James Baker during a meeting in 2016. At that time, Sussmann turned over data that allegedly tied Donald Trump to a Russian bank with Kremlin links. Journalist Miranda Devine recently explained, Sussmann is [on trial for] for misleading, lying to the FBI. But really, at the heart of this is Hillary Clinton. She sanctioned, she approved this attempt to dirty up Donald Trump and paint him as an agent of the Kremlin. The ramifications of that dirty trick went on, crippled the Trump presidency, did great damage to this country, was the source of a lot of the rancor and division that we see now. Robby Mook, former Clinton campaign manager testified on May 20, 2022, that then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton approved of disseminating materials alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russias Alfa Bank to the media, despite campaign officials not being totally confident in the datas legitimacy. Former FBI General Counsel James Baker testified Thursday that the bureau investigated the data alleging a Trump connection to the Kremlin-linked bank and found that there was nothing there. Image: Hillary takes an oath on the Bible. YouTube screen grab. With these facts in mind, here are questions that Americans must ask: 1. Can we trust our government to protect our data? Durhams investigation reveals that the Clinton campaign exploited his [an operatives] access to non-public and/or proprietary Internet data and enlisted the assistance of researchers at a U.S.-based university who were receiving and analyzing large amounts of Internet data in connection with a pending federal government cybersecurity research contract. The average American needs to understand that information the federal government gathers about us has been used for partisan political purposes and causes us to ask: How much of our data is out there and who can access it? 2. Can we really trust our mainstream media outlets to be impartial? No, because most of them buried the story! They knowingly suppressed the Clinton corruption story and ramped up their attack on Donald Trump. They chose speculation over objective facts. They allowed the Clinton campaign to conduct a disinformation campaign using media, government, and Congress. 3. Should certain members of Congress be investigated? Yes. As early as July 26, 2016, Adam Schiff and Diane Feinstein are mentioned in Fusion GPS emails to reporters, pointing to them being briefed on the Trump/Russia research. Margot Cleveland recently said, The evidence prosecutors elicited from witnesses over the last two weeks provides overwhelming proof of Sussmanns guilt and destroys the many defense theories Sussmanns legal team floated throughout the trial. Yet a conviction of a fellow D.C.-swamp dweller may be unattainable. Is America losing the spiritual ability to discern right from wrong? A conscience guided by faith, facts, and reason has helped generations of Americans to navigate moral issues to produce an excellent quality of life. However, new secular influences, such as Cultural Marxism, are producing disastrous results. As more of the American conscience becomes seared and scarred, more people will be incapable of discerning fact from fiction or truth from deception. This will only lead to more chaos and confusion as deception turns into destruction. Ron F. Hale is a retired pastor who still enjoys writing. His articles have appeared at The Stream, American Thinker, The Christian Post, and others. In 2020, Ron wrote a chapter on religious liberty in the first book published by Vide Press: The Right to Believe. With the Ukrainian War now entering into its fourth month, the devastation has not been limited to the conventional theaters of warfare, as Russian-based cyberattacks have had a negative effect on the Ukrainian economy and have also seen the allies of the embattled nation targeted. In April, a joint advisory from the cybersecurity agencies in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom warned organizations around the world of impending cyberattacks from Russia. At that time, it was thought that attacks targeting Ukraines allies responsible for levying economic sanctions on Russia would materialize, and pockets of attacks have already been reported. The advisory also stated that the dangers were not limited to those that may be posed by state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Groups (APTs), as several non-government connected cyber gangs have recently publicly pledged support for the Russian government, and attacks would "occur as a response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia as well as material support provided by the United States and U.S. allies and partners." These dangers are not lost on Canadas Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, as he recently lobbied the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union) to establish a quick-reaction group that can share their individual expertise to defend against Russia-Based cyberattacks targeting Canadian IT infrastructure. Since the war began, attacks like the ones against Ukrainian entities leveraging Hermetic Wiper Malware have wiped away data on computers configured for Microsoft Windows. These types of attacks would be a nuisance if they should expand beyond the immediate battlefield and target the West. Champagne implored the meeting of G7 nations, "How can you do more together? What we proposed is a working group to increase our collective resilience." Earlier in May, Canadas Security Intelligence Service warned "Canada remains a target for malicious cyber-enabled espionage, sabotage, foreign influence, and terrorism-related activities which pose significant threats to Canada's national security, its interests and its economic stability, and "cyber actors conduct malicious activities" for political, economic, military and security reasons. In the aftermath, Canadas Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, finally instituted a crucial ban of Chinese technology companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE from Canada's growing 5G networks in a move welcomed by the U.S. State Department. Canada is the final member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, that includes the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, to impose a 5G ban against the Chinese entities. Speaking at Canadas Alouette Aluminum Plant last week, Trudeau said, "We took the time to carefully analyze the situation, look at all sorts of factors, to look very closely at what our allies and partners were doing around the world in regards to telecommunications safety." This move is made even more critical by a new cooperative alliance struck between Putin and China just prior to the invaion of Ukraine. This new Sino-Russo alliance poses a danger, and not just to Ukraine and Taiwan, but to the whole world, as both China and Russia have conducted about a decades worth of reconnaissance hacking. Hackers from China were famously able to penetrate a U.S. Navy contractor working with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, back in 2018. This hack occurred a few years after NBC News posted an NSA map that revealed more than 600 corporate, private or government Victims of Chinese Cyber Espionage attacked over a five-year period, with clusters in Americas industrial centers. While the Russian-based SolarWinds hack affected tens of thousands of entities in both the private and public sectors globally. No one can dispute the fact that China and Russia pose the greatest cyber threat to the West. America has seen this in the form of major supply chains attacks like the Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods attacks of 2021. Now, in 2022, as we prepare for the next major wave of online attacks, it is relieving to see that the Canadian government seems to be finally getting it right on the key issues. Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, the Editorial Director for Reactionary Times, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, has been published by numerous websites and he is regularly seen on National and International news programming. Image: Pixabay Labour has accused the Government of having to be dragged kicking and screaming to take action on the rising cost of living at the last minute. Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds criticised what she described as a frustrating lack of measures from the Conservatives to tackle the causes of rising prices longer-term and not just the symptoms. Appearing on Sundays morning broadcast rounds, the Oxford East MP welcomed the new windfall tax announce by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Thursday but pointed out Labour had been calling for such a measure for five months. It seems that this Government, they tend to be dragged kicking and screaming to action at the last minute, she told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme. Speaking later on the BBCs Sunday Morning programme, Ms Dodds added: The really frustrating thing is yes, weve finally seen some action from the Government on the symptoms of the cost-of-living crisis but were not seeing any action on the causes. The former shadow chancellor was pressed by presenter Clive Myrie on the Governments decision to offer worst-off families 1,200 to help with rising costs, as opposed to Labours proposed 600. Are you embarrassed that actually the Conservatives are way more generous than you would have been? the broadcaster asked. Ms Dodds insisted Labours policies, including a home-insulation programme that would cut household bills every year, offered longer-term support and not just an emergency fix. She added: They (the Conservatives) also havent taken action to grow our economy. Labours saying we need to buy, make and sell more in our country. Why is that important? Because weve had lower growth under Conservative-led governments than under Labour-led its a big problem. Anneliese Dodds, chairwoman of the Labour Party arrives at BBC Broadcasting House (Yui Mok/PA) The Governments measures were defended by Richard Walker, managing director of the Iceland supermarket chain, who said Mr Sunak had stepped up and pulled the right levers to help struggling families. The supermarket boss told Sophy Ridge he thought ministers were doing a good job, despite revealing later in the same programme some of Icelands customers are disappearing into food banks. Cashiers at the supermarket, which serves some of the poorer demographics, have been asked by some shoppers to alert them when the price of their shopping hits 40 so they can abandon the rest of their items at the checkout, he said. There is a tonne of stuff I would like him (Mr Sunak) to do for business, I dont know how he is going to afford it or we are all going to pay for it but, I think at the moment they are doing a good job, Mr Walker said. Labours comments come after the Government bowed to months of pressure this week to help households facing soaring bills by announcing a levy on the profits of energy companies. Global factors, like Russias illegal war in Ukraine, are causing energy prices to spike. Chancellor @RishiSunak explains how the measures we introduced today will support families with these rising costs. https://t.co/sKBr1lK24E pic.twitter.com/wDW68KoqhE HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) May 26, 2022 Some Tory MPs complained the support package was throwing red meat to socialists and would damage investment in the sector. There were also concerns that a 400 discount on energy bills for every household in the country, regardless of how well off they are, would further fuel inflation which is already heading towards 10%. Under Mr Sunaks plan, almost all of the eight million most vulnerable households could receive at least 1,200 of support, including a previously announced 150 council tax rebate. The measures include a one-off 650 payment to low-income households on benefits, paid in two instalments in July and the autumn, at a cost of 5.4 billion. (PA Graphics) Mr Sunak said 5 billion of the package would be paid for by a levy on the profits of oil and gas giants, and around 10 billion will be covered by extra borrowing. Announcing the measures in the Commons, he told MPs the package was worth 15 billion, but officials later conceded there was a hidden 6 billion cost to the announcement, taking it to 21 billion. That is because over the next five years the original 200 rebate for energy bills, which was announced in February and doubled and turned into a 400 grant by the Chancellor on Thursday, will no longer be paid back by consumers as originally planned. The Prince of Wales has praised the acts of courage and heroism of former Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers at a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the formation of the police force. Charles sent a message to mark 100 years since the RUC was formed, which was marked on Sunday with a commemoration service at St Annes Cathedral in Belfast organised by the RUC George Cross Foundation. He said: In this centenary year, it is deeply appropriate that we mark together the sacrifices, honour the acts of courage and heroism and pay tribute to the achievements of all those who served in the RUC. We remember particularly the widows and families and those who supported the serving personnel with such fortitude and devotion. The RUC was formed on June 1 1922, after the disbanding of the Royal Irish Constabulary. As part of the wider peace process, the RUC became the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Charles spoke about recently meeting members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation, which he is patron of. It was a meeting that has left an indelible impression on me and, while I cannot be in Belfast today, please know that you are all very much in my thoughts as you commemorate this centenary of policing in Northern Ireland, he said. Hundreds of people attended the service, including church and political leaders. Fionnuala Jay OBoyle, the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, represented the Queen. PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne attended the service, as well as former PSNI chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan. In a statement, the Chief Constable described the event as an important opportunity to reflect on policing within Northern Ireland over the century. Context and history is everything, we cannot understand today without looking back at yesterday. The invaluable contribution, sacrifice and progress made by the RUCGC has contributed to policing as we know it today. However, through much change, one thing has remained consistent, that is the unwavering commitment to public service of officers and staff, he said. I would like to pay a special tribute to the family of fallen colleagues who have lived with the impact and loss of their loved ones, he added. Mr Byrne, who referenced current political and budgetary challenges, said he was committed to a positive future for policing in Northern Ireland. Honoured to have been invited to attend the service today both as Minister of Justice and Lady Mayoress of Belfast. Thanks to @RUCGCFoundationfor the invitation. https://t.co/u7YehiDCO1 Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) May 29, 2022 Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was also at the event in Belfast. A garda spokesperson confirmed that he received a formal invitation to attend the service. In a sermon at the service, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, John McDowell, expressed his own gratitude for the dedication of those who served. Archbishop McDowell told the congregation: They did it to keep their families safe, and because it was their conviction that if they didnt serve, then the future was either going to be in the hands of a revolutionary junta or a rabble of gangsters and drug dealers. Both groups would have swept away much of what officers of the RUC GC have held dear. There is hardly a parish church in the dioceses where I served that does not have a grave in the churchyard or a memorial in the church building to a member of the RUC who was murdered, some in the most horrific of circumstances. Deaths which achieved nothing except to break hearts. Justice Minister Naomi Long attended the ceremony, as did her husband and Lord Mayor of Belfast Michael Long. Honoured to have been invited to attend the service today both as Minister of Justice and Lady Mayoress of Belfast, the Alliance Party leader tweeted. Two original outfits worn at the Queens coronation by a maid of honour and a page have been rediscovered from storage. A gown worn by Lady Moyra Campbell as well as an ensemble worn by Lord Erne at the ceremony in 1953 are set to go on display at Enniskillen Castle. The Queen is also loaning a dress for the exhibition to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Lady Moyra was one of six maids of honour at the coronation, while Lord Erne was the First Page of Honour. Rory Campbell, at his home in Randalstown, Co Antrim, holding a photograph of his late mother Lady Moyra Campbell (left) with the Queen on her Coronation day (Brian Lawless/PA) While both have since died, their families found their carefully preserved garments from the special day in time for the jubilee. Lady Moyras son Rory Campbell described finding the dress at the family home close to Randalstown, Co Antrim. It had been stored under duvets to protect the delicate colours from sunlight. The dress was designed by the renowned British couturier Sir Norman Hartnell, who also designed the Queens dress for the day. Lady Moyras headdress and long white gloves she wore have also been preserved. Mr Campbell said the event left an enormous impression on his mother. She died in 2020 following an illness but shared many memories of that day with her close family. Mr Campbell said his mother had known the Queen since they were children, and even attended Brownies together, but said he believes she was selected as the Palace wanted women from across the UK represented. She was woken up incredibly early on the day and taken into make-up, and then news came through that Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing had just reached the top of Mount Everest and they all burst into tears so the make up had to be done again, he told the PA news agency. Then at some point and this is hotly debated among the maids of honour it looked like one of them was going to faint and the Queen noticed and she looked at mum and indicated, mum made her own assessment of the situation, and looked back at the Queen and so she was thrilled she was the first person to disobey the Queen. That very much summed mum up, she was a rebel. After the service they went back to Buckingham Palace and appeared on the balcony behind the Queen. That was obviously a thrill, and then they all went their separate ways. Mum went home, put on a cardy and went out to join the crowds to feel part of the buzz. Mr Campbell said the experience inspired his mother to give back, and she did so, working with charities such as the NSPCC, NI Cancer Fund for Kids and Early Years. If you asked mum, whats the thing you most remember about the service, yes all of the glamour, all of the people, but it was the moment the cameras were turned off, and she went through the ceremony of becoming Queen, and agreeing to say I am your servant to her people, and mum was really struck by that, he said. Here was a girl, the same age as her who she knew, and was suddenly almost giving up her individual life to step into a role. I think that really inspired in mum a massive and life-long feeling of loyalty to that particular woman. She said she would have jumped under a bus for her on that day. Mum wasnt just a sort of lady who lunches, she went round and bullied people into setting up drop-in centres and into supporting if you could have seen her on a typical day wearing a leather jacket which shed nicked from me in the 1980s, getting into a rusty old car with her Irish language cassettes falling out heading off to the Sperrins for meetings. Across the region in Co Fermanagh, the current Lord Erne described finding the outfit his father wore as page in the attic of Crom Castle. The outfit worn by Lord Erne at the Queens Coronation. (Selwyn Johnston/PA) We always knew they were in a very secure metal box in our attic but we hadnt discovered them properly until very recently, he said. We had no idea what kind of condition they would be in, so we were relieved when we opened the box they were below lots of tissue paper. Lord Erne said his father had been a page for a year in 1953. So there were other duties as well such as the state opening of Parliament, but obviously the coronation was the most notable of that year, he said. He was at school at the time, at Eton College, so he would have come up, gone to the Palace to get changed, escorted Her Majesty to Westminster Abbey, then came back and had his appearance on the balcony before all those thronging crowds who had come to wish her well. That afternoon he had to go back to school. He changed back into his school uniform and left the Palace, but as he looked back he thought, gosh, I was up there 20 minutes ago. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at St Macartins Cathedral in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in 2012 (PA) His father died in 2015, but two years earlier he welcomed the Queen to Crom Castle during her visit as part of her Diamond Jubilee. She came to Crom Castle for lunch. My father was retiring that year as Lord Lieutenant for Co Fermanagh, he was at the time the longest serving Lord Lieutenant in the UK, and so I think it was very fitting she wanted to come and say thank you for that, and also come and see her page of honour from the coronation, he said. It was wonderful, a huge honour and privilege. A day I will never forget. She was thrilled to visit because were right on the border so she was very proud to point out that she had been to the most western point of the kingdom. The exhibition at Enniskillen Castle will open on Thursday June 2. It is just one of a number of events taking place in Northern Ireland to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Beacons will be lit and a service held at St Macartins Cathedral in Enniskillen on Thursday, as well as jubilee lunches taking place across the region. Sue Gray would not have published her investigation into lockdown parties if she was not comfortable, according to a Cabinet minister amid claims her report was edited by the Prime Ministers chief of staff. According to The Sunday Times, the senior civil servant was lobbied to remove names from the final 37-page document and had edits made before its release on Wednesday. The newspaper said tweaks were made on the eve of publication by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay, who is also chief of staff in No 10, in relation to the so-called Abba party held in the Prime Ministers flat on November 13 2020. But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said he did not recognise the reports and argued that it would have been fruitless for Downing Street to seek to influence her findings. Mr Lewis, asked on Sky Newss Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme whether he could vouch that pressure was not placed on Ms Gray, said: Im absolutely confident thats the case. Anybody who has worked in No 10 knows Sue Gray well enough that that kind of thing wouldnt work. And Im confident, particularly now that No 10 have outrightly made the point and denied that this happened, that Sue Gray had the freedom to write the report that she was comfortable to write and publish. Ms Grays report detailed raucous boozy leaving-dos held in Downing Street and Whitehall, with Mr Johnson joining in the drinking and giving speeches while the rest of the country was forbidden from seeing sick and dying loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic. In relation to the gathering in the flat that Mr Johnson shares with his wife Carrie, it is alleged that an earlier draft of Ms Grays report referred to music being played and stated at what time the gathering ended, but that the information was redacted. No 10 and the Cabinet Office have denied any edits were made by Mr Barclay, however. In her report, Ms Gray found that the Prime Minister who is facing growing calls from Conservative MPs to resign over his handling of the so-called partygate affair did attend a November gathering in his flat along with five special advisers, with food and alcohol available. Mrs Johnson was reportedly at the November event but was not named by Ms Gray in relation to the flat gathering. The civil servant explained in her findings that she halted her work, having only collected limited information, when the Metropolitan Police began their investigation and opted against resuming her inquiries once Scotland Yard concluded their probe. There was no mention in her report of The Winner Takes It All and other Abba songs reportedly heard blaring from the Downing Street residence after the departure of Dominic Cummings, who was formerly the PMs chief adviser, was announced amid a bitter power struggle. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis (Yui Mok/PA) The Northern Ireland Secretary pointed to No 10s denials about the allegations of interference in the final document released by the Cabinet Office official when questioned by broadcasters on Sunday. He said the police had looked into the November gathering in the Johnsons Downing Street home and didnt see anything there that required anybody to be fined unlike the Prime Ministers surprise birthday bash in June 2020 for which he, his wife and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were slapped with 50 fixed-penalty notices. Rival MPs, however, have called for full transparency over reports that Ms Grays conclusions were doctored. The Liberal Democrats said all correspondence between No 10 and Ms Gray should be released and be reviewed by the Commons Privileges Committee as part of its investigation into whether Mr Johnson misled Parliament with his reassurances Covid rules were followed in Downing Street. Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: Brandon Lewiss half-hearted denial that Downing Street tried to water down the Sue Gray report simply isnt good enough. The only way to get to the truth is to make public any correspondence between Downing Street and Sue Gray over her report. Photographs of Boris Johnson drinking at a staff leaving do were published as part of Sue Grays report into lockdown parties (Sue Gray Report/Cabinet Office/PA) The Cabinet Office confirmed those criticised in the report were approached before its release but denied that the published details were anything other than the work of Ms Gray. A department spokesman said: The report was impartially conducted and its contents represent the findings and conclusions of the investigation team alone. As with all such investigation reports, the process of obtaining formal representations from those perceived to be criticised prior to publication took place. This is an appropriate and usual process in such matters. It comes as the number of Tory MPs to have publicly declared they have submitted letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister has continued to tick upwards. Former health minister Steve Brine and Anne Marie Morris became the latest to announce they have called for a vote on the future of Mr Johnsons premiership, joining at least 20 of their colleagues in doing so. Anne Marie Morris has submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM after having the Tory whip restored (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament) Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, will be obliged to order a confidence vote if he receives 54 letters demanding one. Mr Lewis said he thought the Prime Minister would survive a confidence test, which he argued was not in the country or the partys interest. He also argued that Mr Johnsons position as leader would not be in jeopardy if the Tories lost the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections next month. Asked about YouGov modelling suggesting the Tories would lose all but three of 88 so-called battleground seats, including many of the 2019 Red Wall gains, if an election was held on the current polling numbers, the former Tory chairman said there was not a general election in the next few months to consider. It could well be a fair way away, he added. The work we do as parliamentarians, as campaigners can make a very big difference, and I still think we will win the next general election. President Biden speaks during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Last week, in an unscripted moment, President Biden warned bluntly that if China invades Taiwan, the United States will come to the islands defense. Weve made a commitment, Biden told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo. Including military action? Yes, he replied. That isnt what U.S. policy on Taiwan says not officially, at least. The White House and State Department hurriedly tried to walk back the presidents words. Our policy has not changed, they insisted. Biden critics called it a gaffe, but the statement wasnt a slip of the tongue. Biden has used the same language about Taiwan three times in nine months. When a president offers his personal version of policy three times in a row, that pretty much makes it official even if it wasnt issued in a formal communique. What Biden did was to say openly what has been implicit for several years: The United States is willing to threaten force to deter China from invading Taiwan. Until now, those hints were couched in a policy known as strategic ambiguity. The president made it less ambiguous. China hawks hailed the rhetorical shift as a welcome burst of clarity. Others worried that it might provoke China toward reckless action. The Chinese reaction was anger. If the U.S. continues to go down the wrong path, there will be irretrievable consequences and the U.S. will have to bear an unbearable price, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned. Why such a storm over the word commitment? A bit of history may help. China considers Taiwan to be part of its national territory, and so, for many years, did the rulers of Taiwan, the U.S.-backed losers of China's civil war who fled to the island when the Communists took power in 1949. In 1979, when President Carter recognized Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China, Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act. It committed the United States to supply weapons to the islands government. However, it did not commit the United States to intervene militarily against a Chinese invasion; that was left ambiguous. The idea was to deter China without directly opposing its aspiration to reabsorb Taiwan. That balance was relatively easy to maintain when China was weaker. But over the last two decades, China has strengthened and become an assertive regional power: building military bases in the South China Sea, bullying weaker neighbors like the Philippines and harassing Taiwans armed forces with air and naval incursions. Chinese officials have derided the United States as a declining power. After the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, one of Beijings official newspapers said the lesson for Taiwan was that if war broke out, the U.S. military wont come to help. Thats when Biden first said publicly that the United States had a commitment to defend Taiwan, much like the U.S. obligation to its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His intention, then and now, was clear: to make China's President Xi Jinping think long and hard before considering an invasion. But by announcing the commitment the way he did, he created consternation in his own foreign policy bureaucracy. I dont think the confusion is helpful, said Bonnie S. Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund. Glaser supports the goal of deterring China from invading Taiwan but said it isnt clear that Bidens warnings will do that. What will deter China, and what will provoke China? Its not clear that we know, she said. The Chinese believe we are testing their bottom line, seeing if they will respond if we touch on one of their core interests like Taiwan. If they think we are encouraging [Taiwan to declare] independence, they could well be tempted to use force. Its also not clear whether the United States could defeat a Chinese invasion. Chinas navy is the largest in the world, although its ships are smaller and less sophisticated than those of the U.S. and its allies. A 2018 study commissioned by Congress warned that the United States might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China. So to make his commitment to Taiwan stick, Biden has work to do. He has already marshaled support from Japan, Australia and other allies. His administration has been prodding Taiwan to upgrade its defenses, taking lessons from Ukraines success in fending off a larger invader. And Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III is expected to seek more forces in the Pacific. Paradoxically, though, even as he strengthens deterrence, Biden needs to reassure China that the United States is not covertly encouraging Taiwan to declare independence. That means reaffirming the One China policy he mentioned only briefly in his remarks last week and assuring Xi that he means it when he says he doesnt want to change the status quo. If he can do all that, last weeks unscripted statement might one day be remembered as a step toward deterring war in Asia not the moment when Biden inadvertently provoked one. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Liz Truss has been accused by Russias ambassador to the UK of being very belligerent and wanting to prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Andrei Kelin said the Foreign Secretary wanted to instigate the conflict by pushing for the West to continue supplying Kyiv in a position he argued would be no good for Ukraine. Ms Truss, during a visit to the Czech Republic on Friday, told western allies they needed to be ready for the long haul when it came to supporting Ukraines resistance, with no talk of ceasefires or appeasing Putin. She said: We need to make sure that Ukraine wins and that Russia withdraws and that we never see this type of Russian aggression again. Mr Kelin said Ms Trusss stance showed that London was not interested in bringing about an end to the conflict, which Moscow started in February when it ordered an invasion of its neighbour. Attempts to take the entire country were shelved due to a fierce Ukrainian defence, particularly around the capital. The Kremlins forces regrouped and since last month have instead focused their firepower on taking the Donbas region in the east where Russian-backed separatists have held ground for eight years. The Russian ambassador, speaking to the BBCs Sunday Morning programme, said: Shes very belligerent, your minister of foreign affairs, Liz Truss. Shes neither a professional military man or shes not (been) for a long time at this position. But shes very belligerent. If she would like to continue the war she will prolongate the conflict. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged western allies to continue supporting Ukraine in its struggle against Russias invasion (Stefan Rousseau/PA) And it is up to her of course to make this statement or to make these deeds. But it will be no good for Ukraine, it will be no good for European peace and stability, and Europe itself. It is not the first time Kremlin figures have looked to discredit Ms Truss. Following talks in Moscow between the Cabinet minister and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in February before the invasion started, the foreign minister characterised the meeting as a conversation between deaf and dumb, claiming Ms Truss did not listen to Russias position. In a lengthy interview, Mr Kelin said Britains encouragement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his troops would only delay a peace deal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Mr Zelensky during a phone call on Saturday that the UK would continue to support the heroic Ukrainian armed forces, including by providing the equipment they need. As part of the regular dialogue, I had another phone conversation with @BorisJohnson. We talked about strengthening defense support for , intensifying work on security guarantees, supplying fuel to Ukraine. We must work together to prevent a food crisis and unblock ports. (@ZelenskyyUa) May 28, 2022 On the stalemate between Kyiv and Moscow over a ceasefire, Mr Kelin added: And what we have from London, it is not the desire to finalise it or to negotiate it. We hear every day new appeals to send more weapons to Ukraine, to fight until the last Ukrainian soldier, to continue the conflict. And no negotiation until Russia will be beaten. The diplomat said Russian troops were involved in a limited operation and not a war in eastern Ukraine. He argued Moscow had come to the aid of two independent republics, a reference to the Kremlin-backed breakaways in Donetsk and Luhansk, major areas in the industrialised Donbas region, and that the advance was about protecting Russian people. The official said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not use nuclear weapons in the conflict, stating how there were very strict rules on their use, with nuclear missiles only allowed to be deployed when the existence of the state is endangered. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the war-hit Kharkiv region on Sunday (AP) It has nothing to do with the current operation, he added. The battle for Donbas has centred on Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in recent weeks, with constant shelling being focused on the last major areas under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk province. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces were storming the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, where the fighting has knocked out power and mobile phone services and terrorised civilians who have not fled. Mr Zelensky, following a trip to Ukraines second-largest city Kharkiv on Sunday in a rare visit to the eastern front line, described the situation in Donbas as indescribably difficult. Ukrainian fighters pushed Russian forces back from positions near the city several weeks ago but it remains under fire. Kyiv has warned the West that unless its troops are supplied with more advanced weapons, it will not be able to halt the Russian advance. A Ukrainian pastor from London who stayed in Bucha while delivering aid to his home country has said the war is between evil and good, darkness and light. A minister at the International Christian Church of Faith in Barnet, Yevgen Yakushev quit his construction job the day after Russias February invasion to dedicate his time to the war effort spending the last three months speaking at rallies outside Downing Street and organising aid full-time. The 46-year-old, who has lived in the UK for two decades, is in Ukraine for several weeks as part of a group initiative to drive 100 cars and deliver aid to the front line of the war. On May 22 he spent a night in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb where Russian troops are alleged to have carried out mass civilian killings. Its terrible. Its difficult, but they have to be strong, Mr Yakushev told the PA news agency. This fight is not just between Ukraine and Russia, its between evil and good, darkness and light. And Im a pastor of a church, Im on the light side. We want people to be free. Mr Yakushev, pictured with two others delivering aid to Ukraine, has lost several family members to the war (Yevgen Yakushev) On the day he spoke to PA, Mr Yakushev received news that his wifes 24-year-old nephew was killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine, and many in Mr Yakushevs family from Mariupol have been caught up in the conflict. On March 2, we lost all connection with Mariupol. I couldnt reach my sister or my mother. For two weeks we had no connection with them, he said. On March 17 my sister called me and said, We are out of Mariupol. On that day her birthday her husband died. Mr Yakushevs niece called the same day as his sister to say she had made it out, unaware that nobody was left to look after his mother who remains uncontactable in Mariupol. My niece said my sister Victoria is looking after her, Mr Yakushev said. Victoria has already left, I said, so this is how we lost my mother. Mr Yakushev said he heard his neighbourhood was shelled, adding: One of the neighbours says that when the building was on fire she knocked on the door and nobody opened, so she assumed that (my mother) perished. Either shes here with His protection, or there with His protection. Mr Yakushev is based in London but has been taking trips to Ukraine to deliver aid and cars (Yevgen Yakushev) Mr Yakushev has been helping to source and drive cars from the UK to the front line as part of the 100 cars for the Armed Forces of Ukraine project. The cars are brought to friend and fellow pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko, also from Mariupol, who organises their distribution to the front line as part of the project. Ahead of a new journey to Zaporizhzhia, the last major Ukrainian-controlled city before the south-eastern front, Mr Yakushev said: Its my land. My people. My heart is there. I know I have to be here (in London) to be more productive and helpful on that side, and this brings some comfort to keep going. Mr Yakushev said he and other priests from his home town were placed on a wanted list by the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR) in 2014 after he returned there to provide aid and dig trenches in the area. The Russians came and they were against the Protestant churches, and the pastors became targets. Some of them were killed, tortured, he told PA. In 2014 Mr Mokhnenko also found himself on the DNRs wanted list, two weeks after Mr Yakushev. I called him, Mr Yakushev said, and said youve come very late man, Ive been waiting for you here. Eight years later, the siege of Mariupol and Russias renewed assault in the countrys east means the men are once again focusing their efforts. Mr Yakushev said he was once persecuted in his home town (Zack Ferriday/PA) Many miracles happen, Mr Yakushev said, showing a video on his phone of an evacuation posted by Mr Mokhnenko minutes earlier. In the video, Mr Mokhnenko drives with three people and a dog in the back of his car who he says were crossing the front line on foot when he spotted them and picked them up. They walk out through fields, Mr Yakushev said, I have one friend, Jelena, she just came out on foot from Mariupol. On Wednesday she came (to the UK) with her son. Determined to continue as long as needed, Mr Yakushev said he believes strength is essential for Ukraine to overcome the Russian invasion. I know they want us to cry. I know they want us to be broken, and if we break now we will lose, he said. We have to be strong. When we win, then we will cry. Sen's win is India's second in Cannes in two years Cannes: Shaunak Sen's "All That Breathes", an audience favourite here from the outset, won the 2022 L'Oeil d'Or (Golden Eye) for the best documentary at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, making it two in succession for India. "All That Breathes" is about two Delhi brothers Nadeem and Saud who, amid the city's worsening air and deteriorating social fabric, devote their lives to saving migratory black kites that are at the mercy of mankind's unthinking ways. The film was screened as part of the festival's Special Screenings line-up. The award was announced by a jury chaired by veteran Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. The citation read: The 2022 L'Oeil d'Or goes to a film that, in a world of destruction, reminds us that every life matters, and every small action matters. You can grab your camera, you can save a bird, you can hunt for some moments of stealing beauty, it matters. The citation described All That Breathes as an inspirational journey in observation of three Don Quijotes who may not save the whole world but do save their world. Sen's win is India's second in Cannes in two years. In 2021, Payal Kapadia's "A Night of Knowing Nothing", which played in the parallel Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Critics' Week) took home the L'Oeil d'Or. "All That Breathes" was competing with ace Chilean documentarian Patricio Guzman's "MyImaginary Country", Ethan Coen's "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind" and Sergei Loznitsa's"The Natural History of Destruction", among other films. The L'Oeil d'Or jury bestowed a Special Award posthumously on Mantas Kvedaravicius for his film "Mariupolis 2'. The Lithuanian director was among thousands of civilians killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The jury described "Mariupolis 2" as a film impossible to compare with any other from the competition. by Nirmala Carvalho Among the new cardinals chosen by Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Hyderabad comes from an "outcaste" family in Andhra Pradesh. A very significant choice after the controversy over the appointments of bishops in Tamil Nadu. The newly appointed bishop tells AsiaNews: 'Good news for Dalit Catholics and for the entire Church in India'. Hyderabad (AsiaNews) - Among the new cardinals announced today by Pope Francis there is also a very important first for the Catholic Church in India: the cardinal's hat will go to the Archbishop of Hyderabad, Msgr. Anthony Poola, marking the entry into the College of Cardinals of a Dalit, that is, a person from the most disadvantaged group of 'outcastes'. Msgr Poola, 61, is in fact a Telugu-born prelate from a Dalit family in the village of Poluru, in the diocese of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, which he led for over 12 years before being called by Pope Francis himself to lead the archdiocese of Hyderabad. His appointment takes on special significance considering the controversy of recent months over the appointments of bishops in the State of Tamil Nadu, where some organised groups of the faithful have bitterly contested the fact that only one diocese out of 18 has a Dalit prelate. Commenting on the announcement made by the pope today, the cardinal-designate Anthony Poola told AsiaNews: 'I received the news from some people who told me about the Holy Father's announcement. It is God's will that I accept with humility: I am not worthy. I am grateful to Pope Francis for his trust. I was a priest in the diocese of Cuddapah,' he says of himself, 'for 16 years, then I served as bishop of the diocese of Kurnool for 12 years. Finally, in 2021, I assumed responsibility for the diocese of Hyderabad. This appointment of mine as a cardinal I believe is a privilege for the Telugu region and will grow the faith of the Church in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. I am a Dalit,' he emphasises, 'so this is good news for Dalit Catholics and for the entire Church in India. I believe it will bring the encouragement of Pope Francis to many'. Jesuit A. X. J. Bosco, a Dalit rights activist, also commented to AsiaNews on the appointment of the first cardinal belonging to this group that is still the victim of so much discrimination in India: "This news came as a shock and a surprise to me. It is a great joy for the Dalits, who represent over 65% of the faithful of the Catholic Church in India. Pope Francis wants the Church to be synodal, to listen to everyone, including the least: now the Dalit Christians also feel that they have been heard after years of struggle." "Bishop Poola,' continues Fr. Bosco, 'is an educated gentleman, very kind to everyone. He has a special love for the poor; he cares a lot about the Dalits. He is open and generous. Even to those who had lost faith because of the events in Tamil Nadu, this appointment of Archbishop Anthony Poola as cardinal brings some consolation and a glimmer of hope: miracles can always happen'. In addition to the name of Archbishop Poola, the list of new cardinals also includes that of another Indian: 69-year-old Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, who has led the archdiocese of Goa and Daman since 2003. "This news is cause for great joy," wrote the archdiocese of Goa and Daman in a note, "This appointment that honours the person of our archbishop also places on his shoulders a great responsibility in the service of the universal Church, as a close collaborator of the pope. We pray that the spirit will guide him in this new mission'. by Sumon Corraya The CBCB marked the milestone of half a century in the service of the Catholic communities in the country with a ceremony in Dhala. The contribution of schools and social services for all. A commitment equality and enhance recognition of female leadership in the life of the Church. Dhaka (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) recently commemorated 50 years since its foundation. The anniversary was celebrated in a festive atmosphere, expressing deep gratitude and thanksgiving to God at the CBCB headquarters in Dhaka on Friday, 27 May. The Archbishop of Dhaka Msgr. Bejoy N'D Cruze, a religious of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and president of the Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, the Apostolic Nuncio in Bangladesh Msgr. George Kocherry, all the bishops, Christian politicians, Catholic leaders, over 200 priests and nuns and more than 2000 faithful attended the event. Archbishop Bejoy N'D Cruze said: "I want to express my deepest gratitude, love and respect for all those who have contributed so much to this Bishops' Conference over the past 50 years. I hope that the CBCB can go a long way in the future with everyone's cooperation." He added: "The CBCB has helped the Catholic Church in Bangladesh to walk together. The bishops have always met four times a year and this has made the relationship between the dioceses united and fraternal. This relationship of unity and brotherhood makes each diocese stronger'. Bangladesh has eight dioceses, including two archdioceses. Archbishop Bejoy recalled that the establishment of the CBCB after the country's liberation in 1971 was a sign of foresight. Now, thanks to this organisation, the Catholic bishops can jointly manage all activities for the faithful. Catholic MP Jewel Areng praised the CBCB, saying: 'The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is taking our society forward in the fields of education, health and socio-economic development. The leadership of the bishops and many other Catholic brothers and sisters has helped us a lot. I thank and appreciate them. Other lay and religious leaders also said that the CBCB helped the faithful grow in faith and inspired them. But they also mentioned the challenges faced by Bangladeshi Catholics. Among them, separations are the main problem. Many Catholics face problems in married life due to drug addiction, extramarital affairs and the influence of social media. Some of those present suggested that the CBCB should give more space to women's leadership and involve young people more in Church activities and take care of indigenous people to improve their living conditions. Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, vice-president of the CBCB, responded that the Bishops' Conference is sincere in its commitment to promote women's leadership. 'The prime minister of our country,' he commented, 'is a woman. We want women to come forward and also become the executive director of Caritas Bangladesh. Some women religious, like the Sisters of the Holy Cross and or the Sisters of Our Lord of the Missions (RNDM) ably run renowned educational institutions. Many other women can apply for leadership'. The CBCB is an organisation that provides guidance and direction to Christians in the country. This institution was founded in 1971, after independence. Its main objective is to formulate initiatives and programmes for the welfare of the people of Bangladesh by promoting the activities of local Christians. The Catholic Church in Bangladesh has its own university and runs more than three hundred prestigious educational institutions such as Notre Dame, Holy Cross and St. Joseph as well as an integrated human development organisation Caritas Bangladesh. There are about 100 Catholic hospitals and health centres in the country. They are open to all, regardless of ethnicity, caste or creed. New consistory for Aug. 27 announced at Regina Caeli. The new cardinals include Korea's Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; the archbishops of Dili (East Timor) and Singapore, Goa and Hyderabad (India); and the apostolic prefect of Mongolia. The Asian continent will touch a record number of 21 cardinal electors out of a college of 133. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis will hold a consistory on Aug. 27 for the creation of 21 new cardinals, as many as six of whom are from Asia. The pontiff announced this today at the end of the Regina Caeli Marian prayer, presided over before the faithful in St. Peter's Square. Francis explained that the consistory for the creation of the new cardinals - the eighth of his pontificate - will be preceded on June 28 and 29 by a meeting of all the cardinals in Rome to study and analyze the apostolic constitution "Praedicate Evangelium" with which he reformed the Roman Curia and which will come into effect next June 5. Of the 21 new cardinals, 16 will be electors, while five others are over the age of 80 and therefore will not enter a future conclave. Three of the new cardinal electors come from the Roman Curia: they are Korea's Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; Britain's Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship; and Spain's Fernando Vergez Alzaga, president of the Vatican Governorate. In choosing the other 13 new cardinal electors Francis still looked with particular attention to Asia, also calling pastors from its peripheries or from very small Catholic communities: there are in fact Italian Giorgio Marengo, a Consolata missionary and apostolic prefect of Ulanbaatar in Mongolia; Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili in East Timor; the two Indian prelates Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastiao do Rosario Ferrao Archbishop of Goa and Anthony Poola Archbishop of Hyderabad; and Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye of Singapore. The other new cardinal titulars of dioceses are Archbishop of Como (Italy) Oscar Cantoni, Archbishop of Marseille Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Ekwulobia (Nigeria) Peter Okpaleke, Archbishop of Wa (Ghana) Richard Kuuia Baawobr, the two Brazilian prelates Leonardo Ulrich Steiner Archbishop of Manaus and Paulo Cezar Costa Archbishop of Brasilia, Archbishop of Asuncion (Paraguay) Adalberto Martinez Flores, and Archbishop of San Diego (United States) Robert Walter McElroy. The five new cardinals over 80, on the other hand, are Jorge Enrique Jimenez Carvajal Archbishop Emeritus of Cartagena (Colombia), Lucas Van Looy Archbishop Emeritus of Ghent (Belgium), Arrigo Miglio Archbishop Emeritus of Cagliari (Italy), Jesuit theologian Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda and Msgr. Fortunato Frezza, canon of St. Peter's Basilica. With this new composition among the 133 cardinal electors as many as 21 will be prelates from Asia or engaged in their ministry in Asia. Before the Regina Caeli prayer, recalling that in Italy and in many countries the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today, Pope Francis had invited people to ask themselves what this event means. He said "to answer this question, let us dwell on two actions that Jesus performs before ascending to Heaven: He first announces the gift of the Spirit and then blesses the disciples. With the gift of the Spirit Jesus tells us that "He is not abandoning the disciples. He ascends to Heaven, but He does not leave us alone." And through this gift "we see Jesus' love for us: his is a presence that does not want to limit our freedom. On the contrary, he makes room for us, because true love always generates a closeness that does not crush, but makes us protagonists." The second action - the blessing of the apostles is instead a priestly gesture. "Jesus," the Pope said, "goes up to the Father to intercede on our behalf, to present him with our humanity. Thus, before the eyes of the Father, there are and always will be, with the humanity of Jesus, our lives, our hopes, our wounds. He goes to prepare a place for us and, as of now, intercedes for us, so that we may always be accompanied and blessed by the Father." Hence the questions Francis addressed to the faithful: "Let us ask ourselves if we are really witnesses of the Gospel; and also if we are capable of loving others by leaving them free and making space for them. And then: do we know how to make ourselves intercessors for others, that is, do we know how to pray for them and bless their lives? Or do we serve others for our own interests? Let us learn this," Francis concluded, "intercessory prayer, interceding for the hopes and sufferings of the world, for peace. And let us bless with our gaze and words those we meet every day." After the prayer, the pontiff then recalled the World Day for Social Communications-which the Church is celebrating worldwide today-recalling how listening is "the first gesture of charity and the first indispensable ingredient of dialogue." Finally, he invited the faithful to join him on May 31 in praying the Rosary for peace, which he will preside at the basilica of St. Mary Major in connection with many shrines around the world. A Handicap International official authored a report with the latest on the disableds fate in a country of 30 million. In 2014, before the Yemen conflict broke out, fewer than three million people lived with disabilities. Strikes, mines, and stray bullets are the main causes. The collapse of the health system " and the loss of services have aggravated the crisis. Aden (AsiaNews) Advocacy groups are warning that the number of people with disabilities in Yemen has skyrocketed after seven years of civil war, a conflict that continues to produce victims, virtually forgotten by the international community The latest warning comes from Yasmine Daelman, Advocacy and Humanitarian Policy Advisor for the Yemen Mission at Handicap International, who recently authored a report for the NGO. In it she notes that mutilated and disabled people are always "the first to be forgotten," forced to survive in extreme conditions. According to UN estimates, around 4.8 million people suffer from at least one disability in Yemen out of a population of 30 million, up from around three million before the war though it is impossible to verify the number because of a lack of official data. The rate of disabilities has skyrocketed since the beginning of the conflict, Daelman told AFP, in particular due to the extensive use of explosive weapons in strikes, mines and stray bullets in populated areas, leading to large numbers of amputations. Psychological traumas and mental health problems have also greatly increased, the report notes. With the complete collapse of the health system, people with disabilities suffer the most since access to hospitals and health services is thus severely limited. Sometimes the disabled have to travel up to three days, on dangerous roads, to obtain basic healthcare. It is quite shocking to see how they face very different challenges, Daelman explained, citing the example of deaf people who fear leaving their homes since they cannot hear attacks or explosions. Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014, which morphed into a regional conflict in March 2015 when Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab countries intervened. So far, almost 400,000 people have died, including 10,000 children, in what the United Nations deems the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, made more devastating by the COVID-19 outbreak. At present, hunger haunts millions of people with children likely suffering the consequences for decades. Included are the more than three million internally displaced people who live in conditions of extreme poverty, hunger and epidemics of various kinds, not the least cholera. Against the tragic backdrop, a two-month truce agreed in April by the warring parties represents the first countrywide ceasefire since 2016. For the United Nations, this provides some hope. Many now would like to see it extended to give the population some breathing space to cope with the ongoing humanitarian, economic and social catastrophe. Thousands of Israeli nationalists, some of them chanting Death to Arabs, have begun parading through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalems Old City Burnt through the bridge and the stone on the pier ! #fire #torquay pic.twitter.com/hjjs4gQNiQ Grace (@Grace31307003) May 28, 2022 Update on yacht fire in Torquay. With yacht now sunk, and with approx 9 tonnes of diesel on board, focus now on pollution. Pollution response led by harbour master. Our officers are helping with advice and guidance on bathing water quality etc Environment AgencySW (@EnvAgencySW) May 28, 2022 Our officers have been checking air quality around Torquay harbour this afternoon following the yacht fire, which was declared a major incident. Thought to be no real issues with air quality, but we're keeping an eye on the situation. Environment AgencySW (@EnvAgencySW) May 28, 2022 An expensive superyacht caught fire and burned to a crisp before sinking on Saturday, May 28, at Princess Pier in Torquay Harbor, in Devon. The superyacht, estimated at 6 million by the British media (roughly $7.6 million at the current exchange rate), was a privately-owned vessel moored at the end of Princess Pier.The BBC reports that eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud bang before the fire, which seems to have spread from the front end, engulfing the entire ship despite the efforts of firefighters at the scene. A large column of black smoke spread over the harbor, forcing authorities to urge residents and tourists to stay indoors and away from the scene, as more explosions were expected.And more explosions followed. The 85-foot (26-meter) vessel broke free from its moorings and, still on fire, headed for the marina pier, where it continued to burn. First-responders were able to secure it here for damage control . Whatever was left of the superyacht after the fire sank shortly after.During the fire, the Devon & Cornwall Police shut down traffic on nearby roads. The marina pier was closed to all traffic, and remains so as of the time of press, since the burning ship caused serious damage to the pier, burning the bridge.While its fortunate that no other ship was damaged and, more importantly, that no one was injured in the incident, the trouble is far from over, as the Environment Agency (EA) points out. The vessel was carrying 8,000 liters (2,113 U.S. gallons) of fuel, so the real danger is now pollution. The scene remains qualified as a major incident, as the EA and the harbormaster continue the investigation The cause of the fire is also under investigation, and all involved parties have so far refrained from speculating on it. The thing with these perfect human beings though is that they leave Earth perfectly healthy, but they come back less than so. Thats due primarily to the lack of gravity on the International Space Station (ISS), where they mostly go, and the amount of time they spend up there.According to NASA, which has quite the experience with people spending long periods of time on the ISS, exposure to a zero-g environment affects pretty much all of the persons body: bones, muscles, the heart, blood flow, and the immune system.In the future, if we want to truly become a space-faring race, but are not all that interested in coming up with artificial gravity systems to serve our needs, those effects must be a lot better understood. And this is where humanitys preferred beings for medical experiments come into play.Believe it or not, rodents are very similar to humans from a medical point of view (meaning in terms of anatomy, physiology, and even genetically). Theyre also perfect for such research because of their faster development and shorter life span, and NASA in particular likes them because it gets to fly dozens of small rodents on each mission, thus coming up with extensive data each time.In fact, the space agency is so captivated with these being and what they can teach us about the effects of space on organisms that it even developed a special tool, one it calls Rodent Research Hardware System.Put together by the Ames Research Center, the system comprises three distinct modules. First, we have the transporter, which is the cage, if you will, that carries the rodents to space. The second is the animal access unit, a piece of hardware that facilitates their removal from the transporter, and the transfer into the third module, the habitat - which is actually the place these rodents will call home until they, well, expire, mostly.NASA started flying mice to the ISS in the Rodent Research Hardware System back in 2014, when the gizmo proved its worth and kept the creatures alive both inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule that took them up there, but also once on the station.In 2015, the agency started looking into the effects of the space environment on the musculoskeletal and neurological systems. The following year, the focus fell on a potential new treatment for skeletal muscle wasting and weakness, with a potential treatment developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly being tested. Then, two missions in 2017 focused on bones and bone tissue loss.Studies with mice at the center of the microscope did not stop, and NASA also researched the effects of microgravity on blood vessels in the brain and eye, on cartilage loss in joints, on atrophy, and even on the community of microorganisms in the gut.The biological circadian rhythm, structure and function of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels, and vision are also on the list of things being researched, as five decades after weve begun exploring space, we still dont have a complete picture of what it can do to us.At the beginning of this year, NASA put the results of all this research together into a nice little package that can be found here . It also announced unused tissue samples from the experiments will be shared with additional researchers who will use them for even more studies, in a bid to squeeze every single ounce of usefulness from the little beings that are sacrificing themselves so we can build our space empire. The reason teams requested the FIA fix the problem is linked to the rules and regulations that regard homologations, and these also mention where certain parts may be placed. For example, in the case of Rally1 cars, the exhaust runs directly under the co-driver , and that makes the temperature disturbingly high on the right side.As Paul Nagle, Craig Breen's co-driver found during Rally Portugal, the floor of the vehicle got so hot that the soles of his flameproof racing boots started to melt.Besides the obvious discomfort of feeling that the soles of your shoes are melting, the crew also had to deal with the smell of molten rubber, which is tough to stomach when you are not allowed to open the windows of your vehicle while you are racing.Previously, the top class of WRC cars used to have an exhaust that went all the way to the back of the vehicle, which meant that temperatures would not go higher than in other racing cars throughout an event.Due to the significantly increased temperatures, crews are being put at risk, so the International Federation of the Automobile, which is what the FIA is short for in French, has been asked to step in.The Federation has reportedly considered several solutions to reduce cockpit temperatures to a bearable range (around 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 F), and these include, but are not limited to adding ducts to the side mirrors and getting them to bring fresh air into the cockpit, as well as introducing an opening in the windscreen cowl to help improve airflow in the interior.Other proposed changes involved permitting the addition of a new roof vent, which would be significantly larger than the original one, which is already present. The latter is a small opening that is opened or closed manually by using a hinge, and it brings a dash of air inside.Adding heat-deflective materials or ceramic coating for the exhaust might also help, but some of the proposed changes will involve the FIA homologation commission, which would have to act quickly so that the teams have enough time to do the proposed modifications.Having the windows lined with silver foil should also help, and the rear windows might get a set of vents to place on top of them, just like older WRC cars used to have.With a combination of vents placed in key areas of the cockpit, the airflow might be increased enough to help drivers and co-drivers stay at a reasonable temperature when the WRC will reach Kenya. Hyundai Motorsport's deputy team principal, Julian Moncet, told Dirtfish that he fears that many crews might not be able to complete the Safari Rally because of the heat in the cockpit if the weather in Kenya will be hot.The issue with the temperature was first noticed last year, during the first tests with the new Rally1 cars , but it was scrubbed off as if it did not matter, and it was not a problem during the first two events of the year, held in Monte Carlo and in Croatia , where teams dealt with cold weather, rain, and poor grip before having issues with heat. For a few decades, the U.S. Air Force ( USAF ), and to a lesser extent others, has discovered that it can keep its planes in the air for longer if fuel is made available right up there, in their natural environment. Hence, aerial tankers were born, and with them the habit of offensive aircraft coming together in one place not to attack, but to feed.Knowing aerial refueling is spectacular, the USAF wastes no opportunity in capturing stunning images of such operations and making them public. Just as it did with the main photo of this piece, published last week and showing a scene from mid-April.There are three fighter jets in this image, all chasing from various angles a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 168th Air Refueling Wing. Weve got two F-22 Raptors deployed with the 3rd Wing, one at the receiving end of the refueling boom and the other flying escort, and an F-15 Eagle flown by the 144th Fighter Wing flanking the tanker on the other side.All four planes (and others, as more are present off-camera) were at the time conducting an exercise as part of the Alaska Dissimilar Aircraft Combat Training. Below the four is the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex in the same state.Dissimilar aircraft combat training ( DACT ) has been around since the war in Vietnam, and essentially calls for pilots of very different aircraft (in terms of anything from performance to design) to fly together as a means to prepare themselves to take on equally different adversaries. It all happened in Barcelona where the 34-year-old ended up having a bag stolen just outside of his hotel. When he noticed his belongings were gone, Vettel didnt immediately reach out to the police, as any amateur would do, but actually pulled out his iPhone and tried to track down the thieves.The Aston Martin driver was fully aware of the capabilities of his smartphone, which makes it possible to determine the location of other Apple products configured with the same account as long as a feature called Find My is enabled.As it turns out, Vettel had his earphones, obviously a pair of AirPods, in the stolen bag, so the iPhone could easily determine the location in real-time.Vettel hopped on a scooter and embarked on an impromptu ride across Barcelona based on the data provided by the iPhone.Unfortunately, what the F1 driver didnt know was that he was dealing with modern-day thieves as well. The burglars searched the content of the bag and, when coming across the AirPods , they threw them away, therefore covering their tracks.Vettel eventually found the earphones, but obviously, there was no sign of the bag.Aston Martin confirmed the unplanned thief hunt across Barcelona in a statement for the BBC , revealing that Sebastian Vettel eventually reached out to the police for an actual investigation.At the time of writing, theres still no update on the case, so most likely, Vettel is yet to recover his belongings. Obviously, we have absolutely no clue what was in the bag, but were guessing Vettel was carrying something way more valuable than the AirPods given he was ready to throw himself into such a dangerous Hollywood-style chase. Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. From the land of tri-tip sandwich fundraisers and 24-hour biscuits-and-gravy sales now comes this: hot dogs made from whole carrots.